AckSed
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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And so are you. There is a living skeleton inside you right now!
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Borne of Caution (Pokemon Isekai)
- Thread starter Fuggmann
- Start date
Blasterbot
Versed in the lewd.
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Artful Lounger
Well worn.
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There is a large, tentacular creature inside your body. It lives in your skull and has its tendrils wrapped around every conceivable part of you. This thing treats you like a puppet and controls everything you do.
AckSed
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Now, now, it's friendly. Mostly. Those cramps when you run are just it trying to get free.
Artful Lounger
Well worn.
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You know, cant help but wonder if Ash is in Lavaridge by now.
Because Ash hoing in, getting beaten by Flannery with her shiny new move, only for Ash to dig into things only for Flannery to eventually admit that the new move was made ny Lee is something straight out of an anime episode.
Because Ash hoing in, getting beaten by Flannery with her shiny new move, only for Ash to dig into things only for Flannery to eventually admit that the new move was made ny Lee is something straight out of an anime episode.
ApiLol123123
Not too sore, are you?
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Loved the story so far, eager to read the next chapter!!
ANONYMOUS777
Your first time is always over so quickly, isn't it?
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Is there anywhere else I can read early chaps? Patreon has some problems in India for some reason, ideally with UPI?
Act 2: Lee's Logs 2
Fuggmann
Inventor of Sex 2
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You could have read this early! See below.
I'm reader-funded, and need your help to keep writing indefinitely. If you like what you're reading and want to help out, see https://www.patreon.com/fuggmann. Patrons get to see updates early, suggest edits to the final draft before it goes live, and participate in polls to choose what gets updated next during my moments of indecisiveness.
If you want to keep up-to-date on releases, see https://discord.gg/hive-of-degeneracy and opt in to the fic-updates role for a ping.
As always, thank you for reading.
Stretching his arms over his head with a jaw-cracking yawn, Nigel Birch settles into his office chair and mentally reviews what he needs to get done today. 'Mister Nelson's Dustox has been looking a little under the weather, so he probably needs to be added to the checkup roster. Need to finish up my article from the Verdanturf Sitrus grove study. The fire extinguisher in Exam room B needs to be replaced after the mishap with that Torchic…'
As he writes his mental list, Nigel jiggles the mouse of his computer, waking the old device. As per usual, he goes to check for any emails that came in during the night. Yawning once more, he goes down the line. 'Not important. Not important. That one can wait. Spam. Why am I still getting this one? I need to have the IT guy adjust the mail list.' Nothing seems urgent, and then Nigel spots two that came in a few hours after he went home the night prior.
New mail from: Ranch_Monitor@hoennpkmnlab.org
Subject: Lhenson New Capture
New mail from: Lhenson@hoennpkmnlab.org
Subject: Logs and Research
Nigel's eyebrows rise to his hairline. A new capture and updated research logs? Lee hasn't sent in any logs recently, though with the debacle on the volcano still fresh in the mind, the professor can't say that he minds much. "Well, let's see who your sixth is, Lee," Nigel murmurs, opening the email.
Acquisition Details:
Pokémon Species: #0700 – Sylveon
Gender: Female
Method of Acquisition: Adoption
Location: Verdanturf – "Greener Pastures Breeding and Boarding Services."
Research Value Index: 0.89
[Attachment #1: Adoption Forms]
Nigel sighs, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. "A Sylveon. An adopted Sylveon. Why am I even surprised? I shouldn't be. I said it before, and I'll say it again—for a man deathly afraid of drama, Lee sure finds himself mixed up in a lot of it."
Already resigned to the fact that today is going to be a long one, Nigel leans toward the screen and continues. Opening the adoption forms, he scans them with a critical eye and finds nothing out of place. Upon finishing, his mind immediately goes to Lee's Ninetales. The professor can only imagine how in the world Lee is going to manage with not one, but two emotional time bombs on his team.
"Well, if there is anyone who can get a Ninetales and a Sylveon of the same gender to get along, it would be Lee," Nigel muses. He resolves to check Battlenet after this and to remind the lab's PR team to be vigilant for a week or two. The internet is going to have a heyday with this one.
Moving onto the next email, there are fewer audio logs than expected, but there are a few research papers attached. Again, likely a consequence of Lee being so busy after the volcano incident. After standing to close his office door, Nigel opens the first log and sits back, listening.
"Log twenty-four, day one-hundred-twenty-one."
"It was narrow, but we took the win from the Lavaridge Gym yesterday. I had no idea that Leader Moore was going to blindside us like that, but looking at silver linings, he was an excellent test for me and my team."
"I didn't expect Grovyle to actually take down Moore's Rapidash, and I admit I feel a little scummy for doubting him. The plan originally was to have Grovyle essentially be a sacrificial buffer to weaken the first opponent for Octillery. I can't overstate how continually I'm amazed by him. Grovyle, that is. He's something else. Taking down a fully evolved, near-elite Fire-type as a middle stage Grass-type? It's crazy. His air control using Quick Attack is also advancing faster than ever, and he showed that off yesterday with how he continually outran Rapidash's Flamethrower while avoiding the burning ground. This fight also highlighted his predisposition for cutting attacks more than ever. The Sceptile line has very little natural inclination for Dark moves, yet Grovyle's Night Slash cut into Rapidash easily. Leaf Blade, X-Scissor, and now Night Slash. Not a bad repertoire of slashing attacks, if I say so myself. I'm thinking we're going to lean into this strength and see where it takes us."
"I'm still rather frustrated with my poor synergy with Octillery. I'm so used to having the fastest pokemon on the field that trying to transition into Octillery's preferred fighting style is a pain. He has power in spades, and the accuracy to nail a bouncing Joltik at a hundred yards, but none of that matters if I can't effectively work with him. His performance in the gym match was stellar despite me choking with our defensive measures. Gunk Shot is a truly heinous technique, and if not for landing it right in Arcanine's mouth, I'm thinking that the fight would've been a complete blowout. Octillery is one intelligent 'mon, so I'm sure between both of us, we can figure something out."
"Ninetales… Well, I'm sure that you saw the fight. Ninetales and I are as in-tune as we can possibly be, so I don't have much to comment on there. This did show me how higher level pokemon can resist more esoteric forms of attack, like Confuse Ray, Baby-Doll Eyes, or being held aloft with telekinesis. I can say with no exaggeration that Ninetales' Confuse Ray is officially too dangerous to use on weaker pokemon at full power. We haven't tested it much considering the unpleasant effects it has on targets, but Nine's Confuse Ray has gone from being discombobulating to sending weaker targets into full-blown seizures. Sources and research papers I read say Confuse Ray can't cause permanent harm, but I think it's better to err on the side of caution here. Until I can study the effects to confirm that it's not causing irregularities to the autonomic nervous system of targets, we're saving full power Confuse Rays for emergencies."
"Like with Ty. Arceus damn, what a monster. He barely even flinched."
"Baby-Doll Eyes is… a really weird one. I thought that the attack induced muscle weakness via involuntary relaxation, but I'm getting inconsistent results with tests. Sometimes the targets relax against their will, other times their muscles stay tensed, but they simply aren't able to bring all of their strength to bear for a reason I don't readily understand. Ugh. Fairy-type. It's times like these that I'm glad Ninetales is a Kantonese Ninetales, and not an Alolan one. A fox that doubles as a portable air conditioner would be great, but not if it means dealing with Fairy nonsense all the time."
"Alolan Ninetales, huh?" Nigel blinks and pauses the recording. Turning to his other monitor he types the species name into a search engine and digs for several minutes. "Huh…"
Alola does have its own species of Ninetales! Lee mentioned it in another log, but Nigel didn't have time to look. There is even less about them than the already mysterious Kantonese Ninetales, and only a handful of Alolan Vulpix have been confirmed to be owned by trainers. There are even fewer confirmed Ninetales captures. If Nigel is reading right, then the white fox species is even more elusive and temperamental than their Kanto cousins.
"Sometimes I forget that Lee is filled to the brim with secrets and trivia you'd never find anywhere else." Nigel shakes his head. Oh, how he'd love to study Alolan pokemon habitats to see what causes so many regional mutations. "I need to go to Alola at some point," Nigel resolves to himself. "Maybe I'll drag Lee along. He already has a knack for troublesome foxes, so maybe he can nab an Alolan Vulpix to study," he says, resuming the playback.
"Brendan and Zinnia have been sticking close to me, apparently worried since all three of my active battlers are recuperating in the Pokemon Center. I never really considered the cultural angle of having no battle-ready pokemon on hand. I guess it's kind of like conceal-carrying a gun back home. Some people do it for so long that they feel a bit nervous when they do without, wondering about 'what if' scenarios. I myself owned a pistol, but I rarely took it with me anywhere, and thankfully never needed to use it in self-defense, so I guess I don't really know what that feeling is like. Also, I've still got Shinx, and although she is nowhere near the level of the rest of the team, I don't feel unsafe having just her. Her Thundershock has to hurt like hell."
"Not too much more to say for this one. Lee, out."
Nigel plays the next one.
"Log twenty-five, day one-hundred-thirty-four."
"Corvi came back."
There is a short pause broken up by a joyful, disbelieving laugh.
"Corvi actually came back. On his own. I can't… I can hardly believe it. The worry over him has lessened over the last few weeks, but never totally gone away. I came back to our hotel room to find him and Ninetales talking. He's like a changed pokemon! He actually let me touch him, something he never allowed before. Oh man. After letting him inside and getting him some dinner, I had Ninetales act as a translator so I could understand him word-for-word as he explained what he was up to."
"It's… Well, Corvi's story is a personal one, and not really mine to tell. I'll just say that my theories about him having a trainer before me were correct and leave it at that. His tale does explain why he acted the way he did, though. It was enough to satisfy Ninetales, so I think just about anyone would understand why he did what he did. Hoooo… Okay, I'm getting a little too excited here. Let me back up and try this again, or I'm just going to end up rambling… What was I saying again?"
A scratchy 'caw!' fills the lull in the recording.
"Right, right. Anyway, I gave Corvisquire a check over, and I'm happy to say that he is still in great health. He's roughly at the same level of combat ability he was before he left, so he probably has a bit of catching up to do with Grovyle and Ninetales, but that's nothing he can't handle. I admit, I'm a bit surprised that he didn't evolve while he was away. He was on the cusp back in Mauville, and he still is today. Curious. Regardless, I'll be revising his diet and adding him back into our training routines soon."
"Regarding the rest of the team, I'm currently brainstorming a new technique for Grovyle. Grass is a type of somewhat poor defensive capabilities, so to counteract that, I've been wanting to create an energy-draining technique similar to Absorb or Drain Punch for Grovyle, one that he can use with his Leaf Blade. I figure that rather than try to bulk-up a pokemon not known for being bulky, it would be better to play to Grovyle's strengths, namely his speed and proficiency with cutting attacks. With this hypothetical 'Drain Blade' in his repertoire, Grovyle should be able to endlessly dance around his opponents as he cuts them to ribbons. Our initial tests have produced some results, but it's going to need a lot of refinement before it's ready for live combat. I'm hoping that we can use Grovyle's understanding of Absorb as a starting point for this technique, and to facilitate that, I've been having him drive a Leaf Blade into newly felled lumber, then using Absorb on the same piece of lumber. My hope is that he can begin associating the two attacks together, and the focal point of Absorb will migrate to the edge of the Leaf Blade."
"Not much to report with Shinx. She's steadily outputting more voltage each day, and she's certainly cemented herself as the leader of the group's younglings, despite being the youngest of them all. She's making use of different cries for different instances and scenarios, so if you're comparing her to a human baby, she's in the toddler stage where speech starts emerging. I might be mother-henning a little, but I still want to hold off for another week or two before I begin to actively look for battles for her. She's done well in spars with Grovyle, who can shrug off her electricity and safely divert her physical attacks, but I still want her to firm up a bit more before throwing her into a real fight. I should've taken a picture of her face when I pulled her aside one afternoon and told her she doesn't need to be a fighter if she doesn't want to. I've never seen her look insulted before. I guess that also confirms that her grasp of human speech is maturing as well."
"Octillery, I'm still trying to make plans for. He has such a wide array of techniques with the capacity to learn more, but I am still not good enough to command slower pokemon effectively against trainers of equal or greater skill than myself. I initially thought, 'Well why even bother? Let's get him a technique to facilitate faster movement, like Aqua Jet,' then dismissed the thought. I don't know if a shortcut like that will do us any favors in the long run. Otherwise, it's business as usual for Octillery. He is still as voracious an intellectual as ever, and hungers for stimulation. I'll admit, I broke Battlenet's rules on "pokemon sock puppet" accounts and let Octillery make his own so he can peruse the site without using mine. Thankfully, he's very opsec conscious and tends to keep to himself. He learned quite quickly that it's useless to argue with morons online, even if he's right about whatever he's talking about. He certainly learned faster than I did as a teenager."
"He's not the only one who has been doing some reading. After our win at the Lavaridge Gym, a number of groups reached out to us, and one of them was a cabal of trainers who own their own Ninetales. I got the invitation from Kabu, a gym Leader all the way over in Galar, and the place is run by a Pokemon Master called Lokoko. I swear I've heard that name somewhere before, but for the life of me, I can't remember it."
There is the sound of an exasperated sigh over the recording.
"Anyway, Ninetales' temper has been especially short here recently, so I reached out to Lokoko for advice. We had a very enlightening discussion, and I can certainly see why Lokoko is referred to as a Pokemon Master, as she had some unique insight on the Ghost, Psychic, Fairy, and Dark types. A large part of our discussion revolved around the psychology of Ninetales as a species, however. She had… a few interesting things to say."
Nigel leans in slightly, listening carefully.
"According to Lokoko, trainer fixation is just something that Ninetales is going to experience, and constant telepathy is only making things worse. She advised that we don't use our telepathy any more than needed, or we face a serious risk of becoming a gestalt entity."
Pausing the recording for a second, Nigel narrows his eyes in thought. "A gestalt?" he wonders to himself. "Like a Dugtrio or an Exeggutor?"
The concept of a gestalt entity is not something completely unknown to pokemon academics, but neither is it well understood. The hows and whys of things such as identity or consciousness are still purely theoretical. For all the resources and advancements in the fields of medicine and science, the inner workings of the conscious mind for both man and pokemon alike remain largely a mystery. Even with the aid of expert psychics, it all rapidly hits a dead-end that traditional science simply isn't equipped to handle. After a certain point, things simply become indescribable to any who haven't experienced it firsthand.
Feeling a touch uneasy, Nigel resumes the recording, hoping that Lee provides his own insights.
"I… The thought of breaking what Nine and I have is unthinkable, Nigel. Even if we don't speak a single word to each other, just knowing that she's there is reassuring in a way I can't put into words. It's an affirmation that I'm not alone, that someone else out there is real. There are still some days where I think I'm back on Earth, and this is all just a wonderful hallucination before I die, and then I feel Ninetales and I know this is the real world."
A long pause, then Lee begins speaking again.
"I'm not a philosopher, or psychologist, or anything like that, so take the following with a grain of salt. You know, we rely on our hands, our eyes, and our ears to perceive the world around us, and we simply have to trust that they are correct. What if they aren't? What if what we see and what we hear is not the same thing other people see and hear? What if we're missing something entirely? What if we're missing everything? In a way, the only thing we can ever know is true is our own existence. The telepathy between Ninetales and I, though, is proof that more exists beyond the sanctity of my mind. It takes away a weight, knowing for certain and on all levels that I'm not alone. It's a kind of weight I don't think people even realize they're carrying, at least until it's pointed out to them."
"Neither of us can go back to living without that—without each other—Nigel. I'm really hoping that your psychic expert can offer some kind of alternative, otherwise Ninetales and I might have to figure this out on our own."
"Jumping backwards a little bit, I had to sit and think on the gestalt bit Lokoko mentioned. I know the definition, that a gestalt is something that is somehow more or different from the sum of its parts. It's a loose definition with a lot of room for interpretation, and that's probably why I've seen so many people attribute the word to so many different things, or even use it wrong during some independent research. By some definitions, Ninetales and I are already a gestalt, if you count the telepathic bond as an integral part of our beings. I get the feeling that Lokoko was referring to something different when she used the word, however. It seemed to have a more dire meaning. I know that fanciful fictional stories of the Lovecraftian sort… Wait, Lovecraftian isn't a genre here, is it? Stories about cosmic and existential horror sometimes deal with the concept of fusions and gestalts. They often depict it in the worst way possible, where the components that make up the resulting entity are miserable and devoid of individuality. That can't possibly be what Lokoko was talking about, was it?"
"…This turned kind of grim and gloomy, didn't it? Well, Lokoko also mentioned that a hobby is a good way to ease a Ninetales out of a fixation, so we went out and found a bookstore that piqued Nine's interest. She's got the mind for history and political intrigue, so a book retelling the fall of the Johto shogunate caught her eye. I'm already saving up for a house with a full library in it, because I know I'm going to need it. She's turned into a bibliophile overnight."
"I think that's everything relevant for this one, so… Lee, out."
As the recording ends, Nigel can't help being left disturbed, the talk of new pokemon techniques overshadowed by Lee's musing about the mind. There is a slight crawling to his skin as he thinks over Lee's words and admissions, questioning about how anyone can be certain of the world around them. Such a line of thought never occurred to Nigel, and after having it thrust upon him, he finds that he doesn't care for it. Something about Lee and Ninetales' relationship still seems unhealthy, but now doubts gnaw at the professor. He notes down the recording, resolving to get the relevant parts to his loaned psychic, Anabel.
Nigel's thoughts then turn to Anabel: master of the Battle Tower, natural-born empath, and the young woman who is going to be meeting Lee and Ninetales in just one more week. The teen girl is famous the world over not only for her team of Elite pokemon, but for the empathic powers she possesses. With her amazing psychic gift, she can telepathically communicate with all of her pokemon, making battling her a daunting prospect to say the least. If anyone can understand what Lee and Ninetales are experiencing and offer them appropriate help, it would be her.
'Took her long enough to get ready… But I suppose I can't complain, considering Scott is letting me borrow Anabel for free.' Nigel sighs as he thinks of his old frenemy. Not wanting to dwell upon Scott or Lee's disquieting words anymore, he moves to the next recording.
"Log twenty-six, day one-hundred-sixty-five."
"It's been two weeks since the volcano. I'm sorry for not recording recently, Nigel, but… I just haven't had my head on straight for what feels like weeks now. I'll try to keep this one brief and relevant. I know you probably don't want any extra shit."
"We left Lavaridge a week ago, and we're stopping at a small border town to rest for a day or two before we continue on to Fallarbor. We're planning on meeting Zinnia's tribe near there, then taking a bit of a sabbatical to train for a while. By the time we get there, all of our pokemon should be back in decent shape. Octillery is mostly recovered from the confrontation with Magma, but Ninetales and Grovyle are different stories.
"Poor Grovyle… Camerupt's Flamethrower burned away large patches of his skin across parts of his body, and the resulting scar tissue and misshapen scales are leaving him stiff. The scars are fading with time and treatment, but they won't fully clear up until he evolves. This has left him with diminished maneuverability, and by Arceus, it's frustrating him something fierce. I'm working with him every day and providing physical therapy to speed up the recovery, but I know that he's not going to be satisfied with the pace. He should be back to a hundred percent in a few weeks."
"Ninetales… She took a fully-powered Eruption from Camerupt, lodging a spear of superheated rock into her chest. If I ever meet who created the modern pokeball, I need to thank them, because without the stasis-like effect pokeballs have on a pokemon's physical body, she would have died within minutes."
There is a weak shudder, barely audible in the recording.
"…I…If she had died, I think the shock would have killed me."
Professor Birch's blood runs cold.
"Thankfully, the rock missed her heart, but it irreparably destroyed about ten percent of her left lung, and the temporary damage that she's still healing from has left her with diminished lung capacity all around. She's getting over it, but it's going to take another two or three weeks before she stops being short of breath."
"As with last time, there's not much to report with Shinx. She hasn't been sleeping very well recently, and I think the gloomy atmosphere is what's causing it. Thankfully, she didn't seem to be having nightmares, and I'm fairly certain that she is ignorant of what happened on the volcano. According to Ninetales, pokemon have to actively try to see outside of their ball, and I don't think Shinx is quite capable of that level of focus yet. I'm quite glad for it, because she frankly didn't need to see what went on up there. I'm also going to try looking for actual battles for her. I can only hope I don't intimidate the kinds of rookie trainers who would be a fitting match for Shinx."
"Moving on to lighter things, I guess if you haven't seen it already, Corvi evolved. Heh, he's really something else now. Nine-foot-ten, and over seven-hundred and seventy pounds. He's enormous! I think one of the things that appealed to kids back home about pokemon was the idea of being friends with big monsters, and Corvi scratches that itch perfectly. Also, I had no idea that flying on pokemon-back was so fun. This is going to open a lot of doors for us. On the not-so-bright side is the food cost. Corvi is taking in over twenty-five thousand calories per day, and that's on days where he's mostly idle. On days where he's battling or training, he's eating thirty to thirty-five thousand calories without overfilling. This trainer business is getting expensive…"
Nigel cracks a smile at the levity. "Lee, you have no idea."
"On the topic of my aching wallet, I also placed an order of TMs for my team to the tune of over a hundred grand. My last TM deal with Silph Co was lucrative enough that they want to do another run, and want something new to copy. I'll be heading back to Mauville in a week or two for that, and I was thinking I might also visit a few breeders to see about getting my sixth team member. If all the stars line up, I can get a bulky fighter who also has some utility use, like Heal Pulse or something. I think that's the biggest gap in my team currently."
"That's all for this one. Lee, out."
The next log is dated for yesterday, several hours after Lee acquired his Sylveon. Nigel clicks it, curious to find out why on earth Lee would adopt a Sylveon.
"Log twenty-seven, day one-hundred-seventy-six."
The log opens rather quietly as Lee is practically whispering, so Nigel has to turn up the volume for the rest.
"Sixth member acquired. Sorry for whispering, but I'm currently in a hotel room in Verdanturf and my pokemon are asleep around me after a meet-n-greet. I didn't get the pokemon I expected, but it could have turned out worse, I suppose. Like I said in my last recording, I took the time after visiting Mauville to go down my short list of pokemon breeders. After I missed a potential deal on a pair of Eevee brothers in Slateport, I got a referral for a place in Verdanturf, where I met one Evelyn McGarden. Her ranch had quite a selection of pokemon, but after all was said and done, I left with her Sylveon. Apparently, Evelyn had been looking for someone to take Sylveon for a while, and begged me to take her away from the ranch."
"It's a bit of a sad story, and I'm only mentioning it because I think it might be relevant to future notes on Sylveon. Apparently, she was a breeder at the ranch for over thirty years, and fell in love with a ranch hand who treated her especially well."
"When she evolved for him, that ranch hand made the decision to get out of Dodge."
Nigel does a full-body flinch. "Oh…"
"Evelyn… wasn't really sure how to handle things from there. She's a fantastic pokemon breeder and caregiver, but having to deal with a broken-hearted Fairy was a tall order. I admit, I didn't want to take Sylveon at first. I said that I didn't want to risk my team with a potential weak link, and then she revealed that Sylveon knows Wish, and has Pixilate as her ability."
A long sigh comes from the computer speakers.
"Damn it all. Her story had me hooked and it hurt saying no, but I wasn't at all prepared for Sylveon to be everything I was wanting with the exception of her baggage. I ended up agreeing. Already, I can tell this is going to be a challenging one. I've made a few notes that I'll take photos of and send along with this log. I would scan and digitize the notes, but I don't want the noise of the scanner to wake everyone up. I'll give a brief summary of my findings so far. I'm sure that I'll have more to report."
"Firstly, Sylveon either has no faith in her ability to read humans, or is literally incapable. I'm not sure which, yet, but I'm leaning towards the former. While we settled in and began to relax in the hotel room, she seemed awkward and unsure of where she should be. I told her that she can relax on the bed with myself, Nine, and Shinx, but the point didn't seem to get across to her. I tried again, this time being more literal with my words, and that seemed to help, but only so much. Initially, I likened her apparent non-understanding to autism, as she displayed several key symptoms in the communications area, but when I reached a hand out and let her touch it with one of her ribbons to activate her touch-based empathy, everything I said came across just fine. This problem doesn't exist with pokemon, as she was able to converse with the rest of the team without issue. If this is the worst of her problems, I'll count myself lucky."
"What am I saying? It's never that easy…"
"In regards to her physical state, Sylveon is going to need a fair amount of TLC to turn herself around. Currently, she's underweight and malnourished from self-deprivation, as according to Evelyn, Sylveon refused to eat full meals for over a year. I'm already in the process of devising a proper menu for her, and it's going to be a tricky one. Nutrition for a Fairy-type seems to place just as much emphasis on emotional stimulus and state of mind as it does physical need, so to that end, I'm going to devise a meal plan that is especially tasty, as nutritious as I can make it without sacrificing flavor, and on a rotating schedule to prevent palate fatigue. For now, the grain and meat omnivore mix that I use for Ninetales seems to be fine, as Sylveon got most of a bowl down with some encouragement.
"Trying to keep the peculiarities of Fairy-types in mind, I didn't want to jump straight into a physical, and decided to groom her first. Sylveon allowed me to give her a thorough grooming, but held my wrist with a ribbon the entire time. She seemed uncomfortable at first, but the discomfort eased after the first several minutes. Afterward, I think she was a touch embarrassed that someone ten years her junior was nurturing her."
"Oh, I suppose I forgot to mention. Sylveon is thirty-six years old, making her the oldest member of our whole traveling group. It feels a bit strange that one of my pokemon is older than I am."
Nigel's memory goes back to his father's Ludicolo, who was actually his grandfather's starter. When Granddad settled at home to be a family man, he asked his Ludicolo to keep an eye on his son, and Ludicolo interpreted that as "Go on his journey with him."
Dad always lamented that having "Uncle Ludi" with him on the road made things weird.
"Anyway, after a good grooming, she let me poke, prod, and measure her. She turned and asked Ninetales if I'm always like this, and Nine laughed in reply."
"Ninetales… She's been surprisingly onboard with Sylveon joining. I really expected a lot of conflict to arise, but Nine's been keeping a tight leash on her jealousy recently. That's not to say that she wasn't a little jealous tonight, but she kept to herself. I asked, and Nine had this to say. Quote: "Our situations are not the same, but that does not mean I cannot sympathize. If you, Lee, ran away from me out of fear, I do not think I would've held up quite as well," unquote. It was… Hrm. I don't have a good way to describe it. I don't want to say I'm surprised with a levelheaded response, because that implies that Nine is more hot-tempered than she actually is. I'm not going to jinx it by talking about it more, I'm just going to enjoy the peace while it lasts. Tomorrow, I'll be flying back to the Draconid territory, and I imagine that my hosts aren't going to be pleased that I brought a pokemon known for hunting dragons back with me."
"There hasn't been much in the way of significant training breakthroughs with the rest of my team sans Grovyle and Octillery. Grovyle once more blew me away with his mastery of Leaf Blade a day ago. After thinking about some half-remembered book that Ninetales was reading, I realized that Grovyle could really refine his technique with some formal… well, technique. I asked him to bend his Leaf Blade forward so that he could grip the actual blade and manipulate it by rolling his wrist, and he immediately grasped just how much of an improvement doing such a thing provides to his control. I would like to scrounge up some time-tested sword fighter manuscripts and see if anything could be adapted for Grovyle's use."
"Octillery, meanwhile, got the honor of being the first member of the team to try out one of his TMs. I taught him Psychic, and we put our heads together and came up with a solution to his mobility problem. His tentacles don't allow him to move too quickly on land, but what if he wasn't using his tentacles? Instead, we decided to go with a cushion of telekinesis that he can sit on and manipulate, letting him skate around the battlefield. He used this trick to great effect in a battle with Zinnia's Swablu-turned-Altaria, taking the win. He doesn't have the earth-shattering psychic power that Nine does, but Octillery's telekinesis started off with some rather fine control, and I can only imagine that both his control and power are going to get better. Telekinesis is practically his new favorite toy. I didn't want to alter how he fights naturally at first, but Octillery doesn't seem to share that sentiment."
"I do think I awakened some kind of demon in him, though. He's really been eager for his next TM. Did I mention that this pokemon training stuff is expensive?"
"That's it for this one. Lee, out."
As the final recording ends, Nigel rubs his face with a sigh. "You really can't resist attracting trouble, can you, Lee?" he mutters. He leaves the research notes attached to the email alone for now, instead navigating over to Battlenet to see if anyone has discovered who Lee's sixth team member is yet. "The Internet never sleeps, so who knows…?"
Welcome to Battlenet! The Pokemon Battle Authority!
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In: Boards ► Hoenn
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In: Boards ► Hoenn ►Indiv Trainers ►Ash Ketchum
►FlyingMagiKarpet
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@O_Parker (Verified Trainer) For real. Ketchum's Pikachu glassed the whole arena so Flannery's Torkoal couldn't step anywhere without shredding his feet. They turned a weakness into an even bigger weakness. Not even Torkoal's new Flame Burst move could help. Pikachu was too fast and the fight was over after that.
In: Boards ► Hoenn ►Contest Circuit General ►Top Picks
►Borsht11
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@Orbulon That shit was so pretentious it just gave me a film school degree.
In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Rumors and Hearsay ► Eco Terrorists?
►K_Kole (Verified Trainer)
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
The magma and aqua gangs were reclassified this morning by the PLDoJ. No idea what happened, but it's suspicious that there was a total lockdown in Lavaridge just weeks before this suddenly drops.
In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Pokemon Hunting ► Aron/Lairon/Aggron
►J_Abdi (Pokemon Ranger)
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
It looks like whatever was preying on the Aron in the Granite Cave has moved out and has been gone for a while. It should be safe again, or at least as safe as can be expected.
In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Indiv Trainers ► Lee Henson
►Noirpg
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@Yu_Nou_Gud Fake and gay. Go take a bath with a Magnemite you pinhead.
Ah, there it is. Nigel can already see that this is going to be a fun one. Opening Lee's thread, the professor grimaces at the number of pages and realizes that he's got a lot of backlog to get through. Resolving to do that later, he looks at the posts that arrived just this morning, because there are a lot of them.
"I guess the Meowth is out of the bag. Or the Sylveon is…" Nigel clicks his tongue and begins reading.
Topic: Official Lee Henson Megathread
Threadmark #4: Lee's 6th Pokemon
In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Indiv Trainers ► Lee Henson
►JankyFranky_EX
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
I can put the sixth pokemon debate to rest. I live in verdanturf and I saw the same humongous Corviknight the other guys saw with Lee in slateport and Mauville. He flew to the outskirts of town towards a pretty high end breeding ranch called Greener pastures. I followed as best I could but by the time I was getting there he was taking off. I managed to pull my phone out just in time to see Lee returning a Sylveon to a ball before leaving. Evelyn McGarden the lady who runs the place has a Sylveon. Or I guess she had one not anymore picture attached
Edit: first ever thread mark nice.
[914200xx0302.png]
(Showing page 239 of 245)
►KazuoKandy
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@JankyFranky That picture is really grainy. Are you sure that's him?
►Jaaace
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@KazuoKandy I've got a pretty clear picture of them in Slateport that you can compare Janky's to. Looks like a pretty close match to me. [CLinSP.png]
►UNDERMAN!
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Fuck you this loser is a ringer and you can't deny it now. The entire hoenn league is a sham because they pull stunts like this.
►P_Trundale (Verified Trainer)
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Holy shit it is them. Where 2 find rare poke magnet?
►Jaaace
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@P_Trundale Bro I don't know if I would be envious. @L_Henson is going to have a lot of weirdos in his DMs soon.
►Flying_TA_5455
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Holy miltank, I've just come back and this Lee is a heck of a trainer. Looking at all of that Corviknights footage I can tell that while it seems of decent breeding the specific hight and wingspan tells me it's mostly TLC that got it going. I gotta see if he's willing to enter a breeding contract.
►mothslover1012
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Arc, a Sylveon? Think he can help a sister out and share his strategy to find so many rare 'mons? He doesn't seem like the type to use lure and incense and all the expensive crap. Are we sure he's not just got connections? I've spent literal years searching for Larvesta to no luck and how long has he been on the circuit now?
►BlueRibbonsOnly
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Greener Pastures? That place is up there as far as breeders go. You have a referral or a known rep as a good trainer, or don't bother even calling. I tried to get on the waiting list for a Growlithe there, and they wouldn't even talk to me until I won a half dozen first place contests without a reference. Love my Solaire more then life itself, but I could have bought a condo for what he went for.
►D-Actual
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
How could Henson just get a Sylveon of all mon's? There's no way in hell there isn't some under the table shit going on here. You don't just pick up the rarest Eevee evolution in your first months as a trainer. Seriously first a Ninetails now this!?
►Lopunny_Pancakes
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
A Sylveon? Are we certain that Henson isn't planning on entering the contest circuit? I mean every single pic I have seen on here has shown that his team are absolutely gorgeous specimens of their species. And look at his team members! Even ignoring Ninetales (I practically cried when I saw she got hurt somehow?!?! But even still she pulls off the Wounded Beauty look like none I've ever seen!), his (newly evolved?) Corviknight is just the picture of a gallant dark warrior, stoic with gleaming armor and mighty presence! And now a Sylveon, perhaps one of THE most legendary of the Eevee line when it comes to performances! I am almost convinced here that as soon as he finishes up the gym circuit, however that might go, it will all have turned out to just be a warmup for him taking the Contest circuit by storm!
(Showing page 240 of 248)
►AlmostSane
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
A Sylveon is a wonderful addition to Henson's team as it compensates for various weaknesses, but the degenerates will of course ignore this fact. I'm sick of all the weird behaviour online whenever someone catches any pokémon that's... 'cute'. It's unfair to both the trainer and pokémon to keep making these inappropriate comments, and can genuinely be damaging in some cases. Grow up.
►Specc-time
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Adding to this, me and Metang spent a dozen minutes or so on this topic. I thought the rumours were just false, but the website for Greener Pastures Breeding and Boarding Services has had a recent page update relating to their Pokemon tally. There's no official notice yet, but It's exceedingly likely that this is the Sylveon that Lee has just acquired. On that note, how often do people frequent that breeder? I don't live nearby so I don't have a good tally on local affairs (nor can I go and check). And both of us don't want to be attributing some random trainers acquisition to these ongoing rumours of Mr Henson.
►Trainer4Fun
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@UNDERMAN! Got any evidence to support that claim? I swear, you losers come out whenever anything good happens to anyone. Ringer this, league plant that, waah waah waah. Just because you failed your dreams of being a bigshot league champion doesn't mean you need to go all conspiracy theorist over an eevee.
►Mikoto_H (Verified Trainer)
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
I hope mister Henson will have the capacity to bring a Fairy to their best. If the rumors of his telepathy with miss Ninetales are true, then he might have an advantage if she can translate Sylveon's thoughts. However, the mind of a Fairy is fickle. After all, there is a reason why fairy specialists are so rare and that's because taking care of a Fairy is much more than just their physical health.
►CorrodedSteel
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Oh Corviknight, my beloved. Henson's knocked my Corvi out of the top 10 big bois. Also, thank Arceus that he has something I hard counter. He is still going to melt me and mine, but now I know I can beat one 'Mon if I face him. But a Sylveon adoption? Holy crap, I wish him well. But it's also Lee Henson, and if someone could pull that off, it's that dude.
►Leafeon_L0ver
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Wait, Henson managed to grab a Sylveon? From momma McGarden? I know it's a ribboneon and not a Leafeon, but she's famous for any eeveelution fans out there! Any pokemon that's come from her farm has serious potential.
►MurkrowInWaiting
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Has anyone seen those recent pictures of Henson's Ninetales? The fur shaving patterns are pretty indicative that she suffered some sort of penetrating chest injury, maybe something that collapsed a lung. Someone noted that she's not been very active when seen. Some sort of career-altering permanent cardiopulmonary injury, maybe? She's shown so much sheer power, it's hard to imagine what kind of Pokemon could hand her that level of injury that wasn't an Elite's and Henson has no battle of that sort on his public record.
Closing the website, Nigel shakes his head. "Forget finding drama, Lee throws himself into it headfirst." The professor huffs out a single laugh, one tinged with a bit of despair for the coming headaches. "The Academic Board better give my lab another grant for this."
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Stretching his arms over his head with a jaw-cracking yawn, Nigel Birch settles into his office chair and mentally reviews what he needs to get done today. 'Mister Nelson's Dustox has been looking a little under the weather, so he probably needs to be added to the checkup roster. Need to finish up my article from the Verdanturf Sitrus grove study. The fire extinguisher in Exam room B needs to be replaced after the mishap with that Torchic…'
As he writes his mental list, Nigel jiggles the mouse of his computer, waking the old device. As per usual, he goes to check for any emails that came in during the night. Yawning once more, he goes down the line. 'Not important. Not important. That one can wait. Spam. Why am I still getting this one? I need to have the IT guy adjust the mail list.' Nothing seems urgent, and then Nigel spots two that came in a few hours after he went home the night prior.
New mail from: Ranch_Monitor@hoennpkmnlab.org
Subject: Lhenson New Capture
New mail from: Lhenson@hoennpkmnlab.org
Subject: Logs and Research
Nigel's eyebrows rise to his hairline. A new capture and updated research logs? Lee hasn't sent in any logs recently, though with the debacle on the volcano still fresh in the mind, the professor can't say that he minds much. "Well, let's see who your sixth is, Lee," Nigel murmurs, opening the email.
Acquisition Details:
Pokémon Species: #0700 – Sylveon
Gender: Female
Method of Acquisition: Adoption
Location: Verdanturf – "Greener Pastures Breeding and Boarding Services."
Research Value Index: 0.89
[Attachment #1: Adoption Forms]
Nigel sighs, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. "A Sylveon. An adopted Sylveon. Why am I even surprised? I shouldn't be. I said it before, and I'll say it again—for a man deathly afraid of drama, Lee sure finds himself mixed up in a lot of it."
Already resigned to the fact that today is going to be a long one, Nigel leans toward the screen and continues. Opening the adoption forms, he scans them with a critical eye and finds nothing out of place. Upon finishing, his mind immediately goes to Lee's Ninetales. The professor can only imagine how in the world Lee is going to manage with not one, but two emotional time bombs on his team.
"Well, if there is anyone who can get a Ninetales and a Sylveon of the same gender to get along, it would be Lee," Nigel muses. He resolves to check Battlenet after this and to remind the lab's PR team to be vigilant for a week or two. The internet is going to have a heyday with this one.
Moving onto the next email, there are fewer audio logs than expected, but there are a few research papers attached. Again, likely a consequence of Lee being so busy after the volcano incident. After standing to close his office door, Nigel opens the first log and sits back, listening.
"Log twenty-four, day one-hundred-twenty-one."
"It was narrow, but we took the win from the Lavaridge Gym yesterday. I had no idea that Leader Moore was going to blindside us like that, but looking at silver linings, he was an excellent test for me and my team."
"I didn't expect Grovyle to actually take down Moore's Rapidash, and I admit I feel a little scummy for doubting him. The plan originally was to have Grovyle essentially be a sacrificial buffer to weaken the first opponent for Octillery. I can't overstate how continually I'm amazed by him. Grovyle, that is. He's something else. Taking down a fully evolved, near-elite Fire-type as a middle stage Grass-type? It's crazy. His air control using Quick Attack is also advancing faster than ever, and he showed that off yesterday with how he continually outran Rapidash's Flamethrower while avoiding the burning ground. This fight also highlighted his predisposition for cutting attacks more than ever. The Sceptile line has very little natural inclination for Dark moves, yet Grovyle's Night Slash cut into Rapidash easily. Leaf Blade, X-Scissor, and now Night Slash. Not a bad repertoire of slashing attacks, if I say so myself. I'm thinking we're going to lean into this strength and see where it takes us."
"I'm still rather frustrated with my poor synergy with Octillery. I'm so used to having the fastest pokemon on the field that trying to transition into Octillery's preferred fighting style is a pain. He has power in spades, and the accuracy to nail a bouncing Joltik at a hundred yards, but none of that matters if I can't effectively work with him. His performance in the gym match was stellar despite me choking with our defensive measures. Gunk Shot is a truly heinous technique, and if not for landing it right in Arcanine's mouth, I'm thinking that the fight would've been a complete blowout. Octillery is one intelligent 'mon, so I'm sure between both of us, we can figure something out."
"Ninetales… Well, I'm sure that you saw the fight. Ninetales and I are as in-tune as we can possibly be, so I don't have much to comment on there. This did show me how higher level pokemon can resist more esoteric forms of attack, like Confuse Ray, Baby-Doll Eyes, or being held aloft with telekinesis. I can say with no exaggeration that Ninetales' Confuse Ray is officially too dangerous to use on weaker pokemon at full power. We haven't tested it much considering the unpleasant effects it has on targets, but Nine's Confuse Ray has gone from being discombobulating to sending weaker targets into full-blown seizures. Sources and research papers I read say Confuse Ray can't cause permanent harm, but I think it's better to err on the side of caution here. Until I can study the effects to confirm that it's not causing irregularities to the autonomic nervous system of targets, we're saving full power Confuse Rays for emergencies."
"Like with Ty. Arceus damn, what a monster. He barely even flinched."
"Baby-Doll Eyes is… a really weird one. I thought that the attack induced muscle weakness via involuntary relaxation, but I'm getting inconsistent results with tests. Sometimes the targets relax against their will, other times their muscles stay tensed, but they simply aren't able to bring all of their strength to bear for a reason I don't readily understand. Ugh. Fairy-type. It's times like these that I'm glad Ninetales is a Kantonese Ninetales, and not an Alolan one. A fox that doubles as a portable air conditioner would be great, but not if it means dealing with Fairy nonsense all the time."
"Alolan Ninetales, huh?" Nigel blinks and pauses the recording. Turning to his other monitor he types the species name into a search engine and digs for several minutes. "Huh…"
Alola does have its own species of Ninetales! Lee mentioned it in another log, but Nigel didn't have time to look. There is even less about them than the already mysterious Kantonese Ninetales, and only a handful of Alolan Vulpix have been confirmed to be owned by trainers. There are even fewer confirmed Ninetales captures. If Nigel is reading right, then the white fox species is even more elusive and temperamental than their Kanto cousins.
"Sometimes I forget that Lee is filled to the brim with secrets and trivia you'd never find anywhere else." Nigel shakes his head. Oh, how he'd love to study Alolan pokemon habitats to see what causes so many regional mutations. "I need to go to Alola at some point," Nigel resolves to himself. "Maybe I'll drag Lee along. He already has a knack for troublesome foxes, so maybe he can nab an Alolan Vulpix to study," he says, resuming the playback.
"Brendan and Zinnia have been sticking close to me, apparently worried since all three of my active battlers are recuperating in the Pokemon Center. I never really considered the cultural angle of having no battle-ready pokemon on hand. I guess it's kind of like conceal-carrying a gun back home. Some people do it for so long that they feel a bit nervous when they do without, wondering about 'what if' scenarios. I myself owned a pistol, but I rarely took it with me anywhere, and thankfully never needed to use it in self-defense, so I guess I don't really know what that feeling is like. Also, I've still got Shinx, and although she is nowhere near the level of the rest of the team, I don't feel unsafe having just her. Her Thundershock has to hurt like hell."
"Not too much more to say for this one. Lee, out."
Nigel plays the next one.
"Log twenty-five, day one-hundred-thirty-four."
"Corvi came back."
There is a short pause broken up by a joyful, disbelieving laugh.
"Corvi actually came back. On his own. I can't… I can hardly believe it. The worry over him has lessened over the last few weeks, but never totally gone away. I came back to our hotel room to find him and Ninetales talking. He's like a changed pokemon! He actually let me touch him, something he never allowed before. Oh man. After letting him inside and getting him some dinner, I had Ninetales act as a translator so I could understand him word-for-word as he explained what he was up to."
"It's… Well, Corvi's story is a personal one, and not really mine to tell. I'll just say that my theories about him having a trainer before me were correct and leave it at that. His tale does explain why he acted the way he did, though. It was enough to satisfy Ninetales, so I think just about anyone would understand why he did what he did. Hoooo… Okay, I'm getting a little too excited here. Let me back up and try this again, or I'm just going to end up rambling… What was I saying again?"
A scratchy 'caw!' fills the lull in the recording.
"Right, right. Anyway, I gave Corvisquire a check over, and I'm happy to say that he is still in great health. He's roughly at the same level of combat ability he was before he left, so he probably has a bit of catching up to do with Grovyle and Ninetales, but that's nothing he can't handle. I admit, I'm a bit surprised that he didn't evolve while he was away. He was on the cusp back in Mauville, and he still is today. Curious. Regardless, I'll be revising his diet and adding him back into our training routines soon."
"Regarding the rest of the team, I'm currently brainstorming a new technique for Grovyle. Grass is a type of somewhat poor defensive capabilities, so to counteract that, I've been wanting to create an energy-draining technique similar to Absorb or Drain Punch for Grovyle, one that he can use with his Leaf Blade. I figure that rather than try to bulk-up a pokemon not known for being bulky, it would be better to play to Grovyle's strengths, namely his speed and proficiency with cutting attacks. With this hypothetical 'Drain Blade' in his repertoire, Grovyle should be able to endlessly dance around his opponents as he cuts them to ribbons. Our initial tests have produced some results, but it's going to need a lot of refinement before it's ready for live combat. I'm hoping that we can use Grovyle's understanding of Absorb as a starting point for this technique, and to facilitate that, I've been having him drive a Leaf Blade into newly felled lumber, then using Absorb on the same piece of lumber. My hope is that he can begin associating the two attacks together, and the focal point of Absorb will migrate to the edge of the Leaf Blade."
"Not much to report with Shinx. She's steadily outputting more voltage each day, and she's certainly cemented herself as the leader of the group's younglings, despite being the youngest of them all. She's making use of different cries for different instances and scenarios, so if you're comparing her to a human baby, she's in the toddler stage where speech starts emerging. I might be mother-henning a little, but I still want to hold off for another week or two before I begin to actively look for battles for her. She's done well in spars with Grovyle, who can shrug off her electricity and safely divert her physical attacks, but I still want her to firm up a bit more before throwing her into a real fight. I should've taken a picture of her face when I pulled her aside one afternoon and told her she doesn't need to be a fighter if she doesn't want to. I've never seen her look insulted before. I guess that also confirms that her grasp of human speech is maturing as well."
"Octillery, I'm still trying to make plans for. He has such a wide array of techniques with the capacity to learn more, but I am still not good enough to command slower pokemon effectively against trainers of equal or greater skill than myself. I initially thought, 'Well why even bother? Let's get him a technique to facilitate faster movement, like Aqua Jet,' then dismissed the thought. I don't know if a shortcut like that will do us any favors in the long run. Otherwise, it's business as usual for Octillery. He is still as voracious an intellectual as ever, and hungers for stimulation. I'll admit, I broke Battlenet's rules on "pokemon sock puppet" accounts and let Octillery make his own so he can peruse the site without using mine. Thankfully, he's very opsec conscious and tends to keep to himself. He learned quite quickly that it's useless to argue with morons online, even if he's right about whatever he's talking about. He certainly learned faster than I did as a teenager."
"He's not the only one who has been doing some reading. After our win at the Lavaridge Gym, a number of groups reached out to us, and one of them was a cabal of trainers who own their own Ninetales. I got the invitation from Kabu, a gym Leader all the way over in Galar, and the place is run by a Pokemon Master called Lokoko. I swear I've heard that name somewhere before, but for the life of me, I can't remember it."
There is the sound of an exasperated sigh over the recording.
"Anyway, Ninetales' temper has been especially short here recently, so I reached out to Lokoko for advice. We had a very enlightening discussion, and I can certainly see why Lokoko is referred to as a Pokemon Master, as she had some unique insight on the Ghost, Psychic, Fairy, and Dark types. A large part of our discussion revolved around the psychology of Ninetales as a species, however. She had… a few interesting things to say."
Nigel leans in slightly, listening carefully.
"According to Lokoko, trainer fixation is just something that Ninetales is going to experience, and constant telepathy is only making things worse. She advised that we don't use our telepathy any more than needed, or we face a serious risk of becoming a gestalt entity."
Pausing the recording for a second, Nigel narrows his eyes in thought. "A gestalt?" he wonders to himself. "Like a Dugtrio or an Exeggutor?"
The concept of a gestalt entity is not something completely unknown to pokemon academics, but neither is it well understood. The hows and whys of things such as identity or consciousness are still purely theoretical. For all the resources and advancements in the fields of medicine and science, the inner workings of the conscious mind for both man and pokemon alike remain largely a mystery. Even with the aid of expert psychics, it all rapidly hits a dead-end that traditional science simply isn't equipped to handle. After a certain point, things simply become indescribable to any who haven't experienced it firsthand.
Feeling a touch uneasy, Nigel resumes the recording, hoping that Lee provides his own insights.
"I… The thought of breaking what Nine and I have is unthinkable, Nigel. Even if we don't speak a single word to each other, just knowing that she's there is reassuring in a way I can't put into words. It's an affirmation that I'm not alone, that someone else out there is real. There are still some days where I think I'm back on Earth, and this is all just a wonderful hallucination before I die, and then I feel Ninetales and I know this is the real world."
A long pause, then Lee begins speaking again.
"I'm not a philosopher, or psychologist, or anything like that, so take the following with a grain of salt. You know, we rely on our hands, our eyes, and our ears to perceive the world around us, and we simply have to trust that they are correct. What if they aren't? What if what we see and what we hear is not the same thing other people see and hear? What if we're missing something entirely? What if we're missing everything? In a way, the only thing we can ever know is true is our own existence. The telepathy between Ninetales and I, though, is proof that more exists beyond the sanctity of my mind. It takes away a weight, knowing for certain and on all levels that I'm not alone. It's a kind of weight I don't think people even realize they're carrying, at least until it's pointed out to them."
"Neither of us can go back to living without that—without each other—Nigel. I'm really hoping that your psychic expert can offer some kind of alternative, otherwise Ninetales and I might have to figure this out on our own."
"Jumping backwards a little bit, I had to sit and think on the gestalt bit Lokoko mentioned. I know the definition, that a gestalt is something that is somehow more or different from the sum of its parts. It's a loose definition with a lot of room for interpretation, and that's probably why I've seen so many people attribute the word to so many different things, or even use it wrong during some independent research. By some definitions, Ninetales and I are already a gestalt, if you count the telepathic bond as an integral part of our beings. I get the feeling that Lokoko was referring to something different when she used the word, however. It seemed to have a more dire meaning. I know that fanciful fictional stories of the Lovecraftian sort… Wait, Lovecraftian isn't a genre here, is it? Stories about cosmic and existential horror sometimes deal with the concept of fusions and gestalts. They often depict it in the worst way possible, where the components that make up the resulting entity are miserable and devoid of individuality. That can't possibly be what Lokoko was talking about, was it?"
"…This turned kind of grim and gloomy, didn't it? Well, Lokoko also mentioned that a hobby is a good way to ease a Ninetales out of a fixation, so we went out and found a bookstore that piqued Nine's interest. She's got the mind for history and political intrigue, so a book retelling the fall of the Johto shogunate caught her eye. I'm already saving up for a house with a full library in it, because I know I'm going to need it. She's turned into a bibliophile overnight."
"I think that's everything relevant for this one, so… Lee, out."
As the recording ends, Nigel can't help being left disturbed, the talk of new pokemon techniques overshadowed by Lee's musing about the mind. There is a slight crawling to his skin as he thinks over Lee's words and admissions, questioning about how anyone can be certain of the world around them. Such a line of thought never occurred to Nigel, and after having it thrust upon him, he finds that he doesn't care for it. Something about Lee and Ninetales' relationship still seems unhealthy, but now doubts gnaw at the professor. He notes down the recording, resolving to get the relevant parts to his loaned psychic, Anabel.
Nigel's thoughts then turn to Anabel: master of the Battle Tower, natural-born empath, and the young woman who is going to be meeting Lee and Ninetales in just one more week. The teen girl is famous the world over not only for her team of Elite pokemon, but for the empathic powers she possesses. With her amazing psychic gift, she can telepathically communicate with all of her pokemon, making battling her a daunting prospect to say the least. If anyone can understand what Lee and Ninetales are experiencing and offer them appropriate help, it would be her.
'Took her long enough to get ready… But I suppose I can't complain, considering Scott is letting me borrow Anabel for free.' Nigel sighs as he thinks of his old frenemy. Not wanting to dwell upon Scott or Lee's disquieting words anymore, he moves to the next recording.
"Log twenty-six, day one-hundred-sixty-five."
"It's been two weeks since the volcano. I'm sorry for not recording recently, Nigel, but… I just haven't had my head on straight for what feels like weeks now. I'll try to keep this one brief and relevant. I know you probably don't want any extra shit."
"We left Lavaridge a week ago, and we're stopping at a small border town to rest for a day or two before we continue on to Fallarbor. We're planning on meeting Zinnia's tribe near there, then taking a bit of a sabbatical to train for a while. By the time we get there, all of our pokemon should be back in decent shape. Octillery is mostly recovered from the confrontation with Magma, but Ninetales and Grovyle are different stories.
"Poor Grovyle… Camerupt's Flamethrower burned away large patches of his skin across parts of his body, and the resulting scar tissue and misshapen scales are leaving him stiff. The scars are fading with time and treatment, but they won't fully clear up until he evolves. This has left him with diminished maneuverability, and by Arceus, it's frustrating him something fierce. I'm working with him every day and providing physical therapy to speed up the recovery, but I know that he's not going to be satisfied with the pace. He should be back to a hundred percent in a few weeks."
"Ninetales… She took a fully-powered Eruption from Camerupt, lodging a spear of superheated rock into her chest. If I ever meet who created the modern pokeball, I need to thank them, because without the stasis-like effect pokeballs have on a pokemon's physical body, she would have died within minutes."
There is a weak shudder, barely audible in the recording.
"…I…If she had died, I think the shock would have killed me."
Professor Birch's blood runs cold.
"Thankfully, the rock missed her heart, but it irreparably destroyed about ten percent of her left lung, and the temporary damage that she's still healing from has left her with diminished lung capacity all around. She's getting over it, but it's going to take another two or three weeks before she stops being short of breath."
"As with last time, there's not much to report with Shinx. She hasn't been sleeping very well recently, and I think the gloomy atmosphere is what's causing it. Thankfully, she didn't seem to be having nightmares, and I'm fairly certain that she is ignorant of what happened on the volcano. According to Ninetales, pokemon have to actively try to see outside of their ball, and I don't think Shinx is quite capable of that level of focus yet. I'm quite glad for it, because she frankly didn't need to see what went on up there. I'm also going to try looking for actual battles for her. I can only hope I don't intimidate the kinds of rookie trainers who would be a fitting match for Shinx."
"Moving on to lighter things, I guess if you haven't seen it already, Corvi evolved. Heh, he's really something else now. Nine-foot-ten, and over seven-hundred and seventy pounds. He's enormous! I think one of the things that appealed to kids back home about pokemon was the idea of being friends with big monsters, and Corvi scratches that itch perfectly. Also, I had no idea that flying on pokemon-back was so fun. This is going to open a lot of doors for us. On the not-so-bright side is the food cost. Corvi is taking in over twenty-five thousand calories per day, and that's on days where he's mostly idle. On days where he's battling or training, he's eating thirty to thirty-five thousand calories without overfilling. This trainer business is getting expensive…"
Nigel cracks a smile at the levity. "Lee, you have no idea."
"On the topic of my aching wallet, I also placed an order of TMs for my team to the tune of over a hundred grand. My last TM deal with Silph Co was lucrative enough that they want to do another run, and want something new to copy. I'll be heading back to Mauville in a week or two for that, and I was thinking I might also visit a few breeders to see about getting my sixth team member. If all the stars line up, I can get a bulky fighter who also has some utility use, like Heal Pulse or something. I think that's the biggest gap in my team currently."
"That's all for this one. Lee, out."
The next log is dated for yesterday, several hours after Lee acquired his Sylveon. Nigel clicks it, curious to find out why on earth Lee would adopt a Sylveon.
"Log twenty-seven, day one-hundred-seventy-six."
The log opens rather quietly as Lee is practically whispering, so Nigel has to turn up the volume for the rest.
"Sixth member acquired. Sorry for whispering, but I'm currently in a hotel room in Verdanturf and my pokemon are asleep around me after a meet-n-greet. I didn't get the pokemon I expected, but it could have turned out worse, I suppose. Like I said in my last recording, I took the time after visiting Mauville to go down my short list of pokemon breeders. After I missed a potential deal on a pair of Eevee brothers in Slateport, I got a referral for a place in Verdanturf, where I met one Evelyn McGarden. Her ranch had quite a selection of pokemon, but after all was said and done, I left with her Sylveon. Apparently, Evelyn had been looking for someone to take Sylveon for a while, and begged me to take her away from the ranch."
"It's a bit of a sad story, and I'm only mentioning it because I think it might be relevant to future notes on Sylveon. Apparently, she was a breeder at the ranch for over thirty years, and fell in love with a ranch hand who treated her especially well."
"When she evolved for him, that ranch hand made the decision to get out of Dodge."
Nigel does a full-body flinch. "Oh…"
"Evelyn… wasn't really sure how to handle things from there. She's a fantastic pokemon breeder and caregiver, but having to deal with a broken-hearted Fairy was a tall order. I admit, I didn't want to take Sylveon at first. I said that I didn't want to risk my team with a potential weak link, and then she revealed that Sylveon knows Wish, and has Pixilate as her ability."
A long sigh comes from the computer speakers.
"Damn it all. Her story had me hooked and it hurt saying no, but I wasn't at all prepared for Sylveon to be everything I was wanting with the exception of her baggage. I ended up agreeing. Already, I can tell this is going to be a challenging one. I've made a few notes that I'll take photos of and send along with this log. I would scan and digitize the notes, but I don't want the noise of the scanner to wake everyone up. I'll give a brief summary of my findings so far. I'm sure that I'll have more to report."
"Firstly, Sylveon either has no faith in her ability to read humans, or is literally incapable. I'm not sure which, yet, but I'm leaning towards the former. While we settled in and began to relax in the hotel room, she seemed awkward and unsure of where she should be. I told her that she can relax on the bed with myself, Nine, and Shinx, but the point didn't seem to get across to her. I tried again, this time being more literal with my words, and that seemed to help, but only so much. Initially, I likened her apparent non-understanding to autism, as she displayed several key symptoms in the communications area, but when I reached a hand out and let her touch it with one of her ribbons to activate her touch-based empathy, everything I said came across just fine. This problem doesn't exist with pokemon, as she was able to converse with the rest of the team without issue. If this is the worst of her problems, I'll count myself lucky."
"What am I saying? It's never that easy…"
"In regards to her physical state, Sylveon is going to need a fair amount of TLC to turn herself around. Currently, she's underweight and malnourished from self-deprivation, as according to Evelyn, Sylveon refused to eat full meals for over a year. I'm already in the process of devising a proper menu for her, and it's going to be a tricky one. Nutrition for a Fairy-type seems to place just as much emphasis on emotional stimulus and state of mind as it does physical need, so to that end, I'm going to devise a meal plan that is especially tasty, as nutritious as I can make it without sacrificing flavor, and on a rotating schedule to prevent palate fatigue. For now, the grain and meat omnivore mix that I use for Ninetales seems to be fine, as Sylveon got most of a bowl down with some encouragement.
"Trying to keep the peculiarities of Fairy-types in mind, I didn't want to jump straight into a physical, and decided to groom her first. Sylveon allowed me to give her a thorough grooming, but held my wrist with a ribbon the entire time. She seemed uncomfortable at first, but the discomfort eased after the first several minutes. Afterward, I think she was a touch embarrassed that someone ten years her junior was nurturing her."
"Oh, I suppose I forgot to mention. Sylveon is thirty-six years old, making her the oldest member of our whole traveling group. It feels a bit strange that one of my pokemon is older than I am."
Nigel's memory goes back to his father's Ludicolo, who was actually his grandfather's starter. When Granddad settled at home to be a family man, he asked his Ludicolo to keep an eye on his son, and Ludicolo interpreted that as "Go on his journey with him."
Dad always lamented that having "Uncle Ludi" with him on the road made things weird.
"Anyway, after a good grooming, she let me poke, prod, and measure her. She turned and asked Ninetales if I'm always like this, and Nine laughed in reply."
"Ninetales… She's been surprisingly onboard with Sylveon joining. I really expected a lot of conflict to arise, but Nine's been keeping a tight leash on her jealousy recently. That's not to say that she wasn't a little jealous tonight, but she kept to herself. I asked, and Nine had this to say. Quote: "Our situations are not the same, but that does not mean I cannot sympathize. If you, Lee, ran away from me out of fear, I do not think I would've held up quite as well," unquote. It was… Hrm. I don't have a good way to describe it. I don't want to say I'm surprised with a levelheaded response, because that implies that Nine is more hot-tempered than she actually is. I'm not going to jinx it by talking about it more, I'm just going to enjoy the peace while it lasts. Tomorrow, I'll be flying back to the Draconid territory, and I imagine that my hosts aren't going to be pleased that I brought a pokemon known for hunting dragons back with me."
"There hasn't been much in the way of significant training breakthroughs with the rest of my team sans Grovyle and Octillery. Grovyle once more blew me away with his mastery of Leaf Blade a day ago. After thinking about some half-remembered book that Ninetales was reading, I realized that Grovyle could really refine his technique with some formal… well, technique. I asked him to bend his Leaf Blade forward so that he could grip the actual blade and manipulate it by rolling his wrist, and he immediately grasped just how much of an improvement doing such a thing provides to his control. I would like to scrounge up some time-tested sword fighter manuscripts and see if anything could be adapted for Grovyle's use."
"Octillery, meanwhile, got the honor of being the first member of the team to try out one of his TMs. I taught him Psychic, and we put our heads together and came up with a solution to his mobility problem. His tentacles don't allow him to move too quickly on land, but what if he wasn't using his tentacles? Instead, we decided to go with a cushion of telekinesis that he can sit on and manipulate, letting him skate around the battlefield. He used this trick to great effect in a battle with Zinnia's Swablu-turned-Altaria, taking the win. He doesn't have the earth-shattering psychic power that Nine does, but Octillery's telekinesis started off with some rather fine control, and I can only imagine that both his control and power are going to get better. Telekinesis is practically his new favorite toy. I didn't want to alter how he fights naturally at first, but Octillery doesn't seem to share that sentiment."
"I do think I awakened some kind of demon in him, though. He's really been eager for his next TM. Did I mention that this pokemon training stuff is expensive?"
"That's it for this one. Lee, out."
As the final recording ends, Nigel rubs his face with a sigh. "You really can't resist attracting trouble, can you, Lee?" he mutters. He leaves the research notes attached to the email alone for now, instead navigating over to Battlenet to see if anyone has discovered who Lee's sixth team member is yet. "The Internet never sleeps, so who knows…?"
Welcome to Battlenet! The Pokemon Battle Authority!
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In: Boards ► Hoenn ►Indiv Trainers ►Ash Ketchum
►FlyingMagiKarpet
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@O_Parker (Verified Trainer) For real. Ketchum's Pikachu glassed the whole arena so Flannery's Torkoal couldn't step anywhere without shredding his feet. They turned a weakness into an even bigger weakness. Not even Torkoal's new Flame Burst move could help. Pikachu was too fast and the fight was over after that.
In: Boards ► Hoenn ►Contest Circuit General ►Top Picks
►Borsht11
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@Orbulon That shit was so pretentious it just gave me a film school degree.
In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Rumors and Hearsay ► Eco Terrorists?
►K_Kole (Verified Trainer)
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
The magma and aqua gangs were reclassified this morning by the PLDoJ. No idea what happened, but it's suspicious that there was a total lockdown in Lavaridge just weeks before this suddenly drops.
In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Pokemon Hunting ► Aron/Lairon/Aggron
►J_Abdi (Pokemon Ranger)
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
It looks like whatever was preying on the Aron in the Granite Cave has moved out and has been gone for a while. It should be safe again, or at least as safe as can be expected.
In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Indiv Trainers ► Lee Henson
►Noirpg
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@Yu_Nou_Gud Fake and gay. Go take a bath with a Magnemite you pinhead.
Ah, there it is. Nigel can already see that this is going to be a fun one. Opening Lee's thread, the professor grimaces at the number of pages and realizes that he's got a lot of backlog to get through. Resolving to do that later, he looks at the posts that arrived just this morning, because there are a lot of them.
"I guess the Meowth is out of the bag. Or the Sylveon is…" Nigel clicks his tongue and begins reading.
Topic: Official Lee Henson Megathread
Threadmark #4: Lee's 6th Pokemon
In: Boards ► Hoenn ► Indiv Trainers ► Lee Henson
►JankyFranky_EX
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
I can put the sixth pokemon debate to rest. I live in verdanturf and I saw the same humongous Corviknight the other guys saw with Lee in slateport and Mauville. He flew to the outskirts of town towards a pretty high end breeding ranch called Greener pastures. I followed as best I could but by the time I was getting there he was taking off. I managed to pull my phone out just in time to see Lee returning a Sylveon to a ball before leaving. Evelyn McGarden the lady who runs the place has a Sylveon. Or I guess she had one not anymore picture attached
Edit: first ever thread mark nice.
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(Showing page 239 of 245)
►KazuoKandy
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@JankyFranky That picture is really grainy. Are you sure that's him?
►Jaaace
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@KazuoKandy I've got a pretty clear picture of them in Slateport that you can compare Janky's to. Looks like a pretty close match to me. [CLinSP.png]
►UNDERMAN!
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Fuck you this loser is a ringer and you can't deny it now. The entire hoenn league is a sham because they pull stunts like this.
►P_Trundale (Verified Trainer)
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Holy shit it is them. Where 2 find rare poke magnet?
►Jaaace
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@P_Trundale Bro I don't know if I would be envious. @L_Henson is going to have a lot of weirdos in his DMs soon.
►Flying_TA_5455
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Holy miltank, I've just come back and this Lee is a heck of a trainer. Looking at all of that Corviknights footage I can tell that while it seems of decent breeding the specific hight and wingspan tells me it's mostly TLC that got it going. I gotta see if he's willing to enter a breeding contract.
►mothslover1012
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Arc, a Sylveon? Think he can help a sister out and share his strategy to find so many rare 'mons? He doesn't seem like the type to use lure and incense and all the expensive crap. Are we sure he's not just got connections? I've spent literal years searching for Larvesta to no luck and how long has he been on the circuit now?
►BlueRibbonsOnly
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Greener Pastures? That place is up there as far as breeders go. You have a referral or a known rep as a good trainer, or don't bother even calling. I tried to get on the waiting list for a Growlithe there, and they wouldn't even talk to me until I won a half dozen first place contests without a reference. Love my Solaire more then life itself, but I could have bought a condo for what he went for.
►D-Actual
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
How could Henson just get a Sylveon of all mon's? There's no way in hell there isn't some under the table shit going on here. You don't just pick up the rarest Eevee evolution in your first months as a trainer. Seriously first a Ninetails now this!?
►Lopunny_Pancakes
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
A Sylveon? Are we certain that Henson isn't planning on entering the contest circuit? I mean every single pic I have seen on here has shown that his team are absolutely gorgeous specimens of their species. And look at his team members! Even ignoring Ninetales (I practically cried when I saw she got hurt somehow?!?! But even still she pulls off the Wounded Beauty look like none I've ever seen!), his (newly evolved?) Corviknight is just the picture of a gallant dark warrior, stoic with gleaming armor and mighty presence! And now a Sylveon, perhaps one of THE most legendary of the Eevee line when it comes to performances! I am almost convinced here that as soon as he finishes up the gym circuit, however that might go, it will all have turned out to just be a warmup for him taking the Contest circuit by storm!
(Showing page 240 of 248)
►AlmostSane
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
A Sylveon is a wonderful addition to Henson's team as it compensates for various weaknesses, but the degenerates will of course ignore this fact. I'm sick of all the weird behaviour online whenever someone catches any pokémon that's... 'cute'. It's unfair to both the trainer and pokémon to keep making these inappropriate comments, and can genuinely be damaging in some cases. Grow up.
►Specc-time
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Adding to this, me and Metang spent a dozen minutes or so on this topic. I thought the rumours were just false, but the website for Greener Pastures Breeding and Boarding Services has had a recent page update relating to their Pokemon tally. There's no official notice yet, but It's exceedingly likely that this is the Sylveon that Lee has just acquired. On that note, how often do people frequent that breeder? I don't live nearby so I don't have a good tally on local affairs (nor can I go and check). And both of us don't want to be attributing some random trainers acquisition to these ongoing rumours of Mr Henson.
►Trainer4Fun
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
@UNDERMAN! Got any evidence to support that claim? I swear, you losers come out whenever anything good happens to anyone. Ringer this, league plant that, waah waah waah. Just because you failed your dreams of being a bigshot league champion doesn't mean you need to go all conspiracy theorist over an eevee.
►Mikoto_H (Verified Trainer)
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
I hope mister Henson will have the capacity to bring a Fairy to their best. If the rumors of his telepathy with miss Ninetales are true, then he might have an advantage if she can translate Sylveon's thoughts. However, the mind of a Fairy is fickle. After all, there is a reason why fairy specialists are so rare and that's because taking care of a Fairy is much more than just their physical health.
►CorrodedSteel
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Oh Corviknight, my beloved. Henson's knocked my Corvi out of the top 10 big bois. Also, thank Arceus that he has something I hard counter. He is still going to melt me and mine, but now I know I can beat one 'Mon if I face him. But a Sylveon adoption? Holy crap, I wish him well. But it's also Lee Henson, and if someone could pull that off, it's that dude.
►Leafeon_L0ver
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Wait, Henson managed to grab a Sylveon? From momma McGarden? I know it's a ribboneon and not a Leafeon, but she's famous for any eeveelution fans out there! Any pokemon that's come from her farm has serious potential.
►MurkrowInWaiting
Replied On September 14th 20XX:
Has anyone seen those recent pictures of Henson's Ninetales? The fur shaving patterns are pretty indicative that she suffered some sort of penetrating chest injury, maybe something that collapsed a lung. Someone noted that she's not been very active when seen. Some sort of career-altering permanent cardiopulmonary injury, maybe? She's shown so much sheer power, it's hard to imagine what kind of Pokemon could hand her that level of injury that wasn't an Elite's and Henson has no battle of that sort on his public record.
…
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Closing the website, Nigel shakes his head. "Forget finding drama, Lee throws himself into it headfirst." The professor huffs out a single laugh, one tinged with a bit of despair for the coming headaches. "The Academic Board better give my lab another grant for this."
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doomqwer
Experienced.
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Yeah that connection will never truly be severed as doing so would be mind breaking but the fact that you have them learning how to be individuals has been nice to read.
Huh after all thats gone on I completely forgot about her.
Ooof that poor girl literally has so little trust she has to create an empathic bond to feel comfortable in her own skin,
to be fair he probably already did after ninetails evolved.
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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An awesome chapter. I love these Logs. And kek hes gonna lose his shit when he remembers who Lokoko is. Honestly cant wait to see how he helps Sylveon more than he is already. Poor girl needs all the help she can get. Also something was eating Aron? That sounds concerning.
Nolo
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Love these report logs, it gives credence to Lee being a researcher and it gives us insight into what he considers noteworthy enough to report as well as Nigel's take on what we've seen written. I really want a big post be Lee where he describes the hurdles he's had to overcome to where he is, from Shinx being premature to Sylveon taking a chance on him after losing her love. Maybe if he ever gets interviewed he will have to answer some of those questions and make all the naysayers eat their words.
Also, a question. Is Nine's lung forever damaged? Or is it something that could be fixed with enough time or the right circumstance? Like a Legendary/Mythical for example. And will it become relevant to the plot beyond her recovery?
Also, a question. Is Nine's lung forever damaged? Or is it something that could be fixed with enough time or the right circumstance? Like a Legendary/Mythical for example. And will it become relevant to the plot beyond her recovery?
It was Brendan's Mawile.
R3D4K73D
Making the rounds.
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I do believe that that would be the mawile that brendan caught?
Addendum: Ninjask'd
Zendrelax
"All yours. I think it always was. Welcome home."
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Perky goth Sylvie? Perky goth Sylvie.
Nolo
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Oh my god, yes, give us Pastel Goth Sylveon.
Also here is something my mind cooked up:
Sylveon (after getting a bit better): *Starts babying Shinx*
Shinx: *Refuses to be babied*
Sylveon: "I have been a mom for over 30 years! I know what is good for you!"
Shinx: "You're not even my real mom!" *goes to Ninetales*
Sylveon: "NEITHER IS SHE!"
Ninetales: *Smug*
Everyone else: "We're not getting into that mess"
Artful Lounger
Well worn.
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Just be nervous when she starts watching shit like School Days
Retigh
I got nothing
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I said horror, not drama
stephen51991
Getting sticky.
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There's a difference?
Garganator
Experienced.
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I wonder if this story will talk about their own 'Kantonese' mutations.
The Clefairy line started in this region as Normal types, so maybe there are still Normal-type Clefairies around, and some weird events turned most or all of them into Fairy types in this region.
In anime, we do see Crystal Onix, so it means that other similar possibilities could happen. It would be interesting to see Thick Fat Snorlax embracing Ice or Fire type because of Thick Fat resistances or adaptations.
The Clefairy line started in this region as Normal types, so maybe there are still Normal-type Clefairies around, and some weird events turned most or all of them into Fairy types in this region.
In anime, we do see Crystal Onix, so it means that other similar possibilities could happen. It would be interesting to see Thick Fat Snorlax embracing Ice or Fire type because of Thick Fat resistances or adaptations.
Artful Lounger
Well worn.
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It would be kinda funny to see someone from some region call their own Pokemon 'Mr. Mime' 'Wheezing' or whatever else and call the Kanto version the 'Kanto Meowth' or something like that's the weird regional mutation.
That said, while the chapter is nice, even if it is just a reactions chapter, I can't help but wonder who the last pokemon is going to be.
Lee just got his carry limit increased to seven. No way that's not going to be significant. And Shinx, while adorable, is in no way going to catch up to the likes of Ninetales, Grovyle, Corvinight, and the rest to the point where she's going to be able to pull her weight in the Ever Grande Conference. So clearly there's going to be a seventh pokemon showing up at some point, the real sixth member of the battle team.
Zinnia hinted at a spot where Dratini could be found. And while a Dragonair or a Dragonite would be a fantastic sixth team member, I'm not buying it. That's a red herring. Lee likes to go on and on about lists and what he wants for his team, and makes noises about trying to find something specific, but it never works out that way. His team members are always thrust upon him out of nowhere without warning. Corvisquire came out of nowhere and got caught. Same with Grovyle when he was a Treecko, Lee never intended on snagging him. Octillery, Shinx, and now Sylveon, none of them were pokemon he wanted and intended to find, they were almost literally thrust upon him out of nowhere when he went looking for something else entirely.
So I don't believe for a second that he's actually going to get a Dratini out of this trip to Meteor Falls. Maybe this'll be where the pattern gets broken? But I doubt it.
More likely its going to be something off the wall and come out of nowhere. It'll have to be impressive, because that's just how things go.
Who knows, maybe it'll be a random lost Latias.
That said, while the chapter is nice, even if it is just a reactions chapter, I can't help but wonder who the last pokemon is going to be.
Lee just got his carry limit increased to seven. No way that's not going to be significant. And Shinx, while adorable, is in no way going to catch up to the likes of Ninetales, Grovyle, Corvinight, and the rest to the point where she's going to be able to pull her weight in the Ever Grande Conference. So clearly there's going to be a seventh pokemon showing up at some point, the real sixth member of the battle team.
Zinnia hinted at a spot where Dratini could be found. And while a Dragonair or a Dragonite would be a fantastic sixth team member, I'm not buying it. That's a red herring. Lee likes to go on and on about lists and what he wants for his team, and makes noises about trying to find something specific, but it never works out that way. His team members are always thrust upon him out of nowhere without warning. Corvisquire came out of nowhere and got caught. Same with Grovyle when he was a Treecko, Lee never intended on snagging him. Octillery, Shinx, and now Sylveon, none of them were pokemon he wanted and intended to find, they were almost literally thrust upon him out of nowhere when he went looking for something else entirely.
So I don't believe for a second that he's actually going to get a Dratini out of this trip to Meteor Falls. Maybe this'll be where the pattern gets broken? But I doubt it.
More likely its going to be something off the wall and come out of nowhere. It'll have to be impressive, because that's just how things go.
Who knows, maybe it'll be a random lost Latias.
Eevee shadow bacon
You've met with an interesting fate, haven't you?
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No lie, if Lee is gonna get a Lati@s, I'm betting Latios, with Latias going to Ash. Latios is always the over worried big brother to the pixie little sister Latias. With Ash now basically power grinding through Hoenn, I could see Latias from the movie running off to Ash again, and Latios running into Lee trying to find Ash & Latias.
Act 2: Chapter 24
Fuggmann
Inventor of Sex 2
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You could have read this early!
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As always, thank you for reading.
"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine…"
The tape measure in Lee's hand maxes out, refusing to budge any further at thirty feet.
Meanwhile, the ribbon wrapped around the fingers of his other hand still feels as if it has much more slack to give.
"Thirty feet, at least." Lee smiles and lets his eyes follow the ribbon back to its owner, who is sitting on the other side of Zinnia's backyard and holding the other end of the tape measure in her teeth.
Across the way, Sylveon wears a bemused expression, just as she has with all of Lee's other tests. The expression is shared by Zinnia and Brendan, who are sitting on the weathered wrought iron patio furniture by the back door of the house.
'Her ribbons just keep extending, seemingly generating new material from nothing! No lights and no sounds to indicate excessive TE usage, so this must be an instinctual skill that most, if not all, Sylveon possess. Is it a property of Fairy TE, perhaps? Could Nine or Octillery learn this trick?'
Lee is already imagining Nine extending her namesake tails across a whole battlefield, manhandling a foe without ever needing to stand. 'If we could combine that with Iron Tail…'
Crash!
Screeeech!
Lee and Sylveon aren't the only ones busy in the backyard. Near one corner, Ninetales and Grovyle clash against Corviknight in a steady rhythm, tail and blade vs. wing.
Grovyle is throwing himself into the swordsman manuscripts provided to him. It took some time and research to find what would fit best with his long, katana-like Leaf Blade, but, with Ninetales' help, they picked out a fitting style: one where, as luck would have it, the writer used a sword of unusual length with a single hand, similar to how Grovyle uses his blade. Some bits had to be translated, and they've yet to read the whole thing, but the opening lessons on wrist exercises and the inherent pratfalls of such an unusual style were already bearing fruit. Grovyle's stance is sure and steady.
Nine, meanwhile, used her Iron Tail TM earlier this morning before they arrived back at the Draconid village. The knowledge imparted by the TM turned Ninetales' cumbersome and rather useless Iron Tail into something much more practical. With Lee helping her modulate her Steel TE output, she's been able to utilize the attack in two different ways so far.
The first by wrapping all of her tails tightly together and using Iron Tail as a great club. This was borderline instinctive, but Lee definitely heard the little voice in the back of Ninetales' head scoffing at the idea of using such a 'lowbrow' technique.
And secondly, hardening the tip of a single tail with Steel TE and using it as a spear.
The latter has proved much more difficult than the former thanks to the fine control required, which is why Ninetales is practicing it now.
In the middle of the two, Corvi stands tall with a handful of scratches and dents in his armor. Taking a deep breath, the great corvid spreads his wings slightly. Seemingly from nowhere, motes of light-blue light manifest and gravitate towards him, seeping through his feathers and into the skin beneath. In just a handful of seconds, the scratches on his armor fill themselves in and the dents push themselves out.
Corvi exhales sharply, his wings growing slack for a split second before he pulls them back into his sides.
Ninetales wasn't the only one who decided she was ready for a new TM. Corvi learned Roost earlier this morning, and, in typical tough guy fashion, decided that letting his teammates whale on him is the best way to practice a self-healing technique.
On either side of Corviknight, Ninetales and Grovyle tense.
Ninetales holds her steely, silver-tipped tail like a scorpion might, the spear-like weapon quivering in anticipation. Her chest rises and falls more harshly than Grovyle's, the recuperating lungs beneath still aggravating her.
On the other side, Grovyle holds his humming blade perfectly still, mirroring the stance depicted in his manuscripts perfectly.
Then, at an unseen signal, both explode into movement, lashing out like vipers the instant Corviknight is in range.
Bang!
Screeech!
Nine's strike puts a conical dent in the obsidian armor protecting Corvi's wing, and Grovyle's Leaf Blade throws sparks as it drags down the opposite wing. Once both Nine and Grovyle bleed off the momentum of their leaps, they jump back and reset, waiting for Corvi to heal the damage.
Baby Shinx isn't totally left out either. The kitten sits in the shade by the side of the house, panting and taking a break from her own workout, one Lee is proud to say that he came up with himself.
Sitting before Shinx is a small, industrial fuse box fitted with replaceable fuses. From the box comes a pair of electrode clamps, which are secured to each of Shinx's ears. The first three fuses in the box are popped, destroyed by Shinx's electrical output, but the last two are rated for an impressive amount of current, remaining stubbornly intact despite Shinx's best efforts.
Shinx rises to her paws again, and with a growl, she clamps her eyes shut and lights up her whole body with a crackling coat of electricity, dumping everything she has into the second-to-last fuse. Cracking open an eye, she looks at the unbroken fuse and redoubles her efforts, arching her back with a yowl of fury.
Pop!
The fuse burns out and pops.
Shinx cuts off her electricity and leaps for joy, her face lit up in victory. In her happiness, she totally forgets about the electrode clamps to her ears. One slips off, but the other one yanks her ear painfully, drawing a yelp from her.
Sylveon is at Shinx's side in a flash with the aid of an expert Quick Attack, forcing Lee to drop his tape measure before it recoils and whips him in the knuckles.
At the same time, Mawile bursts from her ball on Brendan's belt, leaping to aid Shinx, only to stop when she realizes she's been beaten to the punch. Mawile's face swiftly transforms into an ugly glare.
"Mawile!" Brendan groans. "Not again! I told you, just play it cool for now and we'll figure everything out later!" he says, taking Mawile's ball from his holster and recalling her in one move.
Sylveon doesn't pay the dematerializing Mawile any mind, too busy using her ribbons to take the clamp off Shinx's ear.
'… At least it's not Ninetales that Sylveon is beefing with,' Lee sighs, bending over and picking up his tape measure. 'Small blessings… I don't know how Mawile is going to handle the sudden competition for her niche, though. Sylveon has been doing this for thirty years, and Mawile isn't any older than ten.'
Lee jogs up to the back porch of Zinnia's home, scooping his notebook up off of the patio table. He turns to Sylveon's section and pats down his pockets, searching for his pen. "Dammit, don't tell me I lost another one."
Zinnia rolls her eyes and clears her throat. "Your feet, Dolittle," she says, pointing at the ground.
Lee looks down, and sure enough, it appears as if he dropped his pen in his haste. "Oops."
As Lee retrieves his pen, Zinnia shakes her head and looks over toward Sylveon, who stares back pensively. "You know, it took some time to sink in, but you really did bring a Fairy back into a den of dragons. You got some brass ones to pull a stunt like that."
"Stunt?" Lee asks, leafing through his notebook's latest page and beginning to write his findings down. "I know I'm probably violating some kind of unspoken protocol for outsiders, but I didn't take Sylveon for that explicit purpose. Her prior trainer simply wasn't equipped to care for her."
"I'm sure some will understand the kindness, but definitely do not go around advertising that you have a Sylveon," Zinnia warns, leaning forward slightly. "It might scare off punks, but it's practically wearing a wailing siren to anybody who's anybody around here."
Lee shakes his head. "Wonderful," he grumbles, jotting down his last note and closing his notebook. "Any news on those talks that the elders were having?"
"None yet." Zinnia shrugs apologetically. "Like I said, it's probably going to take a few days. I have faith in Granny's ability to convince the other two, but it's going to take time. If we're lucky, it should only be another day or two."
"Works for me, I suppose." Lee pulls out one of the chairs around the patio table and sits himself down. "Once we're in the stronghold, am I going to be able to leave? I've been skipping out on my therapist too much, and I've got an expert who is going to help with a side study of mine I need to meet."
Expert is an understatement. Once Nigel confirmed that he was able to acquire her services, the professor informed Lee who exactly would be on their way.
Anabel, one of the Frontier Brains.
The Battle Frontier is an odd place mired in the murky waters of semi-independence, and Lee had to send Ninetales into the deep end of that political maze simply because of how it made his head spin.
On paper, the Battle Frontier is a massive, luxurious resort for the rich and talented that doubles as a free economic zone for Hoenn, but in reality?
The Battle Frontier is a rogue state.
They mint their own currency, they have their own laws and charters, they control their own seas and airspace, they collect their own taxes, and they have all the firepower of a full region despite being a fraction of the size.
The last point is the most damning one. Scott, the owner and CEO of the Battle Frontier, has a large number of Elite level trainers and a Champion level trainer on payroll. Which is why no one can really do anything about Scott's shenanigans.
Each of the Frontier Brains are the elite of Elites, no questions asked, but Pyramid King Brandon, widely acknowledged as Champion material, overshadows them all. Owning a Regirock, Registeel, and a Regice, the man holds the record for the most legendary pokemon captured by a single trainer, and rumors are circulating that he captured a fourth legendary pokemon sometime recently.
Of the other Frontier Brains, Anabel is the closest one to matching Brandon's prowess.
'And she's coming here next week,' Lee thinks. 'Damn.'
"You have to have someone escort you to and from the stronghold," Zinnia says apologetically. "It's only accessible by air, and without a dragon with you, someone might mistake you and your bird for an intruder."
Lee simply shrugs, having expected that. "Fair enough. Is there anything you guys need from Fallarbor? I'll be flying over to meet with Mable after lunch."
Zinnia shakes her head, but Brendan chimes in. "Yeah, can you get me a fresh bundle of Oran berries and a Sitrus if you can find one?" he asks. "I used up my last Sitrus trying to get my team's food to taste right, and I'm nearly out of Oran."
"Maybe cut back on training that water cutter move and Marshtomp wouldn't need so many Oran for his sore throat," Zinnia dryly interjects, looking at a number of deep gouges in her backyard.
Brendan has the good grace to appear mareepish.
Reopening his notebook, Lee jots Brendan's request down, then turns to his pokemon. "Great work everyone! Let's call it for now and get some lunch in you!"
Ninetales and Corvi perk up, gladly disengaging at the prospect of food, and while Grovyle hides it better, he still powers down his Leaf Blade a little bit faster than usual. Shinx practically teleports into Lee's arms at the call, leaving a flabbergasted Sylveon behind.
'How does Iron Tail feel, love?' Lee sends to Ninetales, adjusting the purring kitten in his hold. He can feel the ache in the tip of a tail that he doesn't own. 'Getting the hang of it?'
Ninetales lets out a tired huff. 'I suppose I am. I believe there is quite a ways to go before I can realize any of your daydreams, however.'
Oh. Nine must've caught some of Lee's stray thoughts. He definitely imagined Nine wrapping herself in her own tails and using Iron Tail, turning her luscious fur into thorny armor.
'What can I say? Iron Tail is a versatile technique,' Lee replies, giving Shinx one last stroke across her head before setting her down. In short order, he makes his way to his backpack, which is leaning against the side of the house, and pulls from it six saran-wrapped food bowls, one of them twice the size of the others. 'Having nine extra limbs to fight with is going to be invaluable down the line.'
'If you say so,' Nine says back, too focused on her upcoming lunch to give Lee's words more thought.
Lunch is unfortunately a little bit tense, as all of Zinnia's team gaze distrustfully towards Sylveon, who doesn't seem to notice as Lee spends the entire time encouraging her to eat. Brendan's pokemon, being the team players that they are, stand between the visibly disgruntled Mawile and Sylveon, letting both fairies eat in peace.
Once everyone's food has had time to settle, Lee recalls his pokemon sans Corvi, saddles the great raven up, then flies off for Fallarbor. It takes Corviknight a mere ten minutes to fly all the way to Fallarbor at a leisurely cruising speed, and Lee is once more mystified by how easy traveling is on the back of a pokemon.
Corviknight touches down just outside of the Fallarbor Pokemon Center and kneels, letting Lee dismount.
"Thanks, Corvi." Lee reaches up and strokes the raven across his metallic beak. "I hope I'm not bugging you too much, having you fly me everywhere."
A disapproving croak rumbles from Corvi's throat paired with a sidelong stare, telling Lee to stop that line of thinking immediately.
"All right, all right." Lee smiles and takes out Corvi's ball. "I get it."
Corviknight nods once, then is sucked back into his ball for a rest.
Lee exchanges Corvi's ball for Nine's, then taps the button, popping open the sphere and releasing his ace. Once she blinks the spots from her eyes, she gives Lee a reassuring smile and a soothing mental hug, chasing away his prickling nervousness.
Stepping inside of the Center, Lee and Ninetales ignore the people turning to look at them and instead head down one of the side hallways leading out of the lobby. They turn a corner, find meeting room number three, and pause as Lee raps his knuckles on the doorframe.
"Come in!" a familiar voice calls from within.
Lee takes a deep breath, then opens the squeaky door.
Inside, Lee and Ninetales find a smiling Mable, sitting in her chair with a pad of paper on her crossed legs. "Lee, Ninetales, it's wonderful to see you two again!" she exclaims, bright smile widening. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. I know we've got a lot to catch up on."
"It's good to see you too, Mable." Lee smiles right back, meaning every word. As he sits on the couch across from his therapist, he glances around the room, and finds it to be the exact same as all of the other meeting rooms they've used in past Centers. 'Seriously, do the Pokemon Centers standardize this room in particular?'
Ninetales hops up after him, draping herself across his lap and focusing her eyes on Mable. However, Lee can feel her mind beginning to wander.
'Speaking to Xatu, probably,' Lee realizes.
"So!" Mable claps her hands together once, making the charm bracelet on her wrist jingle. "How have you been doing, Lee? It's been quite a while since our last talk, and I understand that you've been up to quite a lot recently."
Lee leans back on the couch, trying to gather his thoughts. "I'm… I'm doing really well, all things considered. I understand that Nigel or someone else informed you about everything that happened in Lavaridge?"
"I did get one such email, yes." Mable nods. "But I'd like to hear things from your perspective if that's okay."
Breathing out a harsh sigh, Lee slowly combs his fingers through the fur of Ninetales' back, prompting her to lean into him. "Yeah, sure. Team Magma and Aqua, the gangs that recently got reclassified into terrorists, I know what they're up to, and what their ultimate goals are. Stupidly, I decided – "
"Unwisely," Mable suddenly and firmly interrupts. "You are not a stupid man, Lee, even if you made a bad decision. Call it unwise, if you must, for wisdom is something that comes with experience."
"…Unwisely, I decided to get caught up in trying to stop them, and despite having so many resources, I put my friends and team in unnecessary danger," Lee continues. He stares down at the scuffed toe of his boot for a moment, then returns his eyes to Mable's. "We figured out that Magma was doing something up on the volcano and directly confronted them. We… I didn't expect their leader, Maxie –"
Ninetales openly growls at the name.
"– To show up, or to be willing to kill us." Lee pauses, finding his mouth dry as he remembers everything. "He overpowered all of us, he used his Claydol's psychic powers to… To pilot his Camerupt like a meat suit, keeping Camerupt going long past the point of falling apart. That Arceus-damn Claydol was even pinching Camerupt's wounds shut and keeping his shattered bones in place! I-I didn't expect that someone would ever be willing to do something so… So…" Lee can't find a word extreme enough and stumbles over his speech. If not for Ninetales in his lap, he would have risen to his feet in fury.
Mable's face transforms into a deep frown, but she listens dutifully.
Taking a deep breath, Lee calms himself and gathers his thoughts. "He nearly killed us…" Lee murmurs, wrapping Ninetales in a loose hug, letting him feel her heartbeat. "He nearly killed Ninetales. If we didn't figure out his little trick at the last second, we all would have died."
Mable nods slowly. "I'm so sorry that you were forced to endure such a thing, Lee," she says quietly. "This is a fact of life that pains me more than any other, but sometimes people are simply cruel and twisted. If I can have a wish, just one, then it would be for such people to become well again."
"Heh…" Lee shakes his head. "It would surprise the hell out of me if he was ever sound in the first place. I don't know what can twist somebody that much."
"Are you having any flashbacks, or nightmares?" Mable asks gently, quietly writing something on the pad in her lap. "It sounds like you already understand how to avoid such an unfortunate situation in the future."
Lee shakes his head. "No, no flashbacks or anything. I'm doing my best not to dwell and to just keep going forward. In a fucked up, roundabout kind of way, maybe Maxie did me a favor."
Mable, who was opening her mouth to reply, instead stops, a hint of bewilderment on her face. "Can you elaborate for me, Lee? I'm afraid I don't quite understand."
"Well…" Lee licks his lips. Dammit, what is it about talking to Mable that always makes his mouth dry? "I've just been aimlessly bumbling along as a trainer, and scared to death of doing anything that would attract attention to us – my team, that is. I didn't like pokemon battling when I first became a trainer, and if I'm being honest, I still have mixed feelings on the subject. If I could have someone else fight all my battles for me, I would, but the fiasco in Lavaridge taught me something."
The dusky-skinned therapist remains quiet, letting Lee talk.
Lee shakes his head with a rueful smile. "I have to be responsible," he says, poking himself in the chest with a finger. "I'm responsible for my own safety, I'm responsible for the safety of my pokemon, and sitting around wishing I wasn't doesn't do anything." He punctuates every point with a tap of his finger. "I've got the means and the resources to make sure that my pokemon and I aren't victims ever again, and I just refused to use them! Well, not anymore. While I was sitting there in the Pokemon Center waiting room in the wake of all the aftermath, I decided that I was done, that I'm not going to mope and complain. No!" Lee exclaims, making Ninetales jump slightly.
The zoologist smiles, and damn it feels good. "We're just going to be better. I am going to be better. I still want that peaceful, idyllic life with my pokemon, but now I know it's not just going to drop into my lap. We're going to be strong, work towards the life we want, and it'll be all the sweeter when we get there. I won't let anything get in the way."
As the last word leaves Lee's mouth, he stops and replays what he just said in his head, his face turning red as he realizes just how unbearably corny the speech Mable elicited was. 'Arceus, if you're merciful, you'll smite me where I sit before I die of embarrassment.'
'That was hardly embarrassing!' Ninetales interjects, looking at Lee with disbelief. 'Lee, I felt you speak straight from your heart! It's not something that you can – '
Ninetales is interrupted by slow, steady applause.
On the other side of the room, Mable is positively beaming. Her hands come together in one last clap before she folds them in her lap. "I was worried, you know," she begins, smile still in place, "worried that you would have regressed or had problems after we missed so many sessions together, and I am overjoyed to be proven wrong. I knew that there was a confident, capable man beneath your exterior. This is such a momentous leap forward, goodness me! I should've known from the beginning, because it was like watching a different man walk in here."
"A different man?" Lee questions, pushing away his embarrassment. "How so?"
"How so?" Mable seems incredulous. "The Lee Henson I met so long ago was a shy, unsure man who was letting his demons weigh him down. He looked to the floor, spoke quietly, twiddled his fingers and then some. You walked in today with your head held high and without so much as a moment of hesitation. I heard you walk up to the door and knock on it immediately. Last time, you waited for almost a minute before coming in."
'Shit. Did I really?' Lee blinks and recalls the last distant therapy session. 'I did…'
"It hurts me down here," Mable says, putting a hand over her heart, "that you had to go through yet another horrible ordeal, but you bounced back with such strength that it's blown me away! I'm convinced that there's nothing in the world that can keep Mister Lee Henson down!"
Lee looks away, embarrassed once more. "I don't know if I would go that far… But thank you for the vote of confidence."
Mable reins in her giddy happiness, returning to placid professionalism. "Anytime, Lee. Anytime. So, you feel as if you've come to terms with everything that's happened in Lavaridge, correct?"
A nod is Lee's answer. "Yes. I can't really do anything about the past, so I'll just count my blessings and be more prepared next time."
The therapist gestures forward with her pen. "Well then, how about you take the lead for a while? What would you like to talk about?"
'Here's hoping she agrees,' Lee thinks, considering his words carefully. "This might be a little outside of your scope, Mable, so feel free to decline, but do you think you can help me with…" He hesitates to call the telepathic connection between himself and Ninetales a problem. "... I don't want to call it a problem, but it's in regard to the telepathic bond between Ninetales and myself, and if possible I'd like to have a three-way meeting between you, me, and a natural telepath I would be working with."
Ninetales perks up once more, apparently pulling out of her conversation with Xatu to listen. Her red eyes shift between Lee and Mable.
"I'll be happy to lend my expertise if I can." Mable nods, her pen scratching at her notepad. "What's this not-problem you seem to be having? Is it in regards to Miss Ninetales' trainer fixation?"
'So she has been speaking with Xatu about it this entire time,' Lee realizes. He's been avoiding Ninetales' inner thoughts since they stepped into the room out of a sense of privacy.
"That, yeah…" Lee confirms. "We spoke with a Pokemon Master who specialized in the Ninetales line, and she advised that we cease using telepathy with each other, or Ninetales is just going to get worse."
Mable raises an eyebrow. "My darling Xatu is a telepath, and I can certainly see how the talent would prolong trainer fixation, but to make it worse?"
Oh.
It hits Lee that he has never explained just how deep the telepathy between him and Ninetales goes. As one, he and his fox lock eyes before turning in-sync to Mable.
"About that…" Lee wonders just how to explain this. "Ninetales' telepathy has evolved beyond simply sending and receiving words. It's tied us together deep, very deep. So deep that we can no longer disconnect or tell where one side ends and another begins. By the loosest definition of the word, Ninetales and I are a gestalt."
The woman sitting across from Lee has learned of nuclear bombs, listened to a man lament his vivid death, heard stories of loss and grief, and none of that phased her. As soon as she hears the word gestalt, though, her eyes widen.
"Each side can feel the other's emotions, hear their thoughts, feel their bodies, share their senses," Lee continues on. "As we sit here, without me focusing, I have a vague, fuzzy awareness of Ninetales outside of my own senses, just as she does for me. If I do this," he says, reaching over and pinching the tip of one of Ninetales's tails, "I can feel it. It's like phantom limb syndrome, or mirror-touch synesthesia."
It suddenly strikes Lee how it no longer takes focus for he and Ninetales to share their senses, and how doing so causes no discomfort anymore. Just a few months ago, sharing Vulpix's vision made his head hurt and his stomach turn. Now? It's as easy as breathing.
Lee recovers from his own revelation and resumes speaking. "When Lokoko, the Ninetales expert I was referring to, warned us about the possibility of becoming a gestalt, I got the feeling she was referring to something much more sinister than what we have currently. I don't want anything to happen to Ninetales and I, but neither can we just stop. I don't think we're physically able, which is why I'm asking for your help, Mable."
For the first time ever, Mable appears stunned. In record time, however, she recovers and schools her face back into a professional smile. "My, oh my! It's not every day I'm not prepared for something!" she exclaims, bouncing back from her shock. "I would be delighted to help. This does push the boundaries of my qualifications a bit, but a brand-new learning experience isn't something old Mable is about to shy away from! Let me know when and where, and I'll be there to help as best as I can."
Both Lee and Ninetales smile as one. "Thanks, Mable," Lee says, inclining his head. "It means a lot to us."
The woman waves away the thanks. "Oh, think nothing of it. I told you, Mable Lane does not stop until her patients are as well as can be. Is there anything troubling you about the situation?"
"Only the possibility that Ninetales and I might have to…" Lee hesitates to say the word. "Disconnect."
Even entertaining the notion feels wrong on a visceral level. For a split second, Lee's entire body grows cold, and he definitely feels Ninetales shiver slightly.
"And we'll take a look at that bridge as soon as we get there," Mable says. "Let's rewind things a little. Have you been feeling down recently about Earth and your old life?"
A slow shake of his head is Lee's answer. "No. I still think about it sometimes, but already it seems like it was a lifetime ago. I still miss my family, my zoo, and everyone in between, but it's more of a background thing now. I have trouble believing it's only been six months." He frowns. "Sometimes I worry that I'm forgetting everything too fast, though. It's left me feeling somewhat guilty."
"Hmm…" Mable hums in thought. "Time sure does fly, doesn't it? You shouldn't totally forget your time and experiences on Earth. Your memories are an important part of who you are, but neither should you let the past pull you down." A sudden thought seems to strike Mable, and she smiles. "Lee, about that wonderful idea you had during our first meeting…"
The sun is beginning to set when Corviknight swoops in for a landing just outside the front door of the Littleroot Pokemon Laboratory. Tucking his stiff wings in, Corvi kneels and allows Lee to hop off of his back.
"Still think I'm not a bother?" Lee jokes, rubbing a hand across the downy feathers of Corvi's chest.
The massive bird gives his trainer the stink eye and defiantly shakes his head. Lifting his wings slightly, Corvi casts Roost on himself, drawing in sky-blue lights that seep past his armor and ease the aches of the cross-region flight.
Lee huffs playfully. "I knew Roost was a good pick," he says, doffing his scarf and flight goggles, which are stuffed in his jacket pockets. Lee then rubs a hand across his face with a grimace. 'Euh. Even with the scarf I still have wind burn. I guess an all-day flight does that.'
"Holy-! He's even bigger in person!"
Turning around, Lee is treated to the sight of Nigel Birch gaping at Corviknight, who puffs up proudly.
"Too bad Corvi isn't a chicken pokemon, or I'd have a real dumb joke to make" Lee grins and steps towards Nigel. "It's been a hot minute since I've seen you in person, Nigel. How are you doing?"
"You adopt a Sylveon and give the PR guys a ton of work to do, and you have the gall to ask me how I'm doing?" Nigel rolls his eyes, but his small smile tells Lee the man isn't serious. "At least we're getting a funding increase from the Academic Board for it. Having three pokemon with a research value index over a zero-point-eight between two lab trainers is really getting their attention."
Lee furrows his brows. Why does the Academic Board insist on their weird value systems? "Three? I know Nine and Sylveon are two of them, but who's the third?"
"Brendan's giant Electrike."
"Ah." That makes sense. "Any idea what you're going to use the funding increase on?"
"We are definitely expanding the ranch grounds," Nigel says, pointing to where the ranch behind the laboratory meets the tree line. "You and Brendan are attracting new trainers to the scene, and our boarding capacity is starting to get low. If we don't expand, I'm going to have to adjust the boarding prices for trainers without sponsors, and I'll let you guess how well that will go over."
Lee cringes. "Oh. Yeah, that sounds like drama the lab doesn't need."
Nigel nods with a sigh, resting his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "Hopefully we can do everything in time. The Rangers need to survey the land we intend to expand into and confirm there's no protected pokemon there, the town auditor needs to review the land deed and resize the parcel, the contractors need to come out here and actually build the extended facilities… I'm hoping it'll be over sooner rather than later." Nigel then raises a hand and points in another direction, back towards the corner of the ranch grounds. "The stone I mentioned is in the northeast corner of the ranch. You don't need to worry about any of the pokemon touching it. I'll have Medicham, uh… Let them know what it is," he finishes awkwardly.
His cheer dying down, Lee smiles and gives Nigel a grateful nod. "Thanks for letting me do this here, Nigel. It means a lot to me."
The professor simply pats Lee on the arm. "When you're done, meet me at my house, okay? You can stay the night with us. My wife has been dying to meet you anyway."
As Nigel makes his way to the jeep parked beside the laboratory, Lee takes a deep breath and reaches down, tapping the button of every still-occupied pokeball on his belt.
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Ninetales, Grovyle, Shinx, Octillery, and Sylveon join Corviknight outside of their capsules, each one emerging in their own flash of light.
Ninetales, who already knows what's happening, steps forward and presses herself into Lee's side, lending him her warmth and support, drawing stares from the others.
"C'mon guys and gals," Lee murmurs, "we've got just one more thing to do today."
Taking point, Lee leads his pokemon forward, leaping the fence and making for the corner of the lab ranch that Nigel pointed at. As they walk, the ranch pokemon still out and about during the evening hours quietly move out of their path. There is no fear or apprehension from the pokemon who see Lee and his team.
Today, there's only melancholy.
The northeast edge of the fence leads into a wooded area, where bird and insect pokemon watch the group march past from above, sometimes flitting away when Corviknight's head gets too close to their branch.
As they walk, Lee hears Sylveon murmur a question to Grovyle, too quiet for a human ear to hear, but personally audible to Ninetales.
Grovyle answers Sylveon's question with a low, mournful warble, making the Fairy go quiet.
Finally, they arrive, and Lee brings the group to a halt.
Before them is a featureless boulder, utterly plain and unassuming.
"Grovyle?" Lee asks over his shoulder. "Can you get us a nice, flat face to work with on this thing?"
The Grass-type steps forward, extending and palming his Leaf Blade. His yellow eyes inspect the stone closely, then with a flash of movement –
Shink!
– his Leaf Blade cleaves through the face of the boulder at a diagonal angle, slicing off a thin chunk that shatters when it hits the ground, and leaving behind a perfectly flat face.
Lee rubs a hand across Grovyle's head as the lizard retracts his blade, making Grovyle look away bashfully. "Nine?"
'Yes, Beloved. I already know the words.'
The vixen steps forward, bringing a tail to bear as she hardens the tip with Iron Tail. Bringing the tail forward, she drives it into the face of the stone and begins to carve. Letter by letter, word by word, a mournful message takes shape. When the final word is done, Ninetales steps back, allowing everyone to see what she wrote.
Lee's very being hurts, and the world seems to fade from his vision.
Almost immediately, Ninetales returns to Lee's right, pressing herself to him and burying her head in his side.
Grovyle leans into his trainer's left, visibly fighting with himself, before wrapping an arm around one of Lee's.
Shinx jumps into Lee's arms, cuddling into his chest without so much as a sound.
Corviknight wraps a great black wing around them all.
The two outliers, Octillery and Sylveon, stand in front of the group and stare at the words.
Octillery's expression shifts constantly, as if he's not sure what he's supposed to be feeling. From calculating, to indifferent, to frustrated, before returning to calculating.
Then, as if Arceus descended to reveal a great secret to him, Octillery turns and stares at Lee, comprehension dawning in the cephalopod's eyes, before that too is gone. Finally, he settles upon an expression of practiced sympathy, just barely masking the intense curiosity within his eyes. He shuffles close, wrapping a comforting tentacle around one of Lee's legs.
Sylveon, meanwhile, reads the words over and over again, as if doing so will reveal some hidden knowledge. After the tenth rereading, nothing changes, and one of her ribbons snakes its way into the sleeve of Lee's jacket, wrapping securely around his wrist.
The Fairy suddenly stiffens as if electrocuted. Great shakes wrack her body, and she lets go. Staring at the ground as if the dirt at her paws wronged her, she shuffles backwards until she is standing between Lee's legs, and leans into his knee, ever so slightly.
The warmth of his pokemon returns Lee's senses, just a little, letting him read the inscription once more.
In memory of all who are no more.
His family, his friends, his animals, his entire world. It's gone, and will never come back. It's all been reduced to nuclear ash. Sometimes, he still expects to wake up, choking upon dust and bereft of purpose.
Loved and never forgotten.
Oh, how it agonizes him to admit it, that he'll never get to make new memories with the ones he loved, but… Is it all bad? Those memories aren't gone. They'll be with him forever.
Born again, I live for you.
…No. No, it's not all bad. Someway, somehow, he cheated death and now lives while everyone else has perished. If he does nothing with this chance, it's practically spitting upon everyone who didn't get the chance.
Here in this charmed place.
Lee blinks, suddenly realizing that his pokemon are all huddled against him, warding off the chill of the evening with their bodies. He looks down, left, right, and even up. In every direction, he sees naught but faces looking at him with love and support.
Love and support from his new family.
A smile crosses Lee's face, and with the hand not holding Shinx, he dabs at his eyes. 'Charmed place, indeed. Nine must be making me flowery. I guess its - no. No guessing. I know it's time to let it all go.'
All at once, the ache in Lee's chest is gone, and the man is left feeling lighter than air. "It's good to be home," he breathes.
Together, they all stay until the horizon swallows the sun's last ray.
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"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine…"
The tape measure in Lee's hand maxes out, refusing to budge any further at thirty feet.
Meanwhile, the ribbon wrapped around the fingers of his other hand still feels as if it has much more slack to give.
"Thirty feet, at least." Lee smiles and lets his eyes follow the ribbon back to its owner, who is sitting on the other side of Zinnia's backyard and holding the other end of the tape measure in her teeth.
Across the way, Sylveon wears a bemused expression, just as she has with all of Lee's other tests. The expression is shared by Zinnia and Brendan, who are sitting on the weathered wrought iron patio furniture by the back door of the house.
'Her ribbons just keep extending, seemingly generating new material from nothing! No lights and no sounds to indicate excessive TE usage, so this must be an instinctual skill that most, if not all, Sylveon possess. Is it a property of Fairy TE, perhaps? Could Nine or Octillery learn this trick?'
Lee is already imagining Nine extending her namesake tails across a whole battlefield, manhandling a foe without ever needing to stand. 'If we could combine that with Iron Tail…'
Crash!
Screeeech!
Lee and Sylveon aren't the only ones busy in the backyard. Near one corner, Ninetales and Grovyle clash against Corviknight in a steady rhythm, tail and blade vs. wing.
Grovyle is throwing himself into the swordsman manuscripts provided to him. It took some time and research to find what would fit best with his long, katana-like Leaf Blade, but, with Ninetales' help, they picked out a fitting style: one where, as luck would have it, the writer used a sword of unusual length with a single hand, similar to how Grovyle uses his blade. Some bits had to be translated, and they've yet to read the whole thing, but the opening lessons on wrist exercises and the inherent pratfalls of such an unusual style were already bearing fruit. Grovyle's stance is sure and steady.
Nine, meanwhile, used her Iron Tail TM earlier this morning before they arrived back at the Draconid village. The knowledge imparted by the TM turned Ninetales' cumbersome and rather useless Iron Tail into something much more practical. With Lee helping her modulate her Steel TE output, she's been able to utilize the attack in two different ways so far.
The first by wrapping all of her tails tightly together and using Iron Tail as a great club. This was borderline instinctive, but Lee definitely heard the little voice in the back of Ninetales' head scoffing at the idea of using such a 'lowbrow' technique.
And secondly, hardening the tip of a single tail with Steel TE and using it as a spear.
The latter has proved much more difficult than the former thanks to the fine control required, which is why Ninetales is practicing it now.
In the middle of the two, Corvi stands tall with a handful of scratches and dents in his armor. Taking a deep breath, the great corvid spreads his wings slightly. Seemingly from nowhere, motes of light-blue light manifest and gravitate towards him, seeping through his feathers and into the skin beneath. In just a handful of seconds, the scratches on his armor fill themselves in and the dents push themselves out.
Corvi exhales sharply, his wings growing slack for a split second before he pulls them back into his sides.
Ninetales wasn't the only one who decided she was ready for a new TM. Corvi learned Roost earlier this morning, and, in typical tough guy fashion, decided that letting his teammates whale on him is the best way to practice a self-healing technique.
On either side of Corviknight, Ninetales and Grovyle tense.
Ninetales holds her steely, silver-tipped tail like a scorpion might, the spear-like weapon quivering in anticipation. Her chest rises and falls more harshly than Grovyle's, the recuperating lungs beneath still aggravating her.
On the other side, Grovyle holds his humming blade perfectly still, mirroring the stance depicted in his manuscripts perfectly.
Then, at an unseen signal, both explode into movement, lashing out like vipers the instant Corviknight is in range.
Bang!
Screeech!
Nine's strike puts a conical dent in the obsidian armor protecting Corvi's wing, and Grovyle's Leaf Blade throws sparks as it drags down the opposite wing. Once both Nine and Grovyle bleed off the momentum of their leaps, they jump back and reset, waiting for Corvi to heal the damage.
Baby Shinx isn't totally left out either. The kitten sits in the shade by the side of the house, panting and taking a break from her own workout, one Lee is proud to say that he came up with himself.
Sitting before Shinx is a small, industrial fuse box fitted with replaceable fuses. From the box comes a pair of electrode clamps, which are secured to each of Shinx's ears. The first three fuses in the box are popped, destroyed by Shinx's electrical output, but the last two are rated for an impressive amount of current, remaining stubbornly intact despite Shinx's best efforts.
Shinx rises to her paws again, and with a growl, she clamps her eyes shut and lights up her whole body with a crackling coat of electricity, dumping everything she has into the second-to-last fuse. Cracking open an eye, she looks at the unbroken fuse and redoubles her efforts, arching her back with a yowl of fury.
Pop!
The fuse burns out and pops.
Shinx cuts off her electricity and leaps for joy, her face lit up in victory. In her happiness, she totally forgets about the electrode clamps to her ears. One slips off, but the other one yanks her ear painfully, drawing a yelp from her.
Sylveon is at Shinx's side in a flash with the aid of an expert Quick Attack, forcing Lee to drop his tape measure before it recoils and whips him in the knuckles.
At the same time, Mawile bursts from her ball on Brendan's belt, leaping to aid Shinx, only to stop when she realizes she's been beaten to the punch. Mawile's face swiftly transforms into an ugly glare.
"Mawile!" Brendan groans. "Not again! I told you, just play it cool for now and we'll figure everything out later!" he says, taking Mawile's ball from his holster and recalling her in one move.
Sylveon doesn't pay the dematerializing Mawile any mind, too busy using her ribbons to take the clamp off Shinx's ear.
'… At least it's not Ninetales that Sylveon is beefing with,' Lee sighs, bending over and picking up his tape measure. 'Small blessings… I don't know how Mawile is going to handle the sudden competition for her niche, though. Sylveon has been doing this for thirty years, and Mawile isn't any older than ten.'
Lee jogs up to the back porch of Zinnia's home, scooping his notebook up off of the patio table. He turns to Sylveon's section and pats down his pockets, searching for his pen. "Dammit, don't tell me I lost another one."
Zinnia rolls her eyes and clears her throat. "Your feet, Dolittle," she says, pointing at the ground.
Lee looks down, and sure enough, it appears as if he dropped his pen in his haste. "Oops."
As Lee retrieves his pen, Zinnia shakes her head and looks over toward Sylveon, who stares back pensively. "You know, it took some time to sink in, but you really did bring a Fairy back into a den of dragons. You got some brass ones to pull a stunt like that."
"Stunt?" Lee asks, leafing through his notebook's latest page and beginning to write his findings down. "I know I'm probably violating some kind of unspoken protocol for outsiders, but I didn't take Sylveon for that explicit purpose. Her prior trainer simply wasn't equipped to care for her."
"I'm sure some will understand the kindness, but definitely do not go around advertising that you have a Sylveon," Zinnia warns, leaning forward slightly. "It might scare off punks, but it's practically wearing a wailing siren to anybody who's anybody around here."
Lee shakes his head. "Wonderful," he grumbles, jotting down his last note and closing his notebook. "Any news on those talks that the elders were having?"
"None yet." Zinnia shrugs apologetically. "Like I said, it's probably going to take a few days. I have faith in Granny's ability to convince the other two, but it's going to take time. If we're lucky, it should only be another day or two."
"Works for me, I suppose." Lee pulls out one of the chairs around the patio table and sits himself down. "Once we're in the stronghold, am I going to be able to leave? I've been skipping out on my therapist too much, and I've got an expert who is going to help with a side study of mine I need to meet."
Expert is an understatement. Once Nigel confirmed that he was able to acquire her services, the professor informed Lee who exactly would be on their way.
Anabel, one of the Frontier Brains.
The Battle Frontier is an odd place mired in the murky waters of semi-independence, and Lee had to send Ninetales into the deep end of that political maze simply because of how it made his head spin.
On paper, the Battle Frontier is a massive, luxurious resort for the rich and talented that doubles as a free economic zone for Hoenn, but in reality?
The Battle Frontier is a rogue state.
They mint their own currency, they have their own laws and charters, they control their own seas and airspace, they collect their own taxes, and they have all the firepower of a full region despite being a fraction of the size.
The last point is the most damning one. Scott, the owner and CEO of the Battle Frontier, has a large number of Elite level trainers and a Champion level trainer on payroll. Which is why no one can really do anything about Scott's shenanigans.
Each of the Frontier Brains are the elite of Elites, no questions asked, but Pyramid King Brandon, widely acknowledged as Champion material, overshadows them all. Owning a Regirock, Registeel, and a Regice, the man holds the record for the most legendary pokemon captured by a single trainer, and rumors are circulating that he captured a fourth legendary pokemon sometime recently.
Of the other Frontier Brains, Anabel is the closest one to matching Brandon's prowess.
'And she's coming here next week,' Lee thinks. 'Damn.'
"You have to have someone escort you to and from the stronghold," Zinnia says apologetically. "It's only accessible by air, and without a dragon with you, someone might mistake you and your bird for an intruder."
Lee simply shrugs, having expected that. "Fair enough. Is there anything you guys need from Fallarbor? I'll be flying over to meet with Mable after lunch."
Zinnia shakes her head, but Brendan chimes in. "Yeah, can you get me a fresh bundle of Oran berries and a Sitrus if you can find one?" he asks. "I used up my last Sitrus trying to get my team's food to taste right, and I'm nearly out of Oran."
"Maybe cut back on training that water cutter move and Marshtomp wouldn't need so many Oran for his sore throat," Zinnia dryly interjects, looking at a number of deep gouges in her backyard.
Brendan has the good grace to appear mareepish.
Reopening his notebook, Lee jots Brendan's request down, then turns to his pokemon. "Great work everyone! Let's call it for now and get some lunch in you!"
Ninetales and Corvi perk up, gladly disengaging at the prospect of food, and while Grovyle hides it better, he still powers down his Leaf Blade a little bit faster than usual. Shinx practically teleports into Lee's arms at the call, leaving a flabbergasted Sylveon behind.
'How does Iron Tail feel, love?' Lee sends to Ninetales, adjusting the purring kitten in his hold. He can feel the ache in the tip of a tail that he doesn't own. 'Getting the hang of it?'
Ninetales lets out a tired huff. 'I suppose I am. I believe there is quite a ways to go before I can realize any of your daydreams, however.'
Oh. Nine must've caught some of Lee's stray thoughts. He definitely imagined Nine wrapping herself in her own tails and using Iron Tail, turning her luscious fur into thorny armor.
'What can I say? Iron Tail is a versatile technique,' Lee replies, giving Shinx one last stroke across her head before setting her down. In short order, he makes his way to his backpack, which is leaning against the side of the house, and pulls from it six saran-wrapped food bowls, one of them twice the size of the others. 'Having nine extra limbs to fight with is going to be invaluable down the line.'
'If you say so,' Nine says back, too focused on her upcoming lunch to give Lee's words more thought.
Lunch is unfortunately a little bit tense, as all of Zinnia's team gaze distrustfully towards Sylveon, who doesn't seem to notice as Lee spends the entire time encouraging her to eat. Brendan's pokemon, being the team players that they are, stand between the visibly disgruntled Mawile and Sylveon, letting both fairies eat in peace.
Once everyone's food has had time to settle, Lee recalls his pokemon sans Corvi, saddles the great raven up, then flies off for Fallarbor. It takes Corviknight a mere ten minutes to fly all the way to Fallarbor at a leisurely cruising speed, and Lee is once more mystified by how easy traveling is on the back of a pokemon.
Corviknight touches down just outside of the Fallarbor Pokemon Center and kneels, letting Lee dismount.
"Thanks, Corvi." Lee reaches up and strokes the raven across his metallic beak. "I hope I'm not bugging you too much, having you fly me everywhere."
A disapproving croak rumbles from Corvi's throat paired with a sidelong stare, telling Lee to stop that line of thinking immediately.
"All right, all right." Lee smiles and takes out Corvi's ball. "I get it."
Corviknight nods once, then is sucked back into his ball for a rest.
Lee exchanges Corvi's ball for Nine's, then taps the button, popping open the sphere and releasing his ace. Once she blinks the spots from her eyes, she gives Lee a reassuring smile and a soothing mental hug, chasing away his prickling nervousness.
Stepping inside of the Center, Lee and Ninetales ignore the people turning to look at them and instead head down one of the side hallways leading out of the lobby. They turn a corner, find meeting room number three, and pause as Lee raps his knuckles on the doorframe.
"Come in!" a familiar voice calls from within.
Lee takes a deep breath, then opens the squeaky door.
Inside, Lee and Ninetales find a smiling Mable, sitting in her chair with a pad of paper on her crossed legs. "Lee, Ninetales, it's wonderful to see you two again!" she exclaims, bright smile widening. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. I know we've got a lot to catch up on."
"It's good to see you too, Mable." Lee smiles right back, meaning every word. As he sits on the couch across from his therapist, he glances around the room, and finds it to be the exact same as all of the other meeting rooms they've used in past Centers. 'Seriously, do the Pokemon Centers standardize this room in particular?'
Ninetales hops up after him, draping herself across his lap and focusing her eyes on Mable. However, Lee can feel her mind beginning to wander.
'Speaking to Xatu, probably,' Lee realizes.
"So!" Mable claps her hands together once, making the charm bracelet on her wrist jingle. "How have you been doing, Lee? It's been quite a while since our last talk, and I understand that you've been up to quite a lot recently."
Lee leans back on the couch, trying to gather his thoughts. "I'm… I'm doing really well, all things considered. I understand that Nigel or someone else informed you about everything that happened in Lavaridge?"
"I did get one such email, yes." Mable nods. "But I'd like to hear things from your perspective if that's okay."
Breathing out a harsh sigh, Lee slowly combs his fingers through the fur of Ninetales' back, prompting her to lean into him. "Yeah, sure. Team Magma and Aqua, the gangs that recently got reclassified into terrorists, I know what they're up to, and what their ultimate goals are. Stupidly, I decided – "
"Unwisely," Mable suddenly and firmly interrupts. "You are not a stupid man, Lee, even if you made a bad decision. Call it unwise, if you must, for wisdom is something that comes with experience."
"…Unwisely, I decided to get caught up in trying to stop them, and despite having so many resources, I put my friends and team in unnecessary danger," Lee continues. He stares down at the scuffed toe of his boot for a moment, then returns his eyes to Mable's. "We figured out that Magma was doing something up on the volcano and directly confronted them. We… I didn't expect their leader, Maxie –"
Ninetales openly growls at the name.
"– To show up, or to be willing to kill us." Lee pauses, finding his mouth dry as he remembers everything. "He overpowered all of us, he used his Claydol's psychic powers to… To pilot his Camerupt like a meat suit, keeping Camerupt going long past the point of falling apart. That Arceus-damn Claydol was even pinching Camerupt's wounds shut and keeping his shattered bones in place! I-I didn't expect that someone would ever be willing to do something so… So…" Lee can't find a word extreme enough and stumbles over his speech. If not for Ninetales in his lap, he would have risen to his feet in fury.
Mable's face transforms into a deep frown, but she listens dutifully.
Taking a deep breath, Lee calms himself and gathers his thoughts. "He nearly killed us…" Lee murmurs, wrapping Ninetales in a loose hug, letting him feel her heartbeat. "He nearly killed Ninetales. If we didn't figure out his little trick at the last second, we all would have died."
Mable nods slowly. "I'm so sorry that you were forced to endure such a thing, Lee," she says quietly. "This is a fact of life that pains me more than any other, but sometimes people are simply cruel and twisted. If I can have a wish, just one, then it would be for such people to become well again."
"Heh…" Lee shakes his head. "It would surprise the hell out of me if he was ever sound in the first place. I don't know what can twist somebody that much."
"Are you having any flashbacks, or nightmares?" Mable asks gently, quietly writing something on the pad in her lap. "It sounds like you already understand how to avoid such an unfortunate situation in the future."
Lee shakes his head. "No, no flashbacks or anything. I'm doing my best not to dwell and to just keep going forward. In a fucked up, roundabout kind of way, maybe Maxie did me a favor."
Mable, who was opening her mouth to reply, instead stops, a hint of bewilderment on her face. "Can you elaborate for me, Lee? I'm afraid I don't quite understand."
"Well…" Lee licks his lips. Dammit, what is it about talking to Mable that always makes his mouth dry? "I've just been aimlessly bumbling along as a trainer, and scared to death of doing anything that would attract attention to us – my team, that is. I didn't like pokemon battling when I first became a trainer, and if I'm being honest, I still have mixed feelings on the subject. If I could have someone else fight all my battles for me, I would, but the fiasco in Lavaridge taught me something."
The dusky-skinned therapist remains quiet, letting Lee talk.
Lee shakes his head with a rueful smile. "I have to be responsible," he says, poking himself in the chest with a finger. "I'm responsible for my own safety, I'm responsible for the safety of my pokemon, and sitting around wishing I wasn't doesn't do anything." He punctuates every point with a tap of his finger. "I've got the means and the resources to make sure that my pokemon and I aren't victims ever again, and I just refused to use them! Well, not anymore. While I was sitting there in the Pokemon Center waiting room in the wake of all the aftermath, I decided that I was done, that I'm not going to mope and complain. No!" Lee exclaims, making Ninetales jump slightly.
The zoologist smiles, and damn it feels good. "We're just going to be better. I am going to be better. I still want that peaceful, idyllic life with my pokemon, but now I know it's not just going to drop into my lap. We're going to be strong, work towards the life we want, and it'll be all the sweeter when we get there. I won't let anything get in the way."
As the last word leaves Lee's mouth, he stops and replays what he just said in his head, his face turning red as he realizes just how unbearably corny the speech Mable elicited was. 'Arceus, if you're merciful, you'll smite me where I sit before I die of embarrassment.'
'That was hardly embarrassing!' Ninetales interjects, looking at Lee with disbelief. 'Lee, I felt you speak straight from your heart! It's not something that you can – '
Ninetales is interrupted by slow, steady applause.
On the other side of the room, Mable is positively beaming. Her hands come together in one last clap before she folds them in her lap. "I was worried, you know," she begins, smile still in place, "worried that you would have regressed or had problems after we missed so many sessions together, and I am overjoyed to be proven wrong. I knew that there was a confident, capable man beneath your exterior. This is such a momentous leap forward, goodness me! I should've known from the beginning, because it was like watching a different man walk in here."
"A different man?" Lee questions, pushing away his embarrassment. "How so?"
"How so?" Mable seems incredulous. "The Lee Henson I met so long ago was a shy, unsure man who was letting his demons weigh him down. He looked to the floor, spoke quietly, twiddled his fingers and then some. You walked in today with your head held high and without so much as a moment of hesitation. I heard you walk up to the door and knock on it immediately. Last time, you waited for almost a minute before coming in."
'Shit. Did I really?' Lee blinks and recalls the last distant therapy session. 'I did…'
"It hurts me down here," Mable says, putting a hand over her heart, "that you had to go through yet another horrible ordeal, but you bounced back with such strength that it's blown me away! I'm convinced that there's nothing in the world that can keep Mister Lee Henson down!"
Lee looks away, embarrassed once more. "I don't know if I would go that far… But thank you for the vote of confidence."
Mable reins in her giddy happiness, returning to placid professionalism. "Anytime, Lee. Anytime. So, you feel as if you've come to terms with everything that's happened in Lavaridge, correct?"
A nod is Lee's answer. "Yes. I can't really do anything about the past, so I'll just count my blessings and be more prepared next time."
The therapist gestures forward with her pen. "Well then, how about you take the lead for a while? What would you like to talk about?"
'Here's hoping she agrees,' Lee thinks, considering his words carefully. "This might be a little outside of your scope, Mable, so feel free to decline, but do you think you can help me with…" He hesitates to call the telepathic connection between himself and Ninetales a problem. "... I don't want to call it a problem, but it's in regard to the telepathic bond between Ninetales and myself, and if possible I'd like to have a three-way meeting between you, me, and a natural telepath I would be working with."
Ninetales perks up once more, apparently pulling out of her conversation with Xatu to listen. Her red eyes shift between Lee and Mable.
"I'll be happy to lend my expertise if I can." Mable nods, her pen scratching at her notepad. "What's this not-problem you seem to be having? Is it in regards to Miss Ninetales' trainer fixation?"
'So she has been speaking with Xatu about it this entire time,' Lee realizes. He's been avoiding Ninetales' inner thoughts since they stepped into the room out of a sense of privacy.
"That, yeah…" Lee confirms. "We spoke with a Pokemon Master who specialized in the Ninetales line, and she advised that we cease using telepathy with each other, or Ninetales is just going to get worse."
Mable raises an eyebrow. "My darling Xatu is a telepath, and I can certainly see how the talent would prolong trainer fixation, but to make it worse?"
Oh.
It hits Lee that he has never explained just how deep the telepathy between him and Ninetales goes. As one, he and his fox lock eyes before turning in-sync to Mable.
"About that…" Lee wonders just how to explain this. "Ninetales' telepathy has evolved beyond simply sending and receiving words. It's tied us together deep, very deep. So deep that we can no longer disconnect or tell where one side ends and another begins. By the loosest definition of the word, Ninetales and I are a gestalt."
The woman sitting across from Lee has learned of nuclear bombs, listened to a man lament his vivid death, heard stories of loss and grief, and none of that phased her. As soon as she hears the word gestalt, though, her eyes widen.
"Each side can feel the other's emotions, hear their thoughts, feel their bodies, share their senses," Lee continues on. "As we sit here, without me focusing, I have a vague, fuzzy awareness of Ninetales outside of my own senses, just as she does for me. If I do this," he says, reaching over and pinching the tip of one of Ninetales's tails, "I can feel it. It's like phantom limb syndrome, or mirror-touch synesthesia."
It suddenly strikes Lee how it no longer takes focus for he and Ninetales to share their senses, and how doing so causes no discomfort anymore. Just a few months ago, sharing Vulpix's vision made his head hurt and his stomach turn. Now? It's as easy as breathing.
Lee recovers from his own revelation and resumes speaking. "When Lokoko, the Ninetales expert I was referring to, warned us about the possibility of becoming a gestalt, I got the feeling she was referring to something much more sinister than what we have currently. I don't want anything to happen to Ninetales and I, but neither can we just stop. I don't think we're physically able, which is why I'm asking for your help, Mable."
For the first time ever, Mable appears stunned. In record time, however, she recovers and schools her face back into a professional smile. "My, oh my! It's not every day I'm not prepared for something!" she exclaims, bouncing back from her shock. "I would be delighted to help. This does push the boundaries of my qualifications a bit, but a brand-new learning experience isn't something old Mable is about to shy away from! Let me know when and where, and I'll be there to help as best as I can."
Both Lee and Ninetales smile as one. "Thanks, Mable," Lee says, inclining his head. "It means a lot to us."
The woman waves away the thanks. "Oh, think nothing of it. I told you, Mable Lane does not stop until her patients are as well as can be. Is there anything troubling you about the situation?"
"Only the possibility that Ninetales and I might have to…" Lee hesitates to say the word. "Disconnect."
Even entertaining the notion feels wrong on a visceral level. For a split second, Lee's entire body grows cold, and he definitely feels Ninetales shiver slightly.
"And we'll take a look at that bridge as soon as we get there," Mable says. "Let's rewind things a little. Have you been feeling down recently about Earth and your old life?"
A slow shake of his head is Lee's answer. "No. I still think about it sometimes, but already it seems like it was a lifetime ago. I still miss my family, my zoo, and everyone in between, but it's more of a background thing now. I have trouble believing it's only been six months." He frowns. "Sometimes I worry that I'm forgetting everything too fast, though. It's left me feeling somewhat guilty."
"Hmm…" Mable hums in thought. "Time sure does fly, doesn't it? You shouldn't totally forget your time and experiences on Earth. Your memories are an important part of who you are, but neither should you let the past pull you down." A sudden thought seems to strike Mable, and she smiles. "Lee, about that wonderful idea you had during our first meeting…"
The sun is beginning to set when Corviknight swoops in for a landing just outside the front door of the Littleroot Pokemon Laboratory. Tucking his stiff wings in, Corvi kneels and allows Lee to hop off of his back.
"Still think I'm not a bother?" Lee jokes, rubbing a hand across the downy feathers of Corvi's chest.
The massive bird gives his trainer the stink eye and defiantly shakes his head. Lifting his wings slightly, Corvi casts Roost on himself, drawing in sky-blue lights that seep past his armor and ease the aches of the cross-region flight.
Lee huffs playfully. "I knew Roost was a good pick," he says, doffing his scarf and flight goggles, which are stuffed in his jacket pockets. Lee then rubs a hand across his face with a grimace. 'Euh. Even with the scarf I still have wind burn. I guess an all-day flight does that.'
"Holy-! He's even bigger in person!"
Turning around, Lee is treated to the sight of Nigel Birch gaping at Corviknight, who puffs up proudly.
"Too bad Corvi isn't a chicken pokemon, or I'd have a real dumb joke to make" Lee grins and steps towards Nigel. "It's been a hot minute since I've seen you in person, Nigel. How are you doing?"
"You adopt a Sylveon and give the PR guys a ton of work to do, and you have the gall to ask me how I'm doing?" Nigel rolls his eyes, but his small smile tells Lee the man isn't serious. "At least we're getting a funding increase from the Academic Board for it. Having three pokemon with a research value index over a zero-point-eight between two lab trainers is really getting their attention."
Lee furrows his brows. Why does the Academic Board insist on their weird value systems? "Three? I know Nine and Sylveon are two of them, but who's the third?"
"Brendan's giant Electrike."
"Ah." That makes sense. "Any idea what you're going to use the funding increase on?"
"We are definitely expanding the ranch grounds," Nigel says, pointing to where the ranch behind the laboratory meets the tree line. "You and Brendan are attracting new trainers to the scene, and our boarding capacity is starting to get low. If we don't expand, I'm going to have to adjust the boarding prices for trainers without sponsors, and I'll let you guess how well that will go over."
Lee cringes. "Oh. Yeah, that sounds like drama the lab doesn't need."
Nigel nods with a sigh, resting his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "Hopefully we can do everything in time. The Rangers need to survey the land we intend to expand into and confirm there's no protected pokemon there, the town auditor needs to review the land deed and resize the parcel, the contractors need to come out here and actually build the extended facilities… I'm hoping it'll be over sooner rather than later." Nigel then raises a hand and points in another direction, back towards the corner of the ranch grounds. "The stone I mentioned is in the northeast corner of the ranch. You don't need to worry about any of the pokemon touching it. I'll have Medicham, uh… Let them know what it is," he finishes awkwardly.
His cheer dying down, Lee smiles and gives Nigel a grateful nod. "Thanks for letting me do this here, Nigel. It means a lot to me."
The professor simply pats Lee on the arm. "When you're done, meet me at my house, okay? You can stay the night with us. My wife has been dying to meet you anyway."
As Nigel makes his way to the jeep parked beside the laboratory, Lee takes a deep breath and reaches down, tapping the button of every still-occupied pokeball on his belt.
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
Ninetales, Grovyle, Shinx, Octillery, and Sylveon join Corviknight outside of their capsules, each one emerging in their own flash of light.
Ninetales, who already knows what's happening, steps forward and presses herself into Lee's side, lending him her warmth and support, drawing stares from the others.
"C'mon guys and gals," Lee murmurs, "we've got just one more thing to do today."
Taking point, Lee leads his pokemon forward, leaping the fence and making for the corner of the lab ranch that Nigel pointed at. As they walk, the ranch pokemon still out and about during the evening hours quietly move out of their path. There is no fear or apprehension from the pokemon who see Lee and his team.
Today, there's only melancholy.
The northeast edge of the fence leads into a wooded area, where bird and insect pokemon watch the group march past from above, sometimes flitting away when Corviknight's head gets too close to their branch.
As they walk, Lee hears Sylveon murmur a question to Grovyle, too quiet for a human ear to hear, but personally audible to Ninetales.
Grovyle answers Sylveon's question with a low, mournful warble, making the Fairy go quiet.
Finally, they arrive, and Lee brings the group to a halt.
Before them is a featureless boulder, utterly plain and unassuming.
"Grovyle?" Lee asks over his shoulder. "Can you get us a nice, flat face to work with on this thing?"
The Grass-type steps forward, extending and palming his Leaf Blade. His yellow eyes inspect the stone closely, then with a flash of movement –
Shink!
– his Leaf Blade cleaves through the face of the boulder at a diagonal angle, slicing off a thin chunk that shatters when it hits the ground, and leaving behind a perfectly flat face.
Lee rubs a hand across Grovyle's head as the lizard retracts his blade, making Grovyle look away bashfully. "Nine?"
'Yes, Beloved. I already know the words.'
The vixen steps forward, bringing a tail to bear as she hardens the tip with Iron Tail. Bringing the tail forward, she drives it into the face of the stone and begins to carve. Letter by letter, word by word, a mournful message takes shape. When the final word is done, Ninetales steps back, allowing everyone to see what she wrote.
In memory of all who are no more.
Loved and never forgotten.
Born again, I live for you.
Here in this charmed place.
Loved and never forgotten.
Born again, I live for you.
Here in this charmed place.
Lee's very being hurts, and the world seems to fade from his vision.
Almost immediately, Ninetales returns to Lee's right, pressing herself to him and burying her head in his side.
Grovyle leans into his trainer's left, visibly fighting with himself, before wrapping an arm around one of Lee's.
Shinx jumps into Lee's arms, cuddling into his chest without so much as a sound.
Corviknight wraps a great black wing around them all.
The two outliers, Octillery and Sylveon, stand in front of the group and stare at the words.
Octillery's expression shifts constantly, as if he's not sure what he's supposed to be feeling. From calculating, to indifferent, to frustrated, before returning to calculating.
Then, as if Arceus descended to reveal a great secret to him, Octillery turns and stares at Lee, comprehension dawning in the cephalopod's eyes, before that too is gone. Finally, he settles upon an expression of practiced sympathy, just barely masking the intense curiosity within his eyes. He shuffles close, wrapping a comforting tentacle around one of Lee's legs.
Sylveon, meanwhile, reads the words over and over again, as if doing so will reveal some hidden knowledge. After the tenth rereading, nothing changes, and one of her ribbons snakes its way into the sleeve of Lee's jacket, wrapping securely around his wrist.
The Fairy suddenly stiffens as if electrocuted. Great shakes wrack her body, and she lets go. Staring at the ground as if the dirt at her paws wronged her, she shuffles backwards until she is standing between Lee's legs, and leans into his knee, ever so slightly.
The warmth of his pokemon returns Lee's senses, just a little, letting him read the inscription once more.
In memory of all who are no more.
His family, his friends, his animals, his entire world. It's gone, and will never come back. It's all been reduced to nuclear ash. Sometimes, he still expects to wake up, choking upon dust and bereft of purpose.
Loved and never forgotten.
Oh, how it agonizes him to admit it, that he'll never get to make new memories with the ones he loved, but… Is it all bad? Those memories aren't gone. They'll be with him forever.
Born again, I live for you.
…No. No, it's not all bad. Someway, somehow, he cheated death and now lives while everyone else has perished. If he does nothing with this chance, it's practically spitting upon everyone who didn't get the chance.
Here in this charmed place.
Lee blinks, suddenly realizing that his pokemon are all huddled against him, warding off the chill of the evening with their bodies. He looks down, left, right, and even up. In every direction, he sees naught but faces looking at him with love and support.
Love and support from his new family.
A smile crosses Lee's face, and with the hand not holding Shinx, he dabs at his eyes. 'Charmed place, indeed. Nine must be making me flowery. I guess its - no. No guessing. I know it's time to let it all go.'
All at once, the ache in Lee's chest is gone, and the man is left feeling lighter than air. "It's good to be home," he breathes.
Together, they all stay until the horizon swallows the sun's last ray.
Below are the names of some patrons who got to view this chapter early and felt like signing it. A huge thanks to them and everyone else who supports this story and everything else I write.
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Tyraelistan
Tyraelist of stans
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That ending made me tear up.
ThunderBasilisk
Well Worn Bastion
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An awesome chapter. I especially loved the ending. Also does Lee owning a Sylveon mean hes no longer can get a Dragon?
Freeze046
Making the rounds.
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As I read this last part of the chapter I had this music playing in my mind specifically, at 2.26 and beyond when I went back to reread the chapter with the music in the background and I completely broke in tears even more from it. The chapter alone brought me to tears but I felt the music with it definitely drove home how final it was and the air of melancholy that defined the scene. In the end I enjoyed even more how through the tears, Lee saw his new family and cherished that by moving on and embracing his new reality. I'm also curious how Sylveon will handle that bunch of emotions from Lee as she did recoil slightly after touching him with her feelers during the memorial.
Drew_The_Ghost
Getting sticky.
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Man, FF didn't let me comment as freely. But God damn isn't this story so good!
Thanks for the chapter!
I teared up at the end...
Thanks for the chapter!
I teared up at the end...