Borne of Caution (Pokemon Isekai)

[RuberFF]

Is there any MC x Gardevoir romance in this story? asking for a friend

 

[Feederchan]

Is there any MC x Gardevoir romance in this story? asking for a friend

Click to shrink...

nope no Gardevoir

 

[Ryumancer]

Is there any MC x Gardevoir romance in this story? asking for a friend

Click to shrink...

It's not that genre of story at all, essentially.

 

[AckSed]

Afraid not. Like the rest of us, you're going to have to create the smut you want to see in the world.

 

[Tempting Fate]

"Did you create Ninetales?" Lee quietly asks.

The golden, mandible-like jaw below Giratina's eyes flexes slightly, and the great dragon regards Lee and Ninetales with a tilt of its head.

"I do not create, only recycle."​

Despite Giratina's words, the unspoken yes to all of Lee's questions is plain. There is a tiny, selfish part of Lee that flares with reactionary resentment, cursing Giratina for putting him through so much when he could be peacefully dead alongside his family and friends. If the god before him had kept to itself, then so much heartache would have been neatly sidestepped.

Click to shrink...

Lee always fretting about if Ninetales was created, never asking himself what evidence he has that Lee Henson wasn't also created. Who is to say his memories aren't someone else's? That "Earth" exists at all? He was almost certainly placed near Birch for a reason - what else could have been done to ensure he walked a path desired of him by the one who placed him there?

If Lee's new pokemon moves have all been variations of existing moves (like the absorbing leaf blade) and not completely new, I wonder if that could be a hidden gift from the one who recycles.

Unrelated, I suspect all animals and humans in this pokemon world are descended from fallers. In that way they could be seen as an invasive species from Archie's point of view.

 

[Fuggmann]

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---

As a cool breeze blows through his hair and ruffles his open jacket, Lee decides that autumn in Hoenn is quite enjoyable.

The tropical region is a sauna in the height of summer, with temperatures casually reaching ninety degrees fahrenheit or higher. If anything took time to get used to, it was the temperature.

Now, though, in the first week of November, the daily high is a pleasant sixty degrees and not a pip higher. It's unfortunate that most trees in Hoenn don't turn autumn colors, but it's just another reason to move to Sinnoh or Johto once all of their affairs in Hoenn are taken care of.

Taking a deep breath, Lee smiles and looks down at his feet, where Shinx is practically vibrating, trying and failing to keep her excitement under wraps.

After a few days testing his baby's prodigious memory and recording all the amazing findings, Lee decided to make good on his promise to find a real, live battle for Shinx.

The cub was quite literally bouncing off the walls (knocking down a portrait in the hotel in the process) and pushed Lee and the team to get up and hurry the morning of. She wolfed down her breakfast so fast that Lee had to grab her scruff until she promised to slow down, then was bouncing on her paws by the door of the suite as Lee got dressed for the day.

Now, they're hanging out at the sidelines of one of Petalburg's many battlegrounds, watching matches and waiting for a challenge.

Looking down, Lee gives Shinx a gentle nudge with his boot. "Take a deep breath and calm down, Shinx," he says. "We'll get you a match. Just be patient."

The cub slows her incessant bouncing, or at least tries, and takes in a breath that makes the fur on her chest puff up, before releasing it out in a great gasp.

"Not what I meant, baby girl." Lee smiles bemusedly. "Relax, okay? You don't want to be over-tense for your fight."

Shinx finally sits down and takes a breath that seems to calm her somewhat, but her tail still flicks to and fro with nervous energy.

Inside her ball, Ninetales smiles, and Lee can feel it. 'So eager to impress. Little Shinx has grown much.'

'Yeah…' Lee agrees, melancholy jabbing his heart. It's like seeing his cubs at the zoo turn into lions once more. 'She grew up too fast, in my opinion. Is this what being a parent is like?'

'I can only imagine so. Savor it now, for if pokemon development is anything like that of a human, her rebellious phase may be cresting the horizon.'

'Our baby Shinx? A rebel? No way, no how. My sparkly-eyed sunshine can do no wrong.'

Ninetales giggles with only Lee to hear. 'Ah, the folly of father and Daddy's girl.'

Smiling, Lee rolls his eyes and rolls Shinx's ball between his fingers. Casting his gaze around him, Lee counts the other trainers awaiting a challenge and sees their numbers thinning out.

Like many social groups, trainers have a number of unspoken rules and cues within their ranks, ones that Lee missed during his first few months as a trainer.

One of the most common ones is simply waiting around battlegrounds with a pokeball in hand, signaling that you're looking for a fight. Having the pokemon you intend to fight with released is a courtesy that confident (or arrogant) trainers afford others, though some unscrupulous individuals employ such a thing as a bait-and-switch.

They usually get put on blast online.

Thus far, a few trainers have looked their way, but none have approached. If Ninetales were out, Lee might be able to borrow her ears and hear the whispers of a few people watching them, but alas. Some of the eyes trained on them are alight with recognition, while others are simply wary in a general way. Even this deep into the league year with the more casual trainers having already been filtered from the gym circuit, it seems that Lee is still a daunting sight for most.

With an inward sigh, Lee reaches up and rubs the trio of long-healed burns on his face.

The smooth, raised flesh is warm and slightly numb, as it always is, and once again, the man wonders if he should see a cosmetic specialist to try and do away with them.

'Nah.' He traces the one that took several millimeters of his lower eyelid and lets his hand fall. 'I've kept them this long, and I want the reminder to remain.'

"Excuse me, are you looking for a battle?"

Lee's attention returns outward when a voice addresses him. Looking down, he finds a girl a head shorter than him with a smile on her face.

The youthful woman, who can't be any older than seventeen, is rather plain in appearance, with auburn hair, hazel eyes, and practical traveling clothes. In her hand is a greatball, making her intent clear.

"That I am. My name is Lee, Miss…" Lee leads off, holding out a hand.

"April!" the girl chirps, taking the offered hand for a shake. "Are you using this cutie here?" she asks, looking down at the once-more vibrating Shinx.

"It'll be her first real battle outside of the team." Lee nudges Shinx with his foot again, reminding her to calm down. "Don't go easy on her, though. She's a tough cookie."

April's smile takes on a competitive edge, one that seems universal to all trainers. "Wouldn't dream of it!"

With the pleasantries out of the way, Lee, April, and Shinx move to an unused battleground made of the standard hard-packed dirt. Along the way, they discuss an ante for the match, something Lee has always avoided for fear of looking like a bully who preys on young, broke trainers.

April laughed at the confession and flashed her five badges, including Petalburg's Balance Badge. With that, they both put down five-hundred credits on the match.

As each trainer takes a side, a small crowd of curious onlookers joins at the edges, at least double of what any of the other battlegrounds have. Many of them sport belts of pokeballs or are joined by weathered-looking pokemon, each one paying close attention. Among the throng, there are cellphones and cameras poised to catch the action.

'All of them are so eager to scope out the alpha quietly prowling amongst their ranks, hmm?' Ninetales comments in the back of Lee's head, a hint of smug pride in her words. 'Young April looks to be the sacrificial Wooloo in this case.'

'Alpha? As if. And calling this girl a sacrificial Wooloo is a morbid way to think about it, Love.'

'Am I wrong?'

Before Lee can reply to the balled fox, an older gentleman with a salt-and-pepper beard walks up to the side of the arena to referee, and addresses both of them. "Lad, lassie, who are you and what rules are you using?" he asks, looking between them both.

"I'm Lee, and I actually have two pokemon I'd like to get some practical experience today, so how about two-on-two, one substitution each, standard rules and win condition?" Lee asks across the field.

"April is my name, and that sounds good to me!" April calls back, eagerly readying her greatball.

The referee of the day nods. "Two-on-two, one substitution. Trainers! Ready your first pokemon!"

Lee kneels down and puts a hand on Shinx's back, withholding a wince when some static crackles against his palm. "Ready, Baby?"

Shinx looks up at him with a grin, one feral and entirely too reminiscent of Zinnia.

"Knock 'em dead!"

With that, Shinx springs out into the field, electricity arcing up and down her body.

On April's side, the girl wings her greatball into the air. "Kecleon! Let's go!"

The blue and white pokeball snaps open with a flash of white, and opposite of Shinx, a bipedal, chameleon-like pokemon takes form.

'A Kecleon!' Lee's eyes widen in surprise.

The pokemon on the other side of the field resembles a chameleon of odd proportions. With a large, almond-shaped head decorated by a pair of spiny frills, a pair of short arms ending in yellowish claws, a pair of squat legs, and a thin, curly tail, the reptilian is unmistakable.

While not as vanishingly rare as a Zoroark, Kecleon is definitely one of the you don't find them, they find you types of pokemon, thanks to the world-class stealth abilities afforded to them by their color-changing skin.

Even more interesting, however, is Color Change, their special ability. After being struck by an attack, Kecleon's type temporarily changes from Normal to whatever type of attack hit it last. A gimmick in a video game, but a game changer in real life.

'Well, I was hoping for a challenge, and the world answered,' Lee thinks to himself with a lopsided frown. Strategies begin to form in his head.

"Ready?" The ref raises his hand and chops it down. "Begin!"

Shinx spools up Intimidate without any order needed. She bares her fangs as her eyes shine with a malevolent yellow light, and she looses a roar more fitting for a cat five times her size. The burst of hostile intent is concentrated enough that Lee can see it travel via the kicked-up dust on the ground.

When it hits Kecleon, he stumbles like he took a punch to the chest, and the lizard's face quite literally goes white.

"Kecleon, focus!" April is quick to try and put her pokemon back on track. "GP!"

Kecleon shakes his head to clear Intimidate's fog and moves to fulfil the obscured order, digging his slightly shaky hands into the ground.

'We'll prod him from a distance before moving in.' Lee's eyes narrow. "Thundershock!"

Little Shinx's body lights up with a corona of yellow. With a yowl, her fur stands on end and a bolt of lighting erupts from her body, speeding to Kecleon.

A second before he's electrocuted, Kecleon takes the clumps of dirt in his claws and strikes himself in his chest with them. His dull green scales bleed into ruddy brown.

Ker-zap!

Thundershock lights up April's pokemon with hundreds of thousands of volts, but the lizard doesn't so much as flinch. Once the burst of electricity passes, Kecleon is left with bright yellow scales. The yellow doesn't stay long, however, as brown once more radiates from the lighty smoking dirt smeared on his chest, until he's an earthy hue once more.

Lee watches the entire process with interest, noting how Kecleon's scales shifted color. 'I knew it, any trainer with a Kecleon is going to try and game Color Change. Kecleon made himself Ground-type with whatever "GP" was to negate Thundershock.'

His eyes lock onto the dirt clinging to Kecleon. 'Thundershock still shifted him to Electric-type for a moment, though. A good defence, but not perfect. We can work with this.'

"SB!" April orders, jumping on the one-second lull Lee used to think. "Then circle with DG!"

Kecleon's maw opens wide, and he fires off a dark, writhing ball of purple that Lee instantly IDs as Shadow Ball, but he has no idea what "DG" might be, so when in doubt…

"Protect!"

As soon as Shadow Ball is flying, Kecleon dives face-first into the ground, tunneling a dark hole below him and vanishing from sight.

At the same time, Shinx squares herself, her face one of adorable focus as a shimmering green shield forms and covers her in a translucent, protective hemisphere.

Shadow Ball crosses the field at a clipped pace and smashes into Shinx's Protect, putting hairline cracks in the shield. A split-second later, Kecleon erupts from the ground behind Shinx in a shower of dirt, his already-swinging claws bouncing off of Protect. The impact jolts his arms and makes Shinx wince inside her shield.

'Dig is "DG" then, good to know.' Lee files that away for later. "Quick Attack!"

Shinx pulls a 180 to face Kecleon and drops Protect in one motion. Kecleon and April only get a half-second's notice before Shinx springs for her foe like a sonic, cub-shaped missile.

April, despite what should have been a set-back, smiles widely. "GHP! SP!"

There is a pop like a firecracker going off, and wisps of ghostly purple hiss out of Kecleon's mouth. His scales turn a pale lavender, and to both Lee and Shinx's surprise, Shinx passes right through Kecleon as if he were a hologram.

…Or a ghost.

The lizard then whirls on his feet, his claws balled up into a fist coated in black, smoky energy. The fist is driven right into Shinx's side, sending the kitten flying out into the middle of the field with a yowl of pain.

Shinx lands in a heap, but jumps to her paws immediately with wheezy breaths. Her usually happy face is contorted into concentration, and she gazes at Kecleon steadily, not looking at Lee and taking her attention off her foe like other rookie pokemon.

'I should have seen that coming.' Lee frowns, upset that both his plan to combo Quick Attack into Spark failed, and that his baby had to take the first hit of the fight. Another idea quickly forms, and he hopes Shinx's talent can make it work. "BD Eyes! Full power! Keep it going and don't break line of sight!"

Little Shinx obeys without hesitation. Her yellow eyes take on a pink hue, and she trains herself on Kecleon like a cat might a fat bird.

The lizard pokemon falters as the Fairy ray washes over him, weakening his body.

If Lee remembers right, Color Change should only be activated by incoming damage, but time and again, the mechanics of the games have been disproven here. With enough umph behind them, status moves can definitely cause harm, so with that in mind…

Lee grins as Kecleon's scales begin to go from lavender to hot pink.

…Baby-Doll Eyes should activate Color Change.

"Thundershock! Keep BD Eyes up!"

Her fae-like gaze still locked on Kecleon, Shinx snarls and fires off another crackling bolt.

Kecleon grabs another handful of dirt from the ground and punches his own sternum, but his scales stubbornly remain pink. The lizard then looks down at his brightly-colored hide with wide, panicked eyes.

Then he's violently electrocuted.

A strangled scream erupts from Kecleon as he convulses on his feet.

On the other side of the field, April realizes that her plan is in danger of falling apart and takes swift action. "Move! DG to reposition!"

Through his pain, Kecleon grimaces and musters up enough focus to drive his claws into the floor of the arena, grounding himself just long enough to dig a hasty hole and escape.

Shinx cuts off Thundershock and allows herself a single blink to wet her glowing eyes. The cub keeps her head swiveling around, ready to re-engage in a heartbeat and not dropping Baby-Doll Eyes for even a second.

"Be ready for anything, Shinx," Lee mutters, knowing his cub's sharp ears will pick up the order despite the distance. "We have no idea what their counterplay might be."

Several meters to Shinx's right, just as she turns her head to the left, the ground cracks.

"Shinx, right!" Lee barks.

The blue and black cub turns just in time to see Kecleon burst from the earth and into the air, his scales once more the ruddy brown they were earlier.

"Disable!" April hollers.

Shinx, bless her, already knows what to do and is in motion before Lee can even begin to speak. She had to face the exact same scenario from Ninetales during training, though instead of Disable, it was a surprise Dig into Confuse Ray combo she was up against.

Nine's discombobulating Confuse Ray makes for a lesson that will stick.

A deep, reverberating Roar flies from Shinx's mouth and slams into Kecleon's chin before the lizard's eyes can glint with Disable. The concussive shockwave does no real damage, but throws his head high, sending Disable's invisible beam into the clouds.

His brown scales shift to green.

'Thata girl! Time to finish this one!'

"Spark!" Lee jumps on the opening, his grin back.

Shinx leaps into the still mid-air Kecleon. Her claws dig into his limbs and her teeth find his throat, then both pokemon explode into wild arcs of electricity so bright that Lee has to shield his eyes.

Both pokemon come down as a tumble of flailing limbs as Spark runs its course, but with the leverage of her claws, Shinx maneuvers the fried chameleon under her, and poor Kecleon takes the brunt of the fall with Shinx landing on top of him, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

When her foe remains still under her fangs for a few seconds, Shinx releases him and bounds away, returning to a low stance and awaiting a new order.

Off to the side, Lee can see the man serving as the ref counting under his breath. When he hits five, he waves his hand. "Kecleon can't continue! Round one goes to Shinx and Lee!"

The bystanders let out a round of cheers, and Lee crouches down and opens his arms, letting Shinx leap into his chest where he embraces her.

"I'm so proud, Baby Girl!" Lee's smile is so wide that it makes his scars twinge with discomfort, but he doesn't care at all. He stands back up with Shinx cuddled into his arms. "You won your first real match! You've worked so hard and it shows! What did I do to deserve you?"

Shinx positively glows from the praise. She presses her head into Lee's chest, purring with such intensity that he almost doesn't hear her wheeze. That's when he notices that her eyes are also puffy and bloodshot.

"Aww, my poor girl, are your eyes irritated from firing off Baby-Doll Eyes so much?" Lee asks, rubbing a thumb under her watering eyelid and seeing it come back wet. "Here, how about you rest for the next one, okay? Then we'll get you an Oran, some eye drops, and get you ready for another battle."

At first, the cub looks like she wants to protest as her smile dims, but a thought seems to stop her. She slumps her shoulders and mewls sadly. What exactly she said, Lee isn't sure, but he caught the sound for "want" and "bad" in there.

'Nine? Did you catch that?'

In her ball, Ninetales frowns. 'She still wishes to fight, and she's "sorry for being a bad baby".'

That throws Lee for a loop. 'A bad baby? Where did that come from? I'm not going to be upset at her wanting to battle.'

'I'm not certain what compelled that particular comment,' Nine admits, her second-hand discontent with the fact flowing into Lee. 'Perhaps she's upset for having an opinion contrary to yours?'

"You're not bad! Don't think that!" Lee holds his youngest pokemon a little tighter and strokes her head as she looks up at him with her big, yellow eyes. "Disagreeing with me does not make you bad! You can disagree all you want, just remember that I make the decisions that I do for a reason, okay? Even Ninetales took a rest after her first fight."

That little factoid makes Shinx blink incredulously, and Lee can imagine why. To Shinx, her "mama" has always been a juggernaut. To hear otherwise must border on blasphemy.

Lee kneels and sets her on the ground. "I promise we'll let you strut your stuff for as long as you can today, but I want you to take a breather and get some treatment after your first battle outside the team. Can you stand back for me, Shinx?"

Like the good girl she is, Shinx obediently takes a few steps back until she's in the chalk corner of Lee's trainer box, then sits down and curls her tail around her paws.

'A rebellious Shinx.' Lee shakes his head, thinking back to his earlier talk with Ninetales. 'My girl is too good for such things.'

Out on the field, April has long-since recalled her crispy Kecleon and regards Lee with a sporting smile. Once Lee is obviously done with Shinx, she holds up another greatball. "Good match. Are you subbing Shinx out?" she asks, voice raised to carry across the field.

Lee shakes his head. "I'm retiring her for the remainder of the battle, so we're down to one-on-one." Reaching down to his belt, Lee takes the only luxury ball of the bunch.

The teen on the other side of the field nods, her smile widening. "Team pride and five-hundred smackers are on the line, so I've gotta take the second round! Hope you're ready for my ace!" she says, tossing her pokeball high.

The great ball flies up and snaps open. A flash of white later, a Liepard takes shape on the field.

April's second pokemon and team ace resembles a cheetah more than a leopard, with a lithe, feline form, purple fur sporting yellow diamond markings, and a yellow underbelly with paws the same color. Around the cat's neck is a loose collar, and attached to that collar is a large charm resembling a pair of black sunglasses.

'Black Glasses,' Lee's memory supplies. 'Boosts Dark moves like Sceptile's Miracle Seed boosts Grass. Hmm. I should look into selling the Seed since Sceptile doesn't use it anymore. Or maybe give it to Nine. A Drought-fueled, Miracle-Seed-boosted Solar Beam sounds funny.'

While Lee is caught in his own thoughts, April's Liepard lazily drags her eyes over Lee, then to Shinx, before she turns her nose up, utterly dismissing them. She even looks over her shoulder to April and meows out an unmistakable complaint.

"Liepard, please take this seriously!" April sighs. "This is an ante match and that Shinx took down Kecleon!"

Liepard merely sniffs imperiously, as if saying, 'So?'

Lee takes that as his cue to toss Sylveon's ball into the ring. The gold and black pokeball pops open at the apex of the throw before flying back to Lee's hand, and once the white flash clears, Sylveon is left standing placidly on Lee's side of the field.

The sudden appearance of the rarest eeveelution there is makes excited chatter break out amongst the spectators, and more people find their way over to the field until smartphones are being held over heads to catch a glimpse.

The fairy looks over her shoulder, an eyebrow raised as she extends a ribbon his way.

"Care for a match, Sylvy?" Lee asks, doing his best to tune out the onlookers as he takes the offered ribbon in his hand. Idly, he pinches the blue ribbon tip in his hand between his thumb and forefinger. "I'd love to see the progress of all your hard work out in a live battle."

The word "love" makes Sylveon perk up, and a tiny smile rises to her oft-blank face. She nods firmly and tugs the ribbon from his grip, turning her attention to Liepard.

Across the way, the cat's impassive facade cracks under Sylveon's intense stare, and behind her, April seems even more unbalanced.

"Oh, crap…" the girl mutters.

"Ready?!" The ref raises his hand and brings it down in the customary chop. "Begin!"

"Wrap!"

"Fake Out!"

Two of Sylveon's ribbons dart towards Liepard, low to the ground and with the speed of striking vipers.

At the same time, Liepard rushes forward as a flicker of purple, hoping to come in fast for a feint to open Sylveon up to a combo.

Sylveon's ribbons, so used to chasing down her infuriatingly fast teammates, re-direct themselves and tangle Liepard's paws, sending the purple-hued feline tumbling in the dirt. The extending strips of fur then wrap tightly around her paws, one ribbon for the front paws, and one for the rear paws.

Before Liepard can retaliate, or even struggle, Sylveon's other two ribbons flash into existence around Liepard's throat and squeeze, making the Dark-type's eyes bulge in alarm.

"Liepard, Iron Tail! Cut yourself free!" April yells, her eyes wide in panic.

Liepard's long tail takes on a metallic sheen, and the cat tries desperately to manage a swing to sever the ribbons holding her captive, but between Liepard's own mindless distress and the angle at which she's held, it's too little, too late.

With the same ease she might lift an unruly Eevee kit, Sylveon raises Liepard high in her extended ribbons, and with a dispassionate click of her tongue, whips all of her ribbons down in-sync.

Liepard smashes into the earth with such violence that the ground rumbles beneath Lee's feet, and everyone else's too, he imagines. The bastardised Seismic Toss kicks up a screen of dust, but from how casually Sylveon withdraws her ribbons back to her body, Lee already knows what to expect.

Once the dirt in the air settles, everyone is treated to the sight of April's Liepard lying in a shallow crater, bleeding from a gash in her head and breathing laboriously. The leopard pokemon's eyes are shut and her body is limp.

'Out cold in one shot.' Lee combs a hand through his hair, keenly aware of the multitude of stunned eyes on him and Sylveon.

The man serving as the match ref blinks, then remembers to count to five under his breath. "Liepard is unable to continue. Lee and Sylveon win the battle!"

This time, the cheers are much more enthusiastic, with the trainers and pokemon gathered around pressing in as close as they can without crossing the chalk outline around the arena.

Still a little dazed himself, Lee kneels down and opens his arms for a hug like he did for Shinx, with Sylveon nonchalantly stepping in and letting him wrap her in his arms. A few things Lee could say go through his head. 'Sylvy, you are too much.'

The fairy pulls her head back, looking up and giving Lee a searching look in those shiny blue eyes of hers. On the surface, Sylveon seems impassive, but under that…

In those big blues is a nearly imperceivable, almost shy want for approval.

Lee lets a smile rise to his face and cups Sylveon's face with his hands, rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs. "Spectacular job, Sylvy. I think… No, that was definitely the fastest, cleanest win anyone on the team has ever had. I couldn't have asked for anything better."

Sylveon's thin, velvety fur lets the embarrassed flush of her face shine through, and she breaks eye contact, but for the first time since Lee has known her, Sylveon's smile finally reaches all the way to her eyes.

Regardless of any attention that comes from this match, it's a win in Lee's book. Releasing his pokemon and standing, he beckons both Sylveon and Shinx along as he walks to the middle of the arena.

April, still speechless, recalls her wounded Liepard and meets Lee in the center of the battleground, carried along by unsteady feet.

"Apologies if Sylvy was a little rough." Lee holds out a hand to shake with a slightly sheepish smile. "It's nothing personal, she just didn't want to do anything by halves."

At his side, Sylveon's chest puffs up a little.

"Yeah, no hard feelings." April shakes Lee's hand and regains her smile, although now the girl's expression is a touch sour. "I guess all the BattleNet hype about you being a Conference shoo-in is real."

"Ah, I wouldn't pay much attention to that stuff," Lee waves her off. "Internet buzz is always overblown."

April puts her hands on her hips and shakes her head. "Whatever you say. Let me get your money," she mumbles the last part reluctantly, pulling her phone from her pocket.

"No, don't worry about the credits," Lee stops her short. "I've got plenty of income. I'm not taking anything from independent trainers who need it more."

The girl blinks and gives Lee an incredulous look.

"I'm serious!" Lee insists. "Five-hundred is a lot of money. Save it, use it for something you need, but don't give it to me. I've got plenty."

When Lee doesn't say "Psych!" or otherwise change his mind, April's genuine smile returns, and the girl surprises Lee by standing on the tips of her toes to wrap her arms around his neck in a brief hug. "Thank you so much!" she exclaims, pulling away. "I didn't expect a bigshot to be so… well, I dunno, like you!"

"Thanks, I guess?" Lee replies, trying vainly to will the awkward flush on his face away.

Her piece said, the auburn-haired girl waves over her shoulder and steps off the field, disappearing into the people surrounding the boundary lines.

Lee, with Shinx and Sylveon in tow, move to clear the area as well, but are stopped when another trainer steps onto the field.

"Hey!"

Lee turns, finding a boy of fourteen or fifteen grinning at them. "Can I get a battle, too?" he asks, raising a pokeball.

---

Lee, seeing no reason to deny the teen boy who approached him, agrees to a one-on-one, with Shinx vs the boy's Seviper.

Seviper has speed and guile in spades, but no answer for Shinx's ranged abilities. In the end, it's a decisive victory for Shinx.

Another young woman stops Lee after the boy trainer has said goodbye and takes his cooked Seviper to the pokemon center. This time, Shinx's opponent is a Swinub. A tricky customer owing to his Ice/Ground typing, but Shinx ekes out a win with some frostbite to show for it and is retired for the day.

By then, the ice is broken and Lee is no longer so unapproachable. The trainers and pokemon come from all directions, all wanting a piece of the mysterious trainer they read about online.

Sylveon then takes over, thrashing a number of challengers in a row, even a recently-evolved Aggron.

The trainer with the Aggron thought he was slated to win thanks to Steel's advantage over Fairy, and how Sylveon should be exhausted from fighting nonstop.

The tortured squeal of Aggron's armor when Sylveon got her ribbons on him swiftly killed that notion, however.

Lee knew the weeks of secluded training did wonders for his pokemon, but seeing Sylveon twist an Aggron's arm until he cried uncle really makes it all hit home.

Despite Sylveon's deep well of resolve and brutal efficiency, she isn't tireless, and Lee eventually retires her for the day. Now well into the afternoon, the easily cowed trainers have left, leaving only a small group willing to fight.

Then Corviknight takes to the field with an ear-rending cry that half the city probably hears, and the number of trainers willing to tangle with Lee and his team drops to zero. Once more, Lee and his pokemon are left on the sidelines, waiting for someone to approach.

At Lee's side, Corviknight grumbles about his distaste for cowards and weaklings under his breath, casting his baleful red eyes over everyone around. With his wings hunched and his feathers ruffled, the great corvid looks as put-out as can be over not getting to fight.

Lee pats the crow on his armored wing. "Sorry I called you out without a battle lined up, Corvi. I didn't think you would scare everyone off like that."

'You didn't think that a pokemon nearly ten-feet-tall and weighing half a ton would be intimidating?' Ninetales asks amusedly, still in her ball.

'He's not intimidating to me.'

'Oh, Beloved. There are few men as brave as you.'

Rolling his eyes, Lee pulls out his phone and looks up the route to the Pokemon Center. If no one wants to battle, then it's time to split.

"Mister Lee?"

Blinking, Lee turns to the voice addressing him and finds a short form with a mop of messy green on his head. "Wally?"

Corviknight's head snaps around, all of his attention focused on the exchange.

Sure enough, the boy Lee met in Verdanturf stands before him. Wally looks as Lee remembers, with green hair, light blue eyes, and an unsure posture, but he seems… healthier.

'I remember his skin being paler. Is he getting some color?'

"Wally, nice to see you again," Lee greets. "Small world, eh? Still working for Vivian?"

The boy lets a small smile rise to his lips and nods. "I guess it is. A small world, that is. Um, I actually saved up enough from my work with Miss Vivian to start my own journey a few weeks ago. It's late in the year, but I've already got the Stone and Knuckle badges!" he says, fishing a case from the messenger bag over his shoulder and opening it for Lee to see.

Sure enough, there are two glittering badges. In the reflection of the badges, Lee sees the crow behind him smile with… pride?

Lee lets out a whistle, genuinely impressed. "That's some real hustle. Good on you. What brings you to Petalburg, then? Normally Mauville is next on the list."

"The cheapest boat from Dewford to the mainland was coming to Petalburg, so that's what I took," Wally's smile diminishes some. "Um. Petalburg is also my hometown, and I got a little homesick…"

That, Lee can understand. "Yeah," Lee says wistfully. "I feel ya. There's no place like home."

Behind Lee, Corvi shuffles closer until his downy chest tuft is pressed into the back of Lee's head, and from within her ball, Ninetales radiates a mournful love.

'Thank you. Both of you.' Lee presses a hand against the warm, metal armor behind him.

Wally's attention travels up to the crow towering over Lee, and after a moment, his eyes grow wide with recognition. "Mister Corvisquire? Is that you? You were Mister Lee's pokemon?"

'What?'

"Mister Corvisquire?" Lee parrots, also looking up at Corviknight and pondering what Wally means. "You two know each other?"

"He saved my life!" the young trainer blurts.

Lee turns back to Wally, now even more confused. "What?"

"I-I have really bad asthma," Wally begins, looking away and twiddling his fingers. "Me and my Ralts heard a commotion in the woods when we lived in Verdanturf, and we found Mister Corvisquire there. He was really angry, and…" Wally slows his word vomit down and takes a deep breath. "Ralts didn't know how my medication worked at the time, and I collapsed, and Mister Corvisquire saved me. And he trained us for a while despite us being weak, and-and…"

Taking a second to think, Lee connects all the dots. 'So that's what you were up to while you were gone, Corvi.' He pats the crow once more. 'I knew you always had a heart.'

In her ball, Ninetales is quiet as she digests the sudden revelations separately.

Wally stops again, then looks up at Corviknight shyly. "Thank you, Mister Corviknight. I don't think we would have been brave enough to start this journey if it wasn't for everything you did, and I'm really happy that you had a trainer like Mister Lee to go home to."

The knightly pokemon turns his head, but even with his armored helm, he can't quite hide his misty eyes.

"Mister Lee? Mister Corviknight?"

Both look down to the green-headed boy, who now wears a stern face.

"I don't want to be selfish and ask things from you," Wally murmurs, taking a pokeball from his bag. With a tap of the button, it expands to its full size. "Mister Corviknight was - is the strongest pokemon we know, and I know we still have a long way to go, but we wanna know just how far, so…"

The ball in Wally's hand shakes, then snaps open.

Next to Wally, a slender form materializes out of the pokeball, standing on two legs and tall enough to stare Lee in the face. When the light of the pokeball fades, a Gallade stands on Wally's right, and exactly one step back, like a knight with his master.

Corviknight sucks in a hissing breath.

"May we please have a battle?"

---

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[ApiLol123123]

Thank you for the great chapter, eager to read the next one!!!

 

[AmberSlime]

When the light of the pokeball fades, a Gallade stands on Wally's right, and exactly one step back, like a knight with his master.

Click to shrink...

Holy smokes, that Ralts grew up quick.

also, loving the Black Knight vs Knight in Shining Armor dichotomy-thing we've got going on here.

 

[Retigh]

Move! DG to reposition!"

Through his pain, Kecleon grimaces and musters up enough focus to drive his claws into the floor of the arena, grounding himself just long enough to dig a hasty hole and escape.

Shinx cuts off Thundershock and allows herself a single blink to wet her glowing eyes. The cub keeps her head swiveling around, ready to re-engage in a heartbeat and not dropping Baby-Doll Eyes for even a second.

"Be ready for anything, Shinx," Lee mutters, knowing his cub's sharp ears will pick up the order despite the distance. "We have no idea what their counterplay might be."

Several meters to Shinx's right, just as she turns her head to the left, the ground cracks.

"Shinx, right!" Lee barks.

Click to shrink...

This whole section makes me wonder on an interesting tidbit of the Shinx line. Did Dig provide an additional pressure on wild Shinx line to develop Luxray's ability to "see through" objects?

They are ground bound electric types, which means their young are especially vulnerable to the ambush ground attack. The ability to see pokemon hidden in the ground would largely negate it. A Luxray could guide the young ones away from the danger, and prep a counter attack with the pride.

...Also, a pride of the Shinx line is goddamn terrifying to face in the wild. They can swarm a target with Intimidate and Leers, and lead with Rivalry boosted strikers. This would be a devastating combination for physical oriented pokemon, as the ability to counter attack and resist blows would be shredded. I see why the Shinx line became common in Sinnoh.

 

[Rodvek97]

Thanks for the great chapter!

 

[Dradel]

Holy smokes, that Ralts grew up quick.

also, loving the Black Knight vs Knight in Shining Armor dichotomy-thing we've got going on here.

Click to shrink...

I guess it's likely for Ralts to have become Kirlia by now with two badges, and Gallade is a Stone evolution so they're technically ready to go as soon as Kirlia's here. We'll see if their strength holds up.

 

[Sockmonkey]

Also, a pride of the Shinx line is goddamn terrifying to face in the wild. They can swarm a target with Intimidate and Leers, and lead with Rivalry boosted strikers. This would be a devastating combination for physical oriented pokemon, as the ability to counter attack and resist blows would be shredded.

Click to shrink...

That's a good point there. Some pokemon abilities that are kind of meh' in a match would curbstomp when employed by a group.

 

[Retribrutus]

As long as you keep cooking, it is yours, my friend.

Spoiler: Lee & Nines

 

[Wallaperi]

Damn good chapter.

Always a fast click for me, like most I presume!

 

[Cyrus2]

Thanks for the great chapter, Sylveon is always very brutal.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Goddamn this was awesome! And woohoo Shinx did amazing! Can't wait to see Corviknight but Gallade through his paces. And loved the gimmick fight with Kecleon. Man if Color Change is this broken just imagine how Nightmarish a mastered Protean or Libero is.

As long as you keep cooking, it is yours, my friend.

Spoiler: Lee & Nines

Click to shrink...

Damn this looks amazing! Who made this?

 

[JKD_666]

As long as you keep cooking, it is yours, my friend.

Spoiler: Lee & Nines

Click to shrink...

Yep, that's Lee. Definitely has that "secret super boss" vibe.

 

[Cap'n Skipjack]

Damn this looks amazing! Who made this?

Click to shrink...

Nobody. It's AI. Check the fingers on Ninetales' head.

 

[Cyrus2]

I'm just waiting for teenage rebellion Luxio, it will be so fun to watch.

 

[Drew_The_Ghost]

T4TC

Wally's all grown up, and ready to get bodied by Corviknight

 

[doomqwer]

Inside her ball, Ninetales smiles, and Lee can feel it. 'So eager to impress. Little Shinx has grown much.'

'Yeah…' Lee agrees, melancholy jabbing his heart. It's like seeing his cubs at the zoo turn into lions once more. 'She grew up too fast, in my opinion. Is this what being a parent is like?'

Click to shrink...

Shinx really has grown well it's good to see healthy after her beginning.

A second before he's electrocuted, Kecleon takes the clumps of dirt in his claws and strikes himself in his chest with them. His dull green scales bleed into ruddy brown.

Click to shrink...

That's clever i didn't even think about that.

Two of Sylveon's ribbons dart towards Liepard, low to the ground and with the speed of striking vipers

Click to shrink...

I love the choice of words here really captures the image well.

Sylveon's smile finally reaches all the way to her eyes.

Click to shrink...

i really am glad she is opening up

even a recently-evolved Aggron.

Click to shrink...

The tortured squeal of Aggron's armor when Sylveon got her ribbons on him swiftly killed that notion, however.

Click to shrink...

Yeah you can't totally rely on type advantage or else you will get creamed by those people prepare for it.

"May we please have a battle?"

Click to shrink...

Honestly aside from silver wally is my favorite rival from a character development point of view and just how far he came from where he was.

 

[CMDR Dantae]

Have we found a second rival for Lee here?

I remember someone said that Wally gets to the Conference and grows really quickly.

I'm pretty sure that was without having a trainer in Lee's tier to train against. If Lee's Pokémon were almost Elite Four Tier before the training arc, I imagine they have probably hit that level by now.

 

[Tobi]

It's back!! Thanks for the chapter.

Baby Shinx has grown up . . . I wonder if she will stay one long. Sylveon be wracking up a kill count to impress Lee. Corviknight intimidated everyone else.

I did not expect a Wally fight but this is good.

 

[Yeetboi]

Corviknight has a big soft spot for Galade and Wally now. It's utterly adorable.

 

[royal_flush]

"No, don't worry about the credits," Lee stops her short. "I've got plenty of income. I'm not taking anything from independent trainers who need it more."

The girl blinks and gives Lee an incredulous look.

"I'm serious!" Lee insists. "Five-hundred is a lot of money. Save it, use it for something you need, but don't give it to me. I've got plenty."

When Lee doesn't say "Psych!" or otherwise change his mind, April's genuine smile returns, and the girl surprises Lee by standing on the tips of her toes to wrap her arms around his neck in a brief hug. "Thank you so much!" she exclaims, pulling away. "I didn't expect a bigshot to be so… well, I dunno, like you!"

"Thanks, I guess?" Lee replies, trying vainly to will the awkward flush on his face away.

Her piece said, the auburn-haired girl waves over her shoulder and steps off the field, disappearing into the people surrounding the boundary lines.

Click to shrink...

Lmfao, Lee's doing PR for himself without even realizing it.

 

[alboalf]

Saying DG instead of dig certainly is a choice…

 

[Arkatekt]

To be fair, it may also be instructing a specific pre-planned pattern in the attack as well. E.g. use dig, emerge from behind/left flank/directly below.

 

[Fuggmann]

Take a look here!

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As always, thank you for reading.

---

Once again, a crowd swells around the battlefield as Lee and Wally take their places opposite one another. Between them, Gallade and Corviknight stride onto the field, their eyes locked on each other.

Amongst the bystanders, the anticipation is mounting, and it sits on Lee's shoulders like a physical weight. Corviknight has frightened away every single other challenger, but for a boy with a fully-evolved pokemon—a Gallade, no less—to rise to the challenge?

If anything from today gets posted to BattleNet, it's going to be this bout.

'Obviously, Corvi had to have been doing something while he was gone, but to think he ran into someone like Wally?' Lee shakes his head slowly. 'I know Giratina denied messing with our fate, but that's a pretty huge coincidence.'

'We still need to tell everyone about our… divine experience,' Nine reminds Lee.

'We'll do a bit more research on Giratina first, then sit everyone down for that talk,' Lee sends back before returning his attention to the field. Clearing his throat, he addresses Wally. "Just a one-on-one today, Wally?" Lee asks. "Corvi versus Gallade?"

The green-headed boy nods, his timid face firming up. "Yes."

Lee then looks over to the older gentleman who ref'ed for the last few battles, and he steps back up to the side of the arena.

The watchers all press in as close as they can, and the tension ratchets up each second. Seeing two fully-evolved pokemon clash? Not an occurrence that happens every day.

"Corviknight versus Gallade!" the referee announces as he raises his arm.

Phones begin recording.

Wally's eyes narrow.

Lee takes a deep breath. 'Lets see how Emerald's more ambitious rival measures up.'

The ref's arm chops down. "Begin!"

"Hone Cl-!"

Before Lee can finish his command, Gallade blitzes Corviknight without so much as a twitch from Wally, an elbow-blade already humming with a shimmering pink edge.

"Abort! Iron Defence!" Lee swaps his order, recognising Gallade's Psycho Cut.

Corviknight's whole body shines with a metallic luster as Steel TE coats his feathers and armor, and just in time, too, as Psycho Cut bites into his chestplate a second later.

Gallade turns on his heel in a full spin, transitioning Psycho Cut's slash right into an unnamed punch. His fist, crackling with orange sparks, smashes into Corvi's armor with a sound like a gong, drawing a grunt from the great corvid.

"Up!" Lee calls, quickly trying to find the pattern in Gallade's order-less aggression. 'No verbal cues? That's advanced stuff for a kid like Wally.'

Out in the arena, Corvi spreads his wings and takes to the air with a single, mighty flap, kicking up a miniature windstorm that forces both Wally and Gallade to cover their faces.

From his angle below, Lee can see just enough of Corvi's front to assess the damage.

'Shallow cut, probably less than half an inch, and a dent from the punch, which was definitely Fighting type…' Lee narrows his eyes as he thinks. 'The initial attack and transition from the slash to the punch was smooth as butter… but he attacked the thickest part of Corvi's armor rather than a joint. Gallade is strong, but his power is lacking for such a bold, frontal assault. What game are they playing here?'

Before the lull can stretch long enough for Wally and Gallade to take advantage, Lee fires off another order. "Hone Claws!"

Midair, Corvi brings his wings together with a flap, lacing his wing feathers together like someone might the fingers of their hands. Then he rips them away from each other, letting the edges grind together with a hair-raising sound and a shower of sparks.

At the same time, he grinds his talons together and chews on his own beak, making more sparks. When he's done, all the edges on his body shine like fresh razors in the afternoon sun.

Gallade stares up at Corviknight with an inscrutable face even as Wally's own expression becomes unsure. Then without an order, Double Team clones burst from Gallade, covering the field in illusory fakes. All of the clones then take a breath and focus, yellow arcing over their bodies as they charge what looks like Focus Energy to Lee's eyes.

'I see he used that TM I gave him. Sorry, Gallade, that would have worked on any other Corviknight.' Lee smiles grimly. "Pursuers into Drill Peck!"

Corvi lets out a horrid screech as wispy orbs of purple-black swirl into existence all around him. He throws his wings forward, and the seething balls all home into a Gallade on the far right of the field.

Once the attack is flying, Corvi brings his wings in close and dives low, his body swirling as he goes. In just a second, the crow's body is a spinning, drill-like blur that may as well be a horizontal tornado. The wind shrieks and wails as Corvi's bladed body rips through it, and Lee's ears pop as the living cyclone makes the air pressure dip.

Corvi then speeds towards Gallade, coming in from the side like a deadly drill while Pursuers race down from above.

Both Wally and his pokemon freeze as the Pursuers come down on Gallade like dark meteors. Then at the last moment, Gallade's eyes light up with a rainbow of colors as his body shimmers. A flash forces Lee to blink, and Gallade is gone, instantly Teleported to Lee and Corvi's side of the field.

Wally falters without an explanation, and Lee takes notice with a frown. 'Is he sick? What was that about?'

Each Pursuer swerves to follow their target, and Corvi himself twists midair in a show of Drill Peck mastery to follow Gallade, but now that the tall psychic has had some breathing room, he's ready.

Pulling his fists back, Gallade scowls and punches each incoming Pursuer with his hands wreathed in the same Fighting move Lee can't identify. Brick Break, maybe?

Regardless, Gallade's Fighting attack plows through each Dark orb, popping each one and neutralizing the caustic TE within.

…But he focuses so much on the orbs that he forgets about Corvi's Drill Peck. Another puzzling amateur mistake.

When Gallade dispels the final Pursuer and finally remembers that Corvi is coming in hot, the psychic grimaces and focuses once more, glowing as he readies a Teleport.

This time, Lee keeps an eye on Wally, finding that the boy is also grimacing…

Alas, the Teleport isn't fast enough, and with Corviknight only feet away, Gallade abandons the plan to instead leap to safety.

He's too slow, or Corviknight is just too large. Gallade is clipped on the arm and the side by the crow, but even the glancing blow rips at Gallade, tearing skin open and sending misted blood flying in Corvi's gale-like wake.

Gallade lets out a strangled cry as he falls to the dirt, rolling to a stop as he clutches his savage wounds. He doesn't stay down for long, and forces himself to his feet even as blood pours down his side.

Wally brings his hands together and screws his eyes shut, as if praying, and Gallade's gaze grows hard as he brings his arm-blades to bear, watching the still-whirling Corvi curving around for another pass.

'Lee…' Ninetales begins.

'I saw,' He sends back with a deep frown. 'Looks like telepathy. Feels odd being on the other end of it in a battle.' Then something else comes to mind. 'Do they know the risks telepathy has?'

Without a physical face to frown with, Ninetales' uncertainty instead tugs Lee's lips downward. 'We should speak with them after the bout,' the fox concludes, and Lee can't help but agree.

---

Out in the battlefield, the monstrous Corviknight and the underdog Gallade clash over and over. With each meeting, the Gallade leaves with another bruise or cut, and that's if he's not thrown like a ragdoll. With his injuries piling up, the crowd cheers each time he rises after a fall.

The Corviknight, by contrast, has mere scratches and dents on his armor. When the Gallade can manage a clean blow, the gigantic bird simply shrugs it off. The boy, Wally, and Gallade are making headway, though.

And then Lee Henson gives a damning order.

"Roost!"

The Corviknight lands and spreads his wings, gathering energy from thin air with them. His armor groans, and all the dents push themselves out as the scratches fade.

Both Wally and Gallade falter as their progress vanishes before their eyes.

Self healing. Such an annoying thing to deal with, but it's good to know that Lee Henson's Corviknight has that move. The intel is worth its weight in gold.

Then the pokemon clash again.

The fight is so intense that almost no one notices Norman Maple in the throng, watching with a frown. The longer he watches, the more intense his frown becomes.

The most stressful league year in recent memory isn't treating Norman well. His worries are many and are coming in from all over. From the orders to keep an eye out for Magma and Aqua, to sleepless nights wondering if he should call his children home, and that's to say nothing of the workload in the gym.

The gangs are concerning, but they haven't been sighted in Petalburg, so he could push lookout duty to his Gym Trainers, and his children are traveling with some young experts in the form of Ash and Brock, so he can convince himself to close his eyes and rest most nights, but the gym is a problem positive thinking won't banish.

A record number of trainers are aiming for the Ever Grande Conference this year, and every part of the Hoenn League is feeling the strain. Norman and his fellow Gym Leaders have been battling day in, day out, trying to get to as many clamoring challengers as possible.

Poor Roxanne and Brawly were really feeling it recently, with both young Gym Leaders looking like warmed-over death in recent meetings. As the most inexperienced of Hoenn's Gym Leader lineup, trainers tended to test their luck in Rustboro and Dewford first, using their gyms as measuring sticks and whetstones at once. Roxanne took her post just a year ago, and Brawly two years before that.

Luckily for Brawly, he never had to deal with being the "first in line" as the Gym Leaders say. Brawly wasn't the only new leader during his first year. No, that honor went to Liza and Tate when the twins took over the Mossdeep gym at the tender age of ten.

The pair of psychic prodigies crushed countless dreams their first year. Some newbies quit, others ran away to other regions in shame, and a few beat their heads against the wall that was the Mossdeep gym to no avail.

By the time most trainers realized the twins were too much to tackle without prep time, it was already late in the year, and for the first time in decades, the Ever Grande Conference didn't need preliminary rounds, as only sixty-some trainers managed to get all eight badges.

Liza and Tate jumped up and pushed everyone other than Wallace down in their unofficial ranks. Winona took to being the new sixth with grace, but Norman couldn't help but feel his pride sting as he fell to fifth.

With how many trainers are getting through him, recently, he might drop to fourth…

In the arena, poor Gallade is brained by a Steel Wing that could derail a train, and the crowd collectively winces. Oooohhhhh's break out, and Gallade stumbles, struggling to stand upright as a swanna-egg swells on his head.

Norman grimly notes that Corviknight's Steel Wing hits with power only a few notches below his Slaking's Mega Punch. Not good.

What was he thinking about again? Right, the gyms. It looks like Moore's granddaughter might be the new starting point next year. The girl and her pokemon are head and shoulders above the average trainer, plenty strong enough to be a Gym Leader, and with a pedigree to match. Her new "Flame Burst" move also makes her slow pokemon frightful in their area saturation abilities, but the masses see "new" as "weak".

Like the Mandibuzz they are, commercial real estate types are sniffing around Lavaridge, hoping to cash in on the coming trainer rush, and Norman heard talk of Lavaridge's mayor petitioning the League for tax breaks in the name of infrastructure funding. Heck, there are even rumblings of Devon opening an office there.

At least Roxanne won't be pulling fifty or sixty hour work weeks next year. That'll be on poor Flannery instead.

Again, Norman goes back to all the trainers in Hoenn this year.

Tyson Rhyn embarrassed the Petalburg gym, there are no two ways about it. Norman and his pokemon were treated like jokes by a man fifteen years his junior. Just thinking about it makes his face burn.

Ash Ketchum, the friend of his children, was a harsh reminder on the dangers of underestimating young trainers, but at least that match wasn't a blow-out. To lose in front of his own children, though…

Remembering Max's anguished face when Slaking fell hurts worse than any defeat by itself.

Valorie Forrest, a Grass specialist with the confidence to take an unusual route through the circuit, collected her balance badge weeks ago. Norman narrowly won their first match, and she handily won the rematch.

There are other ones yet to visit Petalburg, like Lilycove's Katie Huffman, the mysterious Andre, and Clark "Conductor" White, but they can only be a few weeks away at best.

But now, two of the most worrying ones are in Petalburg.

Brendan Birch and Lee Henson.

Norman sighs and glances away from the battle towards the falling sun, suddenly feeling older than his thirty-five years.

His best friend and childhood rival's son is in his city, and Brendan looks to be as fantastic a trainer as his father, if not better. Brendan and his pokemon handily defeated Roxanne, Brawly, Wattson, and Flannery, never needing a rematch, and all at the age of twelve. With mighty pokemon and a chess master's brain, Nigel prepared his son as much as he could without outright handing the boy a veteran pokemon, and it shows. There are even rumors abound that Brendan someway, somehow, captured a Latias.

The Gym Leader's fists clench.

Never in their rivalry did Norman ever trump Nigel. The other man was just too good, his pokemon too strong. All the training and strategy in the world broke across Nigel Birch like a clod of dirt hurled at the wall of a fortress.

'Nigel should have been the champion. He had it right there in his hands!'

Norman takes a breath and banishes the thought before it can spiral.

The power of a legendary dragon directed by Nigel Birch's firstborn?

How is anyone expected to face such a thing?

But despite all that, one Lee Henson is still the greater concern.

No records, no history, the man appeared out of thin air in Nigel's employ as a Lab Trainer and researcher, with Nigel refusing to utter a peep as to his origins. If what little of the man is available is correct, he wasn't raised to be a trainer, and missed all the milestones every child is expected to hit during their customary journey. It's like someone handed Lee everything he needed to be a terror as a demented joke.

That wouldn't explain the plethora of strange, new moves his pokemon throw out like candy, nor how his team shines with health to a nearly unnatural degree. Some cried foul and said his pokemon were on stimulants, but Lee rebuffed that by posting the results of a Pokemon Center drug test online, complete with a League seal.

So then, where does all this power come from?

A Shinx, born premature, yet fighting like a Salamence today.

A Sylveon strong enough to pull the limbs off of her foes like a child breaking a toy.

A record-breaking behemoth of a Corviknight, as tall and unyielding as a castle.

And his Octillery, Grovyle, and Ninetales haven't been spotted in weeks. There is no telling what they could be capable of.

The Gym Leader bites his lip.

Just having a Ninetales willing to follow orders is a feather in the cap of any trainer. Having one that can manage a win against the living legend that is Moore's Ty? The fox's ego should be so huge that she should fight a newbie trainer like Lee at every step, yet she's as obedient and cuddly as a hand-reared Growlithe.

Norman has followed all the high-flying trainers this year, silently thanking all the armchair aces of the internet for doing much of the work for him, but none of them can make sense of Lee Henson either.

What secrets is he holding? Did he stumble across some Holy Grail training method?

The screech of Lee's Corviknight pulls Norman back into the fight.

By now, Gallade looks as if he's just crawled out of a man-sized blender. The psychic pants, sagging and shaking in exhaustion as he bleeds from slash wounds all over his body. Still, though, he stands proud, defiant, even. One of his arms is limp, but the other is raised and humming dangerously with a Psycho Cut.

Corviknight, disregarding some new scuffs on his armor, looks fresh. The great crow stares down at Gallade, and the respect in his beady red eyes is plain for all to see.

"What do you say we call it here, Wally?" Lee says to his young opponent, the unmarred side of his face rising into a small smile. "Gallade has done wonderfully, and I-"

Corviknight turns and gives his trainer a squawk of protest, one that Gallade mirrors with as much venom as he can muster, making Lee blink in surprise.

"Sorry, Mister Lee," the boy, Wally, smiles back, "but we don't want to give up and run away when the going gets tough. We want to see it through."

Corviknight perks up, and even without having seen a Corviknight in the flesh before, Norman can't miss the approval on the face of Lee's pokemon.

Lee doesn't miss it, either, and instead nods. "If that's what you both want, then who am I to say no? Corvi! Finish this properly with Steel Wing!" He orders.

Landing on the ground with a rumble, Corviknight raises a black wing up like an oversized guillotine, shining with an edge promising pain.

Gallade growls and raises his own arm, his Psycho Cut extending up his forearm until it forms a translucent, broadsword-like blade.

Both pokemon tense. Gallade bends his knees, and Corviknight's free wing loosens to flap.

The standoff silences all the onlookers. 'Like a scene out of an old kanto samurai movie,' Norman supposes.

Then as one, both pokemon move.

Metal screeches as the pokemon zip past each other, practically trading places on the field. A moment later, both allow their attacks to power down.

Gallade stumbles, his hand slapping over a new, deep laceration in his side. Falling to his knees, the psychic turns his head to peer over his shoulder.

Norman follows Gallade's gaze all the way over to Corviknight, who lifts a wing to inspect his own side.

There, a clean cut is gouged through the crow's thick armor. From the wound, beads of red well up, then slowly run down the dark metal in thin rivulets.

Looking away from the cut in his side to Gallade, Corviknight croons a deep note, one that sounds of pride. 'Do Corviknight and Gallade have history?' Norman wonders.

A weak smile rises to Gallade's face, then he lets himself go limp and surrenders to unconsciousness, hitting the dirt with a muted thud.

The referee of the match counts to five, then raises a hand. "Gallade is unable to battle! Corviknight wins!"

The onlookers erupt into cheers as Wally recalls his beaten pokemon, then meets Lee in the center of the battlefield for a handshake.

Slowly, Norman backs away, gently pulling himself free from the small crowd and starting the walk back to his gym.

'I can't give Lee a standard match. I have to hit him with something new, something fresh,' he realizes with a frown. 'The entire gym system is based around the leaders losing, but…'

…But the reputation of the Petalburg gym is on the line. Losing with his loaner team from the League is no big deal, but suffering true loss after loss to rising stars?

If Norman's gym loses its mystique as the great roadblock of the Hoenn circuit, he hasn't anything else to fall back on.

Officially, the League doesn't track popularity as a metric, but unofficially? There's a reason the Rustboro gym's funding jumped after Roxanne, a personable and beautiful young woman, took over and replaced her aging, crotchety predecessor. One just needs to look at the uptick in interest in the Rustboro gym following her appointment to see it.

All of the other gyms have something unique, be it style or power, but Petalburg just has its status as the great filter. The gym that separates the wheat from the chaff.

Without that, he'll just be average Norman again, the man who didn't make Champion even after his rival gave up.

---

"C-Can that actually happen?" Wally hesitantly asks as he accepts the offered can of lemonade from Lee. "The whole 'one brain eats the other' thing?"

Lee lets out a sigh as he sits down on one of the sofas in the Pokemon Center, with Wally following suit at his side. "That's what every expert I've spoken to says. I'm not telling you to outright stop using telepathy with Gallade, but give it due caution, and don't neglect other forms of communication. It's a wonderful, useful thing, telepathy, but if you stay connected too long, it'll get harder and harder to disconnect until you can't anymore. You and Gallade need some time alone in your own heads from time to time. You understand?"

The young boy nods rapidly, making his green mop of hair bounce around. "Yes, I do!"

"Good," Lee takes a sip of his own drink. 'After having both, I think I still like lemonade made with actual lemon flavor over aspear berries.' Swallowing, he sets the can down on the coffee table before the sofa and reaches into his backpack, which is on the floor by his feet. Taking his notebook and a pen out, Lee scribbles down his phone number and tears the corner it was written on free, handing it to Wally. "If you have questions or run into anything weird with your telepathic practice, give me a call, okay?"

"I will!" Wally promises, folding the scrap of paper and stuffing it into his pocket. "How do you know so much about this, Mister Lee? Are you a scientist of some kind?"

"Researcher, actually. For the Hoenn Regional Pokemon Lab," Lee corrects. "As for how I know…"

Ninetales chooses that moment to stretch her legs, her pokeball expanding and popping open on Lee's hip. Once the light of her release fades, the gold fox is seated at Lee's feet.

"It's first-hand experience," Lee finishes, petting Nine as she looks into Wally's startled, silvery eyes. "Nine and I know a thing or two about telepathy."

'...Now that I've had more time to ponder the concerns therein, is it correct to tell Wally and Gallade to distance themselves from one another? Or Brendan and Latias?' Ninetales suddenly asks, looking over to Lee, some melancholy leaking from her into him. 'What you and I have is a joy like no other. Should others be denied it?'

Lee's smile slips. 'We aren't sure why you and I are in the metastable state that we are. Until we figure it out, it's safer for everyone to not try. Even if we knew how to make a stable bond, we shouldn't push others into it. It's a lifelong commitment that we both carry biases about.'

'I suppose…' The fox's heart isn't entirely pleased by the answer, even if she sees the logic. 'I would not oppose learning how we came to be one in soul, however. Passing the knowledge to others feels a noble goal to me.'

'Another project for my endless pile of research,' Lee answers back with a chuckle.

Wally apparently doesn't notice the lightning-quick exchange, but he does understand the implication and nods. "I promise I'll let you know if anything comes up," he says.

"Good," Lee says, casting a glance over to the line by the Pokemon Center's front desk.

Corvi didn't even need to be checked in. After the match with Gallade was over, he simply used Roost to close his sparse wounds.

Gallade, though, fought to the bitter end, withstanding twice the punishment Lee expected him to take. Slashes, bruises, a dislocated arm, a concussion, and he still stood tall. Lee had never seen such pride in Corviknight's eyes before today. Whatever state Corvi left Wally and Gallade in, they must be a night and day change.

"How long is Gallade going to be in the center, Wally?" Lee asks. As an afterthought, he adds: "Do you have any other battle-ready pokemon?"

"Don't worry about me, Mister Lee. Nurse Joy said Gallade should be out in a day or two with another two days of recovery," the young trainer smiles. "I have Skitty, Swablu, and Roselia with me, too, so I'll be okay!"

The elder of the two smiles back. "Good."

Lee and Wally settle into some small talk from there, with Wally telling Lee about some of Petalburg's highlights, like Wally's favorite Unovan diner and a family-owned berry farm on the west-end of town. In turn, Lee regales Wally with some of the battles he and his team faced, with Wally hanging on to every word with large eyes. Ninetales occasionally chimes in, aided by a translation from Lee, but is mostly content to let her trainer talk for them both.

Eventually, Wally finishes the lemonade Lee got for him and says his goodbyes, waving to both of them as he leaves the Pokemon Center.

'An interesting boy,' Ninetales comments as she takes Wally's spot on the couch and drapes herself over Lee's lap.

'I'd hope so, considering he's a named character,' Lee sends back, deciding to doomscroll his phone for a bit before heading toward the diner Wally recommended.

As expected, his BattleNet thread is exploding now that he's back in the public eye after weeks of no activity. He scrolls to the newest page and finds… A picture of the back of his head?

Lee looks over his shoulder with his brows furrowed, staring directly at a woman with her phone raised towards him.

The woman, who is holding a snoozing Azurill in one arm and her phone in her free hand, looks past her screen to see Lee's unamused face. Smiling sheepishly, she puts her phone away and makes herself scarce by power walking right out of the Center.

"This fame shit is for the birds," Lee grumbles.

Ninetales' gekkering laugh draws the attention of another phone camera.

---

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.

soup, Ultra-Anon, Spice_King, Adean23, Planetace, Cat, speedyzman13, Luc_99, OmegaEntertainment, Nickerdoodle, WiseKitsune, Marthdovah, AMeek, Fabhar, Zany Old Coot, Kyubei, Dicloniuslord, Ttran2323, Moxie, Derpydude9001, Moonlit Chaser, SparkzVultrix, Aelias, Maestro, KaurisAzurai, Wing Shot, Latscry, MrPerson0, TheTankiestTrain, Siphon Rayzar, ShaRose, Shrimperium, Ninjadanimo, Zazs31, BrokenOlive, Tread Carefully, Part-Time Prick,WhatAFungi, Gavinfoxx, drykeon, Sinnohan, Ash The Kitsune, Papito12495, PAXAMERICANA, Berusella, demonmonkey89, Rémi C., Nithalys, Ray, Priam, Grey, Emilowish, Bruv, Iskierka,Cynicals, IAmYourKingAndMaster, InfamousVenous, Randythecheeseeater, Kevin, Dingus

 

[Rodvek97]

Thanks for the greag chapter.

 

[Lokabrenna]

Well, that was a fun one. Norman looking to salve his wounded pride with a solid win is a bit concerning, since it sounds like he's preparing to go harder on Lee than he strictly should as a gym leader, but I'm sure it'll make for an excellent battle sequence. Probably setting himself up for a crashout when Lee and Brendan win though. He's got too much of his pride and self-worth riding on it.