I Will Touch the Skies - A Pokemon Fanfiction (OC)

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 224 - Rivals II

Hey, I'm sorry about yesterday night. It was honestly just a stupid misunderstanding that doesn't have to mean anything. I'll see you later, I've got to iron things out before the battle.

That was the message I'd sent Cece this morning as I made my way to the isolated patch of beach. A night of sleep had cleared my mind some, and I'd also… called my dad last night to vent to him about it. I could tell he was angry I'd called him that late on a weekday, but he stayed up and talked to me.

And he told me I was just being stupid and that I'd probably laugh at this in five years. With Cece, if we were still together. Apparently we were blowing this up and making it a big deal for no reason.

He was obviously wrong, but it felt nice to have spoken to him about it. He was probably incredibly tired this morning at work, so I hoped he wasn't angry at me. I made it to the boardwalk, and Princess lifted me up the rocks with Extrasensory. I was surprised to see that Jasmine was here this morning. I hadn't expected to see her this early, even if this was technically a spot we shared. The Gym Leader waved at me and smiled as Princess and I walked toward her.

"Hi. Nice seeing you here," she said as she stared at the calm waves.

"Morning. Uh, would it bother you if I trained here? It's just low-intensity stuff, nothing major. I have to iron out a final technique with Princess, and the others could use the warm-up."

"Sure, don't let me rain on your parade," she said. "You have a battle today, I heard."

"Oh, you know about that? Yeah, it's with my best friend— he actually wanted to meet you if you don't mind."

"I don't. Regarding your battle, Craig told me about it and that he'll be watching. Denzel Williams interests him."

"I figured. Any advice for me?" I asked.

"No. You've seen plenty already."

"Seen… the battle you mean? I mean, It did inspire some ideas."

"See? You're already learning," she smirked. "Steal, Grace. Steal everything you see and make it your own."

"Well I'll get back to you when I can create a beam of light so intense it melts rocks," I joked as I released my Pokemon. "Want to talk a little? With Sunshine?"

Jasmine stared at the dragon, who huffed.

"That would be my pleasure."

—

I was just in time to the arena, and it was packed to the brim. Denzel had advertised it beforehand and I could barely navigate the damn thing. After squeezing past people bigger than me for around two minutes, I finally made it through. The trainers had cleared a space for us— including our friends. There was a phone mounted onto a stick with Pauline and Emilia standing next to it. Denzel spoke to them, probably about some technical stuff. Everyone who had been at my party was here. Lauren stood alone in a corner with Sirris hovering around her. Chase and Mira sat on the ground, and she was showing him something on her phone.

"Grace. We were wondering where you were," Erin said as she began walking by my side. "Do you want anything before the fight? Water? A snack?"

"I'm good Erin. Relax. You're more nervous than I am."

"Are you nervous? I have a stress ball in my bag, and it's very effective."

"Oh, it's just the pre-battle jitters. It's alright, nothing unusual," I smiled.

We continued across the arena until we reached the battlefield I would fight on, and Cecilia greeted me with a tight hug. My eyes drifted to her hand, and I was glad to see she was still wearing the ring. It was beautiful on her. She also donned the sunglasses I'd given her on her head.

"There you are. I'm sorry for freaking out so much," she said. "I spoke with Pauline. She, well, she told me I was making a big deal out of it for nothing."

"Well she sure was acting like it was a big deal at the party. But my dad said that too," I nodded. "So, we're good?"

"We were always good," she said. "And I'm not going to lie, I had no idea couple rings existed due to my… peculiar upbringing. I was just taken aback by the entire thing, since I hadn't expected it at all."

"Yeah, sorry about that," I said with a nervous chuckle. "It looks great on you, though. The sunglasses too. I should get going though, it's going to start soon."

"Good luck on your battle. I'll be rooting for you."

"Thank you. I'll talk to you later!" I yelled as I passed her.

It looked like Maeve was going to be the referee since she stood to the side of the arena and kept slicing across the air with an arm like she was practicing the motion. I gave her a thumbs up and she called me over.

"Grace! I thought you'd be late!"

"Why is everyone saying that?" I scoffed. "I was just at the beach, relax."

"You were at the beach before such an important battle?" She asked.

"No, I was training and speaking to a friend," I said. "Anyway, what's up?"

"You've got to tell me which Pokemon you're starting with—"

"Pupitar," I said. "Is that it?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Good luck in your referral duties."

"I mean, it's not that difficult of a job…"

I noticed that Erin had started pressing on her stress ball behind me, and I patted her on the back.

"Are you okay?"

"I just really want you to win," she said.

"Aw. Thanks."

After a few seconds, I waved to Denzel and finally reached them. They were opposite of Maeve to get the best shot of the battle possible. I greeted all of my friends with a hug and leaned toward the phone.

"Are you already streaming?" I asked.

"Yes, they can hear you right now. I wanted to start early in case we came across any technical difficulties. Pauline and Emi are emergency moderators because it's getting really toxic— wait, don't read the chat!"

I squinted at the phone and saw a flurry of messages going far too fast to read any of them except the ones that were appearing over and over. People were spamming a bunch of different messages with emojis to support Denzel or me. The number of viewers was… 72,021 and rising. I felt a twinge of nervousness that eased when I took a few deep breaths.

"What does 'spam this pretzel to support Denzel' mean?" I asked. "I guess it rhymes."

"Just… it's a meme I have on my channel. Just ignore it," he said.

"Should we put it on emote only?" Emilia asked.

"No! That'd be terrible. Not even the Conference does that," Denzel shook his head. "Are we ready to start?"

"I'm ready," I said.

My best friend nodded, and outstretched a hand. "May the best trainer win."

I shook his hand. "May the best trainer win."

"Was that for the stream?" Erin asked. "Can I speak?"

"Yes, Erin, you can speak," Pauline sighed. "And by the way, all you fucking morons in the chat. If I see you get toxic I'll make sure to ban you and tell Denzel to never let you chat again no matter how many unban requests you send!"

The chat devolved into a flurry of pauLines… I didn't really understand why the L was highlighted, but I just decided that I wasn't going to get streamer culture for a while and that was fine.

"Remember, Pauline. Supporting one side is fine, you can even get a little spicy if you want, but toxicity, insulting us or our Pokemon is off limits. Get it?" Denzel said. "Emi, you keep her in line."

"I'm not sure making her a mod was a good idea, Denzel," Emilia muttered. "And two moderators for a stream that's probably going to have a hundred thousand people is insane in the first place."

Pauline huffed. "Shut up! I can do this just fine!"

Denzel let out a half-restrained groan. "Okay everyone, we're going to start. Uh, make sure to subscribe if you're a first-time viewer because a lot more of these are coming. Oh, and this battle is brought to you by…'

He started listing all of his sponsors, and we finally went our separate ways. I climbed onto the podium and tried to ignore the crowd of people to my right. At least they were almost all trainers, so they knew to stay silent.

"Guys! Guys, come on!" Erin yelled.

I turned and saw a group of people lift a huge, clumsily made pink banner with my name on it and drawings of my team. New Wave had come to support me. The last bits of anxiety melted away as I turned toward them and waved with a huge grin. Erin clapped and they cheered for a few seconds until they respectfully quieted down, but they did keep the banner up.

Arceus, those kids were the cutest.

Denzel faced me as he clenched a fist behind his legs and grabbed his first Pokeball. This was definitely the biggest audience we'd ever had for a battle outside of a Gym— more than our double battle in Hearthome, even if you discounted the stream. I had spent numerous days thinking about the Pokemon he would start with in numerous ways, and there was a multitude of reasons I'd gone with Sweetheart. My team's biggest weakness right now were poison types, and Denzel's Roserade was a perfect choice. Not only would her poison type moves destroy Angel and possibly break through Princess' barrier like Craig's Eelektross had done to Jasmine's Metagross, but her grass typing meant that she'd screw over Buddy and Sweatheart as well, even if I had a tactic for the water type to at least fight back. Only Honey could fight her on equal footing, but he'd need to get close with Ice or Fire Punch. Roserade was basically what any trainer worth their salt would start with.

But Denzel knew that I knew this. And he also knew that he'd be able to hang Roserade over my head like a guillotine. He would not start with her. No, he would expect me to begin the fight with Honey, since that was my only play, and he'd send out either Lopunny or Sylveon since I was sure he'd keep Froslass for later in the fight and they were better suited to fight Honey, even if I was sure he would be able to do well against them. Of course, I wanted to keep him against Roserade and Milotic.

That meant that I could only start the battle with Sweetheart. She would destroy Sylveon in a one-on-one or put up a fight against Lopunny before I recalled her. Maeve ordered us to release our Pokemon, and we both did so.

I hummed when I saw that Denzel released Froslass. Snowflakes fell around the ice type and the ground under her feet froze over as she let out an ethereal giggle. Had he mind-gamed me and faked me out? Or had I overthought things? I hid the annoyance on my face and took a deep breath. Maeve counted down as she brought an arm up and slashed across the air.

"Begin!"

"Double Team and Confuse Ray!" Denzel ordered.

Froslass split into ten after-images and her eyes gleamed as frost overtook them all. Ten dim lights crawled out of the powdery snow, screaming for freedom and beelined toward Pupitar. I had no idea which one was the real one and they were all spreading out and covering the entire arena, so dodging wasn't an option. This was a really bad matchup for Sweetheart.

But that didn't mean she was useless.

I waited for a few seconds and internally smirked when I saw some of the Confuse Rays hanging back and more appear around each of Froslass' clones.

"Go in and Rock Slide from below," I said.

The rock type kicked up dust and rocks as she let out the pressurized air out of her cocoon and rushed forward. She expertly navigated the field of Confuse Rays— and I could tell Denzel had not expected that. The frozen ground below her feet rumbled as rocks burst out and tried to swallow her and her clones whole. Three of them disappeared, but the rest dispersed and escaped, slipping into another plane of existence. The remaining Confuse Rays fizzled out.

Where's Blizzard? I thought to myself as the rocks collapsed back to the floor.

Without a command from Denzel, Hail began to form near the arena's ceiling and crashed toward the ground, chipping at Pupitar's armor.

"Ice Shard!" Denzel yelled.

The ghost and her clones appeared all around Sweetheart and small shards of ice broke against her. I bit the inside of my lip and recalled her. I'd be fighting from behind, but she'd done enough scouting while taking minimal amounts of damage.

One, Denzel wasn't using Blizzard for whatever reason. Two, Froslass had gotten good enough with Double Team to make the clones' attacks actually take a physical form. I hadn't been sure with the Confuse Rays, but this confirmed it.

I released Angel next and immediately called out for a Sunny Day.

"Don't let them! Confuse Ray!"

"Knock Off the lights," I added.

He'd probably expected Sunny Day to take as long as it had against Maylene, but it came in only a few seconds. A strange light began to shine and weakened the Hail. We wouldn't get the full benefits from Chlorophyll, and Froslass' Hail wouldn't deal as much damage either. When Froslass formed three more clones and sent out the Confuse Rays again, I realized that her hard limit was ten— unless it was a trick.

Angel's vines exploded out of his body, each of them wreathed in darkness and reflecting no light. He swatted the Confuse Rays like bugs, and they dissolved with pained screams. Denzel's fist stayed clenched and tightened for the next five seconds, and he let out the smallest hint of a sigh.

"Blizzard."

Why was Blizzard a disappointment? What was he hiding?

"Ancient Power," I said.

We only had a few seconds to work with. Tangrowth encased himself in rocks, leaving only the top bare, and the battlefield was engulfed in the snowstorm right as he finished the fourth wall. That meant that we weren't benefitting from Chlorophyll, at least for now, and I couldn't see or hear anything. Just the howling of the wind and the frost battering against the psychic barrier.

I bit the inside of my lip until the Blizzard wavered earlier than usual, and I couldn't help but internally scream for joy. The fact that we'd made no roof had been a bait for Froslass to attack, and she'd bitten. The Blizzard dissolved, revealing Tangrowth's collapsed frozen walls of protection, and I saw him squeezing the life out of Froslass with Knock Off. The entire field had been overtaken by a thick layer of snow and his body was coated in a thick layer of frost.

Denzel swept his arm. "Push through! Freeze the vines and escape!"

"Leech Seed!" I yelled.

Seeds exploded out of Angel and three of them landed on the ice type before she could freeze Angel's vines and break free. She was struggling to do it through dark TE, but we weren't anywhere as good as Chase and Cecilia in that regard. Froslass flickered in and out of reality, her eyes glazed over and unfocused as the Leech Seed slowly drained her energy. I normally would have used spore attacks here, but Froslass didn't breathe.

"Crush some rocks and throw 'em," I continued.

Angel divided his collapsed walls into smaller shards, and then swept them within his vines, throwing dozens of them at a time. We'd taken inspiration from my battle with Roark for that little trick. Froslass cried out in pain as the rocks tore through her body and she began to leak ghostly energy.

"Frost Breath!" Denzel screamed.

"Ancient Power!"

Her weakness bought us the precious second we needed. The air in front of Froslass grew so cold it was freezing over and blew toward Angel, who raised another four walls around himself. I internally swore when her clones started reappearing. Was that why he hadn't been using Blizzard? Because she couldn't maintain them while using the move? They certainly were a lot more annoying to deal with than some snow.

Angel beat the clones with Knock Off, the ones he managed to hit disintegrated in one attack. The ones that didn't, though, created Ice Shards that buried themselves inside of him and Frost Breaths that rendered his vines unusable—

And the real Froslass— the one with the Leech Seed— created ten icicles above Angel and let them drop. We'd trapped ourselves in our own barrier and the move was undodgeable. The grass type's vines wriggled in agony as each Icicle stabbed into Angel's body.

Damn, Froslass was tough to crack.

But she'd been weakened enough for what I needed. It was time to pull on Angel's first and only anti-Froslass contingency plan.

"Collapse the walls and detach!" I yelled.

I reveled in the confusion in Denzel's eyes.

"Keep your distance and keep attacking! Ice Shard and Frost Breath!"

Angel dissolved the last two clones with a Knock Off as Froslass created another ten and they all used Frost Breath in congruence. Angel pushed himself to the right using the few rays of sunlight that shone through the hail and ran using his vines. He was almost permanently suspended in the air and almost slipped on the snow multiple times. The grass type circled around the Froslass and ten of his vines turned dark.

Then, they detached from his body and flew toward the real Froslass. The ice type screamed, and clones bunched themselves up in front of her body and attempted to freeze them. But I'd sent ten for a reason, and the darkness was a nice protective coat against ice Type Energy. They wrapped around Froslass and her clones like a lasso, and they all dissolved, leaving only the real body.

"Knock Off!" I yelled.

Angel slammed another vine against Froslass, but he only opened a deep gash against the snowy floor. Denzel recalled her with a relieved sigh and thought for a few seconds on who to send out. He decided to play his hand early and use Roserade. The flamboyant grass type glared at Angel. She'd never liked him, mostly because she considered him simple-minded.

Her poison would make minced meat out of him. It pained me to be behind in switches right after I'd equalized the match, but there was too much risk involved with letting Tangrowth fight Roserade. I retrieved him and released Honey instead, much to Denzel's annoyance. Without Froslass and Angel here, the Hail and the sun were on their way out and would be gone in the next minute.

"Poison the field," Denzel ordered.

My eye twitched as gallons of noxious, purple liquid so toxic that the ground began to melt sipped out of Roserade's flowers. At first, it only contaminated the ground around her, but her eyes shone and it began to seep further. I recognized that move. Extrasensory. Approaching her would be devastating for us, and the more we waited, the more the poison would spread.

"Thunderbolt," I muttered.

The attack was practically instant. Electricity zipped toward Roserade and ransacked through her body, but the fact that she was a grass type meant that she'd be able to take plenty of these. Still, Honey wasn't the same as he used to be. He had stamina to work with now, and these were too quick for Roserade to dodge. The poison type grunted as the fourth Thunderbolt singed her right in the head, and she began to run forward, bringing poison wherever she went.

"Sludge Wave!" Denzel yelled.

For the first time, my air of calmness broke. A wave of poison rose behind Roserade and the grass type threw it all toward Electabuzz. It was literally a tidal wave that was twice his height and left nowhere to dodge.

Holy fuck. That was power.

"Screech until you have to Protect!" I cried out.

The electric type's chest swelled as he inhaled and screamed. I still hadn't gotten used to the sound, and I had to cover my ears as the move's sheer force pushed back the poison around him until the vast majority had cleared. He pulled up the transparent green barrier and waited until the poisonous sea had turned back into a puddle.

We couldn't be defensive, or we'd drown.

"Go in and Ice Punch," I said.

Honey blurred forward, and every time he lifted a foot, he'd lost more of his fur and even some of his skin. Ice surrounded the electric type's fists as he closed in on Roserade.

"Extrasensory and whittle him down!" Denzel ordered.

Honey snarled as he sped up, and electricity crackled through his fur. He broke against the Extrasensory so quickly that his fist reached Roserade's face and punched her and sent her flying back. The grass type screeched, scrambling back up as sharpened leaves flew out of her petals, but a quick, low-powered Discharge from Honey fried all of them before they could reach us.

"Again!" I yelled. We couldn't afford to give them time to recover.

"Spore—"

"Don't!" I added, speaking over him.

Electabuzz slid against the poison and quickly rushed out of the powder's range, but the poison was slowly stacking up, and it was almost as if it subtly tried to climb higher than his ankles. I'd wanted to save this for future Pokemon, but I couldn't allow Roserade to take us down here, or I'd go from being at a slight disadvantage to losing.

"Thunder," I breathed.

Electabuzz bared his teeth, pushing through the pain, and electricity ran through his fur as his body began to hum. The electric type spun his arms, and Denzel's hair began to stand on end.

"Seed Bomb! Break his focus!" Denzel said.

With a quiet nod, Roserade pointed her arms forward and sent out a series of exploding seeds, but they were underestimating us. We'd trained since Solaceon for this. The explosions rocked the arena, kicking up rocks and poison until the nefarious liquid rained down all over the field.

And then, an enormous Thunder broke loose with a deafening roar. The attack blinded me, but I bared and squinted through it. The poison at Honey's feet evaporated and turned into noxious smoke while fissures and gashes opened up everywhere the electricity touched. The loud aftershocks drowned out Roserade's screams, and the grass type convulsed against the floor. Honey took a deep breath, and I could tell he was kind of tired, but we needed to push while she was down.

"Fire Punch," I said.

Not missing a beat, Electabuzz' fists caught on fire and the electric type blurred toward Roserade. Denzel grimaced and recalled his Roserade before she could get hit. He hadn't expected such a powerful move coming from us, and it was a good thing I'd only told Cece and Erin about it. He ran a hand through his hair, and then sent out Froslass again. I wasn't surprised, especially when Honey didn't really have reliable ways to defend himself against sustained attacks and we couldn't exactly fight back.

"Blizzard!" He immediately barked.

The ice type was still tired from her short fight with Angel, but the attack was second nature to her now. She would easily dodge Thunderbolt and Thunder, and getting up close was impossible with a floating ghost.

"Get in there and Discharge," I said.

Electabuzz ran, leaving behind him a trail of electricity and he jumped as high as he could before the full force of the Blizzard appeared. Electricity erupted around him and Froslass cried out, but she managed to finish up her Blizzard. Without dark type moves, throwing her off her game was impossible. I grabbed Honey's Pokeball and recalled him before the Blizzard could deal too much damage. He was my best possible counter against Roserade.

This was it. No more switching. No more musical chairs. Just commitment. Froslass obviously noticed that I'd switched, because she ended her Blizzard early to save her energy. I could have spent the full thirty seconds allowed between switches wasting her stamina, but she was smarter than that. Even if there was now a thick layer of ice over the poison, sending out Angel here again wouldn't work, especially when they knew our trick now and would be warier, so I released Princess. The cold would seep past her shield some, but she was my best bet.

Plus, we'd been working on a new appliance for Ancient Power specifically for matchups like these where she would get swarmed and overwhelmed.

The fairy type immediately ripped out some chunks of earth from below the ground, and the stones began orbiting her.

"This is it! Double Team and send your clones! You stay back and Hail!" Denzel yelled.

This is it? That was his plan, then. The ice type split into ten once more and all of the appearances rushed toward Princess while the real Froslass sang, calling forth another Hail. The chunks of ice broke against Togetic's barrier, but it would be additional pressure on her.

The clones spewed a Frost Breath that froze even the air, and they were smart enough not to get in the range of Dazzling Gleam. Togetic grunted as two of her stones melded and stretched into a wall, but the rest of the clones circled around her as they kept their attacks going.

"Shrapnel."

The wall stretched around Togetic's entire body, using all of the rocks she had, and then it exploded everywhere. They tore through the clones' bodies, and they disappeared with pained screams. Some even impacted Princess' barrier, but none of it went through. With a soft grunt, the stones immediately circled around her like the rings of a planet and rebuilt themselves into larger chunks. It was a perfect attack to take care of enemies surrounding her without putting down her barrier.

"Keep those for defense!" I yelled before snapping. "Extrasensory and spears!"

Denzel's face went through numerous expressions as the air around Froslass blurred and the ghost was stuck. She tried disappearing, but even while she was gone, Princess wouldn't let her go. Spears flew toward the ice type with a spin and stabbed into every inch of her body. Froslass' bright yellow eyes dimmed, and she fainted, falling on the floor without a single sound.

It had been a trick to catch them off-guard, and it had worked. A brutal misdirection that didn't leave them time to switch, just how I loved them. By the time he'd grabbed Froslass' Pokeball, it had been too late. Denzel took a deep breath, no doubt to calm himself down as he recalled Froslass and sent out Roserade again. Her body was still smoking from the Thunder that had hit her minutes earlier.

"Extrasensory," I immediately ordered. Psychic would be better, but I didn't want us to get too close.

"Counter it and Poison Cutter!" Denzel yelled.

Poison Cutter? That had to be the same as Water Cutter, I quickly thought. He'd taken inspiration, then.

Both Pokemons' eye shone as they engaged in a mental battle. Roserade let out a soft cry as Princess' psychic powers slowly beat out hers and the space around her slowly began to turn. Roserade aimed a hand forward—

"Shield yourself with rocks too!" I commanded.

—and let loose a powerful stream of poison as thin as a laser toward Princess. The fairy type stuck the stones together and formed them into one big barrier, but the poison was so potent that it melted right through the rocks and Princess' barrier. Togetic cried out as the fur on her chest sizzled and the poison ate at her skin, exposing her pink flesh.

The attack was short, so still blockable by Honey's Protect, which was probably why she hadn't used it against him. Either that, or they'd wanted to keep it a surprise, and fuck, it worked. Honey was truly my only counter.

Anyone else though? There was nothing we'd be able to do to stop it.

I couldn't let her see this through.

"Spears! Stab her and Air Cutter!" I yelled.

"Again!"

"Layers!" I added.

Princess was still staggered and reeling from the pain, but the remainder of the rocks around her turned into a multitude of layers as the flying type lowered herself and pulled a few spears to chuck at Roserade. They stayed low to the ground, and the grass type opted to take the attack to attempt another hit. She lowered herself to one knee, taking aim with a closed eye, and the small jet of poison beelined toward Princess.

It melted through every layer. Slower, this time, but it did.

The spears stabbed into Roserade's shoulder and gut, and a half-formed Air Cutter hit her in the back as well. Air Cutter would deal more damage, but the pain from stabbing? That would stay, and hopefully throw her focus off. Roserade could barely move without feeling agony through her wounds and screamed out in frustration.

"Again!" Denzel yelled.

Now that we'd stabbed her, we could focus entirely on Air Cutter. I ordered Togetic to use the move, and it came much quicker this time, cutting Roserade to ribbons while the poison type again inflicted incredible damage on Princess. She finally fainted after the third hit, and her body was in a terrible state. Almost no fur to speak of except on her face, which had been spared by Roserade because this was a friendly battle. I wiped my sweaty hands against my skirt and pondered on who to use next—

"Synthesis!" Denzel ordered.

But that was thrown out the window when a yellow glow overtook Roserade and she began to heal from the damage Princess had dealt. I immediately sent out Honey, who was the only one who would be able to counter Poison Cutter. Buddy could potentially hide on the ground, but that would mean we weren't attacking, and mere shades would be destroyed by Roserade before they could strike.

Luckily, the spears were still penetrating her body, and she couldn't exactly get them out— not without hands, and using poison at the force needed to melt them would hurt Roserade as well.

"Spore Bomb!" Denzel yelled.

Roserade grunted in pain as she angled her two flowers forward, and multicolored spores flew toward Honey. The electric type blurred forward, avoiding it by a large margin he as awaited my next order.

"Magical Leaf!" Denzel said.

"Discharge!" I countered.

This time, multicolored leaves flew out of Roserade's flowers, and just like last time, Discharge easily dispatched of them. Roserade kept throwing attacks at Honey, who countered with Thunderbolt and dodged many times. For four minutes, Roserade healed any damage we'd done with more Synthesises. We were both at a bit of an impasse here. I wanted to get close to use Fire or Ice Punch, but I couldn't because that would open us up to more Poison Cutters. Honey wouldn't have the time to put up a Protect if he was at point-blank range, and I wasn't sure if Screech would allow us an opening. I couldn't take risks now that I was out of switches. Thunder would be too slow to charge up too.

At least the floor wasn't poisonous this time, because Denzel knew he would have no way to turn it back to normal for his other Pokemon. I leaned against my knees as Electabuzz roared out another Thunderbolt, and Roserade tried to catch him off-guard with more spores. He slipped away before they could even cling to his fur, and every time they were too many, he simply Screeched them away.

But slowly, we were inching our way toward a victory. Inch by inch, Roserade's Synthesis grew weaker and our Thunderbolts didn't waver one bit. Denzel's lips went flat when he realized he wouldn't be able to outlast us, and he finally decided to use his last switch of the battle.

The fact that Roserade was in the back was worrying, but I'd leave that for future me and Buddy. Denzel sent out Sylveon, who stared at Honey with disdain and unblinking eyes. The glamour around his short fur materialized in an instant, and he grew slightly blurry at the edges.

"Thunder," I immediately said.

They were far enough for us to launch the attack. Electricity hummed through Electabuzz's body and crackled through his fur.

Denzel winced. He knew Detect wouldn't be enough. Thunder was no Thunderbolt. It was too wide and struck in every direction.

"Swift ASAP!" Denzel ordered. "Break his focus!"

If Seed Bomb hadn't worked, Swift would not, but Denzel had always been a positive one. Sylveon ran forward, ignoring the immense power that was about to course through his body and fry him alive as pink stars appeared around him and flew toward Honey. They winked out and seemed to appear next to him quicker than they should have, and the electric type grunted as they spun and dug into his skin like saws.

That was new, I muttered. But still not enough. Blood seeped from Electabuzz's wounds, but he did not waver. He would not.

Honey let the Thunder loose, and I covered my eyes once more as multiple explosions rocked the arena. Ice broke and shattered under the move's weight, and Sylveon's glamour disintegrated in one attack. Unfortunately, it had still shielded him from the vast majority of the damage, and he'd gotten away with minor burns on his fur. Honey heaved as the fairy type got ever closer.

"Screech and Thunderbolt!" I yelled.

"Detect and Play Rough!"

Electabuzz bellowed all of the air out of his lungs, and Sylveon winced. His ears went flat against his head and a short Thunderbolt impacted his neck, and the fairy type convulsed on the floor.

Denzel clenched his teeth, and I stared right at him. I will never let you use Detect.

"Keep your distance and Thunderbolt," I continued. There was no way to beat Sylveon up close, especially with how exhausted Honey was getting. One more Thunder left.

I swallowed when I saw that Sylveon's ribbons all converged toward Honey even when the fairy type was playing dead. Electabuzz side-stepped a ribbon that whipped against the ground and ran off. My eye twitched when it extended way past its normal length and tripped him before wrapping around his leg. Sylveon slowly stood as he tilted his head and stared at me. The ribbons slowly dragged Electabuzz toward him, and despite being able to push through the ribbons' compulsive soothing, he wasn't able to break free.

"Thunder!" I yelled.

This one even caught Denzel off-guard. He hadn't expected three. Electricity coursed through Sylveon's ribbons as Honey charged the attack—

"Play Rough, now!"

Sylvi's ribbons shone pink, and lifted Honey in the air like he weighted nothing. He began beating him against the ground like a ragdoll over and over, but Thunder didn't require much focus. It was a burst of a massive amount of electric TE in a general direction. The electricity intensified until Sylveon started weakening.

"Let go and Disarming Voice!" Denzel yelled.

I clicked my tongue. I already knew what was coming. Sylveon screamed, and the electricity around Honey dimmed, burying at least half of the time we'd charged the attack. It allowed the fairy type to keep beating Honey up without restraint, and he fainted soon enough. I smiled as I recalled him. So much progress. This battle and our old ones were like night and day.

I had a Pokemon deficit now, but Roserade's stamina was done for and Sylveon's glamour was gone. I just needed someone to push through.

I sent out Buddy, who floated high up in the air away from Sylveon's ribbons. Using him guaranteed Roserade would be next if I knocked out Sylveon, but that was perfectly fine. There was a long-term plan at play here. Like in the battle with Maylene, he left the tiniest part of his body the closest he could have it. This time, however, it clung to the barrier right in front of me.

"Swift!" Denzel yelled. "Disarming Voice if he gets close!"

Now, Sylveon's weakness could truly shine. The invisible Swift only tickled Buddy, and the gashes in his body regenerated right away. It was the next order that made me panic.

"Wish!"

I was on a timer.

"Shades, Poison Sting and Hydro Pump," I said in quick succession.

Sylveon cried out, and a light flew out of his forehead and through the ceiling while shadows weaved and intertwined, creating two silent shades. The water type had instinctively understood me. The Shades reared their heads and spat out a multitude of Poison Stings, which Sylveon desperately ran away from, but there were too many to dodge and he couldn't use Detect forever. The Shades cornered him together, and the spikes buried themselves deep in Sylveon's hide, slowly secreting their poison.

Jellicent, meanwhile, inhaled as his head swelled twice the usual size, and a stream of water powerful enough to dent steel washed over the arena, destroying much of the remaining ice and throwing Sylveon against the left side of the barrier.

"Swift and run away!" Denzel yelled.

Obviously he wanted to stall this, but—

I stopped my train of thought and blinked.

"Keep attacking," I ordered. "Use Water Pulse."

I sensed the ghost type's confusion, but he listened without hesitating. Sylveon was put under a true deluge. One of the shades covered him with brine, and the raindrops stabbed into him like knives. The other kept harassing him with Poison Sting and Buddy himself kept to the skies and used a multitude of moves. Water Pulse, Shadow Ball, Bubblebeam— anything that was appropriate for the situation. Sylveon retaliated, of course, but he only had Swift to work with. No Moonblast yet. The pink stars penetrated one of the shades and caused it to explode, but we weren't green with the tactic anymore. They were spaced out at all times to avoid collateral damage. Buddy simply let out a series of loud clicks, and a Night Shade formed anew.

And then, the Wish returned from the skies, healing Sylveon's wounds.

"Finish him," I instantly said.

Buddy's red eyes glinted, and two Hydro Pumps and another set of Poison Stings immediately rushed toward Sylveon. The fairy type gargled on the water and was continuously kept in the right corner of Denzel's side of the arena due to Hydro Pump's sheer force and pressure. Half of the Poison Sting didn't even make it because of the water, but that was perfectly fine.

Sylveon fainted, unable to fight back in any way, shape, or form.

Wish had made me panic at first, but then I realized that there was simply no way for Sylveon to even make use of it. Roserade, however, would have. The best choice had been to let the Wish complete and destroy Sylveon before he could use another one. Denzel recalled the fairy type and immediately sent out Roserade, just like I'd predicted. Predictions didn't matter much if I lost, however.

It was time to bring back an old trick.

"Mist," I said as I subtly motioned my fingers downward. "Keep the shades on the defense."

"Magical Leaf!" Denzel ordered.

Jellicent inhaled, and he started spitting out a thick, cold mist that fell toward the floor. Roserade, now freed from the spears, quickly moved her arms in one smooth motion and released sharpened, multicolored leaves that flew toward the ghost. The Shades weren't equipped to stop such an attack. One of them summoned a Shadow Ball that split and released the smaller attacks like a machine gun, and they slammed into the grass type, creating a continuous, small explosion. The other Night Shade quickly floated in the way of the attack. It absorbed some of the hits, but exploded soon after, grazing Buddy in the process. The rest of the leaves buried themselves inside of the water type, who let out multiple, booming cries.

"Hide!" I exclaimed.

Jellicent lowered himself into the mist, and he would now be out of view from me, Denzel and Roserade. My best friend didn't even pause.

"Seed Bomb! Disperse the mist!"

The explosions rocked the field and the heat turned the remaining mist back into water, which dripped onto the remaining ice and rock. Roserade readied herself to send another Magical Leaf toward Buddy, but she blinked when she saw that he wasn't there. Not missing a beat, she dispatched the other Shade before it could attack again, and it sported a furious expression before exploding.

"He's underground! Synthesis!"

The poison type shone, using the last remaining bits of energy to regenerate herself from the damage from Shadow Ball. I had no idea how she was still doing so. It was like squeezing water from a stone. Since we hadn't managed to stop her before that, I decided to stay silent.

And so we waited.

For thirty seconds, nothing happened. I just let the tension build. Denzel and Roserade's eyes darted around the arena, waiting for anything to happen, but nothing ever did.

Until now.

"Drown and Hex!"

Buddy emerged from under Roserade and enveloped her. He had no form and continuously shifted as the grass type squirmed and fought to get out of his hold. Only his shining red eyes were still recognizable. At the same time, a vicious Hex hit Roserade and caused her to writhe in pain. The grass type thrashed around as violently as she could, hitting Jellicent with sharp leaves, spores and poison from the inside. This was risky, but we needed to take Roserade down.

"Seed Bomb!" Denzel yelled.

"Solidify!"

In an instant, Jellicent's body grew less transparent and Roserade slowed until she kept completely still. I squinted as multiple explosions shook the water type from the inside and internally swore when his body dispersed. They were too powerful for us to keep Roserade trapped. Buddy split into hundreds of pieces that slithered across the floor and returned to our side of the arena. When he reformed, his body was infused with poison and tinted purple. Roserade used another set of Seed Bombs, but Buddy easily avoided the attack by propelling himself upward with Water Sport.

"Magical Leaf!"

Again, Roserade let loose sharpened leaves that followed Jellicent wherever he went and cut him apart before he quickly regenerated. It was the only super effective move they could hit us with, but it was still destroying us, especially with the poison eating away at Buddy's energy.

"Night Shade. Bombard her."

The water type boomed, summoning half-formed misshapen shadows that looked nothing like him. With a silent, rageful scream, they all barreled toward Roserade. She grunted as Denzel barked for a Poison Cutter. The thin jet of poison cut the Shades apart, exploding them in one attack, but there were too many, and even if they sometimes aimed at the real body, he regenerated the damage as best he could. Buddy had traded time for utility, and eventually, a Night Shade slammed into Roserade, exploding into thick, shadowy smoke. The grass type reeled as she tried to keep her Poison Cutters going, but those two seconds of inattention were what we needed. More impacts than I could count destroyed Roserade and brought the grass type to her knees until she finally fell unconscious, poison dripping from her flowers. I sighed in relief and wiped the sweat off my forehead.

Relax, I told myself. I was slipping back into my old ways and showing what I felt. I hadn't cleared my mind before this battle like I had before my fight with Maylene, and we had basically passed the length of that battling with all the stalling. Focus. Don't slip.

Denzel used the full thirty seconds and released Milotic onto the field. At this point, it was a mix of overturned earth, ice, and water.

"Bomb him," I said again. The poison was eating through Buddy's energy, but if we could deal as much damage as we could, then we'd be in a great position.

"Dragon Pulse the ground!" Denzel yelled.

A turquoise beam of draconic energy slammed against the floor, slowly creating a crater that Milotic sunk in while the Shades floated toward the water type as fast as they could. I internally smiled when they all hit their mark, and ordered Buddy to summon another wave.

"Surf," Denzel continued.

Milotic spat out gallons of water as the shades around him exploded. The liquid dulled the explosions, but his scales were beginning to crack and he was struggling. Milotic filled his crater with water until it was full.

"Aqua Ring and Recover!" He said.

I'd known about Aqua Ring, but not Recover. Milotic went as deep as he could under the water and shone with a pale blue as lights spun around him. This was bad news. I'd wanted to expose his flesh to poison him with Poison Sting, but that wouldn't work now that Milotic was as good as new.

"Twister!" Denzel yelled.

"Get in that water and Absorb," I muttered, motioning him underground again. The jelly-like liquid clinging to the barrier wriggled. "Don't wait, strike right away."

The air quickly begin to spin as Milotic sang, infusing it with draconic energy, but it barely hit Buddy before he slipped through the floor.

Panic marred Denzel's eyes. He hadn't heard what I had said, only seen my lips move, and I had kept this tactic for an occasion like this after being inspired by the battle between Jasmine and Craig. Buddy's hearing wasn't good enough for this, but he could use a piece of himself to look at me and hear. Denzel was a Pokemon behind, clenching his fists and probably repeatedly telling himself that he could still do this. This was a new element added to the mix that he hadn't expected since I hadn't used it before.

I wanted him to spiral.

Denzel nervously licked his lips, but flinched when Jellicent appeared in Milotic's lake and wrapped his body around him. The whiplash he'd felt from us waiting for so long the first time we'd hid hit just like I wanted it to, and he took two seconds to say his next command.

Two seconds where Absorb could hit.

"Recover and Dragon Pulse!" Denzel ordered. "Outlast him!"

"Whirlpool," I whispered.

The water spun, speeding up until the two Pokemon became a blur of color. Multiple Dragon Pulses slammed against Jellicent and disintegrated parts of his body, but the water type didn't even bother to regather them. He wanted to save as much energy as he could, squeezing the life out of Milotic until he fell. They fought for an entire two minutes, Jellicent losing more and more mass until a final Dragon Pulse finished him off. The water clinging to the barrier fell, and the ghost type reflexively formed into a puddle I could recall. Milotic was unwounded, if just a bit tired. The Aqua Ring continuously spun around the water type as he sunk back into the calming waters. I immediately sent out Tangrowth and exhaled.

Lopunny wouldn't have been able to finish off Buddy as easily as Milotic did, but for that, he'd have to contend with this fight. There was also a risk that he'd known and that he had a tactic to counter us. Angel shook off the ice that Froslass had left on him and blinked at the water type, his vines shaking in excitement.

"Sunny Day and get in there," I immediately said.

"Dragon Pulse!"

A second sun shone once more, and it would until Angel won or fell. The intensity of the Aqua Ring lowered under the light's power. Wasting no time, Milotic peeked out of the water with a Dragon Pulse already formed, and it immediately slammed into a hastily erected barrier. Angel rushed toward the lake, but attacks from Milotic slowed him down so much and forced him to keep raising walls with Ancient Power. The water type switched things up, using Twister instead to slow him down further. Angel's loose vines spun in the wind as the grass type shut his eyes due to the pain. Somehow, Milotic could both maintain the Twister and use Dragon Pulse at the same time.

He was buying time and basically stalling me. I needed to break the dam, but Leech Seed and powder moves would just get lost in the tornado. It was so powerful that he'd take at least two more minutes to get to Milotic, even with the power of the sun at his back.

I bit my lip, and then blinked.

"Ancient Power! Give yourself a kick!"

A small pillar of rock burst behind Angel and slammed him at full force, sending him through the Twister. The grass type wasted no time, immediately propelling himself forward with his vines before Milotic could create a new Twister to trap him in. Once he got close enough, his vines surged forward.

"Giga Drain!" I yelled.

"Surf!" Denzel countered.

All of the water from the lake burst out and barreled toward Angel. The goal here wasn't damage, but to keep the grass type away from Milotic at all costs. Even with the sun, the current proved too much and pushed Tangrowth back.

"Anchor yourself!" I barked.

Denzel snapped, "Twister!"

Ten vines shone neon green with a Power Whip and dug into the floor as the water broke against the grass type. The rest of them still continued above the water and wrapped around Milotic's neck. The water type was too heavy for us to lift, but he squeezed as hard as he could as he began draining his energy and the vines gleamed with a dull green.

"Disarming Voice!" Denzel said with a hand around his jeans.

"Hit him!"

Milotic opened his mouth, but some of Angel's vines immediately intertwined and a Power Whip slammed against Milotic's face. The Disarming Voice came out a nonsensical mess, but Angel's hold over the water type still loosened slightly.

But not enough for him to escape.

The Surf finally ended, and Angel quickly pulled back the vines that he had attached himself with. The grass type closed the distance between him and Milotic and continuously hit with and drained his energy. Every time he tried to attack, Tangrowth would hit him with another Power Whip so strong that the only ones he could use were the quickest ones. Milotic kept himself to Dragon Breath, but soon enough, Denzel clicked his tongue.

"I'm withdrawing Milotic out of the fight," he said, recalling the water type.

That had been smart, but it was a little late. Angel had still drained much of Milotic's energy and used it to recover himself. Denzel cracked his fingers and sent out Lopunny. When she saw who she was fighting, her fists, feet and ears burst into flames, and the small amount of water under her feet that had come from Surf turned to vapor. I knew the normal type would dominate Sweetheart with her speed and Power-Up Punches, and unlike what I'd considered at the start of the battle, I had no more swaps to fall back on. If she defeated Angel, they'd actually have the advantage again. Denzel knew it. It was the only thing keeping him from getting lost in negative thoughts and making him battle worse.

The buck stopped here.

"Fake out!" Denzel ordered.

Lopunny blurred impossibly fast and slammed both fists deep inside of Angel's body. They'd combined Fake out and Fire Punch somehow. The grass type blinked and took a step back—

"Power-Up Punch!"

And was barraged by fiery kicks, punches and hits with Lopunny's ears. They'd combined those too!

"Spores!" I snapped, bringing my arm forward. "And stop your Sunny Day!"

Lopunny blurred back from the quick burst of spores as fast as she could, but even if she'd held her breath, they still clung to the non-burning parts of her fur and she would inhale them as the fight went on. The second sun dimmed, petering out into nothing, and Lopunny's fire type attacks weakened slightly.

"Grab her!" I yelled.

"Dodge and Shadow Ball! If he catches you, it's over!"

The normal type backflipped, twirling in the air as she turned into a ball of flames thanks to her ears. She burned Angel's vines away, and the spores on her fur. Still in the air, Lopunny gathered the shadows in front of her mouth and spat out a Shadow Ball toward Angel, which he blocked with Ancient Power.

"Collapse the wall and throw the rocks at her," I said.

The grass type swept his vines and gathered as many rocks as he could, throwing them toward Lopunny. The normal type waited until the last moment and dodged with a jump so powerful it left another crater behind her.

"Bounce!" Denzel yelled.

So he was going for broke, then, I quickly thought. "Spores and Ancient Power!"

The normal type turned into a flaming meteorite as the air pushed her forward. More spores quickly exploded out of Angel, and he raised a thick wall in front of him. Lopunny grunted as she burst through the wall in an instant. She'd used too many Power-Up Punches. The spores around Angel themselves caught on fire and his vines started to burn to a crisp. Even without Sunny Day, she'd gotten so good at elemental attacks that this was second nature to her.

"Hit her away!"

Even beneath the fire, I could see Knock Off's enveloping darkness. The energy coated some of the vines enough to keep them from burning, and Angel whipped her right flank at full force. The normal type tumbled to the ground and slid as the flames returned to her extremities. Even after all of this, Angel was still burning. The grass type sent out another set of vines and tried to grab at Lopunny's arms and legs. She side-stepped and ducked, crouching against the floor and then kept backing up.

"Wait him out! Run—" Denzel said.

"Walls!"

Three walls erupted around Lopunny and the normal type bumped her back against the rock. She'd been running backwards at full force. There was an opening for Angel to grab her, but Lopunny jumped—

And promptly hit her head on a half-formed ceiling. Arceus, that training with the pillars had worked wonders. Tangrowth was nothing but a few vines and the dark body within at this point, but he was still hidden by the fire. He didn't even waste an instant and five vines— the only ones that remained usable— wrapped around Lopunny's arms and legs. The normal type burned, and fire enveloped her entire body once more, but she was no fire type and I could tell she wasn't experienced with it because it hurt her as well. Denzel couldn't see what was happening to her, but he desperately craned his neck and yelled out her name.

Lopunny grunted as the Knock Offs impacted her, and she was forced to end her flame body, lest she choke on the fire. The walls collapsed as Tangrowth finally fell. He'd been burned to a crisp. I softly thanked him as I recalled him.

Lopunny was done for too. I kept a hand on Sweetheart's Pokeball as the normal type struggled to stand up. She raised herself with her hands, but then fell flat.

I'd won.

Denzel's shoulders sagged as he recalled Lopunny.

The first thought that flooded my mind wasn't the elation of victory, although that came second. I'd defeated Denzel. I'd won. And that was a big deal.

No. What was at the forefront of my mind were new ways to fight that I hadn't considered before. New moves, new applications for already-existing moves, things we needed to practice more before the battle with Volkner.

It was ideas.

---

A/N: Don't worry, Sweetheart fans, she'll get her time to shine soon.

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 225

Denzel took a few breaths as the reality of his loss sunk in and the cheers from the crowd flooded his ears. He clipped Lopunny's Pokeball to his side and sighed with sagging shoulders. All of the adrenaline from the battle was leaving him at once, and it sure wasn't helping with the disappointment he felt.

He hopped off the elevated podium and toward Grace, who was frozen still and staring into the distance for some reason. It was only when he was basically almost there that she did the same and came to speak to him. Denzel outstretched a hand and she grabbed it before pulling him into a hug. She was sweaty, but he didn't mind.

"Congrats," he smiled. "How's it feel?"

He wasn't bitter. Denzel had convinced himself he'd be the underdog since the day he challenged her, and he had expected it to be an uphill climb. Even more so now that she was hanging out with trainers so powerful they boggled the mind. Walking weapons of mass destruction that countries liked to flaunt and brag about, but that also kept each other in check.

But damn it, was he disappointed in himself.

"It feels… well, revelating," Grace answered. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be fine," he said. "I won't lie though, it hurts."

"Shit. Sorry."

"Don't apologize for winning, dude. I'll live," Denzel said. "Uh, I'm gonna stop the stream and stuff for now."

"Want to bring our teams to the Center after?" Grace asked. "I knew we said we'd hang out in two days, but now would be cool."

"Eh, I'll get back to you on that," Denzel hesitantly said. He couldn't help but feel hurt at the disappointment on her face. "Don't be like that. I'm fine, no joke. I just need a few hours to clear my mind and think on the battle. Relax."

"If you say so. We're all one phone call away—"

"Yes Mom," he groaned. "See you soon, alright?"

Denzel patted her on the back and pushed her toward Cece and Erin who were waiting for her with wide smiles. The former raised a hand at him and shot him an apological look when their eyes met. He smiled at her and waved back before making his way toward his mounted phone, where Emilia and Pauline stood with saddened faces. They stayed silent and pointed at the phone, and he understood that they were asking him to end the stream so they could speak privately. Denzel's eyes bulged when he saw the viewcount at 102,399 thousand. He spoke a few words to the stream and ended it, making sure to remind them to all subscribe. No doubt, he'd see a massive revenue bump from this and incredible growth for his channel.

"Holy fuck, that was a lot of viewers," he said. "What did it peak at?"

"118,000 or so," Emilia answered. "But Denzel, are you okay?"

"Disappointed and angry at myself, but other than that, I'm fine."

"That doesn't sound too good. Do you want us to do anything, or—"

"Pauline, I'm fine. Well, actually, I won't deny I feel like shit, but it's nothing I can't handle. This is something I learned to deal with months ago."

"...If you say so."

"Oh. When was this?" Emilia asked.

"Back in Jubilife, Chase beat the crap out of Sylveon when he was just an Eevee and Ri was a Riolu. It was the first time we met actually," Denzel explained. "It took me a while to get out of that slump, but I did. I'm okay, I won't spiral and start doubting myself or whatever. I'm a fucking good trainer, and I know it."

The redhead smiled. "Cool."

Chase was lucky Denzel hadn't told her how much of an asshole he used to be, or he would have gotten an earful from her.

Denzel sighed as he picked up his phone and folded the tripod. "But! Let me spend a few hours alone to get my thoughts in order."

"I thought your thoughts were fine?" Emilia accused as she crossed her arms.

"You know what I mean," he rolled his eyes. "I'll get my team to the Center and wander around and think about the meaning of what being a trainer is until I lose sight of myself and want to retire."

He paused when both of his… friends' faces didn't move.

"That was a joke, guys," he said. "Okay, seriously though, I'm off."

Denzel told the rest of his friends goodbye and made his way toward the Center, releasing Swablu on his head while he walked. Many in the crowd tried to hold him and ask him questions, some of which were very inflammatory, but he just used the convenient excuse that his team really needed to get to a Nurse Joy right now. He could have taken the bus, but he really felt the need to get blood pumping in his legs right now, and Sunyshore was a beautiful city. He could see why so many people had moved to it in recent years.

Swablu chirped on his head as soon as he released her, and Denzel guessed what she had just asked.

"We lost," he said. "4-5. You could have seen the battle if you weren't so… particular about interacting with others. Not everyone that isn't me is dirty, you know?"

The flying type bit and pulled at his hair in response, and he hissed out in pain.

"Fine, fine," he sighed. "I'm bringing the others to a Center right now. Just relax and take in the sights."

Swablu huffed and he felt her puff up her fluffy wings. She was quite a peculiar Pokemon, even after having known her for a few weeks. She was young, having hatched from an egg months prior, but she didn't behave like his friends' baby Pokemon. There was none of the cuteness there, only an aggressive tendency to destroy anything she didn't like and a want for battle. That one would have to wait, unfortunately, since she was still playing catchup with the rest of the team. Milotic and the others liked to help her train, but Sylveon still hadn't fully accepted her.

And she wasn't even a dragon type yet. Denzel shivered at the thought of that.

He handed his Pokemon to Nurse Joy and smiled at the trainers at the Pokemon Center that had been watching the battle. Normally he would have loved the attention, but that was the last thing he wanted right now. He slipped out as soon as he saw an opportunity to and decided to wander the streets once more.

"What could I have done differently?" He muttered to himself.

Because that was the entire crux of the issue, wasn't it? A question that had haunted millions of trainers throughout all eras and all regions and one that he couldn't shake right now. Should he have saved Roserade for Tangrowth after all? The fact that Froslass lost to a grass type was still something that he hadn't fully registered. That Knock Off trick had been vicious. Maybe he should have recalled Roserade as soon as Electabuzz showed his face… yes, that he was sure of. Thunder had been wholly unexpected, and the fact that she'd almost used the move three times was awful. It would only go up from there—

Denzel jumped when Swablu alerted him by pulling on his hair. He'd nearly crossed the street while the light was red.

"Thank you, Swablu," he muttered. "That was weird."

He usually never got lost in his thoughts like that.

"I should go and eat something," Denzel said. "Thinking over lunch sounds great right now."

The teenager found the nearest restaurant on his phone and quickly asked for a table for one. Pokemon were thankfully allowed in the establishment, so Swablu stayed on his head. He had tried to place her on the table or the chair in front of him, but she'd bitten his finger in protest. He ordered a pizza and returned to his thoughts, but he couldn't help but think he was biased somehow. Trainers weren't exactly the best at analyzing a battle completely objectively, so Grace was kind of a monster in that regard. Seeing your flaws exposed like that hurt, and it hurt even more to call them out. Better bury your head in the sand and blame something else.

He scrolled through the contacts on his phone as he clenched a fist. What he needed was someone with a completely unbiased and objective view. Someone that would be willing to call him out on anything he'd done wrong. He answered a few worried messages from his friends, sending a picture of himself and a scowling Swablu to their group chat.

His finger hovered over Barry Lane's number. Even if they'd told each other they'd hang out in Sunyshore, they hadn't spoken since meeting that one time in Veilsone. He was the only person not in their friend group that wouldn't be scared to set him straight. He called on his old friend, who picked up the phone instantly. He smiled when he saw that he hadn't lost that old habit. Denzel's mother would sometimes called his on their landline and he would always answer the phone first.

"Denzel! My old buddy old pal! What can I do for you on this beautiful day?"

The way Barry spoke was a flurry of words, as always, like he was constantly in a hurry.

"Want to come and eat with me?" Denzel asked. "I can drop you the address. I need you to discuss some battling issues with me."

"Well, if it's battling!" Barry exclaimed. "I'll be right there!"

"I haven't even sent it to you yet."

"I'm already running, so you better send it before I end up on the other side of the city."

Denzel stayed silent for a few seconds and heard Barry's stomping against the ground and his shallow breaths.

"Okay, you're actually serious. I'll hang up, and you can check the messages for the address."

—

Barry leaned forward with terrible posture as he stared at Denzel's phone and watched his battle with Grace. Somehow, he hadn't known about it despite it being the only thing every first year could talk about online. Barry was the only person Denzel knew who was worse at keeping up with news than Grace. While they had a similar upbringing in Twinleaf, Denzel used the internet as much as he could to escape his boring life while Barry was just incapable of getting bored with what he already had. Swablu stared at what lay below the table with disgust and disdain.

Barry's Munchlax was currently finishing his third meal and he would definitely ask for a fourth one. The normal type held his plate up and slid all of his food down his mouth, not caring for all of the food he dropped on the ground in the process. Denzel could feel the waiters stare daggers in his and Barry's back.

He'd definitely clean up before leaving.

"What a great battle!" Barry exclaimed. "Super, duper good. But, uh, why did you need me?"

The short trainer looked at Denzel with light brown eyes that almost appeared orange and blinked. Even while eating, he always wore his green scarf. A heirloom left to him by his father before he left for the Battle Frontier.

"I want advice," Denzel said. "You're one of the best first-years—"

"I'm the best! I'm him!" Barry yelled.

Barry wasn't just among the best first years— and definitely better than Denzel was. He was possibly the most random-minded trainer Denzel had ever seen at their level. People on the forums said that whenever someone battled Barry, they could never know what to expect, and he knew it to be true despite how relatively average his team was. Denzel had watched his battle against Maylene and saw how much he had angered her (it had been a while before her break). For example, his Staraptor knew Sunny Day and Heat Wave. His Rapidash knew Bounce and could somehow gallop across the air, raining fire down at her opponents, and she synergized perfectly with Staraptor. His Heracross had mastered his flying capabilities and could use them to create a sound that confused opponents. Empoleon was as good at using ice TE as his own Froslass was and he used it to slide around the entire arena incredibly quickly. Munchlax wasn't good enough to battle yet, but he was sure he'd pull some similar tricks when he was.

While Denzel's Roserade had focused on her poison typing, Barry's was focused on grass.

And all of that was just the tip of the iceberg. He always pulled some insane shit that shouldn't have been possible every time he popped up in an official battle.

"Okay, let's not yell in the middle of the restaurant, please," Denzel whispered with a hiss. "I wanted your advice. Completely unbiased. Just lay it on me."

"Well, there were mistakes on both sides, but it's easy to say that from my seat," he rambled. "I think that you got too lost in your original strategy—"

"You know what I was doing?"

"Well, you were trying to mentally exhaust her, it's obvious. The stalling you did when switching, the healing moves, it was a pretty decent job, I'd say. But it wasn't working, and you kept doing it and leaving her ample time to think!"

"I fucking knew it—"

"I'd say the only time where that was the right decision was when you let the poison whittle down Jellicent before releasing your next Pokemon, but I mean, maybe it's just me. I like fast-paced fighting better than this mind game stuff. I yell out what feels right at the moment. I don't really know how you jive, so I don't think it would work for you. This Grace Pastel fellow's interesting, though. Is everyone in your group as good as you two?"

"You met her in Veilstone," Denzel sighed.

"Oh. I forgot."

"And yeah, I'd say Chase, Lauren and Cecilia are that good," Denzel said, rubbing his chin. "Interested? You need more friends."

"I'll be fine. I can't waste time when I've got to get my eight badges! I'm leaving for Pastoria when I get my team back."

Denzel's eyes bulged. "You won already?"

"What do you think?" Barry grinned, flashing the Beacon Badge on his trainer ID. "I won yesterday. I thought you of all people would know. I want to be the first first-year to get eight badges! That ought to impress my old man."

"I was at a party yesterday," Denzel said. "Congrats, though. Happy for you. Shouldn't you slow down and get your flying license, though? It'll be convenient for… Candice is your eighth badge, right?"

"I'll do that in Pastoria," he quickly dismissed. "I heard that—"

Barry stopped when he noticed that Munchlax was tapping his feet for more food.

"You're ruining me," Barry smiled. "I'll get you some… what do you want? Is fish okay?"

The normal type shrugged, probably saying that anything was fine so long as it got in his mouth. Denzel leaned down to look at Munchlax and decided to talk to Barry about him. They were rare, and Craig had one. Plus, it wasn't every day that he got Barry to stick to one place for long. Keeping his attention was notoriously difficult.

"How is taking care of a Munchlax? Isn't that expensive as hell?"

"Yeah, but Professor Rowan sends me everything we need. That's how I get my vitamins too," Barry explained. "This is just a treat."

Denzel salivated at the thought of having a Professor sponsor him, but he knew that was a pipe dream. Barry had only been picked because Rowan knew his parents well. Palmer was well-acquainted with a lot of Sinnoh's important people, and Professors were no different.

"What else does Rowan send you?" He asked.

"TMs, Ultra Balls, advice on how to raise each of my Pokemon and the exact nutrition they need. It's annoying to keep track of, but it's for their own good. He also sent me one of the few Shiny Stones he had stocked up for Roserade. In exchange, he asks me to catch some Pokemon to send back to his lab."

"You can go past the six Pokemon rule?"

"Duh. He's a Professor, I get special perks," Barry said excitedly. "I'm still not allowed to keep them, but I can catch 'em and send them to him. Sometimes they stick around the lab their entire lives, or he sends them back to where they lived after he's done with them if they want to. That's why the good old Professor wants me to get strong quickly. The more powerful I am, the more rare Pokemon I can find him. He's been wanting to get his hands on a Carbink, but good luck finding a wild one outside of the deepest parts of Mount Coronet. He's got some wack theory about them having an evolution even though it's never been proven."

Denzel nodded. All of that made sense… except one question he had.

"Can't he just buy them?" Denzel asked.

"He's a Professor, not a billionaire," he said. "He buys the ones he can, but a lot of Pokemon are too expensive. And if he can get them through me, why not save his cash?"

"Right. Right. So is that how you taught your Staraptor Sunny Day and Rain Dance?" Denzel said.

"Yeah! Rowan sent me the TMs for both. Reusable! I got Sandstorm and Hail too. Weather's cool, but I kind of want him to get me Hyper Beam. He's got a bunch of old TMs he stocked up through his career that he's slowly giving me, just like the evolutionary stones. Obviously I have to give the TMs back when I'm done with them, though."

"I guess that's how your Pokemon know moves that are completely crazy," Denzel said, leaning against a palm. "What's next, a Rapidash with Solar Beam?"

"Yeah, that's in the works, actually," Barry said. "Anyways, TMs are great, but I still got to practice the moves for weeks before they're usable. They're only a baseline."

"Yeah, obviously."

"I need to get started on these custom moves. I've got some, but I've been relying on TMs for too long and your battle inspired me. That Poison Cutter was cool. I wonder if my Roserade can do the same thing, but with grass… Grass Cutter?"

"Yeah, I don't think that'd work."

The waiter arrived with Munchlax's fish. Denzel didn't really know what it was, but the normal type inhaled it in seconds, bones and all.

"I've got to go," Barry said, shooting up from his chair. "This was cool, but Munchlax needs to train now. We've been working on Sleep Talk, but he just keeps staying asleep instead."

"Wait, already—"

"Glory waits for no one, Denzel!"

Barry recalled Munchlax and ran off, his scarf flowing in the air. He nearly bumped into a waitress and she almost dropped all of the drinks she was carrying, and he didn't even look back while apologizing. Denzel chuckled as he grabbed his phone again. He'd wanted to ask for the tab, but a message from Grace caught his attention.

Stay where you are. Trust me.

"What…?" Denzel muttered.

Well, he didn't like to be kept in the dark, but this was probably harmless. Maybe she'd show up— actually, that wasn't possible. He hadn't sent them the address. Only a picture. Either way, he listened, ordering a drink to not clog up the table and browsed some of the reactions of the battle. A lot of people had expected him to pull through, mostly because Grace kept her training in the dark the entire time while he livestreamed his progress for his viewers. They probably hadn't expected her to have kept up with him. The forums were alight with discussion of the battle, and even trainers beyond the first-year chimed in to give their opinions. Some of them called Denzel's group overrated and said that they'd wipe out at the Conference, if they even got that far, but the majority actually respected their skill, much to Denzel's surprise.

Around ten minutes later, he heard some commotion around the restaurant's entrance. He paid it no mind. It was probably some fight happening outside or a famous person walking by. When he heard the commotion get closer, though, he turned and saw that Craig Goodwill was in the damn restaurant. At first, he thought it was just a coincidence, but he waved at him with that crooked smile of his and tapped him on the back.

"Hey kid," Craig said. "How's it going?"

"C—Craig! What are you doing here?"

Denzel cursed at himself for the stutter. He hadn't seen his idol since they were at Lake Acuity, and he was still nervous around him. He knew what it was like to have nervous fans now, though, and he tried to calm his nerves. A titan of the industry was standing right next to— actually, he dragged the chair Barry had been sitting in and took his place. His friend would definitely regret leaving so soon if he found out. He recalled Swablu so she wouldn't humiliate him in front of the trainer he admired.

"Your friend Grace told me you were here. It's a nice little spot, even if I usually stick to the boardwalk."

How had she found the address? Just from the selfie he'd sent? It had been innocent enough and well-intentioned, but Arceus, she could be terrifying when she wanted to. Yet another reminder to never get on Grace's bad side.

Denzel just decided to think that Erin had known this spot and that she had asked her.

"I was told you were watching the battle," Denzel spoke, trying to keep his voice still. "What'd you think?"

He winced, expecting the worst.

"You were both fantastic. Truly. It took me back to simpler times when I used to chase Sarah Newman around and she kept beating the crap out of me, except your battle was a lot closer. I see you're taking the loss surprisingly well."

Denzel unclenched his fist and relaxed. He thought he would completely rip him to pieces, exposing every imperfection. That was what he'd wanted, but it would have been different coming from the trainer he looked up to the most.

"I'll manage. I still feel like shit, but it's okay."

"Good. That'll help you for the Conference, if you get there. Losing there crushed me the first time. It still did every year, and I've been going for six years."

Denzel nodded. It was a known fact that Craig had been in a terrible state after losing in the finals last year to Sarah Newman, and it had only been by a hair. That probably still haunted him at night.

Or maybe not.

"But you've got to look at the bigger context. For a first year, you're progressing leaps and bounds. I thought you'd have flamed out by now when we met in Snowpoint, but here you are, chugging along. You're an extremely talented kid."

"But?" Denzel asked.

Craig placed an arm over the back of his chair and smiled. "Do you want my advice?"

"Who wouldn't?" Denzel scoffed. "You're the trainer. Everyone would want your insight after a battle."

"Eh, you'd be surprised," Craig smirked. "Why don't you tell me the problems that jumped out at you? Let's start slow."

"Everything I threw at her except Poison Cutter, she had a counter for," Denzel blurted out. "I don't know how she does it… not the planning, but, like, she manages to be the most defensive-minded out of all of us all while not lacking in power. Every single one of her Pokemon is so tough to crack. You've got Togetic with Ancient Power and her barriers, Electabuzz with Protect, and he's way faster than he used to be and that's only going to get worse if she figures out how to evolve him. Tangrowth used to be easy to hit, but he's got Ancient Power now too and even when you hit him, he's got an insane amount of stamina. Jellicent can regenerate a thousand times, Pupitar's got a tough shell and can fly incredibly quickly, but when she evolves she'll be nearly indestructible except for the most powerful attacks… Arceus."

"Seems like a lot," Craig nodded. "And she is quite the defensive trainer. Good catch. She's like a fusion of Gardenia and Byron, although even Gardenia wouldn't have gone as far as she did against Maylene."

Denzel swallowed. He knew that had happened? For some reason, he felt nervous even though he wasn't the one that had done anything.

"What about Jasmine?" Denzel asked.

"Oh, Jasmine is like a rapier," Craig said. "She'll stab you a thousand times and leave you dead. Byron's a shield. You can slam against him, but if you don't have the power needed to break through, you'll need tricks to win. Good luck on that eighth badge, by the way."

"Right."

That was going to be a terribly hard fight, and he looked forward to it already.

Craig snapped a finger and pointed at Denzel. "Anyway, back to you. You were on the right track. There are two kinds of battlers in this world, kid. Defensive and offensive battlers. Now, this isn't black and white… it's more like a spectrum. And just because you're defensive doesn't mean you wait to have things happen to you. You can be a proactive defensive battler or a reactive offensive battler. You catch my drift?"

Denzel nodded.

"Now you approached this battle the completely wrong way," Craig said. Denzel felt his heart drop. "It was close, but you could have handily won if you fought correctly. You played too passive, Denzel, and I don't mean using moves like Recover. You didn't fight to your strengths and fought to counter her instead. You were basically playing by her game, and against defensive-minded trainers like her that like to think, that's a death sentence. You can't let them think, Denzel, that's when you lose."

"But I did play to my strengths. I mean, I can battle for a long time, and she can't— well, I thought she couldn't. I underestimated her there."

"Obviously she can. That's beginner stuff, and you guys are at least intermediate. Your friends progress alongside you, not just you. I suspect that she'll love to have long battles by the time the year is over. Her type always does," he recalled with a hint of fondness. "Personally, I dislike long battles. I keep mine quick by blowing past most opponents with raw destruction— sophisticated destruction."

Denzel understood where Lauren had gotten her battling style from now, even if hers couldn't really be called sophisticated. He'd watched plenty of Craig's battles, but him saying it out loud had made it all click. Plus, according to Grace the battle with Jasmine had been pretty quick, all things considered, but that was mostly because of the strength disparity between Craig and Jasmine's Pokemon.

"So what are my strengths then?" Denzel asked.

"For this battle, it was Roserade and your creativity with her," Craig said. "I've rarely seen a Sludge Wave applied like this at your level, let alone Poison Cutter. She was your crutch, and you failed her."

Denzel clenched a fist and stared at his feet in shame.

"Sorry about the harsh words. She could have carried you to victory if you relied on her more. Notice how you were basically winning every time she was on the field? And you could have won against Electabuzz had you poisoned the field again. You did win the first bout the two fought and forced her to recall him."

"But my other Pokemon would have been hurt afterward!"

"What's a battle without a little risk?" Craig smiled. "Picture this. You just sent that Sludge Wave toward Electabuzz over and over until he couldn't use Protect any longer, and you take him out. What does she have left that can fight Roserade? Jellicent, Tangrowth and Pupitar. That doesn't sound so great, doesn't it? And there's also the fact that you could have used your switches better and gotten your Sylveon to actually get that Wish to her, but I digress."

"But there was no way Roserade could have finished all three off."

"She could have done two if you played it correctly, and that leaves you with Lopunny, Milotic and Sylveon against her last Pokemon. Even having two of those left would have netted you a win. The poisoned floor would have been there, yes, but you would still be at an advantage. At the heart of it all, Pokemon battling is a numbers game. You've got to play to your strengths. Convert them into a lead, and convert that lead into a victory. Switches are important, but leads are everything. They are crushing psychologically and you want to do everything to come back and at least equalize the battle again. That makes you stop thinking clearly and you start to make mistakes unless you're the most analytical, stone-cold individual out there. Even I'm not immune to it. It's how I lost last year. That make sense?"

Denzel nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Yeah, it does."

"Grace exploited that," Craig said. "Played with the tempo, quieted down, made you slip up. You basically lost control of the battle as soon as you let Roserade exhaust herself against Electabuzz for no reason, and you never came back from that. You had a one Pokemon lead for a little bit, but it was fake. Just smoke. It wasn't a real lead with your best Pokemon waiting in tow, because without Roserade there, all of the Pokemon she had left could beat yours without a problem. Now, every battle's got a different Pokemon that'll act as the cornerstone of your strategy. From the way she behaved, I'd bet that Grace knew yours was Roserade and that hers was Electabuzz."

"Not Tangrowth or Jellicent? They were honestly a lot more annoying," Denzel said, recalling the battle.

"Tangrowth and Jellicent were like… Cynthia. They're powerful, sure, and without them it would have fallen apart, but Electabuzz was like the thousands of employees under her that keep the League running like a well-oiled machine. He was in the background, but he screwed you. He exhausted your Roserade by fighting her twice, damaged your Froslass some and took down your Sylveon's armor in one hit, rendering him basically useless and easy fodder for Jellicent. Do you get it? Sylveon was a nonfactor in that battle, even if he finished Electabuzz off. He turned it into a four against five. Electabuzz knocked down your foundation and Tangrowth and Jellicent finished collapsing the house."

"Okay. I get it, I misused Roserade," Denzel said. "What else was there?"

"Well, I don't want to just give you the keys to the castle. Finding them yourself is an order of magnitude more satisfying," Craig said. "But… hm."

"What?" Denzel asked.

"You know, you remind me of my younger self, believe it or not," Craig said.

"No way."

"Yes. That's why I like keeping an eye on you from time to time. I was worse than you, actually. I had my rival I desperately wanted to surpass, and the fact that she was two years younger than me didn't help. But even the way you behave. The way you handle your fame, it's very similar. I like you, kid."

"Thank you. That means a lot to me."

Craig Goodwill stayed silent for a few seconds, leaning back against his chair.

"I'll be in Sunyshore another week," he said. "What do you say I take you under my wing while I'm there. I can… point you in the right direction. You've got potential. An unpolished diamond, one might say."

Denzel practically jumped for joy. "Yes! Absolutely yes! But what about your sister?"

"My sister can handle herself," Craig said. "She's a damn genius. I trust her to be the strongest first year by the Conference. And it's only a week. Not much, all things considered. Just enough to light the way. I'll teach you the broad fundamentals."

"Fucking awesome. When do we start?" Denzel asked.

"How about right now?"

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J

 

[Soussouni1]

INTERLUDE - FORUMS VI

Andrew Melendez's eyes snapped open as soon as his alarm rung. He already knew what time it was and spared no time jumping out of his bed. His leg caught in his cover and he tripped down on the cold, tiled floor.

"Fuck! Arceus damn it…"

Andrew hissed as he rubbed the shoulder and arm he'd fallen on until he heard a voice come from down the hall outside his bedroom.

"Andrew? You good, man?!"

He recognized Jan's voice and answered right away. "Yep! Just fell off my bed!"

"Okay, well I'm off to work! You have a good one!"

"Thanks Jan!"

Andrew struggled back up to his feet and quickly left his room, snagging anything edible from their small kitchen. He ended up settling on some canned fruits from the pantry. Living in Jubilife was expensive for an eighteen-year-old, and he was only able to afford rent with roommates. Jan, Sandy and he had lived together for three years now, and Sandy had already gone to work. Why hadn't he left for work yet?

Well, he had called in sick.

Today was a very special day.

Andrew floored it back to his room and sighed when he saw that he still had two minutes left until the battle between Denzel Williams and Grace Pastel. Andrew was no trainer, but battling was his passion and had been as long as he could remember. Unfortunately, he could never imagine himself actually traveling. He'd given it a try once and realized that it wasn't for him after barely making it through Oreburgh Tunnel with his trusted Meditite. He still battled sometimes in one of the public arenas when he had time, but being a real trainer was out of the picture.

Andrew grabbed his glasses from his bedside table, sat on his desk and clicked at Meditite's Pokeball. The blue fighting type yawned as he levitated off the floor.

"The stream's starting soon," Andrew said as he spooned a mouthful of fruits into his mouth. "You wanted to watch too."

I did, Meditite answered. But I said I wanted to watch the video of the battle. A stream is unnecessary. You interrupted my meditation.

"Shit— uh, sorry. Well, I'll leave you to it, then," Andrew answered, turning on his computer.

Meditite interrupted his levitation for a few moments and opened the door with his psychic powers. He'd probably be alone for a good hour or two. The fighting type shared Andrew's passion for watching and analyzing battles, but he certainly felt none of the urgency his trainer felt. Two of the best first-years in the Circuit, duking it out for the first time! There were rumors of them having battled at some point in Sandgem, but that was old history and couldn't be backed up by evidence, since the few trainers that claimed to have been there weren't recording. Apparently, Denzel had won.

Andrew opened up his browser and logged into DailyTube. His account name was the same as it was anywhere else.

Username: Goalducc42

Password: ●●●●●●●●●●●●●

He slowly munched on the last remaining fruits as he observed the stream. Denzel had panned his camera toward the battlefield, but the crowd in the background was still visible, along with a few in his friend group. The chat was… well, it was what he could have expected from an event this large. Denzel's chat was always terribly moderated, but today was especially bad despite Pauline King having warned toxic chatters. That only seemed to have triggered them as a flurry of 'pauLines' and other nonsense flooded the chat.

S0phinator: SPAM THIS PRETZEL TO SUPPORT DENZEL

Mawawawa343: Why is pauLine talking?

IlllIIIIlI: pauLine

CountBisharp: SPAM THIS VASE TO SUPPORT GRACE

SurelyShirly: pauLine pauLine pauLine pauLine pauLine

WailTank: Gamba where? Modcheck?

Arial22030934: ALL IN ON DENZEL BOYS THE TRAIN NEVER STOPS.

Tuturu: Every time this girl speaks I can't help but cringe

Phoen1x: Can we get a Grace blink counter going?

Andrew ignored those messages, along with the other spammers. Pauline and Emilia were quite hated among Denzel's community because he'd garnered a majority female audience and he was objectively quite a good-looking guy. Andrew had been at this for years at this point. The chat was flooding as fast as it did for some tournaments, but he was good at filtering the trash from the valuable commentary. Even in a chat for a live event, nuggets of gold could be found, but he couldn't deny missing the forums. Just as the battle was about to start, he split his screen and opened the forum live thread on the side of his screen. It seemed that the majority of people were supporting Denzel, but Grace had a sizeable amount of fans as well. Of course, there were also the inflammatory assholes who liked to rile up both sides into fighting each other by manufacturing arguments.

Welcome to the League Circuit Forums! The best website to get any League/Circuit related news!

Trainers → Events

Topic: Denzel v Grace live reaction thread

Original Poster: Denzel_Williams (Verified Trainer)

Date: March 5th 20XX

He quickly scrolled to the bottom of the page and looked at what people were saying.

►Lexie_Jimenez (Verified Trainer)

No way Denzel takes this. Grace is going to win handily because the only useful Pokemon on his team is Froslass. The rest don't hold any water to the force she brings to the table.

►Xavier_Hester (Verified Trainer)

I said the same thing but I was banned. Shit mods tbh that's not even toxic compared to half the shit people are saying.

►APETITAN

Tell me you don't watch the training streams without telling me you don't watch the training streams. Sorry bestie, you're both going to be in for a rude awakening.

Andrew groaned. It seemed that the event had been advertised so much that even the forums were annoying to read. Everyone had a take that they thought was the absolute truth, and they couldn't help but tell it as if it was a fact. He expected the intelligent chatters and users to start rolling in when the fight was in full swing. The man leaned forward as the battle finally started Froslass against Pupitar. If the ice type hadn't been so tricky, Pupitar would have held the advantage, but Andrew knew Grace would be forced to use the first switch. The two Pokemon started exchanging blows, and Froslass showcased her mastery of Double Team as Andrew glanced at the chat.

Penguindrum: Pupitar kind of washed tbh. Can't even deal with a basic Double Team.

PokemonEnjoyer234: Froslass is chadded out of her mind right now.

Celestrialcord: Why isn't she using Payback? I'm pretty sure that Pupitar knows Payback.

Goalducc clenched his teeth and had to refrain himself from @ ing the users directly. He knew the opinion of a chat could change on a dime. When Grace finished scouting and recalled Pupitar, more calls of her defeat began to roll in, especially when she released Tangrowth next.

NeonNebbi3: FROSLASS SWEEP!

(Krabbie): People are getting way too hyped up when this thing barely started.

Extendoarm: Already throwing OMEGALOL

1Harpie1: NOOOO GRACE DON'T SEND A GRASS TYPE AGAINST AN ICE TYPE NOOOO SHE HAS EARPODS IN SHE CAN'T HEAR US

Hazsuman: It's Sopher. I literally bet all of my points on her.

Andrew actually chuckled at that. 'Sopher' was a combination of Sophie and Over that had spread like wildfire after Sophie Richards had gotten kicked out of the Prime Minister position and arrested for collaborating with Team Galactic. The chat kept looking the same, with only a few actually realizing that Froslass was in trouble. Grace's Tangrowth was a monster, and anyone worth their salt knew it. The image of Tangrowth— or Angel, as she called him— running up to your Pokemon and destroying them in complete silence had become an internet phenomenon. It wasn't until his Leech Seed landed on Froslass that the chat started to change their tune.

Devil_In_Backseat: Wtf how does it not dodge that?!

PkmnTDW: Guys what if Grace wasn't actually throwing but actually cracked?

RRRER: FUCKING MIDROLL ADS I WANT TO DIE

Undertimex: Why doesn't she just dodge? Is she stupid?

Vroomvroom: Dodge 4Head Dodge 4Head Dodge 4Head

SleepyGlameow_: Holy shit, did he just detach that vine?!

Indeed, Tangrowth had. Goalducc laughed as the grass type's vines wrapped around Froslass and her clones. He would have finished her off had Denzel not recalled Froslass at the last moment. The momentum had definitely shifted in Grace's favor, and now everyone in chat acted like they'd been supporting her all along to save face. Andrew wouldn't be so sure of her victory, however. It was too early to tell who would win. The next bout began as Grace recalled Tangrowth and sent out Electabuzz to counter Denzel's Roserade. Her weakness to poison types was well-known, and many people Andrew interacted with enjoyed pointing it out, especially the second-years and above who would be at the Conference and were preparing for her and her friends. Normally, first-years wouldn't have been singled out like this. After all, they weren't the only first years that would make it to the Conference. Andrew tracked a lot of them, and he expected twenty-two to make it. Not everyone in Grace's group was on that list. The usual suspects, her, Denzel, Cecilia, Lauren and Chase were on the list, but the rest were a lot less unsure. Even Mira Compton wasn't someone Andrew was confident on.

But the reason a lot of the older trainers wanted to put them in the dirt was because they were a lot more fortunate than usual. Incredible sponsors, fame, a closeness with the League never seen with first-years, working with Silph Co, the list went on and on. Grace even looked to be on speaking terms with Jasmine, Olivine's Gym Leader who was on holiday here and dating Volkner. People were jealous that trainers objectively worse than they were had it better than they did.

Andrew was sure they'd catch up to most complainers by the Conference. Rare were the people who progressed as fast as they all did, and they were all a treat to watch. He did want Cecilia to do more public battles, however. He hadn't seen her fight since her fight with Maylene. It was a real content drought out here.

He turned his attention back to the battle. The entire field had been completely poisoned, and Roserade was having a much better showing than everyone had thought. Even Andrew's eyes bulged at that massive Sludge Wave.

KalosR: Yikes. Electabuzz can't keep this up.

PUAPUAPUA: WASHED. LITERALLY WASHED IN POISON.

EdisonWuu: Why did she go into Electabuzz??????

Jeeeeeeepers: Graceheads it's literally sopher.

QuQ0: She has to rush and overwhelm Roserade

PubbleYup: Wait, wtf???

AEIOUY: THUNDER??

Partager: BROS SHE JUST SAID THUNDER

Doubledashline: HUH?

Fightclub: HOLY FUCK

Jeeeeeeepers: GRACEHEADS WE NEVER EVEN LEFT

LilyPikachu: are you srs rn -_-

Forsale: LETS GOOOOO

Goalducc grinned as the attack exploded onto the field, destroying everything in its path and singing Roserade. Grace ordered Electabuzz to use Fire Punch, but Denzel recalled his Roserade to salvage her endurance. Andrew sighed in relief and nodded. He couldn't deny preferring Denzel to Grace, even if Cecilia Obel was his favorite trainer this year, and he was rooting for Denzel to win. Keeping Roserade healthy was the correct choice, especially when Electabuzz was the only Pokemon that could take her down relatively easily. She had the type advantage against every other member of her team except Turtonator, and Grace wasn't using him. People liked to theorize about when she would start to do so. The dragon type was her most elusive Pokemon and was rarely seen in public, so people barely knew anything about him. The most fervent researchers (including himself) had looked up his old trainer's battles to at least know what Turtonator was capable of, however, and he would undoubtedly have turned this battle upside down.

Still, Andrew was glad to see Electabuzz succeed this much. People often saw him and Lopunny in the same light— Pokemon that held their trainers back, for some reason. He knew they had no idea what they were talking about. They were just as powerful as the others, they just needed to get their moment.

And it seemed that this battle was Electabuzz's.

Grace quickly switched, replacing Electabuzz with Togetic and Denzel sent out Froslass. Andrew refreshed the forum page to see if people that knew what they were talking about were there yet, but to his dismay, it was just a slower version of the livestream chat. He raised an eyebrow when he saw a notification— an invite to a private thread.

►Goalducc42

Hi everyone. Thank you all for the invite, the live thread and livestream chat is insufferable.

►Archive

It's giving me an aneurysm every time I look. Who do you think has it in the bag?

►Goalducc42

Too early to tell. I'd say it's anyone's game right now.

►AsobiAsobase

Did you see that Thunder? That packed such a fucking punch, I wouldn't have expected a five-badger to have taught the technique to her Pokemon. I think she wins depending on how many times she can use it. Electabuzz seemed quite tired after the attack, but he looks like he could use it a few more times at least.

►Chichi

Don't count Roserade and Froslass out. They're Denzel's keys to victory.

►Chance_Bartan (Verified Trainer)

Well Froslass ain't doing too hot right now, chief.

"Shrapnel," Grace had called out. Andrew gasped at the explosion of rocks that shred through Froslass' clones like paper. But she wasn't done. She proceeded to skewer the real body with an obscene amount of spears. The ice type fainted in silence.

►Archive

One key to Denzel's victory down. This girl likes stabbing way too much, by the way. Half the time she uses Ancient Power it's to fucking stab a Pokemon.

►Chichi

Did I jinx him? I think I jinxed him.

►Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer)

It's not looking too hot. Hope Denzel can pull through.

►Goalducc42

Roserade can still win this.

There was a reason Denzel was so universally liked if you discounted the usual trolls and contrarians. He was possibly the nicest influencer in Sinnoh. No other influencer his size still regularly interacted with his community and answered his DMs when someone asked him for tips on Pokemon training. He was just a genuine good guy, and those were surprisingly rare on the internet.

Both the forum thread and the chat went wild when Roserade destroyed Togetic with Poison Cutter. Denzel hadn't even shown that move in his training livestreams! The attack was vicious and cut through both Togetic's barrier and rocks from Ancient Power. Togetic were slow Pokemon, so dodging was probably impossible for her, especially since Grace hadn't focused on her flying typing apart from a pretty decent Air Cutter. Most flying types— especially those at a high level— could manipulate wind to speed themselves up. Togetic would definitely have some catching up to do in that regard when she evolved. Even if Togekiss were quick, they weren't the fastest. They had the potential to be, however. They were capable of learning Extreme Speed for a reason.

►Archive

There she goes, stabbing again.

Togetic had just penetrated Roserade's shoulder and stomach with two thick spears. She was slightly creepy, especially since she seemed to enjoy herself whenever something got stabbed as Chichi had said. Her nascent fanbase was split into two camps: those that liked the creepy and those that thought everyone was being too paranoid and that there was no way Grace could be creepy in any way shape or form. Roserade finished Togetic off, and Grace sent out her Electabuzz again.

But it was then that the battle started to slip out of Denzel's control. Goalducc and the few in his private thread could tell, but no one else could other than a few isolated instances of intelligence coming from the livestream chat or the live thread that were instantly drowned out by every other take. His eyes panned over to the live chat once more.

Nujabes: Roserade can outlast with Synthesis imo

Peaceland: How the hell is Electabuzz lasting this long? It's been like four minutes of nonstop Thunderbolts

1029485ITE: SPAM THIS VASE TO SUPPORT GRACE

Fredfred: Electabuzz fans are vindicated rn

Teaisready: Denzel… Notlikethis Notlikethis Notlikethis

E10: Roserade is dominating and it's not even close

PianoGranbull: ELECTABUZZ ROSERADE TANGROWTH

When Andrew saw that Denzel switched, he knew the battle had tipped in Grace's favor. Not because of the swap itself, but because of how long he had waited to do it. Either he needed to commit to Roserade fighting Electabuzz— which would have been a worse choice, but still better than what he had done, but at least he would have one last switch for the rest of the battle, or switched as soon as she started losing the fight.

He had done neither.

The chat went wild as another Thunder destroyed Sylveon in one hit, and the two Pokemon began to fight. Andrew refreshed the forum thread and started paying a modicum of attention to the discussion.

►Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer)

That Electabuzz is pretty insane. Honestly, I thought he'd hold her back by the time they got to the Conference, but if he can learn Thunder, I'm pretty sure he can reach the level needed to fight in that tournament, evolution or not. He might be able to dish out ten in a row and without charge time by the time he gets there.

►Archive

Yeah, Thunder's no joke. Only Zap Cannon is stronger if you discount custom moves.

►Chance_Bartan (Verified Trainer)

The moment she starts thinking with electricity or magnetism, Electabuzz will improve even more. Obviously though creating custom moves with electricity's tough. I'm pretty sure that Electabuzz is carrying this fight.

►Goalducc42

I can't wait to see him duke it out with Wake. Going to be an insane battle.

►Chichi

What if Grace figures out how to evolve him?

Andrew blinked at his screen and stood still for a few seconds. That's impossible, he wanted to answer. And yet, Grace had a closeness to the League that made people think that it was. What if they told her how to do it? They hadn't yet, or maybe they had, but the requirements couldn't be fulfilled yet.

►Goalducc42

Then we might have an ace on our hands.

►Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer)

Dude, Tyranitar clears when she evolves and it's not even close.

►Goalducc42

I mean, sure. But you know what Volkner can do with his Electivire, and we have no point of reference for Tyranitar. No one owns one in the region. I still don't know how the fuck she got herself a Larvitar, and a fucking baby at that. They're always protected by their mother. Even the Hunters didn't sell them.

►AsobiAsobase

Imagine if she actually spoke to people instead of sticking in her little corner the entire time. Goalducc, you speak to Denzel like every week. Use your clout to get her on his stream. They can do a Q&A or something.

►Goalducc42

I mean, I can try, but don't expect anything.

Electabuzz finally fell to Sylveon, and Grace released Jellicent next. The fairy type was the butt of many harem jokes in Denzel's stream and was his most popular Pokemon, but he was completely humiliated by Jellicent and hosed down in a corner. It was now that it started to sink in for people that Denzel was losing. Even Goalducc had little hope now. Unless Roserade could beat Jellicent, then it was basically over, and the poison type was exhausted from her battle with Electabuzz and unable to use any more Synthesises. They had to go big or go home.

But the reason Jellicent was so tricky wasn't his attacks, although Hydro Pump was powerful. It was the fact that he could penetrate in any surface. Unless you had a ground type move or another way to hit something underground, you were basically forced to play the reactive game, which she thrived on. From this point on, it was as if Denzel had lost his footing. Grace started playing even more mind tricks on him, alternating the time she took in between attacks. Roserade fainted despite having put up an amazing fight.

►Chichi

Yeah, it's gg.

►AsobiAsobase

It never even began. If Jellicent hadn't been poisoned drowning Roserade he might have been able to sweep the rest. Might have been too aggressive from her.

►Goalducc42

She's winning because she's aggressive. Grace is defensively aggressive if that makes any sense, and Denzel isn't responding in kind. She's pressing down the gas pedal and letting go at random, different intervals to heighten the tension. He needs to learn how to not get affected by it if he wants to win, and he needs to learn how and when to take risks. Grace knew she had to take a risk to finish off Roserade and it paid off.

►Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer)

Calculated risks.

►Chichi

The risk I took was calculated but man, I am bad at math.jpg

►Goalducc42

I wasn't even joking

►Archive

Once Jellicent can make his Night Shades actually take more hits and create attacks as powerful as he can, he'll be an even bigger threat too.

►Goalducc42

Everything on her team is a threat. That's how it's supposed to be, ace or not. No one can last long with an unbalanced team. Denzel's team is a threat too, but no one is actually paying attention. Sylveon just had a terrible matchup and Milotic is having one too.

►Chichi

Look at us, sitting in our ivory chairs and telling it how it really is. By the way, Goalducc, didn't you have work today?

►Goalducc42

I'm sick. Real bad cough.

►Chichi

Uhuh. I believe you. Looks like Milotic is down.

The water type had lost to Tangrowth. There hadn't been much he was capable of doing against the grass type except keep him at bay with Twister and Dragon Pulse. It had been a good strategy from Denzel, but it was too little too late. He sent out his Lopunny, who immediately rushed toward Tangrowth. Now, he was taking risks, but again, it was too late, and everyone but Denzel's most ardent supporters knew it.

Mystline~: It's COPIUM not COPIUM over COPIUM yet

AkakA: Midpunny can't do it, it's sopher. Blud keeps failing in every battle I can't do it anymore.

RockTypeSpe_1: HOLY BASED Tangrowth on fire

Starryeyes87: GOOOOO MY ANGEL

Threedashline1: Denzelbros on suicide watch now that their flawless idol is getting crushed

Axolotlhead: Do you think Tangrowth will be able to stab things with his vines one day?

X11P: LMAO SHE HIT HER HEAD ON A ROOF I CAN'T

Kaspaldrew: LOST TO ROCK HOUSE OMEGALUL

1010Years: What an awesome battle. Gonna watch it a thousand times.

Defeat4t: Truly one of the battles of all time

The battle was over. Lopunny and Tangrowth both fainted, the former from Knock Offs and the latter from the fire. Andrew got up to stretch his legs, letting the chat fly by. Denzel ended the stream soon after, and he made sure to download the VOD for Meditite in case there were any accidents that corrupted the video or it was ever deleted. He had thousands of battles on his hard drive that he'd saved over the years. After grabbing a bottle of water, Andrew returned to his computer and enlarged his forum window.

►Archive

They're already making GIFs of Lopunny hitting her head on that roof, she'll never live it down.

►Chichi

I mean, it was extremely funny. Y'all wanna get in a call so we can analyze this shit frame by frame or what?

►Goalducc42

Hell yeah. I'll call.

►Donald_Barkley (Verified Trainer)

Weren't you sick?

Andrew rolled his eyes and called his friends. He'd never been good at being a trainer, but he knew battling itself. That was why his dream was to get out of the slog that was working in a damn Pokemart and start a podcast that spoke about trainers throughout Sinnoh— and possibly the world, if he got that big. He was inspired by Poketracker: Spotlight on Future Champions and wanted to do the same thing, but better. Archive wanted in on it too, but for now, they needed to save money before they could take the plunge.

He knew they were good enough to do it. Andrew hadn't simply garnered the reputation he had on the forums making in-depth analyses of battles, trainers' fighting styles and their teams because it was fun. That was a part of it, yes, but his reputation could possibly kickstart his podcast if they could get enough listeners on day one. Archive was less known, but he was just as good at analyzing battles or even better. They wanted to do everything. Analysis, live commentary, tips and tricks, tracking rising stars… the list went on and on.

And they would start it all at the Conference this summer.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 226

"Okay, just a second! The timer isn't ready yet— okay, you can go!"

Honey grunted, and his voice distorted into crackling thunder as he blurred forward, leaving a trail of electricity behind him. I stuck out my tongue as the smell of ozone stuck to my throat, and Angel kept my hair down behind me with a vine. As soon as Honey reached and touched the wall (the same wall he had destroyed the first time he'd used Thunder), I stopped the timer.

"That's 3.76 seconds!" I cheered, pumping a fist. "This is actually possible, I think!"

Honey flashed a smile, giving me a thumbs up. It had been three days since my battle with Denzel, and I'd gotten my team back yesterday night. I considered giving them a little break, but they were all too excited to get on with training again, especially when I told them that Lauren and Cece had been training together while they'd been out of commission. I considered joining them today, but I actually needed to work on theory crafting and being alone worked better for that. While Buddy finally finished ironing out Water Spout and Angel finished learning Solar Beam, everyone else was working on custom techniques that I'd come up with while they were in the Pokemon Center. I was actually planning on transitioning from Poison Sting to Acid and from Absorb to Giga Drain. I'd taught the Fire Pillar TM to Sunshine and he was having a lot of fun showing off with it. He needed it after getting humbled by Craig's Typhlosion.

Speaking of Craig, Denzel couldn't stop gushing about having been taken under his wing. It wouldn't be for long, but he was making the best of it. Most of their training wasn't even Pokemon related but on the trainer side of things. I was glad he was finally having his breakthrough. Knowing someone like Craig would come in handy for his career, even if you ignored the skill he'd gained throughout these seven days.

During my battle with Denzel, Honey had left a trail of electricity behind him every time he ran at full speed. Originally I had thought that it was just a side effect of him just being so into the battle that he'd leaked electricity, but I realized soon after reviewing the footage that the electricity was actually speeding him up. When I asked him, he'd told me that it hadn't even been a conscious thing, but I decided to hone in on that and ask him to reproduce it.

And it worked flawlessly. Now all we needed was to refine it. The act actually drained him quite a bit, but it was basically a faster electric type Quick Attack that would hurt anyone he rammed against. It could also be combined with other moves like the elemental punches to pack even more of a punch. The attack would finally enable him to step up as a true speedster like Cece's Talonflame and not just a fast Pokemon.

"What should we name it?" I asked the electric type. "Denzel suggested Flash Step, but that's kind of lame."

Honey nodded, pensively crossing his arms as he thought of a name. Angel wriggled his vines in anticipation, suggesting a bunch of names that were a lot too simple for my taste.

"Electric Hop? Come on," I scoffed at the grass type. "We can do cuter than that."

Electabuzz protested, saying he wanted a cool name and not a cute one.

"You're right, it's your move, you pick," I said.

The electric type sat cross-legged on the rocky ground and lay there deep in thought until his eyes widened. At last, he roared out a name.

"Radiant Leap?" I muttered. "If you want to. That sounds more like a move that uses light, though. Like what Jasmine did with Skarmory."

He shook his head and grunted, saying that his choice was final and I reluctantly agreed.

"Okay Angel, feel free to start training again, okay? Then if we can get you to learn Solar Beam before Volkner, we'll get started on Solar Blade. I want you to stab things."

The grass type happily nodded as he waddled toward Sunshine, who was helping him with the move just like Angel had helped him with Sunny Day.

While Power Whip had been enough to anchor him to the ground during the battle to keep him from getting swept away by Surf, that tactic had still almost failed. Solar Blade would be quicker, and it had potential future applications. Since he could detach vines and keep them infused with TE for a good while now, he could potentially send Solar Blades flying around, and that sounded like a lot of fun both for him and for me. It wasn't only applicable to Knock Off. It worked with Power Whip as well, but less since there wasn't the usual force that he put in the move whenever he detached a vine, and I assumed Solar Blade would have the same problem, but that was just another thing to work on.

I also wanted to get him a lot better at spore attacks afterward and for him to be able to coat his vines in them. That way, he could potentially stab a Pokemon and deposit them directly into their bloodstream. The effect would be instant, and if they didn't escape quickly, then it would basically be game over for that Pokemon.

Of course, that wasn't it. Trapping opponents and forcing them into a melee battle with Ancient Power like we'd done with Lopunny was something that I thought should stick around. And if that didn't work, well, there was always the detaching trick.

"I can't wait," I muttered. "Honey, you keep working on… Radiant Leap. I'll check in with Princess and Sweetheart."

That name would take a while to get used to.

The electric type nodded and waited for me to get to a safe distance before he began to crackle again. For him, I wanted to push his Static ability further after he mastered the move. Doing what Volkner did— the Static Field— was still far beyond our reach, but what if we could create an aura of Static around him? It would basically be like armor. Approach him, and you ran the risk of being paralyzed. It wouldn't be useful against Volkner since his Pokemon were all electric type, but long-term? Both this and Radiant Leap would be a boon to his melee capabilities. They were somewhat lacking since we'd focused on Thunder for so long, and I wanted him to be a balanced fighter capable of doing both.

Steal, Jasmine had told me. Where else to get inspiration for electric type custom moves than Volkner himself? I just hoped he'd be flattered instead of annoyed if I recreated a smaller version of his move. Maybe it'd make him see potential in Honey and hand over his evolution method. I made my way toward Princess and Sweetheart, who'd been far off in the distance because of the destruction the rock type was yielding. Pupitar propelled herself into the air and then slammed into the ground at full force, creating fissures all across the plateau and causing the ground to shake so much I struggled to stay upright even when I was this far.

"Guys! I'm coming, so take a little break!" I yelled, cupping my mouth.

I wanted her to work on a proto-version of Earthquake. The move was far too powerful for her to use before she evolved, but Stomping Tantrum wasn't doing enough for what I wanted her to do against Volkner. Princess lazily rearranged the plateau as well as she could, as she had done each time when Sweetheart had used Earthbreaker, which was a name she'd chosen herself with Sunshine's encouragement. It would only be usable while she was in this form, but it would help a lot with the transition to Earthquake.

As for Princess? Well, there was a reason she was on field-clearing duty. She was so good in Ancient Power that she'd figured out how to implement our idea in two hours. Placing a Pokemon in a cube and exploding it inward— a variation of Shrapnel. Of course, what she would mostly focus on in the coming days was still moving lava around and attempting to speed up how quick she could charge up a Moonblast. Flying moves like Air Slash were on the list, but they wouldn't be of much use against Volkner aside from maybe catching him off-guard.

Sweetheart clamored at me, asking if I'd seen her super cool attack.

"I did, baby," I said. "You're looking good. Keep working hard, alright? I promise you that you'll be the star of the show against Volkner."

After all, there had been a slight change to the lava plan that would make full use of her fissures. The rock type cheered, asking for headpats and I quickly rubbed the little spot in-between her head spikes. She'd been angry she hadn't seen much use against Denzel, but things would be different against Volkner. She was not only a rock type, but a ground one, and she would be until she evolved. That meant she'd be immune to most of his attacks and his field-control capabilities.

Since I'd use her, Volkner pulling out his Lanturn was almost guaranteed, so that was one Pokemon I knew he'd use. Four to go. I wanted to try predicting which Pokemon a Gym Leader would use against me even if I would still plan for every possibility. It was just for fun.

Sunshine was next, and he was even further than Sweetheart and Princess. Not because he was doing anything destructive today, but because he hated to let the team see him fail over and over again when he knew that he was a role model for half of them. Sweetie, Honey and Princess, despite what she might have pretended, all looked up to Sunshine and desperately wanted to surpass him. The dragon stood proud and tall despite his series of failures and loomed over me with an expectant stare. All this time, he'd been practicing with Shell Trap and desperately trying to improve his mobility, and there was progress. Slow, incremental, agonizing progress, but it was there.

And yet, it was too slow for us.

"I've got something for you," I said, snapping a finger. "Rapid Spin."

The dragon type huffed at me like I was crazy. Yes, it was one of his only ways of traveling… relatively fast. Slower than Angel was in the sun. But it was still his best way of going quickly. Sunshine doubted what I was saying, but he asked me to continue nonetheless.

"You combine Rapid Spin and Shell Trap," I explained. "You've got the momentum from Rapid Spin and you get height."

Turtonator let out a series of grunts elaborating the many problems with my idea. One, he couldn't see when he used Rapid Spin since his head retracted into his shell. Two, he'd need to hit his shell against something to trigger his Shell Trap. And finally, three, he'd be oriented wrong.

To go up, he'd need to be upside down.

"You can do all of that," I declared. "It's a challenge. But you can do it. Imagine this. You're fighting against some pesky Pokemon that likes to keep their distance— let's just go with Zachary's Vespiquen. You drop on your back and start spinning. You propel yourself with a series of explosions and fly into them like an Arceus damned missile, and by the time you're there, it's like 500 degrees Celsius around you and rising. They fucking spontaneously combust and burn to a crisp. Doesn't that sound awesome?"

I saw the faintest hint of a smile, and Sunshine said my enthusiasm was contagious.

"You bet it is. Come on, this sounds awesome but we've got to put the work on. First, you need to get used to spinning on your back. Go on."

I heard him say that he'd look stupid, but that didn't stop him from listening. The fire type got on his back and started using Rapid Spin. He struggled to balance himself and spun into one of the mountain's facades, but he was spinning, and spinning fast.

My vision was possible. It would be long-term like I had said before, but it was possible.

Training continued on until late in the afternoon when I decided to call it a day. I had to call Mira on the phone so she could send Alakazam to get me back to the city. After I recalled my team, the psychic type Teleported me in front of my Pokemon Center, and I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

"Melody. Good afternoon," I said as I picked up. "I'm getting in an elevator— you know what, I'll take the stairs for you."

"Thank you. I'll keep this short, since getting a hold of you's been tough these past few days—"

"You called?" I frowned.

"A few times after your battle with Denzel Williams. Good job on that, by the way, the people upstairs loved it. That's what I'm calling you about, actually."

"Uhuh. Go on," I said.

"It took a while for this to sink in, but it is the board's understanding that the livestream had more than a hundred thousand people watching and that you were wearing your Poketch Watch."

"Yeah, I always wear it," I said. "Can't hurt to be seen with it."

Although I rarely used it at all. I preferred their phones, all things considered.

"Large companies are always slow to adapt to things. It's a thousand different moving parts, departments and people that have to agree on a single idea," Melody said. "But in short, more people watched that battle than any tournament or Gym Battle you've been in by an order of magnitude. The company wants to see more of that if possible."

"More livestreamed battles?" I scoffed as I jumped up the Pokemon Center stairs. "Maybe they should shoot Denzel a sponsor. I'm not going to start streaming. That's not my thing. Did you even see the chat? I don't want to deal with those people, they'll make me want to stab something."

"Well, that isn't the company's position. All they're saying is, cooperate with Denzel Williams and get yourself out there. The demographic for streams is overwhelmingly young, and that's our main target, as you already know. There are news about X Technologies wanting to take a bite out of our market share."

"X Technologies?" I asked.

"The company that makes the Xtransceiver. Their profit margins are booming and they want to go international, and it's making the company nervous, especially when they were planning on doing the exact same thing soon. X Tech is getting here first and is forcing us to play on the defensive. It's extremely popular with Unova's younger generation and… if I can speak candidly here, they just make better phones at the moment. Hell, even their watches are better. The only thing we surpass them in is laptops, and don't even talk to me about the mad rush for VR."

"Huh," I said. "Can I extort you, Mel?"

"What?"

I placed the phone between my ear and my shoulder as I opened the door to my room and waved at Cece, who was already waiting for me with my new electric keyboard.

"Can I extort you?" I repeated. "Well, not you. The company."

"I am a part of the company."

"Okay, so I'm extorting you," I said. "My bonus. The idea I floated in Veilstone. I want it, and I can guarantee you more of these streamed battles. I might even just go on Denzel's stream to chat, even. They just can't complain if I lose those battles."

Melody paused for a few seconds. "I can probably sell that, but it'll definitely have to wait until you win against Volkner."

"What? That doesn't have to do with anything we were talking about."

"Grace, this is how it works," Melody sighed. "You have to make them feel like they're getting something out of you. The idea of a fifteen— sixteen-year-old extorting them won't really make the members of the board happy. If we make this more of an equivalent exchange, then it can work."

"Great. And tell them that if they're planning on going international, I'm probably going to Unova next year, so it'd be best if they kept me well-fed, warm, and happy," I smiled. "We can plan a whole launch and expansion with me being there. Without me, they won't have legs to stand on."

"I will get right on that," she said. "What's with the confrontational attitude, though? Not that I mind. I mean, I'm here precisely to smooth messages between you and the board over."

"Well, to be honest, Mel, I've been wanting a Shiny Stone the entire year and I don't exactly appreciate the fact that they keep asking more of me without giving anything in return. I'm their flagship, right? They should treat me once in a while."

"Okay, I'll tell them you'd appreciate it if the partnership was more equal too," she said. "Anything else?"

"Well, try to emphasize the fact that I'm friends with Craig and that I obviously want nothing else but the Poketch Company's success," I said. "Other than that, I'm alright. Thanks as always, Mel."

"Have a great evening," she said.

I felt bad for her, having to speak to a bunch of old people in suits that definitely didn't understand anything about the intricacies of Pokemon battling, but so long as their numbers went up, they'd be happy.

"Important business call, I presume?" Cecilia asked with a smirk.

"Yeah. You'd think getting money from the Poketch Company would be easy," I joked. "Sorry for being late."

"Come sit. It's about high time I teach you how to play piano."

I followed suit and plopped myself down next to her. She placed the keyboard on my lap and grabbed my hands, gently placing them on the keys.

"We aren't playing yet. This is just the proper hand position, okay? Relax your wrists and fingers. My old instructor used to say that your hands should flow like water when playing."

"I'll try to relax."

I hadn't touched one of these since we'd been in Hearthome, and that felt like a lifetime ago.

"I already taught you notes, so I wanted to teach you about clefs, time signatures and note values, but I think you'll have a better time learning in a more… loose manner. Freer," she said. "So why don't you try to play whatever comes to mind. It doesn't matter if it's bad. Just let your hands do the work and find a short rhythm you like."

"Okay… okay."

I softly pressed down on the first note and went where the music took me.

It wasn't great. I wasn't sure I'd even be able to recreate it, but I was doing it.

I was finally playing the piano.

—

A yawn escaped my mouth as I slowly got up from my bed the next morning. I checked my phone while brushing my teeth and smiled when Melody told me the deal had gone through. Now, obviously I would have to uphold my side of the deal, but it was nice to get a win regarding my sponsorship for once. I felt like that hadn't happened since I had signed with them. Unfortunately, Denzel was with Craig day and night, so any stream-related activity would have to wait.

"Want some breakfast?!" I yelled at Cece.

"I'll go get it for us both!" she answered. "They're making hashbrowns today!"

"Sweet!" I celebrated. "Want to get started on that Cynthia autobiography tonight, by the way?"

"Sounds good to me. How many hashbrowns do you want—"

"Six," I said, opening the bathroom door.

She came back soon after that, and we stuck together until we decided to go train. I'd still be doing it alone today, and I would until Sweetheart and Honey had mastered their custom moves. Then, I'd go back to the one-on-ones. I had to think about who to battle on stream. Cece or Lauren would be my best bet, since I trained with them the most, but maybe someone I knew little about like Chase would be better. He'd trained just as hard as us, even if he preferred to do it alone and without Teleporters. I had heard rumors of him terrorizing some kids on route 222 from Erin, and people knew not to even come close to him. Either way, I had time to decide, and I was still focused on Volkner.

Jasmine sent me a message during my training session that afternoon, saying that she wanted to talk over a drink right away. Now, normally I would have refused, but when a Gym Leader asked to hang out, it was very difficult to say no, and I could always come back this evening if I had time. I Teleported back to the city and quickly rode a bus to the boardwalk, expecting Jasmine to be three beers in already, but I was pleasantly surprised to see she was actually drinking sparkling water. She greeted me with her usual smile and gentle wave.

"Hi. Are you alright?" I asked.

"Good afternoon, Grace. I'm very well, thank you for asking."

Things with Volkner must have picked up again, then.

"Great. What did you want to tell me? I was training, but—"

"Grace, if you were training you should have said no. I'm sorry," she said. "Don't let powerful people walk all over you, that's a bad habit."

"Well, you made it sound urgent," I said, sitting down. "I thought you were getting drunk again."

"No, I was just excited to speak to you. It's come to my attention that Craig took Denzel under his wing."

"That was days ago," I nodded.

"Oh, I don't keep track of the news, and that paranoid fellow never tells me anything he doesn't think is necessary, even if we're friends," Jasmine sighed.

"So? Do you want to one-up him?" I asked excitedly. "Train me and see who's the better teacher?"

"Not exactly," she said. "I know you told me you wanted to evolve your Electabuzz by impressing Volkner. I put in a good word for you and your friend Lauren, so it's a lot more feasible than before."

"It wasn't feasible before?" I asked.

"It was, just exponentially harder," she shrugged. "Even I don't know the method despite asking numerous times and I've been dating him for months, but then again it might have been different had I owned an Electabuzz. I think you'll like what I did, but it's going to be a surprise. I saw your battle with your friend. I want to train your Electabuzz specifically and help him get where he needs to be. As you know, the electric type is my second passion."

I beamed, tapping my feet against the floor. "Awesome! He'll be ecstatic! What are you going to teach him?! Can we start today?!"

With each question, I leaned further and further toward Jasmine until I was barely sitting on my chair. The Gym Leader leaned against a palm and responded with a lazy smile.

"Hold on, now. If you agree to this, you'll have to keep it from Volkner. It isn't necessary, but it'd be awkward for us if it got back to him. I am technically helping the trainer he dislikes for having screwed up Maylene."

I shrunk slightly. "Do you think that'll—"

"Make him keep the evolution secret? No, that's not how Volkner is," Jasmine shook her head. "There are two kinds of Gym Leaders. Those who are trainers first and those who are politicians first. Cut Volkner and he bleeds trainer. He's too nice not to help a kid that gave an Electabuzz a chance— after testing you, of course. I don't really care for all this Maylene drama, but I'm still his girlfriend. He'll probably become a grouch if he figures this out. So no leaks to anyone that isn't trustworthy."

"I'll keep it a secret," I nodded firmly.

"You know what I noticed beyond all the tactics in your battle, Grace? Beyond what went wrong or right for both you and Denzel? I noticed that you love to fight using rocks."

I blinked and leaned back in my chair. She was correct. Whether it be Princess, Angel, or Sweetheart, I enjoyed using rocks to battle a lot. After all, the possibilities were endless there.

"Have you heard of railguns, Grace?"

I frowned and thought for a few seconds. "Railguns? Uh, no, but it rings a bell."

"Do you want to fire rocks using electricity?"

"Like Volkner does sometimes? I've seen it, but it isn't that effective, no? I mean, why do that when you can just throw Thunders or Zap Cannons at people."

Jasmine shook her head. "Because when the technique is mastered, it can do a lot more than just hit people with rocks, and it's also faster than Thunder— but still slower than Zap Cannon. Volkner hasn't actually mastered it. Amphy can't do it, but I have two Pokemon that can. Magnezone and Electrode. There are times when the attack is a lot more useful than any Zap Cannon, trust me."

"Obviously I trust you," I said. "Can you help with some custom moves I'm working on with him too?"

"Oh, we'll do the whole song and dance," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "Of course, you won't master it by the time we're done, but it'll at least be usable and you'll be able to practice it on your own. The railgun technique will also help with your Electabuzz's electrical control. Something he dearly needs."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The way you battle is wasteful," she said. "So much energy wasted. Your Thunders go all over the place instead of being focused on one target. Sure, that's good if you want to break up the field, but if you just want to hit your opponent as hard as you can, it isn't ideal."

"But it makes them easier to hit," I said.

"It's a bad habit you two need to cut," Jasmine chided. "If you ever want to create advanced electric type techniques, the control Electabuzz will learn here will be sorely needed. Power isn't the only thing Volkner wants to see. As it stands right now, he would be… satisfied by you, not impressed."

"Okay, I get it," I said. "Any other wasteful things we do?"

"Your electric type attacks, mostly," she said. "But none are as bad as Thunder."

I chuckled to myself. "It's the first time someone's ever said that power is a waste to me. It feels weird. My friend Lauren would disagree with your principles like her life depended on it," I said.

"I can't help it. It's how I battle," Jasmine said. "Not one movement or moment wasted. Craig and Volkner like to call me a rapier, which is a nickname I enjoy. I find fulfillment in sophisticated, clean battles."

"A rapier…" I muttered. "That's pretty cool. I hope people have a nickname like that for me one day. Something that makes people quake in their boots whenever they hear it. You have to let these things come naturally though."

"Pfft. Naturally? When I get back to Johto I'll be calling myself the Rapier of Olivine day and night until it sticks. Now, let's have a drink, and then we can get started— Johnny, a beer please! Amber!"

The fact that she called the waiter here by his first name wasn't lost on me. She came here a lot.

"I thought you weren't drinking," I said.

"I was just waiting for you. Don't worry, it'll only be one," Jasmine said. "You have something too. Johnny, can we have some garlic bread?! They make the best garlic bread here, you'll see."

And thankfully, it actually was only one this time.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller

 

[Soussouni1]

You could have read this early on my Discord or even earlier on my Patreon

---

SIDE STORY - Glimwood

Ready to get inside the Pyroar's den?"

Jonah turned to Karina and rolled his eyes. In front of him lay Glimwood Tangle, the only way to access Ballonlea. There were many old stories about horrors that had gone on inside the forest in olden times, but these days, it was as safe as it could be. They'd stayed at the edge of the forest for days as they took multiple, day-long classes at the outpost asking them to never veer off the outlined path and how to deal with different fairies and wild Pokemon that inhabited the forest, and now, they were finally ready. There were hundreds of trainers in the outpost waiting to do the same thing.

"I just hope you don't livestream the entirety of it," Jonah sighed.

"Are you kidding? I'd totally stream it if I could, but Ballonlea's stupid and doesn't want to put wifi in their stupid forest. Like, get on with modernity already! This is why no one wants to live there."

"I have to admit, it does suck. I wanted to finish watching Raihan's tips and tricks," Jonah said. "Let's go, then."

"Your fault for not downloading what you want to watch."

"Would it kill you to have an ounce of compassion, Kari?"

Jonah released his Corvisquire, who anchored himself on his shoulder while Karina released her Yamper, and they gave their pass to the Rangers and entered the forest right away.

"Woah," he gasped.

A sense of wonder overtook Jonah as he stepped inside the Glimwood Tangle. The forest path beneath his feet felt soft and slightly springy. It was covered in thick, glowing moss that released a pleasant, earthy fragrance with each step. The air was cool and crisp. Pure. Every time he took a breath, his nose tingled, but in a good way.

Even if the canopy was so thick no sunlight made it through, glimmering, bioluminescent plants and mushrooms were everywhere, illuminating their path with a soft, soothing light. The distant, otherwordly cries of multiple Pokemon made Jonah feel a twinge of nervousness, but he was assured the path was safe. Jonah stared up again and realized the trees were all curving in a different direction, some tying into knots.

"Hi guys, KariTheBest here, and welcome to another vlog! As you can see, we're walking through the Glimwood Tangle right now—"

"Kari. Just… take a breath and live in the moment, please," Jonah begged. Corvisquire squawked in his ear, agreeing loudly.

Karina answered with a middle finger and pointed her phone toward him. "Jonah's here, and like always he's ruining our fun. Before we start the video, don't forget to subscribe, hit the notification bell and like! Let's get started!" She yelled excitedly before she stopped recording. "Thanks as always, Jonah."

The teenager had to stop himself from mocking how monotone her voice sounded every time the camera was off. She wasn't done quite yet, but she would only record when they came across something interesting.

"I mean, we're literally in a mystical forest right now, and you're recording."

"Yeah! If I don't record, my subscribers won't see!"

Jonah groaned as he passed a group of tiny Morelull and another group of trainers that were taking pictures of them repeatedly. They'd probably post it on their socials later. Jonah blinked, and for a second he swore that he saw the moss under his feet shift. There was constant movement at the edge of his vision, but the Rangers in the classes had told them this was a normal occurrence. Jonah swallowed and decided to keep his head down. They'd reach Ballonlea soon enough, and then he'd be freed from this nonsense. There were some strange occurrences in the city, but at least he could stay in a Center there until it was time for him to battle.

Two hours passed without much happening aside from the occasional encounter with a fairy type. Jonah had to stop Karina from trying to catch one multiple times. People in Galar weren't allowed to handle fairies before they had four badges, and they only had one. There was too much danger involved, and it would just be taken away by the Rangers. Speaking of Rangers, they had encountered those too. They patrolled every inch of the path, making sure no one veered off course. It was then, however, that Karina spoke up and graced him with the worst idea she could have had.

"Nothing is happening," she whined. "This vlog is going to be hella boring. Do you— do you think we should sneak out?"

Jonah froze. "What do you mean?"

"Veer off the beaten path. Adventure!" She whispered with a grin.

"You just want views, Kari."

"Well, that too," she said. "But don't you want to do more that listen to the rules? This is why other countries treat us like a laughing stock. Trainers keep having to stick the safe spots. How are we supposed to grow if we're never in any danger? Plus, I'm sure it won't be that bad. There's no way wild Pokemon wouldn't invade the route and attack us if they were that dangerous."

"No, Kari. I mean, I agree to an extent, but we have one badge and two Pokemon each. This is stupid. And since you want to upload it, you're just going to get punished anyway."

Galar had many rules to keep trainers safe, but they were strict. If you ever got caught breaking one of them, the punishment could range from a fine to being disqualified from the Circuit altogether. Jonah grabbed her by the wrist a bit harder than he would have liked and shook her.

"This isn't a game, Kari. This forest, it creeps me out," he muttered.

"Is Jojo scared?" She mocked. "It'll just be for an hour. If you don't want to come, you don't have to. Just stick around and wait for me here."

"I'm going to tell a Ranger—"

"Good news, we just passed a pair seven minutes ago. That means we probably won't for another half-hour or so," she said. "So knock yourself out."

"You were planning this?! You could be disqualified—"

Karina slipped away from him and walked backward through the tree-line with her phone in hand while a few other trainers just stared and murmured to each other. Her Yamper loyally followed, and Jonah's hands began to tremble. If she wanted to throw herself into danger so much, then fine. He would walk back, tell the Rangers and wait for her while they went and looked to drag her back kicking and screaming. Jonah leaned back against a tree and yelped when he nearly sunk into it, like it was a soft pillow. He waited there for thirty seconds, and each moment, doubt crept into his mind like a virus.

Every second he stayed here, it meant that she could get lost.

"Fuck you, Kari," he hissed. Jonah turned toward a group of girls. "You guys. Can you go and warn the Rangers? Tell them that Karina Read veered off the path, and that Jonah Sharp is following her. Please."

"Yeah. Yeah, of course," one of them said. "But should you even—"

Jonah ran off into the trees, releasing his Deerling, which followed closely behind as he got the grass type up to speed. He yelled out for Karina's name over and over, and the deeper he went the more dense the forest got. He pushed glowing foliage away from his face, jumped over some fallen branches and nearly tripped a hundred times, but the good news was that he hadn't gotten attacked yet. In fact, he hadn't come across any wild Pokemon. Ten minutes passed without any development, but Jonah didn't give up hope. The Rangers were on their way.

"Kari!" He yelled.

"...I almost can't see anything in these woods, it's really dense. Yamper can barely navigate it all. Right?"

Jonah heard the small canine let out a high-pitched bark, and he nearly cried when he saw his best friend again. He nearly tackled her into a hug, and she dropped her phone on the ground.

"Jonah? What are you— I thought you were waiting for me!"

"Shut up and follow me, you idiot," he cried. "I'm dragging you back whether you like it or not."

"Already?" She groaned as she hugged him back. "Well, I guess it's not that interesting anyway. The Rangers probably just don't want us to get lost."

"Well I went in a straight path, so let's just get back to the route," he said. He attempted to drag Karin, but he met more resistance than he thought. When he turned back, her eyes were wide.

"You said… a straight line?"

"Yes. I just ran forward and yelled your name a bunch of times," Jonah shrugged. "Corvi?"

The Corvisquire squawked in agreement, and Deerling also nodded.

"Jonah, I— I went in a bunch of different directions so the Rangers would take longer to find me. Are you sure?"

"We probably just got lucky. Come on," Jonah said.

The girl nodded and they began to walk back toward the path. Ten minutes passed. Then twenty. Then thirty. There was still no sign of anyone, and they hadn't met a single wild Pokemon. The duo traveled the entire day and all they could find was more forest. They decided to set up camp when they got tired. The only way they had of figuring out it was night time were their phones, but it wasn't like they were useful for anything else. There was no reception, no internet for them to contact the outside world.

"I'm sorry, Jonah," Kari said. She hadn't cried. Neither of them had since finding each other. But it was easy to see the guilt was eating her inside. "This is— I was stupid."

"It was," he nodded. "You're a moron. But we'll be alright. There's probably a huge manhunt going on for us right now. Like when that kid got lost in the Slumbering Weld? And they found him after a week?"

She nodded. "Yeah…"

"I mean, I hope we don't have to wait a week, but we'll be fine," Jonah said. "The last time someone died in the Circuit was two years ago. The odds of it happening are astronomically low. Now let's eat something and rest up. I think the best tactic is to stay still. The forest is leading us somewhere, so if we don't move, they'll have higher odds of finding us."

Jonah fought himself to get the words out of his mouth.

He was trying to convince himself as much as her.

—

When they woke up, they were no longer in the same spot.

Jonah hadn't known how it had happened, but they were in a completely different location. He shot up and spat out a mouthful of shiny dust that was in his mouth. His entire body felt horribly dry, like someone had sucked all of the moisture from his skin. He licked his lips to moisten them and drank a mouthful of water. Even his eyes felt like they had no moisture until he blinked multiple times. They had to ration, but he'd go crazy if he walked the entire day feeling this dehydrated.

Karina felt the same way, strangely enough, and they both had some weird dust on their clothes and skin. It was almost impossible to get off, so they opted just to let it be for now. Even if they weren't going to travel anymore, Karina had both her Pokemon, Yamper and Eevee out of their Pokeballs while Jonah did the same. They could never take too many precautions. At this point, the fact that they had encountered zero wild Pokemon scared him more than the alternative. It was like this entire forest was dead.

"Jojo," Karina muttered. "Do you think we'll really get out?"

"Obviously," he answered right away. "Don't be so down in the dumps. Why don't we watch something on your phone? You have a bunch of stuff downloaded, right? I know we should probably save power to keep track of how much time's passed, but we have a battery, and even then we'd still have my phone."

The girl nodded. "Yeah. What do you want to watch?"

Jonah patted her shoulder. "Anything you'd like."

"What about Love in Wyndon?" She said.

"Sure."

He scooched up next to her and she let the video play. Love in Wyndon was her comfort show, and there were ten seasons the last time Jonah had checked. It was a dating reality show where trainers lived in a resort with their Pokemon. At the end of each week, two people would be voted on and they'd battle. The loser was eliminated while the winner was immune for the next week. The winner of the entire thing got to go on a date with Raihan.

Needless to say, it was one of Galar's most popular shows, especially when every girl in the region had a celebrity crush on Raihan. They watched the show for hours, and for a few moments, they forgot that they were stranded in the middle of a forest. Jonah even found himself getting into the drama of it all.

This was nice.

—

Five more days had passed. There was no sign of life anywhere.

Every time they went to sleep, they would wake up somewhere else. Somewhere deeper in the forest. Each time, they were so dehydrated their skin wrinkled. They had tried to sleep one at a time, but the other would always fall asleep without fail, and it was the same for both of them. They were compelled to do so by strange lights in the distance. They only had a few more days of food and water, and they knew at the back of their head they would probably die that way. There was no attack from a wild Pokemon, no exciting, blood-pumping event.

It was just the slow, withering march of death.

On the dawn of the seventh day, Jonah and Kari awoke in a clearing.

There were so many lights here, of every single color. Colors Jonah didn't even know existed. He saw them floating, dancing, and laughing with each other like they were alive. Enormous mushrooms swayed back and forth, but there was no wind here. The air was completely still, and it smelled like… it smelled like something.

"What's that smell?" Jonah muttered.

"Burned steak?" Karina whispered. "Should we— should we stay here again, or should we leave?"

Jonah stared up and nearly gasped when he saw something blue. It took him a few seconds to realize it was the sky. He hadn't seen the sky in a whole week. He couldn't help but tear up, and Karina did the same when she noticed. They hadn't cried since getting lost, and it was the first time they let their feelings out. They sobbed for ten minutes in each other's arms. Karina kept apologizing over and over for throwing their lives away. Their Pokemon weren't here. They'd kept them to their Pokeballs in order to save on food, since it slowed their metabolism.

"There you are, children."

Jonah's head snapped toward the voice. Another voice that wasn't Karina's.

An extremely thin, old woman slowly walked forward, using a pastel blue and pink umbrella as a cane. She was so thin in fact it was like she hadn't eaten in weeks, and yet Jonah knew who she was. Opal. Just Opal. Ballonlea's Gym Leader had a last name, but nobody knew of it. Not even her fellow Gym Leaders or the Champion. Opal smiled, exposing perfectly white teeth.

"You should know better than to make an old woman walk through the woods," she continued.

Jonah ran toward her, tripping on the way there until he crawled to Opal's feet. "Thank you. Thank you so much for saving us. We're sorry for breaking the rules, can we— can we just go home, now? I'll do anything."

Opal laughed. A strange, inhuman sound that did not sound like a laugh, but some strange garble.

"Anything, you say? In my heyday, I would have stripped you to the bone after such an offer. Do not offer me anything, children, lest I fall back into my old ways."

Confused, but happy to just be out of danger, Jonah nodded as Karina offered the Gym Leader her sincerest apologies. Jonah didn't know how a person as old as her had navigated the difficult terrain of the Glimwood for seven days, but he knew not to question her skills. While they looked and smelled horrible, she was intact. No tears or rips in her clothes and shoes, and no smudges in her makeup.

"Before we go, I must speak to an old friend," Opal spoke as she walked toward the center of the clearing. "You watch. Children these days are too soft. You do not know the dangers that lurk beneath our squeaky clean, dear old Galar. This will be a good lesson."

Opal stopped, and placed both of her hands on her umbrella's handle as she stuck it into the soft ground. She tapped it twice and spoke.

"Cimmerian."

Jonah swallowed as the ground under their feet shook and something emerged from below.

Shiinotic weren't like Jonah saw in the illustrations.

This one was larger, far larger. It dwarfed Opal and reached the top of the canopy, masking the bit of sky that Jonah had been so glad to see. Its mushroom glowed with a sinister light that overtook and swallowed everything else. The colors changed, and Jonah could only see in shades of… pale yellow and purple. Horrible growths that bubbled and expunged a pungent, steak-like smell sat atop the cap, and both Jonah and Karina covered their noses. He had to stop himself from hurling. It was as if someone had left raw meat out in the sun for days.

Shiinotic's fingers were long and thin, and they also glowed with that same purple, yellowish color. Its arms were thinner than Opal's and pale white.

And the eyes.

Arceus, the eyes.

There was nothing there. An absence. A stare that was so shallow and yet so deep at the same time. They were just dark. Obsidian orbs that seemed to absorb all light but the ones Shiinotic allowed to stay. Karina averted her eyes right away, but Jonah tried to stare. To find something in those eyes. A pattern, hidden pupils, life.

There was nothing.

Its smile was the same. As if someone had taken away all color from that section of its face. Shiinotic tilted his head and approached Opal, who didn't seem shaken one bit. The fairy type touched her body with its fingers and let out a high-pitched squeal that resonated until it became a horrible, deep sound that sounded like static to Jonah's mind.

"Do not try to rearrange the deal, Cimmerian," Opal said. "When a child veers off the course, you send them back."

Shiinotic hissed, and Jonah covered his ears at the sound.

"This is your fief," Opal agreed. "But we feed you plenty already, don't we?"

The fairy type's thin fingers traced Opal's face and it nodded. It spoke for a few seconds, and the Gym Leader hummed.

"I see. Well, we'll be on our way, then," Opal said. "If you're bored, talk to me before tormenting children. Thank you for your time, Cimmerian."

Jonah watched in awe as Shiinotic sunk back into the ground and color returned to the world. It was more powerful than anything he could ever imagine, and yet Opal had talked it down without a Pokemon by her side. She walked back toward them and tapped their backs with her umbrella.

"Follow."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, but then Karina spoke up.

"Um. Ms. Opal, thank you again. W—what was that Shiinotic?" She asked with a trembling voice. "Why is it just allowed to be there? Isn't that dangerous?"

Opal didn't answer for some seconds. "Do you want to know? Knowledge does not come cheap, girl."

"What does that mean?" She asked.

"Do you want to know, yes or no? It is a simple question, is it not?"

"Yes… yes I do," she answered.

"That was Cimmerian," Opal said. "He created these woods thousands of years ago. You know the old stories about the Glimwood Tangle, don't you? That you would enter and get lost forever until you starved."

"I thought that was just scary stories people told children," Jonah said.

Opal scoffed. "Stories are born from the truth. It is a shame to see what all of this deprogramming had done to the youth. Now everything is just a story. Just! Hah! My life has been long and arduous, but I still cannot get used to that."

"But why do you not just… kill it? Does that mean Ballonlea is the same?" Karina asked.

Something wrapped around Karina's feet and dragged her underground as she screamed. Opal clicked her tongue and tapped her umbrella against the floor in a rhythmic fashion until she was finally released, her body full of dust and dry. Jonah helped her up, but she was trembling like a leaf.

"Watch yourself, girl," Opal warned. "This is no game. We do not kill Cimmerian because this place belongs to him. Ballonlea's first inhabitants were refugees hiding from war and subjugation, and they formed this pact for protection. It cost them an arm and a leg, but they were safe. Our ancestors grew in power until they reopened themselves to the outside world two hundred years ago now, but even then, only the inhabitants could navigate the forest without dying. When trainers started to filter in and out fifty years ago when I opened Ballonlea's Gym, I crafted another pact to keep them safe."

Jonah handed Karina the last of his water and she hungrily gulped it down.

"Cimmerian drains on people's energy to live and grow in power. He was feeding on you every night and letting you recover until you were ready to be drained again," Opal explained. A shiver ran down Jonah's spine. "He was twisting the deal we made to the limit. He said he would have let you go after you ran out of food and water in a half-dead state," The old woman stopped herself to chuckle. "He was just having a bit of fun."

Jonah spoke up, "So every time we woke up dry and with dust, we were—"

"You'd been kept underground. Hypnotized to stay asleep," she nodded.

Jonah bit his lip, and he finally began to see wild Pokemon again. Opal was quite spry on her feet— more than he had expected.

"The Pokemon intrigue you, yes?" Opal said.

"There weren't any when we were trapped…" Karina muttered.

"They know to keep away from Cimmerian's feed."

"We aren't feed—"

Jonah grunted when Opal slapped his back with her umbrella.

"You are. Here, we made it."

The teenager blinked when he broke through the tree-line and saw Ballonlea in front of him. Buildings woven perfectly with trees and large mushrooms, lights dancing far above them and the huge stadium at the edges of the city. Yet somehow, even with all of this construction, this place was one with nature, and it showed. Nothing looked out of place. Not even the stadium.

"What? A—already?" Jonah stuttered. "It hasn't even been ten minutes!"

"I know my way around," Opal said. "Now, for your payment. You are disqualified from the Circuit this year effective immediately—"

Both Jonah and Karina hung their head low.

"—your parents have already been notified and have called upon both of you to return home to Hammerlocke. As for the payment for the information I gave you… I will ask you to never veer off the routes again. Any routes. If I hear about it, I will make sure to destroy both of your careers before they've even begun and you will never find a job in any Pokemon-related fields."

Jonah nodded. "Thank you for saving us."

Opal hummed as she left them, and they released their Pokemon to celebrate their survival and give them the good news.

The walk back to Hammerlocke would be terrifying, especially since they'd have to go through the Glimwood Tangle again.

—

Opal hummed a tune as she made her way back to her Gym. The Rangers had looked for nearly a week until she decided to step in herself and free them. Of course, she could have done so right away, but what was a life-threatening adventure without a lesson being learned? Now, they knew of the dangers that lurked in the Glimwood, and they would never throw themselves in such a situation again.

Opal entered her office, which sat on the top floor of her Gym Stadium with a view on the entire field. She dialed for Leon's number and waited for their new Champion to pick up. Arceus, he was annoyingly upbeat, but she couldn't deny he was a powerful one.

"Hey, you old bat! How's it going? Heard you saved some children today, good job!"

"Enough with the pleasantries. Cimmerian is growing bored. He misses the life he had before trainers came into the picture and infested his forest."

Leon stopped speaking and she heard him sigh. "What, then?"

"Leave him to me, Leon," Opal said. "But when I die, someone will have to pick up the slack, and none of my trainees are as good as I am."

"We could… restrain him when you do," Leon said.

"If you mean kill, say it, boy," Opal snapped. "And no. There is too much history at play. It would be a waste."

"History is not as valuable as lives."

"I disagree, but you know that already," Opal said. "But killing him would not be as simple as you think regardless. It would take months. Years, even. Cimmerian is very good at hiding, and he will take the entire city down with him. There is a reason the ground below the forest is full of century-old, preserved corpses, Leon."

Leon exhaled. "How much time do we have, then?"

"I can buy you maybe twenty years after my death," Opal mused. "But I want to train you, Leon. I don't care how busy you are. You make time for Raihan, and all he does is use his position to get women. Absolute scum."

"I'll make time," Leon said. "Sorry."

Opal hung up and left it at that. Cimmerian was harsh but fair, and he was refreshingly forward. For all Galar appeared squeaky clean from the outside, it was different when looking from within. Opal knew of the covered-up scandals, the corruption, the waste. She was a relic of an older era where death had been far more common, and yet she missed it.

And now, she had to contend with a Champion that was in the pocket of a select few companies and Chairman Rose.

Opal pursed her lips. "I've got a decade left in me. I can keep the damage to a minimum, but after?"

Well, after would be uncharted territory.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 227

After Jasmine finished up her beer, she took me to the isolated part of the beach we liked, but we were surprised to see some kids there. Not trainers, even, just eight civilians that had found the place and were using it to hang out. At first, I thought we were going to find another spot to Teleport from since she didn't want Volkner to realize she was training me, but Jasmine didn't seem to care. She tapped one of her eleven Pokeballs and released Metagross. The hulking steel type's clawed feet dug into the ground as they creaked with every movement. Their deep red eyes settled on mine and stared for a single instant, as if that was what they needed to assess me. The waves gently crashed against the steel type's feet for a split second until an invisible barrier started blocking the water.

Needless to say, the teenagers left pretty quickly. Jasmine hadn't even told them to leave, just pressured them with Metagross' presence. I couldn't lie, they even made me nervous.

"Thank you, Metagross," Jasmine said.

"Was that alright?" I asked. "I mean, it's not like us Teleporting together's a big giveaway for anything."

"What's the point of power if we don't use it?" She asked before placing a hand on Metagross' cold steel skin. "They'll be fine. Metagross, why don't you greet Grace for a little bit? Get to know her?"

"Uh. Hello," I hesitantly waved. "You can talk to me via telepathy, by the way. I'm used to it."

We salute you, Grace Pastel. It is our understanding that Jasmine has taken an interest in you, but we will refrain from wasting any time. Let us pretend that we had a wonderful, full conversation so we can finally get going. Say 'thank you for the compliment,' and 'I'm sure Jasmine will be a great teacher.' We have calculated that the conversation will end right away if you say those exact words.

Their voice was loud, but I was surprised to see it was actually only one. Reneucleus had two brains and two voices, but Metagross didn't share that trait despite having four. It also took me a few seconds to understand that they were only speaking into my mind and not Jasmine's.

"Thank you for the compliment. I'm sure Jasmine will be a great teacher," I repeated.

The Gym Leader beamed. "What did they say? Did they compliment me too?"

We said she was in good hands, Metagross said.

Jasmine crossed her arms as a smug expression stretched across her face. "Right. We should get started before someone else comes. Metagross, could you take us to…"

The location we battled Craig Goodwill in seems appropriate, Metagross said. What do you think?

She nodded. "Well, you're never wrong. We haven't exactly been to most of the Sinnoh routes, so that'll have to do."

"If Metagross can Teleport, why didn't they use it during the battle?" I asked.

The psychic type answered before Jasmine could.

It would have only delayed the inevitable. Eelektross was going to catch up to us regardless of where we Teleported and was continuously speeding up with a constant Agility. We figured it was better to cut the confrontation short in order not to waste any time. From the start of the battle, we had calculated that the odds were not in our favor. Fifty-six percent chance of losing if we stayed in place, but a sixty percent chance if we spent energy Teleporting around and being chased around the arena until Eelektross landed a Crunch on us. None of the attacks we could have sent would have worked for long. It would have been a battle of attrition that we would have lost regardless. Craig Goodwill's Pokemon are too powerful. The draw we obtained was the most favorable scenario. The chances of victory were under six percent.

Midway through his sentence, Metagross whisked us away to the mountains Jasmine and Craig had battled in.

"Are you done?" Jasmine asked. "See how unfun battling is with them? All of the mystery, the chaos of it all, it's gone. Replaced with a percentage."

You ask us never to tell you anything regardless. Perhaps we appreciate someone finally being willing to listen to us.

"Come on," she rolled her eyes. "You love when I don't listen to you."

I would not constitute that feeling as love. More like a fondness of how stupid you can be at times while being extremely smart in others. I would even call it endearing. Cute, perhaps. Like how you humans find babies cute.

"See? They love me," Jasmine smiled. "I'll recall you for now, or you'll ruin the fun.'

If you must.

The Pokeball absorbed the steel type and Jasmine coughed into her fist.

"They're a lot of fun, even if they pretend not to be," she said. "One of my oldest Pokemon."

"Not your oldest?" I asked.

She laughed. "Oh no, my oldest is Magnezone. Steelix is my second oldest and also my ace. The tip of my sword. Metagross was picked up in one of the few colonies they have in Johto when they were just a Beldum. My father thought it'd be a nice gift, and it cemented me as his successor."

"Did you ever go on a journey?" I asked, shivering from the harsh winds. Jasmine was in her usual sundress, but she didn't seem to care one bit.

"I did. No one in Kanto-Johto can become a Gym Leader without going on a journey at least once. You'd be ridiculed and branded a coward. No one would respect you," she said before pausing. "Let's get started."

The Gym Leader released an Electrode and Magnezone out of her Pokeball while I sent out Honey, who was very confused about being on the same mountain as before.

"Sorry to spring this on you Hon, but Jasmine and her electric types are going to tutor you about your electric type attacks. Is that alright with you?"

He flashed a toothy grin and agreed without a moment's hesitation. When he waved at Electrode, the electric type slowly rolled back behind Jasmine while Magnezone screeched in annoyance.

"Electrode's a shy fellow," she explained. "But he's one of my best fighters. If I ask him to Explode, he will get you, and it'll be a clean kill. It was a very good tactic against the Rockets."

I hummed as I nodded. The smile the electric type was famous for wasn't there. Instead, his mouth was flat and unopened as he silently stared at me. It was hard to imagine that this meek Pokemon was as powerful as Jasmine made it sound, but I knew she wasn't lying. Magnezone was a lot more social, and his magnets twirled around as he greeted Honey. He was smaller than Mira's, but I could still vividly remember the all-powerful Zap Cannons that he could repeatedly use.

"Thank the Legendaries, I can tell you'll be very good at this," she sighed in relief. "You're even better than my Gym Trainers."

"Huh?" I frowned.

"It's about attitude. You've got the right amount of crazy in you. I tried training some of Volkner's Gym Trainers when he asked me, you know? They all get squeamish when I talk about killing, it's honestly sickening. I heard western Sinnoh was a lot better in that regard, but I couldn't handle how soft they were and I stopped pretty quickly."

"I don't think that warrants calling me crazy," I sighed.

"Come on, Grace. Like I told you, you need the crazy if you want to be any good," Jasmine gently said. "You haven't realized how you look to people on the outside, haven't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Arceus, you're the perfect student. Kanto-Johto would fit you like a glove."

"Well, my intention is to go to Unova…" I trailed off when her face fell.

"Goodness," she said. "Sorry, I just thought it was a waste of opportunity, that's all. You'd grow faster there. Unova's Gym Leaders, well— never mind. This isn't what this is about."

I knew her biases against safer regions. That was where we mainly differed. While she thought I might be able to fit in with her clique, I actually didn't mind safer regions. In fact, I'd probably prefer them depending on what they did to the wild Pokemon to reach that point. If it was a set of deals like what Cynthia had done to Hatterene, it would be preferable to just paving a road in the middle of a route.

To my surprise, Jasmine released Ampharos as well.

"Amphy can't create railguns, but she's there for moral support. She's the most positive Pokemon I know," she fondly said. "Also my newest member of the team."

The electric type affectionately bleated, lowering her head so Jasmine could pet her. Electrode seemed a lot more comfortable with Ampharos around and he muttered a greeting to Honey.

"So, Grace," Jasmine started. "Most rocks don't contain enough magnetic materials to be moved using a magnetic field, but Pokemon can break the rules a little bit, just like when Magnezone over here stopped Craig's Gyarados. Do you know why?"

"Type energy," I immediately answered.

"Yes! Most rocks will contain at least traces of magnetite, hematite, maghemite or other magnetic materials. Ordinarily, this isn't enough to be moved by anything created by humans, but it is enough for Pokemon. Granted, most arenas do have a high content of iron, and Volkner's even more so, but when Electabuzz gets good enough, he'll be able to move most rocks."

Honey and I nodded, listening to her attentively.

"Let's start with a little demonstration. Electrode, if you will?"

The electric type grunted as he rolled forward and Jasmine motioned us to stand back. Sparks of electricity more powerful than Honey's Thunderbolt erupted around Electrode, breaking up the ground into chunks, but the rocks that flew up never fell down. Instead, they levitated around him as electric currents flashed to life and danced around Electrode and the rocks.

Then, there was a low hum and I heard a boom, feeling a shockwave pass through my body. All of the rocks flew forward so quickly that by the time I actually realized what had happened, they had flown off the mountain's peak and fallen toward the steep slopes. Honey stood in awe at the move's speed, and he could barely sit still.

"That was a lot quieter than I expected," I muttered. "Well, except for the shockwave bit."

"It's magnetism, not an explosion," she said.

"So the electricity moves the rocks?" I asked, tilting my head.

"No. The more powerful an electric current is, the stronger the magnetic field that forms around it will be. Electrode uses those magnetic fields to control the rocks. The electricity is just a byproduct of that. Now, Electabuzz, I'm going to need you to pay attention. You have to know how this works to start training."

The electric type hurriedly nodded and leaned forward.

"When you use electric type moves, rocks fly everywhere, both from the force of the attack and the magnetic fields themselves," Jasmine said. "The first step in your training is stabilizing the forces of the fields. Normally, it's proportional to the force of the current, but again, Pokemon cheat. When you can keep rocks floating around you like your teammate Togetic—"

"Sister," I interrupted.

"Sister Togetic," Jasmine corrected, not missing a beat. "We can move on to the next step, which is electrifying the rocks."

"You can do that?" I scoffed.

"Of course. You can inject electric TE into the minerals and give them magnetic fields of their own. Then it's all about pushing and pulling to get what you want. You know how magnets work, right?"

We both nodded.

"For the Railgun technique, you essentially want to push as quickly as you can. You know how sometimes, two magnets come together but others they're repelled? That's essentially what we're doing here. You put two same poles together and they repel—"

"By pole, you mean like, north and south pole?"

"Yes. Every magnetic field has a pole," she added. "In the third and final steps, you need to push on rocks by using the same poles on each other. Eventually, when you get really good at it, it'll be like breathing to you, but right now it'll seem impossible. Give it a try, will you? Magnezone and Electrode will observe and give you some pointers."

Honey took a deep breath as electricity crackled through his fur. Unlike Electrode, that simple display wouldn't already rip up rocks from the earth. Instead, he shone bright, using Thunderbolt on the ground around him. Rocks erupted from the ground, and then he grunted in a desperate attempt to at least keep them floating.

Instead, they barely levitated at all and quickly fell to the ground. Some were even ground to dust as he desperately tried to force them upward with a more powerful current. Electabuzz didn't even sigh. He immediately got started on another attempt as Magnezone advised him and Electrode whispered something barely audible. Amphy added a cheerful bleat as her tail swayed from side to side, lighting up at different intervals.

"This technique essentially requires an incredible amount of multitasking. Every single rock has to be micromanaged to perfection. It'll take a while for Electabuzz to master the technique, but its uses are virtually limitless, and if he can do that he can basically create any electric technique he wants due to the amount of minute control he'll have over electricity," Jasmine muttered with her arms crossed. "Our goal is to at least make it usable for your fight with Volkner. I know it seems tough now, but don't forget his arena has a higher concentration of metal, so it'll be easier. I can bring you there in a few days after the Gym closes so Electabuzz can feel what it'll be like. It'll be our secret— I'll break you in!"

"Don't get me in trouble, please," I hesitantly shifted.

"Oh please, live a little! Even after that, it'll be another tool for you to use. Variety is important. We'll move on to your other electric type moves in a few hours."

"Thank you, Jasmine," I said. "I appreciate the help."

"Teaching people like you is fun, so I don't mind," she shrugged. "You don't play the game."

"The game?"

"You don't harass me when I try to teach you lethal techniques," Jasmine explained. "You don't pretend that this is all a game where you have to play nice. If I want to shoot rocks at my opponent at the speed of sound, I should be able to, damn it."

"I feel like you have some very strong views about safety concerns," I muttered.

"Oh, how did you guess?" She joked. "It's a lethal technique I'm teaching you, Grace. You won't be able to use it to its full potential unless you fight some truly formidable Pokemon. Even at the Conference, it'll be too lethal to use until you reach opponents like Craig or someone with Pokemon with extremely tough hides. Or ghosts. These kinds of things are heavily regulated here."

"And it isn't in Kanto-Johto?" I asked.

She grinned, and suddenly the quiet, thin girl was no more. Instead, the monster that dwelled within revealed itself for an instant. It thirsted for adversity, for struggle, and for a second, it felt like a sword was pressing against my neck and I could barely breathe.

"Iron sharpens iron," she simply said.

We paused for a few minutes as we observed Honey struggle over and over. I wasn't worried, of course. These last few weeks had given Honey the boost in confidence he sorely needed and it had all culminated during my battle with Denzel. I knew he'd be able to get back up over and over now.

"Since the rocks are infused with electric TE, does that make it an electric type move?" I asked.

"Well, yes. It's actually an electric type move, not a rock type move," Jasmine explained. "Even with moves like Rock Throw or Slide, the rocks are infused with TE. Moves with no TE are like a cannon without gunpowder."

"Cool," I grinned. I figured I could trick a lot of people with that.

I heard Jasmine absent-mindedly laugh while she stared at Ampharos teasing Electrode.

"Why can't Amphy use Railgun?" I curiously asked as I stared at the tall electric type.

"She's quite scatterbrained," Jasmine said. "She doesn't have the focus needed for it."

"She's cute, though," I said.

"The cutest."

Jasmine placed her hands behind her back and smiled at her Ampharos. The electric type had joined in and tried to lift some rocks for fun too, although her results were even worse than Honey somehow. We both laughed at that pitiful display, but she was having fun.

"I'm glad she can do things like this now," she quietly spoke. "Amphy used to be quite sickly."

"Really?"

"Hmhm. She wasn't mine originally. She was the lighthouse keeper's, and she worked at the top of Olivine's lighthouse. It was a few years after I started my tenure and things with Team Rocket really started ramping up in Johto that she got sick. So sick even the Nurse Joys couldn't do anything. She was so weak she couldn't even move. I stayed up there with her for hours and even forwent my Gym Leader duties for a little bit. Lance got extremely angry at me," she muttered before pausing. "He said that the Indigo League couldn't appear weak in such an important moment. I let him trample all over me back then."

"Really? I can't even imagine you like that," I said.

"Oh, I was quite meek and quiet at your age. I was a shy little girl that mostly kept to myself until Team Rocket sharpened me," Jasmine said. "It was hard not to listen to Lance himself, especially with his forceful attitude. The man can't even entertain 'no' for an answer.'

"And yet you respect him," I said.

"Yes."

The conversation stopped again, and I observed the mountain's surroundings. Maybe the fact that she'd been bullied by Lance was why she wanted me to not to be pushed around by stronger people. A powerful gust of wind caused me to shiver.

"I should have worn something warmer for this," I sighed. "How did Amphy get better?"

"Well, I was waiting for a special remedy to be made for her in Cianwood. It's this little town by the sea on an island," she explained. "I couldn't go get it myself because of Lance's orders, so I asked a particularly talented trainer to go get it for me. That Gold person I briefly spoke to you about."

"That was nice of him," I said. "I'm glad Amphy's all better now."

Jasmine nodded. "She was blessed. The nurses gave her a month to live, and yet she pushed on until the remedy came. She got better over the course of a few days and started up her job again and I visited her every week or so, but she decided to come with me after Eichi— the lightkeeper— died at sixty-eight. She still misses him."

I stayed silent, not knowing what to say. She'd been quite saddened when I had explained that Sunshine's trainer had died before he joined me, but I had thought it was just a normal reaction to have. I knew now that it was because she empathized with us and she knew exactly how it felt. The only difference was that Eichi died of old age while Kamaile was taken early. I clenched a fist and my nails dug into my palm as I struggled to keep my breathing still.

"So there is a blade in you," Jasmine noticed. "It's just sheathed the majority of the time."

"Huh?"

"I've never seen you angry. It was interesting," she said. "Sorry to bring back bad memories."

"It's alright," I said. "My fault."

"No, no, Grace. It isn't your fault."

"Right. But I did mean it when I said it was alright," I said.

"How did you meet Electabuzz, if you don't mind me asking?"

"He came up to me," I explained. "He yelled and demanded to be caught. I was very confused at the time, but I'm happy he did it. We definitely wouldn't have met otherwise."

Jasmine nodded as I spoke. "Not many trainers like to catch them, even in my region. It's the same for Magmar."

"Because they don't know how to evolve them," I guessed before recalling that Denzel had told me the exact same thing when I'd shown him Honey for the first time.

"Yes. It's incredibly shortsighted, but it's unfortunately how it works. Even when they're in their second stage, Electabuzz and Magmar can fight at the elite level. It just takes more work to get them there," Jasmine said. "Volkner respects you, you know?"

I excitedly blinked. "He does?!"

"He was in the same boat as you are right now. An Electabuzz for an ace until he became Gym Leader and the higher-ups at the League that hoard the knowledge like dragons told him how to evolve him. He's rambled to me for hours about how he was doubted and underestimated for having an Electabuzz."

"I've never had that," I said.

"Why do you think?" She smiled. "Volkner proved them wrong and made it to the Conference finals that year, although he lost to Flint. The stigma's died down here thanks to his influence, but it's still well-alive everywhere else. Few people own Electivire and Magmortar. Blaine owned a Magmortar, but no one remembers what he was like as a Magmar. Plus, he fucked off into a volcano after he died. Hasn't been sighted in three years."

My eyes widened slightly at the quick change in tone and cursing, but I paid it no mind. Jasmine and I spoke about my travels and how they differed with hers. She only went on the Circuit in Johto once and didn't even make it out of the group stages there, but what she told me about the routes and caves in Johto didn't leave anything to be desired. Kamaile had Oranguru to keep him and his team protected and Jasmine had Metagross— who had only been a Metang at the time, but trainers without barriers were in extreme danger most of the time outside a few safezones. Of course, not every route was as intense as Eterna Forest, but some were. Multiple. And of course, they had forests of their own as well, like Ilex.

Around an hour later, Jasmine called Electabuzz again and asked him to show her his custom moves. He started with Radiant Leap, which was his favorite since he'd named it and Static Shield was still only a concept that we had very little idea of how to implement. The electric type surged forward, leaving behind only a trail of electricity as he pushed himself as fast as he could. Jasmine looked very pleased.

"That was great, although it could obviously use some work. Volkner has a similar move with his Electivire— although there are a few different quirks. He calls it Quick Step."

"Quick Step? Why is he so bad at naming things?" I asked. Honey, even through his panting from all the training asked the same question. I had noticed that Jasmine was intrigued by my ability to talk to my team, and she had been ever since I had Sunshine speak with her, but she hadn't asked anything about it yet.

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "I know right? I like Radiant Leap," she smiled. "You're essentially using magnetism to push yourself subconsciously while Volkner's Electivire uses electricity like a motor to speed himself up."

"His own electricity?" I scoffed.

"Yes. It seems quite unfair, doesn't it? The longer a battle goes on for, the more of a threat Electivire becomes, but there is a bottleneck you can reach to exhaust him. Most trainers never see that moment, though. If you want to beat him, it's better to do it quickly before he can ramp up."

"Arceus… that's so awesome."

"His Jolteon can do something similar as well by turning himself into electricity instead. Now obviously that is beyond even my capabilities to teach. I'm no electric type master, just a hobbyist."

"If you're a hobbyist, then what am I?" I asked half-jokingly.

"You're a child learning how to crawl," she answered. "We'll go step by step. What was the second move you spoke to me about?"

"Static Shield," I said. "It's like what Volkner does… that thing he calls Electric Terrain Two, but only around Honey and not the entire field. We've been looking to improve his melee capabilities, and I think we can use his ability Static to help."

"Using Static is the right approach, little thief," Jasmine said with a nod. She was proud I was taking her advice to heart. "You know abilities can be trained, correct?"

"Well yes, but I haven't gotten into that at all yet."

"It's time to start, then," she said. "To practice Static, you'll have Amphy. She has the same ability."

The electric type let out a happy cry and her tail thrashed around excitedly. Electrode had already rolled out of the way, as if he had known what was coming, but Honey got caught in the crossfire and tripped. Ampharos bleated, ignoring what she had done while Electrode and Magnezone profusely apologized in her behalf and Honey kept reassuring them that it was okay.

I hadn't known that her tail was that powerful.

Training continued until Electabuzz was too exhausted to continue, which took hours. Before that, though, Jasmine had him practice Thunder in order to keep the move under control. His problem was that since he needed a crap ton of energy to actually use the move, he mostly focused on actually getting it out and not actually controlling it. For Thunderbolt, it was just about habits and cleaning up deficiencies. If we managed to make his moves as efficient as possible, he'd last even longer in battle and our current limit of three Thunders would turn into five. It would also basically catapult him as one of my Pokemon with the most stamina and he'd be tied with Angel.

Of course, it'd help with his two custom moves too.

So much knowledge acquired and progress made, and this was only the first day. There were so many facets of Pokemon battling I hadn't even scratched the surface of, but today did make me realize something that had been at the back of my mind since Princess trained with Hatterene.

Having a teacher a lot better than you made all of the progress we'd made beforehand look so small. I'd need to seek those out a lot more if I wanted to speed things up.

---

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[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 228

Two days had passed since Grace had gotten a mentorship from Jasmine, and even more since Denzel had gotten his from Craig. Cecilia stretched, getting up from her bed as Slowking greeted her with his usual, slow nod. The side of her bed felt empty without Grace here, but she and Honey were giving it their all, so she always left as soon as Jasmine called her. That could be five in the morning, midnight, or in the middle of the afternoon. The steel type Gym Leader had no schedule to speak of and just called on a dime.

Good morning, my lady, Slowking said.

"Morning," she yawned. "Today is…"

Training with Lauren, and watching over Erin, he spoke. Perhaps some experimentation with Future Sight and work on Disable and Yawn on my side of things. We have been neglecting those moves too much, and utility is always a good tool to have, especially when three of us are going to be weak against Volkner's electric types.

"Very well," Cece nodded as she got up.

She glanced outside her window and opened it without a moment's hesitation. No longer did her fear hold her from keeping it open. It had been months since Abel had broken in, and no one had heard of him since Mira had almost captured him.

"It's somewhat hot today," she muttered.

The water type nodded as he stood next to her and spoke, Spring is coming.

"I will shower, and then we can be on our way. Text Lauren for me, please."

Of course.

As Cecilia stepped into the hot shower, she wondered about her future. Things with her Pokemon were progressing smoothly even if she was still looking for her sixth and starting to worry about that. Even if she caught them now, it would take the rest of the Circuit to get them caught up to an adequate level. She had heard Croagunk were easy to find in the swamp near Pastoria, but that was so far away, and she had had no luck with Mienfoo so far even though she went on route 214 nearly every day. Still, she was set in her choice. It would be one or the other.

Cecilia was looking forward to this year's Conference, but she already looked beyond that. She needed to, if she wanted to succeed next year. But even before Unova, there was a slew of things she would need to finish up in Sinnoh. Grace's Poketch Company gala in Jubilife, her request to Cynthia about Spiritomb, visiting the Battle Frontier at least once, and her fated, private battle with Sinnoh's Champion where she would no doubt lose.

She at least wanted to take down one Pokemon if possible, but even that was probably a pipe dream despite the fact that she'd be much stronger than she currently was at the end of the year.

And she was already thinking about an eighth member of her team, but that would actually wait until she made it to Unova. She didn't want to overwhelm herself when she would most likely have a murderous ghost on her hands to take care of. Grace still disapproved of that choice, but the power a Spiritomb brought to the table couldn't be denied.

Cece stepped out of the shower and thanked Slowking when he told her that Lauren was already ready for her. Due to Mira having forgone much of her training to plan for Grace's party, she actually needed her psychics these days, so they never stayed for long after Teleporting them to route 214. Alakazam bid them goodbye as he Teleported back. Cece was interested in him possibly teaching the move to Slowking at some point instead of spending the money on a TM. She was relatively rich, but the TM was so expensive that even she would have to think twice before spending that much money.

"Are you ready to start?" Lauren asked more upbeat than usual. "How about Mags against Talonflame. It'd be a nice rematch from our battle in Veilstone and Mags' been wanting to fight her. He loves trying to take down fliers."

"Why not? But we have to do Golett against Seismitoad next. I want to see how he would fare against a water type Pokemon since Wake is next after Volkner."

"Sounds good. By the way, do you know if… um, if you could teach me how to do that dark type thing you do with Scyther?"

"Lauren, come on. You look like I'm holding a gun to your head," Cecilia sighed. "Of course I'll teach you. We're friends."

They had gotten much closer since they spent so much time together these days. Lauren wasn't one to start a conversation beyond anything regarding Pokemon battling, but Cecilia had found that if she led their talks, her friend could actually be quite the conversationist. Yesterday they'd spent nearly an hour talking about Canalave city— her and Craig's home town and everything there was to do there.

Slowking brought up the psychic barrier and they both released their Pokemon. For a while, Talonflame just circled overhead and easily dodged all of Magmar's blows and pestered him from afar. She was too fast now to be caught off-guard by Fire Pillar or some of Lauren's other moves, but this was training, not a battle, so she dove down at the fire type, who looked on with glee as he squared himself and clapped his hands, sparking blue flames all over his body.

Cecilia had heard about the plan to evolve Magmar. His personality was already almost unmanageable. He disliked any Pokemon that wasn't on his team and liked to mock the ones he won against in fights. She couldn't imagine him as a Magmortar. His evolution would no doubt accentuate those traits.

What Talonflame currently lacked was ways to hit from afar. Yes, Air Slash and Heatwave was well and good, but Cecilia wanted more. Flamethrower and Razor Wind would make perfect additions to Talonflame's arsenal while Cecilia thought of custom moves to give her beyond Air Burst.

Magmar grabbed onto both of her wings and became fire itself, engulfing both Pokemon in blue flames that stretched high into the sky, but Cecilia called out for Air Burst and they all disappeared for an instant and sent Magmar flying back. Her smile widened as they cornered the fire type and relentlessly struck at him from every angle with Air Slash. After exhausting Magmar, Lauren conceded and gave her the win.

After healing the fire type up and recalling him, Lauren was visibly upset. Before having spent entire days together, Cecilia would have thought it was because she lost, but she knew better now. Lauren was never upset when she lost. Instead, she kept her head down and asked for a rematch.

"What's on your mind?" Cecilia gently asked, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I feel like I'm not progressing fast enough with Mags. Like he's hitting some sort of bottleneck," Lauren said. "I don't know how to get past it. He used to be my most powerful Pokemon besides Rhydon, but his progress has slowed, even if it picked up again with this training. I don't think it's enough for our plan to evolve him. To impress Flint."

"Well…"

Cece was no fool. She knew that a trainer was the best person at assessing their Pokemon's progress, and if Lauren said Magmar wasn't doing so as fast as her others, then she was most likely correct.

"It's okay," Lauren muttered. "I'll get through this slump. It's just slower without a mentor, and Grace keeps talking to me about how awesome Jasmine is."

Cecilia winced. Her girlfriend could be a little… enthusiastic about things, and she probably hadn't figured out that Lauren was somewhat jealous of her circumstances. Hell, even she was jealous to some extent. Who wouldn't be envious of someone having a trainer as good as Jasmine or Craig teaching them? Grace had actually asked Jasmine to help Cecilia as well yesterday, but the Gym Leader had vehemently refused.

"Sorry about her," Cece said. "She doesn't mean any harm, she's just genuinely excited. You know you can tell her to stop, right?"

"I don't want to be mean. I'll deal."

"You're right about one thing. Masters won't fall from the sky to teach us," Cece muttered as she felt Talonflame's warm Pokeball on her palm. "We have to make it happen, and the opportunities are rare."

Cecilia didn't state the obvious: that Craig would be fully onboard to teach Lauren if she ever asked. She knew that was off-limit and a sensitive topic. Cece had Mark, but he wasn't at her beck and call and had only said he would help with Zweilous once they evolved, and tutoring on the phone would be a lot less effective than in person.

"Keep your chin up, Lauren. Eventually it'll be our turn in the sun," Cece said. "It's up to us to step out of the shade once the moment is right."

The raven-haired girl smiled thinly. "I'll try. Mags is going to be pissed."

"He's always pissed when he isn't fighting something, is he not? Now, let's move on to Golett against Seismitoad. Go hard on us."

"Are you sure? We have the type advantage—"

"Yes," she interrupted. "I am sure."

Cecilia released Golett, and the ground type's head rotated toward her. She crouched next to him and held out her hand. Golett did the same and felt at her fingers. His hand felt rough, like a mixture of rock and hardened clay. The soft hum of machinery rang out from inside of his body and smoke hissed from his neck, legs and armpits.

He was growing more aware. More sentient. His personality had grown tenfold since visiting Lake Valor. He had likes and dislikes now, and even though Slowking couldn't translate what he said, Cecilia knew that he tried to speak often. A mess of beeps and hums that were impossible for other Pokemon to understand, as if he was screaming into the void.

It must have felt lonely.

"Hi, Golett. Are you up for a battle again today?"

Cece rubbed her thumb against his palm, and his eyes lit up with joy. Golett liked a lot of things. Playing with Zweilous, battling, punching rocks to see what would happen, and he liked to make music.

It had surprised Cecilia, Slowking and Talonflame so much the first time they'd heard that they thought their brains had played tricks on them, but no. Golett used the machinery inside of his body to make music sometimes. Clangs, clicks, hisses— everything at his disposal. It wasn't very good, but it was still wonderful to Cecilia's ears. It was hard to believe this was the same Pokemon she'd caught at the lost tower who had barely been able to move without her voice commanding him.

Now, Golett stopped to look at the flowers. He stared at the sky in awe at the size of the world. He had food that he hated. Pokemon he wanted to spend more and less time with.

He was alive.

Today was his. She could feel it in her bones.

Cecilia recalled him and sent him out inside of the barrier again, and Lauren sent out her hulking Seismitoad. The water type had grown since their battle in Veilstone, as had everyone's Pokemon, but the difference with her was how quickly she was growing. Golett looked like a little kid in front of the water type. Lauren liked to think she was in her growth spurt. Slowking counted down into their minds and the battle began.

"Prime, get up close and Water Punch!" Lauren snapped.

Cece knew that they were at a type disadvantage, but the fact that Golett was a construct meant that much of Seismitoad's arsenal was useless. Supersonic, Uproar, Hyper Voice, Toxic, all of those would be heavily weakened or useless. Water leaked out of Seismitoad's feet, mixing with the earth to become mud as the water type slid across the ground. More and more water slipped out of her mouth and began to flood the arena. All of their techniques with Scorching Sands to keep opponents away wouldn't work against Prime.

"Resonance!" Cecilia yelled.

Something loud boomed from inside Golett, and a purple pulse reverberated through the battlefield. Seismitoad froze in place once it passed through her, and Cecilia snapped her fingers.

"Phantom Force and Shadow Punch!"

The ghost type disappeared, flickering in the wind as he slid into another plane. He reappeared seconds later in front of Prime, shadows screaming around his fist as he punched her right in the gut. His already massive strength was compounded by his Iron Fist ability and sent Prime flying back, but dirty water rushed to cushion her fall.

"I guess you really meant it when you said go hard," Lauren said. "Muddy Water!"

This time, Prime flooded the entire field. Brown water gushed out of her pores, and an Aqua Ring formed around the ground type. Cecilia didn't want to use Stomping Tantrum, especially when they had nothing to fix up the mountain now that Grace wasn't here, so her mind quickly raced to find a solution—

Too late. The water already reached Golett and hammered into the little ghost type like a truck. Seismitoad swam at full force, catching a ride from the current as she rushed toward Golett.

"Ice Punch!" Cecilia yelled.

A light shone from below the water as ice formed around Golett's fists, but the attack wouldn't be enough for him to create a floating island. What it did do, however, was use the Muddy Water around him to create an absolutely massive block of ice around his fists. Cecilia didn't exactly see what happened, but she heard Seismitoad slam against Golett and slam him against Slowking's barrier to her left.

Damn it, I should have called for Iron Defense, she thought to herself. "Resonance!"

The ghostly pulse was much weaker now, but it still allowed them a moment of respite. Golett slammed a fist against Seismitoad, freezing her stomach over. Resonance was a move she'd come up with after listening to Golett's music, and it was what happened if he infused it with ghostly TE. The energy would make a Pokemon freeze for a few seconds the first time, but once their opponent grew used to it, it would have very little effect.

That meant that she'd probably just used it for the final and last time.

Prime grunted as she wrapped a sticky hand around Golett's arm and kept the Muddy Water going at full force.

"Toxic!" Lauren yelled.

Seismitoad spat out noxious liquid that caused the water itself to evaporate, and it clung to Golett and dripped inside of him. His eyes dimmed a little, but the move only slowed him down. A Shadow Ball appeared in front of his face and directly exploded on Seismitoad.

But it wasn't enough.

Water burst from the surface as Prime punched Golett with a Water Punch, and the light in the ground type's eyes turned off as he sunk to the lowest depths of the Muddy Water. Cecilia blinked as her hand wrapped around his Pokeball. She waited, waited and waited until thirty seconds had passed.

Nothing.

She sighed as she recalled Golett, and Lauren did the same with Seismitoad. Cecilia released Talonflame so she could Heat Wave and evaporate all of the water before Slowking pulled down the barrier.

Once she got to see Golett up close again, she realized that the poison did actually affect him more than she had thought. He just hadn't shown it because of the way he functioned. It had slowed down his inner mechanism and weakened him severely. Cece had thought Toxic to be in the same realm as Acid since Prime had just learned the move yesterday, but it was way above what she had expected. Only slightly weaker than Roserade's poison, by her estimation. It was truly an attack worthy of a poison type despite Prime being water and ground. Slowking washed away the poison with a powerful jet of water, but there was still some left inside of him.

Golett slowly popped his head open, exposing a gaping hole that led to his insides, and Cecilia poured an Antidote inside of him and sprayed him with a potion. The ground type's eyes 'blinked', repeatedly flashing as he let out a sad hiss of machinery. She'd learned to recognize his sad, happy, angered, and many other sounds.

"You did great," she smiled as she rubbed his arm. "It's hard to counter attacks like Surf and Muddy Water. We'll work on your ground manipulation soon. Scorching Sands isn't enough. You need something to stop sweeping attacks like that. Even Stomping Tantrum wouldn't have been enough."

There are many applications to sound, Slowking mused. Perhaps we can pulls from Electabuzz's screech with his music. Only Golett has no lungs, so no limit on how long he can emit the sound for.

"Screech did work for Sludge Wave," Cecilia said. "What do you think, Golett?"

The golem answered with a slow thumbs up.

"We'll get started on that as soon as you're ready to battle again. Take a break for now," Cecilia said as she grabbed his Pokeball. She stopped when the ground type grabbed her sleeve and pulled on it. "What's wrong?"

His words confused her, and yet he was desperately trying to say something. It was at times like these that Cecilia wished Grace was here, but alas, she was busy. Cecilia could tell he was growing frustrated.

"Are you ready for the next battle?!" Lauren loudly asked.

"Hold on, just one second!" she yelled back.

Golett pointed to Zweilous' Pokeball, and at least Cece could understand that. She released the dragon type, who both licked her hand affectionately. Golett pointed to Zerst, and then to Sol, alternating between both at different intervals.

"Do you want to speak to them alone?" She asked. "Battle them? Just stay with them?"

Each time, Golett answered by shaking his head. It wasn't until five minutes later that Slowking finally understood.

He wants a name, Slowking said. He wants you to give it to him.

Cecilia's eyes widened. "Is that… is that true?"

Golett's head spun around as he let out a happy hiss that released more steam in Zweilous' face. Both heads tried to drink the steam, and they grinned as the moisture stuck to their tongue.

A name? Cecilia hadn't even thought about it. She had never been one to nickname her Pokemon, and the only reason Zweilous had one was so that the two heads could distinguish between themselves when she called on them. She was planning on merging them when they evolved because she'd grown attached, but…

If Golett wanted a name, then she would give him one.

"Lehmhart," she whispered. The ground type's eyes dimmed for a few seconds. "Do you not like it?"

Cecilia frowned when the dimming didn't stop. And it wasn't only his eyes. It was the rune at the center of his chest as well. Soon enough, he had completely turned off, which never happened unless he fell unconscious.

How strange, Slowking said. Maybe he exerted himself too much during the battle?

"I don't think so—"

A barrier immediately appeared in front of her, but it was for naught. Slowking had thought Golett was malfunctioning, but it was just light.

Lehmhart was— Lehmhart was evolving.

He stretched, stretched and stretched until he topped thirteen feet tall. His hands became massive, and so did everything else. Old wood wrapped around his ankles and wrists while the one rune at the center of his chest had become four, with two being on his hands and the other two on his shoulders. His chest wasn't bare, however. A crack brimming with a bright yellow light was covered in a thick layer of wood that barely contained the power within. He was so tall now that Cecilia couldn't even see his face properly. She turned toward Lauren, who was watching with her hands in her pocket and a slight smile. Zweilous snarled— but it was one of their happy ones, and they tippy-tapped on their feet as Lehmhart finished evolving.

Golurk shifted in place, and the hum of the machinery inside of him appeared twice as loud. A constant sound in the background that kept the ground type going. Lehmhart slowly lowered himself, and just that sent a small gust of wind flying into Cecilia's face and caused her hair to go all over the place. She held onto her hair as the golem held out a hand toward her.

She silently did the same, wrapping a hand around a single one of his fingers. He gently grabbed her and placed her into one of his hands, lifting her up to his face.

"I don't think you'll fit inside of the Pokemon Center rooms any longer, Lehmhart," Cecilia said with a nervous chuckle.

That, he will not, Slowking said.

The ground type lowered Cecilia to the ground back again as if he was handling porcelain and terrified to crack the precious glass. He handled her with so much care that even Cecilia was moved. Lehmhart fixed up her hair with two of his fingers and stood back up at full height.

It hadn't been battling that had pushed him over the edge.

It had been learning to become an individual.

"Can we test something?" Cecilia asked. "Why don't you try to use Hammer Arm on the side of the mountain—"

I do not believe that to be wise.

"Come on. We need to limit test this," Cecilia said. "Lauren, get Sirris to create a barrier around you!"

"Got it!"

"Slowking, you do the same," she continued.

Golurk seemed just as eager as she was for this. He quickly turned toward one of the steep slopes and trudged toward it. What she hadn't expected was for him to trip and faceplant into the ground, creating a mini-earthquake.

He was not used to being this big yet. And they hadn't even tried out his flying capabilities yet!

Lehmhart picked himself up, stumbling as he did so, and he finally got close enough to use Hammer Arm. His four runes lit up and energy leaked out of the large fissure on his torso. Power hummed out of his very being. He slowly raised a fist that shone bright white, and with a swift, earth-shattering motion, his hand descended upon the mountain—

A deafening boom echoed across the mountain and a flock of Pidgeys escaped in the distance. The surroundings shuddered in response to the attack. Cracks formed against the facade and the ground like an Ariados' web and fragments of stone flew in every direction, some crashing against Slowking's barrier. Even through the psychic bubble, Cecilia felt the shockwave ripple through her body. Dust and debris quickly filled the air like a chaotic storm of destruction.

When the dust settled, a large part of the mountain's facade had collapsed, becoming rubble at Golurk's feet. Deep cracks sprawled across the surface like shattered glass, and a large crater had formed at the center of the web. Golurk still stood there, his fist still pressed against the mountain as he stared at his newfound power.

"One hit of that, and it's hard to see something surviving," Cecilia muttered with a smile so wide it hurt. That was power. "You're amazing, Lehmhart."

Golurk finally lifted his fist from the zone of impact and stared at his own hand, flexing and clenching it repeatedly. He turned to Cecilia and gave her a thumbs up as his inner mechanism reached a crescendo of excitement that she had never heard from him before.

Should we call Grace to fix this up when she's free? Slowking asked. I don't think it's responsible to leave the mountain in such a state.

"Are you kidding? I'm going to show this to her. She'll be over the moon," Cecilia quickly answered. "Arceus, I can already imagine the look on her face! Maybe I should keep it secret until we go on our date."

Cecilia hummed as she turned back to Lauren, and their training session began anew. She had no mentor, but she would not fall behind.

None of them would.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum

 

[Chewy]

I just realized. Golurk is just a Gundam. Straight up

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 229

"His name is Lehmhart?" I muttered. "He's… so big now, it's kind of incredible."

I stared up at the massive Golurk before me, and Cecilia could barely contain her excitement. As soon as today's training with Jasmine had finished, she'd called me over and plastered my face with kisses because of how happy she was. She was so excited to show me in fact, that she had released him in the middle of route 222 because we were waiting for Erin here and Golurk flying in a city wasn't allowed. So we were on route 22 In the middle of the afternoon. This meant that numerous trainers were either keeping with distance and glancing at the golem in fear or watching in awe. The ghost type waved at me in a motion more fluid than I remembered and touched my head with a single finger.

"He evolved as soon as I gave him the name," she said. "He's been very vocal ever since. Could you help me translate?"

"Sure thing," I nodded. "Lehmhart? Anything you've ever wanted to say to Cece, feel free to say it through me."

He immediately let out a deep, humming sound that took a bit for me to decipher.

"He loves you and your team," I said. "And he's happy you taught him how to live."

Cece gently caressed the golem's body, and he let out a pleasant sound at the touch.

"I wanted to see if we could try out his flying…" Cecilia muttered. "Maybe just his arms for now? Lehmhart, do you think you can do it?"

Golurk answered with a thumbs-up and a few low-pitched beeps.

"He's saying it's like second nature now," I said. "The act of retracting his arms and legs, not the flying bit, I mean. He's got no idea how to fly."

"It would be better if we get him acquainted with flying before entering Flight School," Cece said. "Go ahead, Lehmhart."

The process of retracting his arms into his body was slow, and it seemed he couldn't even do both at the same time yet. After two minutes, his forearms were gone, having been replaced by a gaping void. Lehmhart told us to get back while Slowking raised a barrier around us, and jets of flames spewed out from the hole in his arms. Cece had his Pokeball in hand, ready to recall him before any accidents could take place.

The earth rumbled as the ground type slowly rose from the ground and into the air. The sound of his engines sounded like a jet engine on an airplane—

And Lehmhart lost his balance, going off into the distance and toward the sea before Cece hurriedly recalled him. It would have been very ugly had he crashed on the poor trainers.

"Yeah, I definitely shouldn't practice this here," Cece said. "But it's still great! I can't believe I'll be able to fly soon."

"He looks really goofy when he flies, by the way," I snorted. "Anyway, where's Erin? She's usually never late."

We stayed there and waited, and Cece told me she had some kind of surprise for me that I'd love. The answer to my question came soon enough, however. Erin strode up to us fifteen minutes later and dropped an absolute bombshell.

"My Gym Battle is in two hours."

I blinked, thinking it had been a joke at first, but she was dead serious.

"Why didn't you tell us?" I stammered. "I mean, I think you're ready, but—"

"I signed up yesterday on a whim and they said they could slot me in today," she interrupted. "I thought that if I didn't do it now, I never would because I'm so afraid of failure… it was like ripping off a band-aid. Now I'm scared, but I'm confident I can do it. I know I can."

"You can," Cece reassured, looking at the time on her phone. "You said… two hours? That leaves us one hour to train. Nothing straining, of course."

Erin beamed. "Thank you. I— I actually had a question about Comet's Rollout…"

—

As I'd seen on video, Volkner's battlefield didn't appear that different at first, but when you looked closer and focused on the ground and rocks, a particular red tint revealed itself— or maybe more of a reddish-brown. That was because of all the iron he'd placed inside of the rocks and ground. I had no idea how he went about replenishing it, but there was probably a steel type capable of doing so when combined with the usual ground type that fixed up destroyed arenas.

I felt pride swell in my chest when Erin confidently stepped onto her podium, her Pokeball already in hand. She had come looking her best, her hair stylized in a complex-looking bun and wearing a beautiful yellow dress I'd never seen her wearing before. She'd definitely taken after Cece, who always did the same thing whenever she had an important battle. The Gym Trainer facing her was a young-looking girl who actually looked very happy to be there. It probably wasn't often that she got any experience battling on the big field. Gym Trainers mostly battled each other to improve with the more experienced ones giving them pointers. Sometimes, the Gym Leader would even lead a training session if they had the time, but Volkner definitely wasn't the type of guy to do that—

I blinked and leaned forward. I thought I was imagining things at first, but Volkner had stepped out of the waiting room and he slowly trudged toward the Gym Trainer, dragging his feet on the ground. He yawned, placing a hand over his mouth. The Gym Leader was wearing sandals, joggers, and a plain white T-shirt as if he'd just gotten out of bed.

Murmurs and gossip ran through the bleachers as Volkner grabbed his Gym Trainer's shoulder, pulling her back slightly.

"Volkner, what's—"

Her microphone cut out, and I didn't hear the rest of what was said. What was happening was obvious, however. Volkner was taking her place for this particular battle when he hadn't battled all day. I honestly thought he'd be hanging out with Jasmine right now, but here he was. My eyes narrowed at the Gym Leader and a smile stretched across my face. This was only a first badge battle, but it'd still help seeing him battle in person at least a little, and I knew Cece was thinking the same. Then, my vision drifted toward Erin, who was trembling like a leaf. Her battles with the Gym Trainers had been relatively close, even if she had lost, but Volkner had crushed her completely.

I thought back to my Gym Battle with Roark. If he had won a dominating victory and sent me packing, then I definitely would have been nervous the second time, especially since I had self-esteem issues with my skill as a trainer back then. It was the same with Erin.

"She will prevail," Cecilia declared. I felt her hand wrap around mine, the coldness of her ring clinging to my skin.

"You say that, yet you're as scared for her as I am," I teased. "I believe in her. We trained her well."

"I know, I know, it's just…"

"I get it," I said. "She'll be fine."

Volkner sent the Gym Trainer packing, stealing her microphone in the process. He had the worst posture I'd ever seen, slouching forward and with a permanent half-crouch where his legs were never stretched to their full extent. He shoved his hands in his pockets, testing the microphone with a few words and then sighed.

"Three-on-three. One switch. Understood?" Volkner listed.

That was it? Where were the rules about no killing or him being able to use whatever Pokemon he wanted? He really was slacking off.

Erin clenched a fist around her dress and nodded. "Yes."

"Good. That was firm," Cecilia said. "She'll keep that up for the battle."

Volkner called out for Erin to send out her Pokemon, and she did so with trembling hands. Her Bidoof appeared in a flash of red, and he was immediately alert and grinding his teeth together threateningly as he stared Volkner down. Volkner sent out a Pichu with a little bow on one of her ears, and a bunch of awww's echoed through the arena. The referee, who looked to be used to Volkner's antics by now, simply shrugged and started the battle.

"C—Comet, use Rollout!" Erin snapped, pointing at Pichu.

Comet pushed himself forward, jumping a foot in the air before bunching up into a ball. He began rolling and picked up speed as he approached Pichu.

"Thundershock," Volkner said.

Tiny sparks of electricity sparkled around Pichu before surging forward and hitting Comet. The normal type grunted in pain, but he kept rolling and speeding up.

"Nuzzle."

"Growl!" Erin yelled.

Pichu resigned to taking the hit, but more electricity surrounded her, this time jumping in a pattern instead of erratically. A scream from Bidoof made her waver for a second, and he rammed into her at full force. The electric type cried out as she crashed against one of the many raised spires of Volkner's gym, creating a small indent in the rock. Bidoof hadn't gotten off scot-free either, however. I had warned Erin about Nuzzle, but she seemed to have wanted to deal damage to Pichu regardless of the danger of paralysis. The normal type's Rollout stopped as he struggled to move.

Pichu slowly got back on her feet, sporting a scowl I never thought I'd see on such a cute Pokemon. She wiped her dirtied ribbon as she awaited Volkner's next order.

"Keep using Thundershock, but stay far away," the Gym Leader said.

Pichu began her assault, although it was severely weakened due to the Rollout she'd taken. Multiple rays of electricity flew at Bidoof, who countered them as best he could by either dodging or kicking up Mud Slaps to weaken the attack, but the majority of them hit. Erin needed to either attack or switch, not play on the defensive—

"Yawn!" She yelled.

Bidoof opened his mouth, and Pichu blinked as she wobbled and struggled to stay up. Yawn was the move they'd trained the most, and I knew Erin had wanted to keep it hidden for Volkner's second Pokemon. Another two Thundershocks rocked Comet, but he was Erin's most resistant Pokemon for a reason. His fur smoked, and he struggled through the paralysis, but he still stood.

Pichu fell to the ground and started to snore.

"Now, Tackle and Bite! You've got all the time in the world!" Erin said.

I could see in Volkner's eyes that he resigned to his loss immediately, although he obviously didn't care one bit. I would have done the same. Swapping out a sleeping Pichu would be a waste, and this was probably his weakest of the three Pokemon he'd use. Comet took twenty seconds to reach Pichu, but once he did, he rammed into her and bit her arm. Volkner still waited, not pulling her out of her fight on the off-chance that Pichu would wake up, but the electric type fainted soon after.

The Gym Leader recalled her with a fondness I hadn't expected from him and sent out an Emolga right after. Erin's shoulders sagged. She had already lost a battle to this Emolga, and defeatist thoughts were already swarming her mind. The girl slapped her two cheeks until they were red and smiled.

"Yawn, Comet!"

"Gust."

Emolga beat his wings, summoning a small tornado around Bidoof that stopped him from using Yawn.

"Now Charge and Thundershock," he continued.

"Tackle to dodge!" Erin barked out.

Emolga took five seconds to charge up his Thundershock, and that meant Comet had ample time to react. He pushed himself to the left, and the electricity only grazed his tail.

"Water Sport!" Erin yelled.

Bidoof's fur dampened, and the normal type flew, ejecting as much water from his mouth as he could. Volkner didn't even flinch. Emolga lowered himself, easily dodging the last-ditch attempt to hit him and finished Comet off with another Thundershock.

Water Sport to propel a Pokemon? She hadn't told me about this, nor had she told Cece. I placed a hand on my chest and smiled. I could almost cry with how proud of her I was.

"Erin, you're amazing," I muttered.

Sat came out of her ball next, since she was the only other Pokemon capable of taking down flying Pokemon. The normal type yawned and stretched on the red-tinted rocks as she sized up Emolga with a bored stare.

"Quick Attack! Get under it!" Erin ordered with no hesitation.

"Attack and keep your distance," Volkner said.

More Thundershocks sparked out of Emolga's body and toward Glameow. The normal type made herself small, practically prowling against the floor as she ran until she was right under Emolga. Her tail straightened for an instant, and then coiled again as she slammed it against the ground and sprung up. Her claws extended and shone bright white as she slashed at Emolga's wings. The flying type cried out in pain, but Volkner didn't miss a beat.

"Follow it and Spark."

Electricity burst through Emolga's skin, and the flying type rushed toward Glameow who was still in the air. She had no way to maneuver, and Emolga rammed into her right before she landed. The normal type rolled on the ground, kicking up dust until she stopped herself by digging her claws into the floor.

"Thundershock."

I leaned against a palm as I observed Glameow dodge a series of Thundershocks as she progressively approached Emolga. The fact that this was a low-leveled battle meant that variety in tactics was severely lacking. There were no custom moves, and the moves that did get used were few. I did notice that Volkner was leaving her a chance, however. He kept Emolga to a level where Glameow could reach, only ordering the electric type to get only a few more feet in the air.

Even if he was bored out of his mind, he was a good Gym Leader.

Sat tricked Emolga into thinking she was coming for him by slamming her tail against the floor, but one whistle from Erin and she rushed forward instead, jumping on a rock with incredible dexterity and pushing herself from there. The electric type was caught off-guard and grunted as Sat clung onto him this time, determined to drag him down with her. She snarled, biting and clawing at Emolga while he electrocuted her over and over until they both crashed on the floor. It was at this point that I wondered if Volkner would switch, but he didn't. He let Glameow finish off Emolga with a Fury Swipes and recalled him.

I hummed when he sent out a Pikachu last, and he had the same ribbon on his ear Pichu had. Were they siblings? Friends, maybe, and one had evolved sooner than the other.

"Quick attack and Electric Tail," Volkner called out.

"Fury Swipes!"

Pikachu blurred— and that was important, because no Pokemon at that level were that fast. He rushed toward Glameow, who barely had time to react and put up her claws. She slashed across Pikachu's flank, drawing blood while electricity instantly came to life around the rodent's tail and he slammed her away.

"Again, Spark," he continued.

"Quick Attack!"

The electric type ran, electricity sparkling out of his cheeks until it overtook his entire body. Glameow yowled, scrambling back to her feet before she did the same. The two Pokemon butted heads, both grimacing in pain, but only Pikachu was left standing by the end of it. Sat's limp body lay on the ground, and her body was burned and smoking. Erin thanked her as she recalled her. Thanks to her and Comet's training, she'd finally overcome her roadblock. Pokemon capable of flight were no longer an obstacle.

She sent out Spinda last with a grin. All of her anxiety from earlier had melted away, giving way to a joy for battling that matched Cece and mine. Swirls stumbled, barely managing to stay upright while Pikachu circled him on all fours and shared the same scowl Pichu had. They were like two peas in a pod.

"Spark," Volkner said.

Pikachu suddenly cut in, blurring as he brimmed with electricity. Swirls—

Swirls stumbled and tripped out of the way. He faceplanted on the ground, dodging Pikachu's attack by a hair. The electric type turned back, circling him and aimed for Swirls again, but he kept dodging by mere inches, always falling over when he did. Volkner didn't call out for Thundershock either. It seemed like this Pikachu was trained for fighting up close while Pichu had been the opposite.

"Electric Tail," Volkner called out.

"Dizzy Punch, Swirls!" Erin barked.

Pikachu's tail sparkled brightly, and he zigzagged toward Spinda in an attempt to catch him off-guard. The normal type's fist shone, and both Pokemon hit each other at the same time. Spinda's attack was stronger, however, and Pikachu flew back into one of the spires.

"Body Slam!"

Spinda stumbled toward Pikachu like a drunkard, but somehow he was speeding up. At one point, I was surprised he even managed to stand upright still. Pikachu grit his teeth and headbutted him with a jump, but Swirls simply slammed him with all of his body weight, ramming Pikachu into the same rock. Another Dizzy Punch to the gut finished him off, and Spinda bowed to the audience before falling on his back— nevermind, he was cartwheeling.

Cecilia and I stood, cheering and clapping as loud as we could. We did turn some heads. People weren't used to others cheering so loudly for a first badge battle. Erin was crying of joy down on the field, and she recalled Swirl with quivering lips.

She'd done it.

—

"Oh Legendaries, oh Legendaries, this is— this is real, isn't it? I'm not dreaming right now?" Erin cried, fanning her face.

We'd greeted her right out of the waiting room, and she'd come out a sobbing mess. I wrapped her into a soft hug while Cecilia rubbed her back.

"It's real, Erin," Cecilia said. "You won."

"We're proud of you," I gently spoke. "You were fantastic out there."

"I mean, I still have to— have to review the footage. I've gotten a ton of messages from New Wave already," she sniffled. "I can't believe it!"

"What TM did you get?" Cecilia asked.

"Shock Wave. And I also got a bunch of money I'm gonna save for the club," she said.

"Sat, Swirls and Comet can all learn it," I said. "It's one of the easiest electric type moves to learn, so a bunch of Pokemon can. I'm one hundred percent sure you can go for three badges this year if you want."

"Veilstone and Pastoria," Cece nodded. "Pastoria would be easier now that you have Shock Wave."

"Especially since Maylene's the fighting type Gym Leader and you only have normal types," I said. "But then again, if you want the easy way, then Maylene's on break right now—"

"You guys are looking so far ahead already," she spoke through a teary chuckle. "But if I do it, I don't want the easy way. Battling Volkner was— it was so much fun."

"Now you're getting it," Cece said. "Let's get you back to your club. I have an inkling they're all waiting there to celebrate with you."

"And they're probably pissed you kept the battle a secret," I chuckled.

"Can you guys come along?" She hesitantly asked. "It'd mean a lot to me if you were here."

I stared at Cece and smiled. "Of course. We'll hang out! If Jasmine calls, I'll tell her I'm busy."

Erin's eyes widened slightly. "Thank you. And I've decided, now. I'm going to be a normal type specialist."

Oh, I was sure Alakazam would squeal like a little girl at that declaration.

—

"Look at our little Erin all grown up," I said.

It was strange to be in the same room we'd held my party in. Only this time, it was filled with actual club members. Erin stood at the center, speaking to everyone and juggling what seemed to be a dozen conversations at the same time while she showed off her new, shiny badge. A few kids had already asked her to share her TM, and she'd agreed without hesitation since it was reusable. I had an inkling that Shock Wave was going to become widespread throughout New Wave soon enough. The few trainers in their club that had already owned one badge had disagreed to share the TM because trainers usually just didn't do that. We were taught to hoard them for ourselves to get a leg up on possible competition— well not taught, but it was what all the elite-level trainers did, and humans learned through repetition. Craig would never give someone the TM for Hyper Beam, for example.

Erin didn't care.

"The first badge is always a great boost of confidence," Cece muttered. "It's when you start thinking you might actually be able to do this. Go all the way."

"Well, in her case, it won't be all the way, but yeah," I agreed. "This'll do wonders for her."

The party had been going on for a few hours at this point, and the sun had already set. I sipped on some soda while chatting to Cece about anything that came to mind, and I cringed at myself when she told me to stop telling everyone I knew about Jasmine, especially the people that… didn't have a Gym Leader to tutor them.

"Lauren's feeling left out? Shit, that's… yeah, that's my bad," I sighed. "I honestly thought—"

"Don't worry, you two are good," Cece said. "I know you were just excited about it. You can tell me about your training, if you can't contain it."

"You won't get angry? I'm feeling kind of self-conscious now."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course, I'd be lying if I wasn't wishing I had the same opportunity, but it'll come," she said. "Right now, I'm mostly happy seeing my girlfriend gush about Pokemon training. And even though I don't have an electric type, I do find some tidbits useful."

"You're the best."

"Mhm," she hummed.

I stared up at her. "Seriously, I don't deserve you."

"Don't give me any of that now," she scolded, wrapping an arm around my waist. "Do you—"

She stopped when another kid came up to us, looking to speak. Even with us here, Erin was the center of attention, but that didn't mean we were completely alone. We stayed at the party until it finished at midnight, and while we walked home, Jasmine was waiting for me in front of my Pokemon Center with a bottle of… something in her hand. I wasn't sure what it was except that it wasn't beer. Cecilia let out a quiet sigh, and I placed my head on her shoulder.

"I'll see you later?" I tentatively said.

"You go ahead. I was going to go to sleep anyway, I get it. I'd like it if you came to my room when you're done, though."

"Thanks. Sorry," I said. "I'll try not to wake you up."

Cecilia politely greeted Jasmine, who nudged her head at her. I was happy to see that she wasn't drunk, or at least not drunk yet.

"Grace. Tonight is going to be magnificent," she declared with a prim grin.

"What are we doing that's so special?" I asked.

The Gym Leader popped open her bottle and took a swig. I could smell the alcohol from here.

"Remember when I told you we were going to break into Volkner's Gym so Honey could try out magnetic manipulation there?"

I paused for a few seconds, registering her words.

"That's tonight?!" I scoffed. "Why?"

"No time like the present. You want something done, you do it," Jasmine said. "It'll be fine. We won't get caught. I did plenty of sneaking around back in my day."

"Don't say back in my day like you're seventy."

"I know I dragged you away from your girlfriend, so we'll make it quick and not go by foot like I originally planned. I feel bad for her," Jasmine quietly said. She grabbed Metagross' Pokeball and released the steel type. "Hello, my loves. I'd like for you to Teleport us in front of Volkner's Gym. We're going to break in."

For a second, I swore that I heard Metagross sigh and roll their eyes.

Do you have a plan for the cameras? The Gym Trainers patrolling the place twenty-four seven? Do you have a route planned to break in and back out? Teleporting inside of a Gym when it's closed is impossible, as you know. Dark type interference.

"Don't sweat the details. Volkner never checks the camera feed anyway and I'll silence any Gym Trainers on camera duty."

Silence? We certainly hope you don't mean kill or threaten. It would be in the Indigo League's best interest if you did not commit a drunken murder and embroil us into a diplomatic incident.

"Relax, Arceus! No, not murder. I just mean… you know, tell 'em to keep quiet as a favor. They love me at the Gym."

They hate you. Only Volkner loves you, and the fact that you're there distracting him by copulating and making eyes at each other has increased the average Gym Trainer's workload by 18%. They want you gone as fast as possible.

"Just Teleport us," Jasmine sighed.

Fine. Don't say I did not warn you.

"What's the worst that can happen? The word gets out that I was trying to break a trainer in, Volkner gets angry at me and I bring up the dozens of times he dropped the ball," Jasmine shrugged. While she spoke, we'd been Teleported in front of Volkner's Gym. "You know, you need to ease up a little and learn to—"

Metagross' eyes shone, and they entered their Pokeball.

"Did they— did they just recall themselves?" I stammered.

"They do that when they get tired of me," Jasmine smirked. "Let's go in."

A Gym at night wasn't something I'd ever seen from up close. Bright lights shone down on the small path that led to the entrance, but the lobby itself was completely dark. Jasmine slid a keycard in front of a sensor, and the glass doors unlocked for us.

"Girlfriend privilege," she said, sliding the card back into a pocket. "Come on, get in there."

"This feels so wrong," I muttered.

Jasmine sipped on her…

"What are you drinking, by the way?" I asked in a whisper.

"Vodka."

I nearly choked, but I stopped myself from making any noise.

"Doesn't that taste really bad?" I asked as we slowly walked through the lobby. "My dad says it does."

"Oh, it's awful," she laughed. "But if you want to get shitfaced, it's great. Don't worry though, I'm not going to get drunk while I'm teaching you. I'm just sipping. Vodka tastes great when mixed with other stuff if you ever fancy starting to drink."

"Whatever you say," I whispered.

We snuck through the lobby with no incidents, although I did see a hint of a flashlight before Jasmine pushed me toward a corridor. We circled what felt like the entire Gym, easily avoiding all patrols. We were lucky no one here had an electric type that was also psychic, or we would have been busted instantly. Jasmine gently opened a door I didn't recognize and my eyes bulged when I realized it was the camera room. The Gym Trainer dropped the phone she'd been looking at instead of the screens and nearly fell off her chair.

"Leader Jasmine? What are you doing here? Who is this—"

"Shhhh," Jasmine said. "Grace, close the door."

I listened to her and gently pushed it back.

"We're going to use the arena for a bit," Jasmine said. "It'd be great if you didn't tell anyone you saw us break in."

"Uh, I'm kind of obligated to report that trainer's presence—"

"Come on, Nancy. I'll talk to Volkner about that promotion you wanted. Isn't looking at cameras boring? You want to be an actual trainer, don't you? You weren't even paying attention to the footage."

The girl bit her lip, and after deliberating for a few seconds, she nodded.

"Fine, get out of here," she snapped, picking up her phone. "But don't tell him I said yes to this, or he'll fire me."

"I won't. I promise," Jasmine firmly said. "Thank you for your time."

We left her alone, and I was certain her eyes would stay glued to the camera footage for the rest of her shift now that she'd been caught off-guard. We kept circling around the inside of the stadium until we reached the waiting room— Volkner's waiting room. There were eight lockers here labeled 'FIRST BADGE' to 'EIGHT BADGE' with what must have been dozens of Pokemon in each. My eyes lingered on the six badge locker until Jasmine pressed a couple of light switches. A loud, industrial hum started as the ceiling lights wooshed to life. It felt weird to see the spectating area so empty.

"I hope nobody heard that," I muttered.

"Get Honey out of his ball," Jasmine said. "It'll just be him today."

I released the electric type and brought him up to speed. The fact that we were here illegally made him extremely nervous, but he pressed on. Honey getting a feel for the rocks here would prove invaluable during the actual battle. Instead of using Thunder or Thunderbolt to rip up some rocks from the earth, he used Thunder Punch to be as quiet as he could while Jasmine observed.

And she'd been right. It was easier here for him. We'd barely made any progress on the mountain on route 205 because of the low contents of magnetic materials, but all of the training he'd done showed himself here. The rocks floated around him and clumsily collided with each other as electricity coiled around him and crackled in his fur. He accidentally dropped some of them or pushed them away from his influence, but he managed to throw some away at a respectable speed. Not anywhere near what we needed to be, but we were at least halfway to the move being usable in battle.

"See how much easier it is?" Jasmine asked the electric type. "It's like going on a jog after trying to win in a triathlon. Much more manageable."

Honey nodded, but he didn't speak to keep up his concentration and tried again.

"We'll stick around for thirty minutes or so. Then we'll slip out. If another opportunity provides itself, then I'll bring you, but the experience he gains here will be crucial for your battle."

"Thank you," I said.

"Don't sweat it," Jasmine said. "This brings back memories. I used to sneak around the Gym when I was a kid and my father ran it."

"Really?" Why?" I asked. "Weren't you allowed to be there?"

The only reason she was hiding right now was because I was here, after all. I assumed that she'd been allowed to be in her father's Gym whenever she wanted just like this one.

"It was… complicated," Jasmine muttered. "And it's not something I'd like to get into tonight."

The conversation paused, and Jasmine took another swig of her bottle while Honey kept training.

"He had this liquor cabinet in his office that I'd steal bottles out of," she continued.

I scoffed. "How old were you, exactly?"

"Eh, twelve, thirteen or so," Jasmine said. "You know what he said when he figured it out?"

"He screamed at you and grounded you?" I scoffed, crossing my arms.

Jasmine snorted. "No. He said he was proud that I'd outsmarted him, but that when I wanted to do something, I had to make sure the job was finished. One of the Gym Trainers had ratted me out, and he said that I should have threatened him with Magneton and Onix, or said I'd get him to fire him if he tattled. Even if it had been a lie, it would have worked."

"Working at your Gym doesn't sound like a fun time," I said.

"Oh, that was back in the old days. My dad was raised by a generation that was molded by the Great War. He was a kid during the fighting," Jasmine muttered. "He used to tell me all about how Olivine kept getting bombed to oblivion by enemy naval forces and Pokemon. That even the bunkers weren't enough and sometimes collapsed in on the people taking refuge there because of the Onix that our enemies would send underground to collapse our more resistant buildings. That fishermen were hunted and our crops were destroyed by swarms of enemy Rattata so the entire region could starve. That sites of great battles were never cleared of their bodies so that ghosts could form, and how there'd be a second battle atop the corpses to capture the damn things. And a third. And a fourth. Over and over until the entire place was a sea of rotten bodies where the smell clung to your throat. We did it too, of course. All of it."

I stayed silent, not knowing what to say.

"But Olivine was not destroyed to smithereens. We weren't put down, nor were we captured by enemy forces. They bypassed us in hopes of capturing Goldenrod," Jasmine said. "We rose back from the ashes because they didn't finish us off. Growing up like that, it fucks up a human. My father's fucked and my grandpa was even more so when he was alive. He's old, bitter, and he keeps ranting about how he hates Kantoans and their allies for what they did to us and that we should never have united, but he's the greatest man I know despite… everything. He's the one that taught me to always finish the job. No loose ends. If you want to finish something, you go for the throat."

I didn't exactly know what this was alluding to, but I knew it was a lesson of some sort, so I nodded.

"I will."

The steel Gym Leader smiled. "Great. You're learning—"

"Jasmine…?"

I flinched, turning toward the source of the voice.

It was Volkner in some shorts, slippers, and a T-Shirt.

"I was working and I saw the lights turn on from my office. What's going on here?"

"I should have gone for the throat," Jasmine muttered under her breath. She pursed her lips and spoke up as she lifted her bottle. "Hey Volkner. Want some Vodka?"

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M

 

[Chewy]

Heh, alcohol will fix all your problems Jasmine. Surelyyyyyy

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 230

"Hey Volkner. Want some Vodka?"

The blond man frowned, his eyes drifting to Jasmine's bottle.

"No," he sighed. "And give me that."

He snatched the bottle out of her hand to keep her from drinking, or at least that's what I assumed. Jasmine didn't fight it at all and just let him have it. I could barely look him in the eye, let alone speak. I was too scared and embarrassed to say anything, so I opted to let Jasmine talk in my stead. Honey hid behind me even though he was bigger than I was, and he couldn't even bear to attract any attention to himself.

"Can you tell me why Grace Pastel is in my Gym, Jasmine?" Volkner asked in a semi-aggressive tone.

"I was training her," Jasmine answered. "I apologize for the transgression. No need to come up with an excuse, by the way. I know you weren't working."

"Perceptive as always," Volkner said after a pause.

"Nancy called you and woke you up as soon as we left the security room."

The Gym Leader nodded. Upon closer look, it was noticeable. The getup that looked like he'd just gotten out of bed, the barely open eyes, the slowness of his speech, the yawning and the subdued anger went beyond Volkner's usual laziness. He was tired.

And it was why Jasmine had lamented not going for that Gym Trainer's throat, whatever that meant in that context.

"She did," Volkner answered. "I know I've given you plenty of privileges, but you can't just do whatever you want, Jasmine. Do you realize how humiliating this would look for me if this came out? The last thing people want with Team Galactic running around is hearing that breaking into a Gym is this easy."

"Gyms don't have anything of importance beyond you," Jasmine countered. "All of the Gyms could be destroyed tomorrow and it wouldn't matter so long as the leader lived. The Porygon you made would delete all the important data, which is why you only have a bunch of kids guarding the place."

Volkner groaned, staring at the ceiling with his eyes closed. "It's not just about me, it's the kid too."

"I'm sorry," I spoke for the first time "I shouldn't—"

Volkner repeatedly snapped his fingers at me until I shut up. He was irritated with my mere presence here.

"She's starting to become a big name. Not only because she works closely with us, but because of her skill and her sponsor. This could have torpedoed her career, Jasmine. Training in a Gym Leader's arena before a battle is an unfair advantage, and that's not even counting the breaking and entering."

Jasmine sighed as she squatted. "Could have, could have, could have. And yet it will not. I don't work in hypotheticals, Volkner. Your government thinks her too important to incarcerate her, and you don't want to rustle any feathers or deal with the consequences of this. Plus, you've never been one to care that much about rules."

Volkner's lips went flat, and he tried to rebuke her, but he knew she was right.

"I apologize for breaking your trust, but her potential goes beyond mere badges or sponsors. I see it clearly, and she deserves all the tools I can give her."

"I'm taking away your keycard."

"That is fair," she said.

"How drunk are you? I thought you were doing better."

"Not much. Check the bottle."

Volkner lifted the vodka and saw that it hadn't been emptied much.

"Have you been going to your…" he stopped when he glanced at me. "Thing?"

For the first time since I'd met her, Jasmine hesitated when she spoke. She stood back up, her fingers fidgeting and her lips trembling slightly. She was like a child that had been caught hiding their report card, and I felt like it was a glimpse at who she'd once been.

"No?" She said in a meek voice. "But I only missed two meetings. Maybe three or four—"

"We'll talk about it later," Volkner said. He approached and wrapped her in his arms, kissing her forehead as he did so. "Sorry for not being there. Work's been a drag lately, and I was visiting Maylene too."

"Don't worry about it," she said.

"As for you," Volkner menacingly said when he turned back at me. "Your Electabuzz interests me, and I don't think children should be punished for the things adults rope them into. But, you still need to be punished in a way."

I bit my lip, bracing myself for the worst.

"Your assessment will start early," Volkner declared, all of his laziness and tiredness melting away, leaving way for the person that lay under: someone that lived for Pokemon battling. "Your Electabuzz will go against my Electrivire right now. Hit him three times with whatever attack and you'll win, even electric type moves. We won't strike back— or we will, but not in any serious manner. Electivire will focus on dodging and you'll have ten minutes to win."

"T—that's a punishment?" I stammered.

"Jasmine suggested the idea to me and I was going to do it after your Gym battle whenever your Electabuzz was ready so you would have had more time to prepare, but we're doing it now," Volkner said. "You can't refuse. Either you battle me right now, or you kiss Electabuzz's evolution goodbye. Don't misunderstand, though. This isn't a battle for your badge."

"I accept," I instantly said.

Volkner exhaled and reflexively shoved his hands in pockets that weren't there.

"Follow me to my office. I've got to get Electivire's Pokeball."

"Oh, uh, what about Jasmine?" I asked.

"Jasmine can wait here. It'll just be you and me," Volkner said. "Keep your Electabuzz here too."

Honey finally found his voice and protested, but I told him I'd be fine and to stick with Jasmine. Volkner motioned at me to follow, and I quickly scampered toward him while Jasmine mouthed an apology at me. She had probably genuinely expected for me to get off scot-free because she was dating Volkner. The Gym Leader let out a loud yawn as he stepped inside an elevator next to his waiting room. He pressed on the fourth floor and stared me down.

"So."

"So…?" I hesitantly muttered.

"How's the training with Jasmine going?" He asked.

"It's, um, it's going very well. Honey's been progressing leaps and bounds—"

"Good, good. I appreciate someone training an Electabuzz," he interrupted. Even when he was complimenting me, there was still lingering dislike in his voice, possibly due to what I'd done with Maylene. He had said he'd visited her recently too. "But about Jasmine. I heard that you brought her home drunk a few days ago… never mind, that was a week ago now. Thank you for that."

The elevator dinged, and Volkner's office was just in front of the doors. That was convenient when he needed to alternate between battling and paperwork, and that was probably why he'd battled Erin in what were obviously lounge clothes.

"Yeah. It was nothing."

"Jasmine's a great trainer, but don't let her string you along to whatever she wants," Volkner warned. "She's got a few problems. Her upbringing was rough, and it's pushed her toward certain ways… just watch out, alright?"

I silently nodded as Volkner emptied the vodka bottle in his trashcan, then grabbed a Pokeball from his desk. There were eight of them lined up in small, circular molds that fit them perfectly. He turned on the lights and then spoke into a big microphone next to the PC.

"Good evening, this is Volkner speaking. To all trainers on the night shift, there is going to be a battle happening. If there are any sudden noises or explosions, it is business as usual. Uh… Rika, would you bring one of the Kadabra downstairs to make a barrier? Thank you. And bring two battling microphones too."

"Thanks for hanging out with her though. She's drank less since she started training you," Volkner said. "We can head back down."

"Um, I actually have something to say really quick," I said. "My friend Lauren—"

"Ah, Craig's sister," Volkner said. "Magmar, right? Not much I can do about that other than send the footage of her battle to Flint. I'll try to nudge him in the right direction because I owe Craig a favor still."

I breathed a sigh of relief. By being tested now, I was kind of screwing Lauren over, but I had at least salvaged her an opportunity to evolve Mags.

Volkner spoke up again as he turned off the lights to his office and we entered the elevator.

"Flint's interested in her too," he said. "Only two people have a Magmar here, and Lauren's one of them. Can't guarantee anything, though, especially with how busy he is. Becoming an Elite Four member really sounds tiresome. So much work and so little battling… Arceus."

"Can I ask one last thing?"

"Shoot."

"My friend Erin Atwood—"

"Ah, the fidgety kid," Volkner spoke over me. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," I repeated. "I just wanted to thank you for battling her. She was over the moon about it."

The Gym Leader shrugged. "It was pure coincidence. I recognized her name and remembered that she was one of the people that couldn't take down fliers, so I figured I needed to test her."

"Well, she was very happy about it, and she's really passionate now, so thank you."

Jasmine was whispering some last-minute pointers to Honey when we walked back. Volkner swatted the air, motioning me away like I was some kind of pest so I could leave him to speak alone with his girlfriend. I didn't even try to eavesdrop. It would be a serious breach of trust and incredibly disrespectful with the chance I'd just been given.

"Nervous?" I asked Honey. There was still a way to go until we reached our side of the arena.

The electric type nodded, but he said he was determined to win no matter what. He asked me what strategy we'd employ given how strange this battle was going to be.

"It is strange. All we have to do is hit him three times and he won't seriously fight back— well, I say 'all' like it's going to be easy. It isn't."

The electric type agreed.

"Remember what Jasmine said? Your opponent is like an engine. The more the battle goes on for, the faster and more powerful Electivire gets until he… overheats, for lack of a better term. Us outlasting him is a pipe dream, so we have to go in quick and fast and hope to land our three hits before Electivire becomes unstoppable."

Honey grunted, saying that the Railgun attack wasn't advanced enough yet to hope to hit Electivire, but Radiant Leap would be useful.

"Yeah," I nodded. "And Discharge too. Attacks with a large area of effect that can maybe get to him and leave him no options to dodge."

We reached our side of the podium and kept talking strategy until a woman who must have been Rika entered the arena from behind me with a Kadabra in tow. Anger emanated from the psychic. He was pissed, and if I had to guess it was because he was working so late. The girl outfitted me with a microphone and did the same for Volkner after sprinting toward him to not waste any time. Honey quickly jumped into the arena before Kabadra could put up his barrier, landing with a loud thud.

And Volkner sent out his Electivire.

Electricity hummed around Electivire with each step he took. He dwarfed Honey's size, coming in at around eight feet tall. His two, red-tipped tails lashed out and whipped the ground, leaving behind scorched marks from all the electricity packed in them. Muscles bulged all over his body under his thick fur. Two red eyes looked right at us, alternating between me and Honey. Electivire was sizing us up, and he didn't like what he was seeing. We were weak.

"This isn't a normal battle, Electivire," Volkner started. He paused, sitting cross-legged on his podium. "Your only job is to dodge for ten minutes, but feel free to attack a little if you want. No electric type moves or electricity in general. No Protect. Rika, go ahead and start the battle."

No electricity, I thought. Did that mean no Motor Drive?

Electivire responded with a chortle, which sounded like an engine struggling to start. He thought us to be ants that he could crush. A fun way to pass the time at best. Honey whirled his arms around and began charging up electricity while Rika counted down. Even she was excited to see Electivire in action.

"Radiant Leap!" I immediately barked out.

There was a flash, and then Honey vanished, blurring forward with a trail of electricity behind him that burned the ground he walked on. Volkner didn't even bother ordering Electivire. The electric type answered our challenge with a jubilant scream and pushed a foot against the ground, creating a small crater where he had just stood.

"Discharge!" I yelled.

Electricity exploded out of Honey as soon as he was in range, but Electivire's eyes flashed—

And he Teleported out of range.

My eyes blinked, and I slowly realized what had just happened, but Honey was quick on his feet. He continued with Radiant Leap in a desperate attempt to reach and hit Electivire, but the electric type kept disappearing as soon as the attack got anywhere close. I'd known the Elekid line was capable of learning Teleport via TM along with the Magby line, but I hadn't studied Volkner's personal team at all. After all, I'd never expected to actually be in this situation.

Speaking of Volkner, he yawned while he was looking at his phone and Jasmine was silently rooting for me behind him. Honey snarled as he desperately tried to get a hand on Electivire, but his reaction speed was always just enough somehow, and he always dodged by a hair with Teleport as if he was challenging himself to do so. The electric type laughed as he hid behind a rock and Electabuzz broke it apart with a Cross Chop. Electivire tapped Honey on the shoulder, showing that he'd Teleported behind him, but he was gone before we could even strike back.

We had no dark type moves to work with to stop him.

"Railgun!" I ordered.

Electricity coiled around Honey, and the rocks from the destroyed spire began to float around him as they glimmered with electricity. Even though his hold on them was clumsy at best, Volkner's eyes widened slightly. Some bumped around each other, fell on the floor or were accidentally pushed outside of Electabuzz's orbit, but at least half of them stuck around. Honey grunted, crushing the rocks in smaller shards until they were mere pebbles and he rushed forward with Radiant Leap and carried them with him. His sheer speed made him drop some more, but it was fine.

"Push!" I yelled with all my might.

He'd noticed as I had that even though Electivire could Teleport, he was no psychic. His range was pitiful. Just enough to get out of Discharge's range if he really pushed himself. Long distances were too much for Electivire, even after probably having trained with the move for what was most likely years and he was too far away from any spires to take refuge there.

The electrified rocks burst outward all around Electabuzz, and Electivire grinned. His eyes flashed once and a thin barrier appeared around him. Honey bared his teeth and immediately sent out a Thunderbolt forward. It was a crisp ray of electricity with barely any energy wasted, and it barrelled toward Electivire with the electrified rocks.

The barrier stopped the Thunderbolt, but it weakened it enough for the barrage of electrified rocks to break through. The barrier shattered like glass and the pebbles slammed into Electivire's chest. Since we weren't great with the move yet, the damage had been a joke, but a hit was a hit. Volkner's Electivire was a true threat, but they had handicapped themselves so much that hitting them was actually possible.

Two more.

"Electric Swift!" I grinned.

Honey summoned a dozen stars, infusing them with electricity before he brought an arm forward and sent them flying toward his opponent. Electivire Teleported—

No, he wasn't Teleporting. He was just moving quickly. So quickly that I could barely track him save for the blur of yellow and dark fur. He was slower than with Teleporting, of course, but that didn't mean much considering he was faster than Honey was using Radiant Leap with no moves and no electricity. He easily outran the stars and led them to crash into one of the spires.

Yeah, that would have been too easy, but I thought I might have been able to catch him off-guard. Honey let loose another Thunderbolt that Electivire easily sidestepped, and then he rushed toward us immediately after.

"Discharge—"

Electivire blinked forward and placed his huge hand around Honey's face. He threw him in the air, and the Discharge only activated when Honey had been halfway to landing. He crashed into the ground, rolling until he reached the barrier. I was about to protest and say that he'd said he would only be dodging, but that hadn't been what Volkner had said. He had said no electric type moves and that all that was required of Electivire was to dodge.

Electivire had other ideas. He was having the time of his life.

Honey scrambled back to his feet, and I ordered him to gather enough rocks for Railgun again. He zipped toward one of the spires, his hands glowing with Cross Chop—

And Electivire reached it before he did, even with Radiant Leap and him not actively speeding himself up with electricity. This was his base speed. The Motor Drive ability that Jasmine had spoken to me about wasn't even in play.

Honey immediately unleashed a Discharge, but Electivire blinked behind the Spire to hide. Then, he Teleported back and threw Honey toward the center of the arena. Honey grunted in frustration as he landed face-first into the ground. Red dust from the shattered rocks clung to his fur like glue.

"Just Thunderbolt the ground!" I ordered.

He executed it before he had even stood up. The electric energy broke the ground apart, creating shards of rocks that levitated around Honey. The electric type grunted as he stood, then rushed toward Electivire with Radiant Leap.

"Don't use them yet!" I yelled. "He can just hide behind the spire. Break it apart with another Thunderbolt!"

Since Volkner had said no electricity, he'd be forced to dodge the attack and let us destroy the small spire. If he had a non-electric type move to counter us or used his half-baked barrier, then we'd just move on and destroy every single rock formation he could hide behind. This would just be a distraction.

My theory materialized when Electivire stomped a foot against the ground with gleaming eyes and another barrier appeared. Since they weren't the most defensively-minded battlers, their barrier was actually quite terrible. Worse than Princess' or the other psychics I had seen. It was comforting in a way to see such a powerful Pokemon still have holes and flaws. The barrier struggled against the Thunderbolt, but it didn't break through.

"Thunderbolt every other spire," I said. "Use Railgun or Discharge if he approaches."

Electricity instantly shot out toward all of the rocks jutting out of the ground, and Electivire simply observed with the same grin it had sported the entire battle. He was using the last remaining stone as an anchor, and he would never abandon it, because if he did the same tactic of combining Railgun and Thunderbolt would break through his barrier. I leaned against my knees and contained a smile.

"Radiant Leap back."

Honey spun, turning in less than a second, and he blurred back until I signaled him to stop. This distance… was perfect. If one attack could break through the barrier on its own, it was this.

"Thunder everywhere," I ordered.

Electabuzz whirled his arms, gathering so much electricity that he lost control of the rocks orbiting him. He charged it faster than before, and more energy crackled through him and caused his fur to stand on edge. Honey let loose the massive Thunder, and it looked more like a Discharge than anything else. Electricity flew everywhere, lashing out against the world.

A focused Thunder would have dealt more damage, but all we needed was a hit. Electivire put both of his hands up and the screen shimmered and cracked under Thunder's weight.

"Keep it going!" I yelled.

It would tire him out, but we needed to force the barrier to break. After six seconds of struggle, it finally did. The electricity singed Electivire's fur, but another electric type would feel very little from an electric type attack, especially at our power disparity. The spire had broken down, and Electivire had nowhere else to hide from Swift. All he had left was his psychic barriers.

One more hit.

"Electric Swift," I continued as sweat dripped into my eyes.

More stars barrelled toward Electivire, whose smile widened as he waited until the last second to sidestep Swift. He rushed toward Honey, who quickly countered with a Thunderbolt. Electivire blinked to the left, easily avoiding the move. The Swift slowly drifted back and began to chase down Electivire.

"Discharge! Keep him away!" I yelled.

I almost celebrated when the electricity engulfed Electivire, but bit my lip when I realized that he'd simply plunged inside Discharge with a barrier surrounding him. He clasped Honey's throat and threw him up in the air. Before Electabuzz could land, Electivire kicked him toward his own Swift. The stars rammed into him, and he groaned in pain while he tumbled into the sharp rocks.

"Thunder again!" I quickly said.

Honey got up, pushing a hand against his knee as he gasped for air, but Electivire blinked forward, leaping across the floor and grabbing a handful of rocks across the way. He threw it at Honey at full force, knocking the electric type back and knocking him off his feet and back on the ground. The rocks shattered against Honey and blood started seeping out of his shoulders, torso and legs, but he didn't stop. The Thunder hummed and exploded out of Honey thanks to all of our training, destroying everything around him. Electivire narrowly backstepped and jumped to get out of the attack's range. As Jasmine had warned, an unfocused Thunder was not only not as powerful, but the range was also a lot worse.

I was fighting for my life here and Volkner wasn't even looking at me. He was speaking to Jasmine instead and had deactivated his microphone.

Look at me! I internally screamed.

If we wanted to win, we'd need to combine everything we had at our disposal. I didn't know how much time was left, but I was certain at least five minutes had passed by now. Honey gasped for air as he awaited my next command, and my eyes narrowed toward the grinning Electivire.

He had speed, Teleportation and barriers to avoid getting hit, although he'd largely stopped Teleporting and was mostly just running quickly now. Throwing rocks or throwing Honey himself was a way for him to reset the tempo in his favor.

"Swift," I muttered.

Bait him into either being forced to run or gunning for Honey to use him as a shield. Of course, he had his barrier too, but I had noticed that Electivire was having fun here. He wasn't fighting optimally, even by barely using any moves. I supposed that the restrictive parameters of the fight were something new for him and it'd be unfair if he didn't give us at least a chance.

Honey lifted an arm, and fifteen stars shot out toward the electric type all at once. Electivire let out a gleeful, engine-like laugh and ran forward. I waited for a single second, and he had already closed half of the distance.

"Give me a constant Thunderbolt!" I said.

Electricity crackled through Honey's fur and rose toward his hands until it flew at Electivire, who simply side-stepped to the left. Electabuzz tracked him with the attack, and Electivire kept circling around him, sliding under or jumping over the Thunderbolt when needed.

"Railgun!"

Nearby stones shook against the ground until they rose and flew toward Electivire in an attempt to cut him off. We finally forced him to put his barrier up, and the rocks simply slammed against it. Electivire suddenly cut in and beelined toward Honey, having decided that he was done playing around. Perfect. Now I could finally reveal our trump card—

"Screech!" I snapped.

Electabuzz gasped, his chest doubling in size until he bellowed it all out. Electivire squinted, and his barrier faltered. I didn't even have to speak. Honey immediately used Thundershock so the attack could come out as fast as possible.

My heart sank when one of Electivire's tails instantly wrapped around Honey's ankle. At first, I'd thought the contact itself meant that he'd been electrocuted, but the outer, black part of Electivire's tail was apparently made of some kind of insulating material because even when Honey's Thundershock turned into a Thunderbolt, it had no effect on the electric type. I quickly ordered him to use Discharge, but his electric type attacks were all being channeled inside of Electivire's tail.

Not a move, I thought through gritted teeth. Just biology. Electivire's tails were longer than they looked, and Honey was out of range of any punching moves.

"Screech then Swift!"

As soon as Electivire heard Screech come out of my mouth, he slammed Honey against the ground like a rag and then threw him back again. Somehow, his tail threw harder than his arms and Honey slammed against Volkner's side of the barrier. He struggled back to his feet with ragged breaths, and erratic sparks of electricity danced through his fur.

Electivire didn't stop there, however. His muscles bulged as he threw rocks with both his hands and tails. Honey put up a Protect, and the green barrier shimmered as he slowly trudged forward. All of his Radiant Leaps and Thunders had tired him out. Only Angel would still be able to keep going at this point, and yet Honey was still standing.

But what else did we have in the cards? Static Shield wasn't ready yet, and I wasn't sure it would even constitute a win.

"Thunder," I muttered.

It was a gamble. Everything else had failed, and this was the last hope that we had. A focused Thunder that'd be able to catch him off-guard. All of our Thunders so far had been unfocused. The kind that Jasmine hated. They struck in a wide range, but they were slow enough for Electivire to react and step away. He hadn't seen our quick, focused attack yet. It was faster than the other and I hoped that it would be enough. Honey let out a few raspy breaths as electricity coiled around his arms. Electivire snorted, opting to run in again.

Good. The only way this would work was if we were underestimated.

Stones rose and fell around Honey's feet, and he let out a defiant roar before unleashing the Thunder. The electricity rushed toward Electivire in a straight line faster than what he'd gotten used to.

The electric type's eyes widened, and he…

He sidestepped and barely dodged. It was so close that Electivire's hair puffed up.

Honey was already unconscious, with no way to keep going. I bit my lip and recalled him, and satisfaction radiated out of Electivire. He had a lot of fun with this battle, and he let Volkner know vocally, yelling so loudly that my eardrums shook.

I clenched my Pokeball and sighed.

It had been so close. So, so close.

Volkner motioned me to come back, and I followed suit, dragging my feet across the ground as I did so. Extra training might have made the difference in that fight, either through Railgun being stronger, Thunder being faster or Honey being able to last longer in battle. As it stood, I would have an easier time in the Gym Battle thanks to Honey experimenting with the rocks here, but that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

"You lost," Volkner declared.

"I did," I said.

He paused, looking to Jasmine and then frowning. "You're not going to ask me for another chance?"

"A deal is a deal," I said. "I feel terrible about it, but you can't change it after it's been forged. I'll be… I'll be okay, I think."

"Jasmine, show her to the door," Volkner said, waving a hand as he recalled Electivire. "I'll wait for you so we can talk about your stuff."

Jasmine nodded and pushed me forward. We walked in silence toward the lobby, and then outside the Gym. It felt a lot colder than it had been an hour earlier despite me knowing that it wasn't the case.

"Grace," Jasmine said. "I'm sorry for putting you through this. You know, I'm an alcoholic."

The declaration came out of nowhere, and I turned toward her. I had suspected it, but she hadn't drunk since starting to train me until tonight, so I thought that I was just being paranoid.

"I've tried to swear off alcohol, but I can't," she said with a sad smile. "Every time I walk near a bar or a restaurant, every time I see someone else drinking, it gives me to urge to do it too. I've never gone longer than a week and a half without drinking. It was my escape. It still is. Even Metagross say it's impossible to keep a bottle away from me, and trust me they've tried."

"I'm… sorry about that. I was wondering if you were or not," I said.

"I met Volkner at a support group meeting for addicts, actually," Jasmine said, leaning against the Gym's steel walls. "I was hoping to use this vacation to rid myself of my addiction. There was never enough time with my work."

"He's an addict?" I asked, not hiding the sheer shock in my tone.

"No, he used to be one. Smoking addiction," Jasmine said. "He was giving the meeting to help others. At first, I thought it was Sinnoh's way of spying on me, but he was just a genuinely good guy. He's my rock, you know. He keeps me grounded at my worst. I was making progress again, but I relapsed today… and I made you do this."

I nodded. "What's done is done. I still appreciate all your help. Honey would be nowhere near as strong as he was without you, and there are other ways I can have him evolve."

Although begging Cynthia for help would not make me happy, and Honey would be extremely disappointed in himself.

"It's not over, Grace," Jasmine said.

I stared at her, and for a second, it was as if she glimmered in the moonlight.

"Volkner never expected you to even land a single hit, let alone two," she said. "You actually managed to get him to run out of Teleports and showcased Railgun extremely well, even though it's still barely useable as it is right now. He was impressed. I convinced him to give you another chance during your Gym Battle. That means yours will be a four-on-four with Electabuzz vs Electivire as the final act if you agree. Even if you win the four-on-four Volkner won't give you your badge if you lose the last fight. It'll be the same parameters, except he upped the ante. Four hits instead of three. Will you take up the challenge?"

I beamed. "Yes! Yes, we will!"

"Good. My heart feels like lead no longer," she smiled. "Go on, now. We've kept your girlfriend waiting long enough. I'll give you some pointers in two days if you're willing to take them. I'm going to be busy with Volkner tomorrow. He's probably going to take the entire day off to make sure I get to my support group."

"I am interested," I said. "If I win the battle and you go to your meetings, you'll be forgiven."

Jasmine chuckled. "Good. I was beginning to think that you'd forgiven me already, and that wouldn't do."

"Well, you said it, right? Don't let powerful people walk all over me," I shrugged. "If I catch you drinking again, I'm snitching to Volkner and never seeing you again, by the way. I know you like me."

"Going for the throat, are you?" Jasmine grinned.

"Good night, Jasmine," I said after a short smile.

No matter what region you came from or how invincible or put-together someone seemed at first glance, humans were still vulnerable and flawed. All of them.

Another chance had been provided for me, and I wasn't going to squander it. We were close. All we needed was to iron things out, and a win would be possible even if it took four hits instead of three. I hopped on one of the nighttime buses and made my way back to the Center, handing Honey's ball to a tired Nurse Joy. Even though Electivire had barely fought, Honey had still fainted. The power disparity there was still mind-boggling. Had he used Motor Drive, he would have been impossible to hit.

I slowly opened the door to Cece's room and saw that she was scribbling on one of the notebooks I'd given her with her hair was tied back, exposing her neck. When she heard me come in, she turned toward me and beamed and shot up. Slowking was sitting in his usual corner and snoring while he slept.

"You're not sleeping?" I asked. "It's one in the morning."

"I was coming up with some custom move ideas and waiting for you to come back," she said. "How did training go?"

"Good and bad," I slowly muttered as I shuffled toward her.

My hands wrapped around Cece as I closed my eyes and she responded in kind, not minding how sweaty I was at all. She gently ran her hands through my hair. I probably needed another haircut soon with how long it was getting again.

"What's wrong?" She whispered.

"I'm recharging," I said.

I stayed there, hugging her and nuzzling my head in her neck for a good five minutes before I went and showered. When I came back in my pajamas, she was back to writing on her notebook. I stepped behind her and placed my arms around her neck, and she affectionately grabbed my right arm and caressed it. She'd written a bunch of moves for all of her Pokemon, but none for Zweilous.

"No love for Sol and Zerst?" I asked.

"They're too unfocused for the concepts I came up with," she shook her head. "When they're a Hydreigon, I'll try."

My eyes glanced over a name that caught my attention.

"Requiem?" I muttered.

"It's an idea for Lehmhart. A constant song that makes enemies take damage. Sort of like Sandstorm or Hail," Cece said. "Ideally, we'd reach a point where we'd be able to knock out low-leveled Pokemon en masse with the move while I stuck behind Slowking's barrier, which will absorb the TE while I only hear the song."

The fact that she'd also be able to kill non-protected humans in huge numbers with this was left unsaid between us, but it was understood.

"Woah. Tying it with his love for music is really cool, I'm sure he'll love it," I smiled. "Uh, I have to tell you about something important. Don't panic, okay? Everything worked out in the end, even though it almost didn't and it was a terrible idea to begin with."

"Now you're worrying me."

I explained how Jasmine broke me into the Gym and everything that transpired there, and she stayed frozen the entire time, only contributing through groans and sighs that progressively got more pronounced as the story progressed.

"So yeah," I said. "That almost went terribly."

"Why would you even agree to this in the first place?" Cece scolded. Her voice was level, but stern.

"Well, I'm going to be honest, I thought Jasmine would manage to get Volkner to ease off— and I mean, she did, but there were consequences, I guess. I don't know. I guess she's great at battling, but her addiction is screwing her decision-making in every other facet of her life."

"Yes, that's how addiction works. You need to call me before doing this stuff," she sighed. "What if Volkner hadn't given you another chance? If he'd reported that you had broken in? Hell, what if a Gym Trainer smells blood in the water, goes against his orders and leaks it to the press? We're so elusive that they would just love some controversy, Grace."

"Yeah… my bad."

Cece exhaled. "I can't stay mad at you for long, but you almost flew too close to the sun tonight. You need to think about these things."

"Yeah…" I said again.

"Go to sleep, Grace," she said after a pause. "I'll finish up here and join you in a bit. I still don't know how you can sleep with the lights on— what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh. Yeah, uh, I'll go to sleep," I muttered. "I'm exhausted. I'll tell the rest of my team about this when I wake up."

"Then let's sleep in tomorrow!" She cheerfully said. "I'll wake up first and bring you breakfast in bed."

I got into the bed and sneakily watched her ticks as she thought up of concepts for moves. Tapping her pen against her lips, staring at the ceiling, that muted, excited squeal she did every time she got a good idea in order not to wake me or Slowking up. The little things that made her, her.

It was always the little things, wasn't it?

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M

 

[lianakranj]

Love the chap, thanks for posting

 

[Chewy]

That part at the end was adorable and also very true. It's the little things that make you fall in love

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 231

I picked up Honey from the nurses the next afternoon because I'd stayed in Cece's bed the entire morning. She had not lied when she'd said that we would sleep in, but the truth was, it felt nice to catch up on some sleep and cuddle with her. I figured I would go train with her and Lauren later since Jasmine would be busy today. Hopefully it'd be the start of her alcoholism getting better. Last night still felt like a dream to me, but what I vividly remembered was Volkner's love for Jasmine. It was real. I was sure he would take care of her today, Gym duties be damned.

But before training, I had to catch my family up to speed on yesterday's events. With how everyone but Sunshine was still growing, it was starting to get very crowded in my Pokemon Center room even if fitting them all in was still possible, so I'd gone to the beach again. Buddy had told me during one of our talks that Jellicent grew their entire lives at an extremely slow rate, so his was negligible and he could resize himself to whatever he desired anyway so long as it was reasonable. According to him, there were some truly gargantuan Jellicent in the depths of the ocean that only came up to the surface to hunt, but he had never seen one of those sizes himself.

I released Honey last, and his head hang low and he apologized to me right away for losing. Needless to say, everyone demanded to know what had gone on last night, and although I was about to answer, Honey took over and explained everything himself. My Pokemon either weren't familiar with human rules or in Sunshine's case just didn't care, so they didn't see anything wrong with me breaking in. What they cared the most about was the battle, obviously.

Sweetheart clamored to Honey's left and her cocoon rattled as she demanded to know exactly how strong Electivire was while Sunshine sneakily listened from a few feet away, hiding his curiosity. Angel patted Honey's back with a few vines, but couldn't stop himself from wrapping more and more around him until he squeezed the electric type into a hug to cheer him up. Buddy was more silent, offering a comforting gaze and asking Honey if he wanted to prank him to feel better.

Honey finally laughed, saying that that wasn't how pranks even worked.

And of course, Princess offered to maim Electivire. She did not enjoy Honey recounting how much the electric type had laughed or mocked him during the fight. I hadn't understood Electivire's words since it was my first time meeting him, only felt the emotions radiating off of him, but he was apparently a devious trash talker that had tried to provoke Honey on numerous occasions. Thankfully the bait hadn't worked and Honey stayed cool-headed. It was interesting to see the contrast between Volkner's behavior and his starter's. Princess and I were very similar.

I had tried at least five times to get a word in to assuage Honey's worries, and I only managed to get everyone's attention by clapping my hands.

"We might have lost, but Jasmine negotiated another chance for us," I announced. Honey's eyes widened with a mix of disbelief and hope. "It'll be right after our Gym Battle. I still need to figure out if it'll be in public, and if it is, if the arena will be reset."

Honey screamed for joy, and Princess tackled him with a hug saying that she'd keep Electivire alive since he needed to be there for her brother's battle. Sweetheart demanded to be included in the hug too, and Angel dragged the entire team together in one big pile— including me and Sunshine, much to the dragon's displeasure. I heard him whisper 'children' to himself, but the barest hint of a smile was on his face. The different skin textures felt odd on my skin. Princess and Honey's thin fur, Buddy's liquid-like skin (he barely had a form from being squeezed down the middle), Angel's smooth vines, and Sunshine and Sweetheart's rough scales.

When he released us, I placed a hand on my chin and tapped a foot on the ground. I wanted the fight to be public for the simple reason that it'd look good for me, win or lose. I had almost created a PR disaster for the Poketch Company, but this was an opportunity. Even if Electivire held back, Volkner was still the second-strongest Gym Leader and was consistently compared to the Elite Four even though he was demonstrably weaker than them. Some people insisted that he was overrated when compared to someone with Byron's experience and that he was actually the third strongest, but that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Any kind of battle with his starter would be a boon for what the Poketch Company thought of me. If I lost— and I wasn't entertaining losing, but if I did, then it wouldn't reflect badly on me at all. After all, who expected the girl with five badges to win that battle?

But if I won, beyond getting Honey to evolve, I would create another splash, and the Poketch Company loved when I was on the news.

I would text Jasmine asking for the details of the battle tomorrow. Right now, she needed to focus on more important things.

"Let's start planning," I declared.

Honey answered with a firm nod, and I could feel the determination bleeding off of him. Beyond his loss, he'd gotten a taste of what awaited him beyond this form and was hungry for more. I was certain that part of him even wished he'd seen Electivire at his full strength, but that battle would be decided before it had even begun. There was still a huge gap to close before we could even hope to win that fight. An evolution was a shortcut, but it wasn't the end of it all.

"What went wrong yesterday?" I asked.

It was tough to do my usual autopsy when there was no video available. Seeing myself battle in the third person always did wonders when spotting mistakes and improving upon them. Sweetheart chimed in, but Buddy gently told her to stay silent to let me focus and reminded her that she hadn't been there.

"It's not really a matter of what went wrong but what we can improve upon and what worked," I muttered. "Electivire will know our tricks next time, but do you know what a Gym Leader and their Pokemon's biggest weakness is?"

Honey stared around, hoping for someone to answer. Princess opened her mouth—

"Princess! No cheating," I said. "Just give it a try, Hon."

The fairy type let out a sad chirp and apologized to Honey. The electric type answered with overconfidence.

"No," I said. "Although Electivire will definitely be coming into that second battle underestimating us. The answer is stagnation. Once someone becomes a Gym Leader, they won't have much time to train with their personal teams beyond occasionally using them against powerful trainers that challenge them each year. Maybe they make them train on their own, but that's it. You become a Gym Leader, and you settle. You sacrifice progress to take care of your community and foster the growth of future trainers."

I paused, wondering if any of the current Gym Leaders beyond Fantina ever regretted that decision deep down. Even outside of Sinnoh, this problem still applied.

"Electivire will still be the same when we face him, but we will not," I said. "We'll be stronger."

Honey's mouth stretched into a toothy grin and I could tell that had fired him up.

"The three things that worked were— actually, let me get my laptop open for this," I said, grabbing the device from my backpack. Angel reflexively made a bed of vines for me to sit on so I couldn't get sand all over my clothes and I started to type. "The two things that worked perfectly were Thunder and Radiant Leap. Thunder breaks through Electivire's barrier instantly and Radiant Leap allows you to keep up with him, even if that's temporary— guys come sit. Reading lessons."

Sweetheart groaned at that, but she crawled at my side while Princess floated above my shoulder. Angel was already behind me and Buddy made himself as small as possible so he could fit. Honey sat to my right, while Sunshine lay in the sand with an open eye to listen to my strategizing.

"Pay attention to the letters," I said. "Buddy, pop quiz! What's that word!" I yelled, pointing to 'barrier'.

The water type hesitated, but he answered with the correct word.

"Good job," I smiled, rubbing whatever the hell he was. Some kind of squiggly star with his two red eyes piercing his pale blue skin. "Moving on, the thing that didn't work that well, but will work if we work on them enough. Discharge, Screech and Railgun. Discharge is an excellent zoning tool that can reset the tempo. Swift works for zoning too, but no need to work on it. I'd rather focus on other things."

Honey winced, probably remembering when he got kicked into his own Electric Swift. He had avoided that part of the story when telling his siblings about it, so I decided to keep silent not to embarrass him.

"Discharge can always come out faster, but if we train Railgun enough, it will be powerful enough to break through Electivire's shield on its own, and we can use it like Princess' shrapnel. Smaller, focused projectiles or beams of energy break through psychic barriers easier than wide attacks like Discharge."

The fairy nodded proudly nodded since she was the one that had helped Honey work on the concept for that attack.

"Screech is self-explanatory. No matter how strong Electivire is, he still has ears, but the problem is that he'll know to expect it now. Plus, none of that will be enough. The issues with Electivire are his speed and Teleportation," I started. "But thankfully it looks like even he has limits. He stopped using the move midway through the battle, and even Jasmine said as much while you were unconscious. The best strategy here would be to bait out as many Teleports as we can at the start until he runs out, and then we can start going in for real."

I stopped, at my hands hovered over my keyboard.

"Of course, we can always get a little bit innovative and refute that entirely," I grinned. "Go in while they least expect. That means countering Teleport in some way… you don't learn dark moves naturally and I can't spend anything on a TM right now, so I'll keep a tab on that for now. If I manage to figure something out, we can catch them off-guard, because that's how we win this. Both hits we got, we did because Electivire hadn't anticipated them. Next up, Static Shield."

Honey's fur stood on end, along with my hair and Princess' own fur as he reflexively charged up electricity until Buddy called out.

"We'll have to wait for Jasmine and Amphy to keep helping us with that one, but we'd need a more advanced version of the technique. Something strong enough to count as a hit and that would stop Electivire from actually touching you with anything other than his conductive tails."

That meant that the move needed not only to paralyze opponents that physically hit Honey, but to have electricity automatically jump at nearby Pokemon. My Pokemon all nodded, and I finished up my mini-report. It would have been ten times the length had I gotten footage of the battle, but we were done for now.

"So, Hon. While I train with Lauren and Cece, I want you to prioritize Railgun first and Discharge second. Tomorrow when we're with Jasmine again, we'll focus on Static Shield. That okay with you? Anyone else want to chime in with an idea?"

Aside from a few well-meaning but terrible suggestions from Angel and Sweetheart, no one had anything to say.

"Well then, let's get back to the Center. Now, now, Sweetie you'll get to swim later. You've got to work on Earthbreaker!"

—

Training went well for the next few hours. I mainly focused on getting Angel familiarized with Solar Beam against Lauren's Sceptile, since the grass type would be resistant to the attack. Even with all of our experience and strength, it was still only slightly smaller than the Solar Beam Gardenia's Sunflora had used against me, but then again, she had Solar Power, Growth, and a mastery of Sunny Day we still couldn't match to this day.

Lauren was delighted when I told her that Volkner was going to send the video of her battle to Flint. I skirted around the detail of what happened last night and only told her that Jasmine had helped, which was a twisted version of the truth. I knew Cece would breathe easier because of it. Speaking of Cece, Lehmhart was a real menace in battle and had won the first battle against Lauren's Seismitoad and nearly won the second, although Seismitoad wasn't used to fighting such a large Pokemon. Thirteen feet tall was nothing to scoff at, and it meant that her Muddy Water was useless at sweeping Lehmhart away. Volis had fared better, since he was so quick on his feet Lehmhart couldn't fight back that well, but the collateral damage from his Hammer Arms and Stomping Tantrums had severely damaged the Sceptile.

He'd fought Rhydon too, although the rock type had won thanks to his advanced strength. The fact that the rest of our Pokemon were catching up to both him and Sunshine was undeniable, however.

Before we finished for the day and left, however, I wanted to test my mettle against the ground type with Buddy. Cecilia stood opposite of me with Golurk already out in the field. Princess had fixed it up for what felt like the hundredth time. Slowking, who was tired from keeping up the barrier for so long, spoke into our minds and began the battle.

"Night Shade, then stay far away and Hydro Pump!" I yelled out.

Jellicent whistled sharply, and two shadows materialized by his side. Lehmhart's biggest weakness was how weak he was at a distance, but his size meant that it couldn't be easily exploited, especially when this arena was smaller than normal. Three thick pressurized jets of water flew out of Jellicent's mouth and his clones with a loud boom. Lehmhart lifted a hand, blocking one with his sheer mass, but the other two rammed into his tough exterior.

"Phantom Force and Thunder Punch!" Cece yelled.

Golurk disappeared into thin air, smoke evaporating from him until he slipped into another plane. The fact that something so large could just disappear like that was astonishing. The Hydro Pumps broke against the ground as if they were passing through the invisible Golurk, but I knew he was still getting hurt. Knowing that he could only be gone for around fifteen seconds at most, I waited for Lehmhart to reappear with bated breath…

And he did, dwarfing Buddy by a mile and with one of his fists wreathed in electricity. With surprising dexterity, he struck directly at Jellicent, but the water type narrowly dodged the attack and flew around his arm. The shades raged, denting Golurk's armor with a combined Hydro Pump.

"Aim for his knee," I ordered.

"Resonance!"

The Hydro Pump didn't stop. It simply slid down toward Lehmhart's leg, and Buddy added his own attack to the mix. Something within Lehmhart rumbled, and the sound of his engine bellowed erratically until it turned into a strange tune. A wave of ghostly energy exploded out of him and destroyed the shades in a single hit. Jellicent's body rippled, his eyes dimmed and he froze in place.

Cece's next order was obvious. A humongous Thunder Punch slammed against Buddy and sent him exploding everywhere. The shock from Buddy disassembling made him come to his senses and he quickly reformed.

"Stomping Tantrum," Cece continued.

Lehmhart jumped into the air, and the world held its breath. When he landed, the ground burst open and Buddy's fragments flew apart before most could reach the main body. The ones that did, however, reformed into a smaller, weaker version of himself. It would take a bit for him to gather everything again.

"The knee," I said again.

Night Shade was automatic to us now. Buddy formed two and sent another one crashing against Lehmhart for good measure, and a Hydro Pump washed against the ground type's knee. It was the thinnest and weakest part of his body. Golurk's knee buckled, slowing him down, and the ghost type leaned against Slowking's barrier for support. I smiled when we'd bought enough time for Jellicent to gather most of his body.

"Go in and Water Spout!"

Buddy screamed, propelling himself with Water Sport to rush toward Golurk's knee while his shades kept applying pressure—

"Phantom Force!"

And Golurk disappeared. Still, the attack went through. Water exploded out of every inch of Jellicent's head. Each jet was powerful enough to stab through steel, and the pain from the attack forced Golurk out of hiding. The ground type flickered in and out of reality and the water cut through his tough exterior.

Ideally, this was when Buddy would slip inside of his body and use Water Spout, but I didn't want to send Lehmhart to the Center for days.

"Hammer Arm," Cece said, crossing her arms.

Golurk lifted a glowing fist into the sky, slamming it against the ground with all of his might despite all of my attacks. The earth wept from the blow and Slowking's barrier shimmered as the psychic struggled to keep it intact. Shards of rock flew upward, destroyed the Night Shades and stabbed into Buddy.

This was the problem when facing Lehmhart. His evolution had taught him how to feel pain, but that didn't matter. He was too big and too strong for his simple attacks to be stopped.

"Resonance and Ice Punch!"

I clicked my tongue when mist coalesced around Golurk's fist next and formed into ice. The battlefield would be unnavigable to any Pokemon, but not him. He was just too big for it to even matter and stepped over faults or ridges like they were nothing. Lehmhart let out a pleasant hum as music played from his body, and another wave of shadowy energy passed through Jellicent. The effect was dimmed this time, but the water type still froze and Lehmhart's fist rammed into his face—

And froze him completely.

That was the disadvantage of being entirely made of water I supposed.

Cece breathed a sigh of relief. "My win?"

"Well, Buddy can barely move, so yes," I said, recalling the water type. "Lehmhart's a monster, huh?"

"His size is a blessing and a curse," she said as she recalled him. We both joined Lauren, who had been sitting next to Slowking and watching the fight. "In a real battle, I need to figure out a way to improve his defense. Something that will work multiple times, unlike Resonance. Iron Defense works for physical moves, but…"

"No one's crazy enough to fight Lehmhart up close except Volis," I said.

"He likes a challenge," Lauren grinned. "I'd like to say I could help with Lehmhart's moves, but I don't know enough about how he works yet."

"I'll figure it out," Cece said. "Let's call Mira so Alakazam can send us home."

It was no use wasting potions now that we were done with training since all of our Pokemon were going to go to the Pokemon Center.

"I'll have Princess fix the damage in the meantime. People use this path sometimes."

Cece raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. Denzel says that there are rumors about this spot going around because of how much we're using it. It might be best to switch it up tomorrow, even if I'm not here."

"Thanks for the heads up," Lauren said.

Princess groaned when she saw the state of the ground next to us, but she got to work and soon enough, we were back home.

—

Craig had left a few days prior, so Denzel's training had come to an end (and he was very cagey about anything he'd learned). That meant that we could hang out a lot more whenever he wasn't busy having his 'totally not a date' excursions with Emi. Of course, they weren't dating yet, but I knew from Sylveon they were trying, and that meant that they were spending a lot of time together, whether it be outside, streaming together or making videos together. Pauline wasn't jealous at all. In fact, she was encouraging this in very non-subtle ways.

The fact that I couldn't reveal this to Cecilia was annoying me. We told each other everything, but this wasn't my place. I did catch Sylveon giving me the stink-eye recently because I wasn't blowing up his trainer's nascent relationships.

Either way, it had been a while since I spent time with Denzel. He sipped on some boba tea while we walked Sunyshore's streets.

"Want to go ride the Ferris Wheel?" Denzel asked. "I went with Emi the other day, it was great."

"I'm saving it for later," I said. "For Cece."

"Ah, I get it," he said. "Let's just head back toward our Center for now, then. Are you sure you don't want any boba tea? It's really good."

"I'd have some if it didn't have those little… what even is that down at the bottom? Olives?"

Denzel nearly choked on his drink. "Olives? That's tapioca! Arceus, why would they put olives in this?"

I smirked. "I was joking, calm down. I'm not that oblivious, although I didn't know it was called tapioca. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something.

"This could either be really good or really bad," Denzel said.

"Have some faith, will you?" I said with a teasing smile. "You'll love it."

"Oh really? Are you finally going to use the gift I gave you and moderate one of my streams."

I stopped myself from grimacing. "Absolutely not. But it's even better, believe it or not— for you. For me, it might as well be the end of the world."

"Now you're just being dramatic. Spit it out."

"I need to come on one of your streams. The just chatting ones," I said. "Poketch Company obligation, I'm afraid."

My best friend's mouth opened agape, and he couldn't even find the words to respond.

"For real?" He stammered.

"Yes, for real," I said. "Then I wanted to ask if you could stream every single time I battled someone in our group—"

"I'm going to announce it right now so you can't back out," Denzel spoke over me. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and opened up his Chatter app. He typed faster with a single thumb that I did with both. "Can we do this tonight?"

"Tonight? Absolutely not! I need you to prepare me! I don't even know what you're going to be doing."

"Fine, tomorrow," he groaned. "Emi will want in on this to grow her channel too. We draw from the trainer community, but she draws from the coordinator community. With the three of us, we can probably get like… sixty-thousand viewers. That's huge for just chatting. Top of the category in Sinnoh."

"Blergh. Words."

"I need ideas on what to do… oh, I know! We'll start with a Q&A. You have no idea how many questions people have been dying to ask you. I'll make another Chatter post asking people for their questions with a hashtag— actually, I need to cooperate with Emi for this."

"You do you," I said. "I'll just be hoping for the best in my corner."

"No, no. That's not it. I want to ask you something, actually. Remember Goalducc42?"

I looked into the depths of my mind, but no answers came up.

"A username?" I said.

"He's a friend. The guy that did that awesome analysis before the Solaceon tournament—"

"Ah, I remember now! The guy that didn't know Buddy had Water Absorb!" I snickered.

"Well, that was your fault," he said. "Anyway, he's been wanting to interview Cecilia… he's kind of a superfan. I was wondering if we could combine both ideas and turn it into a massive stream. I'm sure he'll actually interview you both if given the chance. He has this neat idea for a podcast and I want to help him get his name out there for when he starts it. Plus, it's good practice."

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" I asked.

"Because she'll say no if it's anyone but you," Denzel said before clasping his hands together. "Come on, please. It'll be great, trust me!"

"I'll ask, I'll ask," I sighed. "Is that it?"

Denzel finished his boba tea as he nodded.

"I'm not looking forward to this," I sighed.

Honey wasn't the only one looking forward to an evolution. All of it was for the Shiny Stone.

"I've been telling you that you're too offline, this is going to be great," Denzel grinned.

—

"He told me to ask you because you'd say no if it wasn't me. It's tomorrow— theres' no time set up yet, but definitely at night so it can be after my training with Jasmine."

Cecilia chuckled as she lounged with her head on my lap. I'd only been in her room for five minutes and I'd already broken the subject.

"Well, he isn't wrong," she said with a hint of a smirk.

"Feel free to say no if you want."

"Well, in an ideal world, I would say no, but I've got to be up there with you."

"I can handle it. Crowds don't make me that nervous anymore," I said.

"Oh, it isn't about your anxiety," Cecilia said. "It's about stopping you from saying something stupid."

I scoffed and tried to rebuke her, but I came up empty.

"Hm?" She teasingly probed.

I grumbled, "You might be right, but you didn't have to point it out that harshly. Fine, I'll tell him you're in, but don't complain!"

I quickly texted Denzel, telling him that Cece had agreed.

"This Goalducc guy is your superfan, apparently. If I'm being honest, it's kind of weird. Denzel showed me a lot of his posts and he gushes about you a lot."

Cece pursed her lips. "Are you jealous?"

"Well, no… I just feel protective, that's all. But Denzel says he's a nice guy, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Aw. It would have been cute if you were jealous."

I don't know about that, I thought to myself.

I rolled my eyes, but then a question popped into my mind. "You know, I've never asked. Have you figured out of you're gay or bi?"

"No, actually. Before you and the others, I never knew anyone that well outside of Amy," Cecilia softly said. She raised a hand, cupping my cheek, and I felt the cold silver of her ring. "I've never had a crush or fallen in love with anyone else and I don't think I'll do so anyway."

"You know your way around with… words," I blushed. "Thanks."

Cecilia raised her head until her lips met mine, her hand still wrapped around my cheek. Her other one gently pushed me down until she was on top of me and she smiled, her hair draping down toward me.

"You're like the sun," she whispered.

Another kiss, more passionate this time, and—

Someone banged on the door, and I recognized Denzel's voice.

"Guys! Open up, it's time for stream prep! Emi's here too!"

Cece sighed, parting our lips. "I wish you had delayed the fact that I'd said yes."

"Yeah… my bad."

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 232

Denzel and Emilia came into the room with both of their laptops and immediately started setting up. For a second, I had to remind myself that this would just be for practice and not the real deal because of how serious they were. Cece observed them with her arms crossed and lingering frustration that both of them were too engrossed in their technical talk to figure out.

"Ok, so we'll have these act as our two monitors, and this is how it'll look the day of except we'll be live instead of offline," Denzel said, presenting both computers to us.

One of them had some sort of streaming program opened while the others had his chat open on one side and his channel open on the other where we would see our delayed selves. Even while he wasn't streaming, his chat was moving at a slow pace with people talking about tomorrow's event since he had already announced it on his socials. I wasn't good at any of this influencer stuff, but I did know for a fact that Denzel knew how to build up hype for an event.

"Two screens? Is that the norm?" Cece asked.

"It certainly makes things easier when you don't have to repeatedly tab out. Some people even have more, but that's hard when you're a trainer that's traveling," Emi said, turning to her. "What's wrong, by the way? You look disappointed and we haven't even started explaining."

"Oh, nothing," she sighed. "We were just busy."

Denzel hummed a tune as he typed to his chat. A flurry of activity began as soon as his message came out. "Emilia's been talking about this crazy nose-piercing idea—"

"Only you call it crazy," she said.

"I did say it'd look good on you," he defensively told her. "Anyway, moving on! Here's the plan. First, we do a Q&A with the chat. The questions will come from Chatter and will pop up that screen. We've been going through them and filtering out the troll ones, but do you have boundaries you don't want to cross?"

I smiled. "This reminds me of my first pre-interview training with Mel and the team. Uh, it should be fine, right? Isn't this just going to be Pokemon-related?"

Emilia snorted. "Oh, Grace. They want to know much more than that."

"Like what?"

"Like League-related things, personal stuff, politics…"

"Why don't we just scroll through them during the event and you can pick which ones you want to answer? That's a lot easier," Cece said.

Denzel worked his jaw from side to side. "It's a lot less professional than I'd like, but if that allows us to avoid the annoyance of filtering out questions with one day to work with, sure."

Emi picked up from where he left off. "The Q&A will last an hour and a half, but we'll be talking between ourselves during the stream too."

"Oh. Do we have to be, like, entertaining?" I asked. "I'm not great at that."

"You'll do just fine," Emilia said. "Plus, Denzel and I are good at making sure there are no lulls in the stream, so all you have to do is bounce off of us."

My best friend nodded, releasing his Lopunny into the room. The normal type was pissed for whatever reason, but her anger instantly subsided when he threw her a phone.

"You got her one?" I asked.

"The day she got back from the Center after her battle," he nodded. "My chat was quite mean to her for a while, but I shut it down as fast as I could."

"That's always the problem with battle streams," Emilia shrugged. "People always blame the Pokemon when ninety-nine percent of the time it's the trainer who screwed up. No offense, Denzel, I mean I don't understand anything about battling anyway."

"You're good," he said.

Lopunny quickly started typing something on her phone before turning it toward us, showing us the opened Notes application. I already knew what she'd said because she spoke while she typed, which was really cute, especially with how broken her grammar was compared to the words she actually meant to say.

They say I loose to ceiling. Fucking anoying. Kick them in the balls.

"Oh. She's got quite the mouth on her," Cece noticed.

"Uh, yeah as it turns out," Denzel embarrassingly scratched the back of his head. "She's been translating what my team says and they're all quite, uh, talkative. Swablu's the worst of them. She can't say a single sentence without swearing."

"I thought she was a baby?" I said.

"Yes, which makes it worse. Anyway, when she learns proper grammar, I can hook her up with a text-to-speech program and she'll be able to act as my interpreter. She's very excited about it. Right?" Denzel asked, turning toward her.

Lopunny answered with this.

Fuck you. Lovingly .

The delayed response made it extremely funny and we all found it hard not to laugh at it.

"Lopunny will be on the stream too, but she'll take on more of a passive, off-screen role," Denzel said. "I've been looking into recruiting mods that can actually moderate my chat, and she's one of them for better or worse."

Lopunny brooded as she typed, What do u maen worse?

"I mean that you're still learning not to be biased," he groaned. "Pauline will be another, and I've got five other people that will be there, so the chat should be slightly less toxic. Last time it didn't matter since you weren't looking at it, but this time it'll be in your face all the time, and since you're both not used to it, it can be grating at first."

"The brain likes to focus on the negative," Emilia added.

"Don't threaten anyone, I'm pretty sure that could get my channel banned," Denzel said.

"Psht. Come on, I wouldn't threaten someone out loud. I'd make sure I'd threaten them in a way where no one but they know I'm doing it, I can't ruin my reputation."

Cecilia nodded. "I'll be here to stop any mishaps. There's a face she makes before she feels like murdering something."

"Ah, yeah, that thing where she stops blinking and her breath slows," Denzel said. "You're better at spotting it than I am."

"The blinking just stops when she focuses, it doesn't always guarantee violent thoughts. The key is that her body is perfectly still. Like a painting."

"Did you guys speak about this behind my back?!" I stammered with a twinge of betrayal in my heart.

"Oh please, it's common knowledge. There's a blink counter meme about you, and it's not just in my chat. It's everywhere online," Denzel said. "People count how many times you blink during battles."

"I blink plenty."

Although my eyes did always feel dry after, I thought to myself.

"Any other memes about her?" Cece asked with a coy smirk.

"Oh, so now you're interested," I groaned, putting my hands up in defeat.

"The blinking one's the most well-known, but you also have stabbing coming at a close second," Emilia said. "Third is how hard it is to get a hold of you—"

She stopped herself and laughed.

"Actually…" she chuckled. "Denzel has this really funny meme about you saved on his phone—"

My eyes darted to Denzel, and his tall frame somehow shrunk as he shot Emilia a disbelieving gaze. Lopunny, who had already claimed a spot on Cecilia's bed, seemed to be enjoying every second of this.

"It's stupid," he said.

"Show me."

As soon as he had his phone out, I snatched it out of his hand. Cece leaned toward me to look, and she let out a hearty laugh. It was a blurry picture of me… somewhere in Solaceon. It took me a while to remember that it had been taken in that clearing I trained my team in for the tournament. The picture looked to have been blurred on purpose and had the text 'LEGENDARY POKEMON SPOTTED' in all caps and bolded impact font.

"Where's the joke? Seriously, that's not even funny," I mumbled.

"It straddles the line between horribly on the nose and hilarious," Emilia laughed. "And for some reason that makes it even funnier."

"Ha, ha," I mocked. I glanced back down at Denzel's phone and noticed some other memes on his camera roll. "Wait, he has other memes in there—"

"That's enough of that!" Denzel yelled, grabbing his phone back. I tried to grab it, but he extended his arm up in the air until he was out of reach.

"Do you have memes about all of us saved?" I scoffed after giving up.

"He sends them all to me," Emi said. "I'd say at least fifty percent of them are funny."

"You just don't appreciate humor like I do," he shook his head.

"Send all of the memes about Grace to me," Cece spoke to Emilia.

The chestnut-haired girl nodded, and before I could even protest, Denzel spoke over me.

"Let's get back to the topic at hand! We got way too side-tracked. One hour and a half of Q&A. Do you all follow me so far?"

"It's hard to follow with all of this off-topic stuff, could you go over it again?" Emilia teased.

"I'll just choose to ignore you. Next, we have an hour and a half long interview with Goalducc42— his real name is Andrew Melendez. He'll be joined by his friend Archive, who doesn't want his real name out there."

"So it's not just Goalducc now, but this Archive guy too?" I asked. "Every hour it seems like you add new stipulations to the stream."

"A one-hour-and-a-half interview seems ridiculously long," Cece muttered.

"Okay, I get it," Denzel sighed. "You guys don't like it. It's not really an interview, it'll take the form of a podcast. For this section of the stream, Emi and I won't be speaking most of the time. It'll just be you two, Andrew and Archive in a call while we'll be sitting on the bed and joining in to moderate and observe. So we have a three-hour stream, and it'll probably last around ten minutes longer if we're generous. Does tomorrow at nine in the evening work for you all? Because I already said it would be at nine and it would be really awkward to change it now."

"Nine sounds about right, but wait, what are they going to talk to us about? Don't we get a heads up for the questions, to like prepare?" I asked.

"What? No," Denzel said. "That'd be ridiculously inorganic and staged. That's not how this is going to work. If there's a question they ask or something they say that's off-limits, let them know on the spot."

"I liked my prep for my interview with SGNC better than this," I grumbled.

"Relax, it'll be fine. These are two people just as passionate with battling as we are even if they're not in the Circuit," he said. "Cece, does it work for you?"

"If I must."

"Oh, and we'll split the revenue for the stream between the four of us," Denzel said. "It won't be that much, but it'll still be substantial, I'd say. I feel like it'd be a bit unfair if I took it all since you two will be the stars of the show."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense," I muttered. "Anything else—"

"Yes!" Emilia yelled. "You're making a Chatter and a DailyTube account. Both of you."

"I'll be fine, but Grace won't be able to post anything without explicit approval from the Poketch Company anyway," Cece said.

"Same Poketch Company who would love to have her be more active online? It's not much, but just her having an account will make her follower count skyrocket even if she never posts anything and it stops people pretending to be you two dead in their tracks."

"People pretend to be us online?" I asked.

Emilia smiled, focusing on her phone for a few seconds before showing the screen back to me. She had typed the name 'Grace Pastel' in the search bar and there were around a hundred people with variations of my name. It was the same for Cece.

"Grace_Pastel1, _GracePastel, Grace-Pastel, xGracePastel— Arceus, what the hell?" I said, blinking at the screen.

"You're both famous enough to get verified, so this won't be a problem when you make an account," Denzel said.

"Some of these are just fan accounts too," Emilia added. "Not everyone's pretending to be you."

I clicked on the culprit with the most followers, who had nabbed the name GracePastelOfficial for themselves. They had twenty-two thousand followers, which according to Emilia wasn't much, but it was still astonishing that all of those people had been tricked into believing that person was me.

"Really enjoyed my battle with my friend Denzel_Williams. Now I'm on my way to get an apprenticeship with Jasmine! Maybe I'll go to Johto with her next year— why in the world did ten thousand people like this?" I scoffed in disbelief.

"Well, people were high off the end of our battle and were looking for any kind of news from you, so they all converged on this post. It probably got boosted by the algorithm too," Denzel said. "See what I mean, though? At least claiming your spot online is important."

I sighed, blowing a raspberry. "Yeah. Arceus, why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"I tried!"

Some more accounts that pretended to be me loved acting crazy too. Like, utterly unhinged, which I wasn't. Posting stuff about stabbing, saying that one day I'd snap and commit murder, and other things that made me cringe from the bottom of my heart. Thankfully as Emilia had said, most of the accounts were normal people that were simply my fans that had made fan accounts. Some of them posted news about me and what I was doing while others made montages of my battles. It felt odd to actually be face to face with their accounts. To this day, I had known I had fans but they were faceless and might as well have not existed save for the rare person that was brave enough to stop me on the street. I had Buddy or Princess out specifically to avoid those situations though, so that rarely happened. Denzel, meanwhile, couldn't go ten minutes without getting stopped.

"Should I put out a statement about it?" I said after making both of my accounts. I had already texted Melody about it, and she'd answered instantly with a thumbs-up emoji and said that this was great news. "To stop them from being weirdos?"

"No. The more attention you give it, the more people will do it," Cece said. "You're better off ignoring them."

"She's right," Emi nodded.

"I wish my fans were like yours."

Cecilia's fans looked sane in comparison. Sophisticated, friendly debates about her battles, tactics and Pokemon that reminded me of Denzel's early days before he had blown up. What was strange with Cece was that she was popular and yet her fanbase hadn't devolved into a mess. Of course, there was always the occasional nutjob, but that was a universal issue that plagued every famous person, trainer or otherwise.

"I mean, you do stab things a lot, and the fanbase often reflects the trainer—"

I glared at Denzel, and he innocently lifted his hands.

"I'm just saying…"

"It's not weird when I do it. Right?" I asked, turning toward Cece.

She wrapped an arm around me and kissed my cheek. "Absolutely not. It's very cute."

Emilia raised an eyebrow. "You guys are so weird."

Denzel and Emilia stayed for around an hour to tell us more about the stream, but the conversation often devolved into debates about online culture and fanbases. Denzel helped us ask for a verification checkmark and put us in contact with Goalducc and Archive. They didn't have much followers on Chatter, but he said they mainly focused on the forums, which he had told them was bad for growth if they wanted to do their podcast thing, so he was kind of acting as everyone's social media manager. Emilia kept stressing how abnormally nice he was being. Rare was an influencer of his size who still chatted and helped his fans so much. He even still answered his direct messages, although he had a horrible backlog that was growing by the day. She was quite famous in the coordinator side of the world, although less then we were, but her frequent collaborations with Denzel kept her growth steady and allowed her to act as a bridge between the two communities. And it made people start to talk.

They were together so much that there were rumors that they were dating. Of course, no one but me knew the truth.

Before they left, Lopunny asked to speak to me alone. Denzel found it strange, but he let her do so. Everyone left Cece's room, leaving me only with the normal type, who was still on my bed. Her relaxed, lounging pose was no more, however. She was tense, as if she had been preparing herself for this moment for a while now. She started to type on her phone, but I stopped her.

"You can just speak to me," I said. "What is it that they call you? Wench? That's really rude, honestly, I don't know how you deal with it."

Lopunny huffed, saying that she was proud of her name despite the negative connotations it had. I frequently heard her and the rest of Denzel's team speak with each other and it sometimes boggled my mind. Twig, Snake, Wench and Hog. Sylveon was no nickname, and I hadn't seen them speak with Swablu yet, but the fact that they liked these was still insane to me.

"So? What is it? You can always talk to me."

Lopunny took a deep breath and began speaking, first saying that Denzel had been too focused on the training they'd gotten from Craig and his… situation with Emilia and Pauline to notice the rot that was festering within.

Sylveon had tried to recruit her to destroy his relationship, and when she'd refused he called her a traitor and stopped speaking to her. Just like he had stopped speaking to me after I had the same reaction. He hadn't asked anyone but her, and Lopunny was sure than even Milotic wouldn't join in to help if asked, but this was creating a rift between her and the team because Sylveon kept her isolated from the others. At first, she was surprised that I even knew about this, but I explained that he'd done the same to me.

I bit my lip and exhaled, trying to find a way to put my thoughts into words.

"I have to tell this to Denzel," I said. "He has to speak to Sylveon. Didn't they already have a talk about this? In Hearthome?"

Lopunny didn't answer, instead saying that Sylveon had never expected Denzel to ever start potentially dating someone else, and he hated the idea of sharing. I knew fairy types were possessive and protective— hell, I felt it every day toward Cece even if I kept it deep within me, but if I let that side of me out, I knew I could turn into a horrible, controlling person. Princess was ready to kill and ask questions later if anyone ever threatened me, and Bella had put my friends through a trial to prove that they 'deserved' me.

But this went beyond that.

Lopunny continued, saying that Sylveon might have accepted one woman in Denzel's life, but the idea of dividing his time with two was too much for him to bear. She'd caught him crying on multiple occasions, hidden away from the rest of them. He was spiralling, and it was affecting his training too. New moves came slower to him than the others, and he wasn't as motivated as before.

"I can't imagine Sylvi crying…" I muttered with a twinge of sadness. It was hard not to think back to the little Eevee that I'd first met in Twinleaf. "We need to tell him about this now—"

The normal type furiously shook her head, her ears swaying wildly from side to side. She asked for one more chance to set things right. The next time they were all together, she would essentially stage an intervention with the entire team and reveal everything Sylveon had said.

"That can get ugly," I said. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She shrugged as sadness emanated from her. She said that they'd always been more independent than my team, and she wanted to try to fix things their way first. She also feared that Denzel would stop his experiments if he heard what Sylveon was feeling. The fairy type had kept everything hidden from Denzel perfectly so far. If it didn't work, then she would talk to me again and ask for my help. I asked her three times if she was certain, and she said yes.

Part of me felt like I was doing the wrong thing for listening to her, but Pokemon were individuals. Going behind her back when she had explicitly asked me not to would feel even worse. One thing was for sure, though, if the intervention went badly and Denzel needed to speak to Sylveon, then I would need to be there with them.

Denzel tried to ask me what the conversation had been all about, but I told him I couldn't say, and I told Cece the same thing despite wanting to tell them. One question sprung to mind, however. Why had Sylveon not done anything himself? I was happier because of it, but he kept asking others to do what he wanted instead of doing anything himself.

Not that there was anything he could do anyway—

Oh. Oh.

He had asked for Lopunny's help because she had a phone and was literate.

—

I found it easier to focus the next day despite having struggled to sleep last night. Sleep had cleared my mind and managed to make me a lot more positive than I'd been. At the core of his being, Sylveon wanted Denzel to be happy. If Lopunny could communicate that along with the fact that Denzel would always have time for him, then she would succeed.

Melody had sent me new terms and conditions for whatever I wanted to post. She had to run every single post by her team before it was approved, and only then would I be able to upload whatever I wanted. I was also surprised to see that Cece and my account was already verified, and the news of our arrival on Chatter had made the rounds. It was only morning, but I already had passed eighty-thousand followers and I was climbing quickly. Cece was slightly above that, at eighty-six thousand. Melody had me put some Poketch Company corporate speak in my bio. I looked up Craig's account for my own amusement and saw that he had six million followers. Even Cynthia had an account, although she only posted government-related stuff. She had fifteen million followers, which was almost half of Sinnoh's population. Chatter was mostly a Sinnoh-based platform, and other regions used their own social media that was mostly disconnected from it. Denzel? He had two hundred thousand.

I'd already gotten a bunch of direct messages, but I got tired of looking at them really soon when I read the third message asking me to stab them and the second asking me to meet in Sunyshore and the countless number of creepy messages and I set my direct messages to friends only.

Thankfully, my teacher arrived as soon as I had enough of looking at the website.

Jasmine had messaged me the exact time she would pick me up and came at eleven in the morning on the dot.

"Jasmine!" I smiled. "Did you go to your support group?"

"Pinky promise," she said. "Feel free to ask Volkner. It wasn't… well, I can't help but think that I'm not like them every time I go there, but I've finally acknowledged that I am. Now it's a matter of putting in the effort… Arceus, let's just go and train. The further I am from a city the better it'll be."

I felt a pang of pity for the Gym Leader. "Will you be fine when you get back?"

"I'm going to be honest, I might need you to drop me off at Volkner's Gym. I don't think I can be trusted alone, Grace."

"Okay. Well, I'm free until… eight thirty, so I'll stick around until Volkner's off his shift."

"It feels weird having a teenager babysit me, but thank you," she said. "I mean it."

Jasmine released Metagross, Teleporting us away and I started to tell her about needing more help for Static Shield. Before that, though, I asked her about the battle with Volkner, and she said the fight between Honey and Electivire would be in a public and would be right after the 4v4. That meant that the changes we'd made to the arena would stick.

The afternoon passed in a flash, and soon enough, evening came. When I arrived in Denzel's room, he had already set everything up, and Emilia and Pauline were there too, although the redhead wasn't in the shot and away from any microphone. Yes, they had bought large microphones specifically for this, and a fancy face cam was mounted on the desk. Four chairs that had no doubt been brought from our friends' rooms had been arranged around the desk. I shot Lopunny a knowing look, and she shook her head, signaling that an opportune moment hadn't come quite yet. She returned to typing something to Pauline, who guffawed at whatever she had said.

"How are your nerves?" Cece asked, grabbing one of my hands. "Good?"

"I'm good, don't worry about me," I said. "You're here."

"What about me?" Denzel joked.

"You're irrelevant," I teased back. It felt weird to joke around when Sylveon's plea was gnawing at me.

"Ouch. Well, it's 8:50pm. Let's start the stream— and by the way, please refrain from showing how in love you are on camera. No kissing."

"Obviously. Who do you take me for?" Cece scoffed.

"Someone who can't go five minutes without touching or kissing her girlfriend," Denzel said.

Cece was about to fire back, but she realized she'd kissed me and reflexively placed one of her hands around my waist as soon as she'd seen me. Her hand slipped away, causing Emilia to laugh, but Denzel gently shushed her so he could start his countdown.

"You really need a 'starting soon' screen," Pauline said from the back.

"I've already commissioned one, it's on the way. No talking, Pauline."

"I don't want to interact with the cesspool that is your chat anyway."

"Shh! Three, two, one, start!"

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M

 

[SailorOfMyVessel]

Stream chapter tomorrow!

I'm so excited, it's gonna be great

 

[Popoley224]

Surely Sylveon doesn't boil over in the middle of the stream

Clueless

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 233 - Debut

The atmosphere changed as Denzel clicked the 'GO LIVE' button. His and Emi's face seemed to shift, like they were more relaxed and natural somehow even though I knew for a fact that they were faking it— or at least performing for an audience. My body tensed, and I readjusted my sitting position, leaning back to appear more comfortable. The stream had just started and the viewcount was already above ten thousand and rising fast.

Denzel didn't exactly have a special introduction like I'd expected him to have. Even after all these months, I had seen him stream, but never actually seen him start one. He stayed silent for around ten seconds and then spoke.

"Hi guys. Emilia and I have finally managed to finagle Grace and Cece into a stream," he grinned. "Is the sound alright?"

I watched in awe as a flurry of agreements flooded the chat. It was like a hivemind, where a few repeating messages could cascade into a wall. Emilia and Denzel proceeded to explain the concept of the stream like they'd done for us for the viewers who had missed the announcement. Every time they spoke, their voices were upbeat. Not unnatural, but just slightly forced so they could be more entertaining.

"Okay guys," Emilia said, turning toward us. We were both sitting in the center and their chairs were flanking us. "Go ahead and introduce yourselves!"

"Grace Pastel. Pokemon Trainer."

"Good evening, I'm Cecilia."

"Come on, give it a little bit more energy before we jump in," she rolled her eyes. "Don't clam up. Here, if you had one thing you wanted to say to your fans watching the stream right now, what would it be?"

"Thank you for your support," Cece dipped her head. "I know I don't interact with the world as much as you would like, but I appreciate you."

Woah. That had been a lot more professional than what I had planned on saying. My mind scrambled for something to say as Denzel and Emi both turned toward me and the chat was filled with people awaiting my answer.

Of course, I memorized a few usernames of people who had trash-talked Cecilia while she spoke. They'd be swiftly dealt with after the stream.

"I think it's interesting to have different people rooting for all of us," I said. "Y'know, when I started all of this— this journey, the fact that I'd grow a following went completely over my head. It feels kind of surreal. But still, I'm a trainer first and foremost, so expect me to keep focusing inward. Denzel and Emilia are the group's influencers. We're just… people."

The chat flooded with hearts and other cute emotes, which I assumed people were spamming to support us. I let out the smallest sigh and my shoulders felt lighter.

"You saying we're not people?" Denzel joked.

"You know what I meant. We're normal, you're actually starting to be a celebrity," I said.

"Well, people here don't think you're normal," he shrugged. "Let's get into the questions. Originally this was just going to be a Q&A for Grace, but there'll be questions for Cecilia too. You won't believe what I had to go through to get her to agree to this stream…"

Denzel recounted our interaction, filling any dead air while Emilia scrolled on her Chatter page by using the hashtag Denzel had designated. I only caught a glimpse of the screen but those were a lot of questions that we wouldn't be able to answer. Through some nifty movements that I didn't understand, she put up Chatter on the stream and divided the stream between us and the website.

"So they're going to start answering questions now," Emilia said as soon as Denzel finished his story. It was like an unspoken signal had been given. They were completely in sync. "Feel free to pick and choose which ones you'd like."

"Oh? Does that mean we can just ignore them and scroll until the time passes?" Cecilia joked.

The community seemed to love that, spamming laughing Lopunny emotes. I had noticed a few others in the short time the stream had gone on. There was one for a happy Milotic, a disgusted Roserade, a disgusted Swablu, and a Sylveon with a heart, which was the one they'd used earlier.

"Look at you, getting into the spirit of the stream," Emi smiled. "Obviously no one can force you to answer things, but try to approach this in good faith."

"Fine," she said. "So… do we just go?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

Cecilia hummed as she scrolled down for a few seconds. A lot of these were actually appropriate because Emilia had sorted the page by the posts that had been liked the most, and it didn't take long for her to settle on a question.

"Do you like this one?" She asked, mousing over the post.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's cool. Plus the stream seems to like it."

Sotaisei

#DenzelQ&A Is there a particular reason why the both of you stay out of the limelight so much? All the information we get regarding you is basically crumbs, and I think that's a real shame considering the talent you both have. You could be building a brand like Denzel.

"Do you want to go first? I feel like we have somewhat similar reasons," I said.

"Sure. It's not like I avoid attention on purpose, I just don't care about it at all," Cece said. "I'm taking this year to grow as powerful as I can as fast as I can, and I don't think I'd be able to do that if I split my attention too much."

"Her attention's mine," I smirked. "And her team's, of course."

I could tell that she wanted to answer and keep flirting, but Denzel spoke before she could.

"Guys…" Denzel muttered.

"Sorry," I raised my hands. "Should I answer now?"

The stream seemed quite satisfied with Cece's answer, although I saw glimpses of people who thought she was making the wrong move. Personally, I knew her true intentions were to start pushing for fame once we made it to Unova proper and not Sinnoh, but she hadn't revealed her intention to leave next year yet. Denzel motioned at me to answer, and I did.

"I mean, I'm kind of similar. I put in one hundred percent of what I have in Pokemon training, which is why I don't really care for fame."

"But you actively avoid it, unlike Cece," Emilia chimed in.

"I mean, I kind of do. It just honestly seems overwhelming. I imagine that Pokemon training and hanging out with Pokemon in general is a lot more fun than doing meet and greets, streams, brand deals, negotiations… yeah, it's just a hassle. Except with the Poketch Company, who thankfully lets me be."

I knew I definitely had a team of employees watching my every move, so it wouldn't do any harm to gas them up a little bit. After a pause where I ignored some people calling me a sellout, I continued.

"I'm a sellout for focusing on Pokemon training? How does that make any sense?" I scoffed. "I genuinely mean it when I say I'm thankful to the Poketch Company for letting me do my own thing. I'll remember your usernames, by the way."

"Okay, well let's calm down. Don't let the voices of a few get a rise out of you. Most people are supportive," Denzel said.

"Denzel does do both, but that's a lot of work," Emilia nodded. "I sometimes wonder how he can fit all of it in a day. Anyway, I suppose we can move on to the next question. Grace, why don't you pick this time?"

"Uh, okay," I said.

I placed my hand on the mouse and scrolled until one question regarding Sunshine caught my eye. This one was addressed only to me, so I glanced at Cece to ask if that was fine. She answered with a discrete nod.

Ope7re

#DenzelQ&A Many people have been curious about your Turtonator. You've owned him for months, and we still haven't seen him in a battle since Zachary, so I was wondering if he plans on cooperating with you any time soon? We all know how difficult gaining the respect of a dragon is, especially one that's a lot stronger than your other Pokemon. Is the relationship awkward with your burns and all?

I had done more battles with Sunshine in Veilstone, but those had been in private with Poketch Company lawyers making our opponents sign an NDA because they hated when I lost in public. What was important to me was clearing up his reputation. A lot of trainers had been burned or scared away during his multiple days spent grieving in Mount Coronet.

"Sunshine's an angel. Kind of grumpy, but when he opens up to you, he's the sweetest dragon ever— what's this emote? Doubt?"

"It means what it says," Denzel awkwardly said. "It's kind of incredible that you say that— not to me, but to most people! Seeing someone that was harmed so much by a Pokemon and calling them sweet just a few months later is kind of insane."

"And something I'll never understand," Emilia agreed.

"Well it… it was hard, but he was having a hard time too. An even harder time," I said. "Everyone knows his trainer died. It was in the headlines. No one's going to be thinking straight after that. If I had to choose, I'd do it all over again to save him."

Cece placed a hand on mine for support.

"Um, regarding the battles, you can expect him to fight against Volkner, so stay tuned for that, but seriously, he's a great person. I'm proud of all the progress he's made and I love him."

"There you have it," Denzel said.

There was a lot of hype for my statement about the battle but none for Sunshine's emotional state. That was streaming, I supposed. I leaned back to hide my annoyance, leaving the mouse to Cece and while she scrolled, Denzel spoke up again.

"It's not uncommon to find trainers with scars anyway," he shrugged. "The rest of us in our group mostly got lucky. Louis has one on his left cheek, Lauren has that small burn on her leg, Cece has those scars on her leg and it took a long time for her to be able to walk again—"

He paused, realizing that the public technically did not know why her leg had been screwed up like it had. The chat jumped on the opportunity, begging for him to reveal what had happened. It was honestly scary how so many people could unify like this and ask the same thing. The chat felt like a living, breathing hive mind.

"That's for another time," Denzel said. "But yeah, the thing is, with people with scars like Grace or Carlos— people know Carlos, right?"

"With how many times he was with Mira, yes," Cecilia said, still leaning toward the computer.

"The thing with them is that they tend to… well, die and not survive. You know that picture of the plane with all of the Pokemon attacks on it that Kanto used to figure out where they needed to reinforce their planes during the war that's become sort of a meme, but it wasn't telling the full picture because of survivorship bias? That's why you don't often see trainers with huge scars like them."

"I get what you mean. Grace is a tough girl, though," Emilia said.

"I'll take that compliment."

"I found a question!" Cece said with a devilish grin.

keepca1m_

#DenzelQ&A This might look weird, but when did the both of you start dating? There was no announcement, and that tends to be the case when two famous trainers get together. With you two, you kind of just started with the PDA out of nowhere around Hearthome, although some people say it was earlier. Nice rings, by the way.

Denzel groaned. "Are you serious—"

"It's a question, is it not?" She interrupted. "You said we could pick and choose. I think that's appropriate, especially when we won't be able to during the interview."

He sighed but resigned to his fate.

"It was Mount Coronet. As most of you know, I was in a terrible headspace back then, but… my friends came to save me. They pulled me out of that dark place and I'm happier now than I've ever been. Grace had just told me she liked girls a few days prior in Eterna, and I realized right then and there that I loved her. I told her when we met again in the mountain's depths and kissed her there."

"Knowing Grace, she would still be bumbling around if you hadn't," Denzel shrugged. "Let it be known that I was their wingman."

"I mean, they were basically dating even before that. I wouldn't call cuddling all night long something very friendly," Emilia mocked. "It's possible, but if you see two people do that, odds are, they're dating."

"Shut up," I mumbled.

My friend laughed. "You know it's true. You guys were like Deerling in headlights!"

"You didn't even know any better!" I yelled.

"I did actually theorize a little with Pauline when we were in Eterna, but I was convinced you were straight," Emilia said.

"H—how is that even possible?" I asked. "Like genuinely?"

"I don't know. I was still in the closet back then, so I guess I pushed my insecurities onto you? Pauline thought you had a crush on Cece, but she said it was better not to say anything."

"Let's actually segue into something else," Denzel said. "Unless you have something else to say, Cece?"

"I'm done, unfortunately. You can expect me to hone in on any relationship-related questions, by the way."

Denzel shook his head in disbelief. "There's no need to find a question for this one, this was one of the most asked questions that we got. Your Pupitar, Grace. People know you got her in Mount Coronet, but the circumstances of that are still basically unknown. You just kind of showed up with her on my stream one day."

"So should I say how I got her?" I asked.

"If you think that's appropriate, yeah."

"Well I first saw her in Mount Coronet, obviously. Her… her mother was fighting a Rhyperior, but she was losing terribly—" I paused as the stream exploded. People couldn't believe that we'd seen a Tyranitar and a Rhyperior in the wild and lived to tell the tale. "Tyranitar opened up a chasm in the earth and Denzel, Cece, Chase and I fell down to a lower level of Mount Coronet. Sweetheart stuck around with me for protection, but we ended up bonding and I caught her. I didn't want her to die. She was still really weak back then, even though she'd throw a fit before acknowledging that. She wouldn't have lasted a day."

More questions popped up in the chat, asking a flurry of different things that were mostly about Tyranitar and Rhyperior's capabilities. I bit the inside of my lip in annoyance, but Denzel shot me a knowing look.

"There are only a few known wild Rhyperior, and they're very deep in Mount Coronet, so they want to know if it's one that's been seen before," Denzel explained. "Behave guys, this is a sensitive topic."

"How many in total?" I asked.

"Six if we count Palmer's. Five without. The one's that's the most well-known has a nasty scar on his torso and is missing some of his orange stones there. He got it when he fought Craig a few years ago."

"I guess he does train on Mount Coronet," I muttered. "But honestly, I was way too scared to know if that was the one."

"I didn't see any scars," Cece said.

"It was another one, then. That'd make sense, since we were nowhere near the summit. Let's get back to the questions. Grace, feel free to pick," Denzel said.

I was starting to understand his strategy now— if I could even call it one. He wanted to go through as many questions as possible to satisfy his audience and in order not to bore them. The viewer count was at 53,466 now, which was a lot more than his usual number.

"You know, it is interesting that no one knows Rhydon's evolution," Cece mused while I looked through the cesspool of questions. "Not even the League. Palmer caught his as a Rhyperior, correct?"

"Uhuh. In Mount Coronet," Denzel said. "But it wasn't during his journey. He was already incredibly strong when he did so and he was… one year older than Craig, if I remember correctly? I'm not well-versed in Battle Frontier personalities."

"Well you're way better-versed than me," Emilia laughed. "I wonder what Lauren's going to do."

"Rhydon are powerful even when they don't evolve," he shrugged. "Blue Oak has one on his personal team and he's Champion level."

"I mean, most Pokemon can reach that level without evolving anyway, right?" Emilia asked.

"Yes. Evolution's a shortcut, but theoretically, a Bidoof could be that powerful. The diminishing returns would mean that it would probably take a century unless you were really gifted," Denzel said. "But Rhydon's basically as powerful as a full evolution anyway, so you don't lose out that much."

I subconsciously nodded, thinking of Mathilda. She was a Sinistea, and yet had been overwhelmingly powerful. I still was nowhere close enough to taking her or Ruth down even at my current level, although I might be able to get out of there alive if they both attacked me. Maybe.

"Are there any trainers that use non-fully evolved Pokemon at a high level?" I asked.

"Well, there's Temperance and her Dragonair," Emi immediately answered. "Even if she's a coordinator, she's strong. She says her Dragonair doesn't want to evolve because Dragonite's ugly."

Denzel scoffed. "I take personal offense to that. To answer your question, there are a few, but it's mostly because the Pokemon doesn't want to evolve, not some self-imposed challenge. Uh, there's… Declan Hornsby that has a Sneasel, and he placed top 64 last year at the Conference. Uh, Ali West still has a Doublade because he prefers their offensive style over an Aegislash which would be more balanced."

"Where did he place?" Emi asked.

"Group stages. But that was mostly because he got really unlucky and got put in with a bunch of older trainers."

"I got my question," I cut in. "Unless you want to keep going?"

"No, no, this is a Q&A," Denzel said. "Go ahead."

StarThomas

#DenzelQ&A Hey guys, I had a question regarding Gym Leaders for you and everyone else in the room. What was the favorite battle you ever had and why? Another question was, is there any particular reason you all skipped over Byron? I think he would have been easier should you have challenged him early.

"For everyone in the room," I repeated. It was a subtle way of wasting the runtime. "I'll go first. My favorite battle against a Gym Leader… definitely Gardenia. I still watch it over with my team sometimes for old time's sake. It's where I really found a style that worked for me, and Gardenia's my favorite trainer, so that's a plus. I look up to her a lot, and I'd love for her to teach me about body language one day."

"That was an insane battle," Denzel nodded. "That Solar Beam that she threw at you was so powerful that I thought the barriers were going to give. They probably had a weaker Kadabra on shift since it was a bunch of weaker trainers in a row. Cece?"

"Go first," she said.

"Okay. Uh, I'd say Maylene, believe it or not."

No one in the chat believed him, and it was easy to see that remains of the hate toward Maylene were still there and fresh.

"I'm not joking. In hindsight, I think it was sort of fun to play around her, and it was Milotic's first big battle too. He did awesome."

"I'll have to say Candice," Cece continued. "It was where Zweilous evolved and I managed to snap her out of whatever she was in. She was going way too easy on me at the start."

We turned toward Emilia, and she let out a nervous chuckle.

"I'm not a trainer, but I guess Roark? I mean, it's the only one I won against. It wasn't very fun, I just pushed through with Metang."

"Pauline?!" I asked, raising my tone. Denzel shot me a look. "What? They said everyone. We're doing Lopunny too."

"Fantina!" She yelled. "Beating her ghosts up was fun!"

I internally cursed when I realized she was keeping it short. "Lopunny?"

The normal type answered Gardenia by using her phone and said that it was when she got her first big boost of confidence. It was hard to remember how shy she used to be when Denzel had first caught her, hiding behind his legs with her scarred ear. The scar was still there, but it was a lot smaller and almost unnoticeable now that she'd evolved.

"Denzel and I were traveling together when we decided to skip Byron, but it was mostly because we were scared of his experience and we had a terrible team to deal with steel types. I had Togetic and Frillish while he had Eevee and Budew—"

"Sylvi did have Double Kick."

"And yet you were the first one to suggest skipping," I smugly said. "We decided to bide our time instead, and I don't regret it one bit. Keeping one of the strongest Gym Leaders for last sounds like fun."

"Good luck stabbing through a steel type," Denzel joked.

I paused, and I felt an excited shiver run down my spine.

"Watch me."

"For us, it was mostly because we were put on a pre-determined route by Louis' father," Cece shrugged. "There wasn't really a reason."

"Wait, what? This is the first I'm hearing of this," I said.

"We were meant to save Byron, Fantina and Volkner for last to impress people," she shrugged.

"That routing… is basically impossible unless you have a flying license or spend like two days in each city," Denzel said.

"Now you know why they were so shit in their planning," she smiled. "I hope Harvey's having a grand old time in prison."

I let out a small, surprised breath. Cece almost never swore, but when she did, she meant it.

"So you were saving the strongest for last? Or they were, I guess," I said.

"Hmhm. They wanted us in the headlines."

"Assholes," Denzel muttered.

Pauline yelled, "Hey!"

"Not your mom, Pauline. Your mom's fine. Kind of. Next question! Cece, go ahead and look."

Cecilia obliged him, and he kept going.

"You know, I wonder what— wait! Fuck!"

"What is it? Did I mess up something?" Cecilia asked, abruptly lifting her hand off the mouse.

"No, I just forgot to put on some background music. Sorry everyone," he sighed.

"Don't just scream like that for something so minor!" Cece angrily said. "I thought I screwed your setup."

Denzel quickly put on some copyright-free music, and Cece found her next question while we trash-talked his horrible music tastes.

"I don't want the stream demonitized," he said. "You'll thank me later."

Stripy2000

#DenzelQ&A This is a question specifically for Cecilia. It's getting pretty late in the year, and the seventh Gym forces you into a six-on-six, and you haven't caught your sixth Pokemon. I was wondering if you thought you were going to struggle to catch up whoever your sixth will be. P.S: I recommend an electric type, since you'll be fighting Wake and you lack one.

"Okay, well first of all please don't backseat which Pokemon someone should get," Denzel said with tired eyes. "We all hate it when it happens, and it's very annoying. Cece, go ahead."

"Well, I'll win five-on-six if need be, but what you say about the Conference rings true. I've given myself a limit. I won't allow myself to leave Pastoria without a sixth Pokemon with me. They will no doubt struggle against Byron, but alas, sometimes it's just the way the cookie crumbles."

"You know, the funny thing about that is—"

"Are you going to say something funny?" Emilia jokingly interrupted.

"No… not at all actually. You got me," he rolled his eyes. "This is a well-known phenomenon, though. The Five-Pokemon syndrome. Trainers are so unsure of who their sixth Pokemon should be that they spend way too long with a team of five and fail to win their eighth badge because of it. Sometimes they'll get desperate, catch something and realize that they dislike who they caught."

"So?" I asked, clenching around my armrest.

"Uh… so they release them. Or treat them terribly," Denzel said. "It sucks, but it's a symptom of forcing people into a six Pokemon limit before the eighth badge. People will always be assholes."

"You'd better hope I don't find anyone like that," I said.

Knife emojis flooded the chat, and Denzel didn't seem to like that at all.

"Uh, moving on!" Denzel panicked. "I will say that… wait, Cece, can I say this?"

"My sixth is already planned, and I won't catch an unwanted Pokemon or a Pokemon that doesn't want to come with me," Cece said. "Mienfoo or Croagunk. There you have it."

Denzel paused, looking at the screen. "Yeah, they seem happy about that reveal. Grace, your turn."

I nodded and got to work. Only ten minutes had passed so far. I would have to do more than one hour of this?

"Better be picky than catch a Pokemon you don't want and hurt them," Denzel continued. "Granted, people could technically call me a hypocrite since my Swablu was unplanned."

"Yeah, but you treat her right," I said. "If you hadn't, I would have yelled at you."

"Come to think of it, you don't really get angry at other people often," Emilia said.

"Oh, not with you guys," I said. "You're amazing friends. Oh, your chat knows about your casino stint, by the way?"

"They know. I was telling them all about it in Veilstone, and it ended with me shit-talking the Game Corner and making a video about how terrible gambling is."

"You could have become an addict," Cecilia chided.

"I think I was addicted, honestly. Gambling is fucking terrifying."

"Got one," I said. "Addressed to me, Cece and Denzel."

"Are you doing this on purpose?" He asked.

"No, I just think it's a really good question."

Philexusson

#DenzelQ&A This is a question for Grace, Denzel and Cecilia. If you make it past Byron, where do you think you're going to end up in the Conference? A lot of people have been speculating and it's basically impossible to know until the month of, but it'd be nice to hear your opinions.

"Well, top sixty-four would be nice," I said with a dreamy tone. The prospect of an incredible amount of battles with powerful trainers already had me excited even if it was still months away. "But my goal is to get out of group stages. Isn't that luck-based, though?"

Denzel spoke. "There's some luck involved. There are trainer rankings—"

"Rankings?" Emilia scoffed.

"Well, not rankings per se, but we're just put into different… power categories, for lack of a better term. It depends on previous performances, your team, your skill as a trainer, and things like that. We're all divided into four tiers, and they draw a number of trainers from each tier randomly and put you into a group."

"Tier one's Craig?" Cece asked.

"People like Craig, yeah, but even then he's a lot more powerful than the average tier one. Anyway, you'll basically be guaranteed to have at least one tier one trainer in your group. The goal should not be to win every match, but to win enough points to get past group stages."

"How many points gets you through?" I asked.

"That depends on the year, really," he shrugged. "In a year like this with a lot of people, you'll need more points to get past group stages and into the top 256. To actually answer the question, though, my goal is top 128."

"Top sixty-four for me as well," Cece said.

"You guys sure are ambitious," Emilia said.

"Well, what's life without a little dream or two?" I smiled.

The fact that seedings weren't completely random was something I welcomed, though. Arceus forbid some poor first-year was put in a group with a bunch of Craigs. Plus, no one would want all the top contenders to have a chance of getting eliminated that early. The Conference wasn't just a tournament to pick the potential next Champion, but a tournament that millions of people enjoyed.

But really, it was mostly because of companies. A boring Conference was a Conference with fewer viewers, and that meant less advertising.

"What really interests me the most is items," Denzel said. "That's a whole facet of battling we've never explored before. Berries that make type effectiveness matter less, rocks that make weather moves more powerful… it's going to be exciting."

"Items are kind of cool, but honestly I'm starting to think I'd enjoy battling without," Cecilia said. "Of course, when in Kalos, do as the Kalosian do. I won't put myself at a disadvantage."

"Since Pauline is here, why doesn't she answer the question?" I asked.

"No, no, we're moving on," Denzel said.

"I'm good," the redhead nodded.

Come on, where was your usual fiery passion? I internally screamed. This time, it only took a minute for Cece to find the next question, which meant we had very little room to speak about random things.

TR_Supersonic

#DenzelQ&A This is a question for Grace specifically. You've been hanging out with Jasmine Whitaker. Can we know what's going on there? A group of teenagers said she scared them off with her Metagross on the beach and that you Teleported somewhere. You being so close to a foreign Gym Leader is kind of insane.

Cece nudged her head at me, and I nonverbally thanked her for the easy question.

"Jasmine's my friend, and she's helping me train Honey to his full potential," I answered. "She's been a great teacher and he wouldn't have been anywhere near this strong if she wasn't there. Sometimes she goes on these tangents about her home, but I like it."

"Grace does have a knack for meeting important people," Emilia said.

"People in chat are asking how you convinced her to teach you, if you feel comfortable answering."

"Well at first we met completely randomly on the beach, and a second time when I met Craig in a bar. After my battle with Denzel, she said I was interesting."

"She called you unhinged, more specifically," Cece said with a slight huff. I had already told her all about how Jasmine had said that every trainer at the top had some degree of strangeness to them, and she vehemently disagreed.

Cece and Denzel were pretty normal, and I was too, so her point didn't really stand.

Or at least that's what I believed until a bunch of 'TRUE's were spammed in the chat.

"Guys, no one here is crazy, alright?" I sighed. "Jasmine's just very opinionated."

"You two are crazy," Denzel said, raising his hands. "I'm just a guy."

"Sure, dude," I shook my head. "Anyway, Jasmine says my temperament is already there, and all I need is the skill to back it up, so she was helping me get there. And don't start acting crazy in front of her just because I said this, okay? She has a lot on her plate already, and she might go for the throat if she's angry."

"Go for… the throat?" Emilia asked with a deep frown.

I had apparently confused the viewers too, because they seemed to think that meant kill.

"No, no, not murder. It's… well, it's hard to explain, she's a lot better at it."

"Guys, she's dating Volkner and killing a trainer would start an international incident, okay? You're all safe— how did we even get here? Cece, I thought you were going to stop Grace from bringing this stuff up."

My girlfriend innocently tilted her head. "Hm? She didn't say anything wrong, though. She just brought up something Jasmine said."

Denzel pinched the bridge of his nose, and Emilia gently rubbed his arm. I didn't miss Pauline smiling at the contact, although she immediately stopped when she noticed I was looking at her.

"Sorry, I was just relaying what she said," I apologized half-heartedly. "But we're good, right? I mean, this isn't even in the top ten of worst things I've said."

"There's a top ten?" Emilia asked with a raised voice.

"I don't know, I just assume there is. There are a lot of misunderstandings about me. Why else do you think stabbing became a meme?"

"Because you stab things."

"Yes, but that's because it's effective in battle. I haven't stabbed anyone personally."

"Well yeah, thank the Legendaries," Denzel said, slightly out of breath.

"I mean, what would I even do it with? I don't have a knife. A pencil? Scissors? Those always have rounded tips anyway, I paid attention to them a lot when I was in school. It's technically possible, but stabbing is a lot harder than it looks, and I'm not that strong anyway."

Denzel blanched. "Goodness, let's just move on from this topic— chat do not say 'not yet!'"

Cece nudged her head at me, and I nodded.

"This was all hypothetical. I don't condone stabbing or anything of the sort, this was all purely hypothetical since the topic came up," I said.

"Grace," Denzel pleaded. "You brought it up."

"What? Doctors stab you a bunch during surgery, and you don't say anything to them. Hell, I was stabbed in the arm multiple times when they had to do that skin graft on me!"

"Next question!"

"Wait, what does 'based' mean?" I asked.

—

The one-and-a-half hour of questions had passed agonizingly slowly, and Denzel looked exhausted by the end of it. I had mostly picked Pokemon training questions, answering about my process to analyze my mistakes after each battle, how I trained, how to come up with custom moves, and funnily enough, someone had asked me how to budget. I was technically the best at budgeting in the room. Cece had her leftover money, and she would for a while. Pauline and Emi were billionaires, and Denzel had blown all of his money on multiple occasions without even having an emergency fund. The favorite question I had answered, however, came from a trainer with a Togetic of her own. She'd even posted a selfie after the picture, and she asked me how to get as good with Ancient Power as we'd gotten. Needless to say, I rambled about it for ten minutes until Denzel himself had to stop me.

Some strange person called Grace's Twin kept sending donations saying that we were meant to be together until they were banned, but they came back with alternate accounts eleven times, just adding numbers at the end of their name until they stopped.

We were already segueing into the interview section with Goalducc and Archive. Denzel had only muted the microphone for a few minutes.

"There's no break? You look like you need a break," Cece said.

"A break means losing traction. People's attention span is fickle nowadays," he said as he stretched. "Try to keep yourselves under control for the interview, please— ah, they're ready to start. We'll be on the sidelines for this one. Be nice."

"We're nice people," Cece said.

"And remember that these will be a lot more invasive than the others because you can't just scroll past the ones you don't like."

Denzel dragged his and Emilia's chair out of the shot, and he launched the call with Goalducc and Archive.

"Hello? Is the sound alright?" A voice rang out. It was deep, but smooth.

"Yes. Who is this speaking?" Cecilia asked.

"Oh, where are my manners. This is Archive. Thank you for giving us the opportunity and for joining us here tonight. Andrew?"

"Y—yeah. We appreciate it. Do you have any questions before we start?"

That was Goalducc, then. His voice was shaking like a leaf while Archive seemed confident.

"We can start if you're ready," I said. "Cece?"

"Go ahead, gentlemen."

"Okay! We have a list of topics we want to approach if that's not too much to ask for. Andrew, take it away."

Goalducc cleared his throat. "Let's start with a question that's been on everyone's mind. And we saw you scroll past these, but it's about your closeness with the League, along with your friends Mira Compton and Chase Karlson, who unfortunately aren't here with us. You've been known to speak to Champion Cynthia on multiple occasions, have ACE trainers as guards and you even refer to her by her first name. Could you go into that at all?"

He had stammered or hesitated multiple times, but he'd gotten his question across. I stared at Cece and wondered what we should say. We could technically answer with no comment, but I wanted to see what she thought.

"Well, we can't really go into it that much. We're in the LTIP, so we're somewhat close to the League that way," Cece said, exuding confidence. "I know first-years are never admitted into the program, but there are always exception to the rules, isn't there?"

Archive jumped in when his colleague seemed too out of it to answer. He was probably fanboying over the fact that Cece had just spoken to him.

"That doesn't explain everything, though. LTIP members don't just speak to the Champion, and you've done exactly zero jobs for the League so far. It seems that everyone else would have been kicked out for inactivity by now. There have been a lot of strange events surrounding you since the Darkest Day in Solaceon."

"I'm afraid we can't answer," Cecilia said.

"Would you say it's confidential information, then?"

"She said she couldn't answer," I interjected. "So we won't answer."

"Okay," Archive said. "Grace, something happened to you while you were in a park in Veilstone. This is all second-hand accounts, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but you were attacked by… something? Some people say an Abra, others say Pikachu or Sandshrew. It happened so quickly that no one really had a good look at it. ACE trainers intervened and saved the day, but we can only theorize that you're being targeted by… someone."

"No," I shut down. "Let's move on, now."

"I just want to let you know that you being quiet on the issue creates countless conspiracies and that clarity would help a lot," Archive said.

I bit the inside of my cheek and imagined countless ways I could blow up this computer.

"I don't appreciate this questioning, Archive," Cece said. "I thought this was a friendly podcast."

"Well, we just wanted to start with the heavy questions first," he laughed. "This is on everyone's minds, but fine. Next up, we have a question for you, Grace. People say that you can speak to Pokemon. Like, understand the literal words that they say, not just guess off of bonds and body language. Would you confirm whether that's true or not?"

"I'm just close to my team," I said.

"Are you implying that people that can't understand their Pokemon after a few months with them aren't close to their teams?"

"No," I said, restraining a groan. "I just have a talent for it, that's all. Some people will be better at things than others."

"But rumors say that you can understand every Pokemon, not just your team."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Archive?"

The man paused. "Yes?"

Not worth it, I told myself. "I don't feel like answering the question."

"Let's switch topics, Archive," Andrew said. "Sorry about that. We did say we'd let you have boundaries. Uh, the next thing we have on the list is for Grace. It relates to your battle with Maylene and your more… sadistic leanings. Do you have any regrets of how you fought her? As you know, she's taken a one-month break while her Gym Trainers and her Lucario run things. Do you plan on battling everyone that isn't a friend that way?"

"I have some regrets, but I guess I never did address that battle," I sighed. "I think it was a net good as a whole, but I could have gone at it in a different way."

"You preventing the Infernape switch was pretty egregious," Archive said.

"I mean, it is taboo," I nodded. "It's not something I think I'll do much more of. To answer your question, I will pull back on that way of battling for the most part. I won't just spare my friends. Plus, Maylene was the only one it would work on properly anyway, Gym Leader wise."

"Do people say Grace is sadistic?" Cecilia asked.

"Sometimes they do. Like, for example instead of using Air Cutter repeatedly against Denzel's Roserade, she stabbed her in the gut and shoulder," Goalducc said.

"That was mostly to shake off her focus. Constant, sharp pain is good at that. Air Cutter wouldn't have done well enough and Princess would have fallen faster. It's not that I like inflicting pain, it's that inflicting pain is good to win battles."

"See, a lot of trainers wouldn't really say that out loud," Archive said.

"It is true. We all know it," I shrugged.

"I guess this is a good segue into your different battling styles, then," Goalducc said. I internally sighed in relief now that we were finally getting back to normal topics. "C—Cecilia, you use wide destruction and speed as a weapon. Where do you see your team at their apex?"

"It's hard to imagine something so far away," Cece muttered. "But I have two kinds of Pokemon I want. The heavy hitters that can alter the terrain in many different ways and the speedsters or fliers that can easily navigate what I pick. It's not just about strategy, though. It's also about taste."

"Could you elaborate on that?" Archive asked.

"Isn't destroying things just a lot of fun? I dream of the day I can flatten a mountain and point at it, saying, that was me. I altered the face of the earth forever."

"Well, there are regulations against that type of thing," I interjected. "But I get what you mean."

"Seeing my Pokemon destroy the environment just fills my heart with so much joy," she smiled fondly. "Well, not as much as I get when I'm with Grace."

I couldn't help but grin while Archive and Andrew stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Okay. So you like destroying things. Is that final?" Archive asked.

"Yes."

"Did she stutter?" I said. "You better not call her weird for it."

"Erm, okay. What about you, Grace?" Archive asked. "Where do you see your battling style at its apex?"

I hummed, tapping a finger against my lip. "I think it's all about field control and psychological tricks for me," I said. "Of course, using out-of-the-box tactics sounds like fun too, like the pain thing we were talking about."

"I thought you said you wouldn't do psychological tricks anymore after Maylene?"

"Oh, there's a difference between what I'm capable of and what I'll actually do," I said. "I have a bunch of ideas that are too rude, disrespectful, or taboo to use."

Like making trainers flinch by attacking them directly, or completely obstructing their view with a giant wall, or subtly trash-talking in the middle of a match, and many other ideas that never made it past the conceptual stage.

"But there's a difference between ideas and reality," Cece quickly added. "Grace respects what it means to be a trainer."

"I mean, it is sort of arbitrary, but yes," I said. "I don't want to be an asshole."

"Thank you for the answers," Archive said. "You're quite the pair, aren't you?"

"Next up, we have plans after this year's Circuit," Goalducc said. "Denzel has already said he plans on going through Sinnoh again and we assume it's the same for you two, but some people aren't sure. Would you be willing to share with us today?"

"Well, we'll most likely have a lot of things to do this summer, so we'll be in Sinnoh for… possibly all of July and some of August," Cecilia said. "But after that…"

She looked at me, and I nodded.

"Unova's the plan," she said. "We want to go through the Circuit there— well, I wanted to, and Grace agreed, which I'm still very thankful for," she continued, grabbing my hand.

People in the chat were not happy about that, and even our friends were surprised. We had floated the idea of going to Unova to them a few times, but we'd never actually confirmed it to them, so this was new for them as well.

"Interesting! Why Unova in particular? Is it just because it's Cecilia's home country?" Archive asked.

"That's mainly it, yes," Cece nodded. "And we think that taking on the full ten Gyms might be fun."

"Plus, traveling through an entire new place is nice," I said. "Going through Sinnoh again would probably just be me flying around cities and beating the Gyms there."

"Will you not fly in Unova?" Andrew asked. There was a hint of sadness in his voice, and knew it was because it was going to be way harder to track us abroad. I pushed down the jealousy that was rearing its ugly head. How was I jealous of someone Cece didn't know anyway?

"We were thinking about walking through the region for the most part," Cece said. "I may be Unovan, but I never walked through the routes themselves."

"Exploring and camping is fun," I nodded. "Plus, the routes are apparently super safe, so there are no drawbacks, really."

"That is something Unovans like to boast about," Archive nodded. "Okay, Andrew?"

"You all traveled as a group before, but you've splintered into smaller and smaller ones as time went on," Goalducc said. "Is there a reason for it? Some people think there was a falling out."

"A falling out?" I scoffed. "We're all still amazing friends."

"We all had different things we wanted to focus on," Cece said. "Groups are malleable. We don't even know how we'll travel to Pastoria. If the group will reform, or split further… we don't know."

"Well I was thinking I could go with Emi and Pauline?" Denzel said. "Because it's not often that Emi can travel on a route, I mean."

Liar, I thought. "Fine by me, even though I'll miss you."

"So you're still friends, then?" Archive asked. "No drama?"

"Do people not see us hang out and talk every time we're in a city?" I asked. "I mean, come on, people."

"People just like to look for drama where there isn't any," Cece shrugged.

"That is true," Goalducc said. "People were theorizing that you broke up when Grace went and traveled to Veilstone on her own."

You would have loved that, wouldn't you? I internally huffed.

Andrew spoke again, "Continuing, we have a topic that's… kind of related to a question that's on everyone's mind and might be somewhat controversial and is related to something that was already asked during the Q&A. At this moment, between all the trainers in your group, who do you think is the strongest currently, and who do you think will make it the furthest in the Conference."

"I don't know," I said, tilting my head. "I'm currently stronger than Denzel, I guess, but he did get this super secret training with Craig that he won't tell anyone about."

"That's because Craig doesn't want me to say it," Denzel complained.

"Shush now," I teased. "You're not in the stream. I guess… hm, it's hard to quantify. I feel like Lauren's the best currently, but the gap isn't as wide as it once was."

"I agree with that assessment," Cece nodded. "What about you and I?"

"Well… I'd say bar Sunshine, we're pretty equal, no?"

"Saying that you're equal is kind of copping out," Archive said.

"Well it's what I feel," I said. "I think that depending on the day, I'd be able to win or she would."

The chat flooded with demands for a battle between us, and Goalducc and Archive asked for the same thing.

"Well, I wouldn't want Honey in a Center for multiple days currently, but we might after my Gym Battle," I said. "Regarding who has the best shot of making it furthest in the Conference… it's impossible to know before we get there."

"Come on, give us an answer, at least," Andrew sighed.

"Me."

"Me."

I turned toward Cecilia and we both laughed. Even Archive chuckled, which did a lot of work to break the ice. The podcast continued in a more friendly fashion. Goalducc's nerves calmed down, Archive grew more understanding of questions we couldn't answer and dare I say it, I kind of had fun. Denzel bid his viewers goodbye, listing all of his sponsors before ending the stream.

"That wasn't that bad, was it?" Emilia said. "Rocky start, but we made it."

"It peaked at around 80,000 viewers," Denzel nodded. "Thanks for participating, girls."

Pauline stretched. "Arceus, I'm tired and I wasn't even talking. I must have banned at least sixty people, if we don't count that crazy Grace's Twin guy."

Lopunny nodded, not even bothering to type on her phone. She only grumbled that her fingers were tired. Being a moderator was hard work, it seemed.

"How much money did we make?" I asked.

"You have a one-track-mind, don't you?" Denzel said. "DailyTube takes a pretty large cut, but the stream made around 120,000 Pokedollars in total. Split it four ways, and you have the number. Payout takes around three to five business days, so you'll have to wait.

"30,000 in three hours isn't bad," I said. "Why doesn't everyone just do this streaming stuff?"

"Why don't you do it?" He jokingly said.

"It's annoying."

"You've got to realize I'm in the top 1% of the 1% of streamers," Denzel shrugged. "The majority of people are stuck at 1 viewer the entire time."

"How lonely," Cece muttered.

"Well, that's that!" I smiled. "Denzel, I have a list of usernames for you to ban."

My best friend stammered. "What?"

"People that were rude to Cece. Cursed_Meowth_Images1, ReticentoneWNs, ShmokerChain1028, RoorooR, aDELAIDE—"

"Wait—"

"—DetectiveDylan, Nashetovich, Defeat4t… and Dreamville. I can write the names down for you if you want."

"Thank you, Grace," my girlfriend gently said.

"Okay, relax," he sighed. "We'll look at their chat logs."

"Thanks!"

"And you're going to Unova? That's confirmed?" He asked.

"It is," I said. "Sorry you found out like that. I guess it never came up."

"Please keep me informed," he sighed. "I already feel like I'm out of the loop—"

"I know. It was just plans between the two of us, though, not League stuff," I said. "Are we okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Well, I'm going to shower, change clothes and then we can hang. It's been a while," I said.

—

Melody Summers felt like she was out of breath as the stream finally ended. Multiple times, she thought she would have gotten a panic attack from the way Grace had behaved, but she thankfully never stepped over the line. She still couldn't believe they had wanted to market her as a relatable, everyday girl. She was anything but normal.

That comment about scissors? That had been weird. Incredibly weird. Melody liked Grace as a person, but she couldn't deny that there was a lingering worry for her there. Still, the members of the board hadn't minded too much, especially when she'd spoken well about the company multiple times, worn her watch and had said that she found the Poketch laptop great to take notes on when someone had asked about tips for training during the Q&A section. They also loved that she was going to Unova. In fact, it was what they were the most excited about. Melody closed her own laptop and sighed as she stared out of her window in her apartment in Hearthome.

"Looks like there are no fires to extinguish today," she muttered to herself. "Thank the Legendaries."

Melody was basically Grace's manager at this point, even if the girl didn't know it. It was her that coordinated her appearance on the front trainer magazines (and they were still using pictures from that one photoshoot they had), that asked people in different news network to bring her up and talk about her during their sections about trainers and that constantly shielded her from the board's ignorance. Next on the list for her? Another photoshoot for new pictures and as soon as she got a flier and time to swing by Jubilife, a meeting with the board itself, face-to-face to plan their launch in Unova and talk about the rivalry with X Technologies.

Of course, that meant that she needed her Shiny Stone. The bonus had already been agreed to, and now all she needed to do was beat Volkner, but even that wasn't an obligation any longer. Not with the text she had sent two days ago.

Honey's going to fight Volkner's Electivire during our Gym Battle for reasons that I can't really get into, so you can warn the board ahead of time.

Melody had wanted to ask a thousand questions, but the most important one had been how? How the hell did she do things like… that?

The only answer she could muster was okay and good luck.

And now, she was probably going to Unova with her and would have to get approved for hormones there. The Unovan medical system was a hassle. Hopefully Grace would mellow out with age, because between the League and her antics, Melody felt like she had aged ten years in the few months they'd been working together.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M

A/N: No chapter tomorrow, I'll be playing Armored Core 6

 

[Soussouni1]

INTERLUDE - HAYSTACK I

Louis Bianchi stared at his Bisharp, who was sitting on a fallen tree diligently sharpening his blades on a triangle-shaped rock. Bisharp had grown a lot since his evolution, and he was now half a head taller than Louis was. His blades were so sharp that Louis had once accidentally touched the ones below his chest and cut his arm. The steel type had profusely apologized and offered him his rock in return, but Louis told him it wasn't his fault. He had a lot on his mind that made him not pay attention to his surroundings sometimes. Still, this rock wasn't one he recognized.

"Where did you put your old rock? Is that a new one?" He asked.

Bisharp offered a curt nod, but he was too engrossed in whetting his blades to do anything else. He had owned at least ten favorite rocks since Louis had caught him, and this one made eleven.

Route 222 was quite a nice spot. Not to train— he and Maeve used the arenas for that, and she was currently spending time with Pauline and Cecilia— but to simply stick with his team. Plus, newer trainers left him alone like he wanted. Louis wasn't famous like his friends were. He had his time in the sun, but he was in the background now. Most people knew him as that person whose father tried to betray his country for a quick buck. Part of him wanted to see his dad again and ask him why, but he knew the answer. Pure and simple greed. Regardless, the maximum security prison at the Lily of the Valley Island didn't allow public visitors or calls, so it wasn't like he could go there or communicate anyway. If Louis had to guess, his father would be placed back into a normal prison on the mainland after the remains of Team Galactic was dealt with. It wouldn't be long now that their bases in Veilstone had been raided.

Empoleon stood behind him, always standing guard even when it wasn't needed. Louis had tried to get him to go to the beach, but his dislike for swimming still lingered, even after reaching his final evolution. Combee lazily buzzed around his head like usual, occasionally bending honey around themselves, which was supposedly a telltale sign that the evolution into Vespiquen was near. The three heads would fuse into one mind and form one being.

Louis had teared up multiple times at that prospect, but always in secret, hidden away from Combee. He didn't want them to hold themselves back for him.

Ninetales and Gabite were currently arguing about something, which he didn't know what. The dragon snarled at Ninetales, sending spittle all over her fur, and she was not amused. She retaliated by blowing a puff of flames into his face, but a grunt from Empoleon stopped them both. The fire type huffed, turning her head away from Gabite while he slammed a claw against his chest. Really, the issue was that they'd never really loved each other. Gabite was too violent for Ninetale's tastes.

Gabite did enjoy Bisharp's company and begrudgingly respected Empoleon because he'd known him the longest. With Combee, he basically ignored her, finding her too weak for his tastes, but Ninetales coddled the bug type like she was family. Bisharp found her cute as well despite pretending otherwise, but he was quiet when compared to the rest of his Pokemon. Louis' research had said that Bisharp tended to be loud and boisterous because they led, but he was the polar opposite of that.

Either way, his team wasn't… well, it wasn't a family like Grace's, nor a unit like Maeve's, Lauren's or Cecilia's. It was a hodgepodge of different personalities that often clashed.

And yet, they persevered.

"Gabite."

The tall dragon shot him a prideful look, but begrudgingly offered Ninetales a half-hearted apology, or at least that's what Louis thought he said. Ninetales, for her part, smiled smugly and seemed pleased with herself, giving Louis a slight dip of her head as thanks.

Gabite had come far since his early days as a Gible, but he had a ways to go still. Part of Louis dreaded the inevitable Garchomp evolution that would no doubt bring a slew of problems, but that was still far away. Louis sat next to Bisharp and he consciously forced himself not to make his leg bounce. He linked his hands together and pressed them against his mouth as he thought.

Where was Justin?

He'd become obsessed with his old friend, desperately scouring the Gym's website to see if he'd fought Volkner, but he hadn't. This felt odd. Wrong. Grace had told him that Justin would eventually come to find him, but had she been wrong? He'd hoped that her acquaintance with Type Energy would help her understand him, but that didn't look to be the case.

Louis blinked as a cold flipper tapped him on the shoulder. A tough, metallic hand covered in rock dust touched his own. The buzzing around his head quieted down. A soft, tuft of warm golden fur rubbed his back and his dragon's piercing yellow eyes softened for a second.

"I'm fine," he muttered. "I'll be fine."

He couldn't help but feel like he'd failed Justin every step of the way. He should have followed him after Solaceon like Maeve and Mira had done to him when he'd been struggling. Instead, he let Justin do whatever he wanted because he'd asked— demanded it, even. Then, he'd lost that battle in Veilstone and gotten utterly crushed. If he'd been more skilled, then all of this could have been fixed.

No… that wasn't it. Louis had been scared as well. Justin had changed so much that Louis had preferred to look the other way and to keep him as far away as he could because loss was terrifying to him. Loss of any kind of relationship. Fear had made him a terrible friend. He'd found it easier to look the other way and to tell himself that it would all be fine if he waited.

And so Louis had waited, but there was nothing there. No progress had been made.

It couldn't be just left like this. It would feel wrong. Like a page left unturned.

"Is everyone ready to head back?"

Nods and grunts of affirmations ran through his team. He recalled all of them besides Combee and started his long trudge toward the city gates.

Arceus, each step felt so heavy. Like a thousand stones weighed his ankles down. Like he was pushing a boulder up a hill with no end. Like he was walking in quick sand and sinking with each step. If there was one thing Louis sometimes wished he had, it was a dash of his old ego. At least that way, he would have been able to bear through this with his self-esteem and confidence unburdened.

Louis took another step. And then a larger one. Soon enough, he was jogging to Sunyshore.

He would endure.

—

"Hey my brother!"

Denzel waved at Louis from the gate with a huge smile that he couldn't help but instinctually return. From what Louis understood, Denzel was doing great for himself these days, especially with his huge stream yesterday. Louis approached his friend, who wrapped an arm around his shoulder and dragged him toward Sunyshore.

"Heard you were feeling down from Maeve," Denzel said. "I came to cheer you up, since I'm not training today. I'm trying to negotiate to create merch and it's a real hassle now that Craig isn't here to help, but I'll deal. What's wrong?"

Louis frowned. What was wrong? The answer was obvious!

"Justin."

Denzel's lips went flat. "Ah. Yeah, he's just gone. Like a ghost. Finding him would be like finding a needle in a haystack. There isn't much that we can do."

"I know," Louis muttered. "I'll deal with this, no need to bother yourself—"

"Come on. We can hang out for a little bit, right? All of the girls are together and Chase and Mira are training. I don't want you to go through this alone. You can talk to me."

"Where would you have us go?" Louis asked.

"Anywhere. Got a favorite spot here? You must have been to Sunyshore plenty of times."

He nodded. "I did. Uh, I used to go to the beach with my… well, I wouldn't call them friends. Children of my father's connections, mostly."

"You don't see them anymore, huh?"

"Not since the start of the Circuit, no. And now that my father went to prison, is a pariah and our— his company got nationalized, they have no use for me."

Denzel patted Louis on the back.

"Why don't we go to the beach, then?"

"It's cold around this time of year," Louis answered.

"It's hot today, and I see plenty of people go in every day," he shrugged. "I know you have a lot on your mind, but why don't you relax a little?"

"I can't—"

"You don't think you deserve it," Denzel said. "I've gone through… a similar thing before. Well, not exactly, but it was back in Eterna."

"What happened? Sorry, I was mostly focused on myself and my so-called prowess as a trainer back then," Louis said with a dry chuckle. "I hadn't gotten my wake-up call."

His friend paused. "You're a good trainer, Louis."

"Nonsense."

"You've got four badges, dude. In your first year. And you're going to get more. If you solve your flier issue or use Pauline's Braviary after Pastoria, you've got a real shot at making it to the Conference."

Louis stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

"I mean it," Denzel shrugged. "But let's return to my story. I used to have self-confidence issues that stemmed from the fact that I wasn't progressing as fast as Cecilia and Grace, but that was compounded with the fact that they had all of these problems that my life couldn't hold a candle to. That made me think that every single complaint, every time I felt tired, angry or sad wasn't warranted. That my feelings were invalid because, I mean, what the hell was I even worrying about?"

Whereas Louis felt like he couldn't afford to rest or feel happy because of what Justin was going through.

"I guess that is somewhat similar," he nodded.

"I try my best," Denzel said. "So just come to the beach with me. Pauline bought this beach volleyball that she stuck in my room so we could play. Spend a day between friends where you can breathe."

Louis let out a long breath. "Very well. What do I have to lose? Every time I've looked, it hasn't made a difference."

"Now we're talking," Denzel smiled.

"Plus, I wanted to ask Pokemon training-related questions, so I suppose it could be nice."

"Sure, I'll help out. Let's head to the Center and get changed."

—

March was in full swing, and each day, Sunyshore's long beach had more and more people. Louis' feet shifted in the sand as he squared himself, and he sent the volleyball back toward Denzel. For all his friend's height and build, he was actually quite bad at sports. His dexterity just wasn't there. Denzel hit the ball, and it slipped off his wrists, softly bouncing onto the sand. They had no net to speak of and they weren't even counting points, but Louis had to admit it felt good to be playing sports after so long. His father had forced him to play a multitude of them, including golf (which he hated), but volleyball was among his favorites along with badminton.

"Damn, my bad," he awkwardly said. "Pauline said this would be easy."

"Pauline played volleyball in school," Louis said.

"What?!" Denzel scoffed. "She never told me any of that!"

"She probably wanted to keep it a surprise to dominate you during your match," he shrugged. "Emilia knows. She's definitely in on the plan."

Louis had noticed how close all three had grown, but it was nothing he paid much attention to. Subgroups had formed within their friend group, and that was just life sometimes.

"That sounds like her. Thanks for the heads up," Denzel said as he pushed the ball upward. "So. What were those questions you wanted to ask me? I'll do my best to help out."

"Field alteration. It is what I need to take the next step, and yet I'm stumped. I can't think of anything that would help my team as a whole—"

He cut himself off to send the volleyball back.

"You're thinking too big," Denzel said. "It doesn't need to help your entire team. That's incredibly hard to do when you aren't a type specialist. Helping even one or a few Pokemon is fine so long as it's not permanent. Hell, even if it's permanent, it might be worth it if you have a lead, but I know you don't like to play risky."

"Not at all," he shook his head.

Louis hated taking unnecessary risks during battles, which was why he tended to stay on the defensive and react most of the time. It was a far cry from who he used to be. Back when he'd only owned Gabite and Empoleon and only thought to attack. Despite working better, his newfound strategy had cost him multiple battles against Maeve, but he knew there was a way to make it work with tweaks and experience.

"That's fine, not everyone's going to battle the same. Plus, it works kind of well with your team, I feel like."

"How?"

"Well, it's kind of slow. Stalwart, for lack of a better word. It works better defensively than offensively save for Ninetales, but even she battles your way. Plus, you know about Kingambit, right?"

Louis nodded. "How could I not?"

Kingambit was Bisharp's final form, and they always fought twice as hard whenever they were the last Pokemon on the field. Scientists said that it was instinctual since they were the leaders who needed to fight for that final inch when their army had fallen and they were the last Pokemon standing.

"But getting a Bisharp to evolve is… complicated, and I don't have that much time," Louis continued. "I would have to go back to that cave I found him in and find his old group."

"What is it that they need to evolve again?"

Louis paused. "Triumph. The ultimate victory that proves them to stand at the apex of their species. They need to beat an army of Pawniard and Bisharp by themselves and live to tell the tale. It's… dangerous."

"Well, I'm not saying you have to do it. I'm saying it fits you. You know, I admire you, Louis."

"How is that even possible?" Louis froze. The ball dropped to his feet and rolled onto the sand.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm serious. You're a tough guy. Probably the toughest guy I know."

"It isn't enough," the blonde said.

"I should have been there for you more, y'know?" Denzel muttered. "I'm sorry."

"There are only so many hours in a day, you don't have to drop everything for me. I know how busy you all are."

"But you're dropping everything for Justin. Shouldn't I be doing at least a fraction of that?"

"Well, you're doing it right now," he said after a pause.

"I am. Want to go grab a late lunch after this?"

"I don't see why not."

"Come on, give it a little pep!" Denzel exclaimed.

"Sure!" Louis yelled. He hadn't yelled in so long that it hurt. He pushed the ball back toward Denzel, and they began to play again.

"Hear me out, Louis. I've seen your battles with Maeve, and what you lack right now is confidence."

"Ha!"

Denzel caught the ball and smiled. "You laughed."

"No, I didn't!"

"You did. Damn it, I should have recorded this, the others won't believe me when I tell them this. I haven't seen you laugh since… since…"

Denzel stopped, and his smile suddenly disappeared like dust in the wind. He cleared his throat and continued.

"Like I said, you're a good trainer, but you behave like a kid that's going through their first Gym Battle every single time. Even with Maeve, despite being a lot more comfortable with her. You can be reactive and confident… although we don't really have any reactive battlers in our group. I could tell you about some random trainer I know off the top of my head."

"Go ahead."

"Jules Mantle, half ice type specialist and half water type. As you can guess, they can do a lot of nifty things with freezing water. They mostly react to whatever's being thrown at 'em. Last year during the Conference, they got up to the top 16 by slowing down battles to a halt every time."

"Slowing…?" Louis confusedly asked.

"Yes. They'll slow their opponents' Pokemon down to give them time to react and counter things either with ice or water moves. The point is, they're reactive, but they still have an active strategy that they employ. You just wait for things to get thrown at you. Sometimes that works, sometimes that doesn't. You need strategy that complements your style."

Louis attentively nodded, listening to every word.

"Granted, you don't want to get a big head either."

"I'm the last person you need to tell that," Louis said.

Denzel chuckled. "At the end of the day, it doesn't matter what strategy it is. Just have something you set out to do. Flailing around in a battle won't work, or at least it won't get you to eight badges. You'll have a decent team against Candice, but types will only carry you so far."

Louis blinked, looking up at the volleyball that Denzel had lobbed at him. His body tensed, and he felt compelled to go for the ball, jumping and arcing his back until he spiked it right at Denzel's feet.

"Yeah, confidence like that. Sheesh, go easy on me."

"I appreciate the advice, Denzel," Louis said. "And that was me going easy."

A group of girls suddenly interrupted their game, asking Denzel to sign autographs on their Pokeballs and a selfie. He apologized and told them he was busy helping a friend, much to their displeasure.

"You didn't have to do that," Louis said. "I could have waited."

Denzel chuckled as he shook his head. "How's Gabite doing recently? He still causing you problems?"

"He's doing alright. I'm mostly worried about when he'll evolve."

"I'll lend you a hand if push comes to shove," his friend nodded firmly. "I said the same thing to Cecilia, but she's determined to do it on her own. Your Gabite's pretty rowdy as far as they go, so you might need help."

"That… that reassures me," Louis sighed in relief. He would rather have help than not.

"I mean, what are friends if they don't help out, right? You doing alright with Cece?"

"We haven't spoken to each other much in Sunyshore, but yes. The awkward atmosphere is gone these days."

"You over her?"

"Yes," he said, not missing a beat. "The time away helped."

"Glad to hear it. Don't worry about romance, I'm sure you'll get a girl soon. Maybe she's even closer than you'd think."

"I don't think I'm in the right… headspace for a relationship right now," Louis said. "It wouldn't be right. I don't even know what a relationship is. My time with Cecilia, it was all fake. I mostly spent it flaunting her around like a thing and forcing her to have one-sided conversations while she answered with hums and nods. I don't want to slip back into bad habits."

Denzel paused. "Fair enough."

They played volleyball in silence until Denzel tried to spike the ball—

And failed miserably. That gave Louis a good chuckle.

—

"This isn't as fancy as you're used to, eh?" Denzel said as he chomped on some ribs.

They hadn't gone far. They were in one of the multitudes of restaurants that lined the boardwalk. Louis had basically been peer pressured into ordering ribs as well, but he did enjoy them very much even though Denzel made fun of him for using a knife and fork.

"You make it sound like I haven't eaten those pre-packaged meals for trainers," Louis said.

"Oh yeah, those are terrible," Denzel laughed. "I heard Grace and Honey cooked for Mira, Chase and Cecilia when they were traveling, though. Homemade food while traveling? I'm kind of jealous."

"Why don't you ask her to cook for you?" Louis asked. "Knowing her, she'll jump at the opportunity. She's quite… motherly."

"We should ask her, then," Denzel said. "And hell, she won't be limited to ingredients she can conveniently carry since we're in a city."

"If she agrees, I will be there," Louis said.

"So, Louis," the teenager said, dropping a bone on his plate. "What's next for you after this year?"

Louis froze at the question, not knowing what to answer. He'd been so focused on first surpassing Cecilia and then saving Justin from getting himself killed that he'd never taken a second to think about himself.

"I think it's an important question."

"It is. I know it is," Louis stumbled over his words. "I don't really know yet. I mean, I do have a long-term goal in mind, but it isn't currently achievable."

There was no more company for him to inherit, but even if there had been, he wouldn't have been interested any longer. The last thing Louis would have wanted was to turn into his father. He kept telling himself that they were different, but the sheer amount of wealth they'd had… that corrupted people.

"So you want to build yourself up for your long-term goal, then. Wanna tell me about it?" Denzel asked.

"This is somewhat embarrassing…"

"I bet you it isn't."

"I want to open a Pokemon sanctuary for abandoned Pokemon, both by their groups in the wild and by trainers," Louis muttered. "I don't really have any plans in place other than the location—"

"Dude."

"What?"

"That's so fucking awesome," Denzel breathed.

"Is it?"

"Yes!"

"Well, the planned location is Floaroma since there's a lot of space and it's close to Jubilife. That's where the majority of newer trainers come from and they tend to abandon their Pokemon the most," Louis said. "But I would have to have enough money to buy the land. Even with the money I currently have, it isn't enough. Plus, Floaroma's zoning laws are awful."

"Floaroma's a great spot," Denzel nodded. "You thinking of that field up north where the tournament was held, aren't you?"

"Exactly!" Louis exclaimed a little louder than he wanted. "It's the perfect area. There's nothing there aside from… well, flowers and a bunch of honey trees. So Pokemon training is somewhat temporary, which is something I'd have to sell to Gabite if he's still that aggressive whenever I try this project."

"I can try to help. I've got a lot of online reach, and I'll have even more whenever you get started. Of course, you need money."

Louis nodded.

"And you've been spending so much for us?" Denzel exclaimed in an incredulous tone. "That thing with Jerry Heo in Solaceon, all the parties you've paid for—"

"It's fine," Louis said.

"No. You need to think about yourself more," Denzel scolded. "I'm going to help you with this."

"You don't have that much. No offense!"

"In the future, obviously. Hopefully by then I'll be rich, but you should look into ways to make money too."

"Like what? I'm… good enough for a mid-sized sponsor, I suppose, but that's it."

"How will you run this sanctuary? Financially, I mean," Denzel asked as he leaned back.

"Hopefully through donations, but that probably won't be enough, especially when I might need employees if the project grows big enough."

"Hm. You know business."

"I can't just start a business out of thin air. I don't even have the capital for it," Louis said. "That was basically a nonstatement."

"This is all long-term. I'm not telling you to monetize your sanctuary. Obviously that would be an awful thing to do, but maybe have some services on the side? Like, you could make use of all that experience you're racking up as a trainer to offer training courses."

Denzel grabbed a napkin and called a waitress over.

"Excuse me, do you have a pen?"

The woman nodded, and after two minutes, she brought the pen.

Denzel grinned. "Let's brainstorm this. We all know that the best ideas were born on a napkin in a restaurant."

Louis cracked a smile. "Sure."

—

It was evening when Louis and Denzel went their separate ways. The blond teenager had multiple napkins in his pocket full of notes that he'd need to transcribe on an actual book or computer. Maeve would surely hand him a few. He grabbed his phone as he slowly dragged his feet through the boardwalk, and he noticed that she'd texted him multiple times already asking for his whereabouts and if he was okay.

Louis answered right away, apologizing for the tardiness of his answers. He turned toward the darkened beach and watched the people filter out now that the sun had set and the temperature had lowered.

Suddenly, a glimpse.

He blinked and caught himself. Surely he was seeing things. Louis pushed past a taller man as his breaths grew rapid and uneven. He'd recognized that light brown hair and pale skin anywhere.

Was this fate? Pure chance? Was Justin looking for him? Or perhaps something else entirely.

Justin wandered onto the boardwalk with his hulking Arcanine at his side. Louis clenched his teeth and broke into a run.

Somehow, he had found the damn needle in the haystack.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M, Tina M

 

[Soussouni1]

INTERLUDE - HAYSTACK II

No longer did his feet feel like they were tied down with lead. With the wind at his back, Louis ran as fast as he could. Every time his leg touched the ground, his body felt lighter, and his eyes never left the back of Justin's head. Arcanine figured out that he was here first, turning his head toward him and growling slightly. People recoiled and avoided the fire type in response out of fear while Justin stopped in his tracks.

"Justin," Louis said.

His old friend slowly turned, facing him fully. Louis blinked, desperate to chase the tears that were already building up. He didn't even know why he was crying. His tears meant joy, sorrow, regret, but most importantly, there was hope. The feeling ballooned in his chest and made Louis stand just a little straighter. Just a little taller. More confident. He stared into Justin's eyes and found nothing.

"I've been looking for you," Louis continued. "We have unfinished business."

Justin kept silent, simply studying Louis, who did not retreat or flinch away from his empty yet piercing stare.

"Grace told me you were going to speak to me," he said. "Where were you?"

"I never told her that," Justin finally spoke, his body unmoving. "In fact, I stayed silent when she asked."

"I know. Your demeanor was apparently very shaky, so she thought differently. That doesn't matter now. Justin, I'm here to talk. Just… come talk to me."

"There's very little to talk about. We've been through this song and dance before," Justin said. "You will disapprove of what I set out to do, and I will simply disagree. We will butt heads, and no one will change their mind. Why waste time?"

Louis dug his nails into his palm in frustration. This couldn't be a repeat of what had happened in Solaceon where he'd desperately tried to convince his friend not to leave, but how? Was he—

Was he ready?

He sharply inhaled and his chest tightened.

"What are you doing right now?" He asked.

"Arcanine wanted to enjoy some fresh air."

"Isn't that what you would constitute a 'waste of time'?" Louis frowned. "After all, you aren't training right now."

"My Pokemon have needs, and I supply those needs," Justin said. "A cohesive unit that enjoys themselves will progress faster than a ragtag group of personalities that keep clashing and doing whatever their trainer wants at all times. You of all people should know."

Louis took the comment in stride. He had been hit a thousand times before, and he had gotten back up each time. Tonight was no different. It was like someone pouring hot oil on him after being set on fire and having his nerves destroyed.

"You care, Justin," Louis said. "You care about Arcanine. About your other Pokemon. Isn't that proof—"

"I do care, but care takes many forms," the boy shrugged. "Are we done?"

So he did care. That was one foot in the door.

"We aren't."

"You have nothing to offer me, Louis. I've beaten Volkner already. All that remains is me getting my flying license, and I will be able to fly to Victory Road. It is a shame that there aren't any ferries to go there. I suppose the League uses it to stop inexperienced trainers from getting themselves killed."

"So like you?" Louis said. Justin didn't even deign to answer.

Still, that made Louis hesitate. Justin had five badges already? Despite having scoured videos of Gym Battles online, he hadn't found Justin's anywhere, which meant that he must have asked for the recording to be turned off. And a flying license? That must have been his mysterious sixth Pokemon. Still, that meant that Louis had no more time to prepare. And if he let him go now, who knew if he'd see him again before he left the city?

Could he even do this?

"I do have something to offer you. A battle—"

"A battle that we both know I will win, so what is the point? You wouldn't challenge me."

"No. I'll give you the battle of a lifetime," Louis said with a sneer he thought he'd lost a long time ago. "I'll show you that you can't hold a candle to me."

Gone was the soft-spoken tone that had become a part of him throughout the months. Vocal chords clicked into place, confidence slipped through his pores and the edges of his fingers tingled in excitement. He hadn't spoken like this in months.

"Victory Road? Don't make me laugh," Louis scoffed. "If anything, the one going there should be me. I've got what it takes, and you don't."

Talking this way after so long was like desperately grabbing onto any kind of plank after a ship had sunk in the middle of the sea. He fumbled around, flailing around the water until he found something to support himself on. Memory.

"Don't tell me that you're too terrified to respond," Louis jeered with a tone so obnoxious he made himself want to puke. How easy it was to slip into old habits. How comforting. Like drawing on a well that was almost empty. "I'm talking to you. Or will you ignore me? Louis Bianchi?"

Arcanine shot Louis a glare, but a pat from Justin stopped him from going further.

"Your efforts to get a rise out of me are pathetic. Your family name holds no power any longer."

"You think you'll be able to run Pherzen like this? Pariah I may be, but pariah you will become. A recluse like you could never run a company that size. You need to go above and beyond. Do things that aren't rational or needed, like speaking to people and doing them favors. You need to be social."

"Nonsense."

"At the end of the day, that's what this is about, isn't it? Pherzen," Louis pressed, taking a step forward. "Does Patrick agree? Does he know the extent of how warped you've become?"

"He knows."

"He knows the condition, but he doesn't know its extent," Louis said with a smug huff. "You haven't spoken in months, I'd bet. If he actually sees you, who knows how it'll change? You think you'll still be his successor? Nothing was signed. It was a mere verbal agreement. It's all dust in the eyes of the law."

This time, something shifted in Justin's eyes.

"Everything I do, I do for humanity's medical advancement," Justin muttered.

"You'll advance nothing like this. You'll be put in a division away from the public eye where you can't embarrass him, and you'll have to answer to someone else once he retires. How does head of manufacturing sound? Or head of PR—" Louis stopped himself from guffawing. "Nevermind. Someone like you couldn't do PR."

"I'll make you eat those words."

Louis smiled. Prodding at Justin's goal was still something that could trigger something in him, because in the end, it was all for Pherzen. Victory Road, the isolation, the training. All to inherit a company. He had a one-track mind.

"So you agree to the battle, then," Louis said, waiting for Justin's nod. "Good. I want it in writing."

"What?"

"In writing. A contract. If I lose, you may do what you wish. It's not like I could stop you regardless," Louis spoke. "If you lose, you travel with me and Maeve. If it is legal counsel you want, I still have a few lawyers I could call, and I'm sure I could at least find one in Sunyshore at this moment. The name Bianchi is toxic, but it still has weight."

"What's in it for me?"

"Oh? Is that doubt?" Louis smiled. "I thought you were going to win. But as a gesture of goodwill, I won't tell any of the others you're here."

"Fine. You're a sorry excuse for a trainer regardless."

"Keep them coming. I've lived in a state of emotional agony for the past five months."

Justin might have been inflicted with darkness, but was still a teenager. Prod and talk down his ambition, and he would respond in kind. The hints of his former self that he'd seen in Solaceon and Veilstone had made Louis realize that he couldn't beg for a change of mind.

He had to force it out of him.

No one could be truly emotionless, surely.

—

"So let me reiterate, Mr. Bianchi. A five-on-five with three switches for each trainer, and these are the correct conditions?" Mr. Murphy asked.

Louis crossed his arms and nodded. "Yes. That is correct."

A five-on-five was not ideal, especially with Combee, but it was the only way Louis had gotten Justin to agree. A four-on-four wouldn't satisfy him, and Louis had even hidden the fact that Combee hadn't evolved yet out of fear that Justin would have changed his mind. He wanted a fight. The stout Mr. Murphy adjusted his glasses and handed to contract to his equivalent— Mr. O'Brien, who was Justin's own lawyer.

"Are there any loopholes?" Justin asked.

O'Brien eyed the contract from side to side. It was a short one, barely a page long that stipulated conditions for loss and victory. Justin had added the condition that a loss from Louis would make him have to stop 'bothering him' for a period of five years. It was essentially a restraining order without having gone through the legal process. Not only that, but tonight would have to be a secret. Louis wouldn't even be able to tattle to Maeve.

Louis already knew that having to carry this burden alone would crush him.

And yet, it was now or never.

Damages for breaching the contract included Louis speaking well of Justin to his father (it seemed that he'd gotten on his nerves there) since Louis and Patrick used to be acquaintances thanks to his father, and he would value Louis' words. There was also monetary compensation that would cost Louis an arm and a leg and would bleed his metaphorical coffers dry.

"No loopholes," O'Brien said with a gruff voice. "Irontight."

The lawyer handed Justin a pen, and he signed. Louis did the same.

Their verbal agreement was now legally binding.

—

It was the dead of night, and the arena Louis and Justin stood in was completely empty save for the employee working the graveyard shift and the League-employed Kadabra.

Louis had used the precious time with the lawyers to desperately come up with a strategy— any strategy. Not only had he found himself in a five-on-five when Combee was still weak in battle, but Denzel's words from this afternoon rang truer now than they had when he'd first heard them. He didn't want to leave a battle like this to chance. That was essentially what he'd done his entire career as a trainer. To blindly go into a battle and hope for the best was to set yourself up for failure.

So here he was, desperately trying not to drown as he grabbed his first Pokeball. Louis' fingers twitched until he tightened his hold over his Pokeball. He had no idea what Justin would start with or how far his old friend had progressed, but he knew enough about types to know what Gabite was his safest bet. Justin had no ice nor dragon types— unless his sixth was a dragon, but Louis doubted that.

"Ready?!" He called out.

Justin answered with a silent nod. Louis counted down.

Gabite appeared in a brilliant flash of red and roared mightily once he realized he was about to battle, exposing his triangular, sharp teeth. The dragon's eyes narrowed at his opponent. His body was covered in dull, burgundy scales save for the white ones on his belly and the dark ones interspersed at different intervals. His eyes were darker than night, his snout had doubled in size and teeth as sharp as Gabite lined it like a razor. Krookodile.

Gabite squared himself, pressing down on the hard, rocky ground of the arena—

"Sand Tomb and Dig," Justin said.

The ground under Krookodile's feet turned soft, and the dark type sunk beneath it with an eerie silence. The Sand Tomb traveled with incredible speed toward Gabite, seemingly following Krookodile's trajectory underground.

"Bulldoze!" Louis snapped.

With a snarl, Gabite stomped a foot on the ground, causing it to shake uncontrollably. Unable to bear the pain, Krookodile jumped out of his Sand Tomb early and clawed at Gabite, raking away a few of his scales and exposing the tough, pink flesh below.

"Scary Face and Torment."

Sweat began to accumulate on every inch of Louis' body. Krookodile's face seemed to grow larger, more sinister. He opened his mouth, revealing rows and rows of teeth that could cut through his arm like butter and he emitted a low growl that made Louis shiver and his breathing quicken. Even Gabite, who was about to retaliate with Dragon Claw had to stop. Something else— something small shifted in Krookodile's eyes, and Gabite's own seemed to grow darker in response with the dark type's. The ground type buried again, and Krookodile sank into the sands. Louis called out for another Bulldoze, but Gabite seemed incapable of using the move.

So Louis went for the next best option.

"Earth Power!"

The ground bubbled all around the Sand Tomb and then exploded. The burst kicked up sand, dirt and rocks into the sky, and Louis heard a low-pitch hiss come from somewhere else underground.

"Again!"

Louis' leg bounced on his podium. He leaned in, awaiting another Earth Power—

And nothing happened.

He flinched when a massive burst of sand wrapped around the arena with a deafening howl. It wasn't a Sandstorm so much as it was a localized burst of sand, sped up to such a degree that even Gabite grunted in pain from the wind. The dragon type dove into the Sand Tomb as if he was jumping headfirst into a pool and buried to get away from the blast and chase Krookodile. Louis' mind raced, desperately attempting to explain Torment. Two times, he had ordered to use a move, and twice it had failed after the first attempt. Either it was a more powerful Disable that would prevent Gabite from using moves after using them once—

"Get back up and Bulldoze!" Louis quickly ordered.

The ground burst open, and Gabite forcefully dragged Krookodile out of the floor with a claw digging deep into his gut. The ground type's teeth grew dark as he Crunched at Gabite's neck, puncturing his scales and digging deep into his flesh. Gabite brought the ground type into the air with his proto-flight and then slammed both himself and his opponent into the ground as they brawled, forcefully creating a Bulldoze. The floor shook, and Krookodile's powerful Sandstorm ceased at once.

So he couldn't use the same attack twice in a row, Louis thought.

"Scary Face and Foul Play," Justin said.

Once again, Louis flinched at Krookodile's horrifying face. A maw that could swallow him whole opened, and he bit down on his tongue to force himself not to scream. To Gabite, however, the attack was less effective than the first time. He still slowed, allowing Krookodile a moment of respite. Darkness gathered around the Pokemon's fist, and he slammed a palm right into Gabite's chest. The impact knocked all the air out of Gabite's lungs and sent him tumbling back right into an already-formed Sand Tomb that he sunk into. At this point, the entire arena was covered in Krookodile's Sand Tombs. Anyone other than Gabite would never be able to beat him.

This had to stop now.

"Rush in!" Louis screamed. "In close quarters, you'll win! You can't use an attack twice in a row!"

An Earth Power propelled Gabite out of Sand Tomb, and he clumsily flew toward Krookodile as fast as he could. Often, he nearly stumbled out of the air or had to push himself back up with his legs.

"Scary Face and sink," Justin countered.

The third time was basically a blip on Gabite's radar, and the dragon rammed into Krookodile before he could retreat underground again. Gabite's claw shone turquoise, and a Dragon Claw dug deep and raked across the dark type's chest, followed by a close-quarters Dragon Breath and another Dragon Claw. Justin stood completely still as he recalled Krookodile, and Louis breathed a sigh. It was as much relief as it was worry, because he knew Gabite was needed to finish off Krookodile. The ground stopped shifting and solidified, although it was now horribly uneven due to the permanent Sand Tombs Krookodile had created. Justin sent out his Audino, who eyed Gabite with a suspicious tint.

"Yawn," Justin spoke.

Audino opened his mouth wide, and Louis felt compelled to yawn as well. The drowsiness only lasted a second, however. Louis was determined to use the little time Gabite had left to deal damage before recalling him.

"Bulldoze and Dragon Claw!" Louis snapped.

Audino's skin wasn't tough like Krookodile's, and they needed to exploit that weakness. Gabite shook off the lingering pain from the fight with Krookodile and blurred toward Audino—

And slammed head-first into a psychic barrier.

"Misty Terrain," Justin continued.

Pink dust emanated from Audino's body. Little by little at first, and then overwhelmingly until the battlefield was nothing but pink. It was so bright Louis found it hard not to squint. Not wanting to have a dragon fight on a terrain designed for fairies, Louis recalled Gabite and immediately sent out Bisharp instead. The tall steel type stared around in confusion. Finding Audino in this terrain was almost impossible. The normal type's pink skin bled perfectly into the pink light. The dust had clung to Gabite's scales, but it perfectly slid off Bisharp's metallic skin.

"Swords Dance and Night Slash! Tear through the barrier" Louis ordered.

Bisharp's body moved in a rhythmic motion, and he finished the dance by striking a pose. His blades glinted and sharpened. With a grunt, he ran toward Audino, who waited patiently for the steel type with an unwavering, gentle smile. Darkness enveloped Bisharp's hand, and he slashed across Audino—

Who disappeared, transforming into pink dust.

From the other side of the arena, a fireball slammed into Bisharp's back. It was weak— far too weak to actually deal a large amount of damage, but the flames were still painful to the steel type. Next, grass knotted around his ankles, keeping him still until pellets of mud struck him from another direction. Blades grew out of Bisharp's legs, cutting apart the grass, but the dark type was just as confused as Louis was.

Where was Audino?

Justin simply observed, his face still unmoving as another fireball was hurled toward Bisharp. This time, the steel type dodged, but a beam of ice got him in the leg. These attacks were all so varied, but they were all weaker and slower than they should be. Not only that, but they formed anywhere Audino wished. There was no way the normal type was traveling that fast. Louis would have loved to know what was happening, but he had no time to waste.

"Metal Sound," Louis said.

Bisharp whetted his blade across his own body, creating a horrible sound that made Louis wince. A small, painful squeal from Audino revealed his location, and Bisharp rushed toward the source of the sound. His hands once again grew dark, and this time, he slashed across the real body. The Night Slash tore through the barrier and across Audino's chest. Blood seeped out of the wound, seeping onto the pink ground. Justin ordered Audino to Yawn, and he did before disappearing once more, somehow vanishing into thin air.

Had that been the real body, or an illusion? The fact that Louis didn't know scared him, and now he was on a timer again. He told Bisharp to use another Metal Sound, but Audino didn't let anything slip this time. Bisharp cried out in pain as a dozen attacks slammed into him from all sides. Streams of flames, beams of ice, electricity, mud— anything he could possibly conceive. He recalled Bisharp before he could fall asleep or take too much damage.

Audino reappeared as soon as he was the only one on the field, the wound on his chest having been half-healed and progressively knitting itself back together as dust coated the gash. Bisharp specialized in one-on-one battles where he could see his enemies, and Louis had expected him to be able to fully take advantage of that against the slow-moving Audino. Whereas Audino had been a mere healer before, he was now possibly the most annoying Pokemon to face. Illusions, barriers, healing, Yawn, pulling every move under the sun? What Louis needed to beat Audino were wide attacks. Firepower. He released Ninetales, who curiously smelled her surroundings.

Flames enveloped her right away, coating her fur and protecting her from the dust's potentially malignant effects. Her tails lashed, her eyes flashed, Drought bore down onto the battlefield and Louis swept his arm.

"Burn up the field!"

Ninetales let loose an eerie howl, and flames spun around her wider and wider each time until they enveloped the entire arena. Audino slung more mud at Ninetales, and this time a jet of water. Ninetales shook off the pain and finished burning up the field. The Misty Terrain began to waver, and it was only a matter of time until it collapsed completely. Ninetales' eyes flashed once more, and her head snapped toward her left. She knew exactly where Audino was.

"Will-O-Wisp!" Louis yelled.

"Yawn," Justin said.

If they could somehow get Audino to be permanently burned, then they'd be in a good position. Louis internally swore as another Yawn took effect, but he couldn't afford to use his last switch here. Ninetales was the only Pokemon who could take Audino down or at least weaken him. Another jet of water hit Ninetales in the chin, but it was even weaker this time, as if it was tied to Misty Terrain's condition. Wisps crawled into the plane of the living kicking and screaming and rushed toward Audino.

"Encore and Magic Coat."

The blond trainer blinked as the Will-O-Wisps died in agonized screams as they slammed into a multi-colored barrier. At the same time, Audino twirled, and his eyes shone with a dull grey.

Ninetales would now feel compelled to use only Will-O-Wisps. Her hold on her flames collapsed, and they now ran wild across the arena. Her coat of fire dissolved into thin air, and another Will-O-Wisp floated toward Audino. The normal type again used Magic Coat to cancel the attack.

Louis bit his lip. Yawn was ticking, and Ninetales would be stuck using Will-O-Wisp longer than it would take for the move to take effect. Audino couldn't exactly hurt her that much either, but he didn't need to.

The short of it was, he'd been completely fucked.

Louis couldn't afford to lose Ninetales here. He unclipped her ball and with a heavy hand, recalled her. His dilemma grew more manageable when the Misty Terrain did not rebuild itself, however. Instead, it appeared to be stuck in its half-broken state.

A pragmatic person would have sent out Combee as a sacrifice. A way to reset the tempo of the fight and to get Ninetales back in right after.

Louis… couldn't.

"It's up to you," he whispered as he sent out Bisharp again.

Audino was possible to track now, and so long as they overwhelmed his healing factor, than victory was possible. Like clockwork, Justin ordered him to Yawn, and he did so right as Bisharp pushed against the ground with a darkened hand. Grass tied around his feet, but Audino's attacks were weaker now, and he easily tore through the Grass Knots by running.

"Disarming Voice."

Tears formed around Audino's large, blue eyes and he let out a harrowing scream. Bisharp hesitated for a split second, allowing Audino to sling another fireball at him. It was only now that Louis understood what was going on. The fire, the water, the grass— everything had formed from Audino's will.

It was glamour powered by the Misty Terrain. Or maybe the terrain provided the glamour itself? And yet, Audino was a normal type!

Bisharp silently tore through Audino's psychic barrier. He brought another hand forward, this time cutting with Slash. More blood and dust gushed out of the wound, but Bisharp did not stop. He was locked in, and kept shredding Audino apart.

"Life Dew," Justin said.

The wounds healed, but a lot slower than they appeared. By the time Bisharp had cut ten times, only one had knitted back together. Justin wanted to buy some time, but he had none. Louis expected him to use one of his switches, but he did not. Instead, the Misty Terrain began to collapse in on itself and Audino's attack turned into a continuous Disarming Voice that bought him a precious few seconds.

"Wish."

A light appeared above Audino's head and rose through the ceiling. It was Audino's last act. The normal type fell, bloodied and unconscious. Bisharp neatly shook his arms, throwing the blood off his blade in one go.

Since Wish had been used, it was obvious who would come next. Krookodile materialized onto the field, and the ground instantly began to shift once more. Bisharp immediately sunk into a Sand Tomb, but Louis had been ready for it.

"Metal Sound!"

The sudden screech surprised Krookodile, and the shifting sands stopped for a second. Bisharp jumped out, continuously using the sound to buy himself some more time.

"Metal Claw!"

With newfound stamina, Bisharp ran toward Krookodile, who violently shook his head to focus. A burst of metal from under Bisharp's feet helped him jump above the ever-increasing amount of Sand Tombs, and he let out a reverberating scream as his hands shimmered bright white—

And Krookodile buried, hiding safely from the attack. An expected, development, but annoying nonetheless. Even worse, the Yawn finally took effect, and Bisharp stumbled until he fell asleep.

It was over.

The Sand Tomb swallowed him whole, and Krookodile finished him off below ground where Louis couldn't see. Bisharp was spat out from the earth like a rag, and Louis recalled the steel type. He of course sent out Gabite once more, and the dragon was eager to continue the match with his arch-enemy.

"Torment."

Louis clicked his tongue, but the move was more annoying than debilitating. Krookodile's eyes drew in Gabite's gaze, locking him into non-consecutive moves.

"Dragon Breath and go in," Louis said.

Blue flames danced in Gabite's mouth, and he spat the attack out with a roar. Krokoodile did not bury this time, because Justin knew that would just prompt an Earth Power or Bulldoze. Instead, he took the attack head-on, using his bulk to resist the hit. Gabite flew forth, and Krookodile snarled, squaring himself to prepare for impact. Gabite slammed into his chest with a loud crash, and Krookodile slid backward.

"Foul Play."

The dark type threw a darkened fist at Gabite's chest, and scales flew out like shrapnel out of a grenade. The dragon delivered a vicious Dragon Claw to Krookodile's nose, and the two Pokemon entered a terrible melee. All discipline vanished into thin air. They clawed, bit, headbutted, anything that would get one to dominate the other. Louis bit his lip when Krookodile threw Gabite back with a powerful gust of a Sandstorm and his sheer bulk, and the Wish re-entered his body.

Scales quickly rebuilt and reappeared. Cuts mended. Blood evaporated. Krokoodile grinned.

Gabite drew on tired breaths.

"Earth Power," Louis said.

They had to keep their distance now. The Wish had ensured that Krookodile would beat them up close. The ground under the dark type's feet exploded with boiling earth and singed Krookodile's scales.

"Thrash," Justin said.

Krookodile's eyes glinted— this time with fury. He sank into the ground, but left his upper half exposed as if he was a Feraligatr swimming through a swamp. He was faster than he'd ever been, going as fast as Gabite could fly. The earth seemed to liquefy and push him forward like water currents.

"Alternate between Bulldoze, Earth Power and Dragon Breath!" Louis yelled. "Then run!"

The ground shook, earth burst open with deafening booms and the concentrated stream of draconic energy all hit Krookodile, who looked like he couldn't even register the pain. Gabite jumped to fly away, but Krookodile emerged from the earth with a wave of mud at his back. It clung to Gabite and kept him grounded, allowing Krookodile to get his hands on him.

Another melee began.

This time, Krookodile was clearly dominating. He slammed every single body part against Gabite. So much so that Louis felt like he was hurting himself. Something in his hand crunched when it hit Gabite's flank, and yet the onslaught continued. Krookodile savagely bit Gabite's arm and tore. The sheer violence made Louis flinch, but Justin didn't even react. All of the sophisticated strategies had been thrown to the wayside. Gabite fought back as best he could with Dragon Claw, Metal Claw and Slash.

And yet, this battle could only go one way.

Krookodile stood over Gabite's unconscious body with tired heaves, but he did not celebrate with a roar. Instead, he stumbled around and kept fighting the air. Louis quickly recalled Gabite before he could get caught in the crossfire, and Krookodile ran forward, slamming his head against Kadabra's barrier at full force and hurting himself in the process.

Louis took a deep breath and sent out Empoleon. The steel type instantly got into an alert position, but he blinked confusedly when he saw Krookodile's mental state. Louis thought Justin would recall him, but he did not. He was probably too tired to hope to use without Audino's Wish.

"Brine."

Clouds instantly materialized above Krookodile, who was still clawing at the edge of the arena. They stabbed into Krokodile, denting and peeling off his scales until the ground type fell unconscious. Louis was sure of it now. He'd been Gabite's explicit counter. Audino wouldn't have had the firepower to deal with the dragon. Justin silently recalled Krookodile and sent out his next Pokemon.

A human-sized Pokemon emerged from the red light. He had beige fur, duck-like lips and a green lilypad for a hat. Ludicolo began to dance to a non-existent rhythm as soon as he appeared on the field. Water and Grass meant that Empoleon's water moves would basically be useless in this fight, but they had other levers to pull. Louis waited for Justin to speak first.

"Rain Dance."

For Swift Swim, Louis instantly thought.

"Ice Beam!"

Shards of frost formed around Empoleon's mouth until they started to shine. Three arcs of ice barrelled toward Ludicolo, who opted to take the attack in order to finish off his move. Small bolts of electricity shimmered in the clouds and droplets began to fall.

"Again!" Louis barked.

"Teeter Dance."

Ludicolo's dance grew more vigorous, and Empoleon's Ice Beam fired off before it could be completed, missing entirely. Empoleon was swayed into the dance and started following Ludicolo's every move.

"Leech Seed," Justin continued.

Ludicolo spat out a set of seeds at Empoleon, all while keeping up his dance. They landed on the steel type and immediately burst open. Thorny vines wrapped around Empoleon's body and slowly began to suck his energy.

"Now Mist."

It took a few forced coughs, but a thick mist slid out of Ludicolo's mouth just as the Teeter Dance grew weaker and weaker. Empoleon blinked as he snapped back to reality, but Ludicolo was already gone, having slipped into the mist. All that remained was a terribly loud storm overhead, the accumulating water and the mist.

And they were on a timer.

"Icy Wind and Aqua Jet!" Louis yelled.

Empoleon honked, and water instantly surrounded him. Aided by the rain, he jumped and flew like a bullet. Ice formed at the edges of the attack, but that wasn't what they were looking for. Instead, the constant spinning from Aqua Jet created a perimeter of cold air that would harm any Pokemon near them, and now that Empoleon had a constant supply of water, he would be able to use the technique until he fainted. Somehow, every time the Leech Seed froze, it glowed neon green, unthawing itself and continuing to drain the water type's energy.

Empoleon traveled across the arena, sweeping the entire battlefield with ice. Frost enveloped the floor, and the water that had accumulated began to freeze over into a thin sheet of ice. Once Empoleon reached the end of the arena, Ludicolo let out a displeased croak.

They hadn't expected Empoleon to be this good. Louis smiled, but it disappeared as soon as Justin spoke.

"Sunny Day."

Everything disappeared. The stormy clouds, the rain, the thunder, it all evaporated in mere seconds. A second sun formed high ahead in the arena, and both Empoleon's Aqua Jet and Icy Wind lost in volume. It wasn't all that bad, however. The Sunny Day made the mist thin, and Ludicolo's shadow could be seen dancing—

"Grass Knot."

"Freeze it!" Louis yelled.

These weren't the little vines that Audino could use. Instead, they were massive and were capable of grabbing Empoleon's entire body. Empoleon exhaled, letting out another Icy Wind that froze the vines that attempted to wrap around him.

"Energy Ball. Keep up the pressure," Justin continued.

There was no vegetation to be seen anywhere except the Leech Seed, so instead, Ludicolo drew the energy from himself. A small part of his hat withered away, forming into a green ball of glowing light. With a confident cry, he sent it forward, and it seemed to curve and follow Empoleon wherever he went. It wasn't the only Energy Ball either. Ludicolo sent out more and more until he looked like a dead plant—

And then, he regenerated everything with Synthesis.

"Ice Beam! Just hit them out of the sky before they get to you!" Louis yelled.

Empoleon nodded, and weakened rays of ice intercepted each Energy Ball, causing them to explode mid-air. Grass grew wherever they did so, cracking and growing through the thick sheet of ice that Empoleon had created.

Louis' tongue pushed against the back of his teeth. He had enough information now, and he had strategy. Waiting around would be the death of him. He had to rush in and overwhelm before the Leech Seed caused too much damage.

"Slide and Metal Claw!" Louis screamed.

Aqua Jet might have been weakened, but Empoleon could still make use of his biology. He launched himself on his stomach, using his flippers to slide on the ice faster than a car. Ludicolo twirled, and sharpened leaves emerged from his beige fur and flew at Empoleon, cutting the softer parts of his flesh. On a dime, Ludicolo croaked and the weather changed again, and rain began to fall. Weaker than the first one this time, but it allowed him to slide away as if he was on an ice skating rink, constantly harassing Empoleon with hit-and-run tactics using Razor Leaf and Energy Ball.

The steel type didn't flinch. Instead, another Aqua Jet formed around him and he blurred, ramming into Ludicolo. He slashed across the water type's fur and skin with Metal Claw. Ludicolo grunted in pain, but his hands stuck to Empoleon's skin and glowed neon green. The steel type's eyes wavered, and Louis soon realized more of his energy was being drained.

"Ice—"

But Empoleon was already on top of it. Three arcs of ice sprayed Ludicolo across the chest, mouth and face until the grass type finally let go. Empoleon squawked, hitting him with a Metal Claw before escaping away, and another wave of Energy Balls flew toward him. Justin wasn't switching, Louis noticed. He wasn't switching because nothing could take down Empoleon like Ludicolo could.

"Synthesis," Justin spoke.

And there was also that. But each subsequent Synthesis would be weaker than the last. Ludicolo wasn't like Denzel's Roselia. He could only draw on the move a few times before exhausting himself. Louis' heart shook in trepidation as Empoleon formed into another Aqua Jet fused with an Icy Wind.

"Take the hit," Justin said.

"Stop—"

Too late. Aqua Jet was too fast, and Empoleon once more rammed into Ludicolo's chest. The grass type slid back onto the slick ice, straining against Empoleon's sheer weight.

"Tickle."

Pushing through the pain, Ludicolo's hands shifted under Empoleon's armpits. The steel type began to laugh. A strange, uneven honk combined with short breaths. At the same time, Ludicolo's hands shimmered green once more and Empoleon fell. Not because he fainted, but because he just laughed so uncontrollably that he couldn't stand.

"Ice Beam! Empoleon!"

No orders went through. The draining attack combined with the Leech Seed proved too much for Empoleon. The water type fainted, and Louis clenched a fist.

This was bad. Extremely bad. But Louis took a breath. He couldn't let panic get a hold of him. Not all was lost.

Ninetales came out of her ball next, and she growled in displeasure at the rain. Thankfully, Drought counteracted much of the Rain Dance, and much of the clouds dissipated until only the only rain left was a little patter that was barely noticeable. That meant Ludicolo would be slower, his water moves would be less effective and Ninetales would almost be at her full potential.

"Will-O-Wisp! Burn up the field again!" Louis barked.

Five spirits from another world materialized around Ninetales in a circle and rushed toward Ludicolo. Then, she clad herself in fire. The ice instantly melted below her feet, turning into water, and that water subsequently turned to vapor before it could even have an effect on her. Ludicolo spat out a powerful jet of water toward the wisps, but it had no effect. Instead, they only screamed in rage and each one entered the grass type's body. A purple flame enveloped him and shone brightly.

"Disable!" Louis snapped without missing a beat.

He'd seen Grace's Jellicent enough to recognize a Hydro Pump, and knocking it out of his arsenal would be key to winning this battle. Ninetales' eyes flashed grey, and the water cut out like someone had turned off a faucet in a sink.

"Water Pulse," Justin said instead.

Ludicolo found his voice, and a ring of water barrelled at Ninetales.

"Inferno!"

Flames spluttered and exploded outward, and Ninetales' eyes shone bright pink. She picked up the flames, molding them however she wished and formed a barrier that evaporated the Water Pulse before it could reach her. The blue flames formed into an elongated spear and they slammed into Ludicolo, lighting him on fire— real fire this time.

"Synthesis through it and approach to Tickle," Justin said.

The Synthesis was half-baked, but it bought Ludicolo some precious seconds. The water type slid across the little water that remained liquid, but Louis wouldn't let him.

"Imprison!"

Ludicolo slammed against a psychic wall and soon realized that there was no way out. Ninetales' eyes flashed, and the fire intensified. It burned everything to smithereens until Ludicolo's body was ashen and smoking, running through all of the oxygen that had remained in the box.

Justin recalled his Pokemon. The sheer brutality of this fight was far beyond what Louis was used to from his training with Maeve, and yet he knew he had to push on.

"I see your Ninetales has improved," Justin acknowledged.

Louis opened his mouth, but he didn't know how to answer. It was the first time in the fight that Justin had actually spoken a non-order. The Drought finally reached its full potential now that Ludicolo was gone, and the fight for influence had been won.

"She has," Louis finally said. "She's my ace."

"Let's see how she fares against mine, then."

Justin released Arcanine, and Louis drew a sharp breath. Ninetales' flames were just as useless against him as they were against herself, and both fire types intensely stared at each other. Louis was surprised that Justin hadn't sent Toxapex. He was probably keeping her for last since he didn't take Combee seriously, and the poison type wasn't exactly the best at actually utilizing water type moves and moving around. Or maybe… it was sentimental? Still, this was… perfect, wasn't it?

The training with Maeve. Constantly throwing Ninetales against her Infarnape. Fire type against fire type.

"Nasty Plot!" Louis yelled.

Ninetales' eyes darkened, and Louis always liked to imagine she dreamed to burning Gabite to a crisp. The flames around her and Arcanine shone with a brighter, more intense blue, but that wasn't the point. The goal was to power up all of her other moves.

"Hypnosis!" Louis added.

"Agility and Play Rough," Justin said.

Ninetales' tails straightened and weaved together into a half-circle as she stared down Arcanine with the intent to put him to sleep. Arcanine's body loosened, and he blurred with that speed his line was famous for. He might have been on land, but he was almost as fast as Cecilia's Talonflame and that was without Extreme Speed. The canine was bigger than Ninetales, and he slammed into her barrier. He opened his mouth, his teeth darkened, and he Crunched through the quickly erected shield.

Just as his eyelids closed, he rammed into Ninetales, breaking her focus and snapping out of his daze. He continued beating her up with every body part he could manage. Paws, his head, teeth, or just hurtling his body at her. Ninetales desperately countered with shields, blocking wherever she could, but they couldn't stay on the defensive. They had used a setup move.

"Extrasensory!" Louis yelled.

Arcanine's teeth stopped mere inches from Ninetales' already-bloodied throat, although the flames had vaporized most of the remaining blood, and he began to whine as the fire type ransacked through his brain. She lifted him up in the air and slammed him head-first into the ground—

"Roar."

There was a certain twinge of something to Justin's voice. Not excitement per se, but something. Arcanine bellowed out, and Ninetales repeatedly blinked, not understanding what had happened before the fire type sent her flying with a Take Down, shaking his head to bear through the recoil.

That move was an actual problem. Combined with Arcanine's speed, Louis was convinced that this was the move they needed to take away and not Play Rough.

"Disable!" Louis yelled as soon as Ninetales got back on her feet.

Another flash of Ninetale's eyes, and Arcanine growled in frustration.

"Flamethrower."

Louis contained a smile. The flames would do nothing to Ninetales. Arcanine breathed out a huge stream of flames powered by Drought. They merely tickled Ninetales—

Arcanine broke through the flames and bit one of her forelegs with Crunch, dragging her as he ran at full speed. They'd used the flames to hide themselves and lower their guard! Louis' leg bounced and his heart was clamoring in his chest, but there was a way to react here. An opportunity.

"Confuse Ray!"

"Let go—"

The light was faster than Justin had expected. It shifted as it entered Arcanine's body, and the fire type's teeth snapped tighter. Ninetales shrieked in pain and Louis heard her foreleg snap. Arcanine let go and kept running, ramming at full speed into Kadabra's barrier. Ninetales' foreleg was a bloody mess, bent the wrong way and clearly broken. It dangled over the floor as the fire type desperately stayed conscious.

"I—I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he stammered as tears welled up in his eyes.

Louis grabbed her Pokeball with a trembling hand, but Ninetales' head whirled toward him and she glared. At first, he thought that she blamed him as well. Confusing a Pokemon that had a hold on her had been reckless, and Louis had been too lost in his own adrenaline to realize that, but when the glare intensified as soon as he aimed toward her, he realized it was because she wanted him to fight.

But then, something buzzed in his mind. Like the static noise of a television.

…wet blanket and fight!

Louis winced as the headache spread through his head, and his vision blurred. Arcanine was running through the arena, using Flamethrowers on what he must have thought was Ninetales.

"Sorry," Louis said again. "Go in and Hex."

While his vision recovered, Ninetales painfully hopped forward. Being down one foreleg meant that she was a lot slower than before. Justin simply waited for Arcanine to snap out of his Confusion in silence, not even offering a word of support. Ninetales' eyes shimmered, and smoke emanated out of Arcanine's body. The fire type yipped, writhing on the floor in agony as the Hex worked through his body. Louis realized that the confusion's effects were tampering out, however.

"Hypnosis, quickly!"

Ninetales' tails formed into a circle, and she stared down Arcanine with an intensity never before seen. Louis' jaw clenched when fifteen seconds passed and the Hypnosis hadn't finished off. Ninetales' focus was fraying with her leg in such a condition.

"Reversal," Justin spoke.

He'd somehow known that Arcanine was good to go before Louis had. The fire type's muscles tensed, and he blurred toward Ninetales, who cried out in pain as her broken leg was once more caught in the crossfire. Louis already knew that Reversal dealt the most damage when a Pokemon was on the brink of fainting.

Ninetales did not get up.

But Arcanine was on the brink, barely able to stand. He struggled back to his feet as the Drought died out and the flames that had been swarming the arena turned to a dull red and then vanished. Louis' ears were ringing. If he hadn't spent so long apologizing to Ninetales or trying to get her out of the fight, then it would be her standing right now and not Arcanine.

He stood there, frozen as he blinked. The ringing in his ears grew louder and his heartbeat slowly calmed as the adrenaline left his body. His fingers relaxed, he swallowed and moistened his lips.

What now?

Combee was the only one left.

"I'm waiting for your fifth. You have ten seconds left," Justin warned. His voice was distant now. Far away.

Louis blinked and the ringing in his ears reached a crescendo. He sent out Combee, who took flight as high as they could.

"And I thought you were finally taking me seriously," Justin said. "After this long, she's still a Combee? What a waste."

Combee was the weakest member of his team, but she was no longer useless. She'd trained with Maeve's Gligar a multitude of times.

"Flamethrower. Finish it off," Justin said.

"Shield yourself and Air Cutter!" Louis yelled.

Honey leaked from Combee's carapace and slowly formed into a wall in front of them. It burned up, turning into a dry, darkened mess, and Combee cried out from the burns. Still, they beat their wings and the air sliced up Arcanine's flank. The canine wavered, but another order from Justin snapped him back awake.

"Fill his mouth!" Louis continued.

Honey clumsily flowed around Combee and then floated toward Arcanine, who slowly opened his mouth. Flames appeared deep in his maw right as the honey entered and coalesced inside.

The Flamethrower burned as much honey as it could, desperately trying to break through, but another Air Cutter sliced up Arcanine and finished him off. Even Justin was surprised at that, although it was only on his face for a second. Wasting no time, he sent out his last Pokemon.

It was a huge raven that dwarfed Combee, although it was still smaller than Pauline's Braviary. Around seven feet, if Louis was right. Its plumage was covered in steel, and deep red eyes set upon Combee like they were prey. With one flap of Corviknight's wings, he took to the air.

This was bad.

"Drill Peck."

Corviknight spun, warping the air around itself until it appeared like a huge drill. It flew toward Combee, whose Air Cutters only tickled the steel type. Gust didn't fare any better. Corviknight was too heavy to be knocked off-course. Louis barked out an order, and the honey formed into another wall.

The flying type's beak easily broke through and stabbed into Combee, sending her tumbling toward the ground. The honey fell as well, now lifeless and Combee crashed into the arena with a dull thud. Louis' arms went limp to his side, and the world seemed to grow just a little darker.

"I will not lie, Louis, your first four Pokemon were impressive," Justin said. "I am satisfied with this match."

He grabbed his Corviknight's Pokeball—

Combee's wings fluttered.

Then they glowed and grew, as did the rest of their body. Evolution, Louis thought. He sucked in air through his teeth and covered his eyes as Combee grew into a full-fledged Vespiquen.

The first thing Louis noticed was the buzzing. It filled his ears and overtook all of his thought. A weight pressed down his chest and he found it difficult to breathe, having to consciously suck in and expunge air. His heart began to beat so loudly that it was almost painful. Tingles continuously ran up and down his spine and he wanted nothing more but to run out of here. Things crawled out of Vespiquen's skin and began secreting massive amounts of honey, healing the wound from the Drill Peck that had carried over at the same time. Louis nervously clenched a fist, and realized he was sweating buckets. It was like he'd dipped his hand in water.

Even Corviknight seemed intimidated. He no longer eyed Vespiquen like prey, but an equal. A threat. Justin stood there, his face unmoving.

Louis' mind raced, but all of his thoughts were consumed by the buzzing. Vespiquen sprung to action without his command, bending honey around her and throwing it forward.

"Drill Peck again. We have the advantage," Justin said.

Corviknight squawked. The sound was metallic and screech-like. It would have been unpleasant to listen to had Louis been able to focus. Vespiqueen screeched, and her honey clung and solidified around the steel type. Its rotation meant that the majority of it was continuously flung away, but it slowed Corviknight and forced him to abandon his attack. Vespiquen could control it so well now. As if it had come to her instinctually, and Louis supposed it had. Vespiquen were supposed to lead hives.

"Steel Wing," Justin continued.

Louis could only stay silent. Honey crawled all over Corviknight, whose wings shimmered bright white. The flying type's huge wingspan slammed right into Vespiquen's abdomen, but she used the close range to infiltrate his armor with honey. While Corviknight was covered in steel, they needed their feathers to fly. The honey solidified, and Corviknight fell to the floor with a loud crash, as did Vespiquen. Yet, that didn't stop the constant, debilitating buzzing. Louis placed his hands over his ears, but even that didn't seem to work.

The bug type screeched, snapping her pincers together. A bridge of honey still linked the two Pokemon, and more and more things crawled onto Corviknight. Shapeless, horrible things that Louis couldn't even begin to describe. The bird squawked as the grubs infiltrated past its armor and past its skin. Honey began to leak from his beak and its eyes as it furiously thrashed on the floor. His squawks turned into gurgles and horrible coughs that kept spitting out more and more honey.

Corviknight was drowning, Louis realized.

"Vespiquen! Stop, you're killing it!"

He could barely hear the sound of his own voice through the buzzing. Louis quickly grabbed his Pokeball, and just as his finger hovered over the return button, Justin recalled Corviknight. Louis looked at Justin and saw something he thought he would have never seen again.

Genuine worry.

He'd been terrified of losing his Pokemon.

In front of them lay what remained of the battlefield. Honey-soaked, full of potholes, water vapor, chunks of ice at its edges, grass, scorched earth.

Louis' legs felt like jelly.

"You— you win," Justin huffed. "You got me."

"No! No, I lost!" Louis yelled. He clicked his tongue and recalled Vespiquen. "This was terrible sportsmanship from me! I should have recalled Vespiquen right away—"

"I was too scared. I— It's been so long," he said, stumbling back. He collapsed and sat on the ground. "I didn't know I could be scared any longer."

The blonde's lips quivered. "I'm sorry."

Louis had won. Justin would travel with them, and he'd potentially saved a friend from killing himself in Victory Road.

And yet, victory tasted like ashes in his mouth. All this time, he had worried about Gabite's evolution, and Vespiquen was the one whom he should have watched out for. He was a failure. He'd failed Justin, Justin's team, and his own Pokemon.

He'd won, but at what cost?

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M, Tina M, dotAlice

 

[Soussouni1]

SIDE STORY - THE GLACIER

Name: REGICE
Class: PAC-Z
Status: DORMANT*

Description

Regice is an incredibly dangerous entity with a robust build and a crystalline appearance. It is 12'3 feet tall and is predominantly composed of an icy-blue angular shell. This outer layer appears to mimic the facets of natural ice crystal lattice, but it is indestructible to any attacks despite it being identical to normal ice on a molecular level and the surface is free of any blemishes or impurities. Regice is therefore incapable of suffering any permanent damage or of being terminated. Pokeballs do not work on Regice and only serve to agitate it. Like its siblings, Regice's face is dotted with yellow lights. This one dons a 'plus' pattern that can dim or flash depending on Regice's current state. Regice is capable of making sounds that remind people of a high-pitched continuous frequency that is known to stutter and 'glitch'. Regice's body maintains a core temperature of 0 Kelvin at all times and its surroundings are permanently frozen. No human can approach the Pokemon without specialized gear without immediately freezing to death. Regice is known to disrupt any attempts to Teleport close to it, instantly freezing any human or Pokemon that attempts to do so even while in its dormant state or when wearing protective gear. It is also known to disrupt psychics in general.

Containment Procedure

Regice is currently located in Mount Coronet at Point █████. Historical records do not go far enough to know how Regice reached this place, and the chamber it is contained in was built before the League got there. Regice is to be kept in its chamber at all times. No personnel below the rank of League Commander or Class 5 Scientist may enter the chamber save for experimentation. Regice is kept asleep, and will stay asleep as long as █████████ lays dormant in █████████, but it is known to have periods of agitation during the ritual that we still do not know the reason for. The working theory is that the few seconds █████████ awakens during the ritual is enough to sometimes wake Regice or its siblings from their slumber. Do not approach unless Regice awakens or you have direct permission from a Commander, a Class 5 Scientist, or someone of higher rank.

Experimentation Log #192 (Doctor ██████)

Date: January 17th ████

Deathrow inmates ████ ████ and ███ ███████ were brought into Regice's chamber wearing specialized suits and kept there for 5-hour intervals. The experiment seemed to be going well, but they described a particular feeling of frigidness that grew worse and worse. At the fifteenth go, they were shivering so uncontrollably that they could barely function. ███ ███████ described the feeling as 'the most painful thing they had ever experienced in their life'.

Date: January 28th ████

The two test subjects seem to be cursed with a coldness that will never leave. Regice has sipped past their skin and into their bones, and nothing we have tried will warm them. Despite this, they appear to be in perfectly healthy condition. The cold makes it impossible to sleep until they fall unconscious from exhaustion, and they are stuck in a permanent cycle of tiredness. Hallucinations and nonsensical ramblings are commonplace, and they both have expressed a desire to see Regice again so they could 'be complete'. It is my understanding that they are feeling compelled to freeze to death.

Date: February 12th ████

The inmates physically assaulted League personnel when they were brought lunch. Seeing as there was no progress in the experiment, we decided to terminate them.

Recommendation: Regice must never be visited by the same person more than five times. It is unknown if we could space these visits out to abate the effects Regice has on the human psyche. More experimentation is required. Requesting the shipment of more inmates.

Incident Report #3

Date: June 12th ████

Regice's agitation during the ritual on █████████ was far beyond normal levels. It floated up from its frozen podium and fired a beam of ice at the Chamber's door, freezing and destroying it instantly. ██ League Members died from the single blast and ███ more died from the following events. Regice broke out of its Chamber and Protocol Glacier was initiated. Champion Cynthia and the newly appointed member of the Elite Four Flint Teleported as close as they could, prompting much confusion from Conference watchers since they were both spectating a match at the time. The temperature around Mount Coronet began to drop steadily at a rate of one degree every twenty-seven minutes. It is theorized that eventually, the entire mountain and its surroundings would have reached the temperature of 0 Kelvin if given enough time, but it is unknown if █████ ██████'s influence would have eventually countered or would have superseded this phenomenon. Cynthia and Flint successfully contained Regice, temporarily knocking it out after a battle that lasted █ hours. This marked the third time that Regice had ever woken up fully and the first time during Champion Cynthia's tenure. Fewer League Trainers died this time than the last two incidents.

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 234

Cecilia spoke behind me with a tired voice.

"Is that your phone?"

I frowned, turning 180 degrees on the desk chair and staring at the bedside table. I'd been so focused on my physics textbook that I hadn't noticed it had been buzzing. I'd wanted to see if I could get any extra information on electricity that Jasmine hadn't given me yet, but it was mostly things I wasn't good enough to exploit yet, like that trick Craig's Typhlosion had used to weaken and stop Zap Canons.

"Shit. Did I wake you up? Was the light too strong?"

"Yes, but that's fine. I'll have no trouble falling back asleep."

I grabbed my Poketch and my mouth slowly opened in disbelief as I read Louis' entire message.

"He did what?!" I yelled.

Cecilia shot up, waking up again from my yelling. "Huh?"

"Cece, Louis battled Justin over some sort of contract and won," I said. "They're both downstairs right now giving their Pokemon to a nurse. Apparently he managed to change Justin's mind about his entire Victory Road plan!"

Cecilia's lips stretched into a smile that widened as I explained the situation.

"Through dark type energy?" She asked.

"Yeah. I don't know how, but— I guess he just did it."

"Did he message you or the group chat?"

I stared back at my cell phone to make sure.

"It was just me for now. He says he wants me to come downstairs."

"Should I come?" Cece asked. "I want to come."

"I'll ask."

I typed out the message and changed out of my pajamas as quickly as I could. My hands reflexively went to my belt before I remembered that most of my Pokemon were in my room right now and the only ones I had in their Pokeballs were Princess and Honey. When Louis answered, he said that Cecilia could come too and that he had called for Denzel as well. My girlfriend got changed and we were on our way downstairs as soon as she was done. The elevator ride seemed excruciatingly long and I couldn't stop myself from staring above the doors every time the floor number switched.

We were practically running once we reached the lobby. Since it was two in the morning, it was also empty save for our two friends and a nurse sitting over the counter. Louis looked absolutely terrible. His face was wrought with guilt and he sat on one of the couches with his elbows on his thighs and leaning against his palms as he stared at the floor. Justin looked shaken, which after seeing him emotionless for so long, was like night and day. Denzel wasn't here yet, but I was sure he would only take a few more minutes.

"Louis! Justin!" Cecilia yelled as a wave of relief washed over her. "What… happened?"

Louis slowly stared up at her, his face pale and aghast. "I'm exhausted. It was a— it was close. I nearly killed his Corviknight."

Cecilia didn't know how to answer that.

"How?" I asked.

"Combee evolved. She went berserk."

"Ah," I muttered.

It was easy to see how it had happened with the experience I'd gotten with Zachary's own Vespiquen. What I hadn't known was that she would do something like that after evolving, but I hadn't really asked Zachary about it.

"Justin, are you—"

"I'm fine," he answered me. "I lost the battle, and I will adhere to the contract. I won't go to Victory Road."

"That's not what I wanted to know. I wanted to know if you were alright."

Justin's neck tightened. "Yes."

The fact that Justin's sixth Pokemon was a Corviknight hadn't been lost on me, but now wasn't the time to think about that.

"Will Corviknight be fine?" Cece asked. "Long term?"

"The Pokeball stopped the worst of it according to the nurses," Justin spoke when Louis couldn't. "They have him on some kind of respirator and they'll have to purge the honey out of his lungs and body. Vespiquen's grubs are invasive and are killing him from the inside. Making more honey without Vespiquen's orders."

I swallowed. Not everything could be fixed with Ditto cells.

"But he'll be fine?" I asked.

"He should be," Justin nodded. "But it'll take a week of careful treatment and monitoring. There are too many of them inside of him to destroy, so they'll have to wait until they die— well, they're not alive, I suppose."

The fact that he was so clinically speaking of Corviknight like that would have angered me if I hadn't known about the dark type energy within him. Plus, he was clearly worried. You just had to dig deep and know him to figure it out.

Cecilia sighed. "No casualties. Good. Louis?"

Louis had tightened his fists so much while Justin explained Corviknight's condition that his knuckles were paler than even Justin's.

"Louis," she repeated.

"Yes?"

"Things are okay."

Louis sighed, leaning back against the couch as he rubbed his forehead. Denzel arrived a few seconds later with untied shoelaces and two different socks.

"Justin! Holy shit!" He yelled with a wide grin. "Louis, you did it! You— Louis?"

"Uh, he's been through a lot," I said.

Justin explained Corviknight's condition using the exact same words he had before, save for that stutter about Vespiquen's grubs. It would take a while to get used to, but Louis had done it.

Justin was saved.

Now it was all about what came afterward.

We all took a seat on the leathery couches and Justin recounted the battle bit by bit, not because it was what mattered right now but because he felt the need to, as if he wanted to put it all on the record. We all let him do it. After all, we weren't about to cut him off when he'd come of his own volition. I couldn't help but feel tense as he spoke, even though I knew the end results. What he had done with Audino was certainly of interest to both me and Denzel, and some of the tricks he'd pulled showed that he was still fully on board with his stalling strategy, although it seemed like he had pivoted somewhat toward unconventional methods instead of only stalling. If the situation wasn't so serious, I would have allowed myself to smile proudly at Justin's skill. Louis was quiet at first, but he started to speak when Justin got to Vespiquen.

"I couldn't even hear myself think. For a moment, I was scared of my own Pokemon," Louis muttered. "That made me freeze up. I could have spared Corviknight the pain it's going through right now."

Yep, that was Pressure, I thought to myself. I'd researched the ability a little when I had prepared against Zachary's team. The reason I'd been relatively fine was probably because I'd faced Cynthia's Spiritomb back in Solaceon. Well, face was a big word. I hadn't even seen them. Just felt their presence in Cynthia's pocket while they were still inside their keystone. Even through Shiftry's domain, those whispers had nearly crushed me. I couldn't imagine facing Spiritomb at its full power in a real battle.

"That's Pressure," Denzel said, echoing my thoughts. "Although I've never experienced it myself. I hear it can basically lose you a battle if you aren't prepared. Pokemon with the ability are incredibly rare. I guess Vespiquen has it."

"The most important thing is that Corviknight will recover," Cecilia gently said. "We all make mistakes. Even I didn't know Vespiquen could rampage when they evolved."

"That— that shouldn't have been the case," Louis said. "I researched! I researched as much as I could about Vespiquen."

The conversation lulled, and Louis' jaw clenched.

"I know someone who can help," I said. "Zachary Gallagher."

"Oh, right!" Cece exclaimed.

Louis frowned. "Who?"

"Maeve didn't tell you?" I raised an eyebrow. "He was a seven-badger I battled when we were in Veilstone, and his ace is a Vespiquen. Well, he actually has eight now, but the point still applies."

"She didn't… but I'd already told her about my fears for Combee evolving back then," he slowly whispered. Realization dawned on his face. "Ah."

"Are you sure you don't want her here?" Cecilia asked.

He shook his head. "No, no. I would only worry her. I will tell her about this tomorrow when I'm in… better spirits."

I whipped out my phone out of my pocket. "I'll call Zachary right now."

"Wait, he's probably sleeping—" Denzel said before I interrupted him.

"I know. But Louis needs it."

He opened his mouth to speak again, but I was already scrolling through my contacts. Denzel scoffed in disbelief when Zachary instantly picked up. I could hear explosions in the background, a telltale sign that he and his team were training somewhere.

"Zach?"

"Ah, Grace! 'Evening! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

There was that usual tint of sarcasm to his tone, but I knew him enough to know that it was just his actual voice and that he meant no harm.

"I have a friend whose Combee just evolved. He needs help. Are you available?"

"Always willing to help a fellow Vespiquen trainer," he said. I could hear him grinning.

"I'm putting you on speaker, okay? His name's Louis."

I placed the phone on the coffee table and Louis took a few seconds to start speaking. I soon realized that he was embarrassed, but a pat on the shoulder from Denzel made him start. He explained Vespiquen's actions to Zachary, who listened in silence.

"So?" Louis said.

"Vespiquen don't go crazy when they evolve. That wasn't a rampage like what Pokemon like Ursaring or Haxorus are known for. That was different."

Louis nervously ran his hand through his hair. "How so?"

"Vespiquen have a peculiar way of thinking, Louis. They're born to lead hives— you should see them, by the way. They're fucking enormous. I almost got myself killed when I caught my Combee," he recalled with a hearty laugh. "But getting back on track, your Vespiquen evolved and a bunch of new information flooded her mind. I think that she lost herself for a second and forgot that she wasn't the queen of some hive getting destroyed by a Corviknight. Essentially, she saw the threat and decided to eliminate it."

"So she'll be normal when she's back?" Louis asked with a hint of hope. "I hope she's not giving the nurses too much trouble."

"Well, she'll be different," Zachary said. "Her brain works a lot differently now. It's like, think about how you'd feel if you went from being a normal human to a supercomputer being able to process thousands of tasks at once. It'd be overwhelming, right? It'll be the same for her. She'll have to get used to it and it'll take some weeks, but she won't try to kill you. Or others. Try not to use her in battles for the first week, at the very least. I think her evolution will have shaped some of her mentality and she might be a little more aggressive than the usual Vespiquen. She'll probably have a hate boner for every Corviknight from now on."

"Every Corviknight?" I scoffed.

"Yes. Every Corviknight," he repeated with a chuckle. "She's got them in the 'threat, kill on sight' part of her brain right now and it'll take some work to get that to 'threat, be brutal' instead. There are stories of Pokemon attacking Vespiquen hives and them just attacking every member of the species that strays too close afterward just to stay on the safe side. Remember, Vespiquen's first instinct is to run and protect a hive. She'll still think that way even when she's on a team."

"Well thank you for the help," Louis said with a relieved sigh. "I feel much lighter now."

"On the flipside, that Corviknight is probably traumatized for life," Zach said. Louis' face flinched like he'd been struck. "Got any other questions for me—"

He stopped as an explosion that was closer this time rang out.

"Sheesh! That's what I get for trying to teach Gyarados Hyper Beam. Anyway, got any more questions for me?"

"I do. About Pressure," Louis said.

"Ah, yeah! That gives you the heebie-jeebies, right? Been a while since I've been able to notice it, though. Don't worry too much. It'll be tough for you at first, but you'll get used to it over the months. I remember I couldn't even look in Vespi's direction for too long when she evolved."

"Thank you."

"I have a question," Cece spoke up.

"Cool! Uh, who are you?"

"Cecilia Obel."

"Oh, right. First time hearing your voice," Zachary said. "Go ahead."

"Could I train myself with Vespiquen's Pressure to… say, get used to another Pokemon's pressure?"

"Hm. To a certain extent, yes, but every species's got a different way of fucking with your head. Weavile makes you feel like you've got claws pressing against your neck and that you're about to get your throat ripped out. It actually tricks your brain into feeling a little pain too," Zachary said. "Absol makes you imagine the worst possible events, and it feels like it genuinely happened to you. Vespiquen obviously makes you unable to hear your own thought with buzzing and you can't really look in her direction for long or you'll see some disturbing shit. You could go on and on. It's tricky. Those are the only two Pokemon I've faced with Pressure outside of Vespi."

That description of Weavile surprised me, and for a moment my mind went back to my battle against Harry Rodriguez. I'd been lucky it looked like the Hunters' Weavile's ability hadn't been Pressure, or I might have lost that battle. Harry probably wouldn't have been able to handle it either, though. I wondered how he was doing. Hopefully he was having a miserable time rotting in prison.

"So it's possible?" Cecilia asked.

"Sorta. You'll have an easier time, but it won't make you immune is what I'm saying. Hell, even other Vespiquen still make me sweat."

I knew she was thinking of training herself for her potential Spiritomb, and it wasn't a bad idea. Plus, she'd be able to keep Louis company too, which I assumed he would dearly need in the coming days. Louis asked a few more questions regarding Vespiquen to make sure the information he'd gotten online was correct regarding things like diet and her other needs, and the conversation finally finished. Zachary hung up as another explosion rang out in the distance.

He had eight badges now, so his first run at the Conference was guaranteed. I hoped I'd face him again there in a proper battle. Sunshine needed his rematch, after all.

"Man. What a night," Denzel exhaled. "Justin, which room's yours— actually, is this even your Pokemon Center?"

"It is not. I was staying at the one closest to the city gates," Justin said.

"This one's full, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yes. Because it's the closest to the Gym, and more trainers have started to arrive from the west," Cecilia explained.

"Stay with us tonight. The nurses won't yell at you for keeping your room empty once. Grace does it all the time anyway," Denzel said.

"I have my Pokemon there instead. It's a loophole," I smiled.

"No, it really isn't," Denzel said, rolling his eyes. "We can sleep in my room. Unless you have a problem with sharing a bed. I guess I could sleep on the floor, but that'll kill my back."

"No. But you are quite large. I fear I might not be able to fit on the bed."

"I guess you could stay with Louis."

"I'm sorry, I… I need space," Louis shook his head. "I'll be ready to face the world tomorrow."

"Come on, Louis. You know that's no problem with us," Cece assured him.

"Justin can stay with me."

All of my friends stared for a few seconds.

"I guess you can recall your Pokemon and have him stay in your room," Denzel said. "I should have thought about that."

"No, I meant with me. I'll stick around."

"You don't have to worry about me escaping," Justin deadpanned. "I will adhere to the contract."

"I believe you," I smiled. "I just want to catch up."

He frowned at that statement as if he hadn't understood my words. The others agreed, but they were unfortunately too tired to come with. I kissed Cecilia goodnight and Justin followed me into my room. Sunshine, Buddy, Sweetheart and Angel were all there. Sunshine and Buddy instantly got on high alert as if they wanted to murder Justin. Sweetheart was sleeping in the corner of the room, her cocoon gently swaying from side to side. She was starting to molt again.

Angel instantly tried to hug Justin, but I stopped him with a flick of my hand.

"So yeah, Justin's back," I whispered. "I'll explain later."

I recalled them all and motioned at Justin to sit anywhere he wished. He decided on the foot of my bed. Thankfully, I'd used Cece's room so much that my room was nowhere near as messy as they usually got.

"Want anything? I've got water, I think."

He shook his head. I stood there silently for a second, observing him. Justin stared blankly at me, his nerves from earlier somewhat settled.

"I'm glad you're back. This is going to be good for you. For all of us," I continued. "How've you been since the last time I saw you?"

"Adequate."

"That's better than bad," I said. "Corviknight will be okay. No one's better than a Nurse Joy."

Justin blinked, and he shifted in the bed a little. "It was the first time since Solaceon that I felt scared."

I sighed. The emotion had probably been magnified too, since he hadn't felt it for so long.

"Do you feel any ill will toward Louis?"

"No. He couldn't have known," Justin shook his head. "I do wish he had reacted faster, but what is done is done."

I nodded and sat next to him. He flinched at the sudden closeness.

"Relax. We're friends."

"Still?" He frowned. "How?"

"The bonds of friendship are strong. They wouldn't be broken by a few months apart," I quietly said. "So. Corviknight and Toxapex, huh? You bought them?"

"I bought Toxapex as a Mareanie," Justin said. "I caught Corviknight as a Corvisquire."

"You caught him?"

"It wasn't originally planned, but he followed us for a while during our travels. Audino got attached very quickly."

"That's cute. I miss the little guy," I chuckled. "Is he okay these days?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you fought Louis in Veilstone. Your Pokemon looked… well, they didn't look in the best place mentally according to him."

"They took a little adjusting to my new condition," Justin nodded. "But things are okay."

"Just okay?"

"Okay."

I fell back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. "What's Corviknight like?"

"Not very knightly. He's somewhat of a savage fighter," Justin said. The words came easier now. "He reminds me of Pauline."

I chuckled. "What?! I'll tell her you said that!"

"Don't. She'll scream at me."

"Could I see your little Toxapex too?" I asked. "She wasn't in the fight."

"Why?"

"Just to meet her," I shrugged as I sat back up. "Unless you don't want to."

"Very well," Justin said, releasing the poison type onto the floor.

Confusion emanated off Toxapex as soon as she laid her eyes on me, and she lifted up more of her twelve legs so she could get a better look at me. Toxapex were smaller up close than I thought they would be. She was about three and a half feet tall, if I'd estimated correctly. Her eyes were fluorescent and shone with a brilliant yellow.

"Be at ease, Toxapex," Justin said with a calm tone.

I leaned down toward her.

"Hi. You don't know me, but I'm one of your trainer's friends. It was before he got you."

Toxapex let out a weird, gurgly sound that reminded me of Gardenia's Tangela, only somewhat higher pitched and more relaxed. Her emotions settled down, and she seemed excited to meet someone new, especially someone who her trainer knew. Justin retold the battle to her when she demanded to know what had happened, but I noticed he made Corviknight's condition sound a lot better than it actually was.

He was still in there.

"Can we talk about something uncomfortable— well, I guess you wouldn't mind," I said.

"I would not."

"We can have Mira's Alakazam look at you tomorrow, if you want. He might be able to figure out a way to return you to… well, I won't say normal, but back to a healthy dose of dark TE."

Justin sighed. "I don't know."

"I already knew you didn't want to."

"This new state of mind… it's made me progress much faster than I would have if I was still my old self. I can work day and night without caring about how tired I am. I'm not scared to venture off-route to train in high-stakes battles—"

My eye twitched at that, but I let it go for now.

"—and during the battles themselves, I can make the correct decisions. Take Louis, for example. His Ninetales lost against my Arcanine because he flinched when her leg was broken. Things like that, they don't happen to me. I'm good at battling now."

"And since you're good, you can try to make it to the Conference instead of this Victory Road plan you tunnel-visioned on."

"I was thinking long-term," Justin shook his head. I noticed that emotion slipped back into his voice now that he was speaking about his goal. "A better showing at the Conference next year would please my father more than… what, getting in and getting knocked out at the group stages? I wasn't even sure I could make it past the eighth gym, still."

I bit the inside of my lip. "So you feel like this is helping you, not hampering you. Ignoring the suicidal ideas."

"I wouldn't have—" Justin stopped himself when he realized he was yelling. "I wouldn't have died."

"Trust me, you would have."

I was beginning to understand now. Rationality was a part of him, but his goal was the key to unlocking his emotions again, or at least the key to him getting better. That also meant he could do stupid things to reach that goal and try to take non-existent shortcuts. I would have to report any findings to Alakazam.

"Regardless, what's done is done. I won't be going there any longer," Justin muttered. Toxapex cried out in support, rubbing one of her legs on his. "Thank you, Toxapex."

"I did say return you to healthy levels, but then again, maybe there's a way through this without that," I said. "Have you felt anything else since the fight?"

"Just fear, but it's all but gone now."

"There might be ways to trigger other emotions in you," I said. "But that means we have to experiment. Prod at things until something gives. And trust me when I say this, there are ways to cut yourself off emotionally in battle that don't involve TE."

His eye twitched. "What do you mean by that?"

"I can do it. It still needs some work, and I slip sometimes. It's like I'm looking at myself in third person, hovering over my shoulder. I did it against Maylene."

"Third person? Is such a thing possible?"

"It's different for you, huh," I acknowledged as my shoulders sagged. "I guess it's still like Shiftry's domain."

He nodded. "I still recall exactly how it feels. Stuck in complete darkness, unable to hear, feel, or see. I couldn't feel anything. I was just floating there. Part of me believed I'd died and that this was the afterlife."

I shuddered at the thought of an eternal sensory deprivation chamber being any kind of afterlife.

"Slowly but surely, I just stopped caring. I couldn't tell how much time passed or what was going on, and that didn't bother me. After a while, Krookodile pulled me out."

Toxapex's eyes dimmed, and she kept completely still.

"I'm sorry."

"Not much could have been done anyhow. We were all Teleported to separate locations. No need to apologize for something you had nothing to do with. Plus, ridding the world of the Hunters supersedes anything I or anyone else dealt with that day."

"I disagree," I blurted out.

"You put too much importance on individual lives, then."

"If you say so. What do you say about Alakazam, then?"

"I will accept," Justin said after a pause.

"Great! Plus, he'll be happy to nerd out about TE. He's been wanting to study you for a while. But say, why don't you talk to me about your journey? From Solaceon to here? You must have gone through a lot, and I know nothing about it."

"If you want to."

Justin began to speak his tale, and I was content to listen to him all night, and it reminded me of our old chats when I used to be his teacher. I was sure my current self would cringe at half of the advice I had given him.

My heart felt full. He was finally back. The biggest hurdle had been cleared.

Justin was home.

—

Needless to say, I was exhausted the following day. The others couldn't believe it when they saw Justin again. As soon as she got to my room, Pauline tackled him, hugging him as tightly as she could until he nonchalantly complained that he couldn't breathe very well. Emilia followed with a light, gentle hug of her own, and she kept asking him if he was okay. Maeve, Mira and Chase welcomed him back, although they knew him far less than we did. Chase hadn't had many objections to Justin's Victory Road plan in the first place.

"If you leave again, I'll kill you!" Pauline cried.

Justin frowned. "That wouldn't make any sense."

"Shut up! I'll kill you!"

Seeing everyone like this filled me with a nostalgic feeling. For a second, it felt like we were back in the old days with few worries and innocence still in our minds. Louis helped Justin up from the floor and hugged him as well. He seemed to be in far better spirits today, although I could tell guilt still marred his mind. He only had Vespiquen with him now, since she'd only needed to spend one night with the nurses, but the rest of his team— and obviously Justin's— were still at the Center.

"Justin, I'm taking you out to breakfast, lunch, and dinner," Pauline declared.

"That's excessive," the pale teen answered.

"I mean, even I have to agree with that," Emilia said.

"We have to catch up! And if there's anyone that'll get him to feel something, it'll be me!"

"Well first, let's make some space," Mira spoke up. "I'll get Alakazam to take a look at him."

The psychic appeared in the room and was clearly displeased at the amount of people we'd crammed in here. He shooed Chase and Maeve away from him before turning to Justin and realizing that the trainer he'd wanted to take a look at for so long was right there.

"We've got Justin back," Mira nonchalantly said as her legs dangled from the desk she was sitting on. "He's got no psychics, so no telepathy."

Alakazam grinned as he levitated his two spoons next to her with a twirl of his mustache.

My, my, my. Justin Gardner, the psychic spoke.

"Oh! This is actually an interesting question," Mira lit up. "Can you speak into his mind with all that dark TE he's got swirling around his insides?"

"Justin? Do you want to try?" I asked.

"Pain is bearable," he said.

Testing. Testing. One, two, three.

Justin froze for a moment. "That hurt."

"Really? You didn't show it at all!" Maeve yelled. "Psychics are still tough for me."

Speaking to him is a lot more difficult than others, Alakazam quickly said. I have to go slower and actually concentrate, but it's possible.

"Justin? How did that sound to you?" Mira asked.

"Very quiet. Like a faint whisper."

"Shucks. I guess it does have an effect," she said, crossing her arms. "Well, get to work, Alakazam. We've offered you a buffet."

"Please don't speak about him like he's food," Cecilia sighed.

A few people in the room chuckled as Alakazam's eyes began to shine.

Yes, yes, he is quite empty, the psychic said with a gleeful smile. A nightmare to work with, just like I wanted.

"How long is this going to take? We've got to go out for breakfast," Pauline complained.

Alakazam ignored her as he continued staring at Justin like he was the only person in the world. People broke up into groups, with most hovering over Louis. He was the man of the hour. A hero. He'd saved Justin's life. Mira hopped off her desk and pulled me aside.

"Grace. Are you free later? We need to test the Voice. Chase is ready"

My throat tightened. "Uh, my teacher's busy today, so I guess so."

"Great. Now I've got to ask Cece, but she's going to pop a blood vessel. We've already wasted enough time not doing anything— well, we trained, but that isn't enough."

"She'll come around as long as she doesn't have to use it, and especially not on me," I said. "But I do agree that it's necessary—"

My phone rang. Melody was calling.

"Just keep me informed," I said.

Mira threw a hand up with a lazy salute. "You've got it boss."

I discreetly entered the bathroom to get a nice and quiet place to speak to Melody in.

"Grace! How are you doing this morning?"

"Very good Mel," I smiled. "You sound happy too. I'm not going to lie, that kind of scares me."

"Why would that scare you?" She asked. "I've got great news—"

"There it is," I groaned.

"I know this is short notice, but we're going to need you to come to the address I've texted you ASAP."

"You texted me already? And is this urgent? I'm with a friend that I haven't seen in a long time."

"Company obligation, Grace. You're going to be in a new photoshoot."

"Okay, you know what, that's not that bad. It's been months since my last one, so I kind of expected it to pop up at some point."

"Using your same pictures over and over wasn't a very good look. But you won't be alone. A few of our sponsees are in the city and will be there too."

I restrained a groan. "So this is like, a group picture?"

"Yes. You'll be paired with multiple people so we can take pictures. We want to appear like a nice, happy family. Plus, this is a nice opportunity for you. You've stayed isolated away from our other trainers, and they're curious about you. After all, they all know you're the new face of the company, and yet you're so hard to get a hold of."

"I try my best," I smirked. "I'll be on my way. Kind of shitty to do this last minute, though. Is there a reason why?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. I knew there was another photoshoot supposed to happen soon, but I had no idea it'd be like this. From my communications with the other sponsorship liaisons, all the other trainers were also summoned with very little warning. Just get there! I've already sent a car."

"Fine, fine. I could have taken the bus. Are you in the city?"

"No. I'm still in Hearthome, but feel free to call me or keep me on the line. It's my job to support you."

"Thanks, Mel. You're the best."

After warning Mira that I had to go and bidding the rest of my friends goodbye, I left my room and left the Pokemon Center.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M, Tina M, dotAlice

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 235

"You know, I kind of wish I had some wireless earphones for this."

"We make some. We can have some sent to you tomorrow if you want," Melody's voice rang out.

"I'd only need them for today. Won't it be awkward if I have my phone to my ear while meeting all these new people?"

"Yes, it would be rude."

"Well, I'm about to hang up, then. We're coming to a stop. Thank you for the ride, sir."

The driver answered with a grunt. The people the Poketch Company sent to drag me around were always quiet. I stepped outside of the car and felt the cold morning air hit my face, blowing my hair into my eyes. In front of me stood Sunyshore's one and only mall.

Unlike Jubilife, which had many thanks to its massive size, Sunyshore only had one mall. The Sunyshore Mall stood in the southern part of the city, and I could see the Vista Lighthouse in the distance, with its beautiful spotless blue glass and its red and white pattern. Jasmine had boasted that it was actually small and insignificant compared to Olivine's lighthouse, but it was still one of Sunyshore's most recognizable symbols and a popular tourist attraction. That wasn't where I was going today, though. Of course, Sunyshore's policymakers were smart enough to put a mall on the way to the city's most popular attraction.

I knew Sunyshore Mall had existed, but I had no idea it was an open-air facility. The mall seamlessly integrated into the rugged surroundings that reminded me so much of route 214. Beyond the huge parking, the entrance was marked by a huge wooden arch with Sunyshore's badge carved into it, and Pokemon and humans filtered in and out of the establishment. A Machoke gently cradled a little girl in her arms while her mother packed everything they'd bought in their car. A flock of Starly perched on the wooden arch, the largest of which stood at the center and puffed up his feathers while his group admired him. A group of teenagers crowded over a T-shirt with Craig on it— a different one than the shirt Craig had given to Denzel all those months ago in Savika's cabin. I heard a lick of their conversation and noticed that it was apparently a new, limited edition with his Eelektross on it.

All in all, everyone was having a fantastic time.

"So it's where in the mall?" I asked. "I'm surprised you don't have a dedicated office like in Hearthome."

"I'll guide you, but there's a map as soon as you enter. And we have an office, it's just above one of our stories at the center of the mall. There weren't that many options in a city like Sunyshore. No need to waste money complying with their horrible construction code."

"Horrible, or inconvenient?"

"Why not both?"

"I guess. I don't really know anything about laws to build things."

"It was more to save costs than anything, really. There were plenty of lots being sold at the mall, so the company bit… by the way, I'm getting more emails. The reason the photoshoot was called so early was because Aubri Schneider's in town."

"Aubri? That rings a bell. Denzel probably knows her."

"She's notoriously hard to get a hold of and she's a… character, that's for sure," Melody hesitantly said. "She probably showed up in Sunyshore and the higherups jumped at the opportunity to actually get her in here. She's one of our sponsees. Arguably the most powerful one besides Craig."

The mall's interior was a series of interconnected paths and courtyards all adorned with lush greenery and vibrant, yellow flowers. There were stores of every kind here, both for people and Pokemon. Potions, saddles, food, Pokemon clothing, items— there were more things than I could keep track of. Of course, since this was Sunyshore, solar panels were on every roof and pathway. The mall's architecture was a big contrast with what I'd come to expect from Sunyshore. Only the boardwalk was as rustic as this place was. Giving tourists a break from the modernity of it all was probably the goal the people who had built this had in mind. I grinned when I passed by a little battlefield where trainers could battle and a small crowd had formed, screaming in excitement as soon as something unexpected happened in the battle.

Melody guided me deeper into the mall and toward its center which was mostly full of food stands and had a huge fountain that had a little Whiscash statue spitting water at the top. I stopped to buy myself a hot dog that I quickly scarfed down. The somewhat bland taste reminded me of Cecilia bragging about how real hot dogs were made in Castelia City.

I'd have to hold her to that.

I raised my sunglasses and entered the Poketch store, which was bright white with sleek, rounded tables where phones, tablets, laptops and more of their products could be tested by the customers. Melody told me to go deeper into the store, and one of the employees recognized me instantly.

"Okay, I'm hanging up Mel."

"Good luck out there! Make friends!" She cheered.

"Will do."

The employee directed me toward an elevator which was activated by a keycard only a few people in the store had. He sent me off to the second floor and left before the doors closed. The upper floor was a lot more quaint and less modern than the bottom one, but I supposed there was no need to impress customers here. It was a nice, carpeted and spacious hallway with plenty of offices where people typed away on their keyboards and drank their morning coffee. Melody had already told me where to go, however. At the end of the hallway, a huge room opened up with three trainers speaking with each other. A crew of photographers and some other people were in the back of the room whispering to themselves. I easily noticed Joshua Nance, who'd been the one to take my pictures last time.

I recognized one instantly. Ramon Casaus with his Raticate lazily sitting at his feet. I'd looked him up the day I had gotten sponsored because he'd been next to me on the Poketch website. I knew he'd made it to the Conference multiple times and had the most powerful Raticate in the region. He had actually been born and raised in Sunyshore, so if I had to guess he already had his eight badges and was swinging back home again. He wore shorts, sandals, a plain white shirt and had a blue cap on backwards. Ramon had light brown skin and was almost as tall as Denzel. Despite being a third year, he still had a baby face that made him look fifteen.

The other two, I didn't recognize, however. I must have scrolled past them.

The first was another older teenager, and the first feature that jumped at me was the gap in his front teeth. He spoke with a slight lisp, and he was rather thin. I did notice the huge scar on his shoulder since he was wearing an A-Shirt. That must have been a gnarly injury when it occurred. A tall Meganium stood next to him, chomping at his short hair.

The third girl was only a little taller than I was and looked to be the youngest other than me. She couldn't be older than seventeen. She was actually quite well-built with well-defined musculature, and her brown hair was tied into a short bun. She had a large Mothim attached to her back, and her huge wingspan made her trainer look like she had wings.

And of course, they were all wearing their Poketch Watches, including me. Ramon and the other boy both had eight Pokeballs on their belt while the girl only had six.

"There she is. Woman of the hour!" Ramon cheered. "Grace Pastel in the flesh!"

Raticate angrily growled at his feet at the sudden outburst.

"Uh, hey guys," I said.

"Hi, hi, don't be shy. This is Sharon Ayala. She's a bit of a bitch—"

The girl slapped the back of Ramon's head, and the other scarred teenager laughed.

"I'm Sharon," she said, outstretching a hand. "Nice to meet you."

I shook her hand, and her handshake was firm. It reminded me of Maylene's.

"I'm Bob Wallace, but you can call me Bobby," the scarred trainer said. "This is Meg."

His Meganium let out a smooth cry that was almost like music, and I was certain I'd seen some pink dust fall off her flower.

"And I'm Ramon!" He yelled.

"Nice to meet you all," I smiled. I finished shaking hands with all of them and then blinked. "Should I have a Pokemon out? I mean, you all do."

"Our starters. It's just common courtesy," Sharon gruffly spoke.

"My bad," I said, restraining a wince.

I released Princess as fast as I could, and she eyed our new acquaintances suspiciously before flying into my arms.

"This is Princess," I said. The fairy type reluctantly offered a greeting without even turning toward the three trainers.

"Heard a lot about her," Ramon nodded.

"So we're missing Aubri?" I asked.

"Oh yeah. She's always late," Bobby chuckled. "We don't know her that well."

"We do know she has a bit of a hate boner towards you," Ramon added.

"Ugh. Don't be so crass," Sharon moaned.

"She hates me? Why?"

"You came out of nowhere and stole her thunder. She worked hard to be the one to replace Craig, and you denied her that. Years of hard work down the drain," Bobby shrugged. "This year was a bit of a scuffle."

"Oh yeah. The Sharpedo smelled blood in the water and started circling," Ramon said, crouching down and petting Raticate. "But Aubri was the one who everyone knew had the best shot. Or we thought she did."

I restrained a sigh as Princess whispered some reassurances in my ear. These weren't really differences that could be sorted. I really had come out of nowhere, and the fact that I was a first-year was probably pouring salt onto the wound. Every trainer here was leagues ahead of me, and yet I was the one who had been chosen because I'd randomly befriended Craig up at Lake Acuity.

"I mean, you are kind of weak," Sharon raised an eyebrow. "And you're just as reclusive as Aubri. It's a wonder they picked you."

"Told you she was a bitch," Ramon smirked.

"How good are you guys?"

"We've all been to the Conference, although Sharon here hasn't been since she's in her second year. She's got the eight badges already though."

"Woah…"

"I'm a flying type specialist," she said.

Alakazam would love you, I thought to myself.

Ramon grinned. "Byron cockblocked her out of her eighth last year."

"And she made sure to destroy him this time," Bobby added with a smile of his own. "Ram and I are generalists. He made it to the top 128—"

"Top sixty-four, you ass!" He yelled.

"Oops. I forgot," Bobby said, not bothering to hide his sarcasm. "I made it to the top thirty-two."

"Awesome…" I exhaled, wide eyed. "I'd love to battle you."

"Ain't she cute?" Ramon said. "M'fraid we can't, though. The big boys up top don't want their golden child to look bad."

"Plus you'd get stomped anyway," Sharon muttered.

Bobby sighed. "Sharon…"

"It's true!"

Her desire to keep calling me weak was somewhat grating, but it wasn't like they were being explicitly rude. Plus, Sharon was arguably just as talented as I was or more, getting seven badges in her first year and already having eight before her second was over.

"What about Aubri?" I asked.

"Semi-finalist," Bobby answered with his arms crossed. "She lost to Sarah Newman last year."

Sharon winced. "It wasn't really a good showing. That girl was in her head the entire battle."

"Good thing she fucked off to Kanto, eh?" Ramon asked. "One less person for the Poketch gang to worry about."

"Please do not call us the Poketch gang," Sharon groaned.

And she'd gone on to win the entire thing, beating Craig in the finals.

"So you guys are friends?" I asked.

"Bobby and I traveled together in our early days after meeting in Hearthome, but we split off after our first year. Sharon's obviously a newcomer, but she's wormed herself into our group now that she got sponsored this year. I wish I could have seen her cute little self, just starting off her journey with her Burmy—"

The girl scoffed. "I'm going to drop you off the cliffs and into the ocean."

We all laughed at that and kept having some small talk and speaking about how our journeys began. Ramon spoke about having been too poor to get what trainers considered a 'good' starter and how he found his Raticate stealing out of his trash as a Rattata. Sharon said that she found her Burmy on one of the trees next to Eterna city and befriended it during the summer before she caught it with a Pokeball she'd bought with money she'd stolen from her mother's wallet. Bobby was another Floaroma native, and his parents bought him a Chikorita for his fifteenth birthday, so his story was more aligned with mine.

"My dad won an egg in a raffle and Princess hatched out of it," I explained. "For a while I didn't think I'd get into being a trainer, but I changed my mind pretty quickly when I got my first taste of battling."

Princess agreed with an excited cry, although I hadn't missed all of the insults she'd whispered at me to trashtalk my colleagues.

"You caught the bug," Bobby grinned.

"Wait, my dad says that too!" I laughed.

"Maybe it's a generational thing—" Ramon spoke before stopping. "Ah, there she is."

I turned and saw Aubri Schneider shuffle into the room with a Chatot on her shoulder and a Salazzle crawling closely behind her. I didn't say this a lot, but… at a glance, it was easy to see she'd been through more than I had.

First, she was missing half of her right hand, and only her thumb was left. Her burns mirrored mine, although hers were only on her right arm instead of the entire half of her body. Her burns were deeper than mine, though, and her arm reminded me of Carlos' face. Salazzle was probably the one who'd done that to her. Just like Sunshine, they didn't actually live in Sinnoh, so I wondered how Aubri had gotten her. She also wore an eyepatch, so I assumed she was missing her left eye since the scar there ran up to her forehead in a diagonal. Her hair was puffy and unkept, and she was only slightly less pale than Justin was.

And of course, I didn't miss her scowling at me even if I could tell she was trying to hide it.

"Which one's her starter?" I whispered.

"Chatot," Sharon quickly answered.

"'Sup losers?" Chatot cawed. "Ready to take some damn useless pictures?"

I struggled to contain my surprise. I knew Chatot could speak, but actually hearing it was something else entirely. His voice was undistinguishable from a human's too.

"Hi Aubri," Bobby nodded.

Ramon and Sharon also greeted her, and I followed suit.

"Bobby. Ramon. Sharon," she spoke.

"Here's a translation for you," Chatot spoke. "She's tired of wasting time and wants to go back to sleep."

"How did Victory Road treat you?" Ramon asked. "No new scars to add to the tally?"

"Don't be rude, Ram," Bob scolded.

Victory Road? I audibly swallowed and stroked Princess' head to calm her down. She was a Conference semi-finalist, of course she could handle Victory Road. That did put the scale of my group's problems into context, however. Sunyshore couldn't let me have one week without realizing that I was a small fish in an extremely big pond.

"I haven't, but thank you for worrying about me."

"Fuck off and kill yourself," Chatot gleefully said.

"So she can be rude to me but I can't dish it back?" Ramon complained.

A hint of a smile formed on Aubri's face as she recalled Salazzle into an Ultra Ball.

"Chatot's having a bit too much fun, so I apologize," she said.

"But I'll let him continue because he always speaks what's on my mind!" The flying type cried out.

Oh, they were certainly something. Aubri was determined to ignore my existence, which I would have said something about if I didn't somewhat feel bad for basically stealing her job and that I didn't want to start a scene when we were about to work together for a few hours. Still, she recounted her adventures training in Victory Road.

"I had a nasty run-in with a Garchomp that nearly sliced my head off on the deeper floors," she deadpanned. "I had to report it to the Rangers in case it ever decides to leave the cave. I'm pretty sure that was one they don't know about."

"How tough was it?" Ramon excitedly asked.

"Tough enough to eat your rat," Sharon mocked.

Raticate answered with an infuriated hiss. I could tell he was tired of not being taken seriously despite his obvious strength and skill, and jokes like this angered him to no end. Ramon's face darkened, and his jovial attitude disappeared in an instant.

"Sorry, Ram," Sharon bit her lip. "Too far."

"Yes."

Aubri continued. "It was good enough to handle three of my Pokemon at once."

"That's strong," Bobby muttered.

"Bah! I sent him packing!" Chatot mocked.

Imagining a Pokemon as small as Chatot standing up to a Garchomp was tough, but he was her starter and an actual combatant on her team, so he couldn't have been lying. Exaggerating? Now that was a possibility.

"So did you lose your entire squad on 'em?" Ramon asked. "Did Noivern and Chatot burst its eardrums?"

"I kept it to three to train us," she shrugged. "Noivern didn't see much action, but Chatot did his job just fine. There were a few close calls that made me decide to head back to Sunyshore early."

"A warning would be nice next time so we aren't all called last minute," Bobby said.

"I'll try to do better next time," she shrugged.

"Fuck off. I'm a queen that can do whatever I want!" Chatot cried out.

Aubri passed me without a second look and headed toward the organizers while Sharon followed closely behind her. I guess she's her model trainer, I thought to myself.

"And you, first-year girl? You're pathetic and can't do anything by yourself!" Chatot mocked me as they passed us. Aubri whistled, and the flying type stopped.

Ramon and Bobby stuck by me, and we were slower behind them.

"Sorry about her. She holds grudges," Bobby said.

"Oh I know all about holding grudges," I said. "Has she spent her entire time in Victory Road like Craig does in Mount Coronet?"

"Oh yeah. She wants to beat him and get her revenge. We all know Craig recommended you and that you're his pal," Ramon spoke with his hands behind his head. That was probably that Chatot had been talking about, then. "She could have a chance if she gets her hand on a megastone."

"She's been saving for a few years," his friend nodded along.

"Which of her Pokemon can megaevolve?" I asked.

"She's got two. That nasty little Sableye of hers and her Medicham. Dunno which one she's going for, though. She's quite secretive. Kind of like you."

"Don't worry, though. She might hate you, but she won't let it get in the way of work," Bobby reassured me.

"Which is why she isn't uttering a single word to you unless it's necessary," Ram added. "She speaks through Chatot when she's mad at someone."

"Whatever. I can deal," I shrugged.

Joshua Nance greeted us with wide arms and a beaming smile. He seemed to be quite familiar with the rest of the trainers too. First, we were sent toward a styling area in the back. Our clothing was fine, but we still needed makeup— even the boys got some foundation. They took Aubri's eyepatch off, and I shot her a quick glance. She was indeed missing an eye—

Her other eye snapped toward me, and I flinched. Satisfied with herself, Aubri turned her head and continued speaking to her Chatot.

Princess and I kept staring at her the rest of the time we were with the stylists until she got uncomfortable and definitely thought I was a weirdo. After around fifteen minutes, we were all done. I had to stop myself from touching my face to not ruin my makeup.

"We're doing something a little different today!" Joshua Nance exclaimed, clapping his hands. "It won't be a set of group photos, but battling pictures!"

"Do you want us to burn the entire building down?" Ramon chuckled.

Joshua paled. "Of course, you'll be holding back your full power. We'll just do it with the Pokemon you're the most known for."

"Not our starters?" Sharon sighed as Mothim's wings sadly fluttered.

"Money talks," Bobby shrugged. "It is what it is."

Joshua nodded. "Thank you Bob. For Grace, that's going to be Tangrowth. Aubri, you're with Noivern."

"So you're going to talk up Noivern and not me? Scandalous! Treason!" Chatot screamed with a frustrated flap of his wings. "I'll sue you for emotional damage! For slander! I don't care if I'll lose, I'll drag you in court until you're bled white—"

Aubri interrupted the bird's tirade. "Relax."

"Would you also like some tea with that?" Chatot gently asked Joshua.

The photographer cleared his throat and continued.

"No, I'm fine. Thank you Aubri. Bob, you're with Chandelure, but keep that ghost under control. Ramon…"

The photographer hesitated for a few seconds.

"You're with Mightyena. Sharon, you're with Minior."

I tilted my head and frowned. Minior?

Pokemon were recalled and another set of them appeared. A huge Noivern with a permanent scowl appeared next to Aubri. His huge ears instantly drew my eyes. I knew that they used them for echolocation in dark caves. Not only that, but Noivern was a dragon type too.

The temperature immediately dropped when Chandelure materialized above us. The ghost was a source of light, and yet she seemed to draw in light and darken the entire room somehow.

"Chandelure, we're in a photoshoot!" Bob exclaimed. "At ease."

Light returned to the world, and the temperature returned to normal. Joshua and the members of his team breathed a sigh of relief.

Mightyena was…

Well, he was a Mightyena. Darkened fur, angry eyes and wickedly sharp teeth and claws. Still, he must have been incredibly strong considering he was apparently Ramon's ace.

Angel shook in excitement at all the new faces, and I had to stop him from touching everyone and annoying the others. His vines drooped and wrapped around me instead, and I gently caressed him with my hand.

Minior was a fractured brown shell whose cracks revealed the glowing pink flesh within. They had gaping, darkened circles in place for eyes because that part of their shell was still intact. Minior were incredibly rare because they only formed in space. I personally had no idea how some rocks could suddenly gain sentience, but the Pokemon still fascinated me.

"Can I scan them with my Pokedex?" I asked.

"Sure thing," Sharon nodded.

Minior, the Meteor Pokemon. Minior form in the ozone layer and above as rocks and particles slowly accumulate. When they grow too heavy, they fall down to earth like a meteorite. If they survive the fall, they will be stuck on the planet.

"She was almost dead when I found her," Sharon said gentler than usual. "Their shell regrows if you feed them the right space rocks. It's insanely expensive, but there's a market for it."

Her, then, I internally spoke. They were technically genderless Pokemon, but Sharon wasn't the only one to just stick a gender on a Pokemon without one. Cecilia with Lehmhart, Mira with Magnezone and Porygon, and many more trainers I most likely didn't know about.

"Good thing you were there to stumble upon her, then," I said.

"Like I said, we're going to do mock battle poses for the cameras. They won't actually be battles. We'll just ask your Pokemon to strike a pose and maybe send a gust of wind or a small stream of flames for the cameras. The pictures will go on Trainer's Daily and a slew of other magazines."

"Magazines are a dying breed, Joshua," Aubri said. "Drop those already."

"I don't make the rules," he shrugged. "Don't worry though, it'll also go online. The higher ups are terrified of X tech."

"Ooooooh. Assets! Spreadsheets! Terrifying!" Ramon mocked with his hands up.

"It's true. We're working on reaching out to younger audiences, which Grace has been very helpful with—"

Aubri clicked her tongue.

"—but they realized they weren't doing enough. Our social media accounts only get hundreds of likes per post except when we announce a new phone because nobody cares. You'll remedy that today. The picture will be going up on Chatter."

Part of me wished it had been a real battle in private, but I would have gotten destroyed without them breaking a sweat, so the pictures wouldn't have been great.

"Let's start with Aubri and… Grace. Your two Pokemon are the largest, so they'll really pop out in the picture."

Seeing as there was a greenscreen behind us, they were going to add the background in post-production just like last time. I thought it would have looked a lot better had we done it somewhere outside, but I wasn't the one in charge. I motioned Angel forward, and the grass type happily waddled into his position. Noivern used his wings to walk on all fours and Aubri shadowed him. Joshua grabbed his huge camera and adjusted the lens.

"Now Grace, I want your Tangrowth to shoot as much vines forward as possible like he's trying to grab Noivern. Aubri, you send a gust of wind— a small gust of wind. Please don't destroy the building. You're going to use the wind to send the vines back. Are we clear?"

"Got it," she said.

"We are," I agreed. "Can we start?"

This wasn't even a battle, yet I could feel my palms begin to moisten.

"Three, two, one… you can start!"

Angel's vines shot forward at incredible speed. They all converged toward Noivern, who stood on his hind legs and flapped his wings—

I closed my eyes and covered my face as a strong gust of wind nearly knocked me on my back. Even though I was in the shot, I'd been far away from Angel. His vines all diverged as if they'd hit an invisible force, and I heard Joshua's camera click multiple times.

"Perfect! We're done for now, thank you ladies. Leave it to you two to finish a picture in one shot."

Angel turned back at me, smiling with his eyes. He helped me fix up my hair and soon enough, we were replaced by Sharon's Minior and Bobby's Chandelure. Joshua took a while to find a position he liked for them, but he eventually settled on Minior using Charge Beam and Chandelure just surrounded herself with screaming purple flames.

"Have you been to Victory Road?" I whispered to Ramon

"A few times, but I never stayed long. I'm more of a safety-first guy," he said.

"How was it?"

"Awful. It's dark as shit, the Rangers explicitly warn you that nothing will be done if you get lost, and the Pokemon there have a rage boner for any human that shows up. At least it's not anywhere as cold as Mount Coronet."

"It isn't?"

"Nope— ah, it's my turn."

We went through a whole lot of combinations after that. Angel and Mightyena, Mightyena and Noivern, Angel and Minior… Angel was actually in quite a lot of the pictures. In fact, I had the most pictures of the entire group. It took a few hours to get through it all.

"Joshua."

The lanky man stopped looking through his picture and turned toward Aubri. "Yes?"

"Grace Pastel has a lot of pictures for someone with five badges. It looks fake to pretend like she can stand up to us. Trainers will see through that. It makes us look less authentic."

"It's not about the badges. She's Craig's successor, so she gets the most exposure," Joshua shrugged. "If you have any complaints, take it to the board."

Ramon cackled. "Good luck speaking to them!"

"Is that so uncommon?" I frowned.

"You'd have better luck finding a mega stone in the middle of route 222," Sharon shrugged as Minior orbited around her. "You should know by now that all contact is done through our sponsorship liaisons. Only Craig gets to speak to them face to face."

"So… she'll probably get to do it too once he retires and starts working for the League," Bobby said.

Everyone paused. I didn't know how to answer that. They were all far better trainers than I was. It was unfair, I realized. The only reason I was in this position was a combination of incredibly unlikely events I had stumbled into.

"I'm done here," Aubri snapped.

"Chatot would have given you an earful, you're lucky he isn't here," Ramon said with a sheepish smile. "Glad to have met you, Grace Pastel. Maybe I'll see you at the Conference."

"If she gets past Byron, I'll give you 50k," Sharon said.

"Bitchy as always, Sharon," Ram said. "At least give her the benefit of the doubt and say she'll wipe out in the group stage."

She hit him on the back of the head.

—

The ride home was quick since Melody had a car sent for me, and soon enough I was back in Cece's Center room, where she, Mira and Chase had been waiting for me for the past hour.

"There you are! How was work?" Cece asked after planting a kiss on my cheek.

"Weird. They're mostly nice, but I can tell there was still some tension with a girl called Aubri. The others were cool, even if I could kind of tell they don't like the fact that I leapfrogged them."

"So long as you didn't threaten anyone," Mira said.

"It's work. I wouldn't do that," I rolled my eyes.

"You been working out with my gift?" Chase asked.

"Uh, no. But I'll do it at some point!" I exclaimed. "It's been busy, that's all. You know, there was actually this girl called Sharon that had a lot of bulk on her…"

I went into detail, telling my friends about the new people I'd met and some of their Pokemon. Chase and Cecilia were quite intrigued. After all, which trainer wouldn't be? Cecilia already hated Aubri, but there wasn't much we could do. She hadn't really done anything wrong anyway. She'd been professional and behaved perfectly during the photoshoot. I almost thought she'd use the opportunity to 'accidentally' hurt Angel, but that was my prejudiced mind speaking.

If I'd been in her position, what would I have done?

Not attack her Pokemon, that was for sure, but I couldn't deny that I would have behaved worse than she had.

Mira was more preoccupied with the Voice, even if she forced herself to listen to my story.

"Let's start. Cece's said she won't use it, so it's up to you, Chasey. We can only use it once per day, right?" Mira asked.

"That's what that asshole said," Chase nodded.

"Ok. Hit me. Today, we'll start small and slowly ramp up to find the limits. Ask me to jump ten times as high as I can."

The hair on Chase's arms and neck stood on end as he tensed. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

"Mira, Jump ten times as high as you can."

The voice resonated throughout the room and Chase stumbled, his skin paling and he leaned against the desk in order not to keel over. Cecilia and I were unaffected, but Mira? Something in her eyes shifted, and she started jumping. It wasn't very high, but she was giving it everything she had. Her leg muscles strained and she groaned as she hopped over and over as if her life was on the line. Cecilia couldn't bear to look at someone robbed of their freedom and she turned away.

After the tenth jump, she blinked and her eyes returned to normal. She took a few tired breaths and whistled.

"That was weird," Mira said as she gasped for air. "Like, I thought I'd be able to try to fight back, but that didn't even cross my mind. Are you alright, Chasey?"

"I'm good," he groaned. "Just feeling a bit… weak."

"If you use that in the middle of a life-threatening fight and you just collapse, it'd be pretty bad," I said. "You'd have to either be sure that you'd deal with your opponent in one go or keep it as a last resort."

I could see the ability being very useful. Getting an enemy trainer to off themselves to throw their team into chaos would be effective.

Mira nodded, her hand rubbing her chin. "Tomorrow, we'll try affecting multiple people—"

Cecilia snapped. "No!"

"Yes," I shook my head. "I'm sorry Cece, but this is too important."

My girlfriend bit her lip, but said nothing.

"Next, we have to figure out if there's a time limit. Like, can you order me to do something for one hour? Two hours? A day? I'll be the test subject for that one," she casually said. "And can you give impossible orders? Like, if you ask me to fly, what the hell am I gonna do? Hop on Magnezone and ball? What if you ask me to grow a third arm? There's a lot of things to try…"

Mira kept rambling for a few minutes, and I paid as much attention to her as I could, adding a few of my opinions along the way. We ended up spending the rest of the afternoon together anyway since it had been a while since the four of us had hung out and Jasmine was at her support meeting.

And so, multiple days passed. Justin's Corviknight made a healthy recovery, as did the rest of his and Louis' team. We all trained and strived to improve each other as much as we could. Soon, I would sign up at Volkner's Gym, as would all of my friends.

The time for my Gym Battle was approaching.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M, Tina M, dotAlice

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 236

The Voice was an incredibly powerful tool to use, but Mira had discovered it also had its limits. The longest amount of time she'd found someone could be put under Chase's spell was around one hour, give or take. She took longer to escape his grasp while I always took a few minutes less, but the fact of the matter was, it wasn't consistent whatsoever except for the fact that the maximum amount of time was always fifty minutes to an hour and ten minutes.

Next, the time was lower depending on how many people Chase affected. Two would split that hour in two, and we assumed it would keep going down as we kept going. Impossible orders like 'grow a third arm' would just have the person freeze there for an undetermined amount of minutes. Mira had told me that more testing was required to see if there was a possibility of it being linked with how hard the order was.

Of course, there were a bunch of things we just couldn't test out of fear of someone getting injured or killed, and we only had one try per day, so we hadn't gone too far yet. The Voice also worked on Pokemon, but just like with humans, the more we used it on them the less time they would be under Chase's influence.

We were making steady progress, and Cecilia wasn't giving us as much of a hard time as she had at the beginning even if she was still opposed to any kind of mind control. She'd teared up when Chase had ordered me around on the second day as if the worst thing imaginable was happening to me.

What Mira said had been true. When Chase spoke to me, disobeying was impossible. I always felt compelled to do whatever he'd said, and it felt like the most normal thing in the world for me. That was the most terrifying part. There wasn't even a single part of my brain that had thought something was wrong. Being freed from his control felt like waking up from a dream except I always remembered what had happened.

"Jasmine!" I waved at my teacher.

She waved back, although her usual smile was a lot more muted. Quitting an addiction was hard, and she was miserable. It wouldn't be sunshine and rainbows right away, but slow, incremental progress until she was freed from the hold alcohol had on her. She'd described not being at least slightly tipsy like the world had been drained of its color and everything was cold and dreary all the time.

I felt bad for her, but Jasmine shouldered on.

"One week sober, right?" I smiled. "Congrats."

"They say it gets easier after the first few weeks, but I can't help but feel like garbage," she muttered. "I have these cold sweats at night and I can't sleep, so I wake up tired every day."

I sighed. "It'll get better."

"That's what Volkner and Metagross say," she muttered. "Let's get to your training grounds."

Soon enough, we were back on the mountain near route 205 again. Metagross didn't go back in their Pokeball this time. They were always out when we trained these days so they could support Jasmine. Sometimes I'd hear her laugh at a joke or comment that I wasn't privy to. Most of the time their conversations were kept private. Metagross was no empath, but they somehow had a way of knowing what Jasmine was thinking, so they differed from most psychics.

Honey weaved on the plateau so fast that he was a constant blur of crackling electricity. The sparks singed the rocks whenever he stepped, jumping away from him at random intervals. Static Shield had been mastered, and we could combine it with Radiant Leap. He was even faster now than he had been, almost as if his feet hovered off the ground. I was sure that we'd be able to outrun and catch up to Electivire when the time came.

And that time was soon.

Railgun had improved as well. Honey was faster, more reactive and better at keeping control of rocks when he ran with Radiant Leap.

After four minutes of constantly running at full speed with Radiant Leap and having Static Shield on, Honey collapsed on the floor and desperately gasped for air with his chest rising up and down with labored breaths. I ran up to him as quick as I could. Even if I couldn't touch him after he'd used so many electric moves and my hair was standing on end, I wanted him to see that I was here.

"You've improved so much these last few weeks," I said, leaning next to him.

The electric type grinned, exposing his two sharpened canines and he let out a few tired groans. He was too tired to even talk back, but I knew what he was feeling. Pride. Accomplishment. Confidence. He'd shed the last remaining doubts about his skill and been born anew. Win or lose, he would be satisfied in himself.

"You've come so far, and yet we aren't even close to the heights your strength and skill can reach," I grinned. "I love you, kid."

Honey whispered the same to me just as I heard Jasmine approach from behind.

"He's ready," she said. "You've got the tools you need to win. Besides working on Railgun and ironing your techniques, you should be good."

"Hear that?" I smirked.

The electric type sat up and thanked Jasmine for all the help, which I translated for her.

"It was my pleasure," she smiled. "Maybe when we see each other again, you'll be an Electivire. And I'll be watching your battle."

Honey trembled in excitement and told her he hoped so.

We'd done everything in our power to strive to be the best version of ourselves, and the rest of the team hadn't slacked off either. We had all massively improved.

It was time.

—

"So I've got you for… this Thursday at 5:10 pm," the Gym Trainer spoke as she entered my name in her computer. "That works for you?"

"Yup. Thanks for finding a spot that was so soon."

"Later in the year people with more badges are higher priority," she explained. "Newer ones will complain, but we wouldn't want someone missing the Conference because of scheduling. It can happen, but most of the time, it's a skill issue."

She handed me my ticket and I was on my way out of the Gym and toward route 222 to see Louis and Cecilia. It felt weird to sign up for a Gym Battle so early. Usually I was the last to go since I loved to spectate my friends' battles in case I spotted anything I hadn't seen on video.

For this one, however? I would be the first, and it wasn't because of hubris. Yes, I did believe we were ready, but I would never actually pass up on some extra studying time. What I needed was my bonus, and I wanted it as soon as possible. That meant that Volkner needed to fall. If I could spend the remainder of the time we had in Sunyshore learning how to fly or starting that process and getting Princess used to her new body, I would be satisfied. Cece had already started to go to the theoretical classes after I'd told her she didn't need to wait for me, and Lehmhart was slowly getting a hang of how to fly without crashing into the ground.

When I saw Cece and Louis talking together in front of the gates, I couldn't help but smile. They hadn't spent time together in a while, and it was nice to see them being friendly again. Arceus knew Louis needed Cecilia's gentle disposition to emotionally recover from what he had done.

"Guys! How's it going?"

"Grace! We're doing great. How was training?" Cece asked.

"We're ready. I just signed up."

The air grew heavier for just a moment.

"I wish you good luck," Louis dipped his head. "We'll be in the stands cheering you on."

"I appreciate it. How's your Vespiquen training going? Is she spooky still?" I asked.

"It's like usual," Louis shrugged. "She isn't aggressive, but she's… well, she's different. I still see flashes of how she used to be, but most of the time she's silently staring at us. Zachary said she's still getting used to her new senses and that she'll slowly open up."

"Good, good," I nodded.

"Pressure's heavy," Cecilia exhaled. "After ten minutes next to her I can't help but feel exhausted. Both physically and mentally. The buzzing really does make you go crazy."

"But we've been building a tolerance to it," Louis added. "It's hard, but I've got to do it if I want to do right by her."

I turned around and stared at the route. It was the same as usual. Trainers, civilians, Pokemon all living in harmony and not one wild Pokemon in sight. I sighed, facing Cece and Louis spoke again.

"Justin's Corviknight is scared of me now," Louis muttered. "He doesn't want anything to do with me."

"It'll get better," Cece said.

"I think it will. It just… you know," he sighed. "On a brighter note, I was telling Cecilia about my long-term goal—"

"I've told you a million times you can call me Cece," she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry."

"What's your goal?" I asked.

He told me about his sanctuary idea, and I couldn't help but hug him in that moment. He froze at the sudden contact, not knowing how to reciprocate, and I grabbed his hands as I smiled at him.

"Any help I can give you, I will," I said. "And hey! Zachary's also from Floaroma and he wants to help improve the place. I'm sure a sanctuary would be right in his line of fire. Arceus, I'm so happy I put you guys in contact!"

Louis awkwardly scratched his cheek. "Thank you for your support. I've been telling this to everyone and even Pauline didn't laugh at me. All of this… it makes me think I could actually get it done."

"Of course you can! You just have to start saving."

"A bank wouldn't blink at giving him a loan if he grows as a trainer and gets some kind of income," Cece mused. "He has a business model all worked out. Denzel helped him make it on a napkin. Emilia and Pauline said that it was sound, and they're the best at money."

"I'll apply for a loan when the time comes," Louis agreed. "For now, I have to focus on the small."

"You're a great guy, Louis. I'll come visit sometime when we're old."

"Not too old, I hope," he said. "I want to get this started in a few years."

"Yeah, that's totally old," I dismissed. "Though my dad would kill me if I said that to him."

They both chuckled, and I sat next to them in the grass. We hung out for another hour, mostly reminiscing about old times. Louis explained to us how he convinced Justin to battle in the first place and I nearly fell over when he told me he'd had him sign a contract. Not only that, but he'd spoken in the same way he used to with that obnoxious, 'I'm obviously better than you at everything' tone. When I asked him to do it again, he reddened and refused.

Eventually, he left to go see Justin. They were spending a lot of time together, even if these hangouts were some of the most awkward he'd ever had in his life by his own words. It was only Cece and I left, and we lay in the grass with our hands intertwined.

"You signing up soon too?" I asked.

"In a few days," she muttered. "I think I'm ready. I was planning on relying on my Night Slash trick, but with Lehmhart having evolved, I have an entirely new plan."

"He'll be a great fighter for the Gym."

"Hmhm. It's good that he can shine here. I won't be able to do much with him against Crasher Wake."

"Yeah, he'd just sink," I said. "That battle's going to be pretty tough for you."

"I considered trying to evaporate all of the water in his arena with Talonflame, but I figure he has tricks to counter that. It would be too easy otherwise."

"Well, you'll figure it out. I have a few ideas myself, but that's in a while."

I flipped to my side and placed a hand on her cheek. "We're going to need to test Chase's voice again later."

"Don't remind me."

"I'd rather we know its limits before we get in any kind of life-threatening danger," I said. "C'mere."

I brought her face closer to mine and I planted two soft kisses on her lips.

"It'll be okay," I said. "Chase is a friend. We can trust him with that power."

"I know! It's just the—"

"Principle, I know," I interrupted. "I'm trying to understand, and it's hard."

"I get it. You feel like I'm wasting your tries since we only get one use per day."

"Kind of."

She smirked. "You don't have to hold yourself back."

"Okay, yes I feel that way, but I won't press you on it."

"I appreciate that," she said. "By the way, I had a question if you don't mind. About Spiritomb."

She leaned in to whisper the name. Even if people knew the Pokemon existed thanks to Cynthia popularizing it (she was the only trainer known to own one of those horrors), it still felt wrong to say the name out loud. Like you were asking for something bad to happen to you.

"Go ahead."

"You've seen Cynthia's, and I haven't," she muttered. "I'm slowly getting used to Vespiquen's Pressure, but… what does Spiritomb's feels like?"

Memories that I had buried deep within me came surging back, and I felt my hands sweat around hers. She obviously noticed, because she spoke up again.

"Never mind."

"No, no, I can talk about it!" I exclaimed. "Uh, it's… well, there's the usual baseline. You become hyper-aware of every bodily process, down to your heartbeat and the blood pumping in your veins, but that's the same for Vespiquen. Where Spiritomb differs is— they speak. The souls inside of it, I mean. At first, you hear the pleas. People yelling in agony about… I assume whatever was happening to them before or during whatever ritual turned them into that. Then they latch on and speak to you. They tell you to do things like killing your loved ones or hurting yourself. Eventually they dig at every single insecurity you have, big or small, and even though they're all speaking at the same time, you understand all of them perfectly."

"And then?" Cecilia asked, slightly breathless.

"I don't know, the fight ended before then," I muttered. "Cynthia's Lucario stabbed Shiftry. I don't know how bad it would have been if I wasn't in his domain or if Spiritomb had actually been out of their keystone."

"That's—" Cece exhaled, "a lot."

"It is. Why'd you ask me that all of a sudden? You getting second thoughts?"

"No. Cynthia sent me a message saying that she had confirmed the location of the Spiritomb I would be… hopefully getting."

I felt my fingers tingle. "And?"

She leaned in to whisper. "Route 225 apparently has one that's rather old. Not as old as hers, but old nonetheless."

"That's on the Battle Frontier."

"Yes."

I sat up and stared at the sky. "I had no idea that place had one. Then again, I've never been. So the League knows of every location with one?"

"I'd assume so. If I had to guess, there aren't that many left."

"Does it being old mean it's more dangerous?"

"It depends. Cynthia says that the younger ones lash out more easily, but the older ones are more sinister. Less violent, but more…"

"Mind-breaking."

"That. And young still means more than a thousand years old. Old is… old. Like, before recorded history old. There's a reason no one's figured out how to make them again, and there were attempts. Horrible attempts. They all stopped after the Great War."

"Well let's hope yours is a good one," I said. "You'll be an absolute press magnet in Unova if you actually catch one this summer."

"Right?" She smirked. "But that's not the reason I want to do this. Is it wrong to want the power a Spiritomb could own at my fingertips? To desire the challenge of raising one? Cynthia was only one year older than us when she found hers."

I shook my head. "She was already the Champion?"

"Yes. A newly appointed one, but Champion nonetheless. She said she found hers down a well."

"A what?! You're fucking with me."

"I'm not! It was just there, apparently. I had a hard time believing it too."

"Well, I'm looking forward to when we get to that part of the autobiography."

Cecilia chuckled, and her hand clasped tighter around mine.

—

"Grace! Why didn't you tell me about all of the famous trainers you were with in that photoshoot?!"

I turned toward Denzel as I slowly chewed on my pasta. I'd been eating lunch alone in the Center cafeteria since everyone else was busy and I was taking a break, but he barged in and slammed the table with his hands.

"I didn't think it was important," I shrugged.

"You what—" He stopped himself and facepalmed. "You didn't think telling me about some incredibly skilled trainers was important?!"

"Yeah, man. It was just work. We did it and went home," I said. "I did get all of their contact info, though. Except Aubri. She hates me."

"Aubri Schneider hates you?!"

A few heads turned at Aubri's name. She really was famous.

"Yeah. And I can't do anything to fix it. She wanted to be the face of the company and I leapfrogged her when she's way stronger and has years of experience. To be honest, I thought someone as savvy as you would know that."

"Well I don't know everything," he grumbled. He dragged a chair back and sat in front of me. "I had no idea she wanted to inherit Craig's position. Aubri keeps away from people most of the time, so she doesn't seem like the type… then again, you don't seem like it either."

"I mean, we're all doing it for money at the end of the day," I shrugged. "I heard she's saving for a mega stone."

"Ah, yeah. That costs millions. Tens of millions, for the rarest ones," Denzel said. "There's a very limited supply and they only form in very specific conditions. Some young Kalosian Professor tried to make some artificial ones a while back… Syco… Sycamore, I think. He failed miserably and plunged billions of Pokedollars down the drain."

"Knowing her skill, she would have gotten paid a lot more than me if she'd gotten my position. I get it, I really do," I sighed.

"Yeah. I think she might not have been chosen though… her scars are really bad," Denzel winced.

"What's that got to do with it?" I scoffed.

"Think, Grace. If she's going to represent Poketch, they want her to look good, even if it's a dick move. A girl that's missing half a hand, has no skin on one of her arms and is missing an eye won't attract anyone. There's a huge stigma against people with that many scars. You're lucky your burns only go up to your cheek and the parts that are more visible aren't as deep as hers, or I doubt the Poketch Company would have picked you, with or without Craig's recommendation."

"How did she get those scars?" I asked after a short pause. "The burn is obviously Salazzle, but the rest?"

"It's quite tragic, actually. The eye was a really nasty accident in her first year. She was fresh out of Jubilife and got attacked by a pack of Spearow after she tried to catch one. The wound took her eye out and stretched to her forehead."

"Did she even have a badge?"

"No."

That new? And yet, she persevered, I thought to myself.

"The missing hand came much later. It got sliced by a Leavanny in Eterna Forest when she was training. Before she was strong enough to hang out in Victory Road all the time, she was always holed up in those woods. One day, she went too deep and…"

He motioned his hand getting cut off with a click of his tongue.

"Apparently her Salazzle snuck into a Cargo Ship from Alola and rode it all the way to Sinnoh. That's how she caught her," Denzel continued. "And she got that crazy burn."

I felt a twinge of sadness for Aubri, which I didn't think I'd be able to. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't my fault. It was the board who had done this.

But then again, even if they'd been willing to entertain her, I wasn't going to give up my spot. The money was too important to give up on.

Oh well.

"Not everyone's going to like me. No matter what I do."

"Well for what it's worth, I think you're a great gal," he smiled.

"I would hope so. We're best friends."

"Never mind, you're awful," he mocked. "Cece told me you signed up for the Gym already?"

I leaned up from my plate. "Yup."

"Look at you, taking the initiative. I was thinking of doing it today too, I was going to go later. Emi's been on my case about going to help her get that nose piercing."

I gasped. "She's getting it after all?!"

"Yeah, but she's scared it's going to hurt. Pauline's coming too."

"I wanna come!" I yelled.

"Well I'll tell her you're in, then," he chuckled. He grabbed his phone, but his face fell as he scrolled.

"What? Did she suddenly change her mind?"

"No… I got a popup about some news."

I froze. "Team Galactic?"

"No, no!" He stammered. "You don't have to worry about that. It's Pokemon poachers."

I dropped my fork, and it clacked loudly on the floor.

"Poachers?"

"Yes. They've been operating somewhere out of route 212 near the swamp, but the League is apparently too understaffed to deal with it, so it's up the the Rangers and they've been having trouble. They're trained to safely contain wild Pokemon, not fight people."

My shoulders felt heavier and there was a tingle in my eye. I wiped away a tear, biting the inside of my lip so strongly that I tasted metal. With all the manpower they had focused on guarding the lakes, the Lily of the Valley island, stopping any hidden operations from saboteurs and finding Team Galactic's base, their manpower was stretched thin. Of course, filthy lowlives would take advantage of it.

"A bunch of trainers got threatened and gave up their Pokemon in exchange for their lives, and it's made the news so hopefully the League gets going and deals with the damn problem," he sighed. "I wonder why Wake isn't doing anything."

They won't. They won't care when the world risks ending, I thought to myself. And Mudsdale— Sunshine's old teammate was right in the crossfire since he worked with the Rangers there now.

"What are they doing with the Pokemon?" I asked.

"I'm not really sure. Sell them in some kind of black market, maybe?"

"So what, they're basically LARPING as Team Rocket? Fucking pathetic," I sniffled, grabbing my fork.

"I guess. They don't really have a name from what I can see. Do you want a tissue?"

"Yeah," I cried.

He quickly got up and grabbed a bunch of napkins from the counter. I blew my nose and scrunched them up.

"I hate this."

"The world's a dark place, Grace. Whenever people sense the opportunity, they'll strike."

"I want to gouge their guts out."

"O…okay. Let's leave it to the professionals," Denzel said. "Want to finish your food?"

"I'm not hungry anymore."

"Okay. You still good with the plan? I can stick around with you until Cece comes back if you want."

"Thanks, but I'm okay. This piercing stuff will cheer me up."

"Okay. Emi's already ready to go."

—

"Oh Legendaries, Legendaries, Legendaries!" Emilia yelled. She was grabbing onto her leather chair and clenching the armrests as tightly as she could. So tightly in fact that veins were bulging out of her arms.

"Stop moving, I'm just making the spot with a pen," the piercer sighed. She was an older woman in her fifties with tattoos and piercings all over her body. A tiny Murkrow was perched onto a stick in the corner of her store and cackling wildly.

"Why did you say you wanted a piercing if you're this scared?" I sighed.

"It's to make a statement," she answered with a trembling voice.

"Relax. Apparently it doesn't hurt," Pauline reassured her.

"Well I've read that it can hurt—"

"Shut up, Denzel," Pauline said.

The piercer brought a mirror in front of Emi's face and confirmed the spot she'd marked was the right one. She disinfected her hands, put on gloves and wiped some kind of disinfectant wipe on Emi's nose. Our friend closed her eyes before she could even see the needle.

"Emi's always been terrified of needles," Pauline whispered to me. "You should have seen the face she made when we had to take that booster shot at the start of our journey. She was throwing a fit."

"So she's doing a lot better now," I said.

The older woman pricked her nose with the needle, and Emilia squealed a little, and in a few seconds, she had already placed the nose stud through the hole.

"Wait… it's over?" Emilia asked, opening a single eye. She closed it immediately when she saw that the needle was still in front of her face.

"Yes, it's over," the woman said. "Now, let's talk about aftercare…"

Emilia beamed, and she followed the piercer's words to the letter.

It seemed like she was going to get a lot more piercings in the future.

—

When I had started the Circuit, I truly thought I would grow used to battling in Gyms. The atmosphere, the crowd, the stakes. It all added up to being a nervewracking experience that would make even the most experienced trainers nervous. I wasn't dissociating for this battle, so the nerves were getting to me, especially when both Princess and Honey's evolutions rode on this battle.

I had a strategy. Now I just had to execute it.

"Grace Pastel, you're up! Just let me put your microphone on."

"Thanks," I smiled.

"Good luck out there! Jasmine has been a lot more manageable since the… event, so I wanted to thank you for that."

I snorted. "Thank her. She's the one putting in the effort."

I grabbed Sunshine's Pokeball and exited the waiting room. Spectators began to cheer for me. New Wave was up there too, and they decided to sit in the last row so they could have their banner of me and my team up. I knew my friends were up here too. All of them. Even Jasmine. I felt prickles up my nape and I moistened my lips. Volkner finished his break right on the dot and approached his own podium. He wore jeans, a black shirt and a blue jacket with yellow buttons on its sleeves. His grey shoes squeaked on the clean floor.

He was actually dressed up.

Volkner's words were like sparks in my ears.

"Welcome, Challenger," he spoke. "This will be a four-on-four battle with two switches allowed. If you win that battle, it will be followed by a one-on-one where you will be forced to use your Electabuzz—"

Murmurs ran through the arena. That had most likely never been seen before.

"—I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the Circuit."

Volkner paused, and I hungrily licked my teeth.

"Send out your Pokemon."

I released Sunshine onto the field, and the air immediately started to swelter.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M, Tina M, dotAlice, Nova

 

[BEARiiKADE]

Really enjoying this fic, the world building is incredible. All the Pokemon feel alive! Sunshine's debut is next can't wait

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 237 - The Battle for the Skies

I smiled when Sunshine appeared onto the field. Even in a battle like this, he was still his usual self.

Sunshine immediately showed off by sending a Flamethrower high into the sky and bellowing out with a deafening roar to announce his presence. The air around him warped as it grew hotter and hotter, and the dragon set his sights on Volkner, who didn't seem impressed. The Gym Leader did take a bit longer to send out his Pokemon than I thought, though, which I wouldn't mind at all. After all, if he took the full thirty seconds, that was more time for us to heat up the field. Two minutes and a few seconds was all we needed to turn Volkner's Gym into molten rock.

Volkner's hands settled on a Pokeball at the end of his belt, and he released a brown, flat-looking Pokemon with two wide eyes. Stunfisk, I realized with a sharp breath. I hadn't studied him! How? I'd combed through every single video! Was he a new recruit? No… the only explanation for this was that Volkner had adapted the power of his Pokemon right away instead of starting off with a baseline because he knew Sunshine was more powerful than my current badge level.

"E.T. five," Volkner said.

My eyes narrowed as the ground around Stunfisk turned to dust and began to fly around the field like grains of sand. They filled up the arena as Sunshine continued to heat up, generating a Sunny Day without my order. The light would be masked by the Sandstorm, but it wasn't a powerful one. The grains were thin, and I could easily see the entire field. E.T. means Electric Terrain, but five? I had no context there, but it was easy to imagine what would come next.

"Flamethrower," I said. "Don't let them set up for free."

Another stream of flames burst from Sunshine's snout, aided by the sun and the rising temperature. The flames were a brilliant, singing blue at their edges and seemed to grow the longer Turtonator kept the attack going. The dust flying around the arena suddenly electrified as one, and Stunfisk beat his two appendages like wings, sending himself in the air. He glided away from the Flamethrower, although I heard him cry out from the move's sheer heat. Sunshine grunted from the electric charge. The rocks here were almost fully iron and conducted electric currents very well. The electricity jumped out at him and attacked like it had a mind of its own, but his scales protected him from the worst of it. Sweetheart would be immune, but the rest of my team? They would be screwed.

"Keep heating up," I said. "Flamethrower. The heat will hurt him."

"Trap him and Mud Shot," Volkner ordered.

"Iron Defense!"

The ground under Sunshine turned into superheated quicksand as he shimmered white, and Stunfisk spat out globs of mud from the sky. Sunshine tried to raise a foot to escape, but the hold the sand had on him was tight, and the mud crashed into his scales like bullets, denting some of his scales and his plastron. He retaliated with Flamethrower, but Stunfisk was charged chock full of electricity and could levitate away easily. The ground type's slick skin had darkened and burned away even without any contact.

One more minute, I thought. The sand beneath Sunshine was already glowing red.

"Sludge Bomb," Volkner said.

Stunfisk zipped through the electrified sandstorm as Sunshine tracked him down with Flamethrower. He singed one of his wings, burning and darkening it in an instant, and the electric type could barely handle being near Sunshine.

"Into your shell and Shell Trap!"

Unfortunately, Sunshine was still trapped, so he couldn't dodge the giant ball of poison that dropped onto him. We could do the next best thing, however. The fire type retracted into his shell as the sand under him turned to molten glass, and only his tail remained out of it. We'd trained the motion so many times that it was unnaturally quick. He slammed an Iron Tail onto his shell and caused a massive explosion that knocked Stunfisk away. The rock finally turned from red to molten. Smoldering, smoking lava clung to Sunshine's scales as he rose from his shell with a wicked grin, and it soon began to spread, slowly limping toward Volkner. Stunfisk tried to trap him again, but any Sand Tomb instantly turned to glass that crinkled under Sunshine's feet. The spires around Sunshine slowly sunk into the lava and added to the mass of molten rock.

"Keep at it, let's take it slow," I said before sending an arm forward with a wild grin. "Dragon Pulse!"

The attack snapped into place quicker now that Sunshine was reinvigorated by the heat, and neither Volkner nor Stunfisk had expected such a trick. The Dragon Pulse burned the air around it and Stunfisk cried out as the attack engulfed him.

I'd done the same thing against Denzel, but it would only work once against a seasoned Gym Leader.

"Mud Bomb," Volkner said, not losing his cool.

Stunfisk was ashen and black now, but he was still conscious and far from fainting. He spat out a few balls of mud that levitated in front of him and coalesced into a bigger sphere in seconds. I ordered another Dragon Pulse, but Stunfisk glided out of the way higher and higher into the sky until he was out of reach from the heat and the toxic smoke.

Having a higher vantage point meant that we had ample time to dodge any attacks. The Mud Bomb fell toward the ground, but Sunshine retracted into his shell, using Rapid Spin to get out of the way and sending multiple chunks of lava flying all around him. He was at the center of the arena now, and the lava had almost spread everywhere I'd wanted it to.

"Thunder," Volkner ordered.

I winced as the attack instantly appeared, beaming down from the sky and through the sandstorm, slamming into Sunshine. He roared in pain as the attack peeled off his scales. Stunfisk flew high in the sky, aided by his own Sandstorm and magnetism. If Sunshine and I had mastered flying through explosions, this wouldn't have been a problem, but alas, we'd have to deal our own way.

"Smokescreen," I said.

The dark smoke immediately billowed out of his snout right as Volkner ordered another Thunder. Sunshine was hit again and much of the smoke was cleared, but we could generate a Smokescreen faster than they could create Thunders. Sunshine was continuously using the move, so it didn't matter if Sandstorm blew it away. Stunfisk was good— better than Honey. His Thunders were faster, stronger and he could use them like there was no tomorrow, but he was no Amphy. He would still have to recharge between attacks. Lightning and heat emanated from the Smokescreen, but Sunshine was able to get lost in the darkness. All that could be seen was the lava that pooled and pooled away from the Smokescreen.

A few more Thunders struck the ground, but none of them hit their mark while Turtonator stayed hidden in the smoke. Sunshine retaliated with Dragon Pulses, Flamethrowers, and Fire Pillars. It was a battle of attrition, and we were slowly but surely winning. The sheer heat from Sunshine's attacks was enough to slowly whittle Stunfisk down. That didn't mean we were getting off scot-free either. The electrified Sandstorm was whittling Turtonator down, but just slower. I was perfectly content to—

"Rest and Sleep Talk," Volkner said.

I cracked my neck. It would have been too easy, wouldn't it? Stunfisk closed his eyes and fell asleep. His burns healed, his skin regenerated and he was almost as good as new. Not only that, but he kept zooming around the sky like a bird even through his sleep, and a few more pellets of mud flew through the Smokescreen. The reason Stunfisk hadn't impressed me was because he wasn't a flashy fighter. From the little I'd seen so far, he was a battler that was meant to last long. Volkner had only been content to let the battle become one of attrition because Stunfisk was built for them. Meanwhile, Sunshine couldn't thrive against fast opponents, and neither could he take down Pokemon that kept that much of a distance quite yet. While the ground was a hellish environment of my creation with bubbling lava and toxic, poisonous fumes, the sky was free from these disadvantages.

He was playing to his strengths, and we were not. That was a mistake.

And yet, I smelled weakness. Stunfisk was asleep, and so the Sandstorm weakened. It didn't end. It simply abated because Stunfisk wasn't able to consciously keep it going. And as went the Sandstorm, the electricity would follow.

It would have been amazing if I had been able to have Sunshine have his first Gym Battle dominating some Pokemon weaker than we were, but life didn't always work out that way. I waited another thirty seconds for the electricity in the Sandstorm to die out, and I recalled Sunshine. The Smokescreen finally dissipated, the Sunny Day grew weaker and it would continue to do so until it disappeared, but the lava stayed. Menacing, scorching destruction that clung to the ground and would render it impossible to fight on.

And we'd run plenty of tests. It took hours to cool without water.

I sent out Princess next, who smiled with glee when she saw what awaited her. Weeks of training had led to this, and she had learned to love to play with lava. A bubble of psychic energy shimmered around her before turning invisible, and she lowered herself so close to the molten rock it was as if she was touching it. The red hue bounced off her fur and tinted every part of her.

Yet, her fur did not burn. Nor did she choke on the hot fumes. She was in her element.

"Burn him. He's stronger than you, so you can go a little ham," I smiled.

Volkner's hands froze in his pockets when he realized what I was doing. Princess' eyes shone, and a chunk of lava rose from the ground. A burst of air propelled her toward Stunfisk high into the sky with the molten rock, and a Thunderbolt slammed into her barrier. Another Sleep Talk. She grunted under the impact of the powerful attack, and some of her barrier collapsed. Her fur almost caught on fire before she fixed her shield, and she squealed for joy when she divided the lava and threw a sliver of it at Stunfisk.

The superheated speck of rock landed on the ground type and his entire body spontaneously combusted, burning him to a crisp. The sheer amount of pain caused Stunfisk to wake up and half-hazardly explode outward in a burst of electricity. The unfocused attack still strained Princess' barrier— proof that Stunfisk was beyond her level.

Stunfisk fell from the sky like a burning meteorite and toward the lava as the crowd gasped in fear, but Princess quickly grabbed him with a fast Psychic to save him from any accidents, not missing the opportunity to brutalize his mind with everything she had. Volkner quickly recalled him before he could get further in harm's way. The entire field wasn't covered, and Volkner's side was still rather clear, but a lack of luck had forced him to switch anyway because Stunfisk would have landed smack dab in the middle of the fiery rock. The lava gave a sinister red hue to the entire field, and I could barely see anything above it. I'd created hell. A lethal zone that made it impossible to send out anything but the strongest, toughest Pokemon if he ever wanted to cross it. All we lacked were the volcanoes. If we had them, we would have created a half-baked version of what Craig's Typhlosion had done against Jasmine.

And it was so fucking beautiful.

But we were nowhere near victory yet. I'd essentially created a situation where fighting on the ground was impossible, so I'd expected Lanturn to come out now that Sunshine was gone. Instead, Volkner released a huge bird only slightly smaller than Pauline's Braviary who screeched as she took to the skies, aided by the updraft from the hot air and her own wind. Kilowattrel was a Paldean Pokemon I'd never seen before studying Volkner. Paldeans tended to keep a tight leash on their wildlife like Alolans, so Paldean Pokemon outside of their region were rare.

And yet here we were. While I was master of the ground in this battle, Volkner was master of the skies.

"E.T. eleven," Volkner said.

The flying type's mere presence created a gust of wind so strong that it pushed Princess slightly back, and I knew for a fact that it would have been far worse without the barrier there. It built and built until Kilowattrel had created a mini electrified storm around her. Approaching her was a surefire way to lose.

And it was spreading. I knew that eventually the electric Hurricane would cover the entire field.

We had the tools to win, however. Princess did have a piece of smoldering lava at her side.

Hurricane to speed herself up and hit opponents, Wild Charge as the finishing blow, I internally whispered.

"Get low and get yourself some spears," I ordered. "Counter with Air Cutter."

"Hurricane," Volkner said.

The air sharpened and flew toward Kilowattrel at high speeds, but one beat of her humongous wings, and the Hurricane howled. The Air Cutter dissolved into thin air as Princess flew back, circling around the arena to grab some earth from the non-molten part of the field. It instantly formed into spears that she added to her arsenal, and she used the opportunity to replenish her lava as well.

The Hurricane was slow to start, but it soon reached its apex. Princess could barely keep to the air. The wind battered her from every direction, but her barrier thankfully held. Without it, the entire plan would fall into disarray.

"Wild Charge," Volkner added.

Kilowattrel was huge, but just like all of Volkner's Pokemon, she was also incredibly quick. The wind carried her, and she blurred toward Princess, who quickly chucked a few spears forward and split off a small chunk of lava, raising it in front of her for protection. The spears broke apart from the electricity and strong winds surrounding the flying type before they could reach their mark, snapping like branches under my feet. Kilowattrel opted to simply bear through the pain from the lava to ram into Togetic. The fairy type reflexively exploded with a Dazzling Gleam that further burned and dizzied Kilowattrel, but she was far too large to miss.

I heard a loud crack as the barrier shattered into a thousand pieces and Princess bore the full brunt of the Wild Charge. Kilowattrel's wings caught on fire from the lava, but she kept Princess in her beak and dragged her low so she could burn. They both turned into one fireball as the wind from Hurricane kept screaming and battering Togetic.

"Dazzling Gleam!" I yelled.

An explosion of light. Then another. And another. Kilowattrel's mouth was a smoking mess, but she only let go after the fifth Dazzling Gleam and flew away as she let out a pained caw. As soon as her barrier reformed, Togetic held out a hand and momentarily seized her with Psychic, but electricity buzzed all around her and somehow broke the hold she had on the flying type. She was slower now that a lot of her feathers had been burned, but it was only momentary. Kilowattrel just screamed, powering up the winds that carried her and she was suddenly just as speedy as she had been at the start of the battle.

"If she Roosts, you stab or burn her," I ordered. "Wish."

"Charge Beam," Volkner said.

Aided by the wind, Kilowattrel quickly turned her entire body and ball of electricity formed in her beak before it shot out like a laser. Princess blocked the attack with lava that bubbled and burst at the impact, and she sent a ball of light up into the sky and through the ceiling. Now, they would rush in and hope to defeat us or Stockpile. Either they played the long game and let Princess regenerate to avoid Sunshine getting the Wish, or they would just opt to take her down now. A strategy quickly built itself in my mind for the two paths.

"Stockpile and Electro Ball," Volkner ordered.

Good.

"Lava drills!"

Who said we could only keep lava close to us? No one, and yet I'd acted like that was the case the entire time. The molten rock formed into glowing red spears and flew toward Kilowattrel, who was inhaling as much air into her gullet as she could. We didn't send too many. Only three. And the fact that they were drills was just to make them more aerodynamic. The Hurricane strengthened and electricity spread through the wind, but Princess' hold on the drills was too secure to be disturbed.

Kilowattrel's huge size came back to bite her as more of her feathers caught on fire. The lava dug into her skin and burned off her plumage, revealing her pink flesh. Of course, that burned too. Unfortunately, we hadn't gotten her wings. Destroying them would have guaranteed victory, and it was nothing Nurse Joy couldn't heal up. The electric type opened her beak again and shot out a ball of plasma toward Togetic. It was far too quick to redirect—

Princess tried to protect herself with her remaining lava again, but the plasma ball broke through that and her barrier, slamming into her burned chest. I clicked my tongue when I saw that Kilowattrel used Stockpile again, and then she swallowed the air, healing a few of her wounds.

We needed to go big for this.

"Get low," I said. I leaned against my knees and excitedly bit my tongue. When Princess was close enough, I uttered my next order. "Moonblast."

Princess' wings fluttered, her eyes shone, and a ball of light slowly appeared in front of her. Volkner ordered Kilowattrel to use another Electro Ball, but the Moonblast's gravity made it swerve out of the way. The ball of light picked up in size and lava started orbiting it like sets of rings around a planet. Kilowattrel tried another Electro Ball, an Air Slash and another Charge Beam, but the pull the Moonblast had was too powerful and the attacks kept moving around the planet before crashing into the ground.

I held my breath.

Volkner smirked.

"Uproar," he said.

The electric type opened her mouth as wide as she could and screeched. Electricity sparked around her beak and was carried by her voice. For a second, the Moonblast faltered, but Princess let out a fierce cry as she sent it forth. It picked up more and more lava. Dust and wind swirled around it, burning up as the Moonblast curved upward. Kilowattrel kept screaming until even people in the bleachers covered their ears, but I was too captivated by what was happening to care. Princess followed her Moonblast as best she could, hiding behind it to avoid any attacks. She was the only thing on this field not affected by its gravitational pull. The Uproar was still getting to her—

Thankfully, the Wish bore down through the ceiling and healed her, but she was still struggling. Not wanting to break her focus, I didn't order her to use another Wish quite yet.

"Keep your distance," Volkner continued.

Kilowattrel flapped her wings, but a sudden Extrasensory from Princess stopped her from moving until the Moonblast was close enough to start pulling her in. Princess had to drop her shield to focus on both Extrasensory and the Moonblast and she started to burn from her proximity to the lava. The constant Hurricane struck her from every direction. The electricity coating the air jumped at her fur.

Yet she held on. She believed.

Kilowattrel shrieked as she flapped her wings. Bursts of air shot out from under them as she tried to escape, each one stronger than the last.

The moon pulled her in.

The lava burned her to a crisp. I had to call out to Princess for her to stop before she got a Pokemon killed. The Moonblast disappeared into thin air, the molten rock dropped to the ground and Princess kept the unconscious flying type afloat. The crowd gasped again, but no Pokemon would die today. Volkner quickly recalled her to stop her suffering and wiped the groove between his lips and nose.

"You're quite a lethal fighter, aren't you?" He said. "I can see why Jasmine likes you."

"Sorry, I guess? I'm trying to hold back," I answered back with a slight hesitation. For a second, I almost thought he would stop the battle and say that lava wasn't allowed.

"Just an acknowledgment," he shrugged. "I've never seen Moonblast used that way. You've done a good job."

Thank you, Bella, I internally squealed. A Gym Leader had praised me!

And yet what felt like the climax of the fight was only the beginning. Volkner grabbed his next Pokeball and sent out Lanturn. The pond on Volkner's side of the field still remained (albeit much of it had evaporated), and the water slid out of it, crawling toward the electric type as he continuously spat out water from his mouth. After five seconds, he was levitating in the air in a bubble of water.

"Wish," I instantly said.

Princess was unfortunately barely able to keep fighting. That Moonblast had taken everything out of her, especially when she'd gotten hit so much. The best strategy here was to let her fall and deal as much damage as possible. The light was slower to go up in the sky now, but Volkner wasn't idle.

"Rain Dance, Aqua Ring and E.T. four," Volkner ordered.

Dark, storming clouds materialized above the arena and it began to pour. Hot steam rose up high into the sky and coated every inch of the arena as the lava slowly began to cool. Multiple blue rings shimmered and spun around Lanturn.

"Now Thunder."

"Bubble Bla—"

Too slow. Before the vapor next to Lanturn could compress and explode, a beam of electricity fell down from the clouds. The energy broke against Princess' shield for an instant before it shattered it completely, and it went through her and reached the lava down below, sending a few chunks of it flying. The attack was so bright I had to cover my eyes, but I quickly brought an arm forward and recalled Princess before she could fall further.

Volkner's plan with Lanturn was obviously to flood the field and take back control of the ground. When the lava cooled completely, he'd be able to create an electrified sea that even Jellicent wouldn't be able to navigate, let alone Sunshine and Sweetheart. In effect, if he managed to flood the field, he'd completely screw me over.

But there was another reason I hadn't switched beyond Princess already being too tired for even Wish's abilities.

I needed to keep it for Buddy.

I grabbed Sunshine's Pokeball and threw him out in the middle of his already-cooling lava. His presence reinvigorated the heat, and the arena started to shine red once more. Rain pattered down on his scales, and it instantly turned into vapor. In effect, if he was there to sustain his pool of lava, the field would never be flooded. Lanturn scowled behind his bubble of water and frustration emanated out of his skin. Turtonator activated his Sunny Day again, and an eerie light rose as high as Lanturn. The clouds would help cover much of the light, but any extra help was welcome.

The ground was mine and the sky was Volkner's.

"Hydro Pump," Volkner said.

"Evaporate it."

Lanturn's water shook, rippling in every direction, and an enormous Hydro Pump barrelled toward Sunshine. It foamed at its edges and sounded like a waterfall. Sunshine flexed as flames and lava surrounded him, and the Hydro Pump lost almost all of its mass when it hit him in the chest. He snorted, immediately retaliating with a Dragon Pulse that Lanturn barely managed to dodge through hydrokinesis.

Having figured out that no water type moves would work, Volkner changed strategies. Another Thunder rocked the arena, slamming down right in Sunshine's face. Electrified water desperately gasped for life at the non-scorching corners of the arena, but other than that, this place was ours. I bit my lip when Lanturn began to speed up with Agility. He was now just as fast as Stunfisk had been, and he stayed high up in the sky, hitting us from far away. At the fourth Thunder, Princess' Wish entered Sunshine's body. The attacks were weak against him, but it was still Thunder.

In the time it had taken to strike Sunshine, my thoughts hadn't been idle. Ideas within ideas. Plans within plans. I licked my lips as they stretched into a grin. My little ray of Sunshine was far too much of a threat to approach. His mere presence could kill, and yet, I hadn't found a way to bring the fight to our opponents.

Not yet, anyway.

"Coat your shell in lava," I said.

Sunshine did not hesitate, even if he didn't understand quite yet. It was proof of how far we'd come together. Another Thunder tickled him, as he sloshed lava all over his shell. The molten rock clung to every ridge, every spike, every single inch.

"Shell Trap and Scale Shot."

Turtonator's face twisted into a grin that mirrored mine. He spun, his back facing Lanturn—

"Water Wall and Confusion," Volkner said.

More water. Lanturn's bubble grew twicefold before splitting off and forming into a wall in front of him. Turtonator slapped his glowing Shell with an Iron Tail and pieces of lava and scorching scales flew everywhere like bullets. The force of the explosion propelled them high enough. They flew right through the wall of water, only slowing slightly and Lanturn's face twisted when he realized Confusion wasn't enough to stop us either. Not only did his water bubble begin to evaporate, but the sharpened hot scales sliced at his skin. Blood seeped into Lanturn's water, but the Aqua Ring would heal him and the water would just be replaced if we didn't strike again.

"Again," I said.

"Supersonic."

Lanturn's light shone brighter than any of the ceiling lights, and he screamed. I winced at the high-pitched noise. Sunshine had it even worse. He could barely stand up straight, let alone spread molten rock on his shell.

"Charge and Thunder. You have time," Volkner said.

Electricity crackled around Lanturn, spinning and coiling around his body until his light shone again. More darkened clouds gathered above Sunshine, who was vigorously shaking his head. My ears were still ringing, so I was certain he sure as hell couldn't hear anything. Lanturn stayed utterly still with his eyes closed as he prepared his attack.

I couldn't let this happen. I had studied Lanturn enough to know that this would hurt, dragon or not. I crouched and motioned to Sunshine until he caught sight of me. He'd still been facing my side, and it didn't take long for him to notice I was gesturing.

Relax, I mouthed. You've got this.

He blinked at me and nodded.

Lanturn screamed, and the blue Thunder broke against his—

My ears popped. Another explosion. Light so bright I could see it through my eyelids. I shot up from my crouching position and blinked to chase away the afterimages from the light. Lanturn was burning. His water had evaporated so much that he was only covered by a thin layer of liquid. The Aqua Ring was weakened, and his wounds weren't healing right. Burns and deep gashes covered his skin and had pierced through his thick layer of fat.

The top of Turtonator's shell had split from the combined force of the explosion and the massive Thunder. I frowned as what had just happened clicked into place.

Sunshine had activated his Shell Trap right as the Thunder stuck, triggering another explosion that sent lava and scales flying everywhere. Since Lanturn was still during his Charged Thunder, he suffered a lot more than the first attack.

Arceus, Sunshine's aim was good.

"Dragon Pulse before he regenerates his water!" I screamed.

I had to repeat the order again so Sunshine could hear, and he spat out a Dragon Pulse that engulfed Lanturn's entire body. The flames and draconic energy drowned out the water type's screams, but another Supersonic from Volkner rang out before Lanturn could faint. He recalled the electric type before he fell into the lava and I sighed in relief.

Volkner couldn't flood the field any longer. My biggest losing condition was out of the window.

The Gym Leader sent out Stunfisk again. His proximity to the lava charred his sleek, already burned skin, but the ground type levitated in the air before too much damage could be dealt. Stunfisk was a staller. Low, but consistent damage, and he could heal as many times as he wanted. Unlike most healing moves, Rest didn't take any energy. That meant that our only opening was when he was asleep and couldn't use the move again.

That meant the first thing we had to do was get Stunfisk to use Rest again so he could fall asleep.

Sunshine turned toward me as Volkner called out for Electric Terrain, and I nodded. I would let him do whatever he wanted until he could actually hear again. We couldn't use Shell Trap too many times now that his shell had been split by Thunder, but it was the best way we had of hitting a flying Pokemon consistently.

Once the electrified Sandstorm had begun, Volkner sprung to action.

"Mud Bomb."

Stunfisk zipped through the arena until he was right above Sunshine, and he gathered mud in front of his mouth. The steaming ball of mud grew bigger and bigger until—

An explosion rang out, and lava and scales tore through the Mud Bomb. It exploded on Stunfisk's face, scorching him in combination with the molten rocks. Turtonator spun around right away, snarling as pain spread through his back, and a Flamethrower gathered in his mouth. Stunfisk abandoned dropping another Mud Bomb, flying back and pestering Sunshine with Mud Shots instead and he easily dodged the blue flames.

"Bulldoze," Volkner continued.

I frowned. Why now and not before? Stunfisk floated back toward Volkner and flew toward the floor as fast as he could. My eye twitched when I caught on to his speed. It hadn't been easy to spot, but the closer he was to the ground—

I nearly gasped in disbelief. He was so fast that the air around him was warping, just like Cecilia's Talonflame. Not quite the speed of sound quite yet, but he was getting there. He slammed into the non-molten part of the ground and the entire arena shook with such violence the attack looked more like an Earthquake than a Bulldoze. The ground under Sunshine's feet split open, forming a hole that sunk him and the lava. The arena was changing. It wasn't a crater. More like a dent that had appeared in the middle of the arena and where the lava slowly pooled.

Turtonator wasn't idle, however. A Flash Cannon instantly flew out of his snout and cut across Stunfisk. Even that attack was hot enough to burn him. The dragon might have been in a hole, but he was still in his element. Yet it was easy to see why Volkner had done this now.

"Mud Shot," the Gym Leader ordered.

"If you can hear me, Rapid Spin toward Stunfisk!" I yelled.

They were sure that Sunshine had no mobility now, and they could keep him trapped in the dent as long as they wanted. The fire type retreated into his shell and spun onto the lava, but the hole was too steep to climb out of. A giant ball of mud flew into the pit and exploded against Sunshine's scales. Then another. And another. The dragon roared in frustration. There was no good angle to retaliate. Stunfisk braved the heat and sat flat on the ground lobbing his Mud Bombs into the hole.

I clenched a fist and sighed. Even though his shell was split and we hadn't succeeded before… we had to try.

"Propel yourself," I ordered.

Turtonator instantly reacted, retracting into his shell and turning himself upside down. Another Mud Bomb blew up against his plastron, but that was fine.

Sunshine began to spin, his shell glowing bright red.

I braced myself, and every muscle in my body tensed.

The ground shook from his own Bulldoze, and his shell burst open in a brilliant explosion. I held my breath, and he flew.

Not very high. It wasn't graceful, nor fast, but he flew out of the hole, landing up the ridge Stunfisk had formed. Turtonator stumbled out of his shell, and his eyes locked with the ground type. He was angry at the humiliation he'd been subject to. He glowered, ignoring the electricity from the Sandstorm that jumped at him for the thousandth time, and the ground under his feet started to turn molten.

Yet he did not let anger or pride get the best of him.

"Flash Cannon!" I yelled.

Speed was the name of the game. The blinding light cut across the field and hit Stunfisk before he could fly off. The electric type's skin was quite literally cooking from being this near to Sunshine and our attacks.

"Flail," Volkner ordered.

I flinched at the sudden burst of speed. I had thought they would be retreating and using Rest—

Stunfisk slammed into Sunshine's chest at full speed with electricity coursing through his body. He'd been so low to the ground that it had practically been instant, and the attack actually sent Sunshine back a few feet. The fire type shook off the pain, clumsily grabbed onto Stunfisk, and burned.

The ground type screamed, but he kept Flailing in Sunshine's hand. Every time he did, the dragon would get knocked back longer and longer distances. Combined with powerful Discharges and the Sandstorm, we were reaching our limit. Flames combusted around Turtonator as he let loose a Flamethrower, and the final Flail sent the dragon flying until he lay knocked out on his back. Stunfisk was a burned husk that looked barely alive.

Volkner didn't even look worried. In fact, he looked like he was having fun.

A draw was… not ideal. I hoped to keep Sunshine going for Volkner's last Pokemon, but I had never expected Stunfisk to actually be that threatening. I knew that he was a higher badge level, but Volkner had acted like he'd been a staller in the first part of the fight. He wasn't the kind of trainer to use mind games like I did, so the only explanation I had was that he'd thrown caution out the window and made a sacrifice play to take Sunshine out of the fight because he knew Stunfisk would be the only one able to do so.

Rest to stall, Flail to destroy any opponent when he was done with them, I thought. What a fun strategy!

In all my gushing over tactics, I'd missed the fast that Sunshine had technically fainted first, and the referee reminded me to send out a Pokemon first. I apologized and released Sweetheart onto the field. Her cocoon was fresh from a new molt and glimmered. She was over six feet tall now and an inch taller than Denzel, even.

Her cocoon would protect her from the heat so long as she didn't actually plunge into the lava lake. We'd done a lot of limit testing with this over the last few weeks, so we knew how far we could go. She roared within her shell, announcing herself to the world just like Sunshine had.

Volkner sent out his last Pokemon. A relatively small spider that Sweetheart could easily crush with her weight if she rammed into her just once. The Galvantula screeched as electricity surged through her thick fur and powerful legs. Sweetheart responded with a half-baked screech, mockingly imitating the electric type.

"Fly and ram into her! Earthbreaker!" I yelled.

I heard a hiss and a pop as Pupitar expunged air from all of her vents. With a burst of speed, she flew forward with an Iron Head already prepared. Galvantula didn't look alarmed. When Sweetheart crossed the lava-filled hole, she scuttled away at incredible speeds. Sweetheart made a sharp turn to the right to follow her. Galvantula was fast, but Pupitar was faster.

"Let's use our new strategy," Volkner spoke up.

The electric type reached the corner of the arena and climbed up on it. Kadabra and the referee's eyes bulged out of their sockets as Galvantula's spiked feet shone neon green and she ran up the side of the barrier. Sweetheart rammed into it at full force, and the entire facade nearly collapsed from the sheer force and the shock wave. They must have had a weaker Kadabra set up for this battle. An Earthbreaker broke apart the entire area and fissures appeared in the ground, but Galvantula was unharmed.

"E.T. Fifteen," he added.

Since this was a new strategy, I had no idea what to expect. I ordered Sweetheart to fly up and follow Galvantula, and a horde of rocks from Rock Slide followed in her wake.

A burst of electricity. Then, Galvantula jumped across the side of the arena, leaving behind thin strands of electrified web. Sweetheart broke through some of them, but that wasn't a problem for Galvantula. An Electro Ball shot out from under her, giving her enough momentum to reach the other side of the barrier. The two sides were linked together with Electroweb now, and they weren't done.

Galvantula built and built until the entire sky was covered in at least ten layers of her electrified webs. All of our attempts to stop her were futile. Rock Slides didn't go high enough. Smack Downs were too imprecise. Breaking through her web with Iron Head would just have her replace it in seconds and would just waste Sweetheart's air.

I swallowed and felt a shiver of excitement run up my spine. The sky was theirs.

We needed to contest it somehow.

"Now Bug Buzz."

Galvantula screamed.

Every strand of her hair stood on end as she screeched as loud as she could. A green hue traveled down onto the floor as fast as the speed of sound and Sweetheart rattled in her shell from the sound. It wasn't debilitatingly loud, but unlike moves like Screech or Uproar, the bug type energy infused in the attack did the heavy lifting here.

We couldn't stand back and watch this happen, or she would just lose without doing anything. Buddy would struggle against an opponent like this, and I still needed to find an opening to get him in the battle to cool the lava lake and flood the field.

"You've got to get up there," I said. "Fly into her web!"

Sweetheart was a ground type. It fell onto us to be aggressive and chase, and onto Galvantula to run. We needed to weaken her.

Pupitar shivered in her shell, and then flew up into Galvantula's web. She snapped the first layer, broke through the next five and emerged above the entire structure. Galvantula stopped her Bug Buzz and spat out a stream of poison at Sweetheart. The toxic liquid ate into her shell and dug deep. Sweetheart opened her mouth, and a rock shot out of her body so quickly that a small shock wave shook Galvantula's web. The electric type screeched in agony as the rock impacted her abdomen and tore through more of her web.

"Sandstorm!" I continued.

She hovered in the sky, her body utterly still, and she started to eject masses of sand out of her vents. Galvantula scuttled forward and jumped at Pupitar before the wind could grow too strong.

"Giga Drain," Volkner ordered.

There it is!

"Dragon Pulse!"

Turquoise energy concentrated in front of Sweetheart's mouth. She screamed out the attack, pushing Galvantula back onto her web and through it. The bug type desperately grabbed onto a strand and swung before she could reach the ground, landing on the side of the arena—

"Smack Down!" I barked.

Another rock shot out of Sweetie's mouth, but I internally swore when Galvantula dodged most of the attack. Only a few shards of rocks hit her, and that wasn't much. The electric type somehow sped up as she clung to the bottom of her web and rebuilt it as fast as destroying part of it had been.

"String Shot. Find an opening for Giga Drain."

Thick strands of string flew out of Galvantula's mouth. She continuously moved as she did so, avoiding any further attacks. A Dragon Pulse missed by a mile, and a Smack Down did so by a sliver. Sweetheart flew away in an attempt to dodge. Her larger size made her more bulky and gave her a bigger supply of gas, but she was far easier to hit with Galvantula's Compound Eyes.

Dragon Pulse kept us in the game for a while, but Galvantula could sling out string like no tomorrow and Pupitar would eventually have to catch her breath. The rock type stopped her attack and allowed the strings to wrap around her and plug her vents.

What had happened against Zachary's Vespiquen was happening again. I inhaled sharply as the jet sputtered and then died. The ground type fell toward Galvantula's web. The electric type blurred as she traveled to the bottom layer of her web, grabbing strands of electrified string along the way. She jumped, and for a second I thought she would join Sweetheart on the ground, but that made no sense! The lava—

Galvantula met Pupitar mid-air and wrapped her into her web before they could fall too far. Her fur began to smoke from the sheer heat, but her web was stronger. They'd found a way to reinforce it with electricity over the years of experience Galvantula had. She dragged Sweetheart back up into her web, somehow lifting her heavy frame. She made sure to be above her and away from her mouth to avoid any potential attacks. The strings began to grow neon green and I immediately recognized Giga Drain.

I recalled Sweetheart before more damage could be done and wiped the sweat off my brow. My chest rose with deep breaths as I released Buddy onto the field. Jellicent instead of Tangrowth here had been a three-pronged strategy.

The plan had been to weaken whoever Volkner's last Pokemon was for Sweetheart to be able to finish them off, but I also had to use him to cool the molten rock before the fight between Honey and Electivire started. Not only that, but Angel would be completely out of his element even if I discounted the lava burning his vines if he got too close. This was an air war, and unlike Sunshine, he had no good way to strike enemies far above him other than the slow-to-charge Solar Beam.

"Regenerate through any damage, shield yourself in any way you've got and cool the lava," I whispered to the small piece of Buddy that clung to the barrier next to me. I made sure to pull the microphone down with my hand so Volkner couldn't hear our strategy.

Although he didn't seem concerned at all.

"Thunderbolt," he said.

Electricity hummed, and Galvantula shot out a beam of electricity at Jellicent far too quick to dodge even with Water Sport. The ghost type's watery skin bubbled and smoked from the attack, but he didn't let that stop him from summoning his usual two Night Shades.

"Good thinking," I muttered. "Distract. Add Mist to the mix and hide. It worked fine with Sunshine's Smokescreen earlier."

Buddy spat out a long stream of cold mist while the two shades flew at Galvantula. She hurled a spear-like Thunderbolt at the closest one, but she screeched in annoyance when it didn't explode from the attack. Clouds appeared above the lava and rain poured onto it in enormous quantities. The first shade got caught in the electrified web and Galvantula zapped him until he blew up and destroyed much of the structure. The second kept its distance and hurled an Acid toward the web. The electric coating wasn't enough to keep it from dissolving this time.

Volkner ordered an Electro Ball, and the second shade also blew up some of the web. At this point, it was impossible to see anything in the arena. The mist combined with the water vapor had masked the entire area below Galvantula's web.

"Where are you?" I whispered under my breath.

The water type's fragment answered right above the lava, and that he was currently soaking it with Hydro Pump and Brine.

"Add some Night Shades. Keep harassing or they'll get ideas," I quietly said.

The nightmarish, agonized screams of suffering shades filled my ears and swelled until everyone in the stands got uncomfortable. The misshapen ghosts flew into Galvantula's web, exploding over and over while the electric type continuously rebuilt it.

"They aren't striking back," I said. "Planning something?"

The piece of his body metaphorically shrugged and said I was better at figuring these things out than he was. A half-baked Thunderbolt struck inside of the mist at that moment, but I knew that couldn't be it. Where was Discharge? Rising Voltage? Infestation?

"How's the lava?"

Almost finished.

"Good. I'm going to have you go in and destroy as much of the web as possible with Water Spout as soon as you're done—"

I frowned.

My throat tightened when I noticed that Galvantula was no longer anywhere on her web.

"She's coming for you—"

A loud, pained scream reverberated through the arena and a burst of electricity kicked much of the mist away. Galvantula had jumped onto Buddy's head and was electrocuting him— I squinted and noticed the little things that crawled inside his head. Infestation. Somewhat like Vespiquen's grubs, but less orderly. Her claws shone green with Giga Drain, and she started to suck his energy.

I ground my teeth as Volkner's strategy revealed itself. They'd waited for the lava to cool to strike so they wouldn't have to risk burning.

"Water Spout!"

Jellicent's head compressed and then exploded outward. The pressure was so strong that Galvantula was thrown off his head and started to bleed. Pale, yellow fluid that acted as her blood. Buddy's eyes dimmed as the Infestation dug deep inside of him and ate through any Recover he tried to use. He spat out a Hydro Pump in frustration, but it wasn't even close to Galvantula.

"Rising Voltage," Volkner said.

The ground cracked, and electricity broke through the fissures and converged toward Buddy.

"Focus," I muttered, placing my hand on the barrier. "I'm right here, baby. Listen to my voice. You're on a timer. Stay high up to avoid the Rising Voltage, right below the Electroweb."

My voice was enough to calm him down. Buddy wasn't used to not being able to regenerate. It was like fighting with his arms behind his back. The water type followed my order, and Galvantula followed by climbing onto the wall again.

"Bomb her."

Shades shrieked, and they exploded with ghostly energy as they rammed into the spider. The key was not to let her regenerate through Giga Drain. A Thunderbolt struck Buddy as she climbed back onto the Electroweb. Now that we'd given up the ground, both it and the sky were Volkner's.

We needed to wrestle back control of one element.

"Keep your distance. Blow up the web," I whispered.

Another Water Spout, and the web collapsed from its center and toward the edges. Galvantula screeched in annoyance and jumped back onto the wall when she tried to rebuild it again, but we struck her with Hydro Pump.

"Thunderbolt," Volkner ordered.

Yep. It was only a matter of time until Buddy fell. The electric attacks were too quick, and Recover wasn't working due to Infestation. I supposed they'd wanted to rebuild the web before Sweetheart came back onto the field.

Thankfully, we hadn't let her.

The fourth Thunderbolt finished Buddy off, and he fell toward the electrified floor. I recalled him and quietly thanked the water type for his help. Without him, Honey would have been screwed. I would have either had to let Lanturn cool the lava or come up with an entirely new strategy for the entire battle.

I released Sweetheart back onto the field, her vents now cleared from any string. The red tint of Volkner's arena had been replaced by the blackened rocks of cooled lava and the ankle-deep puddle of water that covered the entire field from the condensed vapor and Buddy's water type attacks. Perfect. The Rising Voltage ended now that I had a ground type out and it was just a waste of energy. No more webs, no more Rising Voltage. We had equalized the playing field. I took a deep breath and swept my arm.

If we let them build their Electroweb again, it was over.

"Fly to her and Crunch. You latch onto her and never let go," I said.

A risk? Yes.

But it was necessary.

Pupitar exclaimed as she propelled herself into the sky.

"Wait for an angle and String Shot," Volkner countered. "Otherwise, Acid."

A ground type would lock them out of most of their moves, I repeated in my head. With a juvenile roar, Pupitar turned left to avoid the glob of noxious poison and her mouth grew dark. Galvantula shot strings in her mouth in an attempt to stop her from using Crunch, but a quick Dragon Pulse cleared it away.

She decided to run.

No time to weave her web this time. She ran along the wall and started to emit a Bug Buzz. Sweetie winced, but she sped up as much as she could and raked against the psychic barrier. The wisps of dark energy nearly caused that part of it to collapse, but Kadabra strained to keep it going. Pin Missiles flew out of Galvantula's back, but they only grazed the rock type.

Galvantula was tiring now. Why else was she incapable of rebuilding her web when she'd been able to at the start of the fight? Sweetheart's mouth opened wide and she Crunched the bug type's leg until a snap reverberated through the arena.

"Giga Drain! Acid! Bug Buzz!" Volkner yelled with a grin.

"Earthbreaker! Drag her down!" I squealed in glee.

Sweetheart angled herself down and pushed as her entire body shone green due to Giga Drain. Acid tore through her shell, webs wrapped around her, and an incessant buzzing filled her earholes.

Both Pokemon crashed into the ground and a wave of dust and rocks flew through the arena. I licked my lips and everything went quiet.

The dust settled.

Galvantula's body was battered and broken. She was upside down with her legs folded onto themselves, and yellow blood seeped all over the dried lava.

Sweetheart was well enough to crawl and even celebrate with a roar. I pumped a fist and jumped.

Fuck yes.

"Good job, Sweetheart," I exhaled. "You were amazing."

Arceus, I was tired. I blinked to chase away the exhaustion and I recalled Sweetheart after a few seconds. The crowd cheered, but it was only the first part of the battle.

"Congratulations, Challenger," Volkner said. "But as you know, there is a second part of your trial. My Electivire will engage your Electabuzz in a mock battle. Your goal is to hit us four times with any attack within a time limit of ten minutes, and even electric type moves will count. We will not use any electricity, but Electivire can strike back however he wishes so long as he is using non-electric type moves."

Volkner recalled his Galvantula and sent out his Electivire without a second thought, and excited murmurs ran through the spectators. I took a deep breath and they sank into the background as Electivire waved to his 'admirers' with a wide grin and bowed multiple times.

"Focus," Volkner said. "They'll use the water to strike you."

Electivire shrugged with a motor-like laugh, and I bit the inside of my lip. It was an obvious strategy, but I'd hoped they wouldn't have figured it out and thought that me flooding the field had been a random occurrence through cooling the lava. I released Honey onto the field, and his arms whirred in anticipation. Electricity hummed, traveled up and down his body and he flashed his teeth at Electivire, who chuckled at him.

"Sally," Volkner said, lazily waving an arm.

The referee who had looked like she'd been on the verge of passing out multiple times during the battle cleared her throat and counted down.

Ten minutes.

Four hits.

Honey exploded forward with a brilliant surge of electricity, and Electivire squared himself as his tails lashed out against the ground. Honey put one hand forward and a Thunderbolt shot out of his palm, traveling in the water in an instant. Electivire's eyes shone, and he Teleported to the opposite side of the arena in two jumps.

Run through the Teleports, then get his barrier, I thought.

"Pick up some stones, Hon," I said.

A tiny Discharge surged out of his skin and destroyed chunks of the old lava we'd used. Electricity linked the stones together as they spun around Honey in harmony. With a flick of his finger, five of the stones shot out, going so quickly they were a blur. Electivire slammed a glowing arm against the ground and raised the earth in front of him in a thin wall.

That was new.

The stones impacted the wall and created large indentations, but they didn't break through. Honey blurred forward with acceleration worthy of a true speedster, and within four seconds, he'd punched the wall and destroyed it to smithereens, adding the chunks to his collection. Electivire was already gone, having hastily erected a barrier just in case we struck with a Discharge.

"Get a big one," I said. "Keep it in reserve."

Electabuzz grunted, grabbing a boulder as large as his entire torso with a flick of his finger. Another Thunderbolt shot out toward Electivire just to keep him on his toes, and the electric type blocked it with a screen. The water made the electricity travel so quickly that Teleporting was almost impossible when we were too close. Electivire was no psychic. There were limits to his abilities.

"Swift."

Electivire grinned as the stars materialized around Honey and flew toward him. Now he would create a barrier. I contained a smile when Electivire raised his arms—

"Thunder!"

Electric energy pulsed, and Honey grunted as he charged his power. He let loose the massive ray of electricity, and it easily outran the slow Swift. Electivire couldn't Teleport. We were too close. The electricity traveled through the water in an instant and hit Electivire's barrier. His amateur shield strained against the Thunder, but the Swift?

Well, the Swift was the straw that broke the Camerupt's back. The stars sliced through the barrier and hit Electivire in the shoulder. Had he put down the barrier to Teleport, the Thunder would have gotten him instead.

Buddy's water was saving our asses. Without it, Electivire would have just been able to run out of the way.

One hit.

"Hit 'em with the rocks and get close," I said.

A few shards of rock slung forth, but Electivire sidestepped them without too much trouble. That was just a distraction, however. The massive boulder flew forward, and Electabuzz followed closely behind it.

For a while Electivire Teleported away as much he could, running out the clock. This time, he was taking us seriously. No more did he stick close to tap Honey on the shoulder or even deign to attack to lower the risk of getting hit. Honey tried to catch him off-guard with the same Swift and Thunder trick, but he was wise to it now. He always kept far enough away to give himself time to Teleport. Four mind-numbing minutes of this game of tag passed by until Electivire was finally beginning to tire. Six since the start of the battle.

"Now! Cross Chop!" I yelled.

Electabuzz's arms shone white as he slashed down his boulder into a hundred pieces. With one smooth motion, he levitated them in front of him and swarmed Electivire, who was forced to stop and create another barrier. Honey did not stop, however. He blinked with Radiant Leap and was in front of his senior in an instant. I yelled out for a Screech, and an agonizing sound rang out Honey's mouth. His fist sparkled, and he punched through the barrier—

Electivire's face was twisted in pain, but weaved out of the way, grabbing Honey's arm. Even Thundershock and Discharge would be too slow. He was going to throw him away.

"Static Shield!" I snapped.

Electricity came alive within Electabuzz.

And a small spark singed Electivire's fur.

Electivire didn't waste a second, throwing Honey as far as he could. The electric type slammed against the barrier and coughed, holding his ribs while he quickly shot back up to his feet.

Two hits.

But we'd revealed all of our cards. Railgun's improvements, Static Shield, our Swift-Thunder one-two punch. Screech. It was all out there.

Another two minutes. Another dance. Thunderbolts, Thunders, Discharges, Swifts, Screeches. Electivire kept his distance, jumping instead of running to keep up with Honey's speed. He'd moved from barriers and now was shielding himself with whatever the hell that Earth Wall move was, and even through Honey kept breaking them apart, he was too fast. I'd thought Radiant Leap would be enough to outrun him, and it was.

But not when he could jump so high and so far—

I gasped. Audibly. Volkner must have caught on, because he told Electivire to focus again and not to let his mind wander. I bit my lip and a strategy clicked into place.

The referee gestured. One minute left.

"Thunder," I said.

Honey rolled his shoulders. He was tired, but he would push through. My baby would push through. Electivire raised that same wall of earth around ten feet away from him. It held the Thunder for two seconds before breaking apart. Two seconds was enough for him to jump out of the way—

"Radiant Leap! Jump at him!"

Honey's eye twitched, but he trusted me.

Electivire could jump, but redirecting himself when he wasn't using any electric type attacks? Impossible. His momentum had made him blur, but Honey was faster. He pushed his leg down, his leg bulged and he strained to jump as high as he could.

For a moment, he looked like lightning.

Electivire's grin widened as light consumed his fists. He was going to Hammer Arm us out of the air—

"Scree—"

Honey was already on it.

I covered my ears, and thunder and sound combined into a cacophony of noise. Electivire ground his teeth and his ears began to bleed. Honey used the opening to punch him in the gut with a half-formed Fire Punch, but Electivire's fist was still coming. Honey cried out as the electric type slammed his Hammer Arm into his back. I heard bones break— his spine—

Fucking CONCENTRATE!

"Discharge!"

If he could focus on my voice—

A brilliant explosion consumed them as Honey crashed to the floor and Electivire gracefully landed, his fur sizzling. My head turned toward the referee, who stared at her watch.

"Thirteen seconds left. Grace Pastel wins," she said.

Four hits.

Cheers filled my ears. So, so loud.

I barely managed to recall Honey before I laid my back on my podium and sighed in relief. He wouldn't be able to move until he stayed in a Center for a week, at the very least. The bright ceiling lights nearly blinded me and forced me to close my eyes. I could barely breathe. I could barely do anything.

And yet, relief overwhelmed me.

"Good," I mustered. "Good… whew."

I had fucking won.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M, Tina M, dotAlice, Nova, Plasmatique, Peg, Chester, Powernap

 

[SailorOfMyVessel]

Holy shit, what a fight.

Denzel's stream must have been going wild for this one xD

Buddy's gonna evolve! HE WILL BE A LEGEND!! And Grace will get the stone for Princess. Massive, massive changes on the horizon!

Sweetheart is getting big, seems like she'll also be a big lug of a Tyranitar by the time the conference hits. It's all coming up Grace

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 238 - Catharsis

Gotta get up.

My chest thumped as the cheers from the crowd died down and transformed into worried whispers. From up there, it had probably looked like I'd passed out. It wouldn't even be the first time, since I'd had the exact same thing happen after my fight with Candice. Arceus, that was a long time ago. I took a deep breath and pushed myself back up as best I could. My movements were sluggish and awkward. Now that the adrenaline was leaving my system, a tiredness was slowly taking over. I wanted nothing more but to crash into my bed and sleep for the rest of the day.

When I climbed down the steps of the podium, Volkner was already waiting for me at the side of the arena with his hands in his pockets. I shuffled there as fast as I could so I wouldn't make him wait too long. I had no idea if he had other fights after this or if he was just going to let his Gym Trainers take over, but I knew that Gym Leaders' breaks were precious and not to be wasted. As usual, our microphones were already off at this point, so no one could hear us.

"Congratulations," he said. "ID, Pokedex, you know the drill."

I nodded, ignoring the pride swelling in my chest and handed him my card and the device. After thirty seconds, he handed them back to me.

"You're now the owner of the Beacon Badge, and I've transferred 40,000 Pokedollars into your account. You also have access to the Charge Beam TM in its unlimited form."

Charge Beam was for sure going into Princess' arsenal. I didn't think we'd use it that much, but it was always good to have some extra options just like when I'd taught her Shadow Ball. I didn't see the need to teach it to Honey, though— not when Thunderbolt was a faster and better option for a consistent, low-energy move.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"Sorry about your Electabuzz," Volkner said, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "Electivire doesn't like to lose, even when it's not a real battle. He got a little carried away there."

"That's the price of battle," I said. "So… for the evolution—"

"Come back here when he's healed up. It works out anyway because there'll be a lot to prepare."

"Got it!" I grinned.

"Well, off you go then," he waved me away.

The idea that Honey was actually going to evolve soon had reinvigorated me and I jogged back toward the lobby. I quickly passed through the waiting room, passing a nervous-looking trainer that I told 'good luck' to.

When I emerged in the lobby, there was pandemonium.

I couldn't even see the Gym's exit. People— mostly trainers crowded over me asking a million questions and were so loud my head was spinning. It wasn't so much the first part of the battle that had impressed them. In fact, I suspected that all of my and my team's efforts would be overshadowed by Honey 'dueling' Electivire. Honey did deserve the attention, and I wasn't about to let anything ruin my mood.

I'd won.

"I've got to get my team to the Center!" I yelled.

I broke through the wall of trainers and noticed that Denzel was pulling away at some of them in another section of the crowd in an attempt to get to me. I called out to him and he sighed in relief. All of my friends followed closely behind him— although I did notice that Erin and Emilia looked a bit pale.

Congratulations rang out from every direction. Cece called me wonderful as she grabbed both of my hands and said I'd been beautiful the entire battle. Denzel patted me on the back, demanding to know what the hell my deal with lava was and how I'd gotten Electivire to fight me. Louis was more preoccupied with Honey's state at the moment, and I knew from one look at his face that he'd been terrified multiple times during the fight, and Justin (who had been dragged here by everyone else) simply gave me an acknowledging nod next to him. Chase was already theorizing on how to counter my lava strategy and called the battle with Electivire a show that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things—

"Guys. Let me get to the Center first, okay?" I said. "Ugh, I'm so sweaty."

"You're telling me what that was all about on the way there," Denzel demanded with folded arms.

—

The fact that I'd only told Cece about the fight with Electivire kind of pissed all of my friends off, but they were too happy to care at the moment. Already, Chase's mania had spread and by the time we were at the Center, he, Cecilia, Denzel and Lauren were talking about ways to counter them. I listened to their conversation while I handed my Pokemon to Nurse Joy. I'd told her to get back to me regarding Honey as soon as she could. Mira leaned against a wall with Louis and Justin, probably talking about some TE stuff. The blonde had clearly disapproved of my strategy, but he hadn't said anything about it yet.

Pauline and Emilia spoke to Erin next to the elevators, probably soothing her. On the way there, she'd asked me what the lethal version of the plan was.

It was to bury my opponents in more lava until they turned to ash. It'd be surprisingly effective on most Pokemon. Still, I'd told her that the non-lethal version was perfectly valid and that pain from burns or burning was among the worst for any living being to go through.

"I mean, we knew Turtonator was going to come into play at some point," Chase said. "You can't stop him from heating shit up with dark TE, but one thing I was thinking about was using the lava yourself. Throw it back right into her Pokemon."

"Hard to do it without Ancient Power," Denzel said.

"Good thing Sigilyph learns Ancient Power then, Williams," Chase jeered. "It'll be a good move to add anyway. It's a pretty versatile attack."

"The only Pokemon I've got capable of standing up to that lava-Ancient Power combination is Milotic. I've actually been working on the Safeguard tactic—"

"Safeguard?" Lauren scoffed. "I'd have Prime bury the lava in some cold mud and call it a day. Or maybe I'd have Paragon or Mags play around in it like a kid in a ball pit."

"Well some of us want sophisticated strategy," he rolled his eyes. "It would work perfectly to protect her from the heat."

"Zweilous' scales won't be tough enough until they're a Hydreigon… but Lehmhart could stand close and be alright, I think," Cecilia noted. "But the real key is taking down Princess. Without her, the lava's just stationary. Annoying, but possible to deal with."

"You only say that because you're going to have three Pokemon capable of flying by the time your team is fully evolved," Denzel sighed.

"Cecilia's got Scyther for dark Type Energy stuff and I've got Houndoom. One Darkfire and Togetic's entire shtick collapses."

"That Moonblast trick was pretty nasty too," Denzel muttered. "Didn't know the move could mess with gravity. I hope Sylvi can learn it when he's out of this rut."

I grinned.

The knives were out to get me.

After six minutes, one of the Nurse Joys approached me over the counter.

"Grace Pastel… your team will recover after three days aside from your Electabuzz. What in the world happened to him?"

I raised an eyebrow and felt a twinge of worry. "He got hit by Volkner's Electivire using Hammer Arm—"

"Ah, yes, that would do it," she sighed, shaking her head. The fact that she wasn't acting surprised or asking me any questions was refreshing, but Nurse Joys usually saw so much during their career that nothing surprised them any longer. "A shattered spine, multiple broken ribs, a broken collarbone, a broken arm, dislocated shoulders, cracks in his pelvis… he's got a laundry list of injuries. It'll take a week and a half to get him up to speed, and even after that, you'll have to wait another week for any kind of training while the Ditto cells solidify properly, or he'll break his bones again. They'll be fragile for a while."

I didn't know what to say to that but to thank her for the help. Honey had been a lot more injured than I had thought at first. Hopefully they had him on some powerful painkillers in there, and I'd have to ask Volkner if that meant I had to wait even longer for his evolution. Electivire wasn't just powerful for his speed, but for his strength too. There was a whole lot of musculature hidden under his thick fur.

That power combined with his speed when using Motor Drive… I shuddered at the thought of that, and an image of Electivire slamming into Honey at the speed of sound with a Hammer Arm conjured itself in my mind. He'd be able to kill any of my Pokemon in a single Hammer Arm except Sunshine and Buddy.

I was only left with Angel and Buddy. The ghost type was taking a well-earned rest in his Pokeball. I waved goodbye to my friends, telling them that I was going to take a nap in my room. Most of them decided to stay there and talk about how they'd counter Sunshine and Princess as a combo, and a lot of their ideas gave me things to think about. The tactic wasn't flawless— far from it. It had a lot of holes like being able to be used against me if my opponent had powerful fire types or an Ancient Power user, although moving lava around with that move required weeks of practice, so that was a little less likely.

Either way, I'd have to come up with something different for Wake considering his arena was a giant lake with a few islands peppered throughout.

I lazily took off my shoes as I entered my room and I took a short shower to wipe away the sweat from that battle. I also drew a cold bath that I released Buddy in so he could recover faster and feel better in general. I was going to get Angel out of his ball to tell him everything about the battle while I fell asleep, but I stopped when my hand touched my phone.

"Better check my phone before I crash," I whispered.

My fingers tingled in excitement when I saw that Melody had just called me a few minutes ago. There were also congratulations from Jasmine who said she felt crummy that she couldn't go out and get 'shitfaced' to celebrate. I answered her, thanking her for her tutoring and everything she'd taught Honey. Without her, the second half of the battle would have been downright impossible, even if Volkner had kept it at three hits instead of four. There was also a text from Bobby, saying that it had been a good showing and to keep up the good work.

He had been the only one that hadn't looked pissed about my sponsorship with the Poketch Company, so that made sense. I also thanked him for the kind words.

I called Mel, but I was the one who spoke first as soon as she answered.

"Melody! My money!" I yelled.

"Well first, congratulations are in order," she laughed. "The board is very pleased with your performance, and the fact that Electivire was on the field will draw more eyes to you and to the Company."

"Yeah, yeah. Can I get paid? I've been waiting for this for so long."

"The money is being transferred to you as we speak—" I interrupted her with a joyous celebration, and she laughed. "350,000 thousand Pokedollars added to your current total. I've checked the prices of Shiny Stones and that should be enough for the current rates."

"When am I getting the money?" I hungrily asked.

"Well like I said, it's being transferred right now—"

"Okay, I gotta go!" I screamed.

The nap could wait.

After telling Buddy that I was leaving with Angel's Pokeball, I made a mad dash to the stairs and jumped five steps at a time, nearly falling over twice. I rushed through the lobby and Cece asked where I was going.

"To the mall!" I yelled back.

The bus ride was agonizingly slow, especially when I'd gone there by car before. Could I have not hung up and had Melody send me a driver? I'd been so excited about the prospects of buying a Shiny Stone that I'd thrown all thoughts out the window. My foot repeatedly tapped against the floor of the bus and I couldn't help but stare out the window the entire ride. We crossed the long bridge leading us to one of Sunyshore's many islands and I burst out of the bus with energy I didn't know I still had left in me. I reached the map at the mall's entrance and traced my finger up and down the image.

Stone store, stone store, stone store— there it was! EvoStone Emporium!

It took another two minutes to get there. A wave of cold air hit me as I entered the establishment. The interior was quite rustic, which fit the theme of the mall. It was neatly organized into different sections, each dedicated to a specific type of evolutionary stone. They were all hidden behind glass to stop any trainers from trying their luck and stealing anything, and a Gardevoir walked through the store, her watchful eye looming over every occupant like a Pidgeot looking at a Caterpie.

Which wasn't many. Only me and five other people were in the store. Stones were expensive. I gazed over a set of Moon Stones. The rocks were rugged, dark and somewhat unremarkable, and yet they drew me in. Next, a set of Dusk stones that reflected so little light that they were void at their center and I could only see the purple at their edges. These stones weren't very common, though. Water, Fire, Ice and Leaf stones were everywhere. Thunder Stones were a little bit rarer, but not as scarce as the rarest ones. These elemental stones were ranked from D to S grade, and a Pokemon that evolved with a higher quality stone would reach its full potential far sooner than if they had not.

And the rarest one of them all was right beneath my gaze. There were only two of them displayed in the entire store.

It was pale yellow at its edges and darkened at its center. Unlike the Dusk Stone, Shiny Stones were… well, shiny. A small rainbow sat atop each of them from the refracted light, and I gawked at the price before remembering that I actually had the money to pay for one. It had been transferred to my card while I'd been on the bus.

I called an employee over, and a short man approached me.

"A Shiny Stone, I presume? You've been staring at it for the last minute," he said.

"Uh, yes," I stammered. "Sorry."

I paid him upfront and felt my throat tighten when I realized I was back to zero. I had the fifty-thousand Pauline had given me for my birthday and a few extra thousand bucks leftover, so my Pokemon wouldn't starve and I still had some vitamins stockpiled. The employee carefully unlocked the glass pane with a key and placed the Shiny Stone in a thick casing that he then placed in another case, and then finally into a bag.

"Don't lose it," he said. When he saw my reaction, he cleared his throat. "Just a little joke I like to say."

I restrained a scoff and I was on my way again.

I finally had a Shiny Stone. Now all I needed was three days.

—

I woke up from my nap in the middle of the night and cursed. My sleeping schedule would be screwed for the next few days, it seemed. Angel slept next to the window with a vine nestled under my covers and wrapped around my leg. Buddy hovered in the sky, clinging to my ceiling and watching over both of us. I asked him about his experience in the Gym battle and what he thought about it while I grabbed myself some water. My Shiny Stone was safely hidden under my bed and would be until Princess was out of the Center.

The water type dripped down from the ceiling until he reformed behind me and said that he felt like he'd failed against Galvantula.

"You did your best, and that's all I can ever ask of you," I smiled. "That Infestation trick was crazy. I had no idea it would affect your regeneration like that… we won't get caught out the next time we face a trainer with the move."

He silently nodded. I turned toward Angel, who was still sleeping soundly.

"We'll have to train you and Angel up a lot for the fight against Wake. You'll most likely be the anchor for that fight. And it'll be a six-on-six! I can't wait!" I exclaimed. "Arceus, now that we bought the Shiny Stone we'll be able to buy a bunch of TMs the next time we get paid! But I still have to keep buying dirt for Sweetheart too… I was thinking of what each one of us currently lacked while I fell asleep— I guess I also dreamed some of it too."

Buddy chuckled— clicks and whistles that were music to my ears. He said only I could dream of ways of patching out weaknesses.

"But it works!" I groaned. "I still have to watch footage of the Gym Battle in a few days. Gotta approach things with a fresh mind. But moving on, what you currently lack is status moves. Confuse Ray would be great, especially if we could get your shades to use it while you attack. Will-O-Wisp, you can only learn through TMs, but it would work wonderfully with Hex. I guess I could also get you a move like Ice Beam for coverage…"

I rambled for at least a minute before moving on to Angel. I rolled toward the sleeping grass type and smiled.

"What Angel lacks is effective ways to fight at a distance. With Solar Beam, we were planning on keeping opponents trapped in vines while he charged the attacks, but he needs more variety, so I think Sludge Bomb would be nice."

Buddy agreed, saying that he'd be able to help the grass type with poison type moves when the time came.

"Right, you can do that. Princess… well, Princess and Honey are going to evolve soon, so I don't want to say anything that'd be horribly wrong. One thing is for sure, though, we're going to focus Princess back on flying type moves. She'll need to manipulate the air around her like Kilowattrel if she wants to be truly fast, and Togekiss have the potential to be. I also think that something like Flamethrower or Focus Blast would be nice to counter steel types. Gotta already think about Byron. And hey, did you know Electabuzz— or Electivire I guess, but did you know they could learn Rain Dance? I figure that would go nicely with some Thunders. Gotta steal Volkner's strategies and all that."

I got back into my bed and below the covers.

"Of course, these are all expensive and I won't be able to get them all at once, but I did get a raise, so it gets easier from there. Sunshine's decked out with moves already, but more wouldn't hurt. I'd need to think about it more, though. Oh! Did you know he actually managed to do that explosion thingy we were working on!"

Buddy's eyes flashed in surprise.

"I know, right? He was so great out there! You better praise him when he's back."

The water type rippled as he laughed, telling me to imagine Sunshine's reaction to praise.

"Yeah, he'd definitely get all shy about it and act like he doesn't care. Actually, let me just tell you about the part of the battle you couldn't— hey, come on, don't sigh at me! Indulge my passion a little, I'm not tired enough to go back to sleep. I'll let you rant about history to the entire team tomorrow since we're almost done with your book."

Buddy was mostly worried about how our family actually was and how they'd been hurt rather than the battle, but he listened anyway, and he did contribute some ideas. Angel woke up along the way and excitedly hung to every word too.

I didn't sleep that night.

—

Three days.

Three, agonizing days.

And yet, here I was, finally grabbing Princess' Pokeball and my other Pokemon from a tray. The hype from my battle with Volkner was still the talk of the forums, but it had thankfully subsided in real life. My friends had all slowly started to sign up for their Gym Battle. They were spread out throughout the week.

I had Mira's Alakazam Teleport me to route 214 on my own. Today, we weren't training. Today was special. I released my entire team onto the cliffs, and their first reaction was to cheer and celebrate their victory once I told them that we'd won. Even Sunshine couldn't help but smile, and Buddy did end up praising him, which made Sweetheart do the same.

If dragons could blush…

Angel had already known about the victory, but he acted like it was his first time hearing about it anyway and he wrapped his vines around all of us.

"Listen up," I grinned. "Your brother's still at the Center. He fought well, but Electivire hit him a little too hard and he still needs to rest for a few days. You all did amazing. Truly. We're getting better at fighting as a team and not as individuals."

My family responded with grunts and nods, although Sunshine scoffed at the notion of Honey being his sibling. He wasn't there quite yet, but if I'd gotten Buddy to agree to it, I'd hopefully get him one day too. I took a deep breath and pulled out my Shiny Stone from its casket, and Princess' eyes immediately narrowed. She stared at it, breathless as she instinctively floated closer.

It was my first time actually touching the Shiny Stone. It felt warm in my hands, but not hot enough to be uncomfortable.

"Hold on," I said.

Princess froze in place. She was eager. She'd wanted this just as much as I had. I nodded and spoke again.

"Originally, I wanted Honey to be here, but I've got a little something for him!"

I placed my backpack on the rocky plateau and pulled out Denzel's tripod that he had lent me. Then, I placed my phone on it and opened my camera app.

"We'll record it for him so he can watch when he's back," I said. I felt a twinge of sadness, but I couldn't bring myself to wait any longer. I'd waited months for this, and holding back was impossible. "Hold on, I'm getting all of you in the shot… Sweetheart, stop hogging all the space! This is Princess' moment— there you go. Angel, stop poking Buddy, you've bullied him enough when it was just the two of you. Sunshine, are you scooching away? Get in the shot!"

After wrangling everyone for around two minutes, they formed a semi-circle around Princess, who was shivering in excitement.

I clicked on record and spoke. "To future me— and future us. Today was the day Princess evolved into a Togekiss."

By the time I finished my sentence, I was already next to my family.

I held out my hand to Princess, and the stone touched her forehead.

It instantly started to shine, as did she. The stone turned to dust that her body absorbed as she grew. Arms retracted into her, wings spread and grew, her body changed. We all held our breath during the process. My heart was going so fast I could feel it drum against my ribs. I was so overwhelmed I felt like crying of joy. All of our hard work, everything we'd done for months had led to this moment. My little girl was all grown up.

And it felt so fulfilling.

Princess was slightly taller than me when she finished evolving. Air and pink dust swirled around her until she opened her eyes and brought it to a stop. I wiped a tear from my cheek and touched her head. Just being near her felt soothing. I'd have to get her to reign that in, but I'd let it slide for now.

"You did it," I softly said. "You did it."

My daughter chirped and placed her forehead against mine.

She was smaller than Cynthia's own Togekiss, but she still had a bunch of growing up to do and she was already big enough to let me ride her. Angel was the first to try to touch her, and he wriggled as he ran his vines all over her.

"Right? She's so fluffy now!" I laughed. "You can be a pillow! You're just as soft as Ninetales."

Princess huffed, but she relented to her pillow duties. We all observed her body for a while, and she tried to stretch her wings. The movement was slow and awkward, which was to be expected. She could float, but flying with her wings was much harder than it looked.

"It's going to take you a while to get used to this new body, but you'll be stronger for it," I said. "You can become just as fast as Talonflame without losing any of your current skills."

Princess let out an excited cry, and she flapped her wings a few times. Somehow, no gusts of wind blew my hair away, and those that did come were barely noticeable. I'd seen how Cynthia's Togekiss hadn't disturbed the world around him when he flew, even when he was going as fast as he could.

Sunshine congratulated her and said that she'd finally stop being babied all the time now that I couldn't carry her in my arms every time she was out of her Pokeball.

Princess froze—

And she cried.

"Did you have to say that?" I groaned.

He groaned, saying that he sometimes forgot she was a kid with her murderous tendencies.

It took a bit to get her to calm down. I had to promise her that I'd try to carry her later. Togekiss were actually quite light as far as Pokemon went (she was actually lighter than I was), but getting her to fit in my arms was a completely different problem entirely.

Oh well, I'd try, still.

But now, it was time to start getting her adjusted to her new body, and the first thing on the list was getting her used to getting in the air.

---

Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver, Benjamin R, Jon, RosaC, TsukiNoNeko, NPM, Jim A, Spicyice101, Ryan T, Vesperal, Iota, Addmolition exe, Zeta, Logan M, Frogsamurai, Alex F, Kiri, Rhuodric, Nord, Filthymacgyver, Grey J, creativityfails, Spartanstoryteller, Peter D, Bum, Zaire M, Tina M, dotAlice, Nova, Plasmatique, Peg, Chester, Powernap

 

[SailorOfMyVessel]

Beautiful.

 

[Soussouni1]

CHAPTER 239

"Take it easy… uh, yeah, like that! Don't go too high yet, you'll hurt yourself! Arceus!"

It was hard to not feel nervous when your kid was learning to fly all over again.

Princess slowly hovered around twenty feet in the air, and she struggled to keep her balance. She'd nearly flipped over five times already (my heart had dropped to my stomach every single time), and we were all trying to hide our nervousness while encouraging her. It wasn't working very well, though, since apparently her evolution had made her a lot better at sensing feelings and she had complained that we should believe in her more because all of our doubt was making her slip up. Angel had prepared a bed of vines below her in case she lost balance and fell while Buddy hovered in the sky with her.

"Now you know what she was like when she just turned into a Togetic," I whispered to Angel, Sunshine and Sweetheart.

The dragon snorted, and a pebble burst from the ground, smashing into his arm. Harmless, but annoying nonetheless. A glow fainted from Princess' eyes as she huffed.

"See? You can already use Ancient Power while flying," I cheered. "Keep it up."

The fairy type smiled, satisfied with herself while Sunshine cursed at her.

The main problem we had with just hovering was that even if Princess only had to use fairy Type Energy to float, she still had to apply it in a careful balance throughout her body to not tip over, and now that she'd drastically changed, she would have to learn how to do it all over again. Princess was a smart girl, though, so I was sure that it would only take a week at most. Then, we'd be able to move on to real flight. Combine the two along with manipulating the wind to speed herself up, and that was a Togekiss' true potential.

Arceus, I couldn't wait to fly around the sky with her. Traveling had a charm of its own, but flying across the region with the wind blowing past my ears sounded awesome too. There was freedom there. No forest, mountain, river or swamp would be able to stop me.

I bit my lip as soon as I thought about swamps. I still hadn't forgotten about those poachers. Hopefully they'd be dealt with soon.

We ended up sticking around for as long as possible, but we needed to leave before the Flight School I had found closed for the day. After calling Alakazam, he Teleported me back to Sunyshore and I made my way to the establishment. I would have had Princess practice on the way there, but I didn't want her to accidentally fall on someone or even worse, in the middle of a busy road. When we got back to the Center, she'd be able to practice more.

Flight School was situated south of the city, where there was still enough space for a huge fenced yard to give students an appropriate area to practice. The building was similarly themed to every other in Sunyshore, but a lot bigger. I supposed government facilities didn't have to conform to the building code around here.

And it was government-run. Cecilia had told me that you could get flying lessons in Unova through private enterprises— although they were approved by the Unovan government and kept up with their standards. Even the theoretical and practical tests could be taken through private businesses.

Not in Sinnoh. Only the government could hand out licenses. Some people called government-run things inefficient, and I had no way of knowing if that was true or not, but at least it was free. I needed to save money for TMs, and there were also items for the Conference to think about, but I'd delve all into that after I finished up Pastoria and traveled throughout the region. It wasn't like I had the money to do anything anyway.

I'd need to buy a saddle for Princess soon enough.

A crowd of trainers were leaving the building as I entered. I assumed they were the last class of the day and hurried up to the front desk, which for some reason was incredibly difficult to find and not actually next to the entrance. Instead, it was in an office in the middle of a hallway to the left of the building. The man behind the desk looked exasperated when he saw me enter. He'd been in the middle of packing and had been about to leave for the evening.

"Good evening. Sorry for being late, uh I wanted to sign up for a license? So I'll have both theoretical and practical lessons, please."

"Sure thing," he exhaled. "Trainer ID, please."

The employee scanned it through a machine next to his computer and nodded.

"Togekiss. Alright, I'll put you down for lessons. You'll start with theoretical classes and then move on to the practical ones. Five of them, the first one tomorrow at…"

I quickly wrote all of the classes on my phone along with the classroom numbers. A few of them fell when my friends were battling, so I'd have to miss those battles, starting with Mira's tomorrow. Once my five classes were done, I'd take the theoretical test and move on to five practical classes that I didn't have the date for yet. I thanked the man for his time and left.

The next five days would be full of lessons, it seemed. Five days to get Princess able to float? I wasn't too worried, especially since it would take another day for the exam. Theoretically, all we needed to be able to do to pass my test was be able to sit on her while she floated around the sky.

Soon, I'd be able to fly. I felt giddy as I left the building.

—

The remainder of the evening had passed quickly, and it was morning now. Denzel's battle was first and we all sat to spectate. It felt odd to be here and not have to furiously analyze the battle for my own. I couldn't help but put myself in that mindset before remembering I already had my badge and I could relax. There was no pressure to perform. I didn't know when I'd take on Crasher Wake, but maybe not going last all the time could be a good idea.

It felt nice.

Of course, all of my other friends were focused on Volkner as he and Denzel approached their respective platforms. My best friend didn't look nervous, but it was easy to tell that he was with his clenched fist. I understood him completely. After getting tutoring from one of the best trainers in the region, what if you lost? You'd feel horribly inadequate. Not only would you potentially disappoint your teacher, but other people without the tools we had gotten who would win would make you feel inferior through no fault of their own. In a way, battling after getting a teacher was even more nerve-wracking than doing so without.

But I believed that he'd be able to get into the flow of battle like I had after a few minutes.

I figured I'd focus on Denzel today to see what he learned from his time with Craig instead of Volkner. His battle would be the standard 5 on 5 with three switches, and Denzel led with Lopunny. The normal type flexed her arms and anchored herself onto the floor with her feet. I had never seen her this determined. It was like she wanted to prove something.

I didn't know if it had to do with her unfortunate reputation online or something with Sylveon. Maybe it was both.

Volkner released his Luxray. Unlike the one on his personal team, this one was more like a jack-of-all-trades that didn't excel in anything, but could do everything well. It was a Pokemon Volkner liked to lead with a lot for his sixth-badge battles to see what his opponents would do when going against a 'blank slate' so he could better test them. The electric type's eyes shone as he stared down his opponent.

The referee counted down, and the battle began.

Denzel barked out an order, and like usual, Lopunny's ears, fists and feet all activated Power-Up Punch as she rushed toward Luxray. What was unusual was her speed— or maybe it was her footing? She had always combined her attacks with Quick Attack, so that was normal, but every step carried her just a little further.

Luxray's teeth glimmered with electricity as he opened his mouth and waited for Lopunny to reach him, and more electricity spread from his feet and onto the entire field. Lopunny grunted when she stepped onto the Electric Terrain, but she didn't hesitate.

Luxray struck as soon as she got close enough, and the normal type leaned into the attack. Luxray bit into her arm, and electricity burst out of the attack like a mini-explosion. Lopunny pulled him toward her and clapped his head with her two ears before she slammed a glowing green fist into the electric type's nose.

Drain Punch, I mused. Maylene had given us the TM, but it was notoriously difficult to master. Luxray kept trying to bite at Lopunny with Crunch and Thunder Fang, and while the Electric Terrain was hurting the normal type and speeding him up, he was still far slower than her, and she was growing stronger. Lopunny's stance was different as well. Small shifts that made a world's difference. Keeping her fists up to protect her face and throat from Luxray's biting attacks, squaring herself and digging her feet into the ground to stay grounded and stable. Punching Luxray in the muzzle, jaw or throat— targeting its weak points.

Volkner called out to Luxray, and the electric type began to run. Fighting Lopunny up close was growing more and more difficult, especially when Drain Punch was keeping her somewhat healthy. Lopunny followed as best she could, but with the Electric Terrain fueling Luxray, he was able to outrun her. Spires collapsed and turned to rubble as Lopunny destroyed them in an attempt to hit Luxray.

"Thunder."

"Mirror Coat!"

A thin barrier surrounded Lopunny, but the Thunder was too powerful. It stabbed through like a hot knife through butter and hit Lopunny right in the chest before growing and overtaking her completely. The normal type shook off the pain—

She shook off the pain from a Thunder and Bounced into the air, creating a crater where she had just stood. A quicker Thunderbolt struck her this time, but her foot started to shimmer brighter than a Power-Up Kick and the move split the Thunderbolt apart as she rushed toward Luxray in a blur. In fact, she was so fast that—

Luxray's head slammed against the ground from the sheer force of the impact. Had she missed, Lopunny would have hurt even herself and possibly broken her leg. Since when had Denzel taken this much risk? And she wasn't done either. Lopunny quickly latched onto Luxray's throat and threw him headfirst into the ground. Teeth and blood fell out of his mouth as he roared in pain.

Volkner opted to let his first Pokemon fall and released his Eelektross instead. The electric type sized up Lopunny and his circular mouth twisted into a smile as he began to levitate through magnetism, out of Lopunny's reach. Denzel ordered her to use Bounce, and she did go even higher than I thought she could, but from that distance, Eelektross had ample time to react. He spat out a Sludge Bomb that melted Lopunny's fur and had her tumble back toward the floor. Eelektross let out a gleeful slurping sound and followed her. Electricity sparked to life around her slippery skin and she blurred toward Lopunny.

Denzel switched her out before Eelektross could get a hold of her. He didn't study as much as I did, but Craig had an Eelektross and I was sure he knew that once they latched onto a Pokemon, they would never let go or be pulled away unless they were contending with something like a Machamp, and even then their suction cups would tear apart the skin. The Electric Terrain strengthened and spread throughout the entire sky now that Eelektross was on the field, and he sped up as he zoomed across the sky, a torrent of electricity whirring around him.

Denzel sent out his Roserade as soon as noxious air began to grow out of Eelektross' mouth and filled the entire arena.

Electrified poison would have been awful for me to face, I thought to myself. But Roserade thrived in poison. The grass type somehow stared down at Eelektross even when he was above her, and Volkner struck first.

Rain began to fall.

Rain, poison and electricity mixed into one. Denzel didn't lose his cool and ordered Roserade to use Toxic Spikes. Sharp shards of solidified poison were littered onto the field and began to float as Eelektross gathered a Thunder above her. It struck fast, beaming down from the sky with a deafening boom that blinded me. A Synthesis was already forming around Roserade and she aimed up, and Poison Cutter cut across Eelektross' flank. The electric type screeched, thrashing as the poison dug through his sleek skin.

"Sludge Wave!" Denzel yelled.

Poison mixed with the water falling on the ground, and Roserade brought her arms forward. The poison spun, becoming a typhoon that rose up and up, but Eelektross glided past it—

And cried out in agony when a glob of poison blurred from the whirlpool to his skin. It was Poison Cutter, but remote. Not only that, but the sheer amount of control Roserade had on it was incredible. She was seamlessly using Extrasensory to make the poison do as she pleased. Again, just like with Lopunny there was very little that was new. Everything was just better across the board.

Another three Thunders struck Roserade, but Volkner realized he wouldn't win a battle of attrition. The Electric Terrain and powered up Thunders would have beaten her a long time ago had she not been so efficient with Synthesis. Even through the poisoned fog, she could draw upon the little light that made it through and heal.

"Go in and take her down," Volkner said.

Had Eelektross gotten stuck in the poison tornado, he would have been stuck, but he wasn't. He spun around it, Roserade's poison still eating at his white flesh. Roserade's eyes returned to normal, and she swapped from Poison Cutter to Seed Bomb. Eelektross rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding an explosion—

Wait, they were detonating mid air. Eelektross tumbled through the air, landing in Roserade's poisoned lake. He let out a savage screech as electricity jumped at Roserade, traveling through the poison instantly. Eelektross crawled across the floor, half of his skin disintegrated and wrapped around Roserade like a vise. Half of his skin was gone, and that meant his suction cups too, so he bit her with a Thunder Fang instead and stayed there. Thunder after Thunder struck Roserade down with deafening roars, and more of his skin melted away from the poison as Synthesis sputtered in and out of use.

I stood at the edge of my seat until Roserade fell. Eelektross was a ferocious fighter who seemed to not even care about pain. I'd have to figure out ways to fight Pokemon like that too beyond just hitting them hard.

Denzel thanked Roserade for her help and sent out Milotic instead. The poison immediately started to hurt him, although his scales were tough enough not to dissolve. That ended when a series of green lights appeared around him and the poison cleared from the water around him and pushed away. Everywhere Milotic swam, the water was clearer than anything I'd ever seen, and it was deep enough for him to hide in now. I imagined that this was what the beaches on Alola Sunshine had told me about were like.

But the Electric Terrain was still hurting him, and he wouldn't be able to resist for long even through Recover.

"Thunder," Volkner called out.

Milotic immediately sang, and a bubble of water wrapped tightly around his scales, lifting him up from the poisoned sea. He was flying, I realized. A clumsy version of what Volkner had done with Lanturn. Even the poisoned fog was blowing away from him thanks to his Safeguard. The Thunder struck down into the sea, electrifying the entire thing, but that didn't matter when Milotic wasn't in it. A Thunderbolt this time, faster and quicker to activate. Milotic winced as it slammed into his chest.

The two Pokemon exchanged a few blows, but Eelektross was content to run away and attack with Thunderbolt now that he could safely be out of range of any attack. Neither Dragon Pulse nor Hydro Pump were quick enough to hit him at this distance, so Denzel opted for another strategy.

The poison rose from the sea again, this time aided by Twister. It was a beautiful way of using the terrain Roserade had left for Milotic, and unlike her, Milotic knew how to create a tornado without Extrasensory. The advantage of it being an actual move meant that it rose faster and engulfed Eelektross, who thrashed as the poison, draconic energy and water all assaulted him as one. Volkner smiled, and Eelektross fainted.

I didn't miss Denzel internally fanboying at the fact that he'd gotten a smile out of Volkner. The Electric Terrain subsided, as did the Rain Dance, and the Gym Leader sent out his Magnezone. It was basically Milotic's perfect counter. Immune to the poison that still clogged the air, resistant to all of his attacks and undisturbed by the calm, poisoned waters below. The Toxic Spikes tried to penetrate Magnezone's steel hull but had no effect. Milotic quickly used Recover before the steel type could strike, and a similar version of Electric Terrain again took to the field.

"Lock On and Thunders," Volkner said.

I gulped as Denzel narrowly recalled his Milotic before the two Thunders could strike him. Magnezone's gimmick was that he would nearly always hit and that he could use two attacks at once, one through each magnet. Denzel sent out his Froslass next, and the poisoned water immediately froze beneath her feet. A snowstorm kicked up immediately. Not a Blizzard, nor a Hail, but something in between that cloaked her everywhere she went. It didn't overtake the entire arena, but Denzel was on top of things already.

"Blizzard!"

The snowstorm instantly spread, and a Blizzard snapped into place. It wouldn't do much against Magnezone, but the key strategy was for him to never see Froslass. If he couldn't Lock On to her, then he wouldn't be able to actually beat her. I leaned back against my chair now that the fight was impossible to spectate. One of the thing I'd noticed beyond Denzel's basic but extremely useful improvements was that all of his Pokemon had learned to control their elements extremely well. He was well on the way to figuring out pure TE manipulation, which was something a trainer needed if they wanted to stand at the top. Electricity began to mix with the Blizzard, and I had no doubt it was striking at Froslass.

The entire audience eagerly awaited to glimpse at what lay beyond the Blizzard. And this one was constant. There were no breaks. No way to peak at what was going on, or even hear because of the howling winds. In a way, this was a double-edged sword. Denzel had no way of knowing what was going on either.

I squinted toward him and noticed his twitching fingers. Nervous? No, where was the foot tapping and the fist-clenching? A way of communicating? I couldn't really see a pattern, but maybe…

After three minutes, I knew he must have had a way of at least knowing Froslass was okay, because his face twisted in joy or worry at different intervals. Something to watch out for, I noted. Another minute passed, and the Blizzard finally started to subside, much to the audience's pleasure. No one liked a battle they couldn't see.

Magnezone lay on the ice that had formed from the lake, and Froslass huffed cold air. She was barely able to float any longer, and her usual elegant look had been replaced with a feral, hateful one. It had been a while since I'd seen her give into her ghostly side like that. Clones from Double Team dissolved around her.

Volkner retrieved his Magnezone and sent out his—

I clenched my hands around my seat when I saw Jolteon.

He was speed incarnate, even at the sixth badge level, and the one on Volkner's personal team was the fastest Pokemon in Sinnoh period. Electricity hummed through his spiky fur as he tested his foothold on the icy floor. The Toxic Spikes stabbed into the electric type, causing him to grunt, but he shook off the pain.

Froslass had no more energy for Double Team or Blizzard, but she still had tools to pull on. The ghost raised her arms, erecting two walls of ice that stretched next to Jolteon and slammed—

A flash of thunder, the crack of lightning, and Jolteon was already next to her. The electric type slammed into Froslass with something in between Volt Tackle and Wild Charge and Froslass immediately flew back, crashing into the barrier and fainting in less than a second.

Milotic was back next, and water immediately surrounded him. Denzel hoped to use his floating capabilities to avoid Jolteon's horrifying melee tactics, but the electric type had ways to strike from a distance too. There was a reason his Electric Terrain was weaker than all of the others and only powered up his speed and electric type moves. Just like the one on his personal team, Volkner had focused Jolteon on offense and speed. Not field control, no fancy tactics, just sheer brutality.

"Pin Missile and get up there," Volkner said.

"Dragon Pulse!" Denzel yelled.

Electricity coiled around Jolteon's needle-like fur, and dozens of electrified Pin Missiles flew out of his back.

The Dragon Pulse morphed into a Twister that sent the Pin Missiles off their mark, but Jolteon turned into electricity and in less than a second, Jolteon was on top of Milotic. A point-blank Thunderbolt shook the water type to his core, but Recover allowed him to bear through the worst of it. A Hydro Pump sent Jolteon crashing toward the icy floor, creating a small crater, but the electric type rose and—

A flash of lightning. He was up there again. It hadn't even been a second.

I saw a glimpse of panic slip in both Denzel and Milotic, and this time Jolteon bit through Milotic's water bubble with a Thunder Fang that pierced through his scales. Another Thunderbolt cooked Milotic, and he cried out in pain as he desperately tried to shake off the electric type.

Denzel barked out an order, and Milotic's water bubble dispersed. Milotic and Jolteon fell to the floor and Milotic crushed the electric type with his full weight upon impact. Jolteon snarled as he let loose a Thunder now that he had enough time to charge the attack. Milotic fanned his beautiful tail as draconic energy wrapped around it and he slammed Jolteon away, but the damage was already done.

Jolteon had been so ruthless that he'd easily torn through Milotic's regeneration, and the water type had fainted quicker than even I had expected, and suddenly Denzel wasn't in such a dominant position any longer. Sure, Jolteon had gotten hit and he was poisoned, but with how quickly he could finish each fight, did it really matter?

This was Volkner's test. What would Denzel do in the face of overwhelming offense?

My best friend released Sylveon next, and the fairy type curiously eyed Jolteon.

The battle between the two began, and it was easy to see that Sylveon had improved the least out of all of Denzel's Pokemon. I bit my lip as the fairy type resorted to the same old tricks. Sylveon managed to wrap ribbons around Jolteon's neck, but he turned into electricity and freed himself before ramming into Sylveon—

Whose glamour barrier collapsed in a mere five hits. And it hadn't even been Thunder.

Sylveon slammed a glowing paw on Jolteon's head and kicked him away with Play Rough, but this was a problem. It wasn't that Sylveon was weak, even though he had only improved slightly. It was that his belief was lacking.

And I knew why.

Jolteon was slowing, but that didn't matter when he could turn into pure electricity that instantly zipped around the arena. Sylveon fought back, of course, but Jolteon took him out.

Denzel was losing.

Lopunny was his last Pokemon, and she was healthy thanks to Drain Punch. She immediately flexed when her trainer told her that she was the last line of defense. Volkner recalled Jolteon, using his first switch of the battle and sent out Zebstrika instead. Another Pokemon with overwhelming speed and offense. A Rising Voltage immediately snapped into place and leaked through the ice.

The electric type was slower than Jolteon, but she was faster than anything Lopunny could hope to achieve at her level. Zebstrika rammed into the normal type at full speed with a Wild Charge, but Lopunny stood her ground. Her feet dug into the ice, her ears blocked the worst of the attack and she immediately countered with a combined Drain and Power Up Punch to Zebstrika's neck.

Zebstrika neighed, rising on her hind legs, and she kicked Lopunny in the head— but the normal type twisted, dodging the attack by a hair as she bent backwards. Her ears wrapped around Zebstrika's feet and she slammed her face-first against the ice, ignoring the raging Thunderbolts as she punched her with another Drain Punch.

Lopunny was keeping Zebstrika close enough to regenerate but blocking or dodging most attacks, and it was working.

If she could sustain herself enough…

Lopunny cried out as Zebstrike kicked her in the thigh and her leg buckled, but before another kick could get her in the head, a point-blank Shadow Ball struck at Zebstrika's flank, leaving her an opening to regain the advantage. The fighting was so simple and yet so brutal.

But the tides turned when Lopunny let loose a flurry of punches that finished off Zebstrika. She thrived in long fights, and she was stronger now than she'd been thanks to Power-Up Punch. Every inch of her body was bulging muscle, and she looked like she'd grown a few inches.

Lopunny stood victorious over Zebstrika's body and wheezed. She was bruised, battered, burned, but not defeated.

Next came Jolteon. Had he been at full strength, the battle wouldn't even have been close, but it was. There was no way to duck out of Jolteon's way like Zebstrika, but Lopunny always punched back for every hit she suffered. The battle did not end with some grand technique. Both Pokemon were too tired to even hope to use anything but the simplest moves. Elemental Punches, Thunder Fang, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack… it was a slugfest.

It ended with a simple Fire Punch.

Lopunny raised a fist and screamed.

Denzel had won by a hair.

—

Beyond the usual celebration, I was the only one who knew Sylveon well enough to understand that there was a difference between a disappointing performance and a psychological block. Sylveon couldn't even bring himself to pull on glamour any longer. When our friends cleared the way and Denzel got his team back to the Center, I pulled him away to speak.

"Listen. When your team is healed, we need to speak to Sylveon. Both you and I."

My friend clenched a fist, but he nodded. He knew Sylveon better than all.

"He was doing well when we trained with Craig, but he completely collapsed during the actual fight. I don't…"

Denzel sighed. He couldn't even finish the sentence.

"He was doing well during training because you hung out with him more than Emi and Pauline," I explained. "You have to talk to him about this. And yes, before you panic—"

"You know?"

"I do know," I nodded. I wasn't about to throw Lopunny to the wolves, though. "I'm sorry, but Sylveon needs an intervention. Did you even talk to him about it at length?"

"I didn't."

"We can come to an understanding. I'll just be here to mediate and make it easier for you to understand him and your team. You need to speak. All of you. Ignoring the problem will only make it worse. Sylveon's a lot more sad than he looks."

"Okay," he exhaled. "We'll do it."

"Three days," I nodded.

Three days for his Pokemon to get healed.

—

Flight School had finally ended, and I already had ten pages of notes. It felt weird to be in a school-like environment after so long, but so long as it had to do with Pokemon, I had no problem paying attention. I hummed as I walked across Sunyshore's streets and decided to go out and train Princess again, since Mira's Gym Battle was over anyway.

"I wonder what the score was," I mused as I grabbed my phone.

The score was 4-5 in Volkner's favor.

Mira had lost.

---

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