Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

Lillie Jones · Apr 30, 2025

thanks for the chapter

Skyfyre · May 14, 2025

Shout out to my 21 Patreons supporting me, especially Ace Tier Patreon RageLord, thank you all so much!

"So, what sort of Pokemon should we get?" O'Nare asked expectantly of me, eliciting a surprised blink from me, sitting opposite her. The wind rushed by us as the Flying Taxi rapidly took Billy, O'Nare, and me to the Porto Marinada for the upcoming auction.

That wasn't the only place we were stopping by, however, as there was a Pokemon ranch not far off the port city, nearby the plains around Caseroya Lake. We elected to stop by there first to get my parents their first Pokemon.

"Well, that's entirely up to you. Any Pokemon can be strong, so if you're worried about that, don't be - I can make training plans to help you with whatever Pokemon you pick. So if you're worried about defending yourself or those around you, don't- well, you can put that to the side for the moment," I corrected at the last moment. I shouldn't be telling them not to have any fears, especially not after that big heart-to-heart we had before. They are going to worry, and there's nothing I can do to stop that. But they're also willing to trust me, and that's enough.

A tiny, niggling doubt wormed in my mind about the potential dangers of Turo and his experiment, but I squashed it with practiced ease. At this point, I don't even know if I or anyone will end up in danger. If my plan works, I'll be able to talk him down. If it doesn't… well, then I should at least have time to call my parents and let them know, as well as hopefully having the backing of the Pokemon League to stop him. He might be their golden goose, but being La Primera will give me a lot of weight to throw around.

Rationalization complete, I continued. "Just try and focus on getting to know the Pokemon and see how compatible you are. What they like and dislike, etc."

"But don't certain Pokemon act in certain ways? Like Meowth liking money?" O'Nare pointed out.

"Yes," I agreed hesitantly. "There are always outliers, though. And much like people, even a Pokemon that greatly fits a stereotype will have their own quirks and reasoning for their actions. It took me ages to figure out the real reason why Dun didn't immediately tunnel away from me when we met." He wasn't quite so battle-hungry or fierce back then. No, it was because he wasn't good at drilling into the ground. Now though, both of those things have changed; he could carve a tunnel miles long in no time at all but wouldn't turn away from a fight if he had the chance.

Pondering if I should mention how they would impact their partner Pokemon and change them, and be changed in turn, I closed my mouth upon truly looking at them. Their emotions were a flurry. The mild disappointment of quick, easy, simple answers faded fast with their optimism and excitement shining forth once again.

Literally shining, at least under my Aura Vision, which I consciously ignored. I tried not to pry into people's feelings too much with that aspect of my Aura. It felt more intrusive than picking out tells with my merely enhanced 'regular' eyesight. Also, it's not that accurate, and I don't want to become reliant on it. The only reason I'm relatively sure it's correct right now is because of how open they are with their emotions right now.

"How do you best understand what a Pokemon is feeling?" Billy asked. "If I'm to show them my best self, I need to know how to communicate with them."

"Oh, how dazzlingly Glitterati of you!" O'Nare swooned while I sighed.

"That's a tricky one. I admit, I don't have an exact guide for how signs or body language can be interpreted from other- from Pokemon. The best advice I can give is to establish basic concepts, yes or no stuff, easy-to-pick-up emotions, and just go from there in trying to learn more about them." It might be Aura that's helping me, or just what I've unconsciously picked up. In either case, it'll be tricky for them to learn quickly, not that we really have a time crunch.

I decided to clarify that point. "You also don't have to pick a Pokemon immediately. The auction isn't for a few days, and even after that, we'll spend some time practicing for our match against Tyme. And if you aren't certain by then, you don't have to make a decision right away!" My parents shared a quick glance, clearly bemused by their daughter lecturing them on such things.

At least they don't seem dismissive of my words. Though it's not like it isn't all true. Sometimes you connect with a Pokemon right away, but for many people, especially those not as interested in battling, it can take a while.

"Thank you," O'Nare said. "We appreciate your expertise on the matter. And perhaps we can show you a thing or two about how a Glitterati wins an auction," she proclaimed with a high laugh. That will be interesting to see. As much as my parents can have a skewed sense of money, for once, we're talking about something within their 'regular' price range. Will they just try to dominate the Lucarioite auction with money to crush out all the competition? I considered it for a moment before mentally discarding the idea. They've probably got shrewder plans than that. An auction like this will attract other big spenders too.

Despite how it was portrayed in the games, the auction house did announce what was going on sale ahead of time, at least for the rarer finds. It was still fairly short notice, but the wealthy and influential individuals of Paldea would have enough time to get to them, or at least contact someone nearby to bid on their behalf. I think there's even a small industry for stand-ins that live nearby and can be hired and directed to bid at the direction of their patrons for those that don't have the time to come.

We did, however, and my parents felt it would be a good experience for me to get a better understanding of what some of what life in our family's circles was like. Not that I haven't lived it, but… I've kinda avoided those things. With my physical age and lack of inclination, I haven't attended quite so many parties or social gatherings people of my family's stature would usually go to.

The Taxi descended near the ranch, and from above we could see how far it spread, the large penned field stretching out over the land. Not too far away from it, I could see a Pokemon Center atop the hill, overlooking Porto Marinada. It's funny; I know there wasn't anything like this in the games. Obviously, it couldn't have perfectly shown what really living here would be like, but it still feels a little surprising to see just how full of life the land is.

Exiting the taxi, we stood in front of the large building ahead of the field. A sign hung above stating 'Big Jim's Ranch.'. What is this, a used car dealership? Though, with the Cyclizar I saw dozing in the field, I suppose in some sense, it's not that far off.

Eagerly, my parents stepped up, Dad knocking on the door. There was a rustling sound inside before the door opened, revealing a stout man in a cowboy hat. His graying mustache almost hid the smile he flashed at us.

"Howdy there, I'm Big Jim."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Billy Glitterati, and this is my wonderful wife O'Nare and our adorable daughter Nemona."

"Pleasure. It's getting a bit late, but are ya'll here to check out the ranch?"

"Yes! We would be delighted to see all the Pokemon you have. Lead on!" O'Nare vibrantly declared.

"Whoa, whoa. Hold yer Ponytas. I'd be happy to help ya, but let's go over some ground rules first. Come on in," he waved us inside to a place that seemed like a cross between a reception and a living room.

"Mabel!" He called up the stairs, and a girl, the only other person I could hear in the house, came running down. She was a teenage girl with bright orange hair tied in pigtails and a smattering of freckles across her face.

"Yea?"

"Get our guests some refreshments, as well as the release forms." Jim turned back to us, gesturing for us to take a seat on the couch while he sat in a chair opposite us. "You mentioned wanting to take a gander at the Pokemon here. I take it that means you aren't settled on any particular Pokemon? We got a wide catalogue to peruse if ya'd like."

Mom shook her head. "No, our daughter advised us it would be best to get to know the individual Pokemon first."

"Well, I can't argue with that. All of our Pokemon here are top-notch, but it's always good to get to know them first if you have the chance. Though it's gettin' on in the day, we'll be closing the ranch soon to give them the chance to get some shut-eye. We got some rooms on the second floor ya'll can stay in to visit them bright and early in the morning, however."

"Thank you, but we've already booked a hotel room down in Marinada," Dad said. "We'll be eager to see you again in the morning, though." Probably a good thing too. This place is very well equipped for a hotel room, but it's not up to the levels of extravagance my parents are used to. They're never rude about it and are always so optimistic and bright, but I have noticed they're more comfortable when surrounded by the finer comforts.

"Sounds good. And are you looking for a Pokemon too, little missy?" Jim asked me, and I shook my head.

"Nah, I think I'm full up at the moment," I replied, hooking up my belt to clearly show off the seven Pokeballs on it. "Maybe in the future." Though I honestly doubt it. The service is nice for people who don't want or are not able to go out in the wilderness to meet new Pokemon, but if I wanted anyone else on my team, I'd go exploring for them.

"Whoa, you're Nemona!" Mabel exclaimed, having re-entered the room holding a stack of papers in one hand and a tray with some snacks and water with Pinap slices.

"You know this little lady?" Jim asked.

"She's a famous Trainer that's been doing great on the Gym Circuit! Everyone's talking about her online; she already has four badges." The cute girl gushed.

I couldn't help but brag a little. "Five, actually. Just beat Grusha today before we flew here. Oh, that reminds me." Turning to my parents, I said, "We should post the video of the fight up soon."

"Well, I'll be," Jim laughed. "Didn't expect to be meeting someone so famous." I raised an eyebrow slightly. Think Mom and Dad are still a fair bit more famous than I am. "What brought you out to my humble ranch?"

For a moment, part of me felt like deflecting before I shook it off. The question is harmless, and I don't have anything to hide. Besides, it is kind of unusual to beat a Gym Leader atop Glaseado Mountain and then fly down to Porto Marinada all in one day. "We were heading to the auction house, and your ranch was highly recommended. We thought we'd stop by to check it out before we needed to get there," I said.

"Can I see the video?" Mabel asked eagerly, practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Now honey, we got to give our guests time to check out the Pokemon first," Jim said, eliciting a pout from his daughter. "And that means going through the paperwork, just to make sure everythin' is above board and safe."

He led us through the paperwork quickly, summing up the process. Basically the forms were there to waive any right to press injury charges if we did something stupid (though I wasn't sure how binding that part could actually be), to understand that we couldn't get a refund after obtaining the Pokemon, and that we weren't allowed to catch any Pokemon on the ranch that hadn't been transferred to our care.

"Do people actually do that?" I asked, and Jim chuckled.

"No one has on our ranch, but I've heard all sortsa stories from other breeding ranches. Betta safe than sorry."

My parents read the paperwork quickly but thoroughly before signing it, and I did the same. From there, the father-daughter duo led us out to the ranch.

The long stretch of land was divided into different pastures, with different environments to suit the different Pokemon. The first was just open, grassy terrain, very flat. There were plenty of Pokemon of all sorts gathered there, though I noted that many of them were of the Field Egg group.

Beyond that was another very grassy stretch, but this one had many trees and thickets growing about. Grass and Bug Types skittered around within, as well as many Flying Pokemon perched above. I've seen instances of Pokemon that could be natural enemies co-operating in the wild, but it is rare, and hardly as peaceful as this place is. Feels a little weird with how close this is to the wilderness.

Much of that probably had to do with the staff guarding the place, both human and Pokemon. While the human handlers were easy to make out, there were a few Pokemon, like the Killowattrel flying overhead or some of the Granbull walking around the edges of the perimeters. They kept an eye on the Pokemon within and for any dangers that might approach from the outside, each wearing brass collars to indicate their position (and the fact that they were not up for sale adoption).

Or in the case of some of the more aquatic Pokemon, a fin ring, like on the Gyarados in the third section. It had many ponds dug into the ground, with a canal network connecting them. There was plenty of space for some land Pokemon as well, especially those that enjoyed being nearby the water.

There's also some that don't seem to fit, like that Camerupt, which looks like it'd be better suited to the final section, all rocky and barren where the Carkoals are playing. Then again, there are a couple of inconsistencies, but it looks like the Pokemon are free to wander between sections so long as they don't cause any problems.

A bit of roughhousing seemed to be fine, a Raichu watching over a Growlithe and Houndour pup play-fighting each other, but would quickly step in when disputes grew more serious. I shivered slightly, feeling the brass-collared Vespiqueen's Pressure from afar as she stepped in between a Tangela and Pidgey fighting over some berries, the two quickly losing interest in the fight at her intervention.

"Whadya think?" Mabel asked, a big grin on her face as she saw us looking out over the field. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Billy and O'Nare watching it all in awe.

"So energetic!"

"All these Pokemon, each shining with Glitterati potential!"

My parents gushed over the Pokemon and the teenager laughed. "Well, go on! Feel free to get to know them." She passed them some bags of PokeTreats and the two of them nearly sprinted off to greet the Pokemon.

I couldn't help but laugh joyously at the sight, which prompted a question from the girl beside me. "Are you gonna visit the Pokemon too?"

Shaking my head, I responded. "No, I've got plenty of Pokemon right now, so I'll just watch for the moment." Also, I don't want to get too attached, because I know if I did, then I'd try to add them to my team, regardless of previous determinations. Pokemon are just too awesome!

There were plenty of incredible specimens on the ranch. While many of them were common Pokemon to Paldea, Flittles, Rockruffs, Wingulls, Pawmis, and the like, they were all in excellent condition. There were also several that couldn't be found easily here, like Cherrims and a Butterfree. Remember using one in a mono Bug Run for Ultra Sun. That was fun; Compound Eyes and Sleep Powder into Quiver Dance was great cheese.

There were many exclamations of joy and delighted surprise from my parents as they played with the Pokemon. Their 'Glitterati Generosity' led to them coming back several times to grab more bags of PokeTreats to feed the various ranch Pokemon. Sadly, the good times came to a close quickly, as Big Jim announced, "Alright, visitin' hours are over." When they came back, he asked, "Didja find any Pokemon you liked?"

"Oh, there was this absolutely adorable Hoppip-"

"Did you see the fur on that Tauros? Gleaming near Glitterati bright!"

"And the Oricorio danced wonderfully in the sunset-"

"What were those blue and red fish Pokemon?"

"Carvanha," I helpfully mentioned, barely heard over their energetic ramblings. The elder Glitteratis continued for a while, but it was clear from how they weren't settling in on any one Pokemon yet.

Something Jim noted as well. "Sounds like you got a big choice ahead of ya. Come back tomorrow; it'll give ya more time to get to know 'em," he said. We agreed and left, heading off to our hotel room for the night.

Bit of a shorter chapter this time but that's just how the split worked this time. Hope that it was enjoyable regardless. If you liked it, please leave a comment here or join the the Discord to talk about it. And if you like my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the later get early access to the chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

unlawfulwaffle362 · May 14, 2025

I hope they get at least a Shuckle. Not only are they OP, they make booze too.

Skyfyre · May 15, 2025

unlawfulwaffle362 said:
I hope they get at least a Shuckle. Not only are they OP, they make booze too.

Shuckles are pretty strong. I've got one planned but it's for a different Trainer though.

Lillie Jones · May 23, 2025

thanks for the chapter

Skyfyre · May 28, 2025

Thank you to my 20 Beginner Tier Patreons and a special thanks to RageLord, my Ace Tier Patreon, I really appreciate the support!

The next few days passed in similar fashion, with my parents checking out the ranch most of the time. Even on vacation, there were still some emails to answer and calls to make to ensure things ran smoothly in their absence. For my part, I made sure to give my team some basic training while waiting for the auction. I also spent a fair amount of time with Mom and Dad at the ranch and even tested myself against one of the handler Pokemon.

It was a short affair, Nightwing easily crushing the Gyarados, hardly Intimidated by the massive Pokemon and landing a few well-placed Thunder Fangs to defeat it. They're strong, and more to the point, smarter than a lot of the wild Pokemon around here, but it's still not enough. I was reaching the limits of what my Pokemon could learn from the Pokemon nearby, though I knew there were greater challenges further north and in a few key locations, like the Hollow looming in the distance.

Those were challenges for another day, however, as today we had an auction to get to. The city had several nice locales, a few parks and the like, but the Auction House was clearly the star attraction of it all. A massive structure hung overhead to keep out the rain and worst of the elements, while the large openings gave it an open-air market feel. There were rows upon rows of all sorts of merchants and auctioneers, the line blurring between the two as people tried to outbid each other against other merchants or would haggle over smaller stands where others seemed uninterested.

So many items are on sale here, everything from regular Potions to rarities like Regi Trio Pokedolls. So many ships come from all around the globe every day to stock these stands. It feels overwhelming when I picture myself as such a small piece of these massive systems that make up our everyday life.

As much as I could lose myself over the fun and unique finds of the open market, we were headed deeper inside, to the 'exclusive' section. Here, the truly incredible finds were stored and sold. It also came with higher security, a big guard standing at the door with three Pokeballs on his belt checking anyone who tried to pass through the double doors to the enclosed hallway.

I get the feeling he was checking us out more by our clothing than the registration ticket. Looking around as we walked inside, our high-priced, fancy clothing fit in with the other potential bidders. Lavish gowns and pristine suits filled the long hallway with multiple doors leading to different auction rooms.

The hallway itself was plush and warm, richly decorated in soft gold and reds. It created an interesting contrast with the cold stares we got from some of the people there, instantly sizing us up. Why are they so on edge at our entrance?

A whisper I caught on the wind of 'Glitterati' clicked the pieces in my mind. Each of them is worried we might be trying to outbid whatever they're looking for. Not that everyone was reacting poorly to our presence, however; a few saw us with little more than curiosity. Including a familiar face.

I was caught between approaching him or not, but upon seeing auction room #3 just past where Freddrick was standing, I bit the bullet and marched over to him. "Freddrick," I said awkwardly, giving him a curt nod of my head, somewhat unsure how to react here. Feels weird to just ignore him since we've clearly seen each other, but I'll leave it up to him if he wants to make anything more of it.

He jerked slightly, as if surprised by me (despite having his eyes trained on me like a hawk as I walked closer). "Nemona. I take it you're here for the Lucarioite?" He asked after a second.

My mind whirled, rapidly considering denying it before rejecting the idea. While I'd rather not give the crowd information on what we're going for, they'll realize soon enough. "Yeah, I'd like to grab it if I can."

Frederick's signature sneer came out. "This is why you're taking a break from the Gym Circuit? Afraid you won't make it without Mega Evolution?"

"Nope. If I can't get it, I can't. I've got faith in Athena no matter what." Honestly not even sure the Gym Leaders will allow me to use Mega Evolution; this is more for the Elite Four and beyond. The Great Crater loomed heavily in my mind. I might not be allowed to use Mega Evolution and Terastalization in the same League-sanctioned battle, but anything went down in Area Zero.

Seeing my brazen confidence, the boy faltered, so I pressed on. "What are you here for?"

"Ah- There's a Soul Dew auction coming up," he muttered before clamping his mouth down.

My eyes widened. "Soul Dew!?" I whistled. "Wow, that's rare. But… why do you want that? You got a Latios or Latias in your pocket? Or is it just to have a nice collection piece? Though I guess maybe you could want to study its energies and effects…" I trailed off, mostly talking to myself as I pondered how that strange item worked. How did people even find out how Soul Dews worked in the first place? Did they even, or was it one of the Eon Pokemon who knew and told them with their Psychic powers?

"Wha- no, I'm not getting it just as a collection piece. And how would you even study it without a Latios or Latias? You're weird," he shot out before regaining himself. "I'll get my Pokemon soon enough - don't forget that no matter how good you do in the Treasure Hunt now, I'll be crushing you in a few years."

I quirked an eyebrow before saying, "Good luck with that." Then I turned and walked inside to auction room #3. As I left, I heard the rich boy whispering to himself, wondering how he was going to get a Latios, and I chuckled. That guy, still so concerned about appearances. Still, he seems a lot calmer and less rude than before (not that it's a challenge), so that's something.

He was a minor concern, and one that I put out of my mind as I focused on the challenge ahead. Billy and O'Nare boldly strode through the doors to the relatively cozy audience hall while I trailed behind them. There were forty some seats set out, with room for more to be brought in towards the back if need be, though less than half were currently occupied.

At the front of the hall was a small stage, with a podium and a professional man standing behind it, calling out for bids. Items would get carted onstage from the back and either be given to the bidder directly (if the item was small enough to carry) or would be sent to the other side of the backstage to have their hard-bought item arranged to be sent to them via other means.

I wonder how they plan on getting that near-full Tyrantrum fossil moved to that woman's house or how they shipped it all in one piece in the first place? I shook my head from those thoughts as a new item caught my eye, the next bid being called up.

"Next up, we have an artisan handcrafted Apricorn Ball. Dubbed the 'Friend Ball' by its creator, Maizie of Azalea Town. Any Pokemon within is sure to appreciate the level of detail and care that has gone into making this fine piece of art. The bidding starts at 100,000 Pokedollars."

An honest-to-Arceus Apricorn Ball here?! I saw the listings for the auction house, and it just said Friend Ball… which is a type of Apricorn Ball, duh! And I don't recognize the name Maizie, but if she's from Azalea Town, then she probably trained under Kurt, right?

As I was thinking it over, bids were already being placed. In a panic, I flipped up the number sign sitting on the armrest of my chair. The auctioneer pointed at me. "Yes, number 63?"

"150,000," I stated, causing a swift murmur to ripple through the crowd as they took in my bid. Even my parents were looking curiously at me.

"Is this something you truly want?" O'Nare whispered, barely moving her mouth. I didn't have the skill to do the same but could reply back with Aura to shape the air to deliver my response.

"Yes." Not just want, need. If things go bad and I have to confront Turo in his lab, I need to know how to make a Pokeball that isn't connected to the League network. This will help more than even how much Mega Evolution could, to be honest.

"160,000 Pokedollars," an elderly gentleman closer to the front said, restarting the calls for bids.

"Then bid high for the next one," my mother instructed me.

"160,000 going once, going twice…" The auctioneer said before I shot up my sign.

"200,000." My voice echoed through the room, and while the man who had bid against me crumpled his hat up in his lap, but didn't make a move to counter.

"200,000 going once, going twice, sold! Please come up to the stage to collect your bid, Miss." I did so, carefully holding it in the palm of my hands. To most, it just seemed like a (very expensive) item of prestige, like a painting or a statue that I might show off. To me, it was potential.

The potential to crack the code on how a lot of Pokeballs work. Something that was considered an international League secret and one that I could be heavily punished for trying to figure out without proper authorization. Hopefully Geeta and others will understand if it comes down to that. If it works. Which it should! Everything I've read about Apricorn Balls implies that pieces put on after the fact that connect it to the network would be easy to differentiate from the rest of the pieces-

"Are you going to put Dun in that ball?" Billy's hushed question snapped me out of my thoughts and reminded me of where I was, having wandered back to my seat and staring at the ball in my hands.

"Maybe later," I replied, distractedly painting a smile on my face. Assuming it withstands the deconstruction process I put it through.

Mom clapped her hands together. "Oh, it's so wonderful when you find an unexpected treat like that." Practice kept my grin in place even as guilt crept up in my mind. "We should visit places like this more often; it looks like there are all kinds of fun trinkets to buy."

"Why did you give me that advice?" I asked, distracting myself from other thoughts.

"Ah, by bidding high twice in a row, it shows you're a big spender willing to crush the competition. The bids for the Friend Ball were fairly tepid back and forth. If you had only slowly raised the price, they might have been willing to match you for longer."

Not quite the sunk cost fallacy, but I get it. Especially since that man didn't look like the professional stand-ins they have here. Most of them were dressed professionally but far less well than any others. From what my parents had told me, each of them had to be given a set amount as the highest they could bid by whoever hired them to avoid any impossible bids being made.

The next few bids passed without particular note until finally, the item we came for was here. Even before the fabric was dramatically pulled off the stand holding it, I could feel the energy radiating off of the Mega Stone. Athena likely could as well, as I felt her Pokeball stir, though she retained enough control not to pop out of it.

"Our final item of the day is a Mega Stone, one Lucarioite. This rare item comes to us straight from Kalos, where it was unearthed…" The man droned on like that for a while, but I could hardly focus on it, Athena's excitement bleeding through to me. Despite that, I did my best to appear neutral and relaxed.

"We'll begin the bidding at 1,000,000 Pokedollars." As the auctioneer was announcing that, Dad was whispering to me.

"We'll feel them out first, don't worry." I nodded, noting as different people in the crowd pushed the price up. There were a few eager bids only raising the price by a million Pokedollars that quickly petered out by the time it reached twenty million. After thirty million, there were only three competitors left, until my father made his bid.

"31,000,000," he announced to the auctioneer. The three other bidders turned to face him, if only briefly. An elderly lady gnashed her teeth together (literally clutching the pearls around her neck; didn't know anyone did that) before sitting down in a huff.

While she had clearly given up, a young man dressed in a surprisingly sporty blue jacket glared at us. Upon his belt, I noted three Pokeballs and realized he wasn't just some young rich guy but likely a skilled Trainer, possibly an Ace.

Is he looking for an edge to boost his team? Am I taking away from someone else's dream by obtaining this? It's not like I need it… On the other hand, I promised my team that I'd give everything I could to make them strong. And he still has money and could become strong through other means. Not to mention it'll provide a real benefit if I have to confront Turo in Area Zero.

While I was thinking it over, the bidding rose up and up, with the young man giving up as Dad finally jumped the price up to forty-five million.

"45,000,000, going once,-"

"50,000,000." The voice came from the last of the three original bidders, one of the stand-ins who had stepped back suddenly speaking up again. It sent a series of whispers through the crowd, but I caught the flash of a smirk on Billy's face.

"50,000,001." He bid, causing me to blink. That feels a little low- huh, the stand-in isn't moving to counter us. Oh! The stand-in must have reached the maximum they were allowed to bid from whoever hired them.

"Going once, going twice, sold!" The auctioneer cried out. "Please come up to collect your prize." My father did so, walking up and receiving the Mega Stone before walking back to us.

Huh, feels like this would be the moment where an evil Team bursts in to run off with the auction items, or the Ace Trainer challenges me to a fight to prove himself 'more deserving' of the Mega Stone. A quick glance around the auction hall determined I was in no such risk of hidden thieves, and the other bidders remained in their seats.

Anticlimactically, I stood up as Dad approached, only to be beaten to the punch as Athena burst out of her ball, standing eagerly in front of me, tail whipping back and forth into the (thankfully empty) chairs on either side of her. With a chuckle, Billy passed it to her at my nod.

The stone came with a stretchy yet durable cloth loop, letting her put it around her neck. As it snapped on, she turned to face me, and with a toothy grin, howled in triumph. I couldn't help but cheer as well. "Woo!"

This was met by a few polite claps and a very aggravated clearing of the auctioneer's throat. "Ahem," he said pointedly, and we both looked embarrassed at making a scene.

"Sorry," I said with a quick bow before we left the hall. My first Mega Evolvable Pokemon. I can't wait to try it out!

***

Luckily, I didn't need to wait long; the three of us (Athena returned to her Pokeball) left the main auction structure and city. Billy and O'Nare veered off to the ranch while Athena and I were eager to practice her new power amidst the fields, though they stuck around long enough to watch (and record) Athena's first Mega Evolution.

"Alright Athena, you ready?" I asked, getting an impatient nod from her before my question was even finished. "Haha, ok, let's go." Taking a deep breath, I held up my Keystone, pointing it at her. "Mega Evolve!"

I didn't receive any instruction guide on how to use the Mega Stone with the winning bid, but the process was instinctual enough. My Auric awareness made the energies surrounding the two stones clear, and I pushed my Aura into the Keystone. The stone greedily drank up my life force, leaving me feeling drained so fast I almost reactively pulled back.

Recognizing it as normal, I instead let the energy go, simply directing it through the bond I had with Athena. I had studied Mega Evolution enough to know that it couldn't kill me, though it would be quite draining. That part feels weird. I know I have a bond with all of my Pokemon, but I usually can't feel it, not so vividly like this, even without my Aura. Or is it just that I'm sensing my own energy rushing through the channels that make or bond, making it appear more tangible in this moment?

Such questions were pushed out of my mind as I saw the glowing shell appear around Athena before she burst out, the energy exploding off of her. With a proud cry, she shouted out, "Lucario!"

Her appearance wasn't that different from before. Some brown fur on her paws, her yellow fur a bit shaggier, and a slight bit taller. But her eyes had taken on an orange tint, and the energy radiating off of her was palpable. An air of danger surrounded every twitch of her muscles as newfound power flowed through her, to the point that anyone could sense the threat she represented. Off in the distance, I saw herds of Tauros stampeding away in fright, Murkrows and Staravias taking to the sky, and other Pokemon like a Donphan slinking away, even as they tried to place themselves in between this new threat and the young Phanphys they looked after.

Anyone would be foolish to approach her like this… So I shouldn't be surprised that my parents are rushing towards her.

"What a unique dazzle!"

"Indeed! Terastalization has its own shine, but this puts a whole new twist on it. How innovative!"

More the other way around with Terastalization coming after Mega Evolution. Athena growled lowly, baring her teeth a little as my parents approached her, so I stepped in.

"Let's give her a little space, shall we?" My voice came out in quick gasps. Feels like I ran a marathon. Turning to face her straight in the eye, I managed to ask. "How are you doing?"

'Powerful. Eager. Need- Fight. Destroy.' Her empathic communication came in sputtering spurts, her control going all over the place. It was clear that she was having trouble controlling this much power, and it was interfering with her communication. She was hardly angry with us, but that much power made things dangerous even with the best of intentions.

"Why don't you guys go back to the ranch?" I suggested to my parents. Before they could complain, I added, "We've got a lot of training to do. We can show you some cool Moves when we're done." Or at least, get her to the point where she isn't feeling uncertain about her control and feels proud about showcasing her regular Moves in this boosted state. Though, if all goes well…

"Splendid. There was a delightful pair of Pokemon I was looking at before and I can't wait to see them again," my mother said, her eyes literally sparkling. Is that an anime-esque thing, or did she buy some expensive contacts for that? Either is possible with my family.

It was hard to say, but soon they were off, leaving me and Athena alone in the field. "I was going to have you train against the local Pokemon, but I don't think anyone here is eager to fight you. Though they probably wouldn't have been a challenge even without this." She nodded tersely.

"So, let's run you through the basics. Practice a few Moves in the open here where you don't need to worry about anyone getting hurt. Then you can spar against some of the team." Tossing her a bone, I added, "I know Dun has been looking forward to a rematch.

That lit a fire in her eyes, and she stomped the ground eagerly. "Luuu!" Even the relatively light tap on the earth sent out an Earthquake rippling through the ground all around and matched what Dun or Nightwing could do when putting their all into the Move.

"...Ok, let's hold off on Earthquake for the moment; don't want to drop the cliff edge onto the city below." We were a decent distance away, so I wasn't too worried, but I couldn't rule out the possibility entirely. Even with that slight fear, I couldn't help but feel excited about this. Terastalization, especially defensive ones, is still a huge game changer in its own right, but the sheer power Mega Evolving brings makes me giddy nonetheless.

She ran through her Moves. Some of them, like Trailblaze, were clearly stronger and faster than before, but the exact impact of how much more power they had was hard to discern without a living target to hit. Overall though, it was still an impressive showing off her new abilities. As well as her new Ability.

That made the largest difference in the power on display, her Adaptability stacking with the general power boost she got to let her fire off Aura Spheres larger than her whole body, which sent cracks running through the rocky Collonade Hollow. They were small in comparison to the massive structure dominating the landscape but still significant in scope.

Off in the distance, a loud, challenging cry rang out, so far away that even I could barely hear it. Clearly, I'm not the only one who thinks so. I forgot about them, but they might be a good challenge for Athena.

"C'mon out, Dun," I called as I released my starter. He turned immediately to face Athena, his tail already spinning slowly, anticipating their fight. Athena grinned violently, slamming her knuckles together, making a small shockwave.

"I can see I don't need to tell you two anything, other than a reminder to be careful. And maybe give me a minute to get out of the way." I huffed and puffed as I pulled myself up on top of a nearby cliff. God, this would be easy without the drain of Mega Evolution. I hope it gets easier with time and practice.

When I got to the top, I saw Athena simply pointing at Dun and communicating, 'Power.' I blinked before realizing what she was getting at. Dun himself gave the shoulderless equivalent of a shrug.

Fair enough, I guess he won't be using many Normal Type attacks given her Steel Typing. Still, it doesn't hurt. I tossed the Tera Orb over in a long arc, Terastalizing Dun. He gave a fierce cry as the bejeweled Tera 'hat' appeared over his now glittering body, the land snake staring Athena straight in the eyes.

This was a mistake (and one I wouldn't have expected her to fall for in her regular state). Without a signal to begin, Dun opened the fight by Glaring at her, and she had no way to resist it, her muscles seizing up. Then they disappeared.

"What?" I questioned aloud; before my eyes managed to track onto them, Dun had been knocked half a kilometer away by Athena's Extreme Speed. Even Paralyzed, and I couldn't track her movements at all!

Dun was used to being slower than his opponent and didn't let a little thing like getting beaten around stop him from fighting back. A wide Flamethrower stream had her jumping back, but before she could go around it, she jerked to a stop.

My starter used the opportunity to run through an Agility, zipping around and speeding up with the Psychic Type Move to better match her. He still ended up clipped by the Aura Sphere Athena launched at him, several scales breaking and shattering from the blow.

Dun spun his drill, ducking underground to avoid the shot before tunneling rapidly towards Athena. She scoffed, shooting up high in the air with a powerful jump. An Aura Sphere in hand, she launched it at where he was going to pop up, beneath where she had been standing… only for him to pop up a dozen meters away.

Did she lose her Aura Sight enough that she couldn't find him- No, he deked her out, I realized as I saw Dun flap his wings furiously, conjuring a massive Hurricane right in Athena's path. His twisty body let him get very close to the surface where Athena targeted, then change paths.

Throwing her arms behind her, twin Dragon Pulses rocketed her back towards Dun and away from the storm. My land snake breathed out a stream of fire straight at her, and though she narrowly dodged it with a Quick Attack, she lost a lot of her momentum with the maneuver.

The battle continued, with Athena throwing all sorts of attacks at Dun, forced into an uncomfortable position of having to launch darting blows, trying to keep up with a foe physically stronger than him, while usually he was the nigh-invincible juggernaut pressing forward on them. The Type match-up didn't help either, but he was experienced enough to know how to adapt to that situation, even without my direct guidance.

Athena, for her part… She's not fighting intelligently. I could hardly say she was fighting 'foolishly,' though; she still had good form and exceptional reflexes, but as I saw her strike at Dun with her Force Whips, hitting him and the ground around him, I noted how she could have driven him towards a cliff face, backing him into a corner as opposed to the open road she let him escape to. Her tactics have gone out the window. She's fighting solely on instinct, like why she uses Quick Attack to dodge some shots instead of Extreme Speed, just because she's more used to one than the other.

The sheer strength she had at her disposal was enough to even the difference between her tactics and his, however. A powerful Close Combat should have knocked Dun out clean only to land into an odd doll-like construct, my Starter Substituting out of the way before pelting her with Air Cutters.

The Mega Evolved Pokemon flinched, caught off guard by how sharply the wind cut into her. Usually her innate Ability would have protected her from that, but her new one, while granting her tons of power, left her surprised by that facet of his Move.

Dun followed up with a Body Press, proving that Miles wasn't the only member of the team he'd been copying. The heavy press crushed down hard on Athena, Dun's body twisting to pin her down and prevent any powerful strikes.

This mattered little as spears of Aura, akin to Force Palm, lanced out from her body in every direction, throwing Dun off with a pained hiss. A quick Drain Punch followed it up, helping her recover. Impressive, the instinctual alteration of that Move.

She wasn't the only healing throughout the fight, with Dun performing many 'micro-Roosts' in between getting knocked around. They don't do much, but it's still an impressive edge and makes him seem even bulkier than he naturally is.

Despite that, all good things came to an end, and he was clearly running out of steam as his latest gambit with Invisible Yawn failed utterly; the transparent cloud blasted apart before ever getting near her. The Mega Pokemon knocked him aside with an Extreme Speed punch, and I thought things were over there before she kicked him up into the air. I don't recognize that Move.

She leapt up, kicking him through the air, less up and from side to side. … That's not a Move. She's playing hackysack with him. She's toying with him.

A decision she came to regret as he beat his wings furiously, creating an upside-down Hurricane, slamming them both into the ground. The force of his impact fueled an Earthquake that wracked Athena's body further, and when she rose, it was on unsteady limbs. Her particular Mega Evolution makes her miles faster and stronger, but she's pretty much as vulnerable to harm as she was before.

Dun was hardly in better condition, forcing himself to glare across the ruined field at her. "Dudun. Arce." He challenged. There's something in there about being weak and worthless, though I'm missing the exact wording there.

Whatever it was, it was enough to get her to charge up a powerful grayish ball of energy in front of her, between her hands. Steel Beam, that's the play then. Glad I caught his plan, or I would have called off the battle here.

For his part, Dun surrounded himself with a green energy as if preparing to charge ahead with a Giga Impact. Athena released her beam, so blindingly bright I had to shield my eyes. When I opened them, I saw as I expected: Dun gasping for breath, utterly exhausted, but safe behind his Protect barrier. Across the road from him, Athena stood, slack-jawed for a second until her Move took its toll, and she passed out, falling flat on her face.

"Dun is the winner," I said tiredly, to a small cheer from him before he too fell asleep. I stood there in silence for a moment before I looked around at the ruined landscape. "Dammit, who's gonna help me clean this up then?"

Athena gets her first Mega Evolution! It's strong… but there's still a few kinks to work out. That's what Training is for, though (and I've got some fun things planned for her). And speaking of fun things I have planned, we're also switching to a once a week update schedule! If you liked it, please leave a comment here or join the the Discord to talk about it. And if you like my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you and have a great day.

AshKing · May 28, 2025

Great chapter

unlawfulwaffle362 · May 28, 2025

Is Dun an Alpha pokemon? because he just asserted dominance in a very Alpha way.

Lillie Jones · May 28, 2025

thanks for the chapter

Skyfyre · Jun 4, 2025

Thank you to my 18 Beginner Tier Patreons and a special shout out to Ace Tier Patreon, RageLord! I appreciate the support.

While some members of my team were less helpful than others (Nightwing and Phantasm for lack of enthusiasm, Bahamut with too much enthusiasm), we eventually got the area in passable shape, heading off to the Pokemon Center.

Can't believe I didn't recognize the signs before. Most Mega Evolutions come with increased aggression instead, but still. She even insisted that I power up her rival! Let's hope I can break her of that pattern with having her father have to sacrifice himself to save the planet.

I shook my mind from thoughts about Dragonball Z as I saw the odd stare Nurse Joy was giving me. Is she part of the clan? I can't tell. "Yes?"

"Did your Pokemon Mega Evolve?" She asked neutrally.

"Ah, yes, she did. It was her first time today. Is there a problem?"

She hummed. "Not necessarily. Just try not to have her Mega Evolve more than once every other day. Mega Evolution puts a lot of strain on the body."

"Good to know." I can probably set her on meditative activities on her off days anyways to get a better handle on what that power does to her mind.

***

The ranch was as lively and joyful as ever. Upon arriving, Mabel quickly waved me over and peppered me with more questions, mostly about my gym battles, but a few about regular Pokemon handling.

"How do you deal with the torn scales on your Dudunsparce and Bahamut?"

"What Gym Leader was the toughest?"

"Why do you feed your Pokemon separate from the ranch Pokemon? We've got grade-A Poke chow here!"

The last question led to a discussion about the different vitamins and supplements I had tailored to each of my team members. Mabel had a great deal of insight on the nutritional needs of different Pokemon and it led to a lengthy discussion on the topic.

Eventually I asked her, "Why ask me all these questions?"

"I just think it's really cool, ya know?" She clasped her hands behind her back, swaying back and forth a little.

"It is," I easily admitted. In spite of everything, this has been incredible. I'm barely over halfway done, and I can't wait to go on my next journey. "Why not go yourself?"

"H-huh?! You mean- you really think I'd be a good trainer?"

"Of course. You know a fair bit about handling Pokemon yourself. You've already mentioned a bunch of different care and treatment options for the various Pokemon, and it's not like you don't have access to plenty of potential friends." I said, waving my hand out at the field around us.

My gaze stopped momentarily on Billy, playing eagerly with the singular Drampa on the ranch, scratching behind the ears of the teal Dragon. They seem like a nice fit, though…

Putting that to the side I focused my attention once more on Mabel, the girl still frozen. "It's fine if you have other responsibilities, but don't hold yourself back because you're worried you can't make it."

"...How do you do that? You're like six years younger than me, but you sound like an old sage." She pouted, and I laughed. I was called an old soul in my first life; I suppose I've more than earned that by now.

Her next words struck a bit deeper. "I just- I just don't know if I can do it. You always seem in control in those videos, like you've always got a plan. Your music sounds great too; you're way younger than me, and you're so smart, and I-" She cut herself off, and I saw some tears welling up in her eyes.

Shit. Ok, how do I reassure her without sounding condescending? "I could say that I've received a ton of support and have several unique advantages, which is true, but I'm guessing that won't help?" She shook her head, and I suppressed an unhelpful sigh.

"Simply focus on yourself. There are tons of people out there, and I'm sure you could find a way you don't match up to them in some area, maybe even a field you've chosen to apply yourself to." I know I've done that plenty, in this life and the last. "But you can't focus on that. The only one you're really competing against at the end of the day is yourself, and as long as you've improved, that's great."

Mabel furrowed her brow, not looking quite convinced, so I clarified. "Even if you think you haven't done enough, or you still have too far to go, your efforts matter. And if some external validation is needed, know that there will always be someone out there who appreciates your efforts. Thank you for well…"

I got tongue-tied at the end of my impromptu speech, only partially because of the difficulty in pinning down the right words. That brilliant smile on her face isn't helping either. I blushed and shook my head, looking away for a second as I tried to push down any burgeoning feelings.

The motion ended up catching the attention of Big Jim, the older man striding to us. "What's this I hear about becomin' a Trainer?" Good ears; most regular people would have had a tough time catching that over the ranch Pokemon and that far away.

Mabel spun around brightly to face her father. "Yes, I'm gonna do it! Next year, I'm taking on the Gym Challenge!" She pumped her fist up in the air cutely.

The ranch owner didn't seem upset, letting out a happy chuckle of his. "Sounds like yer set on yer path then. You'll do great," he added in a softer tone before turning to me. "Thanks fer talkin' my sweet daughter up to that. Guess battling ain't the only skill ya got! Can't say I'm surprised though; yer folks have been praising ya almost as much as our prized Pokemon here."

Right, this ranch isn't just well rated for good service but also for the 'quality' of the Pokemon they produce. Something on my face must have shown because Jim asked, "Ya good, Miss Nemona?"

"Ah, I'm fine." I said before sighing, seeing him unconvinced. "I just- don't believe that's a thing. That Pokemon bred from strong Pokemon are not inherently any stronger or have any greater potential than others," I explained. My words brought a shocked gasp from Mabel.

Jim, on the other hand, didn't seem upset, merely commenting, "Interesting outlook." In the distance, I saw two Tauros, a Blaze and Aqua breed, prancing around a corner of the field, scorching and quenching the grass as they went, playfully bashing into each other. "Most serious Trainers wouldn't agree with that, though."

Scoffing, I said, "That's because those 'serious Trainers' are looking for quick fixes to power. Yes, some Pokemon tend to start out a bit stronger in some areas than others and will have natural biological advantages in certain fields, but with enough training, any Pokemon can reach the greatest heights."

"Oh? Bunch of sciency folk have studies that say otherwise." Jim countered, and I rolled my eyes.

"Those studies only show slight tendencies, and correlation doesn't equal causation. Any supposed increase in the base strength of Pokemon from 'prestigious' lineage is usually just a matter of having some training from their parents already, better nutrition, or just a measure of belief in the Pokemon themselves affecting the study." To say nothing of the fact that certain people in the breeding industry might well pay good money to fund and shift the test results in their favor.

"You reckon that just believing in a Pokemon is enough to make 'em stronger?"

"Of course, that's a large part of a Trainer's job. Sure, you set up training plans and regimens, make strategies, and react to changes in the middle of dynamic battles, but at the end of the day, all you'll be left able to do in a battle is believe in the Pokemon you've trained." I glanced up, looking him straight in the eyes. "And if you believe hard enough, a lot of the time, it's enough."

He laughed again, a full-bellied thing. "Well put. Not sure I entirely agree - not the least of which cause I'd be out of a job if I did, but well put." Hard to tell if he's just being agreeable because of my parents/their money, or if he's just always this polite and reasonable while dealing with other people, but at least he's pleasant enough to be around. Not as much as his daug- gah! Stop it, brain!

I made an excuse and drifted away, wandering around the ranch for a while and talking with my parents before heading out again. The daily grind was real, and just because Athena would need to rest didn't mean that I could slack off with training the rest of my Pokemon.

***

That being said, a large chunk of the next few days was spent helping Athena control her new powers and the emotions that came with them. To varying degrees of success.

"Patience now," I chided as a low growl started building in her throat. With a deep sigh, she relaxed again, despite the Mankey, Pansear, and Komala hanging off of her. The monkey Pokemon were scrambling all over her, while the Komala just quietly dozed, hanging off Athena's left arm. Impressive, I hadn't even noticed her slipping up and climbing up until she was already there. Quite sneaky for one so sleepy.

That drew another flash of irritation from my Pokemon, and even if she managed to avoid vocalizing it, I could still see it in the tension she held and the way her furs bristled.

"Athena, don't be upset just because I find other Pokemon interesting too. Everyone has their own skills and powers; that doesn't diminish your own."

That earned a grumble from her. Not necessarily a disagreement, but more an 'I don't like it.' If she's this involved in what I'm saying and feeling, the meditation probably isn't going anywhere.

Waving the Pokemon off of her, I circled around to face her. "Hey, this training is just as important as the rest of your practice. You know you only lost to Dun that first time because you lost yourself.

My Lucario huffed, clearly unhappy about the loss, despite the fact that she had improved greatly since then. So far she's won two out of three rematches, even with me guiding Dun once she won the first time. And she's only going to get so much stronger.

'I feel frustrated with myself. I should be better than this, have greater control. Dun must think me a fool, to have such little self-control.'

"Hey, none of that now; you're doing good. This is just a bit of a learning curve. Every Mon has that when they evolve. Given our limited windows to train those powers, it makes sense that you'd be having difficulty. Especially with that technique." I wonder if I suggested it too soon. It would be really cool if she could pull it off, but using Aura that way will be tricky, even for an expert like her.

My words didn't seem to reach her and I paused. "Wait, what was that about Dun." She stiffened up at my words, and if it weren't for her fur, I'd swear that she would have been blushing.

'I jus- just wanna beat him, that's all!' I mentally appended a 'baka' onto the end of her sentence, smiling slightly. Ah right, she's always had a bit of an infatuation/obsession with him. Now that she's evolved too, makes sense that she wants to show off.

"Don't worry about it. There are bumps in everyone's training; remember the time he practiced Ice Beam with his tail, aimed too low and froze his own head?" That earned a small smirk from the jackal-like Pokemon as she remembered that incident. He broke out almost immediately and acted like nothing had happened, but the whole team was howling at that.

Dun was hardly the only one with a funny story about a mistake or gaff they had made - all of us had something like that. "We're a team, right? We've all seen each other at our highest and lowest points. If something didn't go well recently, then just do better tomorrow. You'll practice and get more control, and by the time we face on Tyme, you'll be sure to wow Dun and everyone with how much you've grown." Those words brought her a bit of comfort for a minute, but as she resumed meditating, I could feel her thoughts spiraling again.

Athena was brought out of her brooding by a long lick from the Drampa, who had wandered over. Billy trailed behind him, huffing and puffing, out of breath. There was like twelve meters between us; you can't be exhausted from that!

An angry bark from Athena had Drampa wilting backward, looking sad. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it," Billy quickly leapt to the Pokemon's defense.

"True, I think Athena is just a bit upset about other matters." At a gentle nudge from me, she let out a grunt that could be interpreted as an apology, which had the Dragon Type perking back up quickly. "She can be a bit prickly when you catch her off guard," I continued, while sending a pulse of contrition to her for using her as an example for this. "You don't always know every aspect of a Pokemon when you first meet them, or even after spending a few days with them."

Much like humans, they constantly find ways to surprise you. My father didn't seem to get it, however. "I feel like I know Drampa perfectly already. He's bursting with Glitterati enthusiasm!" The Dragon in question leaned into some cuddles from Billy, happy but not showing the usual draconic pride at praise. His species wasn't noted for that, but they were noted for surprising bouts of anger.

No guarantee he has that; not every Pokemon exactly matches their Pokemon entry, but still. Wouldn't hurt to check that out, though. Jumping to a seemingly unrelated topic, I suggested, "Hey, do you think you want to battle with him? It'd be a good chance to get to know him better and-"

"Yes!" He eagerly exclaimed, clearly needing no other excuses. "I challenge you to a battle!"

There was a moment of silence, my father's proud declaration and dramatic finger pointing at me turning awkward as I, Athena, and Drampa just gave him a look. After a moment, I chuckled. "Great Glitterati eagerness there, but I think my team might be a bit much for Drampa at this point." To say nothing of the difference in skill between us as Trainers. "Why don't you battle Mom with a Pokemon she chooses from the ranch as well?"

I had my suspicions about what Pokemon she'd use, and (after clearing the match in the ranch with Jim) I was proven correct, though not quite in the way I'd expected.

"Oh, I'd love to, dear," she answered Billy's challenge. "But I just don't know which of these two cuties I should use!" She despaired looking between two, nigh identical plush white mouse-looking Pokemon.

"Uhh, actually Tandemaus counts as one Pokemon for battling and catching," I mentioned, sweatdropping a little. The Tandemaus chittered in amusement.

"Whaaaat? How does that work?" O'Nare questioned.

"Actually, it's a really interesting phenomenon. I think it has something to do with linking their Auras up on a very tight level, closer than most regular bonds can work. While they are distinct beings with their own personalities and minds, when they're so closely linked, they can sort of sync up their thoughts and act as one, letting a Pokeball catch them together. It also means that there are deleterious effects upon both of them if they're forcibly separated - not that you need to worry about that for the relatively small space for the space you have to battle in."

I gestured at the corner that had been cleared for them before clamping my mouth shut. Whoops, went a bit too far there. Don't want Mom to worry, but I shouldn't be giving either one of them advice here. I reached for Notch's Pokeball before catching a subtle shake of Athena's head.

She must have caught onto my plan and the precaution I want to take here. Not really her forte, but with an Aura construct, she might be able to… I quickly nodded at her before focusing my attention on my parents.

Jim laid down the rules quickly. "Alright, this should be a nice, fun battle. Fight till the other Pokemon is down or surrenders; let's not go too far here." With a gesture to the Kadabra standing nearby, a barrier was raised in a cube around the space. "Ready, set, begin!"

"O-Okay, go, attack!" Billy called out first, eagerness clashing with a lack of experience. For his part, Drampa looked confused for a second but then followed the command as best he could, raising up a Twister around the Tandemaus pair and tossing them about the arena.

O'Nare furrowed her brow, eyes darting rapidly about the field before she gave an order. "Converge on Drampa, hit him from both sides!" The mouse-like Pokemon rapidly ran at the Dragon, giving him no time to escape before slapping him, knocking his head first one way, then the other.

"Play Nice!" Billy cried, and the Dragon reached out, grabbing each Tandemaus by one hand and dancing in a circle with them. They seemed quite happy and were hesitant to attack the Drampa at O'Nare's orders even after the Dragon released them. Despite that, their Play Rough really hit the Dragon hard. Nice, they're both getting the hang of strategy, at least a little bit.

The battle continued like that, with Billy on a more defensive and disruptive strategy to O'Nare's aggressive one. It seemed like my father might have the edge until my mom used her special weapon.

"Super Fang!" The Tandemaus charged in, teeth shining bright, each pair striking through Drampa's scales as if they weren't even there. A lucky hit that took out a lot of Drampa's health. Super Fang has to aim for critical spots on the enemy Pokemon, so for them to both hit different ones was lucky, but quite strong.

Drampa had his own secret trick, the beast letting out a splitting howl that shook the barrier. Tossing the Tandemaus off of him, he began spitting out dragon fire without any orders on Billy's part.

Mom cried, "Get out of the way!" Which was enough to let the dazed mice roll aside, avoiding the Dragon Breath. The attack then hit into the barrier, shattering it.

"What in tarnation-?" Jim began as my father was calling for Drampa to stop, to no avail. I stepped forward, nodding to Athena, and she was in front of the rampaging Dragon in the blink of an eye. Pushing his head up and letting the Dragon Breath pass harmlessly into the air above.

He began to struggle, but a giant hand of Aura reached out from Athena and clasped him tight. Then she raised a paw and sent a pulse of Psychic energy into the Drampa; the Dragon Type instantly drooped, and his struggles stopped.

Hypnosis? No, he doesn't look sleepy, just calm. Did she use Calm Mind on someone else? That's incredible! My musings were cut off by the sudden bout of action as Tandemaus jumped up, the pair slapping the top of Drampa's head and knocking him out, earning a moment of stunned silence from the rest of us.

"... I know we didn't call the match off, but if the barrier breaks and other Pokemon are jumping in, the match is over," I informed Tandemaus. The duo at least had the decency to look a bit sheepish at that.

Billy rushed over with Potions to heal Drampa, while praising O'Nare for her battling skills. His wife did much the same, boasting about the strength Drampa showed while holding the Tandemaus close and snuggling them.

Good to see that everyone is getting along and that my parents are one step closer to their goals. As Athena walked back, I said, "Good job there; that was an impressive trick."

"Only that. Just a trick. So far away still from that technique you want me to master."

"Perhaps, but each journey begins with the first steps. Trite, but true. You remember me telling you about how frustrated I got with my Aura progress at first?" Looking her in the eyes, she nodded. "It's like that. All the training you're doing here helps immensely. It might also end up being one of those 'cool but impractical' ideas, so we'll see how it goes. Just be proud of how far you've come. Or, if you're worried about those feelings overwhelming you again, then at least respect the effort you've put in, as you do for mine."

At that, she bowed to me, one paw clasped in the other. I returned the gesture to her before clasping her forearm.

***

With my parents' battle done, the other Pokemon, some staff, and others just part of the ranch stepped in to help fix the terrain. With several Grass Types around, they were able to patch over the ground quickly. It wasn't instantaneous, but after about fifteen minutes, most of the damage looked as it would if humans had spent a couple of days working it over. Not that everyone was happy about it.

"That's why we don't have many Dragon Types," I heard the ranch owner mutter under his breath as he took in the few remaining burnt patches of field before us. It's easy to take these things for granted when you don't have a different frame of reference to compare it to.

"I had wondered about that," I responded in a far more conversational tone, earning a slight jump from the big man as I approached. "There are a fair number of Dragon dens not too far from here. Tatsugiri, Dreepy, Gible, and Dratini are all fairly common, and yet you only have Applin, a few Goomy, and the one Drampa."

"Applin don't go wrecking the place if they throw a fit."

"Remind me not to introduce you to Kieran's Applin," I quipped before I thought about it and realized he'd have no context. "Ah, he's just a friend of mine. Honestly, his Applin isn't prone to wanton destruction, actually, but he's a well-trained battler and strong enough to cause at least as much damage as Drampa did. I'm looking forward to a rematch." Should I send Bahumat against him next time, Dragon vs. Dragon? Or Nightwing? Probably Nightwing; I imagine his starter will be evolved by then, so we can have a rematch with both of our now-evolved Pokemon. Oh, and I should send him some Eviolite for his birthday.

"I love all Types of Pokemon, but Dragons can be a bit temperamental. You might be a great Trainer, but a lotta folks, they don't know how ta handle 'em. And the nearby ones have fierce parents. Don't think anyone would want to tangle with Ol' Waterspout over yonder," he said, pointing at the Collonade Hollow.

Right, it's a Water Tera Type. I knew that Garchomp was a Tera Pokemon but forgot what Type. My answering grin caused the man to pale dramatically.

"You- you're going to- you can't go and fight the Garchomp!" He exclaimed, his accent slipping. "I know you think you're some hotshot, but-"

"I'll be f-" I cut myself off from the smugness radiating off of Athena. "I'll take every precaution to ensure I'm safe. Besides, I do need to give Athena a good fight, and I think this will be that."

The man still seemed worried, but there was nothing he could do to stop me. I informed my parents as well before heading out, and they were remarkably less concerned. Then again, they know me better and don't know this wild Tera Pokemon nearly as well as someone who has lived here.

'Experience and Wisdom.' Came Athena's mocking, empathic voice, and I glared at her as I ran across the plains towards the Hollow. Normally, I'd be making great gliding leaps as I covered the land, but I was trying to conserve my Aura before using Mega Evolution. Using it had gotten slightly easier, but still far from the point that I could casually activate it or risk it when tired.

"I don't see you turning around either," I groused before sighing. "Ok, fine, you come by the overconfidence honestly; I should be careful around the Garchomp. And I will be."

True to my word, before entering the Hollow, I released Notch and Nightwing, then after a moment's consideration, Miles. "Notch and Miles, I want you two to make an extra strong barrier to keep the Garchomp in and from going after the rest of us. Nightwing, you can handle outside threats."

Once they all agreed, I called upon the Keystone, Mega Evolving Athena. The rest of my Pokemon were well used to this transformation by now, though I felt it was still an awesome sight. Nightwing pretended she wasn't interested, miming a yawn afterwards, earning a semi-playful swat from a giant Aura Hand, smacking the Gliscor down.

"Enough fighting, we'll get plenty of that-" A loud roar from within the depths interrupted me. "-Inside," I finished, any jovial cheer taking a back seat to seriousness as we entered.

The rocky space felt at once enclosed and massive, the ceiling yawning high overhead, yet the thick sheet of rock blocking out the sun from above. Light still streamed in from the side, and through pillars of stone, the gentle plains were visible but separate from the Hollow. Like a television screen. Clear and close, but feeling like a second world from this one.

Plenty of Pokemon scuttled around in the gloom of the Hollow, but the few that tried to get close to me were driven off by Nightwing swooping down to terrorize them, cackling as she did so. The others aren't very strong here, at least not in comparison to my team. I can feel down to my bones, though, that the Garchomp will be different.

Part of why I could feel it that deep was in how much the ground shook as it roared, the frequency increasing as we approached. Clearly, it can sense us approach-

A flash above caught my eye, and I leapt back. That still wouldn't have been enough had Nightwing not interposed herself inbetween me and the sparkling Garchomp, a Protect stopping the landshark's deadly claws cold.

"Circle throw! Barriers up!" I shouted quickly to Athena and the rest of my team. She shot forward, pulling the Garchomp by her elbow and tossing her atop one of the massive pillars nearby, following before the wild Pokemon had landed. Notch and Miles conjured an impressive barrier up from the cavernous floor up to well above the pillar where my Pokemon and the Dragon now clashed.

Grabbing onto Nightwing, I was pulled up to a far narrower but taller pillar to get a view of the fight. From here I could see the water spout Tera jewel 'hat' above the wild Pokemon's head as she violently screamed. The Garchomp rushed violently at Athena, but the Mega Pokemon simply danced around the attacks, letting the wild Pokemon crash into the rock, creating large craters. I doubt she'll break the pillar intentionally, but there is a chance that Garchomp could do that in her rage. I do appreciate Athena taking the time to set up a bit with Dancing Sword.

"Trailblaze!" My voice echoed out through the Hollow, and Athena rushed ahead. Green energy surrounded her as she smacked hard into Garchomp, the blow striking hard into the Pokemon's side. Not without a return shot from the Dragon Type, however, her claws cutting a narrow slice out of Athena's fur.

For her part, there was barely a wince of pain, and she used the speed boost well, easily avoiding a Liquidation as Garchomp chased after her. With Mega Evolution she was already slightly faster; now she greatly outpaces him.

"Extreme Speed, then Close Combat!" My eyes lost track of them for a moment again, just the blurring motion of fighting as two bounced around the top of the large pillar. Even when the motion across slowed down enough to make out their position, Athena's arms and legs were a blur that I couldn't precisely pin down.

They sure are hurting Garchomp, though. Despite the wild Pokemon's impressive durability, I could see even her thick scales breaking and denting under the flurry of blows. Before Athena could escape, however, a counterattack was launched. Stomping the ground to shake it at the same time as her two fin blades cut down on my Mega Lucario's shoulders Bulldozed her down into the ground, up to her knees.

Pinned like that, Garchomp began tearing into her with a wild thrash. The Move wasn't very effective, beating against Athena's iron-hard bones, but the sheer power Garchomp carried was enough to bruise my Pokemon.

"Toss her off, then Rock Throw!" I shouted. With an Aura Whip wrapped around Garchomp's leg, she chucked the Dragon away from her before pulling up a piece of stone and tossing that at the wild Pokemon after. Garchomp quickly caught herself mid-air and began flying towards Athena, but dodging around the stone she had tossed gave her time to break free of the stone holding her (the rock being pulled from around her feet made it easier to break free as well).

Jumping above her opponent, Athena landed down on the Garchomp's head with a powerful kick, knocking her back down onto the pillar. As she alighted down, a tidal wave of water erupted from nowhere, conjured purely by the screaming Garchomp below.

The wave didn't hit Athena hard, but it did force her back and cause us both to lose sight of the wild Tera Pokemon as the water rushed over the sides of their battle stage. My keen sight picked out the small funnel of water going straight down the middle of the stage, however, and Athena's Aura Sight likely gave her the same knowledge; the Garchomp had burrowed through the rock.

Athena wasn't about to wait and just let her pop back up, raising a leg up high before glancing at me. My quick nod was all the sign she needed to strike down, driving her foot, superimposed by a larger Aura leg, into the ground. The resulting Earthquake shook the cavern slightly, but most of the force was contained by the pillar, which violently splintered apart, breaking off into chunks.

The barrier meant there were no Pokemon on the ground in range of the pillar, but many nearby still scrambled back in a fright as they heard and saw the rocks raining down in a devastating storm. Intermixed with the thunder was a sharp cry of pain from the Garchomp. From the dust, she created a massive storm of sand, a Sand Tomb larger and much taller than I had ever seen, trapping Athena within. Without waiting for a command from me, she let out a sharp cry, ensconcing herself in a sphere of Aura and pushing the grating particles away, breaking free.

A quick Vacuum Wave directed her out of the lower, still remaining half of the Sand Tomb as she fell, but Garchomp, despite her many injuries, pushed ahead, running to the spot where Athena would land.

She can't have too much energy left, but there's no sense in risking things here. No need to go all out when she can win by taking it slow. "Drain Punch," I commanded as they met, and my Mega Pokemon's fists slammed into Garchomp as the Tera Pokemon's claws cut into her. As they pulled away, Athena was rejuvenated while Garchomp looked worse than ever.

"Extreme Aura Sphere, finish it!" It wasn't quite the ultimate technique I was hoping for from this power-up, but it would be a significant stepping stone to what I envisioned. One that she performed gloriously. A vast barrage of Aura Spheres of varying sizes blasted across the cavern, too quick for Garchomp to dodge. After one knocked her back, the others did too, some of which had been spread out to catch Garchomp if she had managed to move away, curving in, each one slamming into her and breaking her defenses down further until the final shot exploded.

Blinking the spots out of my eyes, I saw Garchomp, kneeling on the ground, her Terastalization fading away as she heaved, defeated. Her yellow eyes glared up at me, but she couldn't bring herself to move towards even Athena, let alone myself.

For her part, Athena had a few bloody scrapes on her but nothing serious, but I could tell from the slight shake to her arms that she was tired too. Still, she gave Garchomp a respectful bow before walking away.

Calling off the barrier, I had Nightwing carry down a small satchel filled with berries down to Garchomp before turning and leaving. I didn't hear her move for a moment, but hunger and fatigue beat out pride, and I soon heard her chomping down rabidly into the berries, the energy they gave helping her lick her wounds.

As we left the Hollow, Athena's Mega Evolution stopped, and she shifted back, dropping to one knee for a second, tired from the strain.

'How did I do?'

The grin that stretched across my face would have told her the answer even if she couldn't sense my emotions, but I spoke my answer anyway. "You did amazing. Keep that up, and you'll sweep Tyme."

"Lucario!" 'You bet I will!'

"Gar gar?" Nightwing asked from the side.

"What?! No, we aren't literally betting that."

"Gli li."

"Don't call me a coward, and no, you can't bet anyways if I'm not-"

***

After some 'spirited' discussion, we made it back to the ranch as the sun was setting. Today is the last day they have off; after this, I'll be back on my own. Not that I've ever really been 'on my own' for the journey.

To no one's surprise, I found my parents beside familiar Pokemon. "So I take it you've made your choices?" They nodded, glancing down at the Tandemaus and Drampa beside each of them. The two Normal Types had clearly made friends with each other after the battle and were happily chatting away. "Even if they have some aggression or rage issues?" I pressed.

"'Yes."" Their unified declaration was firm, and I saw steel in their eyes. They had noted potential issues from their battle but were prepared to grow together with their chosen Pokemon.

"Alright then, congrats on your first steps as Pokemon Trainers!" I announced. As I raised my arms up, they swooped down and grabbed me in a tight hug.

"Thank you for all your help in guiding us here."

"You shine like a true, brilliant Glitterati already."

"Ah, thanks."

Mom cleared her throat and backed off. "Sorry if we got too worried about you. It's clear you can handle yourself." I had informed them before we went off to fight the Garchomp of what I was doing, which had them a little nervous, but I didn't think they realized how powerful a Garchomp (and that on in particular) could be. But I also showed them the video Miles had recorded of the fight, and demonstrated both the Dragon's strength... and how much greater our own was.

"I hope you can for-" Before she could continue, I vehemently shook my head.

"No, no, I'm sorry for worrying you guys. You're my parents; it's your job to worry."

"Actually it's our job to run a large electronics company and real estate firm," Billy cheekily pointed out, rubbing his watery eyes. I rolled mine in response.

"But seriously, thank you for caring. I- I don't know how to describe how bad life would be without you in it, so thank you for everything. And I'll promise to take more precautions in the future." Not to say I won't do anything dangerous; some paths are thorny and can't be avoided. But I'll try to tackle them smarter from now on.

We had one last dinner together at a fancy restaurant. They bought the whole place out for us, including my Pokemon and Cash & Kin (Tandemaus) and Happy (Drampa). My parents left early in the morning to get back to work, while my journey continued. Next stop, Montevenera.

Pokemon ranches/farms are an interesting concept that really brushes up against that muddy line of 'how sentient Pokemon are treated as.' Hopefully I do it justice here (or at least it was fun to read). And we got to see a bit more of what Athena's been feeling and what she can do now that she has a basic handle on her Mega Evolution.

There were a lot of fun ideas for what Pokemon the elder Glitterati might get here (and no promises I won't steal some of these ideas for the future) but these were two Pokemon I really liked and felt fit well with them. Tandemaus/Maushold and Drampa were also Pokemon I originally had planned for Nemona herself, but ultimately got cut from the roster on account of other Pokemon filling their roles, as well as just leaving her with too many Normal Types (seriously, there were so many Normal Types to start, and even now I get to at least four by the endgame). But what did you think of the choices for Billy and O'Nare?

As a heads up, we won't actually be hopping immediately to the next Gym but instead checking on Geeta in an Interlude next time. Thank you so much for reading, and if you're interested feel free to join the the Discord to talk about it. And if you like my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you and have a great day.

unlawfulwaffle362 · Jun 4, 2025

I wanna give Tandemaus a Wide Lens to increase accuracy, but my inner sith wants a King's Rock instead.

Lillie Jones · Jun 4, 2025

Thanks for the chapter

Spearow · Jun 5, 2025

Not everyone needs to become a pokemon trainer, not everyone can become a pokemon trainer, i disagree with nemona.

Skyfyre · Jun 5, 2025

unlawfulwaffle362 said:
I wanna give Tandemaus a Wide Lens to increase accuracy, but my inner sith wants a King's Rock instead.

Haha, fair. Both can be very ~~diabolical~~ 'fun.'

Spearow said:
Not everyone needs to become a pokemon trainer, not everyone can become a pokemon trainer, i disagree with nemona.

I mean, I don't think I had her say that everyone needs to become a trainer, though it does sorta feel like everyone can become one if they try. What being a trainer means to them will vary for each person, but it is generally possible for everyone.

Skyfyre · Jun 11, 2025

Thank you for my 20 Beginner Tier Patreons for their support and extra special thanks to my Ace Tier supporter, RageLord!

Geeta POV

Placing down my pen, I sat down behind my desk, allowing myself just a moment to relax. The piles of paper on my desk were neatly organized and not urgent. Though there is enough of it that even with my larger desk as Vice Chairwoman of the League, I have less free space now than I did when I was just a regular worker.

A knock on my door interrupted my peace, and for a moment, I imagined the notion of simply not answering it. That dream was sadly interrupted by a woman's voice asking, "Vice Chairwoman? I'm from the Joy Clan, here about a matter I'd like the League to investigate." I'm aware of that; the only question is who- "One of your aides sent me up." She continued, neatly answering the question I had been thinking of.

"Come in," I said calmly, composing myself so I wouldn't give any outward signs of annoyance. It was a skill I had plenty of practice with this past year as I'd acclimated to my new position… and started aiming higher.

The door opened up, a thick oak thing leading the Nurse Joy into a rather modest office. She took in the navy blue walls, the dark antique grandfather clock in the corner, and me at my desk. There was little else adorning my space, just a seat on either side of the desk, and the one on her side was an unfortunate concession to the reality that occasionally I would have to entertain someone else in my office. Like now.

"Please, take a seat." I gestured in front of me, and the woman did so, straightening out her Nurse tank top uniform. Her hair was a vibrant pink, indicating that she had been born into the clan, if I hadn't known it already. Her youth, and the fact that she wore the uniform even while off-duty, spoke to a lack of confidence that she felt the need to bolster with her family name.

She placed down a small folder with some documents beside her, and I resisted the urge to sigh. They won't be enough to make the case she wants, but it is enough to force me to spend my time on dismissing them. "What's the issue you seem to be facing?"

Seeing how she presented herself would give me a better image of her character and how I could best deal with her. The Nurse nodded and began her spiel. "I've been trying to contact the League several times about a worrisome case I came across in my work in Alfornada. A young Trainer demonstrated several unusual tendencies in how they treated their Pokemon. Signs of going too far in battles and evasiveness combined with hostility when asked questions about their Pokemon."

As she spoke, she passed over some papers, the reports including the scans of Nemona's team and an incident report she had filled out of this 'hostility.'. I quickly scanned them over. Very professional, neutral tone, but plenty to read between the lines. Both in what this Nurse is getting at and what she's obfuscating. Nemona herself isn't mentioned by name by this, but I'm familiar with her team to tell it's her.

"I see. And what do you intend to do with this?"

My still neutral tone put her on the back foot. Spluttering, she said. "We-well I plan to start an inquiry into the treatment of her Pokemon and how they were acquired." Acquired? Hmm. Discreetly, I pulled up Nemona's record on my Rotom Phone under my desk, sending it to my computer.

"Not a formal infraction on her record or a request to determine the viability of her keeping her Pokemon?" I asked, pulling out the paper with Riolu's medical information on it.

"Ah, no. I'd rather not jump to any conclusions. Those injuries are not a good sign, but I wouldn't want anything so harsh or lasting. Especially since she might not be to blame for some of her bad tendencies."

There was a pause where I nodded my head before I spoke up. "Denied," I spoke simply, gathering up her papers and passing them back to her. "Have a nice da-"

"What do you mean denied?! Why?" She angrily demanded, and this time I did allow myself to sigh.

"Because these papers, no matter how many scary implications you wish to sprinkle throughout them, would not qualify for such an investigation, not even close. If Nemona's Riolu showed up to your Pokemon Center that badly hurt a dozen times in a row, it still wouldn't be enough." Admittedly, if that was the case, then she would be balancing on the razor's edge of acceptable behavior, but still.

"I- my clan will hear about this, mark my words!" She stood up violently, the chair making a slight scraping sound against the hardwood floor.

"I imagine they already have, and that they rejected your claim for similar reasons as I have." Though hardly limited to only those ones.

Rather than leave, she furrowed her brow, thinking about something I said. The look would have been cute on her had she not been so personally frustrating to me. "How did you know it was Nemona?" She finally asked, suspiciously staring at me.

In response, I turned around my computer, showing her the (low clearance) records of all her Pokemon. "No one else in Paldea has a team like hers, and she's become a rather popular figure of late. It wasn't hard to figure out." I had considered trying to mention that I knew her personally and could vouch for her character before immediately dismissing that. She's got her mind set about this, and after so many rejections, she has probably built up a slight mistrust of institutions.

"These are files you should be able to access too, as a Nurse Joy, Amelia," I said, casually dropping her first name. "You wanted to investigate the origins of her Pokemon, but most of these are quite clearly designated."

"Not all of them," the petulant older teenage girl muttered. Aha, that's your goal, very interesting.

"Her Zoroark's existence is covered under an NDA provided by one of our famed Pokemon Professors. Is that not trustworthy enough for you?" I asked rhetorically. Hypocritically as well because it certainly isn't enough for me. Friede left the country with barely any notice shortly thereafter, quitting his job and going to bum around in Kanto. And I only found that out because he hadn't bothered hiding it; he just hadn't chosen to announce it either. Sada is worse; she's practically been a Ghost Type since she and Turo split. Sightings of her occur here and there occasionally, but sporadic enough that tracking her is difficult.

Rather than leave or get angrier, Amelia resorted to desperate pleading. "I know there's something more going on there; I'm sure of it. Probably her parents and less so Nemona-"

"If you're going to behave so recklessly, you should at least make that fact clear. I'm certain that her parents will come down much harder on you if they thought you were after their daughter rather than them." A cold comfort, truly. A boulder falling on you is almost as likely to squish you flat as a mountain certainly would.

"You're all just protecting her because you're scared of pissing off her parents!" The young woman hissed, her eyes getting redder as she lost more of her composure.

"I assure you, I am not protecting her because I am worried about the consequences of the Glitterati family. I have rejected your requests - all three times they've landed on my desk prior - because they do not have a strong enough basis in reality." That being said, if they did have strong enough evidence to bear further investigation, I might then be warned off by her parents. No one wants the Paldean economy to collapse because the League pissed off the wrong nine-year-old.

"I understand your job is one that requires deep personal connections to the Pokemon you look after and I'm sure that must evoke strong feelings. For now I just ask that you wait and watch how her progress goes; as I mentioned, her run has attracted many eyes of the world upon her. I'm sure if she were on the wrong path, someone else would notice."

Then, to toss a Growlithe a bone, I added, "Here." I had my Rotom Phone send her a message.

"What's this?"

"The email address of Professor Friede, the one who found that Zorua you seem so interested in. He's under the NDA as well, from the Exceed corporation, but perhaps he can at least reassure you that things are fine."

That mollified her enough to mulishly nod and trudge out of my office. Finally. I wonder why she was so interested in that Zoroark of Nemona's? Its coloration and Typing certainly make it a unique specimen, but hardly one so troublesome for a Nurse Joy to spend so much time trying to look into this. I'll have to do some of my own investigation into the matter.

Giving the paperwork on my desk one last, regretful look, I shook my head and stood from my chair. With how distracted I am by Nemona, I'll get nothing done at the moment.

The internal hallways of the League building were a bit softer than the stark white outside, but were still a very plain beige. This way and that other bureaucrats marched about checking their phones or reading over documents. The League system was designed to be slightly more 'hands-off' in governing the land, but there were still plenty of piles of work for all the officials to go through every day.

Walking down to the lounge room, I saw a bulletin board. Several papers were stuck on it, from internal League memos to offers to take up special training to prepare officials for advancement within the League or to branch out to the Ranger Corp or become Gym Trainers. There were also sillier things, like chess groups or 'Makuhita Karaoke.'.

What caught my eye the most, however, was the poster of Raifort we had made up. Some jokester had decided to spice it up by making this copy look old, the paper crinkled and brown. The sketch (framed elegantly by the fancy border drawn around it) made the young woman seem almost glamorous, were it not for the bolded words 'POACHER' at the bottom. In cursive, they wrote 'Wanted Alive Only' and an outrageous bounty for help in catching her.

We do offer some Pokedollars for good Samaritans helping us, but hardly that many zeros on our rewards. The fact that it then clearly states to keep her alive clearly indicates she's far more important than implied by her crimes… I shook my head helplessly as I entered the lounge. The quiet chatter stopped for just a second as the other employees recognized me before starting up again.

Wonder what they're saying this time? Honestly, probably nothing about me, but after the 'sweeping' changes I had made, cutting out some of the worst excesses of the League, everyone acts scared around me. That or overly congratulatory. I think I hate the latter more than the former. They were the ones who talked to me the most, however, so I used them to hear about what was going on within the League, and they'd had plenty to say to me lately, particularly about the Raifort situation.

A few colleagues had not so discreetly indicated how doing such a thing would be a great win. 'A feather in my cap' or so they say. Ha! I'd just look like the Glitterati's Haxorus woman if that 'worked out,' sent from the League to chop any problems down for those tycoons. I already have enough suspicion of that since I worked alongside their investigator prior to dealing with the judge scandal.

I didn't regret that (not the least of which because it made the League less corrupt and helped me climb the ranks), but it did leave me in an awkward spot here. One which was made further pressing by Margret Houndooming me at every opportunity she got (sometimes literally), trying to lead the investigation down certain paths.

It left her greatly at odds with Oberon, but the Fairy Type Gym Leader was hardly a match for the Dark Type Elite Four even before his latest slump. Not super noticeable this season, but that's because most of the attention is on Nemona right now, and Alfornada is rather remote anyway. He too had a vested interest in this case and had the gall to try and force me to place ever greater assets on it, playing up the 'importance' of the actions of one thief.

In the end, politics was about compromise. So I left out Raifort's last name in the wanted bulletins and made a note to law enforcement to avoid lethal measures at all costs while leaving the 'poaching' charge of dubious validity. If my sources didn't say that Oberon was looking into training a replacement, I'd be looking into ways to shuffle the old man out myself.

The League Lounge room was slightly more colorful than the hallways that led into it. The walls were light gray with portraits of prominent past Champions hung all over them. There were some red leather couches off to the side and a few coffee tables. Beside the kitchenette was a fridge, which I made a Combeeline to, grabbing out my lunch.

Sitting down by myself at one of the tables, I took the first bite of my sandwich and stared out at the portraits. So much power is held by each of these Trainers, the best and brightest of Paldea.

"Do you think my face would look good there?" A voice brought me out of my thoughts, and I turned to face the slightly aggravating man. Miguel sat down across from me, his hair even messier than usual, if that was possible. "Or maybe over there?" He pointed to another spot on the wall.

"Are you so eager to leave us? We only put those portraits up for former champions after all. Such a shame, you fought so hard to get here-"

"Aww geez, no need to be rushing me out the door already, Vice Chair; I was just thinking about the future." He placed his elbows on the table and propped up his chin in his hands as he leaned over. He caught my gaze and smirked. "Besides, it's not like you aren't thinking the same. Want to take a shot at my spot?"

"I'm afraid I don't have time for such an endeavor; I'm busy with my duties." My light dig at his lackadaisical approach to his own did nothing to deter his cheer. Probably because despite his eccentricities, his eye is keen and fitting for his rank. He's well aware that I would like to be the Top Champion. If I had started Training in earnest a little earlier… But then, 'could-have-beens' didn't help anyone, and I knew that if I had pursued a greater focus on being a Trainer, I'd be much further away from my other goal, to become the Chairwoman of the League.

"I'm plenty busy; I just finished a bout of training my team. Gotta keep in tip-top shape, you know? I'm sure you do; the practice courts are practically the only place you're seen other than at work."

"Work is usually what we do here, yes," I drawled, considering his offer as I finished my food. "A short match with you does sound invigorating, though." He fist-pumped before I continued. "After which you'll hopefully have the time to start attending to other duties, like protecting the Area Zero investigation team."

He pouted, sticking his lip out. "I know, but we already have Hassel and Martha on it-"

"And they deserve a break," I interjected. "Plus, you aren't the only one who needs to train their team up to face Nemona in the near future," I pointed out, cutting to the heart of the matter.

"Ah, fair, fair. Ok, I'll do it. Oh, better actually grab a bite to eat and meet you down there. While we're on that topic, though… Have you considered passing along that request I sent on her behalf?"

I frowned, casting my mind back to the stacks of paperwork I needed to get through. "Requesting the Kalosian and Alolan Leagues to let Nemona and a friend have access to a Diancie den? Yes, I can pass it along. The access might be limited in some ways, and the other Leagues definitely won't let it be unrestricted, but I don't see an issue with it."

As I stood up, I asked him, "Why are you so insistent on it though? Do you really think her plan will work?"

He gave a winning grin, showing off the charisma that had let him win over much of Paldea, despite his long sojourn from his homeland. "Why not? Crazier things have happened. Figure she'll learn something either way, and if it does… then our battle will be legendary."

Literally, if it works. Nodding, I left, sweeping through the halls. It was easy enough to see his angle there. She's already shown a willingness to use Mega Evolution in battles with her Lucario. If she had a Mega Diancie to clash against Miguel's Mega Salamence, win or lose, that would create an impression that would capture the public zeitgeist and change their opinions on it.

Miguel had an easy confidence and upbeat attitude, which earned him more fans than his predecessor, but his use of Mega Evolution was an issue that divided the public. People have really taken to Terastalization, especially with the Tera Sphere donated to the Masters Eight tournament and Uva getting their Tera Course up and running. The fact that the Tera Orbs can be mass-produced means that it will almost certainly always be more popular than Mega Evolution, but a big battle like that with Nemona might at least make it more acceptable in people's eyes.

The question was if Nemona could evolve her Carbink. I had every faith she'd put on a great show regardless, but the Diancie was key to Miguel's plans. For almost anyone else, I'd be leery of letting them go to a Legendaries den, even chaperoned. The temptation to catch the Legendary would be too high for many a Trainer, but I couldn't see Nemona trying anything like that; she fought furiously against poachers after all.

That's part of the problem, in fact. I mused as I walked to the elevator and went down, heading underground to the battle courts below. She's a good girl, but hardly perfect. Which shouldn't be the concern of any little girl, to be 'perfect,' but we need that from the next La Primera. Which, sadly, she seems well on her path to being.

With a ding, the elevator doors opened, and I stepped out into a small hallway leading to the Battle Courts. Opening the heavy blast doors, they revealed the massive underground chamber, carved out just to let the League Officials train and practice with their Pokemon. Multiple battle courts were set up around a large field with tracks and obstacle courses in various corners. All the equipment was state-of-the-art, if not quite as high quality as what the Elite Challenge Room or Champion Field had, well above us.

There were always some League staffers Training here, except during routine maintenance, with even some Rangers who kept odd hours practicing in-between deployments at night. Currently the place was rather lightly occupied, only a dozen or so Trainers scattered about, plenty of space for me to find my own spot. Releasing Espathra on the track, I set her to warm up, my thoughts still swirling about Paldea's youngest prodigy.

It was apparent from the start that she was gifted; I just never pictured that she'd rise this quickly. The fact that after the scandal surrounding her first tournament she had never entered another tournament was part of what made this current development so shocking.

My Psychic Type made good time around the track, kicking up dust as she raced around. "Quick Attack side-to-side as you go!" I called out to her, and she began incorporating the Move into her routine, shunting side to side as she ran in bursts, keeping her forward momentum as she did so.

I continued like that for a few minutes until a burst of excited whispers announced Miguel's entrance. It's funny how even so many of the League staff get caught up in the 'Elite hype.'. We work with him and other Trainers similar to him every day, but something about that title catches everyone's mind. I wonder how Nemona will deal with that pressure when she's in his shoes?

Those heavy thoughts were pushed aside as the El Primero swaggered up. "Looking good, Vice Chair," he commented. His gaze was fixed on Espathra as she continued her exercise. Let's put that to the test then.

Motioning for her to stop, I said to him, "I hope you're prepared to give me a challenge. I don't intend on holding back."

"And I would be deeply disappointed if you did." His carefree smile grew a slightly fierce edge in answer, and we moved to one of the free arenas. As we did so, I noticed a few of the other staffers not-so-subtly drifting over, looking to watch our match.

I wonder what they're saying? Alas, my ears weren't keen enough to catch the contents of those whispered conversations.

Facing Miguel, I announced, "Let's keep things short. One-on-one." I deliberately didn't put any stipulation on Enhancement effects but wasn't going to use them myself; if I could force him to Terastalize or Mega Evolve, I'd count that as a victory.

"Alright, let's go, Aggron!" As his Pokeball spun through the air, my mind raced. Aggron, not great for me to face. Gogoat won't have the power to break through his defenses and Avalugg and Glimmora are weak to him. Bisharp won't be able to deal with the Body Press, so that only leaves- got it.

"Go, Espathra," I said as Aggron burst free from the ball, the floor shaking slightly as he landed down. A hulking mass of thick plates of metal layered on top of each other with a few jagged spikes jutting out atop his head, the Steel Type cut an impressive figure. The bulky red jacket fitted over his body and covering most of his torso looked almost silly in comparison to his natural defenses, but I knew it provided a huge boon to his greatest weakness.

My flightless Psychic Bird Pokemon stepped from my side and onto the arena as well, giving her foe an inquisitive look, her neck twisting back and forth to look at him with each vibrant blue eye. She stepped impatiently with her feet, antsy and ready for the battle to begin.

Miguel raised an eyebrow at my choice but otherwise didn't say a word, getting the arena to start a countdown. "The match will begin in three, two, one, begin!" The tinny voice announced, and we leapt to action.

"Feather Dance!/Double-Edge." We called at the same time, our Pokemon rushing to action. My Pokemon flapped her short wings, releasing a couple bunches of feathers into the air around her while Aggron charged in heedlessly.

"Carry through," Miguel added, and the massive Steel Type did just that, charging into and past Espathra. She nimbly stepped to the side, however Aggron stuck an arm, not quite enough to clothesline her, but the impact still clipped my Pokemon and sent her spinning to the side.

The feathers drifted down onto Aggron for only a moment before he was out of the way. Even that brief contact had his shoulders sagging, however, some of the strength sapped from his body.

Let's weaken him further. "Lumina Crash!" Espathra gathered a bunch of hexagonal panes of Psychic energy in front of her before crashing them into Aggron, who gave a pained cry. The barrier blades cut into cracks in his armor plating, opening the Champion's Pokemon up for further pain.

That attack enraged the mighty beast, who raised a claw, and at Miguel's command, unleashed a hefty Payback. The Dark Type bolts flew into my Pokemon, causing her to cry at the super-effective assault.

"Quick Attack around, then Feather Dance," I tried. That sheer strength he has is difficult to contest head-on, but that Assault Vest gives him a glaring weakness. Once I weaken him enough, he won't be able to do anything to recover from it.

That was the plan at least, as Espathra darted in, rather than clumsily swinging at her, Aggron raised a pyramid of rocks around him with a clever use of Stone Edge. The feather energy constructs landed on the cold, unfeeling stone to no avail, dissipating quickly.

"Left," was Miguel's simple command, but it was enough for Aggron, his powerful tail slapping through the side of the stone barrier he had erected and into Espathra, tripping her and sending her tumbling across the field.

"Earthquake!" He triumphantly crowed, his Pokemon doing the same and stomping his foot down on the ground. The arena shook, though there was barely anything that could be felt outside of it, the dampeners keeping the rest of the underground room safe.

"Dodge it!" I worried my cry came too late, but rapidly righting herself from the tangle she had landed in, Espathra leapt up. The earth rose enough to clip her foot, but the damage was minimal. Speed Boost isn't quite there, but we've made good progress towards it.

"Again, Lumina Crash!" I ordered while she was falling, my Psychic Type wasting no time in sending another barrage at Aggron. This time, the blow struck with far more effect, the natural resistance his Steel Type gave him countered by the injuries of the first one I had landed.

"Charge in, Payback barrage, get close!" The El Primero had realized it as well; Espathra's speed let her narrowly avoid those shots of Dark energy, which quickly petered out. Still, the maneuver let Aggron get in close, cornering my flightless bird.

"Jump over him, Feather Dance!" Her powerful legs lifted her up, well over the towering juggernaut of steel, spinning around as she went over him, and she loosed another rain of feathers down.

"Head Smash!" At his Trainer's command, Aggron rose up, sticking up straight on his tail, locking his head in… then shooting it out, smacking into Espathra above him. The sheer power of the blow sent her flying into the top of the barrier, then crashing back down to the earth below.

I held my breath, waiting to see how she took the attack, before letting out a relieved sigh as my Pokemon stood up on shaky legs. She's not doing the best, but with Aggron so weakened by all those Feather Dances and Lumina Crashes, it should be easy-

"Body Press." My eyes widened at the command, watching as Aggron launched himself over Espathra. With her legs still shaky from the previous impact, I didn't want to risk it and recalled her.

"Well done," I said softly to her inside the Pokeball before announcing louder to Miguel. "You win. That was quite well done." And very informative of where I stand. Not on that level yet, but my training hasn't been for naught either.

Aggron gave a weary but overjoyed roar of victory for the crowd as I crossed the floor to shake my opponent's hand. "Good match," I congratulated Miguel. "Your skills are shining brighter than ever." The admittance caused him to puff up his chest as he recalled his Pokemon.

"See? My hard work isn't going to waste here. 'Sides, I'll need it to face down her team. That Dudunsparce of hers managed to match Salamence. Without Mega Evolution, but still. I'm sure she's training her team at least as strong, so I've got to be tougher than ever to give her a good challenge."

"I'm glad to see you believe in her so, every young Trainer is a treasure of Paldea. She shines especially bright, like staring at the sun."

My words brought about a wistful mood from him. "You don't expect it, you know?"

"Hmm?"

"I always got told, 'You'll meet someone better than you someday.'. Got told that a heck of a lot more when I said I wanted to become Champion of Paldea, that people overseas might be better than me. And sure, maybe a handful might be, but… to face that here, from someone so young, I didn't expect it. Or maybe I wouldn't be ready no matter how old she was."

His hands trembled as he spoke, and I realized something: He's scared of losing to her. His pride as a Trainer, as the Top Champion of Paldea wouldn't let him face her at anything other than her best, but he was scared of losing to a nine-year-old girl. Or maybe not losing exactly; he's too excited to fight her for it to be just that. He's worried about being surpassed. That she won't just beat him, but someday soon, will reach a level beyond where he can stand. The sad part is he's right to be worried; he's at his peak, while she's still climbing. Such power, in the hands of a young child…

"When she wins-"

"-Ye of such little faith," he protested jokingly, but I saw a flash of hurt on his face at my perceived lack of belief in him.

"Whether that day be this year or the next or the one after, I don't want you to pass on your title. Not immediately. Continue being El Primero for a while. As you said, she's too young."

That brought an uncharacteristic frown to his face. "I know, and it's shocking how talented she is at that age. But still, if she earns it, then… besides, she's not just skilled as a Trainer but incredibly intelligent too from all accounts and what I've witnessed personally. Almost scarily bright. It might take a bit of time to get her up to speed on things, but I think she could really do it."

I shook my head. "That's what I'm worried about. I think she could too, and so if presented with that opportunity, would accept it, despite it not being in her best interests." After a moment, I spoke candidly. "She's a child; let's allow her to continue being one, at least for a while."

That's what makes her so scary - that she is just that intelligent and skilled at such a young age. Professors like Turo and Friede have taken note of her intellect. She has a good heart and the backing of her parents, one of the richest couples in the world. But even the best of people aren't invincible. I'm worried about placing undue strain on her and would rather not set up Paldea's greatest prodigy in over a century up for a prodigious fall.

I shuddered at the very thought before remembering that Miguel was still here. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get down to Area Zero. But just so you know, if I'm saving the gloves for Nemona, that means you aren't going to get your shot at them," he warned me.

"That's fine. Perhaps I'll face off against her when making my Champion challenge." That was a far-off idea; at the moment, I had paperwork to tackle. One goal at a time. Chairwoman first, then Champion rank. Waving farewell to the man, we headed back to our duties.

A glimpse at Geeta and what's going on with her, as well as other people involved with the League. Geeta's position as both Chairwoman and 'Top Champion' is an interesting one, and I like her as a character, I just wish Gamefreak had been more willing to make your first battle against her more challenging (especially for someone who claims to be bad at holding back!). At least the DLC gives a significant buff to her team.

If you liked the update, please leave a comment here or join the the Discord to talk about it. And if you like my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the later get early access to the chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

trudny1 · Jun 11, 2025

I see that they Joy is still on her crusade of hauding MC, huh. Well, thanks for the chapter.

Hotcoco · Jun 11, 2025

Tbf joy clan likely knows how you get that type of pokemon and I am pretty sure that might be the cause of why they don't exist anymore (aka they really really hate the abuse one needs to create one). Giving the professor phone number should at least give them the info they need to back off and realize that this will hopefully never happen again.

Spearow · Jun 11, 2025

The return of the evil joy, wanting to sell off the mc's pokemon to some evil team.

Skyfyre · Jun 18, 2025

trudny1 said:
I see that they Joy is still on her crusade of hauding MC, huh. Well, thanks for the chapter.

Spearow said:
The return of the evil joy, wanting to sell off the mc's pokemon to some evil team.

Hotcoco said:
Tbf joy clan likely knows how you get that type of pokemon and I am pretty sure that might be the cause of why they don't exist anymore (aka they really really hate the abuse one needs to create one). Giving the professor phone number should at least give them the info they need to back off and realize that this will hopefully never happen again.

Yeah, it's more that she's highly suspicious (possibly paranoid) of Nemona, not that she's evil.

Skyfyre · Jun 18, 2025

Thank you to my twenty Beginner Tier Patreons for supporting me, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, my Ace Tier Patreon!

Montenevera was definitely more bustling than the scant amenities surrounding Grusha's Gym, but it was still smaller than any other city I had been to. Even Zapapico felt livelier than this place. Not that I could truly blame them - we were deep into winter in one of the coldest parts of Paldea. The fact that people even built a civilization here is remarkable and speaks to how hardy humans can be.

One element it wasn't missing was a proper arena to battle in. Rather than the stage that Ryme had set up in the games, there was a large arena in its place, occupying the empty space near the top of the town, just off to the side of the Gym Building. Though I guess Ryme's rap stage must also be a League-approved battle arena as well, since you fight her on it in the games. Man, I have no idea how much it must cost to build an effective soundstage alongside all the shielding and self-repair tech needed for a Pokemon Arena. Then again, Larry had his Gym built inside a busy restaurant, so I guess Gym Leaders are just given a blank check for that.

It had plenty of covered stands set up nearby to the point that I thought you could fit the entire town around it. For the moment, a lot of those stands were empty, but it still had a decent number of spectators and people battling within. Most of them were students who seemed moderately skilled - beyond the level of just spamming attacks without strategy but not to the point where they had much by way of complex combinations. This is where they hold the 'Rising Stars' Tournament every year. I could technically compete in it, but…

"Hey, you think Nemona is going to show up today?" My ears pricked up as I heard one boy on the edge with bright, spiky blonde hair mention my name. Are they fans of mine? Cyan did mention I had some.

"I fuckin' hope so. Been waiting to teach that brat a lesson for ages," a girl with brown hair and bubblegum pink streaks tied in pigtails said.

"Her schedule is so wack, I can't keep track." A third boy said. I couldn't make out much about him as he was bundled up tight, and I didn't wish to risk getting closer to find out, despite the significant distance between us. "She'll blitz through three Gyms, then drop off the map for a month! It makes it hard to plan an ambush for her."

Blonde scoffed. "Whatever, she'll have to come here sooner or later, so just keep an eye out for her."

My sister mentioned I had detractors too. Guess these are them. Though I didn't think I'd done anything outrageous enough to gain the ire of random strangers. My mind rushed through a litany of ideas, reasons why they might be out to get me, from the reasonable (maybe I beat a sibling of theirs in my travels) to the absurd (Raifort had hired a bunch of schoolkids to 'get revenge' for her), before tossing them all aside.

It doesn't matter why they want to get me; I just have to avoid them and stick to my plans. Which was as easily said as done, as despite their words, the kids were easily distracted by the battles they watched. With the hood of my jacket pulled up, I hardly stood out, and waiting for them to cheer wildly at a lucky shot, I walked briskly across the open clearing to the Gym building.

Entering the stark white building, I saw the Gym Leader standing nearby. Tyme looked tired and perhaps a little bored with whatever she was talking to the lady at the front desk about, but she quickly adopted a professional smile, glancing down at me as I approached.

"Hello there, young lady, what can we help you with today?"

"A battle," I answered back with a fierce grin of my own, passing my Trainer License to get scanned at the front desk.

"Oh my," Tyme chuckled, and I hid any disappointment I was feeling. She's not taking me seriously. Does she not get the challenge I can give? I know some Gym Leaders talk to each other, but I guess others don't keep up to date as much. "Before you go challenging me, you'll have to take on my Trial thought."

"Of course," I said respectfully. "What will your trial be?" I am kind of curious about this; her challenge is likely quite different from Ryme's.

"Tell me, do you enjoy numbers and mathematics?"

I shrugged. "I'm decent at arithmetic." More than, truly, but while I've always been decent at math, even in this life I've never really pursued it as a field of study in its own right. My studies here have mostly been about how it applies to engineering and the physics of this world.

The thought struck me that I could probably expound on my interests and maybe get a tougher challenge from her, but just as I opened my mouth, she continued. "Wonderful! We'll have a little test for you to do, and then if you finish that up, you can battle me." The Gym Leader waved me off before walking away, leaving me to the staffer at the front desk.

"Come right this way." She directed me to a small room inside the building with a desk and a stack of papers. "Once you're done, come back to the front desk. You need to get at least nine out of ten answers correct to pass the trial," she warned me before heading back out.

Which might be scary to a little girl but hardly so to me. Also, the fact that they gave me almost the exact same difficulty as the one I aced for my Trainer License years ago makes this less scary too. Idly, I noted that I could probably also have Miles give me all the answers if I needed to since no one was watching over me. Not that it's necessary, and most Trainer's Pokemon probably aren't better than them at math specifically.

"Did you have any questions?" The woman at the front desk asked as I handed the paper in.

"No, I'm finished. When will Tyme be back?"

"I- oh, it looks like you filled out all the questions." She took almost longer checking over my questions than I had spent writing them. "And these are all correct… Ahem. Tyme is out on some business; I'll message her, and hopefully she'll be back in half an hour."

It ended up taking over an hour, which didn't end up helping my frustration over it all. Still, I did my best not to rush Tyme when I saw the Gym Leader return. "How was the tria-"

"Can I use Mega Evolution for our battle?" I asked before wincing. Calm down, me. I know we have some cool stuff planned for this battle, but still.

Tyme glanced over at the front desk staff, who nodded to let her know that I had indeed passed. "Mega Evolution isn't usually allowed for these battles," Tyme began.

"But Tersatalization is! I won't use my Terastalization for our fight, just Mega Evolution, and of course, you'd be free to use any Enhancement effect you'd like as well." Though I don't think she has any Z-Crystals nor a Mega Stone, and there aren't any Dynamax spots here, so it's really just Terastalization she'll have.

Tyme frowned. "Fine, I suppose the math checks out there. But I warn you, this won't be an easy fight." A broad grin broke out on my face as one of the Pokeballs at my side shook in anticipation. Good, we're looking for a tough fight.

She started taking some steps to the door when I said, "Could we not battle in the arena nearby?" Tyme looked curiously at me, and I scrambled for a reason. "Some other kids were using it, and I don't want to disturb them." More like I don't want them disturbing me, but whatever. Tyme agreed easily enough and instead led me to the elevator inside the building.

We went up to the roof of the Gym Building, where another arena was set up there. Guess it saves on space, but it feels like a waste not to make more of a spectacle of the fight and use the arena in town. Or maybe that's the point, to let Trainer's keep any edges hidden? At least the view up here is nice.

It was quite grand, especially since the Gym Building itself was already partially up the mountain; you could look down and see the entire town and well beyond it. My keen eyes also spotted a few small black stones in the snow, scattered on the outskirts of town. Right, I guess Martha is keeping this place safe from Ghosts. Hmm, I wonder if Ryme does that in the future? Though, I don't know what happened to Martha in canon either; she might still help.

Miles floated off to the side within their phone case, preparing to record the match, leaving me with the rest of my team to face off against Tyme. "This match will be a six on six with two switches allowed. Are you ready, Miss Nemona?"

"I am." I raised Athena's Pokeball and the dark-skinned would-be teacher mirrored me.

On the arena's automated signal, we released our Pokemon. My blue jackal-esque Pokemon was met with a red wolf-like Pokemon. Tyme's Midnight Lycanroc let out a mad howl as he saw Athena, a crazed look in his red eyes met by a dispassionate, almost bored gaze from Athena. She is taking this seriously, though; that's just an affectation to rile up her foe.

One that worked; the Lycanroc was practically chomping at the bit to attack Athena even before the signal went. When the machine announced for the fight to, "Begin," the Rock Type was leaping towards my Pokemon before Tyme even gave a single command. Really? Lycanrocs are fast, but that's more for the Midday and Dusk forms. This Midnight is only so-so compared to other Pokemon and quite slow compared to his contemporaries.

"Mega Evolve!" I shouted, clutching the Key Stone tight as I held it up to Athena. A sphere of light exploded out from her, knocking Lycanroc back as the Fighting Type Mega Evolved, power suffusing her form.

The Gym Leader's eyes widened, and she gasped in shock, which was just a step too far for me not to comment on. "You know, I never got why people never used their strongest move first? Sure, you don't want to rush in without thinking," I said, gesturing a hand at her prone Pokemon. "But if you've got the power, best to use it while you're strong rather than waiting till you get whittled down."

While I spoke, Athena had been busy gathering the power around her, forging her Aura into a mighty construct. She floated a few meters in the air, connected to the golden form behind her, looking to the uninformed a bit like a llama.

The godly construct had the four hooved legs it stood upon, but out from its back extended an odd dual crescent thing. From there, a hundred massive glowing paws stretched around and took up almost all of the space above and around our half of the arena.

For a split second, Athena simply hovered like that. Imposing, but immobile, her forepaws clasped together as if in prayer. Then, she dropped her right paw down, bringing it around in a circle to clap her left again. Just as fast as that quick motion from her flesh and blood limb, three Auric arms flew out, reaching across the arena towards the Lycanroc.

He had barely finished picking himself up, with no defense to offer against the first paw, which scraped across the ground, flipping him up to the air above. The blow might have sent him all the way to the upper limit had he not been intercepted by the second, a punch that pounded him against the back barrier. As it drew back, before gravity could take a hold of the Rock Type, the third one fell in a chop on his left shoulder, sending him spiraling to the ground below.

Tyme looked on, shocked at the devastating combo that had struck her Pokemon down in no more than a single second. She blinked, rubbing at her eyes as if she literally couldn't believe what had just happened. During that time, her Lycanroc groaned but made no motion to get back up.

"Ho- how?" She asked rather than recall her Pokemon, a fact I tried not to grit my teeth at. Don't want to point that out, or else she'll realize that's one of the weaknesses of this technique. For all the power it granted, there were dozens of them, but I was still hopeful that this could carry us through much of the fight.

"Well, it's just basic math at the end of the day. Mega Evolution can make your Pokemon a lot stronger, and when you've already got a Pokemon as strong as Athena…" I trailed off meaningfully. Of course, that's not the entire picture - Adaptability can boost the power of her STAB Moves as much as if she had Terastalized even before the Mega Evolution boost. But I'd rather not entirely give up the game on what Type of Move this is yet.

The Gym Leader returned her Pokemon, frowning before giving me a serious look. "Go, Lycanroc!" This time a beige-furred wolf, one that landed on all fours, appeared on her side of the arena. This one didn't rush in but instead eyed Athena warily.

The stalemate couldn't last forever, and Tyme soon tested the waters, calling out "Accelrock!" Her second Lycanroc blurred forward, shooting off the ground at Athena.

"Hit her." I called out simply, trusting Athena to manage it. Her left paw changed from flat against her right paw into a fist punching into it. Once more, the golden limbs followed, sweeping across and smacking the Lycanroc out of the air.

"Dodge! Get out of the way!" Despite Tyme's words and Lycanroc's best efforts, she couldn't avoid the onslaught. On the ground, she tried to scramble away but just couldn't maneuver fast enough. The strange Move was unlike anything I suspected they had ever seen before, and though Lycanroc managed to mitigate some of the blows, after three combinations, Tyme's second Pokemon was down.

I couldn't see it directly with Athena's back turned to me, but I suspected the Fighting Plate currently hanging around her neck was burning bright with all the energy she was channeling. Another downside to this. Even with Notch's brilliant suggestion to use Arceus' image as a base for the construct, which drastically reduced the energy needed to maintain the technique, it's still a strain to maintain. One she can't do without both Mega Evolution and the Fighting Plate at once, and it still drains her at least as fast as if she were using a Life Orb.

The elderly lady cast me a disturbed look before shaking her head. "I hadn't expected this kind of intensity from one so young. Looks like I need to use a hundred percent of my strength!" Despite her boisterous words, I could feel the nervousness there, tinged with despair. She knows she can't win.

"Let's go, Stonjourner!" The tall Stonehenge-looking Pokemon appeared on the field, an angry slant to its blank white eyes and mouth.

"Hit him with everything you got!" I shouted loudly, punching my fists up in the air. Athena took in a deep breath… and did nothing.

"Protect!" Tyme tried to counter, but my bluff meant she simply wasted her Pokemon's one window of invulnerability. As I saw the hive comb barrier begin to fade around her Pokemon, I called out an actual attack.

"Crushing blows." Tyme's Pokemon tried to renew the Protect, and while it did reconjure a barrier around itself, this one was much weaker. It broke before the might of the first punch, and the following two caused the Stonjourner to collapse into a pile of rocks. Glad I've seen that before online, or I'd be really worried about how badly he was hurt there.

"My goodness, I haven't been pushed back this far in a while. But while even a chance remains, I'll pursue it! Go, Klawf," she declared, returning her defeated Pokemon to send out a fresh one. The large crab Pokemon snapped its pincers aggressively before being immediately set upon by a flurry of blows from Athena.

"Endure it!" Tyme cried as Klawf's shell fractured all over. Ah, so that's how they're going to play it. Not bad, but…

"Another barrage, half strength. It'll be faster this time." My words were correct; the crab Pokemon had been smushed against the side of the barrier but was scuttling along it with incredible speed, their Anger Shell Ability vastly increasing the power and speed they had.

However, even with that, they couldn't avoid the furious golden limbs. It thought it had jumped over a strike, only to leave it vulnerable to the rest, striking where he had jumped to. Part of that is the elements of Extreme Speed we managed to work into the mix. Athena isn't an idiot, but she's not going to match the tactical skills of Isaac Netero yet. Extreme Speed increases the reaction times to a degree, as well as vastly improving the speed of her blows, allowing her to adapt to any movements from the enemy and hit them before they can adjust.

Anger Shell also made Tyme's Pokemon more vulnerable, so I was relieved to see that Athena had enough control to take the enraged crab out of the fight without causing it permanent harm. Something I should be careful about with Athena. This technique pushes her to the brink in many ways. I'm sure if she continued, she could sweep this whole match, but pushing out that much Aura… No, best to call it here and end on a high note.

"Return," I announced. Athena gave a slight sigh and let the 'Hundred Hands' construct drop, the energy dissipating as she flopped to the ground. "You did amazing out there," I told her as I returned my exhausted Pokemon to her Pokeball.

"Now, let's give someone else a chance to shine, Bahamut!" The Shiny Dragon proudly roared as he took the stage. This will be his first chance to really face off against a Gym Leader's Pokemon without any setup. It'll be tough, but I think he can take on at least one of Tyme's Pokemon.

Tyme released Coalossal without much fanfare (despite how much the massive burning pile of rocks brought to the stage naturally). The woman looked tired. Frustrated, no matter how much she tried to hide it. Guess it is tough to continue on fighting even though defeat is becoming more and more certain. But Gym Leaders are also supposed to put on a good show for Paldea and the world, so I suppose the show must go on.

"Up above and down below," I called, and my Fraxure eagerly ran forward. The Coalossal breathed out a stream of fire, which Bahamut soared over, calling upon Aerial Ace to leap up high above the titan of coal before stomping down with Bulldoze, partially burying the Fire Type in the arena, slowing them down further.

Nicely done, he's learned how to switch energy Types quite effectively. All that training with Dun paid off. The Ground Type attack was incredibly effective against the dual Fire/Rock Type, and unlike his Water weakness, he didn't have an ability to help compensate for that.

He was still a Pokemon on a Gym Leader's Ace team, however, and proved it by spitting out a deluge of tar, the burning liquid swamping my Dragon. Then the Coalossal began to tip over, his body glowing red-hot as he simply fell atop Bahamut.

The tar slowed him down enough that he didn't quite manage to jump out of the way, clipped by the Heat Crash. The powerful Move hurt a fair bit, especially with the tar catching fire as well. But Bahamut was a dragon, and he didn't go down easily, his pained cry turning to one of defiance as he rose up again.

"There you go, you got this! Swords Dance, then show him your true power!" My Fraxure weaved around the Coalossal, waving his sharp tusk as he did so, jumping over and sliding around the Rock Type's clumsy swings in his direction.

Powered up, he engaged the Rock Type closer. On instinct I almost went for the Tera Orb to Terastalize him before remembering that I couldn't do that here. Whoops, gotta be careful with that. Terastalizing would be nice here, but the Mega Evolution more than made up for it, I feel. Not that Bahamut truly needs the help.

Indeed, he was ripping into the stone monster with a powerful Outrage. On Tyme's orders, a few Stone Edges smacked into my Dragon, but he powered on through, tanking the shots well. By the end of his rage, Bahamut was swaying slightly, his eyes glazed, but victorious over Tyme's Pokemon.

We both recalled our Pokemon. I knew that even though Bahamut had clearly won, he wouldn't be able to handle the next enemy. "Go, Dun." My starter fluttered down onto the arena, narrowing his eyes at Tyme.

"Garganacl, show them your rock-steady power." The large salt Pokemon landed heavily, the ground shaking at their entrance. "The numbers might not be on our side, but let's see if we can change that by doubling your strength, Terastalize!"

Tyme pulled out her Tera Orb and threw it above her Pokemon, surrounding it in a mass of crystals. The smart Type would be to change it to a Ghost Type and make use of his Purifying Salt Ability, but- The crystals cleared to reveal the shimmering Rock Tera Pokemon. Right, don't think any Gym Leader changes out of their chosen Typing. Which wouldn't be too terrible, but the Rock Type is riddled with weaknesses.

Something I was going to (continue to) make great use of. "Smart Strike!" My adorable land snake flew forward, tail first, flying unerringly into the Rock Type and grinding into it.

"Hammer Arm!" Tyme called as soon as our attack was finished and Dun was falling down to the ground.

"Swerve around it, Aqua Tail!" Dun's three-segmented body granted him a lot of flexibility, and with that and his three sets of wings, he was able to contort around the blow and smack into it with his tail, now covered in water.

"Earthquake!" Dun landed tail point first, raising himself up, then body-flopping the roof. His Move raised large chunks of the arena floor into Garganacl, roughing him up hard.

The salt Minecraft-esque monster did manage to strike back there, even amidst the beat he took, slamming down on Dun with a Hammer Arm. He gave a cry before scuttling away, the blow having cost Dun some health, but even more speed from the already slow Rock Type.

"Recover," Tyme ordered. "Here's a tough question for you: How can you subtract all his health when I keep on adding to it?"

My answer came in the form of a small bout of signing and a hand sign for Dun to start Roosting. "Anything you can do, I can do greater. I can do anything better than you~." Dun curled up, his own wounds healing faster than Garganacl's.

"Earthquake." As the ground shook once more, I said/shouted, "I guess I'll subtract it by being several times faster than you are."

Tyme didn't have a witty counter, and the Rock Slides she ordered against my Pokemon were quickly outmatched in power, speed, and accuracy by Dun's Earthquakes. In short order, her Garganacl collapsed, signaling the end of the match.

"Congratulations, you battled well, Miss Nemona," Tyme said to me after we recalled our Pokemon and met in the middle of the arena. She handed me a badge, which I took gratefully.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone battle like you have before," she continued. "Have you considered entering the Rising Stars tournament? I host it near the end of the Treasure Hunt. Ah, that's at-"

"The end of next month, right? I'm aware; my sister won it last year. Hmm, sorry, I don't think I'll be able to."

"Might I ask why?"

"Hopefully I'll have all my badges by then, and only Trainers with five to seven badges can compete. Plus… honestly, I don't think I'll learn much from battling people on that level." The fact that there are Trainers around willing to act scummy nearby doesn't entice me any more, either. My brash words earned only a sigh from her, as if she had expected that from me.

"If I can ask you a question now?" Tyme jerked her head in a nod, so I continued. "Am I wrong in thinking you weren't at the top of your game for our battle?"

The Gym Leader let out a mirthless laugh. "You could say that. I've been out of sorts for a while now because- well, you might not understand. But in any case, you're quite skilled, as you mentioned. I believe you would have won this fight and earned your badge no matter how great a challenge I could put up."

I think I understand better than you'd think. Pushing her to become a teacher wasn't the point here, though. Just trying to gauge what she was feeling. "Well, when you get that sorted out, I'd love a rematch." The smile she gave me in return was small, but it was the first genuine one I had seen on her.

Rhyme… just isn't that impressive, unfortunately. Rock is a rough Typing and her canon team just doesn't have good coverage to deal with that. On the bright side though, we get to see a 'new Move' I've been cooking up for a while (which wasn't actually the Move she used to finish off the Tera Garchomp before). 'The Thousand Hands of Arceus' is, as you might have guessed, very heavily inspired by Netero's special technique in Hunter X Hunter. The fact that there are legends surrounding Arceus involving a thousand hands made it fit even better in my mind.

It was a difficult Move for Athena to learn, building off of all of the Aura training she'd done so far and utilizing Mega Evolution, but it is a very cool Move that forces most foes into finding a strategy to counter it or being swiftly outmatched. That being said, it's still hard for her to use, but the fact that Athena had managed to control it that well meant they had to use it here.

If you liked the update, please leave a comment here or join the the Discord to talk about it. And if you like my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the later get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

Lillie Jones · Jun 18, 2025

thanks for the chapter

Skyfyre · Jun 25, 2025

Thank you to my 21 Beginner Tier Patreons for support me and an extra special thanks to Ace Tier Patreon, RageLord!

"Ahh, finally free from the wretched snow!" I declared brightly, stepping lightly on the frosty grass. "Well, mostly free," I amended, turning to glare at the mountain behind me.

This was a mistake, as it opened me up to a pile of snow thrown my way. "Gah!" I shrieked as the cold matter hit the side of my head and slid down my jacket.

Turning around, I glared at Phantasm, the Zoroark chuckling evilly at my discomfort. "Oh, it is on!" With a fierce battle cry and a healthy dose of Aura, ice and snow from the edge of the mountain were blasted towards Phantasm.

Or where I thought she was. The moment the snow should have hit her, it passed through that spot. Oh tricky, she made an illusion, and it actually fooled me! Though I am admittedly half blind right now, which means…

Swiveling on the spot, I thrust my arms out and sent the second snowball flying away from me and propelling it in the air and into Phantasm's shocked face.

"Ha! Your illusions are getting better, but you need to learn to be less predictable. If your enemy can anticipate you, you're as good as caught!"

She snarled and ran after me, the two of us just running as we ran out of snow to throw, until Phantasm got the bright idea to pick up a pile of mud and hurl it at me. She didn't throw it hard enough to hurt, but with her speed, I had no chance of dodging before it splattered onto the side of my raised arm.

"Ugh, yuck. I'll need to wash this off," I grumbled, much to her amused chuckles. Those stopped when she saw the mischievous gleam in my eye. "You know, I think we could all use a bath," I said with a meaningful glance at the ocean, just off to the side of the cliff below.

Phantasm gave a startled yelp as I recalled her, pivoting and pointing the Pokeball straight at the water. "Enjoy the dip!" She had just enough time to scramble helplessly in the air before she splashed in the water.

'You'll pay for that.' The baleful gaze she directed up at me as she pushed her head out of the water was enough to send a shiver up even my spine. Don't want to let that anger settle into any true resentment.

"Oh, I'd say I already did, though this isn't just punishment for you; it's training." I drew another Pokeball as I spoke. A flash of emotions passed through her face, from joy at others sharing in the torment to continued annoyance to finally acceptance (or perhaps more annoyance - her usually bilious fur lay damp with the water and made her look a tad like a drowned rat).

A few more flashes of red light, and all but Nightwing and Miles were in the water (the former out of refusal and the movement capabilities that made me doubt she'd ever truly be caught in such a situation and the latter out of the difficulties of having an Electric Type constantly in the water with them). Athena was annoyed but trying to act like it didn't bother her, floating with her arms clasped, gently guided by Aura. Bahamut splashed around happily, the little guy excited and amazed with such plentiful water all around. Dun rolled around beside him, not playfully but determined, ready to conquer the terrain that had been such an obstacle to him before. Notch floated impassively within the water, seemingly unconcerned by being engulfed by one of their natural weaknesses. Though that might just be me making assumptions. They're hard enough to read even when not completely underwater.

"Okay team!" I shouted down, trying to amplify my voice with Aura. Given the snickers I heard from some of them, I figured it did something weird to the sound. Getting it to sound normal at any volume would be cool. I could show off 'throwing my voice' to Cyan when I see her again.

"This will be a little aquatic battle training. First off is just getting a hang of moving in the water, so you'll be swimming along for a bit until I tell you to stop." As one, all five of them snapped their eyes to Nightwing and Miles. "Haha, guess I've been getting too predictable, huh? Yeah, you'll have to deal with a bit of harassment along the way. Alright, go, go, go!" I cheered.

They began swimming quickly, and even with such movement being unfamiliar, if I didn't have gravity and Aura on my side as I raced down, I wouldn't be able to keep up. Heck, I might not keep up at all if it weren't for the times I sent Miles and Nightwing down to harass them.

I made sure to only do so when the water was clear of any other predators, which it was for most of the trip. Few of the native Pokemon wanted to tangle with the group of five at once, and those that were foolish enough to were quickly discouraged through the powerful attacks my team had. Bahamut sliced hard into that Baraskewda; he's getting strong, fast. They all are, really. A team of Champions.

As we reached a long stretch of flat, brown grassland, I called a halt to their movements. I was still a fair bit above them, but not so much so that it would be difficult for most of them to ascend. I'm lucky my team has such mobility. Few Pokemon are as capable in the air, on top, and below the ground as many of my team are. Once they conquer the water, they'll be good to go pretty much anywhere.

'Conquering the water' was proving to be a tad difficult as I turned them to the next challenge of engaging each other within the water. "I think they were doing better when fighting you and Nightwing," I commented to Miles. Whenever discussing tactical or training problems, Dun was my go-to, but if he wasn't available, then Miles usually had a decent idea, especially with how much they handled my schedule and the like.

"I agree, bzzt. Shooting attacks upwards was something they're more used to than fighting something within the water."

"Especially close-ranged combat, that takes on an entirely different quality under the sea~." I couldn't help the musical note that came after and grimaced under Miles' expectant gaze. "Just another Disney song to eventually steal. I do really like that one, but like the other songs, they'll really need the right music video to make them hit hard." Possibly more than that. I've heard the arguments that 'Let it Go' had a full feature-length film to promote it. Though I'd be amazed if my music ever got that popular.

After an hour in the water, I noticed their comfortability and technique starting to improve, but also how tired they were getting, with Bahamut dipping under the waves once or twice in a fashion that felt like it wasn't on purpose. "C'mon up everyone, training postponed."

We'd definitely be getting back to the water adaptation, but for the moment I was happy to lounge beneath the ominous shade of the massive block of stone jutting out over this thin stretch of land. Did this form naturally, or was it carved out for whatever reason? Probably for the seal, if it was man-made.

Further down this path, I knew there was another seal holding one of the Vessels of Ruin. It wasn't worrisome, but the knowledge of its presence weighed gently in the back of my mind, a little reminder of the great power contained here.

The nearby Pokemon were plenty strong as well. As we ate, I saw plenty of Sudowoodos and Heracrosses eyeing us with consideration. None of them were bold enough to make a move on the team fully gathered, though, but from their stances, the way the ground shifted where they stood, and the casual demonstrations of violence I spied, like ripping up whole trees, I could tell these Pokemon were strong.

We're out on the edge of Paldea here. No signs of civilizations beyond the dilapidated wrecks left from ancient times and the Socarrat Trail is an old, barely maintained path stretching around the large pillar of stone. Little human presence to temper the wild Pokemon.

"Frax?" Bahamut asked as he finished off the last of his food. My understanding of him was enough that I was 98% certain that he was asking what was on my mind (the remaining 2% thought he might be looking for more food, but he appeared satiated for the time being).

"Just thinking on the state of things, wilderness and civilization and their effects on Pokemon. It's a commonly accepted theory that humans help Pokemon grow stronger and faster. The second one is easily enough proven, but is the first true? Most Pokemon that live closer to civilization tend to be weaker and less aggressive." Due to a number of reasons I wasn't getting into at the moment, which had just as much to do with the weaker Pokemon being drawn to the safety of civilizations as it had to do with more violent Pokemon being driven out by rangers.

"Of course, that theory ignores those like these Pokemon. The wild Tera Pokemon like Athena's sensei. The proponents of it would argue that they are outliers, that people like the Elite Four and Champions have stronger Pokemon on their teams. But aren't they outliers of humanity too?"

My Dragon simply cocked his head to the side adorably. "Ah, I've kinda lost you, haven't I?" As he blushed, I waved him off. "Don't worry about it; I wonder about a lot of pointless things. Instead, why don't we do something a little more fun?"

His eyes gleamed as I stopped reclining and said, "Let's get you some practice against the natives here." The enthusiasm he showed dimmed a little as I pointed at the flat top of the large rock. "We're gonna climb up there and fight the Pokemon there, okay?"

Despite his disdain for climbing, the prospect of a good battle (and one on solid ground no less) filled him with determination, the tiredness he felt from before banished by a good meal. I split the rest of the team into two groups, within eyesight from atop the rock.

Helps them with different training focuses, and stopping certain 'personality issues.' This ranged from things like Phantasm's vicious streak to how Athena was getting more aggressive in pursuing Dun since she evolved. I wasn't exactly sure how Dun felt, having not broached the topic with him yet, but he seemed to be playing hard to get, but not uninterested. Those were issues for another day, however, and I pushed them aside as we set to work.

The climb was tough, not due to the height but how smooth the stone was. For the most part, I was just using my Aura to lift me up. Bahamut had it easier in that he could simply carve out his own handholds, though it took him longer.

Scoping out the area ahead of time, I picked the Pokemon I wanted him to fight as he pulled himself over the edge. "See that Forretress over there?" I pointed at the Buy Type, hovering over the rocky ground. "Introduce yourself and challenge her to a fight."

Bahamut plodded over and engaged her with dialogue for a moment while I kept an eye out. The Steel-coated Bug seemed disinterested until my Pokemon got around to mentioning paying her back in berries. A few Sawsbuck and one distant Amonguss seemed interested in what was going on but ultimately turned back to look after their own packs. That's one reason why I didn't want him to go up against one of the others here. A large group of Pokemon this strong would be too strong for him to handle.

The Forretress took the initiative in the battle, shooting forward towards my Fraxure, the slight rainbow light of Double Edge covering her, making it clear what Move she was using. Bahamut dodged the attack with ease, though he made the mistake of trying to hit her on the way past, slapping her with a water-coated tail.

The counter clanged off her sturdy shell, leaving my Pokemon wincing and rubbing his tail from the impact. And there's the other reason why I wanted him to face her. Amoongus could be tricky, and Sawsbuck could challenge Bahamut in speed, but only Forretress could eliminate his greatest strength. His, well, physical strength.

The fight continued without any input from me for a while. The Forretress had excellent control over Magnet Rise to fly around the battlefield, but it didn't allow her to match the sheer agility Bahamut had. My Pokemon was smart enough not to use any ineffective Moves, but as strong as he was, he couldn't significantly hurt his foe.

For her part, the Forretress was starting to cotton on to that fact and stopped charging at Bahamut, readying attacks for when he got in close. After he was clipped by a Rapid Spin after a failed Aerial Ace, I was about to step in and start directing him before things got out of hand until he surprised me.

Yelling in rage, Bahamut began thrashing about, purple-blue draconic energy surrounding him. That brought a split second of panic (as a Forretress' shell might be one of the few things that could be a severe threat to his tusks) until I realized what he was doing.

Channeling that energy to his mouth, he began spitting a line of Dragon fire at Forretress. Unlike the cone of Dragonbreath, this attack was a thin line, snaking through the air to reach its target. It also bypassed her tough outer shell immediately, eliciting a howl of anguish from the wild Pokemon.

Dragon Rage does 40 HP of damage every time, no matter what. 'Hit points' weren't so clear-cut an object as they were in the games, but it was still enough that he had found a way to bypass a tough enemy's defense. The Bagworm Pokemon wasn't to be finished off so easily, though, launching a massive ball of electricity and firing it off wildly.

Bahamut zigged when he should have zagged, caught off guard by the sudden attack and running straight into it. As his muscles seized up in the flash of lightning, I knew that he had been Paralyzed by the Zap Cannon.

"Scary Face!" I shouted, and he immediately glared at the Bug Type, grinding his fangs together. The aggression had the Forretress flinching and hesitating, helping to make up for the speed Bahamut had lost from Paralysis. "Dragon Rage strafe," I called out. Despite the Paralysis and the difficulties in mastering his rage, he followed the order, running around and spitting blue flames at Forretress.

She then surprised me by firing a bunch of spikes all over the clifftop. Huh? But no new Pokemon… As she began to spin around, I saw her plan, the spikes rising up and drawing in towards Bahamut. He let out a cry as some of the metal slivers cut into him.

The rest passed by, spiraling towards Forretress, until their spin slowed down before starting to reverse in direction. Whoa, that control over Magnet Rise and to use it in combination with Spikes is so cool- wait, stop gushing over the cool technique and think up a counter! I racked my brain for ideas of something to disrupt the attack or let him dodge but came up blank. The lack of ranged Moves Bahamut knew stymied me, and the only useful one here, Draco Meteor, couldn't precisely strike all the Spikes. Then it hit me, but only a second before the Spikes once again hit him.

As Forretress scattered more of the pointy metal around the field, I ordered, "Taunt!" Bahamut pulled down one eyelid and stuck his tongue out at the Bug Type.

Despite the fact that she had manipulated it into a dangerous attack, at its base, the Move she was using was a variant of Magnet Rise, so the Taunt stopped her in her tracks. Literally, as luck would have it, as her original Magnet Rise, which she used to float around, suddenly ended, and with Taunt, she was forced to hop angrily towards Bahamut.

My Dragon was frozen up for a moment by the Paralysis, but began to shoot more Dragon Rage at Forretress as soon as he could. Hmm, why is she trying to get closer when her ranged Moves worked bet-

"PROTECT!" I shouted. At the same time, the Forretress began glowing. Bahamut flinched, holding his arms out as if to hold off the imminent blast.

His stubby limbs could not, of course, but the spherical barrier he conjured around himself at the last moment did an admirable job of blocking the blast. In front of him, Forretress lay down on the ground, defeated. Explosion took everything out of its user, and so we had won.

Running forward, I scooped Bahamut up, hugging him tightly. "Great job! I'm sure you're getting close to evolving at this rate."

"Rax, axure! Fra fra fra," he chittered excitedly. That growth is impressive; I was sure that Forretress was stronger than him, but he proved himself on multiple levels. I don't want to pin an exact estimation on the day he'll evolve, but I do believe he's close. Even with the slow growth rate of his species, he'll probably become a Haxorus before or during our Elite Four fight.

***

The Pokemon around here were strong enough to give the whole team a challenge, not just Bahamut. As a team, we could drive off anyone getting too aggressive. At least on land. On the oceanside of the landmass, the team trained in the water and did well in learning how to fight while submerged. The lakeside was a different story.

On the other side of the rock was a loooong drop into Lake Caseroya, a dip we only attempted once before scrambling out. The Gyardoses, Dragonairs, Dondozos, and Veluzas were all strong and fiercely territorial. Even with Miles heavily shocking the area to fry the first wave, more were soon swimming after the waterbound team members. Guess we won't be crossing close over the lake to reach Kofu.

"It feels a little weird," I admitted later. "To not travel by foot to the next Gym. Like I'm skipping something important." Though that might just be my game experience talking. I was hardly going to admit that to Arven, however.

"Eh, didn't you fly over to the auction?" The young boy on the other end of the video call pointed out. He was dressed in an apron with a bit of flour on his cheek, currently in the middle of his latest 'experiment.' He looks up to his father so much, even when trying to carve his own path forward… Uh-oh.

"Uhh, everything alright there, Nemona?" He asked when I didn't respond. I adjusted the position of the camera slightly so he wouldn't see any of the results of my own experiments.

My Pokemon hadn't been the only ones busy on this trip. I'd used the time away from civilization and any prying eyes to crack open the Friend Ball I'd gotten from the auction and compare it to the base Pokeball design. It took a lot of work, but the studies into mechanics from earlier were paying off, and I was pretty sure I figured out how to remove the identification tracking system from a Pokeball, while keeping the rest of it functional.

Such a thing might raise some alarm if anyone noticed or had cause to check, so I'd only make those kinds of alterations to my team's Pokeballs if I was certain we'd need it against Turo. Still, it feels good to be making progress on that front and to have that tool in my back pocket if I need it.

"Oh yeah, I'm here." Clearing my throat, I answered his question. "Yes, we did fly to Porto Marinada, but that was different. There was no Gym there, and I flew right back to where I left from."

"Hmm…" he scrunched his brow up, thinking hard about it. "Could you run around the lake and make it that way? You run suuuuuuuper fast."

I couldn't help the chuckle that burst out of my lips. Ah, to be a kid again. I mean, I am, but not one so naive to think that running fast across the beach means I can run halfway across the country in a week or two. That was how long it would take for me to do that and keep to my self-imposed schedule, though I was admittedly giving myself a hefty cushion for potential delays and training time.

"Though, now that I think about it…" I trailed off, muttering more to myself than Arven. "I might be able to make it in three weeks if I pushed myself." Having to go the long way around the lake meant a hike back partially up the mountain and just a lot of running. "That would let me still make it before the end of the Treasure Hunt- no, that's foolish."

"Why?" Arven asked, his head cocked to the side, which caused his messy bangs to cover both eyes almost fully before he brushed them out of the way.

"It would be cutting into my training time hard. Which is what really matters for this journey." I quickly switched topics before I could let anything more about that slip. Arven can't know that all of this is mostly for maybe beating his dad up, if it comes to that. "Besides, pushing myself to finish the Gym Challenge and Elite Four before the end of the Treasure Hunt only matters to some people on the internet. And a few of them will be upset no matter what."

"Don't listen to the trolls!"

I quirked an eyebrow at that. "Where did you hear that?"

"Uhh, Carmine," he mumbled, and I laughed. That does sound like her. I wonder how much causing those characters to meet will affect them? Then again, all the other things I've changed will divert most things off of canon. Hopefully for the better.

"That does sound like her." A 'ding' sound went off on Arven's side, and he whipped around.

"My souffle! Sorry, gotta go!" He cried, rushing over to the oven. The screen remained on until Mabostiff ambled over and pressed his snout against the screen and cancelled the call for his Trainer.

Glad to see that Arven is doing well. His situation could obviously be better, especially if his father were home and not trying to discover the secrets of time travel. I encouraged him to talk to others and reach out if he was feeling lonely, and clearly he had taken me up on that. I was glad to see that he was far from the bitter kid the player character met in the beginning of the game.

I called Arven the most, but I tried to arrange a time to call all of my friends and family at least once a week, in addition to texts, group chats, and emails. In addition to keeping them updated, it also made the stretches of wilderness feel less lonely, at least from human company.

"Though perhaps not as lonely as I thought," I said aloud as my eyes caught a bit of smoke rising in the distance. Getting up, I began marching over there. The smoke is too steady and small to be an out-of-control fire, and Jolteon is the only Pokemon over there that could accidentally start a fire accidentally. And the Tera Water Vaporeon would leave his pond and shut it down quickly enough if there was any true danger.

It took me till sunset to reach the campfire, as it was over on the greener side of the inlet. I'd traveled there a few times during the three or so weeks I had spent here but never tried to stay the night due to how deadly and aggressive the Scythers and Dragon Types that lived there could be.

This clearly wasn't a deterrent to the group in front of me, however. Around a small firepit were about three tents, with a fourth off to the side. They appeared odd at first, and it took me a second to realize that they were handcrafted, made of sturdy leather, and the spikes pinning them in place were made of bone.

It was for that reason that I wasn't too worried about the Drakloaks, Dragonair, and Gabite that stood outside of the tents. The fact that they were all facing outward was also reassuring and gave me another hint as to the group's identity, even before I saw a tanned woman with short black hair in a shiny blue jumpsuit-like outfit step out. A short red cap billowed lightly behind her, and her yellow eyes snapped onto mine in an instant, a gaze so fierce I could practically feel a predatory nature from her.

The Dragon Tamer clan.

That little stretch of land on the opposite side of Lake Caseroya can be easily missed on a first playthrough. There's no Gyms, or Star Bases, or Titans over there, but I still find it a really cool location, and I like exploring those things in the story. What do you think of them?

If you liked the update, please leave a comment here or join the the Discord to talk about it. And if you like my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the later get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

Skyfyre · Jul 2, 2025

hank you to my twenty Beginner Tier Patreons and an extra special shout out to RageLord and Nodal_Gravity, my Ace Tier supporters!

"Who are you?" The tribeswoman demanded more than asked. Despite her fierce nature and the low growl of the Drakloak beside her, I was unmoved. Hassel doesn't act as aggro as this usually, but he can be far scarier when he tries to be, and I won't let him stop me either.

"Hail and well met," I called out evenly over the plain, giving her and the two other similarly dressed Dragon Tamers I spotted respectful but not submissive nods. By my side, Miles moved up subtly, not quite interposing themself between me and the other Pokemon, but clearly able to intercept them if need be.

Something that wasn't missed by the lead woman, her nostrils flaring slightly as she snorted. "You say we are well met, yet you have taken no steps to introduce yourself as you trod on our sacred land."

I met the challenge with a mild scoff. "I'm fairly certain that the Dragon Tamers would claim all of Paldea as their own if they could." They are more common in the North, but the only land officially granted to them by the League is the large plateau in the Northeast, not here in the Northwest.

"I've also been staking out this place for almost a month now, and I didn't see any sign of you till today." That got them to bristle, and I saw a few more members leave their tents. Not a huge party, less than a dozen, but still, I should probably avoid picking a fight. At least not with all of them at once.

"I suppose I should introduce myself, however. I am Nemona Glitterati, daughter of Billy and O'Nare Glitterati, student of Hassel of the Elite Four." My words brought an interesting cocktail of emotions to her face. Faint interest and approval clashing with disdain and an undercurrent of anger. The smirk I gave her back let her know that I understood why my words affected her so and that it was exactly why I had chosen them so. They're still butt-hurt over Hassel choosing the Elite Four and more modern traditions than staying with the clan, but given what they try to pull six or seven years from now, I don't feel much sympathy for them. At least not on that front.

The idea that their old ways, the oral histories and methods they had cultivated over the ages, were being slowly whittled away by the modern League was sad. But each person was entitled to make their own decisions, so they shouldn't have pinned all of their hopes and responsibilities on Hassel, no matter how talented he was.

"I didn't think Hassel would stoop so low as to reveal us to an outsider," the woman seethed. Ah. Looks like there was a bit more anger there than I realized. My Aura sight had shown some, but visualizing the exact amount of emotion someone was feeling was still difficult.

"He didn't tell me anything. And not to toot my own horn, but I'm a sharp student. I picked up on things. Plus, there are hints here and there in history books, if you know where to look." More than just hints, but outright recognition of their tribe at least. There are hints of many tribes and ancient civilizations within the history books if you know where to look, though more about them than any other. Likely a product of the age we live in. While the Dragon Tamer clan might be a shadow of the Dragon Nation that once ruled two-thirds of Paldea well before the Paldean Empire, they're one of the largest 'native' groups still left. Of course, many people are Paldean natives; they just follow modern society and League rules rather than-

"Ha!" One of the men barked, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Look at how she gets lost in her own skull, Mera; she really is Hassel's student."

Mera, the woman who had seemed to be on the verge of attacking me, was calmer now, though she looked like she had bitten into a lemon. "Fine, she can stay. But on your head be it if she proves treacherous," she spat out. Turning on her heel, her cape swooshing dramatically behind her as she marched back into her tent. Such a terrible personality for such a fine body.

The man from earlier snorted, and my cheeks were dusted in crimson as I realized I spoke aloud. "Aye, that's just how it is, lass."

"You can call me Nemona," I said to him, walking closer to pass that invisible barrier between the rest of the outside world and their camp. Offering my hand to him, he shook it.

"Then you can call me Clayton." He had long blonde hair, like Hassel's but wilder. He also had a scraggy, unkempt beard. Hmm, I wonder if he's Hassel's cousin.

The others, seeing me accepted, lowered their guards, and I was introduced to the group. Many of them still eyed me with disdain, but none were hostile anymore, and a few were willing to talk around the fire. Apparently they had been here for a few days but had landed on the tip of the almost peninsula (there was a chunk of land at the end separated by a small canal that ran between it and the rest of the inlet).

As night fell, we were all sitting by the fire (even Mera), their stew being passed around. I managed not to cough as I took my first sip, but something must have shown on my face, as Mera called me out.

"Is it not to your taste? I'm sure we have something your delicate taste buds could handle better," she offered, faux-sweetly. A couple of the others guffawed at my expense.

With a forced grin, I slurped up a third of my bowl, pushing aside the unpleasant taste. "Just an interesting flavor. Traveling offers many unique experiences."

"It does at that," Clayton offered. "Why, when I was a young lad, I once barely saved my arm from a Salamence's jaw." There was a small round of groaning before he hushed them up. "Sure, you lot may have heard it a hundred times afore, but Nemona hasn't!"

Clearing his throat, he launched into his tale. "It was a dark and stormy night. The winds were howling something fierce, I tell ya, and Cyclizar and I had to take shelter in a cave. Something had him right spooked, and his favorite Dragon Fang tumbled down in the dark."

I smiled, seeing where this story was going already. Taking another sip of the stew on instinct wiped that smile away. Gah. I know I have very plain tastes compared to most people, but this is, ugh.

Clayton didn't notice, too engrossed in his own tale. "I scrambled down in the gloom, scouring for the fang when I noticed a flash of something bright, white, and sharp down there."

"How did you see it if it was so dark?" One of his clansmen heckled.

"Probably moonlight shining through the entrance or somethin', now quit yer complaining. Ahem, where was I? Oh right, so I reached for it. Only when I grasped onta it and pulled, it felt stuck. So I yanked harder, until… I saw the rest of the teeth in that maw. His hateful eyes opened, and we knew we were cooked! Letting go, I swear, I'dda been a split second later, I'd have been a goner."

"And what happened next?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Why we high-tailed it outta there - literally! Ol' Cyclizar lost a tail speeding away." Clayton patted the Pokemon in question beside him, who was happily chowing down on the food in front of them… and also clearly had a tail. Well, I think they have both a Move and a Hidden Ability that would let them deal with that, so that part isn't too crazy. The rest, though, seems a bit much. Especially with how the others are reacting.

Despite that, one of the younger Dragon Tamers piped up as soon as Clayton was finished. "Oh, that's nothing. Back a few moons ago, I found a den led by an alpha Dragonite…" It went on like that for a bit, each of the tribe trying to outdo each other with grander and more epic stories. No one is quite invoking Legendaries, but still.

Eventually Clayton turned and asked me, "What stories do you have?"

"Huh?"

"This is a rather quiet corner of Paldea. A rather dangerous one too, for the unprepared. If you've come this far, then surely you must have some stories to share."

"Uhh, yeah, I guess," I said, wracking my mind for a good story to tell. Athena's mentor? No, I'd rather not give away hints as to his location, and they'd appreciate a story around Dragon Types more. Maybe how I got Bahamut and- oh! I got it.

"Ok, so I was traveling to Alfornada. I didn't use the main pathway but the smaller one that takes you down by the beach. When I got there, though, I ran pretty much smack into a wild Terastalized Dragonair! She was an Electric Type and fought my starter Dun in the water. It was pretty tough to fight like that, but he was strong enough to win even still. Oh, and a few days later I ambushed some poachers that had captured the Dragonair and her den and turned them in to the police."

There was a long moment of silence before Mera said, "That was terrible."

"Wh-what? But it was all true!"

"I don't doubt that, despite how crazy a story it is. A proper fib would have had more…"

"Embellishment," Clayton finished for her. "You gotta draw the story out, girl. Make it entertainin'!"

"You put me on the spot," I muttered, crossing my arms. "I'm better when I have time to write this stuff down." That only earned a few laughs at my expense from the older Trainers.

"Was that the toughest battle you fought?" Mera inquired, and it took me a moment to realize what she was talking about.

"Oh no, the battle against Dragonair wasn't even in the top ten, honestly."

"True. If you're Hassel's student, then you've faced tougher," one of them said. "That Baxcalliber of his is stupidly strong." Then the woman whose name I had already forgotten frowned as she looked at me. "How'd a pipsqueak like you get Hassel to teach you?"

I'm not a pipsqueak. I'm actually fairly tall for my age! "Well, technically he was my music teacher." Another round of groans echoed out, and I hastily added, "But I still learned a lot from him about Dragons and Pokemon Training! I'd pepper him with questions about that stuff at the end of every music lesson. Plus, I fought him before I went on my journey."

"And how did you fare?" Mera asked again, measuring me up.

"I lost," I admitted easily enough. "But that was over half a year ago. I'm gonna win our rematch."

"Maybe in a few years. Or decades," she laughed, and I bristled. I know the others have laughed at me, but with them it feels good-natured and fun. There's just a bit more of a cutting edge to her laughter.

"Try next month. I'll get my last two badges soon and be on my way to take on the Elite Four. I've already fought the El Primero and tied against his Salamance," I boasted.

"No way!" One of the younger men, really just a teenager, shouted. "I've seen that beast online; it's a stronger Dragon than any of us, than even Hassel's father, have!"

I bit my tongue from responding that I didn't think it was likely that Hassel's father was stronger than him (for a lot of reasons). Instead I just added the caveat, "Well, he didn't use his Mega Evolution, and I did Terastalize Dun."

"Terastalization… that's that new thing the League has developed?" Mera asked more than stated.

One of the girls muttered, "Still can't believe they managed to mimic the power of Paldea's greatest protectors."

"Professor Turo made the Tera Orbs, but yes, the League has proliferated them," I said, pulling out my Tera Orb to show them. "It's not quite on the scale of what wild Tera Pokemon can do, though; it wears off in time. Like Mega Evolution, it can persist through being switched out but won't really last longer than a battle in most cases. And whenever this orb gets used, I have to go back to a Pokemon Center to recharge it."

"And this Tera Orb is what makes you strong? We don't need such tricks to be powerful," Mera sniffed.

"It helps, like any tool. But my team is strong because I've trained them hard and on their own merit." A tension settled around the camp as I faced her implications without blinking. There was a moment of hesitation until:

"We shall see. It is late, but in the morning, I would test your mettle." I sighed but nodded easily. She's been prickly as a porcupine, and it only got worse since mentioning Hassel. She's not the only one either. I don't think it's enough that they'd hurt me or do anything underhanded, but there's clearly bad blood from his departure from the clan that's left them quite angry.

Even if I felt foul play was unlikely, I still let Notch out when I pulled out my tent and set them to guard me while I slept. That choice had everyone backing off, but hardly earned me any friends, with even Clayton acting standoffish towards me (though he may have just been tired because he didn't talk much to anyone else either and looked a little groggy).

After a quick breakfast (some plain bread and fruit this time, thankfully), we set up in an empty patch of grass nearby. Notch floated nearby, creating a barrier around us to keep me, Mera, and the Dragon Tamers gathered nearby safe from any stray shots.

"I see that you're a generalist," Mera said across from me, spitting out the last word like a slur. "Do you even have a Dragon on your team?"

"Wait and see," I said with a grin, drawing Bahamut's Pokeball. "I only see two Pokeballs on your belt, so a two v. two, I take it?" With my enhanced hearing, I heard her grit her teeth and nod, drawing her own Pokeball in response.

We released our Pokemon, her sending out a Noivern while I released Bahamut. The large black and purple bat-like Dragon roared at the sight of my Pokemon, who let off a roar of his right back. It didn't have nearly the volume that Noivern had, obviously, but sound wasn't his specialty, unlike his opponent. This one is probably incapable of Boomburst but likely still pretty strong in general.

Clayton counted us in. "Three, two, one, begin!"

"Dragon Dance!" I shouted immediately. She shouted a command, and her Noivern swiftly ascended, swooping down and striking my Fraxure with her wing. Bahamut tottered and stumbled but managed to recover, weaving the motion into his dance and completing his buff.

"Air Slash," Mera called, and this time Bahamut nearly dodged the attack, the blades of wind clipping his shoulder.

"Aerial Ace, get in close, then Dragon Claw!" With great speed, Bahamut leapt up, soaring through the air, flipping over his tail to kick down at the Flying Type.

"Hurricane!" Mera's order came too late to avoid Bahamut landing the Aerial Ace, but he was blown away by the high-power winds she kicked up. She's not going to let me get away with a buff like the beginning of the fight, but Bahamut still needs more speed to keep up with her. Or to slow her down.

Wrapping one hand around a fist, I swung my arms down and called, "Scary Face!"

"Close your eyes!" Mera snapped, and Noivern did so before Bahamut could perform the Move. Which was why she was caught off guard when my Pokemon summoned a Draco Meteor above her head and began pulling the rocks down. Getting those hidden commands and signals learned and timed well between us is a lot of work, but so well worth it to pull surprises like this.

A fully evolved Dragon had highly honed instincts that made them tough to catch off guard, and even moreso for Noivern with her echolocation. So despite the surprise attack, she was able to weave around it. That still gave Bahamut a little breathing room, and without even waiting for a command on my part, he began dancing around, wiggling his body.

Noivern spotted that, and after she was finished escaping the Draco Meteor, let out an unholy screech and dove towards Bahamut. "Dragon Claw!" Almost before the words were out of my mouth, Bahamut leapt up, rocketing towards Noivern faster than she could react. A swift slice had Noivern reeling backward.

The big bat recovered fast, though, and raced back quick enough to catch Bahamut mid-air, knocking him aside as he had no way to maneuver there.

Dragon Pulse to shoot himself through the air? No, we've never practiced that; he'd just hurt himself. As much as it sucked, I remained silent, watching as Bahamut crashed to the ground. Mera smirked nastily.

"Too much, little girl?" I opened my mouth to fire back a retort, but she interrupted me. "Too bad! Noivern, Dragon Pulse, blast this punk out of the way and show them what it means to be a true Dragon!"

The enemy reared her head back, energy gathering in front of her maw. "Hold," I told Bahamut, my voice tense but even. The attack is too telegraphed, and I can see her looking down on Bahamut, tracking him. She's trying to bait us into moving and then will adjust.

It was a second at most, but she got bored of playing chicken, and the energy condensed as her head started to lower. "Now!" I cried, sweeping my arm out to the side. Bahamut followed it, sprinting forward in that direction, avoiding the Dragon Pulse.

He raced ahead, insanely fast with the boosts he had, but still barely outracing the beam of destruction, its path altered only by a shift of Noivern's neck. At least until Bahamut stepped underneath her, forcing her to twist around. Jumping up once more, he cut into her back with his Dragon Claw, spinning through the air as he went.

She fell, as did he a moment afterwards due to gravity. Where he landed on his feet with a heavy 'thud,' the Noivern crashed into the ground, insensate. "Alright, one down!" I crowed.

"Beginner's luck. Besides, you hardly faced my true might. Go, Drakloak!" The ghostly Dragon appeared on the field a moment after she recalled her first Pokemon. This one looks a bit stronger than Amethio's, though it has been a while since I've fought him. I should do that again after- focus.

As quickly as a wink, they disappeared; luckily, I was faster, spotting the Distorted space they slipped through. "They're using Phantom Force! You know what to do," I told Bahamut, who readied himself. Drakloak shot out like a rocket, striking into Bahamut's back, but he spun with the blow, managing to slice the other Dragon with a tusk before they could slip away to the Distortion World again.

Bahamut was ready the next time they reappeared, but the Drakloak didn't re-engage him, popping back on Mera's side of the field. "Get in close, then Dragon Tail," she ordered. In a blur of light, the Drakloak zipped forward, faster than Bahamut could react. Smacking him into the air with their ghostly tail, Bahamut gave out a sharp cry. Quick Attack into Dragon Tail, simple but effective.

Mera wasn't done there, however. "Keep at it! Use Dragon Tail and don't let him down!" I hissed at that, watching as the Drakloak knocked him about again. Shit, she capitalized on that weakness fast. Guess she has some skill too.

As they moved to try that combo a third time, I drew my Tera Orb, tossing it above Bahamut. The sudden formation of giant crystal formations around my Pokemon had Drakloak pulling back, confused. As Bahamut burst free, a Tera Dragon 'hat' above his head, he landed on the barrier's corner.

"Dragon Claw, drive them down!" Pushing off the side of the psychic wall, he charged through the air at Drakloak, hitting them with a powerful claw, the force pushing them both to the ground below in a heavy crash. "Don't let up, Outrage!"

The off-balance Ghost tried to escape, but the brutal onslaught Bahamut laid upon them gave them no quarter, not even the chance to slip into the Distortion World. As they fell, I shouted, "Stop!"

Bahamut paused, breathing heavily. His eyes darted around as if looking for threats from every angle. I was sure that if anyone was still able to attack him or he had to attack anyone else, he'd be confused and act erratically, but for the moment he had stopped, pulling back his rampage.

And there wasn't anyone left to fight, the Drakloak utterly defeated before him. Mera returned her Pokemon and as Bahamut's gaze refocused, I called out, "You did great!"

"Fra!" He cried tiredly, but very happily. The Terastalization wore off, and he jumped into my arms, bowling me over. He was quite battered, but nothing that a few Potions or a trip to a Pokemon Center wouldn't fix.

Mera stalked over angrily. "Terastalization is just a cheap tactic to make weak Dragons stronger!" She snarled. Bahamut leapt up (and his foot digging into my gut drove the breath from me for a second), angrily growling back and interposing himself between her and me. I noticed the tension ratchet up again as the other Dragon Tamers moved their hands to their Pokeballs or began signaling the Dragons they had out.

"Any tool or advantage or trick could be seen as such. But honestly, if you're going to lose to the weakest Pokemon I have on my team, you don't have much room to talk." Though really, the two Dragon Dances you let me get off were worse than the Terastalization. As I talked, I waved Bahamut down, and he marched back to my side, still glaring at Mera as he did so.

"What? How can the Dragon be the weakest Pokemon you have?" She questioned. Her face looks so scandalized it's hilarious. Like if a Karen asked to speak to the manager and it turned out they were the one she had been talking to the whole time.

"Because he's the latest Pokemon to join my team, duh. Not that he isn't getting strong fast." Even with Terastalization, the fact that he beat two Dragons raised by a Dragon Tamer… he's sooo close to becoming a Haxorus; I can feel it.

"Anyhow, this has been fun," I said, dusting myself off. "But I've got to be on my way. Gym Badges to win and all that jazz. Later!" I quickly strode off before she could blow up again. And before I end up saying something to piss her off further.

I found a quiet spot decently far away from the group before calling a Flying Taxi. We'd gotten a lot of good training done here, but I didn't need to linger longer, especially not when that might mean pissing off a camp of Dragon Tamers.

Before the taxi could arrive, I saw someone approaching. Scoping it out carefully, I saw just Clayton nearing me, none of his other clanspeople with him, and I relaxed a hair (though not enough to recall Notch). "What's up?" I asked, and he chuckled.

"So on guard," he said, his eyes flickering down to where my feet had subtly shifted to a defensive stance. "I take it that poacher story was true, and maybe missing a few details?"

"Covered the basics well enough. It wasn't pleasant, though, if I gave that impression," I said flatly before sighing. "So why come all this way over here? Looking to defend the honor of your clan?"

"Bah! Our clan's honor is fine. Mera's pride may have taken a beating, but that happens to all Dragons as they grow strong. It's how they rise again that they prove themselves. Just wanted ta make sure you didn't come off of that with any bad feelings."

"Really?"

"Really. I'd hate to see Hassel's student get hurt over a good match. And it was good indeed! Tha' new-fangled Terastalization stuff is interesting'. Might not like everything the League does, but that…" His voice trailed off wistfully, the man clearly imagining what it'd be like to empower his Dragons with a Tera Orb. Battle junkies, the lot of them. Though I suppose I don't have any room to throw stones there.

"You know, you could probably ask Hassel for one."

Clayton shook his head sadly. "He left the clan." His voice was somber, as if the man had died.

"Your clan isn't quite so insular as to reject all aspects of civ- the League," I corrected myself, and he flashed a sharp grin. "You have phones and watch Champion matches, et cetera. You could go and ask him for a Tera Orb," I pointed out. "Or even just talk with him. Whatever bad blood is between you, I'm sure he'd be happy to talk from time to time."

Sure, there would be a hint of bitterness in his tone at times whenever we discussed things infringing on his clan, but that was mostly about anything involving his departure from them, the early days as a music teacher, before he got stabilized in League society. There was plenty of wistfulness when talking about his adventures as a youth, even if he didn't mention the clan directly.

A flash of guilt appeared on Clayton's face before he turned back to a stoic mien. "We cannot. By order of our clan's chieftain, we are not to communicate with him in any form. Not until he returns to us."

The wind whipped around us violently, and Clayton flinched before I calmed down. "Apologies," I mumbled out, trying to squash the frustration that rose in me. How could he do that to his own son- No, I know how. Knowing what he'll try later, he'd definitely be that much of a dick to Hassel to try and get him to come back. Guess he must change that order when he tries to sell the story about being unwell to Hassel.

We stood there silently for some time until the Flying Taxi arrived and began to descend towards me. "Those rules only apply as long as Hassel's dad is the chieftain, right?" Clayton nodded slowly. "So if someone were to oust him from that spot…" I continued leading, and the older man frowned.

"That would be difficult. The clan generally agrees with him and his leadership. To say nothing of his strength; only Hassel was stronger among us." And as a clan of Dragon Tamers, individual strength is highly prized.

"You don't look like a slouch yourself." While he hadn't shown any feats at camp, the way the others aside from Mera would defer to him made me think he was stronger than most. "It might take a while, but, well, it's something worth thinking about, right?" I said as the taxi touched down.

I got inside the taxi, and while he didn't say anything as I left, there was a thoughtful look on his face. Maybe I didn't change anything there, but it didn't hurt to try.

A bit more training and we got to see the Dragon Tamers. While we do see a few of them in the games as static encounters and at the end of Hassel's storyline, there's not a lot about them. Dragon Tamer tribes have been a staple since the early games and appear in several generations, so I had fun playing around with how this group would be, especially given Paldea's rich history and abundance of Dragon Types.

If you liked the update, please leave a comment here or join the the Discord to talk about it. And if you're enjoying my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

Lillie Jones · Jul 7, 2025

thanks for the chapter

Skyfyre · Jul 9, 2025

Thank you for my 23 Beginner Tier supporters and an extra special thanks to RageLord and Nodal_Gravity, my Ace Tier supporters!

Cascarrafa, the jewel of the West. I can see why they call it that, I mused as I walked through the streets. Porto Marinada wasn't bad, but it lacked the beauty of this city, with its gorgeously blue and white patterns on the streets and tiered walls. Those walls had small platforms built across them at several points, ferrying people down from the higher levels built into the cliffs above to the lowest level on the desert floor, and vice versa.

Despite the arid environment just beside Cascarrafa, the city had plenty of greenery, with trees and bushes planted all over the city, from the parks to the plazas. They were kept well watered by the waterfall that flowed from high above, channeled into sweeping canals running across every level. Shops and stalls littered the entrances and commercial districts built at the edges of the city, with residences built further in, all to further present the image of a prosperous, beautiful city. Something likely aided by the environment right beside them, helping the city stand out by contrast.

Looking out across the horizon, I was met by a near-endless sea of sand. Occasionally in the distance one could see massive boulders or the rare decrepit tower sticking out of the sand, but for the most part it was just a burning wasteland. I wonder how tough the Pokemon there are? I know there's a Paradox Pokemon to be found in the games, but I think they're generally a bit weaker, despite the harsh conditions. Though harsh environmental conditions alone don't make a Pokemon strong - eventually they learn to adapt to those and can only grow further through battle.

"What's with the look of longing? Not happy with the city?" A voice snapped me out of my thoughts. Whirling around, I saw a tall man with a Golduck standing by his side.

"Oh, uh, I was just thinking about the ruins and the history buried out there." I quickly came up with an excuse. It wasn't wholly untrue either; those ruins were indeed interesting. Everyone gets weird when they hear about me wanting to go out into the wilderness just for the challenge of it. Wonder if that had to do with my age?

The man and his Pokemon looked awkwardly at me before stepping to the side to reveal the actual speaker. He was an old, heavyset man, dressed in a white outfit with a blue apron overtop, a design like waves embroidered into it. His beard, unibrow, and tiny patch of hair atop his head (smaller than the first two) were carefully trimmed to follow the same pattern, with a matching color scheme to his outfit.

"Kofu," I said, blinking in surprise. "Uh, I mean, sorry, sir! Didn't mean any disrespect- The city is great, really." I do appreciate the amenities of sleeping in a city at least. As much as I have the highest-end camping gear out there and some decent wilderness skills from the Explorers, nothing beats a hot shower after a hard day on the road.

He gave me a full-bellied laugh and waved me off. "No disrespect taken. I might be the Gym Leader, but it's hardly my city. Cascarrafa belongs to all its people." I raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'Press X to doubt.'

While I doubt he got the exact nuance of my silent message, he still shook his head. "It's true. This city is beautiful - greater than anywhere else in the world, and I had about as much wanderlust as a young lad as ye - but it kin nay be the result of just one man." I kept better control of my facial expression, but I still held some disbelief.

Cascarrafa was not historically nearly so inviting, but forty years of a Water Type specialist being the Gym Leader certainly changed things. The beautiful blue and white color scheme alone is directly attributed to him, and I'm sure he's done much more. "Speakin' of, hows about you feel like helpin' out a wee problem I have for yer Gym Trial?" He continued.

"Did you come all the way down here just to ask me about the Gym Trial? I only just put in a request for one!" Okay, it's been a few hours, but still. We're nearing the end of the Treasure Hunt, so I thought he'd be swamped. Plus, the Gym Building is pretty high up, even if the elevator system makes traversing tiers easy.

"Well, nay jus' to talk to ya about that. There's been a problem with the canals; something is mucking them up fierce and getting sand all over them. The filters are workin' overtime to keep them clear, but the monitors tell me they'll be overwhelmed soon."

"Sand? I mean, that feels like it'd be a common problem around here, given, well…" I trailed off, waving a hand at the desert just outside. Actually wait, the sand should be way more of a problem given how close it is. How are sandstorms not constantly flying through here?

I thought about it for a second before it came to me, and I shouted, "The Golducks!" A number of citizens walking by turned to stare at me, and my face flushed crimson.

"Ha! Ya got it! Not many folks realize how much we rely on the Golducks and their Ability to keep the place nice here," Kofu responded. Indeed. More than just the lack of sand, I should have realized how temperate everything felt here, how the sun isn't burning down on us. Cloud Nine can stop sandstorms, snow, rain, and even 'harsh' sunlight.

"They do a lot fer us, and they quite enjoy swimmin' in the water. So we need to keep those canals clear. As I was saying, I'd have to clear the issue usually, but there's this auction going on in the market I really need to get to, and ya seem quite competent…" he trailed off meaningfully.

I nodded. "Sounds good." Looking out, I saw one of the grates that a canal led into. "Nothing looks wrong on the surface, so I'll probably need to check inside. Do I need a key or something?"

The Gym Leader pulled a keycard out of his apron and passed it to me. "This should get you in. Keep your wits aboutcha and you should be fine." Then he said, "Oh shoot! I gotta get going if I'm to make it." Turning, he started running over one of the small bridgeways and out of the city faster than I thought possible.

Damn, I didn't think someone like him could move that quickly. And across the desert too, to make it to Porto Marinada in three hours to make it in time before the auction house closes for the night… that's pretty impressive.

I walked back through the city, winding my way over to the grate I'd seen. Sure enough, there was a key reader beside it and also a Mabostiff guard dog patrolling the area. He gave one sniff of me and the card and barked approvingly at Kofu's scent. Swiping the card, the grate opened up, and I walked inside.

For an adult, the tunnel likely would have been too small to stand upright in, but I was able to traverse it with ease. The walkways within were also wide, with enough space for Dun to slither across. Looking down at the water beneath, I could just barely make out some sand and grit caught up in the water as it flowed out into the city. Yeah, that's not a good sign; the water should be getting purified in here.

The place was quite clean overall and well-kept, but I was still unfamiliar with the layout, so even with the signage inside, I got lost a few times on my way to the purification center.

Before I got to the direct center, I found some signs of battle. Torn-up walkways and a massive pile of sand blocking off one of the channels out. Even more worrying was the Grimer who was lying beside it. It was hard to tell with their amorphous anatomy, but the Pokemon looked injured, like it was wheezing from the effort to stay conscious.

"Hey! Are you alright?" I asked, cautiously approaching it.

"Griiiii…" The Pokemon gurgled, his eyes focusing on me for a moment before raising a globule up to make a head-like shape and shaking it.

"What happened?"

"Mar, grime grime." Yeah, I don't know what he means by that. At all.

"You should go to a Pokemon Center. Do you… need help getting over there?" I said, pointing back the way I came. Is he capable of moving? I really hope so. Notch is the only one of my Pokemon that could carry someone like that, and that's with Psychic. Their control is incredible, but I worry the Grimer might still freak out about being lifted by a Psychic Type Move.

"Grime!!" He sounded worried and panicked. Thankfully, Dun was there to fill in the blanks.

"Du dun. Arce."

"Oh, so there's another exit he's supposed to go out of. But there's someone else blocking that way who hurt him, and he's worried about going this way and others getting upset at him?" I reasoned aloud as the pieces started to fall in place for me. If it's a purification center, then it probably makes a fair bit of waste, even with crazy Pokemon tech. They must repurpose some of it into food for Pokemon like Grimer here; maybe some of it goes into making things like Black Sludge. And I think I know what kind of Pokemon could make this kind of disturbance here and hurt the Grimer. The only question remaining is why that Pokemon would be here.

"Wait here, I'll clear up this problem, and you can get out of here soon," I told Grimer, spraying them with a Potion. Then I glided over the mound of sand and wrecked walkways, floating through the torn-open door to find the main chamber.

Beneath the hardened glass walkway that went all the way around the circular chamber, I could see water flowing in and out, regulated by a series of gates below. The water that went into a large steel cylinder in the center of the room was dark and murky, polluted with accumulated filth and grime, while the water that came out was clean - or should have been. Instead it was filled with sand, the culprit and answer to my final remaining question from before clearly visible atop the cylinder.

There, a massive Palossand, larger than I had ever seen before, sat atop it, glowing eyes with the sandcastle 'windows' in its body glaring down hatefully at me. The sandy body gleamed with a crystalline light, and above the central dome peak of its body sprouts a Tera Jewel 'hat' in the shape of a water spout.

With a howl, it moved, raising one of its large tower arms and bringing it crashing down upon where we stood. There was plenty of power behind the blow, but it was also slow, slow enough for Dun to slither out of the way and pull his whole body out of the way, and even for me to dodge to the other side.

The sand blasted against the platform, scattering about bits of sand, most of which were pulled back as the creature drew its arm back. The walkway was tough enough that I didn't notice it taking any damage, but some of the machinery on the walls beside the entranceway was torn up from the impact.

"Hyper Drill!" I ordered, and Dun answered, spinning his tail hard and flying up to drill into the large Tera Pokemon. As fast and as hard as Dun struck, however, it was to little avail against the Tera Pokemon, barely digging into them before they smacked Dun down.

Damn, they're tough- oh! Their Ability. Looking at the lip of the cylinder, I saw the sand was sinking into it. How deep I couldn't tell, but… "An Alpha," I whispered, and it shifted its head to lock onto me again.

"Hyper Voice, then Glare!" I shouted, kicking off the platform and running around. The Water Pokemon swept an arm out at me, chasing me across as I did so. I'm not entirely sure how its Ability interacts with the water it's soaking up, but it has clearly improved its Physical Defense a ton while the Tera Type gets rid of its aversion to water, so we'll need to stick to special attacks.

The sound from Dun's Hyper Voice hammered into it, disrupting the Palossand from attacking me and causing it to turn its attention back to my land snake. Despite the cylinder between us and the Aura bubble I made around my ears, the sound waves still shook me hard.

As I paused to catch my breath, I saw that the Palossand had paused too, likely caught by Dun's Glare. "Good, now Th- Hex!" I changed my attack call last second. Thunder would do tons of damage to it, but also to the machinery around us, and this place is wrecked enough as is. I caught a glimpse of Dun being blasted around the side by a stream of steaming sand, his scales looking rough and red afterward.

Burned? Annoying, but less so since we aren't going for Physical Attacks anyways. The resulting Hexes Dun blasted the Palossand with sent the creature reeling and knocked them off guard. Even if it's a Water Type right now, it's still used to being a Ghost Type and having a weakness to attacks of that Type. Those instinctual flinches are costing it, alongside the unintended ones from Paralysis.

The Alpha Tera Pokemon managed to set off a stream of Chilling Water into Dun amidst the attacks, but in the end it was off balance and outmatched. A final Hex shattered through its Terastalization. The creature looked disoriented but managed to send out a wild sweep of grinding sand all around, one of the shots clipping me.

"AHH! Shit! Hex again!" I cried, clutching at my arm where it hit, the sleeve of my hoodie torn apart and the skin feeling raw. My starter conjured a massive tangle of distorted energy around the now Ghost Type Pokemon and knocked it out in short order, the sand sinking and seeping all around.

With a hiss, I held my injured arm at my side while drawing a Pokeball with my other, almost pressing the button before shoving that back. Shit, I almost used one of my self-made, off-the-network Apricorn balls there. That would be a tough thing to explain to Nurse Joy when I hand this Pokemon in to them for relocation. My time spent on the edge of Paldea had been productive not just for my Pokemon but for my own studies as well.

Grabbing a regular Pokeball, I caught the Palossand, tended to mine and Dun's wounds as best I could, and after informing the Grimer it was safe, headed up with them along the security exit to leave this place.

***

By the next morning my arm still stung when anything was pressed against it, but a combination of Aura/innate human toughness of this world (plus some judicious uses of Life Dew and Heal Pulse from Athena) and a good night's sleep had it at least not feeling constantly painful.

It was still a little annoying, but I'd worked on becoming ambidextrous for just such a situation. Nothing is going to stop me from challenging (and beating) Kofu today. Then it's just Larry left before the Elite Four.

Getting dressed, I left my hotel room and wandered through the city, taking in the sights and grabbing a quick breakfast before I made it up to the Gym Building. I presented myself at the front desk and told them who I was. The atmosphere around me felt a little uncomfortable, but I pushed it aside, waiting only a few minutes until Kofu entered.

"Ah, Nemona, goo- vaultin veluza! What happened to yer arm?!" He exclaimed, pointing at it with one hand and holding the top of his head with another. If you wanted to stop your hair from flying away, I'd say you're a little late on that front.

Resisting the urge to giggle at the thought (which would make me look like a complete maniac), I just shrugged. "Did you know that a Pokemon can be an Alpha and Terastalized at the same time? Turns out that's a bit of a dangerous combination," I chuckled, coughing when no one else joined in. "Ahem. I dealt with the Palossand mucking up the canals. Dropped them off at a Pokemon Center, and the rangers will relocate them, so Trial completed. My arm will heal in a day or two; don't worry about it." I gave Kofu a winning grin, sure to assuage any worries.

"An Alpha and a Tera Pokemon. What in tha world could drive a Pokemon to go there...?" A good question. Palossand's unique nature means it's one of the few Alphas that could actually squeeze down there, but even with its Tera Typing, it raises the question of why? Feels like maybe it was trying to hide? Soaking up the water made it tougher too, so it might have been looking to defend itself.

The Gym Leader looked like he wanted to say something else before letting out a hefty sigh. "I'm sorry, Nemona, I wouldn' have sent ya down there if I knew; if'n I'd even thought such a thing might happen…"

"It's fine; no one could have known," I responded. "I'll be fine; it looks worse than it is. Plus, I don't plan on traveling until I'm all healed up." That seemed to light an idea for him, which I ruthlessly quashed with my next words. "But we're still having our battle today!"

"Why? Wouldn't it be better to wait till yer healed?"

"My Pokemon are fighting; my physical condition is irrelevant." For the most part. Some of my hand signals and the like would require my right arm, but that's fine; I can work around that. "Besides, you've got a pretty busy schedule. I was surprised that you could slot me in so quickly anyway."

Now it was Kofu's turn to look awkward for a second before he waved me along. We walked out of the Gym Building to a nearby lift, descending down one of the tall walls that separated tiers. It was more than just awkwardness, however; with that comment, I caught a glimpse of guilt from him. Likely I got pushed ahead of someone else, and he doesn't want to do that again a few days from now. Normally I wouldn't be super keen on the preferential treatment, but considering this is necessary for my plan to stop Turo, I won't complain or press the issue.

As we reached the bottom, I saw people waving excitedly, pointing at Kofu.

"Kofu, Kofu, did you add a new list to your menu?"

"How do you stay so vigorous?"

"Are you going to have another Gym Battle?"

"Can I get your autograph?"

"Thanks so much for your advice for my wife's restaurant; you just have to come over sometime so we can treat you!"

Men, women, and kids were fawning over him, and a crowd soon formed around us. "Sorry folks, got some Gym business to take care of reel quick, just a minute." The crowd parted enough to let us walk through, but they did start trailing behind us, eager for the show.

"Only a minute? C'mon old man, you can put up more of a fight than that," I snarked, getting into my 'Gym Challenger mode.'. That earned a snort from him and a paper and pen shoved in front of my face by a brunette girl, about as tall as I was (so likely a year or two older than me), dressed in a nice sundress.

"Sorry, but can I pleeeease get your autograph? Pretty please?" I stopped for a moment, caught off-guard. Knew Kofu was popular, just didn't realize I might have some popularity too. Glancing through the crowd, I saw a couple of people (particularly teenagers and those in Uva academy uniform) staring intently at me.

"Ah, sure thing." I said after a moment, scrambling to grab the pen and scrawl my name on it as best I could. Anime physics my body may have, but that does not apply to writing on a piece of paper without anything to support it. Despite how messy it was, the girl seemed thrilled, and I walked on, only cursing myself once for not thinking to ask her name so I could make the autograph out to her.

There was no more time to berate myself as we reached the lift down to the lowest level, and directly from there, the arena. There was such little room between it and the lift that it had to be put out of service when the arena was used in battle, which in this case forced the crowd to move to the other lifts on either side.

The stage was a large blue circular platform, floating atop a large pool of water that took up a good chunk of space. There were drawbridges to step onto it, but Kofu motioned for me to stay behind it while he walked across to the other end, standing just past the other drawbridge. Looks like he had to give away the game here. I'm familiar enough with the barrier systems around these arenas to spot the ones on the platform, so we could both stand on them if he wanted. Having me stay behind where the water is already must mean that there's a secondary barrier, and he's looking to flood the field.

"Look, lass, you might be thinkin yer ready for anything, and that adventure in the canals was mighty impressive. But life kin be like the sea, moving and changin' in an instant. So let's sea if ya have got what it takes to go all the way."

"Fine by me, I said, drawing Miles' Pokeball. "How many for this battle?"

"Ol' Kofu's servin' you up a full course - we'll each use five Pokemon, with three switches."

"If five is a full course, then would six be with dessert on top?" I bantered, and he laughed, drawing his own Pokeball.

"Now yer gettin' it!" We waited as the barrier went up, each of us releasing our Pokemon. He sent out a familiar, many-limbed, blue and purple Pokemon, while I released Miles. They burst onto the field, sparks flying off from the lawn mower they were possessing.

"Tox tox!" The small purple body chittered, waving her spiky limb menacingly at us before clamping them back down to the ground, concealing her small head. This Toxapex looks far more rugged than my sister's. Those scars and battle wounds… likely not a Regenerator then, but that's a rare Ability. And to lead with it… likely Limber. Dun's Glare is a pretty common opening gambit for me. Possibly Merciless too; gotta be careful about getting Poisoned.

The arena counted us in. "The battle will begin in three, two, one... begin!"

"Hit them fast and hard!" I cried, sweeping my good arm out to the side. Kofu's black eyes gleamed as he saw through my trick.

"Toxic, douse that appliance good!" Toxapex opened up, rearing high on her tendrils to spit a viscous purple blob onto Miles. My Rotom, currently caught up in planning and scheming their Nasty Plot, wasn't able to dodge. At least from the way they shook indignantly, they were able to use that to speed up the Nasty Plot, but now we're on a timer.

"Discharge!" I shouted, and Miles began sparking brightly, a sphere of electricity pulsing out from them.

"Bunker down, we've got ta weather this storm!" Toxapax planted all her limbs down, forming a perfect barrier around her body. The energies of the Move even stopped the electricity from conducting into her… for the moment.

"Keep at it, don't let up." Miles gritted their plasmic teeth together and did just that, continually zapping most of the arena. The Poison was steadily draining away their health, but Toxapex couldn't hold on forever; eventually the Move started coursing through her, her limbs jerking around as the shock was conducted throughout her body.

"Poison Spikes, then Recover!" Kofu ordered.

"That's not good enough! Thunder!" Toxapex was in the middle of shooting spikes all over the field when a bright blue bolt of lightning struck down from the sky into her. Followed by two dozen more. She tried to Recover, glowing, but couldn't outpace the damage she took, despite her impressive defenses.

Kofu returned Toxapex as she fell. "This next dish is gonna have a bit more kick to it, or punch in this case. Go, Crabominable!" The shaggy, white-furred, long-armed fighter took the stage, roaring loudly. Kofu's Ace was met with much applause and cheers by the crowd.

So early?! Why- ah, he doesn't have another answer for Miles. Or at least not a good one; he probably hoped Toxapex would weaken them further. "Switch," I called calmly, returning my Rotom to me. At least, outwardly they weren't hit hard. That Life Orb drained them hard, which combined with the Poison which will still be active when I send them back into the fray… they've got one or two Moves left. Better make them count.

"Go, Nightwing," I declared, tossing Phantasm's ball out. The light burst, and before her shape was even fully formed, the illusion settled over the area, concealing her as Nightwing. Her illusion was even good enough to mostly conceal how the toxic spikes sprinkled about flew into her, only my sharp eyes noticing them flicker. But I knew she had been struck by them, putting us on a clock.

"Get in close and mess him up," I said. Kofu's eyes narrowed as he saw my 'Gliscor' swoop in easily, not at all confused by my lackadaisical command. He clearly suspected something but didn't know what.

"Serve up some revenge for your fallen teammate - and that's a dish best served cold - Icehammer!" Crabominable reared an arm back, swinging it hard… and just missing his enemy, who dived out of the way at the last minute, continuing the blow to smack himself in the face.

"Noooo! Crabominable, what are ya doin'?!" Kofu cried, his Pokemon looking bewildered. From his perspective, I imagine 'Nightwing' was practically on top of him, even if we saw something different. Illusions make Foul Play child's play.

"Slash," I simply ordered. Phantasm carried out my command, zipping around him like a blur as she cut into him, the speed concealing how her blows wouldn't quite match where 'Nightwing' was swinging her pincers and tail.

Kofu, looking desperate, thumbed his Tera Orb for a second before shaking his head. "Close Combat, knock 'em down!" Crabominable's fists swung out all in a wild flurry of blows, all to no avail, missing every shot… and clipping through 'Nightwing' twice.

"Haha! Oh, that's a fine trick ya made there, but we aren't washed up yet," Kofu called out. Drawing his Tera Orb, he chucked it over his Ace, calling, "Surf!" Slamming his huge arms down as the crystal enveloped him, Crabominable pushed the entire arena down and summoned a vast flow of water over everything.

The Nightwing illusion broke as the waves hit Phantasm, revealing a soaked and pissed-off Hisuan Zoroark to the world. At the same time, Crabominable was revealed, Terastalized into a Water Type and shone bright in the morning sun.

"Focus," I warned as Phantasm let out a guttural growl, stalking one step towards the Tera Pokemon. The anger remained in her yellow eyes, but the madness subsided as she honed her rage productively. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu." Suddenly there were a hundred Hisuian Zoroarks on the field, covering nearly every inch of it save for where our enemy was.

Crabominable lashed out, his fists sweeping through the Phantasms all around him. The blows phased through their incorporeal forms to no avail, the illusions simply reforming as the limbs passed through them. I'll say it again, her Illusions really are unfair to someone that doesn't have a way of locking on to her. So what method will you use, Kofu?

"Hol' steady, lad, wait for her to come in and counter!"

"Hyper Voice." Powerful sound waves blasted the arena, causing Kofu's Ace to grasp at the sides of his head. He tried to shake it off and chase through the sound but ended up barreling through a bunch of illusions.

"Surf, flood the field again! Once ya spot her…" Pounding his arms on the now partially flooded arena floor, he conjured another wave.

"Get out of the way!" My wording was specific; if I wanted her to try her hand at dodging it, I would have simply said 'dodge.'. The illusions all disappeared as the water washed over them, Kofu and his Pokemon scanning the water desperately for some sign of her, a disturbance in the liquid she couldn't cover with her illusions.

In truth, she couldn't dynamically control any illusions from the Distortion World, but that was a fact they only learned a second later as she dropped out of the air just above Crabominable, cutting deep into him with Phantom Force. The abominable Pokemon swung fiercely with the finely tuned instincts only a Fighting Type had, swinging his fist back, covered in water for a Crabhammer.

It missed her by a hair's breadth, tearing off a few clumps of red fur from her mane as she darted back. She growled at him, glaring as she stood up from all fours, a taunt and an expression of pure anger all rolled in one. The hair she lost, that wasn't an illusion, no time for that. But still, too fast for him to hit.

Something Kofu realized at around the same time, calling for a switch and recalling his battered Ace. "Yer somethin' else, ya know that?"

"Yup," I said confidently. "And my Pokemon are even more than that."

"Don' go talkin' yer mouth off before ya see how big yer portion is," Kofu shot back, a smile on his lips. "Go, Gyarados."

Hmm, didn't see that coming. The proud sea serpent flew above the watery arena, roaring so fiercely that even Phantasm flinched. He must save that one for special customers.

"Switch," I called instantly, ignoring Phantasm's irritated growl as I recalled her. "You did good, but I've got to give the others a chance to shine too." The shaking of her Pokeball mostly stopped, and I sighed. Glad we've got the hatred worked down, though it's still not perfect. Her skills have shot up, though; I'd say she's on par with most of the rest of the team now.

"Miles, time to electrify them once more!"

"Bzzt!" they declared happily, smiling menacingly at Gyarados. Kofu's Pokemon was undeterred in the face of her natural weakness, charging towards Miles immediately.

"Ice Fang/Substitute!" The Gym Leader and I called out at the same time. Her massive ice-encrusted fangs tore through the energy construct as Miles slipped away.

"Bring the Thunder!" Gyarados tried to twist their serpentine body around to chase after Miles after they realized they'd been duped, but was too slow. Lightning was called down from the sky once more, slamming into the powerful beast.

She roared in pain but pushed through it, jaw opening wide around Miles. "Discharge!!" I shouted desperately, swinging my hurt arm out by accident but barely feeling it with the adrenaline. Electricity erupted around them, and when I blinked the spots clear from my eyes, I saw that both Pokemon had fallen.

There was silence around the arena, the crowd watching with bated breath as we recalled our Pokemon and decided which of our team we would next toss into the fray. As it was a double knockout, we had to pick our Pokemon first, release them, and then wait for another countdown to resume our battle, like at the beginning of the match.

Kofu's definitely changing things up for this; not much in his usual playbook here. None of his Pokemon are untested either, even if mine are a bit stronger. Hmmm, Athena is strong, but her Steel Type attacks won't be much good here, and she doesn't have much beyond Trailblaze to take advantage of his Water Types. Those Steel bones also make her the weakest swimmer on my team, something Kofu will surely take advantage of. Notch and Nightwing need Terastalization to cover for their weaknesses. Dun… I'll save him till later if Kofu starts pushing me back really hard - he's got the next Gym to shine in, and that Crabominable could be trouble, especially since we have fewer switches left. So I guess that leaves…

Snapping up the Pokeball, I released Bahamut at the same time as he released a large blue fish with long yellow whiskers. The fish easily swam about the submerged field, while Bahamut struggled to keep his head afloat. "Whiscash, you really had all your types covered, huh?" He chortled in response, hands planted on his hips.

"I like ta deliver a fully balanced diet with me meals!" I snorted, saying nothing else for the moment, waiting till we were counted in again.

At 'Begin,' Bahamut and I sprung into action, my newest Pokemon forgoing all pretense of having difficulties in the water and charging forward, his tail spinning like a propeller while I shouted "Dragon Claw!" Trailblaze would be better here, but as much as they've improved tremendously at aquatic combat, some Moves just don't come as freely to them there.

The depths clearly still held a home field advantage for Water types, but our efforts were enough to surprise Kofu and land a deep cut into the Whiscash. He called for a Water Pulse, which they managed to fire at Bahamut, but the glancing blow and Type disadvantage inflicted barely any damage as he swam away.

The Gym Leader then surprised me, calling out "Fissure!"

"What?!" My exclamation was punctuated by the sound of the arena beneath cracking apart as Whiscash smashed through it. With only water below, it couldn't serve as a one-hit KO, but it quickly became clear that wasn't Kofu's goal.

The Move still had a gravity to it, a force sucking the foe down, and as Bahamut was caught in the current, his foe followed. It was hard to see that deep down there, so I focused my Aura as much as I could on my eyes, peering into the dark water.

Within the waves, Whiscash was battering Bahamut, swimming around and hitting him with his bulk. My Dragon clawed viciously in response, digging his tusks in as best as he could, but each counter assault took away from his attempts to rise up. When the Water Type would break away, he'd try to swim up again but would be pelted by blasts and further attacks.

He can't do thi- no, he can. He just has to break through that barrier. "BAHAMUT!" I shouted as loud as I could. I had no clue if he could hear me that far down, but I had to believe that he could, or at least that he could feel my emotion. "YOU CAN DO THIS! DON'T GIVE UP!!!"

The scene remained the same for a second, until a bright glow illuminated the depths, lighting it up clearly for all to see. Photos were snapped and phones pointed down, recording the moment as Bahamut evolved, his form growing taller, his tusks developing that signature axe edge.

As the light faded, no one could see what was happening under the waves for a moment, until Whiscash burst violently out of the water. A second later, my Haxorus followed, his black, glistening scales gleaming in the sunlight as he shot up. With one violent, powerful swing of his blood-red edged tusks, Bahamut cut deep into Whiscash, defeating the Water Type, the large fish landing with a massive splash down in the water.

Kofu recalled his Pokemon, his face scrunched up in a look of tight concentration before he nodded. Without any preamble, he released Crabominable above where my newly evolved Pokemon was floating. "Icehammer!" He shouted.

The large Pokemon reached out in the air, smashing down any Ice-covered fist into Bahamut. The blow caused my Haxorus to cry in pain as well as partially encased him in a block of ice that formed around him in the water.

The Gym Leader didn't wait for Bahamut to get more than a glancing blow back into his Ace before calling out for another switch. Returning the Tera Pokemon, he released his final team member, a silver fish with pink fins, Veluza.

"Fillet Away." My eyes widened as I heard that. Shit!

"Attack! Break free- Dragon Rage!" I switched to calling for that when I realized Bahamut couldn't smash through his icy shackles and swim close enough in time. Purple dragon fire burned through even the waves, hurting the Veluza even as it flensed his own flesh with Psychic blades. It was badly hurt by the two Moves, but not enough to stop it.

Veluza zipped through the water like a blur, his fins glowing bright as they cut deep into Bahamut. My Dragon screamed, thrashing as he broke through the water. He tried to swim towards the fish but was hoisted out of the water by a telekinetic force squeezing down on him. I called for Draco Meteor, to no avail, as Veluza shot a powerful Water Pulse out, knocking my Haxorus clean out before diving fully under the water, darting between the falling meteors with ease as they sunk into the pool.

Returning Haxorus, I told him, "That was amazing." He probably can't hear anything, given he's unconscious and all, but if he could feel the sentiment behind my words when he was deep underwater, I'd like to believe that he can feel it now too. And if not, well, I'll repeat it later.

"Dun, it's your time to shine!" I said, tossing a Pokeball over the arena. Kofu's eyes narrowed as he saw the red shape materialize and splash in the water.

"Watch out for illusions!" He called, and I clicked my tongue. Guess I won't be fooling him twice. From the Veluza, a faint purple wave spread out through the water, pinging off an empty spot a few meters away from the illusion of Dun.

"Aqua Cutter!" Kofu called out, and some distant part of my mind noted that he was going all-out now, no longer bothering to banter or make puns. The rest of me was focused on my next command.

"Shadow Sneak!" At the speeds they were moving at, both our Pokemon under the water; I couldn't make out anything beyond two waves rippling by each other. When the waves stilled once more, I saw Veluza, gasping, a new cut along his side, and Phantasm, floating face-down, unconscious.

As I recalled her, the crowd started cheering their beloved Gym Leader's name. "Kofu, Kofu, Kofu!"

"Hey now, I've still got two Pokemon left - and I'm only gonna need one to wrap this up." My bold statement was met with several 'boos' but also a surprising amount of cheers. The fans I had quickly took to chanting my name in response, the cacophony of noise fading to the background as my mind snapped the pieces together for an answer to his insanely buffed Veluza.

"Nightwing, shock and awe." I told her as I released her into the water, my bad arm only shaking slightly as I did so. Veluza rushed ahead with an Aqua Cutter, the vicious fish reacting before his Trainer could even give a command, sensing prey in his environment. And so he missed the Tera Orb I had tossed into the air at the same time as I pressed the button to release my Pokemon.

The sudden Terastalization and lack of critical damage to my now Water Type Pokemon stunned Veluza just long enough for Nightwing to lash out. Pincers grabbing him by head and tail, she pulled him in for an electrically charged bite, the Thunder Fang shocking everything around them (including Nightwing, now vulnerable to that Type of damage), but especially Veluza. The fish thrashed violently in her grasp before stilling, and Kofu quickly recalled his Pokemon.

Cascarrafa's Gym Leader drew his Ace's Pokeball before shaking his head.

"You're not sending Crabominable back out?" I questioned.

"Nay, this ol' man knows when his Ducklett is cooked. He's on his last leg, and ya got plenty o' energy to spare," he said, gesturing at Nightwing, who had flown out of the water. The Toxic Orb had already begun to kick in, which, in turn, with her Hidden Ability was rapidly healing the damage the conducted Thunder Fang had done.

"Nemona Glitterati, ya've earned the Water Badge." At that declaration the crowd went wild, cheering and hollering, much applause for both of us.

With the arena well and wrecked, I had to walk the long way around to shake Kofu's hand. Then he passed me the small round badge, the tiny yet oh-so-important physical proof of my triumph. "Yer gonna go far, kid."

"Heh." The small half-chuckle escaped me without meaning when I thought of the song I had waiting with that exact name. "Thank you, sir," I spoke more clearly, holding the badge up to the light. Seven badges already. It feels like we've come so far, and yet it's been such a short time. Just one more to go, and then… the Elite Four.

The Alpha Tera Pokemon part was fun, and I wanted to show how a wild Pokemon might still be dangerous to Nemona, even with her incredible Aura and team (there are some wild Pokemon like Athena's Sensei that are even stronger, but those are outliers among outliers).

As for the Gym Battle, it was tough, but Nemona has earned her penultimate Paldean Gym Badge! And you have no idea how much I was tempted to make it the exact opposite of a tough battle. Because seriously, Kofu sucks.

And I don't mean his character; I really enjoy his character. All the puns, his accent, being a chef, how he must just straight up run across the desert to get to the Porto Marinada, et. cetera. He's also mentioned as being the one who trained Katy (the other Gym Leader involved in the culinary arts) and if you do the Gyms in the order you're meant to, then he's the fourth Gym, which means he should be the one where Hassel tells you the Gym Challenge is getting serious and most people drop out here. So he should be tough, right?

WRONG! He is, without a doubt in my mind, the most disappointing Gym Leader in the game. His Pokemon aren't very impressive, and their Move Sets more so (doesn't use Veluza's signature Move? Rock Smash on his Ace? Mud Slap on Wugtrio?!). They lack defensive coverage against their weaknesses, so despite Water being a strong Type, they get easily rolled over. And all of this is compared to the Gym Leader right before him, Iono, who is actually decently challenging for where she comes in, with coverage, good Moves, and a very effective Terastalization/Ace. Also, she has one more Pokemon than Kofu has, what even gives Game Freak?

I give Larry a bit more of a pass on this, as despite also having three Pokemon on his Gym team and limited Moves, at least his Pokemon are decently strong and have solid Moves. Plus, his team improves in the rematches, unlike Kofu's, which really doesn't.

So yeah, I was tempted to give Kofu a bad team to match how the game actually goes, but decided that a lackluster fight wouldn't help the story, or be interesting to the readers, so in the end, I decided to give him a team more in line with what the characters hint at for a veteran Gym leader.

Also, I know in the games the sandstorms still partially enter the city, but that felt like something they'd probably try/have to fix in a more fleshed-out world. But I also noticed that sometimes you'll see NPCs walking around with Golducks, which can have the Cloud Nine Ability. That felt like a decent explanation for what protected the lower level of the city from the desert it's on. Let me know what you thought about those headcanons and the fights here or on the Discord. And if you're enjoying my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

Lillie Jones · Jul 9, 2025

thanks for the chapter

Skyfyre · Wednesday at 5:33 PM

Thank you to my 26 Beginner Tier Patreons and a special thanks to RageLord and Nodal_Gravity, my Ace Tier Patreons! The support really helps.

The days spent waiting for my arm to heal fully weren't spent idly. Getting Bahamut used to his new body and power was a great deal of fun, though even Kofu agreed it should probably be done outside of the city limits (especially after I realized how much damage our battle had wrought). I also got him started on a bunch of Moves that he couldn't use before. Despite his body shape remaining quite similar, several Moves like Earthquake were impossible or prohibitively difficult to learn in a Fraxure's body. Some part of me itched to discover why and how that worked.

However, I had more pressing questions on my mind, and seeing the two people flying down to Cascarrafa's eastern entrance, I thought I just might get some answers for at least one of them.

I waved them down, standing to the side, out of the way of the main traffic going into and out of the city. They landed down by the Cyclizar… (rack? Stall?) place. One of them, a young man with brown hair in a topknot and goatee, lounged within the pouch of a Bombirdier. He stood on the ground with a loud yawn and pulled the set of goggles he was wearing up, revealing very baggy eyes as he took me in.

In contrast, the woman who flew in beside him was full of energy. She had been hanging off of a Flamigo and had been doing pull-ups until her Flying Type landed. Springing off, she jumped down, landing in a squat before me. Rising up, she flipped her wild, long brown hair back behind her and offered a hand out to me.

"Hi there! Nemona Glitterati? You were the one who called us, right?" The woman asked brightly. Both she and her companion were wearing black and red outfits, though they differed greatly in type. She had a red sports bra and matching red sweatband on her forehead, with black leggings. In contrast, I could see the man had a black t-shirt underneath a red poncho and wore black cargo pants.

I took her grip and shook it firmly and tried not to stare at her well-defined abs too much. "Uh, yes, Nemona, that is me. I mean- I take it you're the Rangers? I was surprised when I got a message back requesting to meet you here."

The man snorted. "After the trouble you dropped in our lap with that Alpha Tera Pokemon? Course we're gonna investigate when you say there might be even more trouble."

Frowning, his counterpart said, "Zedd! We're Rangers, and both of us are captains. You should be happy to help." I guess that explains why they have so much leeway in their attire. Rank has some privileges, I guess.

Zedd gave a long-suffering sigh in response. "I'm not saying I'm not willing to help-" The woman and I shared a glance at that, the man sounding anything but. "But I like conserving my energy for what matters most. Sadly, this definitely fits the bill," he said.

"Oh, and we might need a hand with this," he informed me offhandedly. "That Palossand still won't listen to any of the Rangers at HQ - relocation is a nightmare at the best of times. But if what you said was true and this is a sign that something even scarier drove it off? Oof."

The woman grimaced but nodded. "Yeah, sorry to say, we might need your help here. Oh, and I'm Captain Buffy, by the way."

Right, I'm a seven badge Trainer now. Even Trainers with fewer badges than me could be tapped to help Rangers depending on the situation. The badges came with respect and prestige for a Trainer, but they also carried some measure of responsibility to them too.

"Ok. I have some basic wilderness training, and I'm not a bad battler - to toot my own horn - but I don't have the skill of a Ranger Captain. Especially not out in the desert," I said, glancing down at the fields of sand down below.

Looking at their Flying Types I added, "My flier is going to be a lot slower than yours, unfortunately." Mostly because Nightwing can be a bit testy about that. I've argued her down to carrying me in emergency situations, like with Raifort, but she really won't count this as the same. Miles can't generate enough lift to do anything other than slow a fall down, and Notch is barely better and much too slow, which leaves Dun. At least his improved strength and my greater Aura control make the process less strenuous on him.

Releasing him in front of them caused them to blink before Buffy let out a sharp, joyous laugh. "Ha! A Dudunsparce that can fly, impressive. You must have trained a long time for that." Dun preened a little at the praise. "He looks like he's got a lot of endurance; that'll be great for this kind of mission; gotta keep that cardio up!"

Zedd moaned, as if the very talk of exercise was tiring to him. "We'll take things nice and slow. There's a whole lot of desert to search through." He climbed back into his Bombridier's pouch, and I mounted Dun while Buffy's Flamigo hopped onto her shoulders, ready to pick her up.

Before we could leave, I inquired, "So I thought Rangers didn't catch Pokemon..." I trailed off with a menaingful glance at their belts, which had four Pokeballs each.

"We tend to limit it to one partner each, but for Ranger Captains - or Top Rangers - we get a bit more leeway," Zedd explained. "Just too many logistical difficulties in getting around where we need to be, with the power to tackle a problem that needs our immediate attention."

Buffy held up her arm eagerly, showing off the spinning top device attached to her wrist. "Don't worry, we still use the classics. Our Fine Stylers should have that wild Pokemon calmed down in a jiffy." If it goes that smoothly than they won't need me. Though considering how tough that Palosand was, and it got driven out by this thing, they might need my help in restraining it long enough to work their magic.

With that settled, our Pokemon took off, soaring through the air. It's something else to see all the Pokemon from up so high above. We're far enough up that they aren't paying too much attention to us, so you really get to see how they interact without a human presence to put them on guard. All but the most docile of Pokemon would get a little wary upon seeing someone else in their territory.

Such thoughts kept me distracted, not focusing on the nearly unbearable heat beating down on us. While hardly the worst weather I'd endured on my journey, it still left me very sweaty and, worse, very frustrated. My Aura control had improved leaps and bounds over the years, but as much as I'd improved, the same baseline issues existed. Holding onto my center, that feeling of freedom and joy, was easier than ever, but I could still end up losing a hold on it. I knew if I did, that would be putting extra pressure on Dun, who was panting heavily after only an hour.

I tried to keep myself from drifting off and passed the time chatting with the Ranger Captains while we scoured the desert. Buffy and I shouted back and forth to be heard over the wind, while Zedd just said his responses normally. Does he know I can hear him just fine, or does he just not care and doesn't want to strain himself?

In any case, the conversation mostly consisted of Buffy giving me some workout pointers, which I greatly appreciated. Like my Pokemon Training, while there were a plethora of online sources that I used to build up my routine, having personal advice (especially from someone as skilled as a Ranger Captain). There were a few tidbits of wilderness advice and some details about what being a Ranger was like. Most notable was Zedd's advice, seemingly out of nowhere, to "Always keep your eyes up; you never know what might get the drop on you."

My eyes, which had been focused downward, snapped up just in time to see an ornery pack of Braviaries flying toward us. Only four of them, but that was still a decently large number of the usually solitary birds. More worrying than that, however, was my control slipping for just a moment in shock and Dun dipping down as my weight pressed more heavily into him.

"Shit!" Making a snap decision, I released Notch and said, "We can't fight and fly at the same time! We'll land, and Notch will play backup." I got a brief nod from Buffy and no response from Zedd as they moved into action immediately, combating the aggressive wild Pokemon.

The sand was scorching hot where we landed, but both Dun and I gasped in relief. Okay, I overestimated how easy that would be. We've done short flights in the past, but a prolonged search is just too tiring, even for him. At least my assessment about Notch was spot-on.

Glancing upward, I saw how the Rangers were handily combatting the Braviaries. Good tactics, Moves, and Notch providing defensive support in the form of barriers and telekinetically throwing the wild Pokemon off-balance meant they were slowly but surely winning. I was sure that in a few minutes, the Braviarys would be driven off. Though the question remains of why they were so aggressive in the first place?

On the surface of it, the question appeared simple: almost all wild Pokemon had an area they 'owned' and would contest any intruders in their space. That was just as true for airspace with Flying Pokemon as it was with ground-bound ones, and Braviaries weren't an unusual sight within the Aseado Desert. But this many of them grouped up like this is pretty weird.

Braviaries were a Pokemon I found to be pretty cool, so I had done some research into their habitats and patterns. Generally, once a Rufflet evolved, they left the flock (or challenged the lead Braviary for leadership) to lead their own. To see so many working together like that - and working with at least decent teamwork, I noted - was worrying.

Eventually, they'd had enough and dispersed, flying away. The Rangers took the moment to fly down to me, Notch trailing behind them. None of their Pokemon looked too worse for wear from the encounter, thankfully.

"You doing alright?" Zedd asked, and I gave a thin smile.

"Feel like I should be asking you that. We're doing fine, but I may have overestimated Dun's capability to keep us in the air for the entire search." My partner grumbled but didn't argue the point. Sucks to admit that, but better to do so now than to try and push things.

Buffy nodded. "No worries. Honestly amazed you kept up with us as long as you did, and your little pal here was no slouch in battling off those Braviarys!" Notch gave a small chime of appreciation. "Do you think they could carry you?"

"Not while keeping up with your search rate." Notch is tanky, but they're less powerful than Dun and even slower. Trying to carry me wouldn't work. Hmm, maybe if they used Psychic to hold me aloft? Or Barrier platforms I could run on in the air- No, as much as I trust their control, that's all stuff we've never tried before. Attempting it for an extended duration when we're hundreds of meters up in the air is just asking for problems.

After a moment I said, "I can continue to search on the ground. It won't be as fast as your method, but the desert is big, and we've got a lot of terrain to cover."

Buffy frowned, tossing a glance Zedd's way, but he shook his head. "She's sharp, and if the rest of her Pokemon are as strong as that Carbink…" He trailed off questioningly to me, and I nodded. "Then she can handle herself."

Turning to me directly, he tossed me a handheld radio and added, "I'm sure you'll be smart enough to call us in if you see anything. Especially since you were smart enough to realize this was some mass migration we missed from the Great Crater."

"You're sure?" I asked, and their faces were grim.

"Yup, no two ways about it, those Braviaries were definitely from the Great Crater. We also ran into an unusually strong Venomoth on the steeps above Cascarrafa, which we suspect was from there too. At least, now we do," Buffy admitted.

"No offense, but aren't you guys supposed to cover Pokemon coming out like that? No offense," I hastily tacked on, to be met by an amused snort from Zedd.

"Nah, I get it. We do try, but… There's a lot of territory to cover there, and fliers are some of the trickiest ones to keep down."

"We don't keep all of them down - just the ones that are too strong and aggressive to be integrated into non-Area Zero environs," Buffy said. "Still, sometimes one can slip by, like here."

Frowning, I asked, "Could that Venomoth or those Braviaries have been the ones to drive the Palossand out?"

Zedd shook his head, sighing. "If only we could wrap it up that easily, but nope. Those things could have annoyed the Palossand, but to drive off an Alpha Tera? We're looking at something a lot scarier than that. Whatever is here likely drove off the Venomoth and Braviary in the first place, before leaving the Great Crater themselves." A sinking feeling settled in my stomach as details clicked in my mind.

Waving them off, the Rangers took to the skies once more while I trudged across the sand, keeping my eyes peeled. All sorts of fun Pokemon inhabited the desert, and I could see close up the Sandacondas baking in the sun, Bramblins tumbling about in the wind, and even Sandiles waddling in the shade provided by monolithic boulders and thin, ancient towers. None of that distracted me from my mission, not with the newfound urgency I felt.

Didn't the games have a Paradox Pokemon in this desert? Right, they did. Guess I should be on the lookout for a Donphan look-alike around here. I could hardly tell the Ranger Captains any of that, however, and just had to hope that I'd run into the Paradox Pokemon first. I don't think Zedd or Buffy have teams as tough as mine, but they don't seem like slouches either. I'm sure they'll be fine if they come across Iron Treads first.

The fact that a Paradox Pokemon might be here already was worrying for many reasons, but mostly for me was how far along the Professor's experiments must be. I didn't feel like I was 'wasting time,' but there are definitely elements on my journey I could have gone through faster, and I've got no clue how far along Turo is. The timeline is kinda vague on it, and my memories are even more so, but when he calls that second Miraidon… he'll die.

I stopped, frowning at myself. "Or will he?" I questioned aloud. "Have I changed things such that it might not equal his death? No, I can't count on that. The Butterfly Effect says it's just as possible that any Paradox Pokemon he called on now could be his death. Or anything else, but that isn't very helpful. What do you think?"

My question was directed to the Pokemon I had just caught waddling up to me and hadn't fully focused on, and when I did, I had to withhold a gasp of delight. Silky white fur covered the small bug, ringed with five wavy red spikes sticking out of its back. Bright blue eyes looked up at me, a little confused and more than a little worried. A- a Larvesta! Oh. My. Arceus.

Attempts to not spook it by remaining completely still failed after two seconds, when the radio suddenly blared out Zedd's voice. "We got something, over." The cute bug startled at the noise and immediately began burrowing under the sand.

"Wait, no, come baaaaack," I cried, but it was too late; they were well gone. Before they left, though, I hadn't missed how their eyes gazed out across the desert; something far away had been bothering them. Damn, Volcarona is one of my favorite kinds of Pokemon, right after Haxorus.

Grabbing the radio, I responded. "I hear you. What's the sitch? Over."

Buffy responded. "You aren't going to believe this, but a ton of sand is- wait, eyes on a potential suspect. Is that-? No, it doesn't look right, but- It's spotted us! Unidentified Flying Pokemon approaching, moving to engage, over."

"What- no! Wait for me to arrive!"

"Don't really have a choice in the matter, Nemona," Zedd breathed out before cutting off. Distantly, I heard sounds of battle from the radio before those shut off completely too.

"Looks like they found the problem. Let's see if we can get there in time to lend a hand. Dun, if you would?"

"Sparce," he replied, flapping his wings hard, kicking up a heavy wind (and no small amount of sand around us). I'm going to have sand everywhere by the time this is done.

Racing across the desert, even with the boost, took a while. As we did so, I tried to contact them for more directions a few times but got no response back. It was more than a little worrying, but I just focused on moving ahead, hoping that I was heading in the right direction.

My first sign came within fifteen minutes, seeing something odd on the ground. Is that a heat mirage or… no, that's glass. Getting closer proved it to be true. A vast pane of glass was covering a stretch of land with some weird shiny liquid coating the top. More pressingly, toward the center, I saw a pitched battle taking place, with the two Rangers looking singed in places but frantically giving orders to their remaining Pokemon.

Remaining, because several of them were knocked out, scattered around the inferno at the center. Burning brightly, light gleamed off of its metallic insectoid body. It had no legs but instead six vents indented into the blue side armor around its abdomen and the white armor around its thorax. Its head was domed, the orange four-section target-like eyes darting around as it responded with lightning, fire, and waves of toxic sludge to the attacking Snorlax and Infernape Buffy and Zedd had out.

Most telling of all were the six separate wing panes that hovered just off the creature's back, like a vertical halo that somehow kept it aloft. I had no clue how the anatomy or biology of that worked, but I knew exactly what creature they were fighting. The other Paradox Pokemon with a past and future connection whose base unevolved form I had seen just minutes prior in the Asado Desert.

"Iron Moth."

The Paradox Pokemon screeched as if in response to my distant words, the sound assaulting me from far away. The Pokemon fighting it took it worse, Buffy's Infernape wincing at the noise. That was all the opening needed for the Iron Moth to unleash a wave of purple sludge down upon the Fighting Type.

Racing ahead, I thought for a split second before recalling Dun, judging my starter to be too tired to throw into the fray against an aggressive wild Tera Pokemon. Before I could decide who to send out to join Notch in taking the Iron Moth out, I was alerted to a hissing sound at my feet.

The shiny liquid that oozed over the glass was clearly acidic in nature, as I saw the soles of my shoes disintegrating from contact with the potent poison. Yelping, I leapt into the air, drawing a survival knife from my bag and slicing through the laces of my hiking boots, flinging them off before the acid could eat away at my flesh, the sturdy boots sizzling as they hit the ground.

"Rest, then Snore!" Zedd called out, no trace of his former laid-back attitude as he desperately commanded his Snorlax to keep on fighting. The sleeping Pokemon was the only one still 'active' on the battlefield, weathering the varied assaults from the Paradox Pokemon. But he can't keep up like this, I realized as I floated closer, careful to not touch the toxic floor.

A Slowbro and Komala lay defeated nearby, with a Medicham and Buffy's Flamigo knocked out further past with twitches indicative of heavy shocks. The Ranger Captain recalled those two fallen Pokemon before returning her Infernape as well. A badly Burned but still conscious Toxicroak acting like it wanted to shield her but more accurately leaning against its Trainer.

Zedd whipped his Capture Styler around the Iron Moth, the top spinning around in an arc around the Paradox Pokemon, taking advantage of the fact that they were attacking his Snorlax. The glowing line grew bright white- but then fizzled out as Iron Moth released a massive screech and shock wave, frying the device before it could return to Zedd, and resuming their assault on the sleeping giant. I was curious if the Styler couldn't work on Paradox Pokemon or if it had been something else that interfered with it, but I knew this wasn't the time to focus on that.

Quickly drawing two Pokeballs, I released Phantasm and Nightwing from them. "Nightwing, get the Rangers out of here! Notch, defend us, Phantasm-" I didn't have time to give her an order, and she howled in pain, the poisonous surface hurting her and spurring her into action. Faster than my eyes could track, she launched herself at the Iron Moth. The wild Pokemon reacted just as fast, however, turning its white-hot Fiery Dance away from the Snorlax and zipping around the assault Phantasm attempted to lay into them.

"Wha- Nemona!" Zedd gasped out, his breathing harsh. Is he injured? Looking him over quickly, I couldn't find any sign of an injury before realizing his shortness of breath was due to the flames raging around, sapping the oxygen from the area. I must have unconsciously corrected for it with my Aura. I hadn't laxed in my practice during my journey, but I was calling on it hard and doing things I hadn't known I was capable of right now, and I feared that if I thought about it too much, I might no longer be able to do so.

So I didn't, focusing on the problem at hand. "Get out of here!" I told him, watching as Buffy recalled her last Pokemon and Nightwing started flying her out of the way. Notch raised a barrier at the same time, cutting Iron Moth off from attacking Zedd or his Snorlax again, at least for the moment. "I've got this!"

The man looked skeptical, raising an eyebrow as the barrier shook almost immediately after I said that, lightning sparking all around Iron Moth and lashing out, striking Phantasm and the barrier with immense power. Damn, I knew Paradox Pokemon were strong, but that's something else. Though the Fiery Dances it used fighting the Rangers probably didn't help matters.

"Miles, shore up the barrier." My Rotom shot out of their case, tiny lightning bolt 'arms' waving wildly as they glowed with Psychic Energy, adding another line of defense in the barrier. Trusting that Miles and Notch had that covered, I turned my attention to Phantasm.

She wasn't used to fighting a wild Pokemon as fast as she was; her fur burned from electricity and fire in places. "Clone tactics! Evasive maneuvers with mixed artillery." My voice reached her, and even in pain and filled with rage, she responded automatically, conjuring illusory clones of herself all around the barrier. With a brief moment of clarity, the light returned to her eyes, and she clawed herself out of the instinctual rage and followed the second half of my command, launching Shadow Balls from every direction at the oversized moth.

The Paradox Pokemon continued to dart around inside, attempting to dodge all the attacks headed their way like a demented Touhou player. Burning away illusory copies with spinning wingbeats that resembled nothing less than a flaming buzzsaw, Iron Moth wove Fiery Dances into the dodges. But as quick as they were, they literally could not dodge every attack - there were no gaps to escape in this pattern - and soon enough they were getting knocked about by some of the attacks.

On the offensive front, Iron Moth was doing much better, even disregarding how much actually getting hit was hampering its ability to attack. For each illusion that fell, Phantasm conjured another one, the fakes not helping to boost the Paradox Pokemon's power further.

"Guess you really do have it handled," Zedd breathed out as Nightwing flew back. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him shaking his head, and I wasn't sure if it was due to him leaving me to deal with this by myself or because of the immense power on display in that fight. Or a third option: both the power and how I'm handling it. In any case, he recalled his Snorlax and let my Gliscor pick him up (grumbling as she did so, to make it clear I owed her for this).

"Psychic," I said loudly as Iron Moth paused for a second to try and catch themselves after the battering they had taken. Instantly, a faint blue glow covered Iron Moth as the telekinetic field snapped into place, holding them tight and squeezing down.

They screeched louder in pain, the super-effective attack stinging extra hard, but there was no place for them to break free. Failing at that, they launched another powerful Discharge everywhere around, but Phantasm was ready, dropping the Psychic to Detect the attack. All the clones were ripped apart, but somehow Phantasm managed to slip to the other edge of the barrier and find one of the few spots to avoid the attack from.

I couldn't be sure how old or how much experience Iron Moth had, but they were quick enough to try and move again after the attack, but Notch had 'stepped in,' so to speak, easily able to reach through their own barrier and use Psychic against the Paradox Pokemon.

The barrier also diminished the impact of the sound outside the barrier, something I was very grateful for, as the following pained screech likely would have driven me to my knees otherwise. Thrashing within the limited confines of their movement, Iron Moth poured out a deluge of poison around the field, something that Phantasm dodged by cutting through temporarily to the Distortion World.

Picture-perfect following of my orders to be evasive and a mistake. Its target crosshair eyes darted all around its head, scanning for any sign of Phantasm in a second, finding nothing. Then they locked on us outside the barrier and realized where the force currently holding it was coming from.

Electricity gathered all around it, and I told Miles and Notch, "Brace!" The electricity poured out from Iron Moth… and straight into the ground, the field electrifying. The energy they had released came surging back into them as their Quark Drive activated, supercharging the Paradox Pokemon.

At the same time, Phantasm reemerged from the Distortion World behind Iron Moth, landing a heavy Phantom Force strike into them. Before she touched the ground, her foe released their strongest Discharge yet, a blindingly bright light knocking Phantasm aside and ripping apart the glassy ground and straight through both barriers.

"Aah!" I cried, the force of them breaking sending me flying back. Catching myself mid-tumble, I pushed myself back up, just in the nick of time to see a fiery tornado bearing down on me.

With a yelp, I dodged to the side. "What is this, Crisis City?" No one had any time to answer my rhetorical question, as they were currently fighting a very strong Paradox Pokemon. Solar Beams were conjured in an instant, carving great gouges through the sand as the Moves bore towards Notch. Miles endured blasts of fire and Acid Sprays potent enough to melt through the torn-up glass they landed on. Hurricanes whipped up great gusts of wind and sand to batter everything in their path. All together it felt like multiple natural disasters joined together in an unholy party of destruction and chaos.

Despite the power Iron Moth had, it was clear that my two genderless Pokemon had them beat working together, jagged stones accompanied by ghostly hexes scouring the air and driving at our enemy. Or they would have, were it not for the errant (or perhaps erratic) attacks Iron Moth launched towards me and the downed Phantasm, forcing one or the other to stop fighting back and defend us.

Recalling Phantasm, I cut off one angle of attack while redoubling their focus on me. Do I need to call in Athena too? She'll ignore the poison, but the fire- no, we got this. I sighed slightly in relief as I watched Nightwing rocket back, joining the fray and adding another element for Iron Moth to deal with.

"Knock off, Psychic, Thunder Wave, Confuse Ray!" I called out rapidly, adding a few hand waves to help demonstrate what I was going for.

Circling around Iron Moth, my Gliscor raised her tail, shrouded in Dark Type Energy. Iron Moth released another powerful wave of electrical energy all around. The Electric attack did nothing to deter Nightwing from striking down with her tail, hitting Iron Moth hard and putting them off-balance for a second.

Miles barely flinched from the attack, their Typing enough to take the brunt of it, while Notch simply tanked it. Using that opening, they grabbed it with Psychic, tossing the moth down to the ground and holding it there. Then, for good measure, pelting it with a quick Ancient Power as well.

The last two Moves had to be executed fast, but given Confuse Wisp, I figured Miles knew enough of the theory to give the status Moves a go. They did, better than I could have imagined, summoning up a ball of bewildering light in one plasmic limb and a thin but targeted electrical burst from the other. The Thunder Wave hit Iron Moth first, causing their wings to seize and spasm, but the Confuse Ray wasn't far behind, disorienting them further.

"Now, Earthquake!!!" Nightwing dived down gleefully, smashing into the ground with a tremendous impact. The waves rippled out instantly, tons of sand crashing into Iron Moth, earning distorted squeaks and electronic sounds as they were buffeted.

The Move also broke up the remaining glass, sending shards and sand flying all about, and I raised my arms to shield my face. When I lowered them, I glanced around rapidly, searching for a sign of attack, but thankfully found none. Aside from the swirling sand, all was still, even Iron Moth-

They twitched, then again from where they lay, half-buried in the sand. And clearly, it wasn't just the last vestiges of consciousness but more hampered by the disorientation caused by the previously debilitating Moves.

"Crabhammer, finish this," I told Nightwing quickly, and she didn't have to be asked twice. Both the fastest of my three Pokemon currently out and the closest to Iron Moth, she was on them in an instant. Water sheathing her massive pincer hands, she smashed them into Iron Moth once, twice, before rearing back for an even stronger blow-

"STOP." My voice was loud and firm, not angry but very attention-grabbing. Nightwing aborted her last attack, whipping around to look at me as if to ask, 'What gives?'

"You won; it's over." Pointing at the Iron Moth, it clearly wasn't fighting back anymore. The lights in its head and on its wings had dimmed, and I had no clue what that meant for its overall health. I doubt anyone other than Turo does.

"Scor scor," Nightwing hissed, snapping her fangs just above the Paradox Pokemon, but I shook my head.

"Yes, we have to fight the Paradox Pokemon but that doesn't make them evil. They didn't have any choice in getting brought here either and are probably sc- confused." Trying to say that Iron Moth was 'scared' might be a stretch; until we showed up, it was happily roasting the rangers. Still, I should try to get to know it better before…

My thoughts ran into a brick wall and stopped as the battle high wore off, and a lot of things hit me at once. A small part of me was impressed by the power and speed they had and thought they'd be a good addition to the team, while the rest of me was freaking out/slowly coming to the conclusion of what needed to be done here.

While I had that slight mental breakdown, Notch chimed at Nightwing, earning an irritated and annoyed sound as she blew the Rock Type off. Despite that, she was no longer frustrated or angry and stepped back, giving me room to throw a Pokeball at Iron Moth, which I did… only for it to barely cover half the distance between us before landing in the sand.

Dead silence save for the slight breeze filled the air for a moment before Nightwing started snickering at my failure. Even Miles had to avert their eyes and pretend they hadn't seen it. Grumbling, I muttered, "Stupid throwing balls being way more difficult than it is in the anime," before walking over and grabbing the Pokeball, throwing it again, from far closer this time.

The second attempt landed clean on the downed Pokemon, pulling it in with a flash of red light. The ball landed in the sand, making a small divot as it shook. Three times it wobbled back and forth, as if the Pokemon was still fighting despite everything, but eventually it stopped. With a click, the capture was announced, and I picked the innocuous-looking Pokeball up.

For a long minute I just stared at it, mentally running over the possibilities and what actions I could take from here before sighing deeply, clipping it on my belt, and marching back through the desert.

After an indeterminate amount of time, I reached the Ranger Captains, standing on the edge of the glass, who immediately began shouting… something. I strained myself to hear, calling on my Aura, only to find it empty. Barely a wisp left in the tank. Why is everything so blurry? I wondered for a second before the crash fully hit me, and I collapsed.

A/N: While not quite a 'Legendary,' this Paradox Pokemon was probably the closest thing Nemona has come to facing one to date. Hopefully I did the sheer elemental power and might such a Pokemon could bring to bear justice.

I know a couple of people had wondered if it might be the Paradox Titan, and while it fills a very similar role, in being the Paradox version of a Pokemon that otherwise could have it's pre-evolution found in that area (and with both a future and past Paradox connection!) this one didn't find any Herba Mystica. It was just that strong, unlike the Iron Treads/Great Tusks you run into in the game, which is actually kinda underleveled compared to the Pokemon in Area Zero.

Also, hope people liked the Ranger Captains. They're OCs but also references to another thing and I'm curious if anyone will recognize where they're from. In any case, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you did, feel free to leave a comment below or on the Discord. And if you're enjoying my stuff and want to toss me a bit of money, I have a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you have a great day.

trudny1 · Wednesday at 5:46 PM

Mc: I want Volcarona.
Someone: We have Volcarona at home.
Volcarona at home: Iron Moth

unlawfulwaffle362 · Wednesday at 6:37 PM

Skyfyre said:
"So I thought Rangers didn't catch Pokemon..." I trailed off with a menaingful glance at their belts, which had four Pokeballs each.

"We tend to limit it to one partner each, but for Ranger Captains - or Top Rangers - we get a bit more leeway," Zedd explained. "Just too many logistical difficulties in getting around where we need to be, with the power to tackle a problem that needs our immediate attention."

The Pokemon Ranger games take place in regions that shun pokeball and "Trainer Culture" so rangers of other regions having pokemon teams is too practical to forbid imo.

Rangers, like in real life, are wardens, conservationists, and guardians of their assigned wildlife region. They help protect nature, watch for any signs of disasters, and help nature be nature as smoothly as possible. Having an entire squad of elemental manipulating monster would be vital for that both for terraforming certain troublespots and communicating with local pokemon populations.

Spearow · Wednesday at 7:36 PM

Author, i beg you! Give those poor pokemon, actual pokemon names! and not what ever Iron Moth and other nonsense the originals were called by, you have the opportunity to rename every last one of those buggers

unlawfulwaffle362 said:
The Pokemon Ranger games take place in regions that shun pokeball and "Trainer Culture" so rangers of other regions having pokemon teams is too practical to forbid imo.

They could have a bunch of small ones

Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

Well worn.

Know what you're doing yet?

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Know what you're doing yet?

Well worn.

Know what you're doing yet?

Lord of Procrastination

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Well worn.

Know what you're doing yet?

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Well worn.

Respect the bird

Know what you're doing yet?

Know what you're doing yet?

Flesh is a weakness we must shed.

Making the rounds.

Respect the bird

Know what you're doing yet?

Know what you're doing yet?

Well worn.

Know what you're doing yet?

Know what you're doing yet?

Well worn.

Know what you're doing yet?

Well worn.

Know what you're doing yet?

Flesh is a weakness we must shed.

I trust you know where the happy button is?

Respect the bird

Users who are viewing this thread