Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

[fireball77]

"A character being 'Worfed' is a term from my world. It came from a series, well several series actually, called Star Trek. Worf was actually in a lot of the different series; however, in Next Generation, where he premiered, he was a tough security officer. However, to show how tough the enemy of the week was, Worf would often lose to them despite his supposed strength, to hype up how tough the threat was. That's where the term comes from," I explained.

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I was today years old when I heard of this
I saw this and I thought: "did the author mean 'nerfed'?"

 

[fireball77]

A Key Stone?! A freaking Key Stone!? Who gives these out? Well, I think Stephen does in the remakes, so ok, maybe it is somewhat normal-ish to get a Key Stone from a Champion, but still.

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Gurkinn gives out like 19? Of then in the XY arc of Pokemon Adventures lmfao, even to people who aren't from Kalos, like Blaine, Blue, and Steven

 

[fireball77]

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.

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Never played SV or watched Journeys
What happened?

 

[fireball77]

Internal snarking aside, I was impressed by his choice. So much so that I immediately called, "Switch," and recalled Phantasm. Super-Effective STAB Fighting attacks are something she hasn't ever experienced before and something I'd rather not subject her to. Honestly, he's a pretty good counter to most of my team.

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Shouldn't Hisuian Zoroark be immune to fighting type moves regardless?

 

[fireball77]

Finally all caught up
Amazing read btw
Will get the Patreon

 

[Skyfyre]

hm, her pokemon is already fully evolved? i expected it to stay mid way for years, since primarinas are big and her mom is more domestic that a battler

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Primarina is her sister's Starter Pokemon, and Cyan did go on a journey and circuit fighting all eight Gym Leaders last year. She's not as good as Nemona is, but Cyan's still decently skilled.

I was today years old when I heard of this
I saw this and I thought: "did the author mean 'nerfed'?"

Click to shrink...

No, a nerf would be a deliberate, actual depower of some kind. Being 'worfed' or 'the Worf effect' is when a character that is strong, gets beat up regularly to show off how strong the new threat is.

Gurkinn gives out like 19? Of then in the XY arc of Pokemon Adventures lmfao, even to people who aren't from Kalos, like Blaine, Blue, and Steven

Click to shrink...

That is kind of fair, though people like Blaine, Blue, and Steven are fairly important people from other regions.

Never played SV or watched Journeys
What happened?

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: SV

Hassel's father pretends to be dying to trick his son to leave his job as an art teacher to get him to return to the Dragon Tamer Clan he grew up with.

Shouldn't Hisuian Zoroark be immune to fighting type moves regardless?

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Flamigo can (and in this case, did) have the Scrappy Ability, allowing them to hit Ghosts with Fighting Type Moves. When the Immunity to Fighting Type Moves is bypassed, then Phantasm is weak to them because she's a Normal Type too.

Finally all caught up
Amazing read btw
Will get the Patreon

Click to shrink...

Thank you so much!!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 69 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, Exalted Requiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons. Your support means a lot to me.

Slowly blinking my eyes clear of sleep, I swept my vision around the room, carefully taking in every detail. Flour, spilled on the counter but only in one corner. Peelings and other small compost on most counters. The stove, still burning hot - I should really turn that off - and causing whatever was in the saucepan to boil. A broken plate, the sound of which woke me up at this early hour. Most damning of all, a cutting board, chopped in half… with the cut carrying on downwards a few inches through the countertop past it.

Finally, I turn my gaze to the two culprits of this mess, a boy smaller than me with wavy brown hair and a Dragon much taller than me with jet-black scales. Neither one was willing to meet my stare, looking away and staring off guiltily.

Mabostiff chuffed loudly at the mess, causing me to turn on him. "Oh, don't laugh; this is your fault."

"Mabo?!"

"You left them unsupervised!"

"Bo bo, tiff!" He barked back, and I sighed, unable to find fault with his logic.

"Okay, fine, it's both our fault; we share the blame for this fifty-fifty," I told the dog, and he nodded his head reasonably. Arven and Bahamut in front of us just looked like they wanted to sink into the ground.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make something nice, and Bahamut wanted to help. We were making pancakes and- and-" his eyes began to get a little watery, and I shook my head.

"It's fine," I told him, walking into the disaster zone to turn off the stove. "Seriously, we can fix this up- well, most of it," I added, eyeing the counter. To my Haxorus I said, "I didn't know you were interested in baking."

Bahamut perked up his head, nodding eagerly, his tail accidentally thumping against a cupboard and denting it. Withholding a chuckle at his sheepish expression, I reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's great to hear. I'm glad you're discovering a new hobby. We can get some cutting boards that can resist your axe blades a bit better and walk you through how to work a kitchen."

I couldn't help but grin at the bright look in his eyes. "And the first step to that is cleaning everything up before the chef finds-"

"What the heck did you do to my kitchen!?" I heard the head chef's voice screech behind me. Calmly, I took the only reasonable option available in this situation.

"Cheese it!" With that, the four of us - two kids, a large dog, and a dragon - raced out of the wrecked kitchen. My spontaneous giggles were contagious, and I heard Arven laughing beside me as we ran away from the scene of the crime. Ahh, I missed this.

***

"Aaaaand done!" Cyan declared triumphantly, putting down her brush. Anya exhaled, her body sagging a bit now that she didn't have to hold her posture. Think she took it a little too seriously/rigidly, but I like the determined side of her. Walking over, I took a look alongside my Psychic Type, curious to see how it turned out.

I let out a whistle. "You outdid yourself, sis. I love how focused she looks. You like it too, right?"

The Gothorita walked up with her arms wide towards Cyan, and my sister knelt down to return the hug… only for my Pokemon to swerve around her, grab the portrait, and run off with it down the hill. "Hey, wait!" My sister called out aghast.

"Haha, guess she really likes it?" I offered, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. "I'll try to get her to give it back." At least it went better than with Bahamut. He changed his expressions and poses constantly, changing his mind as to which one would be the best one. Frustrated Cyan to no end.

Glancing over, I saw him and the rest of my team and Cyan's playing around on the side of the hill, chatting and… Hmm, getting a bit more aggressive. The Moves are low-powered, still play-fighting between them but-

My sister hadn't been paying attention to that, more focused on lecturing me, so she didn't see the Chilling Water coming until it splashed over her. There was a frozen moment where her Pokemon looked over in shock before frantically pointing at my team, Nightwing cackling as she swooped around, and Phantasm rolling on the grassy ground, howling her head off at the prank.

"Prim! Rin Rina!" Cyan's starter cried, alternating between offering apologetic looks to his Trainer and angry looks at my Pokemon. Guess Nighting provoked him, and Phantasm used illusions to make the attack miss.

"Uhh, guess that's one way to cool down?" I offered. The instant I said it, I knew: I fucked up. From the malicious grin that spread across my sister's face, she knew it too.

"You're absolutely right, Nims." She said too sweetly before turning to her team. "Execute Protocol: Water War!" A devious gleam entered the eyes of her team, and soon it was anarchy. Primarina began an orchestra of crashing waves, accompanied by Kingdra's Surf washing the majority of my team down the hill. Toxapex took pot shots at the few that tried to escape, like Nightwing, taking her down with a Scald sniper shot before my Gliscor could fly away, with the newly evolved Quaquavel cutting Dun's escape short too.

I had called on my Aura, flying above the onslaught and away from any stray shots. I believed for a moment I was safe, only to hear something above me. Turning up, I saw Smeargle flying above, a water balloon poised in his hands.

"Oh no," was all I had time to say before he let it drop, drenching me.

As I pushed the water-slicked hair out of my face, I saw my team, washed up at the entrance to our house. On the rooftop, Anya sat, her legs kicking back and forth with a smug smile on her face as she held the painting well out of the splash zone.

"Alright, ha ha-" I began, only to get hit by another water balloon. Sending a baleful glare down at my sister, I continued. "We good now?"

My sister looked faux contemplative for a moment before nodding. While even flying I didn't see what she was holding behind her back, but I could make an educated guess. Lowering myself down, I was ready when she pulled out the third water balloon and flung it at my face. Catching it on a stream of wind, I carried it around my body and sent it flying into her face.

"Truce?" I offered with a shit-eating grin, and she reluctantly shook my hand.

Thus we began the process of drying ourselves off, one greatly sped up by the presence of Radiance (who had been conspicuously left well clear of the splash zone and any attacks; Cyan was clearly still wary of the Paradox Pokemon) generating incredible heat. Phantasm was quite grumpy, her mane taking the longest to dry out, glaring over at Cyan and even baring her fangs once, until a sharp look from me shut that down. She's better at dealing with her ghostly rage now but still needs it pointed out to her at times, like now with Cyan being family and clearly undeserving of hate.

"...How do you do it?" Cyan asked, some strange emotion clouding her voice.

"Hmm? I mean, communicating with your team is all about effort and working together to understand their tells. Humans communicate largely through body language as well; we're just more used to-"

"Not that," Cyan snorted softly. "I mean, how can you fly and practice martial arts and train and study and be- do it all so well?"

I glanced over at my sister. She's not angry at me or even jealous, just frustrated. At herself, for not living up to me. My mouth opened before I closed it again. This isn't the same as it was a few years ago. I'm not just some little kid who's pretty smart now. I'm internationally famous with a music career and incredibly strong Pokemon at my side and even have some research accolades for my work on discovering how to turn Carbinks into Legendary Diancies.

"Hard work… would be putting it lightly," I finally said, turning to stare at my sister. "It was grueling, bone-weary work, driving myself and my team harder and harder. To do everything I wanted so quickly. You don't need to push yourself so hard; I certainly don't intend on doing so anymore."

Cyan's brows furrowed together, a question on the tip of her tongue, and I stilled. Will she press me about why? Will I tell her the whole truth? In that moment, I didn't know. I hated lying to my sister, but I was so afraid about what she might think.

"Do you think you could teach me that Aura stuff?" She asked instead, and I wrapped her in a big hug. It was immediately more uncomfortable than I thought, our clothes still pretty damp, but I didn't regret it.

"You're pretty awesome too, you know. Figuring out how people are feeling and knowing how to respond in the right way… it might be a more subtle talent, but it helps a lot." I said as I let her go, watching as she smiled bashfully. "Yeah, I can work you through that. It's gonna be a lot of hard work, though, and really frustrating at times."

She clenched a fist. "I can handle it; I'm a Glitterati too, after all." Honestly, you're more 'Glitterati' than I'll ever be. Thank you, for being my wonderful big sister.

***

['This must be… the Distortion World'] She said, in the same way I might say 'hell.' Suppose it's fitting, given her Typing.

['My Type is not the problem! This- this terrible regimen is!] Gothorita wailed telepathically, struggling to keep up with the rest of the team as we did a light jog around the province. I was travelling on a far smaller circuit around to keep an eye on them and get my own exercise in. Keeping an eye on them was more important than ever with our newest teammate and how she might be tempted to Shadow Tag others to keep the rest of the team from outpacing her.

Looks like she hasn't yet, even if she's clearly exhausted. The Gothorita was hunched over, panting for breath, but she hadn't once tried to use her Ability to keep the others at her pace. As a reward, I made a subtle motion for the others to take a break, and they stopped alongside me. Gothorita stopped moving too, but I wasn't sure if she actively noticed that or was too tired and just picked up on our lack of movement subconsciously.

"I don't think it's that bad; we're only going at about a quarter or a third as hard as we usually do," I pointed out. Her bright blue eyes stared incredulously at me, mouth hung open in horror.

['How could I have not foreseen what a monster you would be? I should have stayed home in my cave!'] Despite her bemoaning, I noticed that she wasn't actually trying to move away or stop standing. Or throwing out barriers to keep the others away despite Nightwing and Phantasm snickering at her right now.

Ever since she had learned how to use Reflect and Light Screen, she would occasionally use those as a wall to block out 'ignorant fools.' The team generally allowed it, despite the fact that any of them could break through such barriers with ease, through either technique or force, seeing such things as 'funny antics from a little sister.' Huh, I wonder what stuff I do that Cyan thinks the same of me… I'm probably better off not knowing, honestly.

Giving Gothorita a few more seconds to catch her breath, I explained the situation to her. "With our victory against the Elite Four and attendance at Blueberry Academy not due for a few months, assuming I get in, we don't have any major challenges to work towards overcoming in the near future." Especially since I managed to convince Turo to stop his experiment, that's such a relief.

"We'd rather not get out of shape lazing about all day, but I think we can afford to go a lot lighter than usual, so only 2 to 3 hours of training a day for the near future. It helps me get caught up on some of my hobbies and side projects too, and it gives you a chance to get a solid baseline before we kick things up at Blueberry!" I gave her a winning smile, and she gave me a groan, hanging her head in response. Alright, I think that's enough time.

Her head snapped up before I even spoke, recognizing my thoughts or perhaps feelings enough to see what was coming, not that it helped her. "Let's get back to it! Last one to the beach is a slowpoke!"

Gothorita glared but pushed herself to shamble forward, disliking the comparison (if the mental image she transmitted of a big red cross-out superimposed over a Slowpoke was any indication). "Sounds like you need a bit of encouragement. Let's have a little music to accompany us!"

The rest of my Pokemon gave out a brief cheer before I began belting out a tune.

"But I would walk five hundred miles,

And ah, I would walk five hundred more,

Just to be the man who walked five thousand miles

To fall down at your door."



"Dun du dun du dun du dun

Dun du dun sparce dun du dun sparce!" Dun sang along, and I beamed, taking in the fresh air and joy of it all.

The Psychic Type collapsed onto her knees in the sand beside us, and I chuckled. "Alright, that was a nice little warm-up; now we can get onto the real training." She mustered the energy to glare up at me, and I added in an oh-so-innocent voice, "I thought this was what you were prepared for?"

Primly she got up, only wobbling slightly before she brushed the sand off of her dress-like body. I've found that challenging her to live up to her own words and predictions gets a good response from her. She has her own measure of pride, but I can work with that.

"Let's begin," I said before outlining the next step of her training, my team settling in around us.

***

"Osu! Rising block! Osu! Step-through sidekick! Osu! Front block!"

Despite Dendra's call-out, I was a tad too slow in raising my guard, her padded hand striking through. "Ouch!" My sensei called with a wince. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, pushing down the short spike of anger that came and went as fast as the pain had. The blow was fairly light, and she was wearing a target glove, used mostly for me to strike into but could also be used to simulate blows of Dendra's own.

Rather than continue, my teacher took a step back, taking the gloves off. "I think we've got a good baseline," she confirmed. Only half an hour of drills too, that's nice. "You're doing well; you've been keeping up with your practice; you haven't slipped much at all from your journey," Dendra said with a smile and a thumbs-up.

"Mhmm, Athena helps a lot with that. I'm not sure if you've heard of my plans to go to Blueberry in a few months, but I thought I'd join your class till then." Might help me up my game. I didn't miss how she said I haven't slipped 'much at all.' Heck, even staying the same would show stagnation, and I'm sure that part of it is just me getting faster and stronger from growing up and relying on that to make up for technique in places.

"Sounds great! Always happy to have you back. Honestly, you basically started this whole thing," she admitted as we walked back to the gear locker, putting our gloves and pads away. The proper class was set to start in half an hour; this was just a bonus review I'd asked Dendra for, worried I might not be ready to keep up with everything her advanced class had learned.

"No, this was all you. You gathered all these students and have been training them for over a year now, turning this place into the greatest dojo in Alfornada!" Which, admittedly, has little competition; there are only like four other dojos in the city. Human Martial Arts just aren't as popular here as they were in my world, and even then, they could be somewhat niche to practice.

The rest of my words were very true, though; I'd had little involvement in what the dojo had grown into. I'd had to drop out from regular practice to focus on my journey and training for it just before the first new students joined, so I was a little nervous about meeting all of them.

Taking the time to meditate, I centered myself, reaching for my Aura to help soothe me. Amazing how just a few years ago, I could barely touch the power within my soul, how much of a struggle it was. Now I do so to relax.

When the first students came in, Dendra quickly greeted them and introduced me, though it seemed she had already told a few stories about me. Combined with my new reputation, it left the teenagers and tweens a bit intimidated.

Our sensei quickly broke down those barriers, working us out too hard for anyone to care about me being a Champion or her first student. But not her best, not anymore. It was mostly only a couple of older teens that were better than me, but I could see signs that those few had indeed surpassed me. In skill, not power; if anything, I could overpower them with Aura, but I made sure to cut back on that temptation.

After the class was done, we chatted for a bit, and I watched the dozen or so students amble out, waiting behind to talk with Dendra. "What do you think?" She asked excitedly.

"I think they're great-" 'kids' I want to say, but that's weird. I'm a kid, younger than they are even. Ok, gotta save this. "A couple of them seem really talented."

"I see," she said with less exuberance than I expected. At my questioning glance, she chuckled. "Sorry, forget that you aren't a mind reader too sometimes; you're sharp. I was just hoping you might get along with those kids. They're good-"

"And perfectly polite, but… no, we aren't clicking. They've probably got their own friend groups and stuff already formed," I explained, trying to ease any sense of worry or responsibility on her part. My Champion rank put another awkward social divide between us, as much as no one said it aloud. The truth is though, I'm pretty weird for a nine-year-old. Honestly, it's amazing I've made as many friends as I have. Speaking of…

"Besides, we've got that thing tomorrow. Are you and Tulip down for joining us?"

She gave me a small smile but shook her head. "Sorry, we're just too busy with my classes and her modeling, plus it's not really our scene. But say hi to everyone from us, and you know you can always talk to me or Tulip, right?"

I surprised the young woman by giving her a quick hug. "I know. Thank you. But I think things are looking pretty good overall."

***

"We all got popcorn?" My simple question was a bit more complicated than it seemed; with myself, Arven, and eleven Pokemon, some of whom had very different physiologies and diets, preparing the 'popcorn' for everyone was a good half-hour task.

Thankfully, Arven was (with heavy supervision) up to the task. He and I had a regular bowl of popcorn, with Dun in easy reach of our popcorn or the jerky strips gathered on a plate for Bahamut and Nightwing. Athena, Mabostiff, and Phantasm had a canine-based Poketreat bowl (and I thanked Arceus that the two Pokemon best able to see through Phantasm's illusions were paired up with her to stop any attempts at 'stealing' the food bowl). There was a large charging station set up for Miles, Radiance, and Miraidon, though the latter mostly didn't care for it, producing more electricity naturally than we could feasibly feed them. Instead, they happily snacked on a sandwich. Notch needed no bowl, able to conjure a diamond from midair and snack on them if they felt like it (apparently they'd gained an appreciation for the precious stones from our previous experiments mixing diamonds in with their food to see if that might be the key to transforming them; they claimed that the taste was something like potato chips for humans).

Anya knelt in front of me, a ribbon wrapped around one of my hands while she held a bowl of peanuts in front of her. It was at that point I knew the name was perfectly fitting - which is why my Gothorita had chosen it just before I could say it, eager to show off how 'great' her precognition was.

The thirteen of us were sitting in the theater room, getting ready to start. It wasn't the size of an actual theater, thankfully, but it was at least twice as large as the living room in my old life, so there was plenty of room for all of us and the food dishes, water glasses and bowls, and a wide assortment of pillows and blankets to let us lounge about the room. We had a projector to display our chosen films across the large blank wall and an amazing sound system to go with it. "Everyone ready?"

I got a round of affirmations from Lacey and even Amethio on my phone. He's made it clear that he won't show up at least half the time, but I'm glad we can get him out of his shell a bit for stuff like this. I invited Friede and the rest of the Rising Volt Tacklers, but they had to decline due to how much they fly around everywhere and their very irregular schedules. Hey, wait a minute.

Lacey asked what I was thinking first. "Kieran? Carmine? How's it going on your end?" When I proposed this idea of all of us watching movies together synchronized, with us all video calling each other, I hadn't expected her to get so into it. Then again, while she does most of the organizing, I think Arven might be the most excited out of all of us for this. That was probably because the specter of all of us leaving for a different school still loomed over him, and I was more than happy to make sure we'd have some way to stay in touch.

I'd thought long and hard about how to deal with the overlapping sounds of the movie playing from multiple screens while still being able to talk to each other throughout; for some movies, mocking them as they went on was half the fun! In the end though, it turned out to be a fairly easy fix: Simply asking the Rotoms to filter out the movie sounds during the call (that and an app to help with that, but the Pokemon in the phones really did the fine-tuning to make it all work so smoothly).

"Just a minute, Sis took too long in the shower-"

"Shut up, Kiki!"

A glance at their video display showed Carmine roughly settling in beside her laughing brother in their bedroom, the girl's hair still obviously damp. The blinds were closed, but I saw a bit of the dawn sunlight peeking through.

It's pretty early for them, unfortunately. But we can't really set a later time - some of the movies we pick go on for two and a half or even three hours, and if we started them any earlier, it'd be cutting into Lacey's bedtime.

"What are we watching this week?" Carmine asked, and I debated vigorously in my mind with my response. Pun, or mocking her for being so distracted? Distracted, or pun?

"Exactly!" When my joke failed to land, I followed the basic rule of comedy: explaining it to enhance the humor. "'What are' or Water!" The groans I received from every human (and a few of the Pokemon) clearly showed the genius of my humor.

"I can't wait till we get to my pick next week: A Girl in Kalos," Lacey said dreamily. I rolled my eyes. I mean, really? It'll probably be a decent film, but with a title like that, it's gotta be a cookie-cutter romance flick. If I were being honest, part of my disdain likely also came from the fact that the issues with gameplay and storylines in Gen 6 made it my least favorite region, which probably wasn't fair to the actual region itself.

Before we wasted too much time talking, I told everyone to get ready, and when they all confirmed to be standing by, we started the film I had chosen: 'Primal Waters in Ancient Hoenn.' It's a bit of a niche pick, I'll admit, but I think this pseudo-documentary/speculative historical film should be fun. It's got a lot of great reviews, at least. And if it's not, then hopefully at least it'll be the kind of bad that's still fun in its own way.

I was sure that with all my friends gathered here, we'd have a great time regardless. Settling down, we watched the documentary of Kyogre and what Hoenn's best filmmakers had put together on the Legendary Pokemon of the seas.

***

"Why did Kyogre look so good in those shots from before when now they look…"

"Like a bunch of bad CGI?"

"Yeah."

"Probably used some actual footage they had for the dramatic splash shots to build tension in the introduction at the beginning, but now that we need to see Kyogre in focus…"

"Why do we need them up close and in focus? I liked the splash shots better."

"Because this is the climax of Jan and Hei's dramatic reunion! Of course we need to see them!"

['I could do with seeing less from them; I can't feel a thing from either one of them.']

"That's because it's a film; you won't be able to sense their emotions, and even actors might not be fully embodying those feelings they display."

"Huh?"

"Oh, I was just telling Anya-"

['I get that; I'm saying their acting is wooden.']

"Snrk. You're not wrong, though."

"Oh boy, here comes a big wave! Wait, Miraidon, don't hide under the pillows; you're fine here!"

"How are they not shivering from all of that? It's ocean water, and a ton of it just landed on them. They're going to get hypothermia."

"Meh, Quagsire could wall that."

***

Yeah, all in all…, this idea went even better than I thought it would.

Spoiler: A/N:

A few snapshots of Nemona's daily life now that she's off the daily grind. I had fun with the joint movie watching idea, figured it would be a fun way for them to stay in contact. Hope the dialogue at the end wasn't too confusing with it not saying what character said what and just giving a general feel of the scene.

If you liked the chapter, feel free to leave a comment down below or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a 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]

Especially since I managed to convince Turo to stop his experiment, that's such a relief.

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I'm kind of disappointed in MC that she did this whole important conversation with the goal of preventing regional catastrophe through a simple video call, like she couldn't be bothered to walk up there and talk to him.
I guess you needed a way for him to lie and MC not being able to detect it with aura, but still feels weird, as if he went openly against her all she would've done would be giving him prep time.

 

[Skyfyre]

I'm kind of disappointed in MC that she did this whole important conversation with the goal of preventing regional catastrophe through a simple video call, like she couldn't be bothered to walk up there and talk to him.
I guess you needed a way for him to lie and MC not being able to detect it with aura, but still feels weird, as if he went openly against her all she would've done would be giving him prep time.

Click to shrink...

I do understand this criticism but there were some complicating factors for this scene.

For one, she had already asked him to delay his experiment (back when she caught Radiance) and that took several weeks for her to resolve that, the final gym battle, Notch's transformation, and beating the Gauntlet. She worried that hoping he'd wait longer would push his patience too far, and she had no clue how close he was to bringing in the second Miraidon and potentially dying. Secondly, getting an in-person visit would take a long time. The game makes it seem very easy, but Area Zero is a very dangerous place, and expeditions down take quite a bit of prep work. Given the aforementioned time crunch, Nemona did not feel like it was worth it. Yes, there were definitely mistakes made here (she didn't quite realize how adversarial this would make her seem to him since she's warning him for his own good, etc.) but I hope that it still feels reasonable why she did it the way she did.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[Genilea]

Meh, Quagsire could wall that

Click to shrink...

Her sister trolling by bringing past 'childhood' blurbs is funny

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 68 Beginner Tier Patreons and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, Exalted Requiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support is greatly appreciated.

"Let's have a little chat, darling daughter," O'Nare said out of the blue one day. The fact that Billy was there too was surprising. Curious, I agreed, taking my seat across from them in the living room. Don't sense any nervousness or anger - and can't think of anything I've done recently that would have annoyed them - but this feels more serious than a random chat.

They did that sometimes, which surprised me at first, but I got it was just their way of trying to check in on me and my sister and connect with us, which I appreciated. "So, we wanted to have a little talk about what we discussed during that week we journeyed with you," Mom began.

"Ah, what a marvelous journey that was!" Dad exclaimed. "We learned and grew so much together!"

I chuckled at his antics but couldn't deny his words. "Yeah, we really did. So is it something about Tandemaus or Drampa?"

"No dear, it actually had to do with the question of your finances you brought up back then. We wanted to clear a few misconceptions."

"Okay…" I responded tentatively.

"You had some concerns about taking 'too much' money from us for your Trainer career, and we wanted to set those fears at ease. For starters, the money was always what we'd planned to give to you in the first place, and if we can give it to you now to bolster your Trainer career, the more the better." Mom said, and I begrudgingly nodded my head. I did say I'd use every advantage at my disposal for my team. As much as it is an unfair advantage over other Trainers

Billy had his Rotom Phone float up beside him, which expanded to tablet form to show me a spreadsheet with a bunch of different numbers on it. "Uhhh…" I began, trying to take it all in.

"Basically, you haven't hurt our finances like that. And if you look at columns F, G, and Y, us giving you this money now saves plenty on taxes that we would be paying later to give you the same amount as inheritance."

"To say nothing of how your victories have added to our portfolio," Mom added brightly.

"I mean, okay, I get that. But- Cyan's still getting just as much as me too, right?" My parents both gave me bright, dazzlingly sympathetic smiles.

"Ah, what Glitterati compassion flows through your veins! Such wonderful sisterly care," Dad said with great joy while Mom hugged me tight.

"You need not worry; we've made sure that Cyan has just as much put away for her as you have, including anything you've taken for your trainer career. And don't worry about the cost on our end - if anything we've made tons more money with the boost you gave our stocks." They know me well enough to know that I wouldn't be upset about Cyan potentially 'getting more than me' at all. Wait, but why did my victory boost their stocks?

I asked as much, and Billy and O'Nare looked a little guilty? No, more awkward than guilty. "You might already know this," Mom began slowly, "But the Champion of any region has significant influence on its policies."

"Yeah, but only ones related to Pokemon, and for Paldea, which has multiple Champion-rank Trainers, only the Top Champion has any influence," I pointed out.

"Indeed! And you just defeated the El Primero, so many suspect that you will, in the near future at least, become the Top Champion," Dad said. "And Pokemon influence so much of our lives, but particularly in our businesses. My Rotom Phone Company is obvious, but the real estate industry relies almost as heavily on Pokemon for surveying the land and construction. Investors watching your victory and assumed new position as well as your family ties…"

"Suspect that I'll change regulations to help you. But I wouldn't do that! I'm not going to- to- abuse any position I might have just to help you."

"Of course not, dear; your Glitterati pride shines too brightly for that!" Mom reassured me before continuing. "However, that doesn't stop people from thinking what they will, or us from taking advantage of it." The grin she gave me there reminded me of happy Sharpedos, and I shivered.

"Ok, that's… good to hear. Thanks for telling me about all that. I guess I was worried over nothing back on Glaseado Mountain, huh?" They gushed over my 'Glitterati spirit' for a moment before I waved them off.

"With people paying more attention to me," I began. Too much attention, waaaaay too much for a nine-year-old girl. "Then I guess I should be looking more into my music stuff, shouldn't I?"

Billy clapped his hands together. "Your manager has mentioned to me that he'd be interested in working out another album once or twice." So he's been pestering Dad a hundred times every day, at least.

Despite everything they had told me, I did still feel a little guilty about the music stuff. To me, it was just a vanity project, something I did because I wanted to bring in some songs from my previous life here, nothing like my career as a Trainer which at least helped with dealing with potential threats to Paldea.

My parents might have used some tricks so it wasn't quite as costly as it could have been, but I still felt like they had invested a fair amount into that. And looking at the numbers… yeah, they definitely did.

Passing the Rotom Phone back to my dad, I nodded. "Alright, let's set up a day to work out the details at the studio."

***

"There's our star, shining so bright, you make me glad I'm wearing shades!" Mr. Smiley said as I entered. After travelling around so much, the trip to Mesagoza to Smiley's studio feels pretty quick and easy. It had been raining hard, but only relative to how hard it could get in the South Province of Paldea, nowhere near as bad as the bone-chilling storms that sometimes hit the Northwest.

The studio was fairly nice, though mostly similar to what I had at home (which was less a sign of how professional Smiley's studio was and more indicative of yet again how much money my parents had to fuel my passion projects). Above the recording room was his office, where we were at the moment, and I took a seat, slinging my jacket on a coat rack. Around the walls were pictures of stars he had worked with and gold-plated record discs, marking the albums he'd helped make that had sold well.

"Thank you, Mr. Smiley. You're looking well yourself," I commented. The man was slightly portly, with his yellow hair beginning to go bald up top, but he had well earned the nickname of 'Mr. Smiley,' beaming broadly at me. He was wearing a casual dress shirt and pair of slacks that each probably cost at least as much as the gold rings on his fingers. "I heard you wanted to make some music?"

"Yes! You're the hottest thing right now; the whole town's talking about you. Let's strike while the Steel Type is hot. A tour of Paldea to promote your old album while giving a sneak peek at your next one. I'm thinking 'Victory Road' for the title, or maybe 'Champion Tunes.'" He said eagerly before stopping as I shook my head.

"Even an album would be… a lot, especially before I go to Blueberry. I don't even have any songs ready," I try, but he shakes his head, that persistent grin stuck on his face.

"I've kept my eye on you. I heard a couple songs during your Gym run and Gauntlet that weren't on The First Step," he said, dropping the name of my first album.

"I have some ideas and a few half-recorded tunes in my personal studio," I argued for a moment before sighing. "I can do a song or two, but I really don't have time for a full album and definitely not for a tour."

"Gotta ask, why do you have to go to school? You've got a great music career lined up here. We can even copy Diantha a bit and still focus on training while doing so." He looks serious here. I could just say that I promised my friends I would go, but realistically, it's more like they promised to follow me to Blueberry.

"I feel like there's so much more I still have to discover and learn about the world. Besides, Blueberry is known for their Trainers too, so I won't miss out there. I do like my music, a lot, but…" He shook his head, understanding what I was getting at.

"Too much wanderlust, a common affliction amongst you Champion Types, I hear. Don't know how you can handle all the travel." I shrugged, and he continued. "Enough of that; let's work out what you're doing. Two songs before you have to go to school, maybe a teaser for one you can work on there?" The man offered.

"Ehh, I don't really want to make promises to the fans if I don't know that I can keep them. We'll see how the workload is there before deciding anything." He looked like he wanted to argue but relented. Wow, people really must be eager for my music. Smiley was so much more laid-back the first time we worked together.

"How difficult would it be to make a music video for one of the songs I had in mind?" I asked, and he thought it over.

"Depends on what you're looking for. If it needs a bunch of dancers or actors, we'd be looking at a couple months of planning and choreography." I shook my head vehemently. Technically I do have a little over two months before Blueberry, but I still need to study for and pass the early admittance exam before then.

"No, I think it should be fine. Just some special effects and stages. 'Reach for the Stars' is one of the songs I've been toying with, and I thought it might be cool if it looked like I was soaring through space with it. Wait!" I shouted as a new idea hit me.

"What about an animated music video as the official video for one of the songs?"

He tilted his head from side to side. "I'm definitely up for getting more of your music out there, but animated videos usually only get so much engagement. I'd need to look up artists to help produce it too."

"I've already got the artist in mind for this one," I declared, holding out my phone with the portrait Cyan had drawn of my team.

"Ooh, tell me more," Smiley said, flipping out a notebook and jotting down ideas that we traded back and forth. As our vision got bigger, with more thoughts on what kinds of Pokemon could be used for the special effects and to show up in the video, I realized it would still be a bit much to try and make before I went to school.

"Darn. Though, I've heard about some Pokemon within the Terarium that would be great to add to the video…" I trailed off wistfully. Okay, now I'm kinda hooked on the idea. This is sounding really cool! Though I should double-check that they actually have Minior in the Terarium beforehand.

"If you can get permission from the school to film there, that would be great. Though it might take a while to get the film crews fully vetted," Smiley admitted. Oh right, as much as the Academy posts plenty of their own pictures from students and the like, the Terarium isn't exactly a place any old Trainer can stroll into.

My research on the matter showed that you needed an invite to get there, usually only offered to students from Blueberry's 'sister' school, Uva, or given to famous Ace Trainers. The kinds of people Blueberry staff felt would have the knowledge and training to both handle themselves and the Pokemon in the Terarium environment safely.

"We might want to try a different idea then. Maybe we do one with my team first? It'd be a bit generic but-"

"A good place to start for your first music video. I've got some Contest Trainers I could call in that could really help make your Moves pop on the screen." Hadn't thought of that before, but just like Gym Trainers might take on odd jobs that leverage the personal strength of their team, Contest Trainers must have things like this to help show off Pokemon in cool or cute ways.

Mr. Smiley pushed the idea of a new album a few more times 'just for the future,' and I tossed out a few songs I had in my head back. Describing them and singing a few lines as we tried to figure out which one would be a good fit for the proposed music video and before I knew it 'Victory Road' was being workshoped as the name of my new album.

"Six songs feels a bit light for an album though, doesn't it?" I pointed out as Mr. Smiley settled on New Genesis, from that One Piece movie I really liked, as the one for a live-action music video. Not that Smiley knows my motivation; he must be thinking of it more as a reference to my victory over the Paldean Gauntlet. Which does make it feel a tad egotistical, but, eh, still fitting for Uta.

My manager just gave me a broad grin, indicating what I could do to change that, and I groaned, even as some ideas were percolating in my mind. "We'll see how it goes, but even with a potential new album, it'll take time to finish. We might want something to pump up the hype till then," my manager said.

"What, aren't I the hottest thing right now?" I said with a slightly smug grin. He laughed, waving a finger in front of me.

"For now. News cycles move fast, though, so keeping up that hype is important. Some sort of teaser or-"

"Another interview with Iono?" I offered, and his face lit up.

"Yes! That would work great; Iono's really popular with girls in your age range," he explained, and I looked blankly. Yeah… I probably would have no clue who she was if Iono wasn't also a Gym Leader. Still, it will be nice to see her again. Things ended on a good note between us, but hopefully the entirety of the next meeting will go well.

There were still more details to hash out, but after a productive meeting I headed out, my lazy post-victory schedule feeling full to bursting. While it left me feeling a little crunched for time, I was also energized in the way only a deadline could make me feel.

***

"Whozat? Whatzit? It's Nemona!" Iono declared loudly, waving to me on the street, and I resisted the urge to turn away from all the attention. C'mon, if I can't handle the average street traffic outside Levincia, how can I handle a stream that will be watched by hundreds of thousands if not millions?

Obviously there was a very real difference between a screen and a bunch of real-life people staring me down, but I managed to trick myself to not think about it like that as I strode over to the Gym Leader. "Iono, great to see you too."

"You're not in your champion outfit," Iono pouted for a second upon recognizing I was in my ordinary Trainer attire.

"It's not really practical for everyday stuff. You mentioned wanting to go over some things first before the stream?" I asked, and she bobbed her head up and down vigorously.

"Yuppers. Let's chat about the deets in my office," she said, motioning to the Gym Building with one floppy sleeve. I followed her inside and settled down once more in her office.

"Firstly, I wanna thank you for the collab offer. I know we talked about it before, but ya beat me to the punch! You must be getting tons of offers these days, Miss Champion," she said with a shark-like grin. Well, I'm not really sure. I know there are probably a lot of people reaching out to me, but I let Miles handle that sort of stuff. With it being open knowledge that I was going to Blueberry soon, I didn't get many serious, interesting offers.

She continued. "Secondly, you mentioned doing a proper interview before. That's… shocking considering what happened last time." Iono stopped, giving a small giggle at the pun she just realized she made before getting serious again. "I know I kinda ambushed you before. I'd heard about how cool you were from Hassel, and he's a Dragon Trainer Elite; that's like the Legendary standard for cool! But a bunch of haters online were-"

I put my hand out. "It's fine. I get that you were trying to help, and, well, it was supposed to be a challenge. At least it helped with dealing with the reporters that swarmed my house before."

Iono grimaced. "Ugh, they're the worst. I get tryin' ta get a good story, but they can feel like they're just waiting for someone to slip up. I love streaming, but I don't wanna have my 'streamer face' be on all the time, ya know?" I get that, yeah. I've gotten better at dealing with the press, but it still feels nerve-wracking, knowing I'm not just going to be pressed with tough questions but that my answers will be examined with a microscope days after I've said them.

"Indeed, which is why I was glad that you mentioned possibly going over the questions ahead of time."

"Course. Your message also included some stuff about some songs you wanted to promote?"

"If I could." She laughed at the slight guilt that showed on my face.

"Don't sweat it; that's what these collabs are all about! I get to boost my channel like it's got Huge Power, so you should get something out of it too." Iono reassured me.

"Heh, true. Sounds like you've been studying your battle skills as well, name-dropping Abilities like that."

"You betcha!" She exclaimed energetically. "You might have beat me to the punch, but my team is all charged up!"

"That's good to hear," I said, somewhat distractedly, as I read the list of questions she had prepared for today. "These look good, thanks." Nothing quite as aggressive as some of the stuff last time, and even then it wasn't so bad last time; I just… was caught off guard by it all. "Except for the questions about Phantasm and Radiance. I'm not going to go into more details about how I found them."

She gave me a 'well, I tried' kind of shrug. "If the rest are good though, let's get to rolling! You wanna start now?"

"Hmm, actually, looking these over, I think we might combine them and the demonstration…" I outlined my idea, and Iono eagerly agreed.

***

"Your eyeballs are MINE—caught in my Electroweb! Whosawhatsit? Gym Leader Iono here! 'Ello, 'ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour!" Iono began dramatically, waving to her fans, both on the other side of the streaming lens and to the ones gathered in person on the circular ring around the arena in the center of Levincia.

"Joining us today is our youngest Champion-ranked Trainer, back again on the IonoZone. It's Nemona Glitterati!" She declared, waving a floppy sleeve towards me, standing a few meters away from her. I waved politely back.

"Paldea, no, the whole world is buzzing about Nemona, so I thought we'd ask her some questions her fans are dying to know before we show off some of our Training techniques. And we've got a special surprise saved for the end!"

After waiting a moment to let the excited responses flood in, Iono began the interview. "You've already talked a bit before, but why did you decide to become a Champion? I know I've amped up my game since we last talked, but Training up to eight hours a day?" She let out a soft whistle.

"I knew I wanted to be a battler from the moment I laid eyes on Dun, possibly even before that day. So when I told him on the beach that I was going to make him the strongest Dunsparce in the world, my- no, our goal was set. This was just a natural step on that path."

"Very cool. And how does the rest of your team feel? Are they looking to be the best of their species too?"

"The rest of my team have slightly different goals, but pretty much all of them are eager for battle as well." Anya less so than the others, but even she accepts it and is willing to put in the work. Plus, I think I've seen her practicing her telekinesis around the house, possibly in an attempt to push even harder… or just because she's too lazy to walk over to the remote to pick it up when she wants to change the channel.

She chuckled. "We saw tons o' spirit out there fightin' the Elite Four and all. Pa-pow! Blam!" She accentuated, waving her arms about. "But your journey was a big ol' mystery box. Plenty a folks here commented they wanted to see you out and about, but you were practically as hard to keep an eye on as a Marshadow! Was that on purpose?"

I paused. "Not exactly on purpose, no. Just a side effect, really. We wanted to push hard to reach our goals and become a Champion-ranked Trainer soon, so I had us training tons in the wilderness in between Gyms, not spending much time at any town. It was hard work, but good, and pretty fun too. Most of the time, at least."

Iono caught onto that and with a sharp grin asked, "Oh? Sounds like a story or two behind that!" Then she stiffened up. "Umm, if you feel like sharing, that is."

I waved her off. "It's fine. I… had a run-in with a small group of poachers early on. I think I mentioned something about that in our last interview?"

"Yuupers! You got all 'grr' and scary about that." I frowned at her impersonation of me but didn't otherwise respond to that. It's fine; I was pretty on edge back then.

"I caught wind of how they had captured a Dragonair and her pod of Dratinis, as well as their plan to ambush me. I countered it, defeating them and bringing them in to the authorities. It turned out fine in the end, for the most part, but it was still off-putting at the time." And now, honestly.

There were more stories of my journey I could tell, about Raifort, my encounter with the Dragon Tamers, Turo, etc., but I kept quiet about all of those. The poacher incident alone will fuel the rumor mill plenty, and I don't really want to talk about it all that much.

The streamer seemed to get that as she switched topics. "Alrighty, then. That musta been some crazy clash, but the biggest part of a journey is training as a battler. So what was the toughest part of being a Trainer for you?"

I chuckled. "You might not believe this, but throwing Pokeballs."

"Whaaaaaaaa? Throwing Pokeballs is what stumped our newest Champion?" She asked in that exaggerated bearing of hers.

"Well, 'stumped' might not be the best word for it since I have gotten better at it. Just took me a lot more work than most anything else. I've always made friends with my Pokemon before catching them, so it's not that big a deal, but Trainers do have to use that skill a bunch when battling," I explained, ruefully rolling my wrist.

"What a scoop! I 'unnoa about the rest of you, but I wanna find out more about what she's been cookin'! Mind giving us the deets on your Training style?"

"I can talk a bit more in-depth about what I do, though again, I have to stress that each person will have their own styles, and you'll need to find what works for you. Something like Gravity Training, which I don't like, might work for you."

"Ooh? What'z this disdain my sound catchers are picking up? Also, what's the deal with Gravity Training?" Iono pressed, going slightly off script. I don't really mind, but the explanation is a bit lengthy.

"Alright, so to begin, Gravity is a Move that increases the force of Gravity in an area for a brief period. It's used in battles to ground fliers for the most part. But somewhere along the way, someone had the bright idea to use it as an extra level of resistance for their Pokemon to train against and get stronger. It's not a bad method, but there are some issues. Let's take your Kilowatrel, for instance."

Iono took my words literally, as she released the large yellow bird out onto the field, who cawed loudly, doing a funny wave to the camera. Right, I guess most of her Pokemon probably love streaming as much as Iono does.

"Yeah, so if we used Gravity on Kilowatrel, they'd find themselves pinned to the ground, unable to fly and barely able to move." The bird in question gave me an affronted look, shaking their head. "Just pushing through it isn't really great on the wing joints, and even if you did manage that, flying under those conditions isn't the greatest representation of how a normal in-flight battle goes, so they might neglect agility or flexibility in place of pure strength." Which is very important. There are Pokemon with pretty low speed 'stats' in the previous world's Pokedex that are actually pretty darn fast here; what they tend to lack, though, is maneuverability.

The Magnemites attached to Iono's head swirled around excitedly. "And over half of your team can fly!"

"That's correct. Most of the Pokemon on my team happen to have some form of flight or floating. It also works best at training a Pokemon to be physically faster and stronger, which isn't where you always want to focus training for a particular Pokemon. Becoming faster usually doesn't hurt, admittedly, but the extra pressure from Gravity will tire them out faster. Because of all that, and the fact that Gravity Training necessitates one Pokemon on the team to focus at least in part on a status Move that sees little competitive use, I didn't find it the best for me." Though if anyone watching thinks they can take advantage here by using Gravity against me, they'll have another thing coming. I wouldn't call Notch's use of the Move 'battle-ready,' but especially with the power jump from becoming a Diancie, we've been able to make sure that everyone can handle the Move for at least short periods of time.

"Wowzah, that's a lot to take in! Guess we shoulda expected it from a Champ! But now that we know what you don't do, why dontcha you run us through what you do?"

Taking Dun's Pokeball, I sent him on the field. He looked much like he normally did, but many large green braces connected by steel bands were fitted around his segments. "This is one of the tools I rely on, though I have to admit that it's a bit more cost dependent than some. Behold, the Macho Brace."

While relatively cheap in the games, Macho Braces were slightly more pricey here. Hardly ludicrously expensive, but getting them fitted to each Pokemon did cost a bit more than the average kid might have to spare. The ones I used were also far more advanced than the basic models.

"Hey Dun, mind going for a quick lap around the arena?" I suggested and let out a short 'Dun" before doing so, squirming away quickly.

"So as you might be able to tell based off of his last big fight, Dun's not moving as fast as he usually does." Salamence would have torn him to pieces if he was only moving this fast in their fight. "The Macho Brace slows him down, applying a level of resistance he has to force his body to work harder. This version lets me adjust the settings to focus more or less on certain areas." Basically letting it act like the Power Anklets, Bracers, etc. did in the games. Of course, it's not as static as that, with no real cap on how strong a Pokemon can become.

"Thanks fer the breakdown. Now howsabout you give us budget Trainers a tip too?"

"No worries, there are plenty of methods to train just using the world around you. Punching and lifting boulders is a good standby for physical attacks, and for Types that would generally resist it, it can be good training to push the limits of your special attacks too. Uhh, you can also start smaller than boulders as well," I hastily added.

Continuing, I said, "Whether using water to train the explosive power of your Fire Blast or whatever techniques you come up with, make sure that you take care of the land around you. Pokemon inhabit everywhere, so be careful and try to work with any wild Pokemon nearby. They can also serve as good training partners to spar with too, if you know them well enough."

"Solid advice. Now let me show you what I've been working with!" Iono declared grandly, tossing a hand out at a generator we'd lugged into the arena. Since Kilowatrel was already out, she commanded them to use Lightning to power it up. Not bad. Not on Miles' level even without the Life Orb, but still, those are powerful shots, and I know Kilowatrel is hardly her strongest Pokemon.

We continued, with both of us showing off some of our Pokemon and the different training strategies we used. I got to show off some of the team-based drills I used, getting some Pokemon to show how they'd teach Moves and refinements to others on the team, like Notch showing Anya how to use Psychic. There were other drills I touched on, like training Bahamut to be even faster.

For her part, Iono demonstrated her own style, which, in my personal opinion, was a bit showy. Still, I suspect that flashiness can be good at distracting her foes from her real plans. "What do you do outside of Gym Leading and streaming?"

"Ha, I thought I was the one asking questions here," she laughed. Despite all the training and explanation, Iono had skillfully woven in a bunch of questions throughout our Pokemon showing off their stuff. Beyond the ones about my music (which let me show off/preview the upcoming songs with Miles' help), most of them were just refinements of the questions the reporters had asked me before, about my interests or my life at home. Honestly, despite living in a mansion, it feels kinda normal? Though I'm not sure if that's just me getting used to being a Glitterati over the years.

"It's just hanging out or chilling, for the most part. I like to read when I get the chance. Don't look so surprised!... though it's mostly fanfics."

I couldn't help but laugh. "No, I get it. Fanfiction is easy to get into. A lot of stories have a great premise but an execution you don't agree with, or a ton of worldbuilding that makes for an easy entry point." Plus, it's pretty easy to just have a bunch of tabs on your phone and check them when you have a free moment between stuff.

"Sounds like you know what you're talking about. Got anything to share with our lovely Iono Zoners?" The streamer said with an eyebrow waggle.

"Sorry, not really. Most of my time is taken up these days by training or battling, if not one of my other hobbies. Speaking of which," I said, stretching as I strode towards her. "Why don't we cap this stream off with a battle?" That part of the stream had been outlined in the plan I read before but was a request I was more than happy to oblige.

"All righty, let's give our fans an electrifying battle!" She cheered, waving happily to the citizens cheering loudly from the ring above us.

We took our places on opposite ends of the arena, raising our Pokeballs. "This'll be a one-on-one. We've been training hard for this, so come and shine, Bellibolt! We'll show her Radiance who's… who…" Iono's voice trailed off as she and the green frog-esque Pokemon stopped to stare at Miles on my end, in their Boombox Form. At least I think Bellibolt is looking at us; those big eye-looking bumps distract from their actual eyes, which are pretty flat and all one color.

I noticed also that the cheers from above had died down as they looked on confused. "Uhh…" I began awkwardly.

"Haha, looks like we got our wires crossed, folks!" Iono smoothly recovered before sidling up to me. "Sorry, guess I didn't specify which Electric Type I wanted to show off. Just thought it was obvious," she said in an undertone. Here I thought people were excited to see Miles.

"It's not a problem, bzzt," Miles cut in. "I know I'm not as exciting as a new Pokemon like Radiance is. Bzzt, though I think the confusion stemmed from the fact that they aren't an Electric Type."

"What's this!?" Iono exclaimed, looking shocked (though I noticed the Magnemite attached to her head looked surprised before she did). "Even with all those electrifying attacks against Enamorus?"

"It's true, Radiance simply has an affinity for Electric Moves, not the Typing," I explained. Even then, there are some of those Moves that have been difficult for Radiance to learn. Magnet Rise, in particular, has been slow going.

Then to Miles I added, "Are you sure? I know you don't like the spotlight as much, but I really wanted to show off how strong you are." One-on-one battles like this can help capture that better for the wider world than even a Championship match could. Miles fought hard in the Gauntlet and had been instrumental in how we managed to finish, but with how they played out, Miles wasn't ever really seen as the 'star' of any match.

They buzzed, confirming they were indeed fine with it, and I recalled them. "Alright then, let's take it from the top, shall we?" I said as we took our places back on opposite sides, and I tossed Radiance's Pokeball onto the field, releasing the Paradox Pokemon. Their entrance earned many 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the crowd gathered and a few yelps of surprise. Even from that distance, Radiance's heat was palpable. It quickly died down, Radiance more than capable of controlling it, but they liked making a big intimidating show each time they were on the stage.

"Looks like they're bringing the heat, but we can crank it up a notch too, right, Bellibolt?" The green blob-like Pokemon gave a throaty sound and slapped his own belly in response, the black hemisphere sticking out on him lighting up at the impact.

We waited as the announcement system counted us in before shouting our first orders of the fight. "Fiery Dance!Take it and Discharge!"

My command took place first, not the least of which was due to the capsule clicking into place and sending a current running through Radiance that sped them up even more. Like a burning blur, their wings sliced into Bellibolt before they raced off. Despite Bellibolt getting ready to release the Discharge as the Iron Moth approached him, he only caught them with the tail end of the attack as they sped off.

"Yowzers! They're fast. But can you outrace lightning? Belli, let's bring the Thunder!" Dark clouds gathered overhead before the bolts struck down. "You like that?" She crowed as a shot glanced off of one of Radiance's wings. "Bellibolt gets stronger the more you hit him!"

"Neat, but Radiance has something similar," I said over the crashing thunder that echoed all around as my Pokemon dodged between the bolts, striking into Bellibolt once more with a Fiery Dance. The heat in the arena cranked up, Radiance's wings burning brightly as they spun around the Paradox Pokemon. "That is, they get stronger the more they hit you too. And you've got no choice but to sit there and take it!"

"Urk! We'll be losin' fans if we don't switch this stream up! Go and hose 'em down, Muddy Water!" Bellibolt conjured a large puddle in front of himself before belly flopping into it, sending a crashing, dirt-speckled wave across the arena.

Radiance proved quick enough to dodge all but a sprinkle of water from the attack before striking in with another Fiery Dance. This time though, I noticed how the flames seemed far dimmer than before. Did that attack before serve as a cover to weaken Radiance somehow?

"We've got some high voltage coming your way!" Iono shouted as she pulled her Tera Orb out, tossing it over Bellibolt. "Discharge!" She ordered as she Terastalized her Bellibolt, a light bulb Tera 'hat' jewel appearing above his head. The bolts let loose struck hard into Radiance, my Pokemon convulsing from the powerful shock.

Just Terastalizing shouldn't have been enough to do that much damage there- oh. She turned them into a Water Type with that Muddy Water; it must have had a Soak mixed in. Of course, Radiance is good at tanking special attacks like that. Indeed, I caught Iono gulp slightly at seeing my Pokemon shake off the shock, their crosshair eyes narrowing in on Bellibolt. And more to the point, she's not the only one who can change up Types.

"That was good, but now? It's our turn!" My bold declaration was accompanied by me pulling out my Tera Orb and tossing it over Radiance. It shattered, encasing them in a large crystal for a brief moment before shattering to reveal the flower Tera 'hat' above Radiance's head. "Energy Ball, blast him away!"

The Paradox Pokemon eagerly conjured not one, not two, but three glowing green orbs in front of their wings, waving them forward where they pelted into Bellibolt. "And the effects of Soak are completely gone now that we've Terastalized, so go and fire up another Fiery Dance too!"

That's more for the audience than Iono; she already gets how much trouble she's in. Indeed, she was looking quite nervous. "Oh noes, this ain't looking good!" She cried as Radiance struck with their wings, the heat rising once again as they cut into Bellibolt.

Iono dropped the nervous facade after the hit landed, however. "Psych! Didja forget that Bellibolt gets stronger the more you hit him? Blast them with an Electromorphosis Discharge!"

"Overheat," I said calmly, even as the hairs on my arms stuck up at the electricity gathering within the arena. Bellibolt was on the brink of releasing it before they were hit by a wall of heat, the force of Radiance's Move shoving them all the way to the other end of the arena. There, they crashed into the edge of the barrier, releasing a brilliant shock wave around the arena before the Bellibolt gave a loud croak and fell over.

"Aww," Iono moaned as she recalled her unconscious Pokemon. "Welp, guess that's what I get for challenging a trainer as flashy as a ten-million volt Thunderbolt!" She said, walking over to shake my hand.

"Thank you, that was good. You've really upped your game since last time." Despite being beaten easier, that's more just a sign of how strong Radiance is, rather than a weakness on her part. The Type change was a tricky idea, and she tried to play to Bellibolt's strengths, taking hits to power up Electromorphosis.

"No no, thank you; with this, my stream numbers will go through the roof! Plus," she added after a moment, "it'll hopefully get people charged up to challenge the Gym." It's good to hear that she's not just taking her Gym Leader duties seriously but actually seems enthused about them.

"Might even need to recruit a few fans to help out with running the place if the Trainer numbers are anything like my streamer's numbers," Iono said with good cheer.

"Won't you have enough Gym Trainers to handle that already?"

She shook her head. "We've got a few, but the League doesn't have a big enough budget to handle a whole bunch of new Trainers." I didn't say anything there but mentally made a note of it and promised myself that I'd look into the situation. But that's for later. For now, let's copy Radiance and bask in the praise of a battle well done.

Spoiler: A/N:

It might take me a while to get back to things, but I do intend to for most all plot threads I leave hanging! Iono's stuff was a while ago (as was some of the errors in Nemona's money focus), but I was glad to show that again, and demonstrate how Radiance is getting a better handle on battling and not going to far under Nemona's guidance. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and if you did feel free to leave a comment here or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a 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.

 

[Spearow]

She chuckled. "We saw tons o' spirit out there fightin' the Elite Four and all. Pa-pow! Blam!" She accentuated, waving her arms about. "But your journey was a big ol' mystery box. Plenty a folks here commented they wanted to see you out and about, but you were practically as hard to keep an eye on as a Marshadow! Was that on purpose?"

Click to shrink...

hm, is the existence of Marshadow common knowledge? interesting.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[Genilea]

Cool, feels like a nice chapter with good set up

 

[Skyfyre]

hm, is the existence of Marshadow common knowledge? interesting.

Click to shrink...

Their existence is known of enough for references and the like, but they're still generally a very secretive Pokemon without much deep knowledge about them.

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you very much for my 60 Beginner Tier Patreons and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, Exalted Requiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means so much to me.

"Nemona! You up for a trip to Lake Casseroya?"

"Most people start a conversation off with 'hello,' you know?" I snarked at Friede on the other end of the video call, but I couldn't help the grin that grew on my face. He smirked back without saying a word, and I relented first. "Yeah, of course I'm down for that. What's the deal?"

"I planned on doing a video exploring the symbiotic relationship between Dondozo and Tatsugiri, Pokemon only native to that part of Paldea, but…" He trailed off, shivering.

"Hah, yeah, it's a pretty dangerous place. The Pokemon there were so aggressive that even I went around the lake when I went on my Journey." Before he could get the wrong idea, I added, "Not that we can't handle ourselves there; we're even stronger than we were back then, and it wasn't like the Pokemon posed too much of a threat. It was just bothersome."

That might be putting it lightly; multiple Gyarados, Veluza, and a fair number of Dragons make their home there and can be quite territorial. There's a reason why it's often also referred to as the 'Paldean Lakes of Rage,' and I think that the comparison to Johto's famous lake honestly undersells it. Still, I'm kinda excited to explore the lake.

"Glad the Rising Volt Tacklers can count on our Champion!" Friede cheered, Captain Pikachu doing the same and pumping a little fist up in the air. It's a shame I can never let him know how adorable he is, but I get the feeling that I'd be asking for a shock on the level of early-series Ash if I said that.

Out of the blue, Captain Pikachu sneezed as Friede continued. "We'll pick you up in a day or two; I'll send you the details later." I nodded and hung up. Well, it looks like I'll have to clear off my schedule- oh wait, I don't have anything to do! Unless you count stressing out about the results of my entrance exam.

I frowned at that thought before pushing it to the side and cracking open one of the more detailed Paldean atlases I had on the bookshelf in my room. Let's see what the Casseroya Lake has in store for us. Oh yeah, plenty of Pellipers there too. I should definitely dress for the rain…

***

Before we got there I had to meet and greet the crew, which I was surprised to see had expanded since last time. There were two new faces aboard: the first was a green-haired young man in a teal button-up collared shirt, with a camera hanging around his neck. Behind him I could make out a pink-haired girl wearing a long pink dress that ended just above her ankles. I also noticed she was staring suspiciously at me. Oh boy, this will be a trip.

"Oh? Is this the fabled Top Champion of Paldea? A mysterious young girl with a troubled soul and a heart burning for vengeance?" The man inquired. At his feet, a Wynaut made a questioning sound.

"Haha, not quite," I replied, stepping fully onto the deck and offering a hand, which he shook. "I'm Nemona, pleased to meet you. Didn't realize we had anyone new on the crew."

"Sohdayo," he greeted in turn before stepping aside as the girl stepped forward.

"My name's Molly," she said primly, shaking my hand with her own delicate hand as well. It took all my self-control not to gawk at her hair, which had fairly ordinary bangs and was mid-length down the back but, to the side, somehow formed two loops, the lower one connected to the bottom at a perpendicular angle.

How does it even- I shoved aside questions mankind was not meant to know as she continued. "I thought Sohdayo and I were the newest members of the crew," she said with a suspicious glance towards the man.

"The truth is what you make it!" He said enthusiastically, and I rolled my eyes at the green-haired man's antics.

"Sometimes. It could apply here, though; I only voyaged with the Rising Volt Tacklers once before, even if I've been friends with Friede for a while, so I suppose I might not be considered a proper crew member."

"Please, you'll always be considered a member of the Rising Volt Tacklers!" Friede declared, boldly striding out of the cabin to welcome me. "I see you've met our newest members."

"Yup! I'll try to take good care of my juniors!" I said cheekily. Sohdayo laughed, while Molly blushed and bowed to me. I mean, yeah, I was technically here before her, but she's a teenager and I look like a little kid!

"Pika pi!" Cap declared, and that reminded me. Turning to him, I pulled out the gift I had prepared. He took the wrapped gift box and even curiously shook it before opening it at my urging. His eyes grew wide as he saw what lay within.

"Nemona, is that…?" Friede asked, and I nodded.

"Yup! Your very own Light Orb! I had it fitted to a collar rather than on your hat, since I noticed you tend to leave that with Friede when you fight. Do you like it?" I asked, and he leapt off of Friede's shoulder and into my arms (suddenly scrambling to hold onto him) as he nuzzled me. Even holding his electricity back, the experience sent a strange jolt through my body from his red cheeks.

"Haha, I'll take that as a 'yes' then," I declared happily. Knew that would be a good gift for him. I planned on sending it on Friede's birthday, but I didn't think I'd get to see them again in person so soon, so this is good.

"Thank you," Friede said sincerely before affixing the collar around Cap's neck. He preened at the praise ("I've heard that Orb is a mythical artifact that gives a Pikachu power on par with a Legendary!" "Really? Wow!" "Wynaut?" "I mean, it doubles their strength, but anyone could be that strong, so…") before we got ourselves ready. "This is wonderful. Again, thank you so much."

"No really, it's nothing. You guys have helped me out a ton. It was the least I could do in return for Cap helping pioneer that journey to Alola for Notch and me. Speaking of, we've got another journey to head out on, right?" I said, eager to shift attention away from them praising me. I do like getting gifts people enjoy, but it feels weird doing so here when I can easily get such things with my parents' money.

"Pika Pi Chu!" Captain Pikachu nodded his head eagerly, and at that signal we were all hands on deck, the ship lifting off and heading out towards the lake.

***

"Pokedollar for your thoughts?" Sohdayo asked, catching me gazing out beyond the horizon. After takeoff, things had smoothed out, with Orla running the ship efficiently.

"Just marveling at how fast the Brave Olivine moves. It's barely been more than an hour, and Lake Caseroya is already in sight, and it's pretty much on the opposite side of Paldea from home."

He peered out intently, putting a hand above his eyes to keep the sunlight out as he squinted out from where we were standing, by the edge of the lower deck. Giving up on that, he pulled out his very expensive-looking camera, zooming in and snapping a few shots.

"Wow, it looks incredible! And I couldn't see that at all without my lens. Did you have your eyes replaced with Braviary eyeballs to enhance your vision?" He asked after he finished taking his photos.

"Wh- no, of course not."

"Abap-bap-bap! The truth is what you make it!" He declared with another bright grin. Why would anyone do that though?! Pretty sure that Braviary eyes wouldn't fit in my ocular sockets anyways even if there was the science to do a successful transplant like that- nevermind.

"I was wondering-"

"Say no more! I get the drift!" he said, shoving his hand out toward my face, five fingers splayed out as he cut me off. "You must want to know all about me!" I think I'm getting the drift too… and it's that this guy can be a bit much.

"I'm the truth-seeking freelance Pokemon Journalist. Wherever mystery lurks in this world, Sohdayo is here to uncover the truth!"

"Wynaut?" His Pokemon asked skeptically.

"Well, that's lovely to hear, but I was actually wondering about where Molly was; I haven't seen her much on the trip."

He nodded. "She's down in the med-bay, looking after some of the Pokemon we've taken in."

"I see." Deciding against my better judgement to stick around for a moment, I asked, "Why did you join the Rising Volt Tacklers anyways? Is it just for your freelancing?"

"Hmm, in a way that's true. Really though, it's my passion to find out all the crazy things that lurk in the world, and freelancing helps pay the bills, while the ship takes me all across the globe! Doesn't hurt that Wynaut gets along with Cap as well as I do with Friede though."

"Wynaut!" The baby Pokemon cheered. Huh, I hadn't ever heard of Sohdayo or Molly from Friede before. Then again, he does have his own life and friends, and we only meet sporadically… And also he's really bad at informing people of stuff like that.

"Fair enough. Say, do you know why Molly joined?" The instant I saw the sparkle in his eyes, I regretted opening my mouth.

"Friede and Molly were actually star-crossed lovers in another life! Reborn, they felt that invisible bond that draws them ever closer, which is why he invited her aboard."

"Wynaut?" Yeah, little guy, I'm giving him side-eye too.

"Okay, cool, I'm gonna go… make my own truth, now," I said, waving at him as I left. If the photographer noticed the sarcasm, he didn't react to it, just happily waving back as I entered the cabin, walking over to the nurse's office. The room wasn't super large, space being limited even on a ship of this size, but the cabinets looked well stocked and had a sterile, neutral air about them.

In there I saw Molly and a bunch of other Pokemon. Some of them, like Murdoch's Rockruff and a Sentret I didn't know from before, were being given food and directions from Molly's Happiny, while the woman herself was looking after a Bibarel. A Tangela was waiting next in line, sitting on a little stool and kicking its red feet back and forth. At least I think they are. The Seviper and Zangoose are sitting in opposite corners of the room and glaring daggers at each other, so they could already have been looked at or still be in line.

After she finished with the Pokemon, I greeted her. "Hey Molly, how's it going?"

"It's going well; everyone here is recovering well, though we could use a few more Leppa Berries in their meals to keep their energy up," she said politely, while refusing to look directly at me.

"What did Amelia tell you about me?" I asked, holding back a sigh as I saw her flinch away at my appearance. And then - a confused look on her face.

"Amelia?"

"Your, uh, cousin? Familial relation from the Joy clan," I said. "Or is this something else?"

"Ah, sorry. Just surprised that you recognized me. I'm not wearing a uniform, and I'm a bit of a black Mareep when it comes to the family look." I blinked long and slow. How could anyone not recognize her as a Joy?! I mean, okay, looking closer, I can see how her face is a bit… sterner? Sharper? Naturally than most Nurse Joys, her eyes maybe a shade lighter. But still.

"It was Sohdayo. He said that you were a proud, fierce Trainer, battling anyone who met your gaze," the teenage girl said, still not quite daring to meet my eyes for more than a moment. "I'm glad to have you with us here, but Happiny isn't much of a battler."

"I get the feeling that Sohdayo doesn't always get the full picture with his theories."

"Huh?"

"I'm not saying he's a liar or anything; I do enjoy battling after all. But I'm not going to put my full faith in them either, at least not without some independent research. For instance, he said that you came here because you were past-life soulmates with Friede." At her look of shock and horror, I laughed. "Yeah, didn't think that was the case. But I am curious; what is the reason you're here?"

"My reason for being here… no, my goal, is to become the world's greatest Pokemon Doctor!" She declared, shedding her shy nature for a moment as she boldly declared that. She immediately shrunk back in on herself afterwards, though. "Ah, you must think it's a stupid dream…"

"No no," I reassured Molly quickly. "Just a little confused. What does being the 'World's Greatest' as a Pokemon Doctor look like? How do you know when you've achieved it?"

"Ah, well, that's a bit harder to judge than becoming the best Pokemon Trainer… But I'm still going to aim for it," Molly declared with a clenched fist and a determined look on her face. "When I can fix any ailment any Pokemon is suffering from, then I'll consider myself to be there."

I let out a low whistle. "A lofty goal, that's good. And I guess that traveling all over as a Rising Volt Tackler gives you a lot of experience with different Pokemon, huh?"

She nodded eagerly. "Yes, there are so many Pokemon to help here that I'd never get to see if I was stuck in a Pokemon Center, like the rest of my family. I also don't have to smile for everyone here," she muttered under her breath.

Giving her a sympathetic look, I nodded. "That's fair. It does feel a little unreasonable that you'd be forced to smile too after looking after people's Pokemon. Though maybe it was just a specific Pokemon Center that placed those standards?" I know Amelia didn't smile at me when we interacted, and I think the nurse at the Kitakami Center usually seemed too disinterested to smile. Those might be the exceptions rather than the norms, though.

"I think it's most places. Though, umm, you mentioned something about my cousin Amelia before?"

"Hah, yeah. We… didn't get off on the wrong foot. It's mostly cleared up now, but I worried she might have said something unflattering about me before then." I thought for a moment before releasing Phantasm. "Amelia just made some assumptions about how I found Phantasm here."

"Oh. "Ohhh," Molly said, recognition flitting across her face before she took a step closer. Phantasm stiffened ever-so-slightly, but Molly picked up on it and immediately halted her approach. At my nod, she lowered her guard and let the teenager get close, running her hands through Phantasm's mane.

"Wow, it's so smooth and cold." She commented, in slight awe of being nearby a Hisuian Zoroark. Phantasm preened at the praise.

"Yeah, we do a lot of brushing." It really is both of us. Phantasm has a brush of her own and will do her own grooming too if she feels like it. For many Pokemon it wasn't an option/vastly easier for humans to put that extra touch in, but her body structure made it fairly easy for her to brush her own mane.

As Molly stepped back, she said, "She looks to be in perfect health," with a contented expression on her face (though definitely not a smile). "If you find any issues with her health, feel free to let me know; I'd be glad to help. There really aren't many Hisuian Zoroarks around anymore."

"That's true, and being a Ghost Type, they probably vary a lot more than others do in treatment." Honestly, it's a testament to how miraculously ubiquitous the treatments of this world are that almost all Pokemon can be fixed from most common battle wounds by a quick trip to the Pokemon Center or with a Potion or two.

Catching on to that thought, I asked and chatted with her for a few minutes about the more serious injuries Pokemon might commonly suffer and how a doctor would treat them. Then, Friede's voice came in through the loudspeaker system, announcing we'd arrived.

Stepping back out, I went up to the prow and really took in the entirety of Lake Casseroya. It was a massive body of water, almost completely (but not quite) encircled by two long, thin, curving strips of rocky land, the gap in where they didn't meet leading into the wider ocean beyond.

In the lake itself there were quite a few islands, most fairly small and scattered, but a couple of largish ones near the middle. The islands looked generally verdant and gorgeous, spectacular destinations and the perfect place for resort houses the likes of which my mother would sell, or even small towns on the larger ones. However, there were no signs of human habitation on these landmasses, likely due to the Pokemon in the water surrounding them.

Gyaradoses thrashed about, creating tremendous waves and clashing with each other (and any other Pokemon foolish enough to approach them). Veluza and Baraskewda lurked below the surface, zipping towards any prey that caught their eyes. A few Dragons floated just above the water, daring anyone to get close. None of those were fully mature Dragons, but they still boasted enough strength to be a force to be reckoned with. Even the peaceful Pokemon were dangerous, like Pellipers that brought storms in their wake, or Avaluggs that sought out no challenges but simply plowed through anything in their path.

I felt my hands twitching towards my belt and the Pokeballs stored on it, the sleepy days of peace giving way to the desire to test myself. Of course, before I could even fully contemplate such things, a shout had me jumping slightly, and I turned to see Friede there.

"Careful, Nemona, we don't want to lose our bodyguard on this trip before we've even landed," he said, and it took me a moment to parse his words before the meaning clicked in my head.

"Please, this?" I said, stretching an arm out to the breeze around us. "I'm not going to fall from a little thing like that; heck, you're more likely to fall off than I am," I boasted. Admittedly because of my Aura - If I ever slipped, I could just float right back.

"Pika, pika," Captain Pikachu chided, which I took with grace, stepping back. "Alright, alright, I'm coming back. Now tell me about how your experiment will go and what you need me to do." He had outlined it briefly, but I could never be certain I hadn't missed something with him.

"We were hoping you could keep some of the more ferocious Pokemon away from us as I documented Tatsugiri and Dondozo. I'd heard they can get stronger when working together, so I might see how they do in a battle against Cap and Charizard. Of course, we have to find them first," he explained as we headed back down to the captain's chambers.

"Well, Dondozos are pretty easy to spot," I said, glancing down at the water. "They're larger than even the Gyaradoses." The big blue bulbous Pokemon drifted through the waves much like the Avalugg did, floating along and utterly unconcerned with the struggles of most of the smaller Pokemon.

We reached the rest of the group waiting in the steering room, with Sohdayo eagerly taking photos out the window. Molly was watching with a sort of detached interest, while our faithful engineer was wincing.

"Holy-" Orla cut off a curse (possibly because of my presence). "Just look at how many Gyardoses there are down there! Friede, are you sure we should do this?"

He frowned, taking a look down. The Gyrados did seem more common than usual and particularly dense in one spot, with dozens of them gathered in that section. "It must be mating season for them," he mused.

Peering over (with a slight assist from my Aura), I took a glance at the situation and said, "It should be fine." Then I dropped back down instantly, narrowly avoiding Sohdayo's camera as he whipped around, holding an innocent expression on my face.

Orla wasn't quite convinced. "I know you're strong and all, so maybe it won't be a problem for you, but that kind of gathering of Gyarados would be cause for a major warning back home. I wonder why the rangers haven't sent out any alerts about it?"

It was Molly who answered. "Gyarados are generally very territorial, so they'll spread out after the mating is over."

"Isn't that an even bigger cause for concern?! The Gyarados can fly, and if they reach the mainland-"

"They won't," I interjected. "You can't see them from here, but there are flocks and flocks of Kilowatrels waiting just beyond the 'arms' of the lake. Gyarados aren't great fliers, and the Pokemon on the cliffs would defend themselves if attacked." Or if anyone just came too close. Some, like the packs of Goomys, might just cower at such a sight, but the other Pokemon around these parts are pretty tough too.

"Can a couple of Kilowattrels really stop all those Gyarados?" Murdoch asked, to which Ludlow chortled.

"Never underestimate a Pokemon; all of them can be terrifying in the right situation."

"Indeed. The Kilowatrels have a major Type advantage against Water and Flying Types. They're much faster than them too, so they'll fry- deter any Gyarados from slipping out and hurting anyone ashore." Molly grimaced slightly, and I offered her an apologetic expression.

For someone who wants to heal even the wild Pokemon, hearing about how they fight and even sometimes eat each other can be hard. But those Gyarados would hurt more Pokemon if they were allowed to populate and spread en masse. The pink-haired older girl gave me a curt nod, showing she understood that too.

"Why don't the Kilowatrels just fly over to the lake then, instead of waiting?" Orla inquired, which led to me and Molly responding at the same time.

"The Drakloaks/Lack of oil." We blinked and both stared at each other. "No no, you go first; I was just guessing."

Her cheeks grew almost as pink as her hair. "I was just making an assumption too," she demurred before speaking up, as it was clear I wasn't going to go first. "I know that Kilowatrels have very little oil on their feathers, so they have a tough time swimming."

"I was just thinking that the Drakloaks and Dreepy are floating a bit above the lake's waters, and they'd be faster and more resistant to the Kilowatrels attacks." Gyrados also learn Bite upon evolving and could probably easily devour them. It could just be that Ghost Types don't make for good meals, but with how freely they let the Dragon packs drift around them and how there are fewer Dratinis nearby, I think them using the Drakloaks as a sort of protection/buffer doesn't feel unreasonable. I wonder how much the Gyarados consciously think of that, though? Is it just a learned behavior past generations took up and stuck around as an evolutionary advantage? Or am I on the completely wrong track, and there's some other reason for the relatively peaceful cohabitation?

I realized two things - one, that everyone was looking at me, so I probably said those thoughts aloud, and two, that Friede had his Rotom Phone held up. "Did you get all that for your video?" I asked.

"Most of it!" He chirped back. "Those were some good theories you were tossing about and would definitely be fun to investigate. For the moment though, we should look for a place to 'weigh anchor' and begin looking into the Tatsugiri and Dondozo."

"I've heard the greatest Tatsugiris gather on the peak of those island cliffs!" Sohdayo exclaimed excitedly.

"Wynaut?"

"Umm, well, I'm not sure about that, but most Tatsugiri seem to be on land, not in the water, so we'd probably want one of the islands a bit closer to sea level, like that one." I pointed at one of the smaller islands, which happened to have a few Dondozos swimming nearby. I don't know if anyone else's eyes can make them out from this far away, but some of those multi-colored blobs on the ground could easily be Tatsugiri.

It was also far away from the Gyardoses, and we'd be able to easily fly off if a large number of them started gathering towards us. Assuming I didn't just beat them all. Which might have felt a little cocky, but I was confident that my team could handle anything the world could throw at us, especially a bunch of untrained, uncoordinated wild Pokemon rampaging without thought.

Such a thing was not a threat to even the Pokemon down below, as a school of Veluza began attacking one of the Dondozos near the island we were approaching. As I was getting ready to head down and help drive the predators off, we all saw as one of the Tatsugiri on the island jumped out onto the water and then dived into Dondozo's mouth.

"I see, Dondozo consumes the smaller Pokemon for power!" Sohdayo declared, causing Molly's eyes to bug out.

"What?!"

"No. Just watch; see how Dondozo is fighting back now?" I said, pointing out the window, where the large blue and white fish Pokemon was fighting the pack of small silver and purple ones far more efficiently now.

Gathering the group up with a powerful Surf, Dondozo followed it up by tossing the Tatsugiri out of her mouth at the cluster, following it up with a long sweep of her tail, which knocked the Veluza aside, and Tatsugiri hopped on top of it, riding it back and letting him get flicked back into Dondozo's mouth.

"Tatsugiri uses Dondozo as a living shield but seems to power up the Water Type. They work together quite well." I have some other theories too, especially about how much smarter Dondozo started fighting after Tatsugiri joined the fray - no more thrashing about wildly there.

We made our descent at the same time as the pair was approaching the shore - and our presence wasn't unnoticed. Immediately the Tatsugiri started scattering on the small island, with a couple of Dondozo swimming closer. The one that was already paired up fired off a Water Gun that hit the side of Brave Olivine hard.

"Whoa, was that a Hydro Pump?" Sohdayo exclaimed, and I shook my head, though any explanation I could have given was cut off by everyone scrambling around me. Orla left, fretting over the repairs needed, and Friede was charging out on his Charizard.

I followed him, releasing Notch, hoping that we could talk them down. Despite the situation, I couldn't help but smirk at how happy Notch still was with their hands, delighting in the princess carry they used as we floated down. "Having fun?"

['With you? Always! Each day is a blessed treat,'] they declared, whilst calling up a shield of diamonds to block another attack from the big fish below.

"Can you ask them to stop?" Almost immediately, they halted, but I could see how suspiciously the Dondozo was looking at us (likely mimicking what the Tatsugiri within was feeling). But at least the attacks stopped, so Friede didn't have to dodge those blasts of water anymore.

"Whoa! They're really riled up, huh? Suppose we shouldn't have expected anything different if the Gyarados are congregating." Friede commented more to himself than to me before turning to Dondozo. "We're just here to study. We even brought treats!" he shouted to the pair before pulling a very large, Dondozo-sized Poketreat from his satchel and tossing it down to the big fish, who scooped it up in one gulp.

"Our chef made that himself. Tastes great, right?" As Friede attempted to win them over, I caught a bit of back and forth between the Tatsugiri and Dondozo, which I could barely hear, the big fish making very deep sounds. I'd need to be more familiar with Dondozo to accurately read them off of those sounds. Thankfully, I had Notch to relay a proper message between us.

"Think Murdoch can make up more of those snacks?" I asked as the Dondozo and all the Tatsugiri on the island began looking hopefully at us. "Uhh, that's a lot of treats to whip up…" I added doubtfully, but Friede waved it off.

"It'll be fine; you haven't seen Murdoch during the lunch rush before." That's right, he worked in a pastry shop before this. Hmm, I wonder what brought him away from that and to go on a life of adventure?

To be entirely fair, there hardly needed to be a huge impetus for that in this world. While it had gotten better with advanced communication systems and social media, there were still plenty of cases of people heeding the call to adventure and disappearing for months on end. If they returned at all. So a gig with a Pokemon Professor-sponsored airship would likely sound pretty sweet to most people all on its own (myself included).

We flew back up to the airship to relay the instructions to Murdoch. Friede and Cap then helped him out in the kitchen while I lent a hand to Orla in fixing the ship (though the damage was fairly minimal - the Brave Olivine had originally been a sea ship after all, so the hull could take a Water type attack quite well).

True to the Professor's words, in just half an hour, Murdoch was rolling out a large feast of delicious treats. We had to enlist the help of a couple of my other flying Pokemon (who could actually help them, which was mostly just Gliscor, but I could ride atop Dun while she and Notch helped deliver it) to take it down to them. I also had to promise one treat each for my fliers and promise more for the ones who couldn't join us in that. Geez, you'd think that we don't feed them well, but I am well aware of how much they chow down at home.

The small island was covered in Tatsugiri, and Tatsugiri alone. They were a little nervous at first (a fact that might have been attributed to the Legendary Fairy Type delivering the food), but one of the braver ones wiggled up on the odd, cloud-like substance under their bellies, taking a tentative bite of one of the puff pastries before his eyes lit up.

That signal had the rest swarming over, eagerly devouring the desserts and making short work of it all, happily cheering for us in between bites. They sure changed their attitudes quickly, but I guess that's the power of a good meal. A little too trusting, though; a slow-acting sedative could have just taken them all out if we had been poachers.

I paused and shook my head. God, my thoughts can be way too dark sometimes. People in this world are, generally, far kinder and more trusting than the ones in my previous world, and these wild Tatsugiri in particular would have no reason to mistrust us.

Friede had finished giving Dondozo (and likely the Tatsugiri within her mouth) on the water her portion of the treats, dropping them down from atop Charizard. "So, ready to give us a demonstration of your teamwork?" He asked, and the response he got was:

"Do. Dooooozo. Don Don, Do."

"Uhhh…" Friede began awkwardly, not getting what that and Dondozo's gestures upwards meant, but luckily, we had a translator.

['They-… they're demanding that we give them our chef. Or at least, the little one is, and the big one is happy enough to follow along.'] Notch informed us. ['He does claim he'll help us if we do so though.'] The Tatsugiri on the island cheered at that, and I even saw a few more Dondozos drifting in closer, looking interested.

Do they think that just by having a chef they'll magically get food that good?! I mean, he probably could prepare and make the fish they eat tastier, but not on this level. And also- "No way," Friede declared firmly, a response which provoked all the Tatsugiri to wiggle and hiss aggressively. The main Dondozo also slapped her tail against the water hard.

I decided to step in there. "Let's have a battle: if you two can beat us, you get our chef."

"Nemona!" Friede hissed, and with a subtle signal, had Notch telepathically transmit my next words to Friede alone.

"A battle is a great way to show off the power they get from working together like that, and besides, I said they had to beat both of us; my Pokemon will easily sweep them up if you lose." After an unimpressed stare and a beat, I added, "I mean, I believe in you. You should, uh, still use both your Pokemon, though, since there's two of them there too."

With a heavy sigh, Friede passed me his Rotom Phone to record the battle before pulling out a pair of small capsules that he tossed onto the water, which expanded to grey-white platforms to stand and move on. Cap tossed his hat back to his Trainer and stood atop one platform, moving ahead of Friede, who slid off Charizard's back and onto the other. Huh, guess those are the things the PC uses when battling on the water in the games. I wonder how someone directs them to move around? Probably foot-pressure based, but how are they programmed to take in the differences of even Pikachu and Friede, let alone Pokemon with a different number of limbs from a human?

I didn't have time to geek out and examine them any further as the battle began in earnest. 'Donduo' began with a Surf, the water rising like a massive tidal wave, the power letting it threaten to hit even the flying Charizard. A widespread Move, good for catching both of their foes, one of whom is weak to Water. Dondozo hardly seems like the greatest special attacker, but with Tatsugiri boosting him, it's a decent opening.

Friede wasn't just going to stand there and take it, however. "Charizard, Fly above it! Cap, ride it out!" He called out. Charizard shot into the air, while the Pikachu… Is that Surf? It is! Cap is using his own Surf to ride out the wave! It looked both awesome and adorable to see the electric rodent Pokemon carving along the wave his foe had made.

Donduo attempted to crush the smaller Pokemon, jumping up over top of the approaching Pikachu. Cap saw it coming and slid on his flotation device to the side, then jumped right as the big fish landed, reversing their positions.

"Thunder Punch!" Friede's voice carried out over the water, and Cap's fist sparked with electricity before impacting Dondozo. The large Pokemon reeled back, howling in pain. Yeah, Cap certainly packs a punch, especially with that Light Orb boosting his power even further. He's a real Elite-Tier threat on his own now.

Dondozo was quite tough, though, both naturally and boosted further with Tatsugiri inside of her, so she prepared to swing back at Cap while he was in the air. However, they had forgotten that this was a 2 v 2, a fact that Charizard dropping down from the sky dramatically reminded them of. The diving impact threw Donduo off from hitting Cap, letting the Pikachu flip through the air and land perfectly back on his floaty.

Dondozo glared between the two on either side of her, caught, until she suddenly dropped down below the waves. "Huh? Running away already?" Friede questioned.

"No, they're using-" The great fish burst dramatically out of the water, smacking Cap aside as they surged back up. "-Dive," I finished lamely.

The Pokemon Professor called out, "Flamethrower!" Thunder Punch!" The first attack hit, Charizard's flames licking away Dondozo's thick blubber but doing little damage, while Cap was having trouble swimming towards the fishy pair and was unable to make it before they dove back beneath the waves.

Friede clicked his tongue in frustration before ordering Charizard to grab Cap, the Flying Type rushing over and barely picking his ally up in time to avoid the Dive.

Dondozo grinned, launching Tatsugiri out of her mouth like a living missile that hit Charizard hard, nearly causing him to lose his grip on Cap. Is that a sushi board Tatsugiri hit them with? Wow, Order Up really goes all in on that theme. It was also dangerous for the boost it just gave them, which I warned my friend of.

"Watch out - I think that Move increases their Defense!" I shouted, and my fears were proven true when Captain Pikachu darted through the air with a few Quick Attacks to land a fast Thunder Punch against Dondozo, but he took it with much more ease than before, nearly clipping Pikachu with an Aqua Tail before Charizard dove down and scooped him out of the way.

Charizard placed Cap back down on his floaty before turning and trying to Flamethrower Donduo again, but it failed, the Pokemon Diving once more. Friede wasn't worried, though, instantly jumping into action the moment they went under the waves.

"Double Team, then back in the air!" A series of clones appeared all around the floaty before Cap jumped back atop Charizard. Predictably, Donduo burst through the water at the spot where Cap had previously been, her bulk and the waves caused in her wake ripping through the clones. But it left her right where they wanted her.

"Hurricane!" Charizard beat his wings hard, whipping up a violent storm in the sky that kept Donduo aloft for a moment. The strain of that was real, but it gave Cap time for his Move, jumping off of Charizard's back at Friede's final command. "Special attacks aren't really Cap's specialty, heh. So I guess we'll just have to power through it, Volt Tackle!" Why do I suddenly hear 'You Say Run?' Also, note to self: Write that music for my next album; it's a banger.

Captain Pikachu landed in the air, racing along the edge of the Hurricane. Around and around he went, gathering more charge, until he was a blinding bright blur. This contrasted the air around, which had become dark, and the winds even more violent. Dondozo thrashed in place, but even Tatsugiri had no idea of what to do in this situation - and no time to think about it.

Reaching the top of the storm, Cap leapt off the outer ring, drifting in the air for just a second until they were right above the center - right above Dondozo and Tatsugiri. Dropping down, they hit the pair with Captain Pikachu's patented 'Rising' Volt Tackle, like a fist of god. Like a bolt of lightning striking down, Cap hit the water first, then their foes a moment after, the storm gone and Charizard looking very tired, struggling to keep himself in the air.

Slowly, Dondozo surfaced from the waves, rising back up and coughing out Tatsugiri. The False Dragon Pokemon was just as knocked out and defeated as his partner. And then, off several meters to the side, Cap resurfaced as well, looking exhausted but conscious, paddling over to Friede to jump onto the man - and then, after embracing him, shaking off all his wet fur, causing the Pokemon Professor to sputter.

I might have used something like a Sunny Day to weaken the Water attacks, especially if Charizard had Solar Power. Cap maybe using Eerie Impulse to let Charizard's special attacks hit harder, but damn, Friede's way worked well too. That Volt Tackle is beyond just Elite in power; it's starting to look like some of the stronger Moves Ash's Pikachu could do.

"Good job," I shouted down, my starter drifting to Friede and his team, now that the surrounding area looked clear. Notch telekinetically pulled over the other floaty, and I released Athena to stand on it, offering out Heal Pulses and Life Dews for all the Pokemon that had fought. That, combined with beating the Tatsugiri/Dondozo pair, and it didn't seem like any of the nearby Pokemon were eager to mess with us.

Cap was looking a little roughed up, but he gave us a broad grin and wave as we approached, clearly quite proud of his victory. The Light Orb definitely helped, but it's clear that they've been training too.

"Those were some good plays you pulled there," I complimented Friede once I was in normal talking distance. "Felt like some of the pro double battles I've been watching."

"Professional Double- oh right, you're heading off to Blueberry, and they focus on those kinds of battles there."

"Yup. Tatsugiri and Dondozo have great synergy working together, giving the big guy a huge boost in power, with further boosts available with that signature Move of hers. But you were able to use both your Pokemon at once, and your strategy cinched it!" I gushed. Ah, I love Pokemon battling!

"Haha, thanks. You were right," he said suddenly, causing momentary confusion, before he explained. "About needing more Pokemon for a Champion Tier team. Charizard is great, but some of the challenges we've faced around the regions, he couldn't have taken on easily, and the same is true for Cap." The Pikachu in question crossed his arms at that but eased up as Friede gave him back his hat.

"Together though, we've been able to do a ton and discover so much more of the world."

"Well, feel free to ring me up whenever you're going on an adventure next, and I'll see if I can swing by." Part of me is tempted to just travel with them now; I'm sure there's a ton I could learn with them… but it's fine. I'll learn a bunch at Blueberry too, and I'm sure I could join up with the Rising Volt Tacklers fully later.

"Will do. Hmm, you mentioned how Double Battles are common at Blueberry. Do you think a Dondozo and Tatsugiri pair would do well with your strategies to guide them?" He offered, looking out at the Pokemon that had gathered around to watch Friede's match.

Absolutely, without a doubt. "I think they'd do well, but I'm not looking to expand my team right now. Still focusing on training up Anya and Radiance." And Bahamut - he's gotten a lot stronger, but he's still not quite on the level of the original six. More to the point though, I saw the hurt and verklempt expressions on the faces of the Tatsugiri (and probably on the couple of Dondozo in the distance, though they were harder to read) and figured none of them were really interested in joining me. A Pokemon's drive is the biggest factor in if I'll take them onto my team or not.

"Good luck with that, and thanks again for coming out to help us film this," he said, taking the Rotom Phone back and shaking my hand. "Now let's get you back home before the Gyarados do decide to drift our way."

Kinda feel like this is the point where disaster would strike or everything would go wrong. I waited a second, but when no one appeared to smite us for our hubris, we flew back to the Brave Olivine. There we began the significantly less exciting process of editing his video to make it an exciting and engaging production for the public to consume.

Spoiler: A/N:

I just cannot use the dub name of 'Wy-yes' for him, so Sohdayo he shall be! Also, while I did enjoy the episode he was in, I can see how dealing with someone like him in real life might be a bit of a pain.

Tatsugiri and Dondozo are a cool battle pair, and I know they've seen some IRL competitive use, but given just how rare they are, it felt kinda off to give them to anyone in Blueberry Academy (plus some of the strategies involve using stuff like getting the Tatsugiri to faint while inside the Dondozo's mouth, which wouldn't really fly in a real-life battle for a number of reasons). Still, I thought they'd be fun to show off here.

Admittedly this also wasn't my first idea for the chapter, but that plot was really fighting me, so I decided to skip it for now. Might get brought up later. But this stuff of some headcanons around mass outbreaks and Pokemon ecology really worked and flowed pretty well, so I hoped you enjoyed it. If you liked the chapter you can comment down below or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a 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.