Pokemon Dark Tidings

[XoraDeimosSol]

smart move would be to sell to Steven, mans got money to outbid everybody, make it a crystal Steelix that could be his Co-Ace like Lance's Red gyrados is to his Dragonite.

 

[Nai Darkor]

Here's chapter 1: Only mostly Dead.

Click to shrink...

Well… If the Gengar was an albino.
Shiny!

Interesting premise

Here's chapter 2: Beginnings.

Click to shrink...

I have a feeling that he will still be blamed.

Here's chapter 3: Orange islands.

Click to shrink...

Honchkrow is the future!
Thank you for the story so far and I hope you will update soon again!

 

[ApiLol123123]

It had connotations of death and loss, and if Ezra didn't misremember, evolving a Cubone at night could result in it becoming a Fire/Ghost Marowak - a perfect fit for his ghostly team.

And if he failed. Well, he'd always wanted an Arceusdamned Cubone, so he'd be fine either way.

Click to shrink...

Maybe have it focus on Fire and Ghost type moves so it'll evolve into the Alolan version.

He walked forward and examined the Pokemon, fingering a Pokeball.

It was a Spiritomb.

Click to shrink...

Daamn kid got lucky!

Ezra's smile widened, taking on a mischievous edge. Without another word, he reached to his belt and pulled out a Pokeball, tossing it casually into the street. Marco watched in stunned silence as the ball opened with a flash of light, revealing a massive, sleeping crystal Onix. Its body shimmered in the fading sunlight, casting rainbow reflections onto the cobblestone street.

Click to shrink...

What an absolute dumbass.... He doesn't have a partner to help him with selling it so people knowing about the Onix is just asking for Team Rocket to shank him....

I hope he shows Mimikyu some love cuz goddamn is that Pokemon sad.. It has a similar story to the MC too, being shunned because of its appearance. Story has been interesting so far, thanks for the chapter!

 

[JollyHippopotamus]

Maybe have it focus on Fire and Ghost type moves so it'll evolve into the Alolan version.




Daamn kid got lucky!



What an absolute dumbass.... He doesn't have a partner to help him with selling it so people knowing about the Onix is just asking for Team Rocket to shank him....

I hope he shows Mimikyu some love cuz goddamn is that Pokemon sad.. It has a similar story to the MC too, being shunned because of its appearance. Story has been interesting so far, thanks for the chapter!

Click to shrink...

Yeah it wasn't a smart move, but then again I don't write SI who go forward without their small foibles, like Ezra wanting to spite perfect strangers for thinking he was a fool - releasing a super rare Pokemon on the street and drawing interest from the Orange League, and any criminal element on the islands.

Smart idea, no.

In line with his spiteful character, yes. Something he will have to work on if he wants his dream.

 

[JollyHippopotamus]

Here's chapter 4: Orange Crush.

Story won on Patreon so it comes out earlier than otherwise projected, so enjoy.

So this chapter might annoy some people, I'll reiterate again though, while he's on the side of good guys, he's not really that nice of a person. Oh, he'll make his friends and have his adventures, but he's definitely not what you'd call… Diplomatic.

I'm not really writing a normal Pokemon story here, not that I regularly write normal anything.

This probably should have been two chapters, but I didn't want to stay in the Orange Islands for too long, the arc mostly showcasing how different he is from other trainers in both mindset and skills. It's 16k, so uh, read when you have some extra time.

At least I didn't spend ten chapters and 100 k words on the Orange islands!

As usual, I do not own Pokemon or the associated companies that deliver material from it. I'm just playing in the kiddy pool, don't hurt me.

Enjoy!

---

Ezra landed on Mikan island, but didn't immediately stomp off to challenge the leader.

He needed to think this through, plan, and then completely annihilate Drake and his coterie for trying to push him around.

He realized he could just fly away, but it didn't sit right with him. Not due to honor or something ridiculous like that. Drake had challenged him, and was trying to use his capture of the crystal Onix as a publicity stunt for his two bit League. He was doing this to garner up some interest, publicity and tourism.

So yeah, Ezra understood what was happening, but out of spite, he was going to turn it around and absolutely humiliate the guy instead.

He was going to be the outsider who captured a rare Pokemon off their lands, and then blitzed their entire league in one day.

He just needed to figure out how first, before he started. He knew that the league didn't have traditional Pokemon battles, not until Drake anyway, so that was his best chance.

Because they didn't play by normal Pokemon League rules, and didn't know about his… Particular abilities. He could cheat. And cheat like hell. He'd planned to go through the league here at his leisure while looking up interesting things around the area anyway, but now, he'd blitz these fools and go grab what he needed and then get the hell out.

He let his Pokemon out of their Pokeballs, except for the crystal Onix. He didn't really want to deal with that one, since he was just selling it. Also he still felt silly for getting into trouble in the first place by showing it off. He really needed to work on his knee jerk reaction of rubbing his success in people's faces.

… At least until he was powerful enough he could get away with it.

The Spiritomb seemed angry still, its purple miasma practically buzzing, although it thankfully didn't do anything like attack him.

He sat down in front of it, frowning slightly, resting his head on a fist. "That was probably your home for a long time, huh?" He asked, his other Pokemon hovering around him protectively. "Probably feels pretty scary to be out and about." At least that's the feeling I get from it, perhaps I can feel their aura better than normal?

Spiritomb's 'face' fluttered into a displeased frown kind of look, and Ezra nodded, "I can understand that, but living in that cave can't have been very interesting either."

The Spiritomb just glared at him, presumably for disparaging its boring ass hole in the ground. Whatever, he got it - even if it's a shit place, it's his shit place.

"I'm not putting you back, sorry, but I'm not really sorry." Ezra said bluntly, not going to sugarcoat things. If the Pokemon couldn't handle him as he was then that was that. "I'm sure you've noticed I have some sort of aura that you guys seem to feed on, you won't get that somewhere else, no other human to my knowledge has it."

Shuppet made a lot of agreeing noises, chirping at the Spiritomb who narrowed its 'eyes', rumbling something back in an eerie screeching noise.

He let them talk it out for a few moments, the Spiritomb seemingly begrudgingly accepting whatever Shuppet was saying. "Life will be a lot more interesting seeing the world, battling other Pokemon, causing havoc and mischief, all I ask is that you try it, and work for it." He said when both Pokemon had calmed down their chatter.

Spiritomb floated in the air silently for a few moments, before letting out a loud breath that sounded like a whoopee cushion more than anything, nodding its ethereal body.

"Welcome to the team." Ezra said, smiling, bringing out his Pokedex, aligning it on the Spiritomb, glad he had the ability to check a Pokemon's actual moves now, instead of having to ask the Pokemon to demonstrate - which didn't work well on moves that weren't an outright attack move.

He grinned as he saw the move pool, "Oh, we're going to be the best of friends, you and I…" He told the Spiritomb.

He had his ace in the hole against Drake's Dragonite, albeit one that would take some work to use, as he probably needed Dragonite to be the last Pokemon left. Which meant he not only needed to take out Drake's other Pokemon easily enough that Ezra still had Pokemon leftover, but not beating them so easily that Drake would think to bring his Dragonite out early.

It was a plan however, and he had faith in his ghosts and Cubone to do well even against Drake. And well, in the worst case scenario, the Onix could be sent out to tank some damage, even if he lasted two hits from the Dragonite that would be enough.

He knew Drake started with a Ditto, and that was probably the same even if he was a bit early compared to Ash, especially as Drake was undefeated that entire time. Ditto probably throwing many trainers off.

Personally he could see several ways of dealing with it. He didn't see the other Pokemon he had as too much of a threat if he could get his plans to work, except if he had that Gengar he'd used against Ash, which he could hope he didn't have yet.

Ghost Pokemon weren't likely plentiful in the Orange islands so it's possible he didn't have it. In that case he'd instead face an unknown Pokemon. Although… With his Aura, would he affect even Ghost Pokemon other trainers owned? Would be an interesting thing to see if Drake did indeed have a Gengar, or a Haunter if it hadn't evolved yet.

Venusaur and Electabuzz would be the last two, and he acknowledged that if he wouldn't be cheating, this lineup would be too much for him. All of them together wasn't a terrible team, good spread of tricks, elemental Pokemon, a Ghost, and a Dragon.

He could see why Drake was undefeated. But this wouldn't be a Pokemon League game, and as long as he didn't get caught by doing something obvious, Drake and the others wouldn't have any idea about what he was capable of.

After spending some time with his Pokemon talking over what he planned for the next few days, he sent them off for training, tasking Haunter and Shuppet with teaching Spiritomb to compress its energy like they had.

He himself got to work setting a bonfire up, taking his time to trek around and gather wood, building up his own stamina as his Pokemon worked. Once the flames were crackling away happily, he waved Cubone over.

"So, you're doing pretty awesome in Iron tail, and I think it's going to develop further the more you fight with it, but right now I have another goal in mind." He rubbed Cubones head slightly, not sure how the Pokemon could even feel it through the bone, but it still closed its eyes happily and chirped at him.

"I have a specific evolution I'm working towards for you, and it's a Fire/Ghost type. Now you don't have any fire type moves, and I can't afford to buy you one yet. But fire energy is something that I think can work on its own even if you don't manage to perfect a technique." He explained.

He brought out his Pokedex, bringing up the grainy video of a Machope using a fire punch. There were very few videos like that online, mostly from rookies, as veteran trainers didn't deign to show off their moves in any manner. "This is a fire punch, a gathering of fire energy in a Pokemons fist before they punch something."

He gestured to the bonfire, "While you train tonight, I want you to stay near the fire, feel its energy, meditate on it, try to copy it in your fists as you work afterwards." He rubbed its head again, "Don't be discouraged if it doesn't work, I don't see this working out anytime soon, the important factor is to get a feel for fire energy, I'm almost positive it is one of the reasons for your evolution."

He didn't expect this to succeed in getting an actual fire punch working, he couldn't build a bonfire every night, but the more Cubone got to feel and internalize what fire energy was, the better his chances of getting a Fire/Ghost type Marowak, what they'd called an Alolan Marowak in the games.

Once his Onix sold, he could just buy Fire Punch and teach it to his Cubone, but he wanted it to have some idea of fire energy before he went that route.

Staring thoughtfully into the fire, he decided he also couldn't keep just calling his Pokemon an it, or the Cubone. They all needed names. Especially his ghosts considering how many similar ones followed in his shadow. Calling for Haunter, when he had at least 5 with him was just confusing.

"Hey, I'm going to call you Rider, okay?" He told Cubone. Since Cubone would evolve into a flaming ghost, Ghost Rider came to mind, so Rider would be its name.

Rider seemed happy enough with the name, chirping at him, waving its bone club in the air, bumping its head against his knee.

"How about you run and get the others, they deserve names as well, hmm?" He said, his eyes on the fire, the light reflecting in his eyes.

Rider ran off immediately, and he sat and just stared into the fire for a few moments. He wasn't sure where the sudden feeling had come from, to name them. To… Perhaps personalize them more?

He wasn't like the normal goody two shoes trainers who loved Pokemon like they were family. But…

Something, he supposed, had just felt wrong with continually calling them by their species, like he'd go around saying chair, table, cat, dog, like they were not important. And it was annoying to have several Haunters together with his own Haunter.

Soon enough they were all gathered in front of him, and he turned away from the fire. "I've decided to give you names." He said bluntly, "Cubone is now Rider. I'll be giving you all names as well, not only to put you apart from anyone else I may capture, but to showcase you're mine. Just as I am yours."

He beckoned Haunter forward, "From now on, your name is Cheshire."

Cheshire grinned widely, laughing silently, before using shadow sneak to appear right behind him, its tongue leaving a cold slimy trail up his neck.

"Yes I get it, you like the name, now fuck off!" He sent Cheshire a mock irritated glance, shooing it off.

Shuppet was practically vibrating in excitement, bobbing up and down in the air, which was precisely why Ezra crooked a finger, beckoning Spiritomb forward instead. He hid a smile as his Shuppet practically deflated, sinking to the ground in defeat.

"I know you're new, and all of this might be a bit much, but you also deserve a name, one that other Pokemon might one day look to in awe or fear." He explained, staring straight into the purple miasma that made up his newest Pokemon. "Your name is Nyx, from a goddess of the night capable of wielding shadows and darkness."

As a Ghost/Dark type, he felt it fit well enough. Besides, naming Pokemon was kind of cringe anyway, so he'd just lean fully into it and make it cool.

Nyx seemed pleased with the name, hovering back into place, smugly looking down on Shuppet, who rushed forward before he could call on it.

He laughed, "Yeah, you want a name too, huh? How about simp?" He teased gently.

Shuppet did not appear to understand the meaning of the word, but she got the gist of his intent, and protested, loudly chirping against the suggestion, while his other Pokemon loudly seemed in favor, mocking their fellow.

"I kid, I kid, how about… Loki?" He said, bending down to look Shuppet in the eyes, "Named so for a god of mischief and cunning."

Shuppet visibly approved of the idea, so Ezra nodded his head, anointing it Loki, not mentioning how Loki was also someone who tended to fail badly at their plotting. Just as Shuppet tended to fall short in any game against Cheshire.

"Alright, that's enough of that!" He clapped his hands together, "Back to training everyone, I'll have some berries scrounged together for when you're done."

They happily went back to training, leaving Ezra to do the domestic work.

He'd be glad when he had the money to just buy everything that was needed.

Soon…

---

1 day later,

He'd decided to take the week to train his Pokemon, really nail their capabilities down, and practice on getting them to harness every drop of energy, shaving down seconds on their techniques.

He'd gone ahead and called ahead to each of the four Orange island gyms and scheduled a match, all within hours of each other. He'd given himself twelve to sixteen hours to do all four gyms and the travel time between the islands, which thankfully were not far from each other in this archipelago.

He suspected Drake would accept his challenge anytime, so he'd finish them all within that timeframe and then challenge Drake, beating his league in a day.

Just in case, he had scheduled a block with Drake at the end of the day that day through his gym, in case he decided to be stubborn and decline his immediate challenge.

By scheduling ahead, he'd get them talking anyway, as the leaders realized he'd scheduled them all on the same day, it would make it even sweeter to beat them when they'd realize exactly what he was doing as he did.

For now, he was exploring his capabilities with the Ghosts following him, as he'd left his Pokemon behind to train on the beach, as he strode into the jungle for some privacy.

"Alright, let's try some things." He spoke out loud, shaking his limbs loosely like he was going to work out.

He raised a hand, pointing it forward, "Can you use the shadow between my wrist and my clothes?" He asked, feeling the Ghost Pokemon move around him. He felt more than he saw, as the tiny shadow within the space grew heavier.

He moved his arm back and forth, the weight not physical as he felt just fine, more of a mental strain as if the shadow wasn't as connected to him as his own full body shadow was.

"Can you fire off a hypnosis, without touching me?" He asked, putting his arm forward again, palm flat as he held his hand up, leaving more space under his wrist.

His smile grew positively feral as it worked. This… This held so many opportunities for the future. Especially for the Orange League and whenever he'd have a run in with Team Rocket…

Hypnosis wasn't as flashy a technique as most, as a psychic technique, it was an almost entirely intangible attack that was barely visible as it shot forward. In the heat of a battle, especially if one of his Pokemon was already using the attack, another lined up with it would hardly be noticeable.

"How many of you can fit under there?" He asked deviously.

After some experiments, it turned out only three alas, but it still gave him faith that he could give Drake hell. The man wouldn't know what hit him.

"Let's see what else we can figure out." He cackled, the Ghosts all laughing alongside him as they swirled around him, happy with his elation.

---

A week later, Mikan Island.

Ezra stepped onto the sandy shores of Mikan Island, the opposite side from where he'd been training all week. The air was warm and filled with the salty tang of the ocean. His thoughts were clear, his mind a focused whirlwind of strategies and potential countermeasures. He had planned meticulously, and now, it was time to execute.

Luckily for him, he had the knowledge of what the challenges were already, not only from watching Ash, but from the gym's website. He'd caught a random water Pokemon just for this purpose, as Cissy had an arbitrary rule forcing challengers to use water Pokemon, or at least Pokemon able to use water moves.

He'd just get rid of it after the battle.

The Mikan Gym wasn't far, and he could feel the thrill of the upcoming battle course through his veins - not that it would be much of a battle. He walked purposefully through the bustling marketplace, ignoring the curious glances from locals and tourists alike. His goal was singular - the gym and its leader, Cissy.

The Mikan Gym was an open-air arena, a departure from the typical enclosed buildings he was used to. Its design was simple yet elegant, blending seamlessly with the natural beauty of the island. Tall palm trees swayed gently around the perimeter, and a large pool of crystal-clear water took up the center of the arena. It was clear that this gym specialized in Water type Pokemon.

Which was fine, Ezra didn't mind specialization, it annoyed him that he had to catch a Water Pokemon for this stupidity however. Even if he wasn't going to really do any of this by… Conventional means.

Cissy, the gym leader, stood at the opposite end of the 'arena', her confident posture unmistakable as anything else but the leader of this place. She struck a plain figure compared to many of the gym leaders around the world, her plain auburn hair tied back in a high ponytail, accentuating her sharp, sea-blue eyes. Dressed in a simple halter top and skirt, she looked every bit like a normal woman enjoying the beach. Her gaze met Ezra's as he approached, a smirk playing on her lips.

"So, you're the challenger who's been causing a stir? Bold to challenge us all thinking it would be that easy." She called out, her voice carrying over the sound of the waves gently lapping against the shore nearby, and the hum of the pool controls underneath them.

"That's right," Ezra replied, his tone steady. "I'm here to challenge you for your badge." And to humiliate your rinky dink league…

Cissy's smirk widened. "Well, you've come to the right place. But be warned, our gym battles aren't like the others. We've got our own style here in the Orange Islands. Are you up for a different kind of challenge?"

Ezra nodded, unfazed. "I'm ready for anything." A glint of disgust in his eyes, "Even with these ridiculous rules you force on people…"

"Good," Cissy said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. Before she seemingly caught on to the fact he hadn't followed the usual script, putting her hands on her hip, snapping out, "Hey, the rules make sense, brat! What kind of trainer are you if you can't use a Pokemon outside your specialty, huh?"

"Yes, let's force trainers to capture and train Water Pokemon that they will then immediately get rid of and abandon after your gym, you're right, an excellent idea." He groused, hands in his pockets as he stared her down.

He had no idea if that was what happened, but considering he intended to do exactly that, surely he wasn't the only one who'd done it.

Cissy spluttered, "People don't do that!" She cried out, pointing at him accusingly, "There's something wrong with you!"

He rolled his eyes, he was almost positive he was at least half right, "Whatever, let's get this joke of a gym challenge done." He muttered.

It might have been amusing as an exercise in his skills as a trainer, if he didn't go the route he was going today, but he still thought it was a stupid way to limit a gym.

"Then let's get started. We'll decide this with a Water Gun accuracy test. Whoever hits the most targets during the time limit wins!" She waved an arm excitedly, apparently deciding to power through his gloom with cheerfulness. "This is to show how well you've trained your Water Pokemon, and if you succeed you have proven yourself and earned my badge." She twirled a Pokeball on a finger, smirking almost predatorily for a moment, "My Seadra is a champion at this game… You're not getting a badge today!"

He knew Ash had been forced to do more than this challenge, although he couldn't remember why, but apparently if he beat her in the first test, it would be the only test. Heh, simple enough. Guess he wouldn't need to do the stupid Wave Ride challenge after then, so he'd captured a larger Water Pokemon needlessly it seemed.

Ezra watched as Cissy released her Seadra, its sleek body cutting through the water with ease. Ezra threw his own Pokeball, his arm lined up with the Seadra, and in the spray of water as his Pokemon arrived in the pool, it was impossible to see the Seadra get hit by three different shots of Hypnosis from the Ghosts hidden beneath his sleeve.

"Ready, set, go!" Cissy shouted, and the competition began, Cissy ready to cheer, before she spluttered in confusion as her Seadra apparently decided to take a nap, "Seadra! What are you doing!" She shouted, stomping a foot uselessly.

His Ghosts had practiced using their energy for telekinesis religiously all week, a normally psychic move - they'd focused the entire week on it. In case he'd have to use them to guide his Water Pokemon in a field of Telekinesis, while limiting and messing up his opponents shots, but now that his first gambit had worked, he didn't even need that. It was good for him, in case he'd need his Ghosts to do it later against the other Gyms, the ability tiring them out quickly. Ghosts could do Psychic moves, but they'd never be as good at it as actual Psychic Pokemon.

"Go you fat fuck." He waved casually to the Pokemon he'd bribed by promising it plenty of food if he hung around for a week.

"That is not how you talk to your Pokemon!" Cissy practically howled, a tick mark on her forehead.

"It's not mine, not really. We just made a deal for food for this stupid challenge, then he can go do whatever." Ezra said lazily, watching his temporary ally miss more than he hit, but with his opponent asleep, he had all the time in the world to take down the targets, sure to win as time ticked down on the challenge. Ezra found more amusement in watching Cissy's reddening face at this humiliation, then he did watching this ridiculous challenge.

He was also slightly disappointed in the fact she didn't even think to call out another Pokemon, never having clarified it was only one vs one in the rules. Besides with Seadra obviously incapacitated, she could have argued the point anyway, but she didn't even try. Ezra found her lacking in every way.

Honestly, basing your entire gym on Pokemon surfing or being able to shoot water bullets. How moronic. Nothing would have stopped her from demanding the Wave Ride challenge as well, other than her words at the beginning, which she could have claimed was misspoken.

He supposed he was getting a lesson on what not to do, when he became a proper gym leader. You needed to teach some sort of lesson, not just… Pull a cheap gimmick and call it a gym.

His Seel finally finished the last target, and Ezra turned to Cissy, holding out his hand expectantly.

She fumed as she recalled Seadra, stomping over to him, and handing him his badge, looking like she wanted to throw it at him.

"You cheated somehow." She accused lowly, grabbing his hand by the wrist, as he took the Coral-Eye badge.

He looked her in the eye, smirking, "I only used one Pokemon, just like you, get over yourself." He slapped her hand away, scoffing at her temerity.

Sure he was cheating, but if she sucked so bad she couldn't prove it, she deserved to suffer from it. He'd only used one Pokemon as far as she was aware, so she was just working off guesses.

Speaking of, he grabbed Seel's Pokeball, tossing it to the ground, and then stomping on it, crushing it, as Seel was released from his services - in front of Cissy's gobsmacked eyes.

"Feel free to capture the lazy fuck, all he does is eat anyway." Ezra said carelessly, tossing another Pokeball out, releasing his Pidgeot.

For his entire life, his hatred at his own body, at life around him going on without him, his rage at the unfairness of it all, it had boiled inside him. No one liked a cripple or disabled person who whined about their lot in life after all. So he'd kept everything inside, every day, just trying to eke out a life.

Now… It wasn't going to make him friends, but he found he just didn't care to keep what he felt hidden anymore. He'd say what he meant, and suffer the consequences if they came. He was done hiding himself to appease society.

He'd acknowledge he was an asshole. But he was an honest asshole.

"You… You…" Cissy growled, hands spasming like she wanted to wring his neck.

He climbed onto his Pidgeot, casually waving at her, "Next time, try to be something else then a pathetic one trick pony, just a piece of advice." He said, taking off before she could respond.

He certainly wasn't making friends, but then he wasn't here for that.

He was here to crush the Orange League.

---

Naval island.

Ezra's heart was racing as he landed just outside Danny's gym on Navel Island. The brisk mountain air was invigorating, and he knew he was likely going to be pressed for time here. He had already conquered one gym, and now he was here for the second. He marched up to the gym entrance, where Danny was waiting for him with a knowing smile.

He'd sent a request when he first scheduled these challenges, he hoped it was heeded, or he would waste a lot of his time on this stupid challenge. Ash had to climb up a mountain, and he just didn't have time for that shit. Hopefully Drake leaned on him to be more receptive, since Drake was the one making him go through this in the first place.

Danny, with his tousled brown hair and athletic build, looked every bit the outdoorsman. His relaxed demeanor, however, was underpinned by a sharp, competitive edge as he shook Ezra's hand, gripping it tightly. "I hear you're on a tight schedule," Danny said, crossing his arms. "You're taking on all the gyms in a day, right?"

"That's right," Ezra replied, making a motion as if looking at a wrist watch, "Let's get to it." He said without preamble, not interested in chitchat.

Danny nodded, clearly annoyed by Ezra's determination to skip the normal rituals. "Alright then, Drake waived my normal first challenge for you, so we need to get there in a different manner. Follow me."

They both took to the skies, flying up the steep mountain that loomed over the gym. The ascent was swift, the wind whipping past them. As they reached the summit, the view was breathtaking - a vast panorama of the ocean stretching out in every direction. But there was no time to admire the scenery. Danny pointed to two geysers behind them, their steam and water rising in great plumes, crashing back down, making thunderous noise.

"For this first challenge," Danny explained, "We'll each freeze one of these geysers. The first to do so wins. I'll use my Pokemon to freeze mine, and you'll use yours."

How utterly stupid, yet again. To base more challenges on only having one type of Pokemon, or one type of attack. They wondered why their trainer tourism was low? It's because no one wanted to deal with this bullshit. People traveling to the Orange League would be trainers who already had a team or a mostly full team - none of which would be impressed at being forced to get a new member just for these challenges if they didn't have one that fit the criteria.

He was going to leave Drake a damn review after this.

101 reasons your league sucks.

Ezra turned his mind to the challenge. He had no Ice type Pokemon or moves. But he did have something else. As Danny sent out his Nidoqueen, Ezra called out Rider, his Cubone, and positioned himself behind everyone. His ghosts, hidden within his shadow, would be his secret weapon yet again.

It wasn't improving as a trainer, not really. But considering the moronic one note challenges he was facing, he didn't see how they improved any trainers either.

Danny wasted no time. "Nidoqueen, Ice Beam!" he commanded. A brilliant beam of icy energy shot from Nidoqueen's mouth, striking the geyser. Steam hissed and crackled as the water began to freeze.

Ezra watched carefully, then nodded subtly, Ezra's hidden ghosts moved into action, their telekinetic abilities honing in on Nidoqueen's head. With an almost imperceptible shift, they redirected Nidoqueen's Ice Beam away from Danny's geyser and towards Ezra's.

Danny frowned, noticing the sudden change in trajectory. "Nidoqueen, focus!" He urged, confused, but it was too late. The geyser in front of Ezra was rapidly freezing over. Frustrated, Danny called out, "Nidoqueen, snap out of it, freeze our geyser!"

He looked towards Ezra, frowning at Rider, who wasn't doing anything, and wasn't a likely caster of a Confuse Ray or similar attack. Which he would have seen anyway. Ezra just smiled pleasantly at his look of abject confusion.

With Rider doing nothing but sitting there as Ezra's Geyser froze over, giving Ezra the challenge, it was obvious Ezra's had done something. But Danny couldn't exactly do much about it, because there were no signs of anything being done by him.

Nidoqueen stopped firing, growling in irritation at having her head forcibly moved and held in a vice, Ezra's Geyser was a solid block of ice already by then. Danny sighed, a hint of confusion in his eyes, along with his irritation. "This challenge is a wash," He declared, showing more brains then Cissy at least, Ezra thought, not too bothered.. "You didn't really use your Pokemon for it. So, we'll move on to the next one as the final test."

Ezra nodded, having figured it was always going to be decided thusly anyway - they technically all had three challenges available, but it all depended on what they put forward with each trainer - like when Cissy had shot herself in the foot by declaring the accuracy test would be enough for a badge. "We're going to make bobsleds out of the ice and race down the mountain," Danny explained. "First one to the bottom wins."

He gestured to Ezra's Geyser, "We'll both use this, and there will be no funny business during this, alright?"

Ezra snorted, "Trust me, I find nothing funny about the stupidity of these so-called challenges that force trainers into only one mold." He shook his head, clicking his tongue, "Tch, you wonder why you're small potatoes? You can't even understand trainers' attachment to their teams. Going by the first two gyms so far, no one except a Water Pokemon trainer would have been eager to come test you both. Requiring Water and Ice as the only avenue forward, can you really say you're surprised when not a single fire trainer or normal type, fighting type - I could go on - comes here?"

Danny glared at him, "Pretty cocky there, kid. There's a dozen brats like you every year on this mountain, I make them eat their words like I will make you eat yours."

Ezra simply deadpanned at him, "So you've been told the same thing before, and still persist. Nevermind, I now find you slightly funny, in a sad way."

"Just make a sled!" He snapped, turning to his own Pokemon, gritting his teeth together.

Ezra turned to Rider. "Use Iron Tail to carve out a bobsled," He instructed, his ghosts aware of what the challenge was and would be using telekinesis to help shape the thing as Rider cut it out of the giant block of ice - Rider definitely did not have the control in his tiny tail to manage it on his own. Rider's tail glowed with a metallic sheen as it struck the ice, carving out a blocky shape. Meanwhile, Ezra's ghosts once again worked in the shadows, using their telekinesis to refine the sled's design as Rider cut, smoothing out imperfections and ensuring it was somewhat aerodynamic as Rider ran around the sled like shape, creating enough dust that it was hard to see how exactly the sled was taking shape.

In mere minutes, Ezra's bobsled was complete. He climbed in, securing himself as best as he could in the uncomfortable thing, Hoping he wasn't about to kill himself with this stupidity. Another mark against the gym. Like mountain climbing wasn't a retarded trainer test to begin with, going down a Arceus damned mountain proved your skill how exactly?

Teamwork and your Pokemon listening to you? You know how else you could prove that? Like the rest of the Arceus damned world, with a Pokemon battle!

Danny, working quickly with his own Pokémon, still hadn't finished his sled as Ezra set off, glaring at him in disbelief.

Ezra's sled shot forward with a push from Rider, the tiny Pokemon jumping in with him immediately after, the wind rushing past his face as they immediately picked up speed. He had little experience with bobsledding, (aka none) but he trusted his instincts and the telekinetic nudges from his ghosts to keep him steady. The mountain's twists and turns came fast and hard, and he gripped the sides of the sled tightly.

Danny, more experienced, quickly closed the gap between them once his sled was finished, speeding down the mountain after him. His sled was gaining speed rapidly, and he was navigating the slopes with practiced ease. It helped that he had a heavy ass Nidoqueen giving him better balance for steering, while Ezra could only steer due to Telekinesis, and at this rate, he'd have to rest his Ghosts for Drake and have them skip the third and fourth gym.

He briefly toyed with the idea of using his Ghosts to throw Danny's sled into a tree but it seemed a bit harsh even for him. And he also didn't want to keep wasting his Ghosts energy. So he held on, believing he had enough of a lead to pull through.

Worst case, he'd have Rider iron tail their damn sled before the finish line, Danny had never said there was no Pokemon moves allowed.

Ezra's sled maintained its course, barreling down the mountain. The finish line came into view, and with a final burst of speed, he crossed it first, Danny just about managing to catch up, but in the end the advantage of starting minutes ahead won the race.

Breathless and exhilarated with the victory, even if he thought it was stupid, Ezra climbed out of the sled. Danny arrived moments later, next to him, frustration evident on his face. But there was also a grudging acceptance - he couldn't say he hadn't ridden a damn sled down the mountain after all. He approached Ezra, holding out a hand. "Well, you did it. You won. Here's your Sea Ruby badge." He sounded very unenthusiastic about it.

Ezra accepted the badge, feeling a rush of triumph at the fact he was ahead of his timeline by hours thanks to this gym skipping the mountain climbing. "Thanks, Danny." He said with a smirk, "Hope you're not too broken up about someone beating you in the specifically designed challenge to give you every single advantage in the world." He couldn't resist one last jab, this whole thing was just too stupid to him.

When he'd thought to do the Orange League it had been as an amusing touristy thing where he hadn't intended to take it seriously. He would have probably had some fun with that. This, acting like it's seriously a gym? Just irritated him.

Danny gave him a baleful look. "Good luck with the rest of the gyms. You're going to need it." He said shortly, "Drake will make an honest brat out of you at the least."

Ezra smirked, already thinking about the next challenge. "I'll be ready." He secured the badge, knowing that with each victory, he was one step closer to his ultimate goal, and with his schedule hours ahead, he could afford perhaps to give his Ghosts a rest to gather their energy before the third or fourth gym. He'd see what seemed most viable.

He sent out Pidgeot again, giving Danny a casual wave that the man didn't return, his baleful look still on his face.

Sucks to suck.

---

Trovita island.

This was the only gym challenge where he found he might face an impossible to beat scenario.

Not the accuracy test - and really? A second accuracy test? Pathetic.

It was the ridiculous three on three battle, which featured a same type rule. As in grass vs grass and water vs water etc. he did not have the space in his team for that, not unless the gym leader had Ghost Pokemon, which wasn't going to happen.

With Rider, Cheshire, Nyx and Loki on his team, and Pidgeot taking up a slot technically as well, he only had one spot. He'd designated the Onix as not a battler in the system at the Pokecenter, which allowed him to still carry the Pokeball, but he couldn't release him until he was in a Pokecenter and designated him as usable again. Hence why Pidgeot was on the usable list, because flying away quickly was rather impossible if he had to hoof it to a Pokemon center first.

Once he had six slots taken, any further catches, the Pokeball would automatically be designated by itself as not usable, and locked, allowing him to only switch out his team at a Pokemon center. There were licenses to have an expanded team, but such things were really for Ace trainers, not people like him.

Others paid money for boarding instead, transferring their Pokemon over the six Pokemon limit there. He'd keep them with him, since he'd never go too far from civilization anyway. It would allow him to have his Pokemon all on hand, rotating them now and then so no one got stuck in a ball too long.

His Ghosts could hide in his shadow, but the ones he'd caught wouldn't matter either way that way, because they were already logged through the Pokeball, so they'd count to his six even if he didn't keep them hanging in a ball.

So technically, he could have deactivated two of his Pokemon, and caught and trained three elemental Pokemon, if he could have found them in this past week - but that would have been a pain in the ass - and would have defeated the purpose of him training his team the entire week.

He'd wracked his brain for a solution, and finally resigned himself to the fact that he'd have to simply bully his way through, or invoke Drake, as distasteful as it was. Or at least demand a fair challenge, not that any of these challenges so far had been very fair on any poor trainer who'd arrive without exactly the mix of Pokemon the Orange islands would demand of them…

He had half a dozen different plans for how to get through this, but there was still a small smidgeon of stress running through him at the idea they wouldn't work, failing him despite his big words to the other gym leaders. Something he could not stand.

Rudy was a fairly young looking guy with reddish tinted hair and an open and honest face. He was waiting for Ezra outside the small gym, but as soon as Ezra walked up, he waved for him to follow, casually stating, "I don't actually tend to use my Gym for challenges, so come along we'll go somewhere better."

Ezra held back a snarky reply, not wanting to be too confrontational as he still had to argue his way forward. He followed Rudy as he walked to a beach not far away, with a large cliffside nearby, pillars of rock dotting the water.

He clapped his hands, turning around, "Right! So you're taking us all on at once, and already did Cissy and Danny in, after just a few hours." He smirked, dragging a hand through his hair, "That's pretty cool, but you'll be defeated here!" He waved dramatically at a boat moored at a small wooden dock. "You and your Pokemon will board this boat, and while it is moving, you'll face dozens of targets throughout the sea, attached to the rock pillars you see. Hit them all, or you will fail this challenge before you can come before me!"

He was tempted to say, that's it? But again, he needed to play nice until the next stage. So Ezra simply nodded politely, and moved away, towards the boat. Rudy frowning and coming with him, seemingly more put out at his easy acceptance than anything.

Rudy started the boat up, and they picked up speed as he made his way to the rock pillars in front of the cliff side. "Go go go!" He shouted excitedly, as they neared the first targets.

Ezra rolled his eyes, but waved Loki forward, his Pokemon already having been out since the beginning, since he had the best accuracy of his 'mon. "Just get it over with, Loki." He muttered, the spite he'd built up to crush all these challenges just being drained by all this… Banality and stupidity he was running into.

He'd known what these people were like in theory, but it turned out it was all a lot more frustrating in person. He was hardly a die hard Pokemon purist, yet still the way they did things rubbed him the wrong way to the extreme.

Loki had to hit twelve targets, each a bullseye painted on rock pillars jutting out of the water under the towering cliff face. The wind whipped through Ezra's hair as he held onto the railing, his eyes locked onto the targets ahead, he didn't see any real difficulty in this, not with how hard Loki had trained in accuracy.

"Loki, show this guy how it's done." Ezra called over the noise of the boat and the sea.

Loki, his Shuppet, floated beside him, eyes gleaming with determination. The boat accelerated, and the first target came into view. Loki's eyes glowed with a dark energy as it launched a precise shadow ball, compressed to be as small as it could be. The ball hit the first bullseye dead center, shattering the surface of the target, showering stone chips into the sea.

Rudy would have to paint new targets today, it seemed.

The boat sped on, and one by one, the targets appeared and were obliterated by Loki's unerring aim. Each shot was perfect, the dark energy hitting the bullseyes with pinpoint accuracy. Ezra didn't need to give any additional commands; Loki was in the zone, executing each strike flawlessly.

Just as Loki had been trained to do, having to work much harder to fire rapid fire shots, nailing leaves, pinecones and small stones tossed in the air everyday for its training.

Rudy watched from the helm, his expression one of impressed concentration. As the final target exploded into fragments, Rudy slowed the boat to a stop. "Impressive," He said, turning to face Ezra and Loki. "You two make quite a team." He was entirely honest, smiling at them, and for once Ezra didn't snap back with a rude comment.

It was because he needed to make Rudy see things his way soon, it was the only reason. It was still a stupid test, basically a repeat of the first gym.

Rudy began steering the boat closer to the rock pillars. "Next part of the challenge is up there." He pointed to a series of ladders affixed to the rocky columns. "We'll climb up and continue the challenge at the top."

Ezra glanced at the towering pillars, their rough surfaces glistening with sea spray. He took a deep breath, ready for the next challenge. "Let's do it." He'd have to convince Rudy to go along with one of his plans. Because he did not have the Pokemon to perform a 3v3 like type battle.

The two boys jumped onto the nearest pillars, their hands gripping the wet rungs of the ladders. They climbed swiftly, each lost in their thoughts about the upcoming battle. Ezra could hear the distant cries of seabirds and the constant crash of the waves below as he ascended, mulling over which of his plots he'd try and convince the other boy of.

He'd had a week to plan, and unfortunately in this situation, he could only plan for maybes - deciding early on that trying to train up three new Pokemon wasn't worth the hassle, or the risk, because in all likelihood they wouldn't be good enough in a week to win anyway.

Reaching the top, Ezra pulled himself onto the flat surface of the pillar. The view was stunning - a panoramic sweep of the ocean and the surrounding cliffs. He stood up, catching his breath, and looked over at Rudy, who had just reached the top of his own pillar.

Rudy smiled, the competitive glint in his eyes sharper now. "Ready for the final part of our challenge?"

Ezra nodded, "Ready as I'll ever be."

"It will be a 3v3 Pokemon battle on these here pillars, same type against type, you'll need to win all three battles to win my badge. A new Pokemon each round, no re-use." Rudy explained, fingering a Pokeball.

Ezra shook his head, shouting over the sea, and wasn't this just a stupid way to do a battle too, they could barely hear each other. "I only have Ghost types, so unless you have Ghost Pokemon yourself, that isn't happening."

Rudy frowned, looking weirded out, "This has never happened before." He admitted, scratching his head, "Someone always has some Water, Electric, Grass or normal types or around those types."

"How about you do whatever three Pokemon, and I only use one of mine against all three, 1v1, to make up for not having the exact three challengers." Ezra shouted out his first offer. He has several others if this was unappealing, but he hoped putting himself in a perceived weaker position would get the other trainer to pounce on it.

Rudy however hesitated, "It doesn't seem fair to you." He admitted loudly.

Ezra gritted his teeth, Like forcing people to bring along specific combinations of Pokemon when people only have six slots is fair… "If I say it's fair, it's fair, right? Let's do this!"

Rudy seemed to hesitate still, so Ezra gestured Loki forward, to the pillar ahead of them, the 'arena' so to speak, another pillar ahead of Rudy for his own Pokemon.

"Ready when you are." He called out, glaring at the other teen. Just fucking accept it. He mentally told the gym leader.

"Electabuzz, go!" Rudy finally called out, tossing a Pokeball onto the pillar in front of him, several pillars in-between the Pokemon, allowing them some movement and space, but not a ton of it.

"Loki, Shadow Ball." Ezra called out, the speediness of Loki's attack managing to catch the Electabuzz before it could completely dodge, a last gasp Light Screen springing forward, only half formed, slowing down some of the energy as the shadow ball slammed into the top edge of it before hitting the Pokemon, making it slide back on the pillar.

With a gesture of his arm, his Ghosts interceded, telekinetically forcing its footing loose, ensuring he got pushed off the pillar. Rudy recalled his Pokemon with a frown before it could reach the water.

Ezra using his hidden ace again here, meant he wouldn't be able to use them for the fourth gym, they'd need the rest in case he needed them for Drake - which he would. But the fourth gym didn't have the same kind of challenges, it was straight out battling. So he figured he'd be fine.

Besides, with the water gym only doing one challenge, and avoiding the rock climbing with the second gym, he could take 3-4 hours of rest before he faced Drake, further recuperating energy. Worst case, he wondered if they could take energy from him, but it wasn't something he was eager to experiment on.

"Ivysaur, Vine Whip, attach yourself to the pillar, then use Sunny Day!" Rudy threw out his second Pokemon and rapidly set it to task.

He was setting up for a solar beam, and tying himself to the pillar, expecting to tank whatever Loki could throw and stay on top.

It wasn't a bad strategy, Ezra thought, the Ivysaur was corded with muscle, a healthy looking strong Pokemon - he could probably take a few hits from Loki, but… Loki wasn't limited to just brute force attacks. "Loki, Hypnosis!" He called out, while flaring his arm dramatically.

With Sunny day in the middle of being cast, brightness reducing visibility, Rudy couldn't catch the extra Hypnosis attacks that flew along with Loki's attack, impacting Ivysaur.

It might have been able to take a couple shadow balls, and hold on, but status effects were a different ball game, and Ivysaur fell asleep immediately, vines loosening up.

"I can toss him off for your loss, or you can just withdraw him." Ezra called out, offering some level of respect to Rudy, who hadn't been as annoyingly stupid as the other gym leaders.

Rudy nodded, and Ivysaur returned in a flash of red light. "I can see why you've passed through the other two so quickly if this is the skill and teamwork you two possess." He called out, looking thoughtful as his hand hovered over his belt, going from one Pokeball to the next. "On my pride as a trainer, I won't let you keep walking over us however." He picked a ball, tossing it up and down casually, "Charizard, I choose you!"

Ezra held back a curse, glaring up at the beautiful and powerful looking Charizard that took to the skies with a mighty roar. Of course an elemental type trainer like Rudy would have a fire Pokemon, but a Charizard? Guess this will be a challenge after all…

Somehow a grin found its way to his face, as he stared up at the intimidating Pokemon. He might actually lose this, yet… Finally something worthwhile in this league, not just silly gimmicks and arbitrary and limiting challenges.

"Shadow Sneak, then Hypnosis!" He snapped at Loki, a wild grin on his face.

"Fire Spin!" Rudy yelled out, and Ezra used his aura to pull at his connection with Loki, stopping him in his track, barely avoiding the fire spin as Charizard blew out a trail of fire as it flew down majestically in a tailspin.

Loki would have been enveloped in fire if Ezra hadn't been able to pull him back, "Aim for the wings, Shadow Ball, compressed!" He shouted.

Loki, back on the earth pillar, took a second to compress his energy, the shadow ball growing so small it resembled a marble - before it fired off so quickly neither Ezra nor Rudy could catch it. Apparently neither did Charizard, despite Rudy's yelled order to dodge, the shadow ball slamming into one of its wings, drawing a pained roar from the Charizard as its flying wobbled slightly.

The Charizard responded with a deluge of flames down against the earth pillar, "Shadow Sneak back!" Ezra yelled, pressing his intentions along, even as he took the opportunity of the curtain of flames between himself and Rudy, and aligned his arm with Charizard, three Hypnosis attacks again flying forward.

Just because he enjoyed more of a challenge, didn't mean he'd accept losing here, he still had a goal to complete.

Loki appeared behind him, having used a shadow sneak on him, to arrive well out of the way of the fire.

Charizard plummeted down, only to be caught in the red light of his Pokeball, Rudy chuckling, shaking his head, before he met Ezra's eyes, "I didn't even see how you pulled that off, and usually Charizard shakes off status effects pretty well, so good job! You must have trained that Pokemon to be a monster with that Hypnosis."

They made small talk as they got together on the boat again, making their way back to shore. Ezra could have flown away, but he felt it would be rude in this instance. He even felt slightly annoyed at himself that he had cheated in this particular bout now. He wasn't skilled enough, didn't have a strong enough team yet.

He decided he'd be back one day, to fight Rudy for real. This League was ridiculous, but Rudy was… Rudy was okay.

"Here you go, the Spike Shell badge." Rudy said with a smile, as he handed over the third gym badge to him. "You've earned it."

Ezra kind of felt he hadn't, but he still took the badge, pragmatic if nothing else, and it would be stupid to just give up at this point. He still had a point to prove.

And a need to rub it all in Drake's face.

But maybe… Instead of 101 reasons why they suck, he could give Drake… A more reasonable review on why exactly the Orange League only draws a few crazies.

Or he could do both.

He let Pidgeot out, climbing on, giving Rudy a last wave.

Both would work, knock the smug ass down, then show him how he could build it up…

He'd need several hours rest between gym four and Drake anyway, he'd write both up.

And if the reasons you suck list was longer… Well, Drake did push him into his.

---

Kumquat Island,

Ezra arrived at Kumquat Island, the sun blazing high overhead, casting a warm glow on the luxurious surroundings. The island was renowned for its upscale resorts, pristine beaches, and vibrant marketplaces, a nice contrast to the rugged jungles and humble towns of the previous Orange Islands he'd visited. Ezra's eyes flickered with interest as he made his way through the bustling streets, noting the well-dressed tourists and the lively atmosphere. It was clear that Kumquat Island catered to a wealthier clientele, and the gym, housed within the grand Kumquat Hotel, reflected this opulence.

He definitely liked this island much better already. Especially since its gym actually acted like a gym. It wouldn't be an easy battle by any stretch, but he believed the sneakiness, speed and bang for your buck his Pokemon held, would win him the day.

The Kumquat Hotel itself was an imposing structure, with elegant architecture featuring large glass windows, white columns, and a sprawling courtyard garden. The entrance was flanked by two large statues of Dragonite and Arcanine, exuding a sense of strength and grace. Inside, the hotel lobby was a vision of luxury, with marble floors, chandeliers, and a staff dressed in immaculate uniforms. Ezra made his way to the reception, where a cheerful attendant directed him to the gym, located on the top floor.

As he stepped out of the elevator, Ezra was greeted by a breathtaking view of the ocean through floor-to-ceiling windows. The gym itself was an open-air arena with a retractable roof, allowing for natural light and fresh sea breezes.

Luana was waiting at the center of the arena, her tall, commanding figure dressed in a white blazer and pants that contrasted sharply with her tanned skin. Her red hair was short, barely coming down to her cheeks, and her eyes were sharp and assessing as she watched Ezra approach. Despite her stern demeanor, there was a hint of warmth in her smile, as if she appreciated the challenge that awaited.

She'd know already that he'd blitzed through the other three gyms in hours.

"Welcome to Kumquat Gym," Luana greeted, her voice smooth and confident. "I've heard quite a bit about you today, Ezra. You've been making quite the name for yourself in the Orange League." Her tone became somewhat amused, which was a better reaction than anger.

It seemed at least someone might agree with him that the first two gyms lacked… Sophistication.

Ezra shrugged, nonchalant. "I'm just here to get the badges. No need for the fancy talk." The more rest he could get before Drake the better. That was one battle he wouldn't win without cheating.

Luana's smile widened, showing a flash of white teeth. "Straight to the point, I like that. However, this won't be like the other gyms you've faced. Here, we battle with a different set of rules - double battles. You'll have to use two Pokemon at once. It tests not just strength, but strategy and coordination."

Ezra's expression remained impassive, though inwardly he was already calculating his odds, knowing this would be his first real challenge, and one he couldn't really cheat in as easily. He nodded, pulling out two Pokeballs. "Let's get started, then." He murmured.

She'd know he was a Ghost Pokemon trainer already if the others had reported to her their experiences. So he suspected he wouldn't see exactly the team Ash had, An Alakazam and a Marowak, the team up was a bad one against his Ghosts.

He still suspected the Alakazam would show, because although weak against Ghosts, it had Teleport and Hyper Beam. And as a gym leader, a seemingly proper one, she'd use its strength, while giving him a shot if he could catch it, as it was weak against his team. Even if Hyper Beam itself probably wouldn't take his Ghosts out with one shot as it probably wouldn't even work, or as he suspected - might at the very best be a lot less damage due to typing. Something as powerful as a Hyper Beam likely wasn't entirely stopped by typing.

The question was which other Pokemon would show that would give his team a challenge, or would she have that Marowak and just bet on the teamwork, since it was a double?

Luana inclined her head gracefully at his eagerness to move forward and released her Pokemon - an Alakazam and an… Absol. The Alakazam floated in the air, its eyes glowing with psychic energy, while the Absol stood firmly on the floor of the battlefield, eyes gleaming.

More importantly, this was why he'd not planned to cheat in this battle, more than the fact it was finally straightforward battling - was that Alakazam, if anyone could let their trainer know he was cheating, it was that one.

A dark Pokemon, effective against his Ghosts, and a Psychic Pokemon, weak against his Ghosts, but hard to pin down and with a lot of utility. Ezra raised an eyebrow as the dark Pokemon slowly tilted its head, watching him with apparent fascination, needing a sharp, "Absol!" From Luana to focus again.

So it did work even on trainers Pokemon, at least in catching their attention…

Ezra released his chosen Pokemon - Cheshire, his Haunter, and Loki, his Shuppet. The two Pokemon appeared on the battlefield, Shuppet landing low to the ground, while Cheshire hovered in the air, its ghostly form flickering in the sunlight. Luana raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued by Ezra's Pokemon, especially given the type disadvantages.

"Let's see how well you handle this," She said, her tone challenging. "Alakazam, use Disable, Absol, Detect!"

The battle began in earnest. Alakazam's eyes glowed as it used Disable on Loki, at the same time, Absol used Detect, and if he was to guess, any attack at Alakazam while it was vulnerable right now, would now be foreseen and Absol would get in the way.

Ezra frowned as Loki glowed briefly, if he had to wager a guess, they'd gone after shadow sneak, which did if it worked - somewhat ruin his opening gambit. He'd known about the Alakazam, and that if he could get it out, he'd win, so he'd already talked to Loki and Cheshire about how to achieve that.

Luana looked surprised when he didn't say a word, his Pokemon acting on their own, the Absol unforeseen, but they'd had a plan for the Alakazam.

Cheshire's eyes glowed a dark purple as it formed a Shadow Ball, hurling it towards the Alakazam faster than normal, intent on getting it to either Teleport or force its partner to protect it.

Absol, having used Detect to find out what would happen, was already moving, sliding Alakazam out of the way, after which Alakazam had recovered from using its own technique, and Teleported away, which is where Loki was supposed to shadow sneak in behind it when it arrived.

Which didn't happen due to the Disable, Loki just looking frustrated.

"Switch." He said succinctly.

Luana laughed, "I've seen what you tried to do you know? Not a bad plan, but now that I know, you'll never pull it off, Absol, Night Slash on the Haunter, Alakazam hold it."

The Alakazam tried to telekinetically hold Cheshire, as Absol flashed forward, a crescent slash erupting from its head, a dark miasma covered crescent flashing through - where Cheshire had been.

The second Ezra said switch, his Pokemon had known they'd switch purposes. Chesire had immediately prepared Shadow Sneak, and upon Alakazam trying to affect it, had disappeared behind it.

Loki meanwhile, while unable to Shadow Sneak at the moment, took advantage of being seen as the lesser threat, taking on Chesires job of limiting the teleportation area, Loki's Dark Pulse beam cutting through a large area, not aiming for anything in particular, just limiting the area to go to.

Alakazam didn't even need Luana's shout of Teleport, already removing itself from Chesires Shadow Sneak, Absol moving to its partner on her trainers orders.

Except Chesire and Loki already both knew that if this situation were to happen, one of them would limit the entire right side of the field if they could. The other was to fire left.

So as Alakazam disappeared, Chesire appeared right behind where it had been in the now empty area - and there were only so many places Alakazam could safely go in that moment, and Chesire's Shadow Ball was already coalescing in front of it, firing to its left. Missing the first shot, but the second hitting Alakazam straight in the face like a cannon shot, sending it tumbling over.

"Protect!" Came Luana's snapped reply, just a second too late as she switched gears immediately, "Absol, Detect then Crunch, Alakazam Reflect!"

She knew she was on the back foot, and attempted to give herself enough breathing room to get her Alakazam back on its feet, as it struggled to get up, almost certainly just one hit from fainting.

Ezra wasn't going to give her time to reset. "Chesire, Shadow Sneak reverse, Loki, Target Alakazam rapid fire mix, don't let up." He ordered.

He wasn't to the point he could get away with not loudly telling his competition what he was doing, but he did have some plans already made, a Shadow Sneak reverse was one of them specifically for double battles, specifically for this battle. Rapid fire mix told Loki to switch between Dark Pulse and Confuse Ray, forcing the opponent to choose which one to tank. Or so was the hope.

He'd trained his Pokemon for speed of attack specifically, and it showed here, Luana not nearly as quick with her Pokemon, probably never having had to worry about it.

Chesire disappeared, reappearing behind the Absol, forcing it to waste its detect on Chesire who immediately Shadow Sneaked again after a perfunctory weak attack on Absol who's Crunch in retaliation missed as Cheshire disappeared. Alakazam Reflected Loki's attack, Loki crying out from the damage which was returned, but kept firing. Alakazam immediately teleported out on Luana's quick order, which was when Chesire arrived in his second Shadow Sneak, firing a Shadow Ball point blank into Alakazam.

Alakazam didn't stand a chance, the Ghost Pokemon super effective against it, the Pokemon fainted immediately.

Luana didn't even bother continuing the fight, despite still having the type advantage of Dark vs Ghost, albeit in a 1v2 situation, recalling her Pokemon. "That was some impressive teamwork, you barely even had to give orders." She complimented him,

She walked over to Ezra, holding out a hand. "Congratulations, Ezra. You've proven yourself a worthy challenger. Here is the Jade Star Badge."

Ezra took the badge, a small, intricately carved piece of jade shaped like a star. He nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Thanks, Luana. It was a good battle."

It was a proper actual battle. So out of four gyms, two were actually half decent, maybe he'd been too harsh on the first two…

No, they still sucked. Their challenges were dumb.

Luana smiled back, a genuine warmth in her eyes. "You fought well, Ezra. I'm looking forward to seeing how you do against Drake."

Ezra nodded, pocketing the badge. Just Drake to go, the heaviest challenge of them all.

---

Pummelo island, 5 hours after his fight with Luana.

Pummelo Island loomed ahead, with the massive stadium perched at its highest point, an imposing structure visible even from this distance. This was it - the final test, where he would face the League's strongest trainer, Drake.

He'd rested up, fine with waiting until the scheduled time to pester Drake, instead of getting it done early, needing the extra recuperation time. Besides, as he found out from Luana, the other gym leaders and some of the Pummelo locals, would be watching the bout.

Rudy and Luana might even cheer for him, but Danny and Cissy certainly wouldn't - fifty percent of people he meets hate him? Sounds about right, he thought with some dark amusement, not at all broken up about it.

He was on a second life, a better life despite everything, he wasn't going to waste time tied down by social constraints.

Ezra's journey through the Orange League had been unconventional, filled with deceit and bending things to his advantage. He hadn't come to make friends or play by the standard trainer's rules. His aim was to crush the League and showcase his superiority, no matter what it took. He felt a thrill of anticipation. This would be the toughest challenge yet.

The journey was short, and soon Ezra found himself standing at the entrance of the Orange League Stadium. The structure was a blend of traditional and modern design, with towering pillars and an open-air battlefield that allowed the sea breeze to flow through. As Ezra walked through the gates, he knew this was where champions were made, and today, he would etch his name into that history.

For all time after this, Ezra's name would be inscribed here as the first challenger to beat Drake and the Orange League, and all in one day to boot.

Drake was waiting for him in the center of the stadium, his face one of bored amusement. Behind him, the loud sounds of Cissy up in the stands rang out, the woman yelling at him to kick the 'stupid faced ass' off the island and embarrass him, the sound echoing across the stadium. Luana was trying to get her to calm down, but she was fired up, Danny and Rudy staying out of it, just watching him. Although Rudy gave him a surreptitious thumbs up.

He might actually have to share his number with him and Luana, they seemed pretty decent all together. It wouldn't hurt to have them as contacts for the future. Even if he was going to embarrass their league - he thought they wouldn't mind Drake eating crow for once.

"Welcome, Ezra," Drake said, his voice carrying across the mostly empty stadium, only a few dozen people there to watch. "I've been hearing quite a bit about you. You've made quite a splash in the Orange League, albeit with some… Unconventional methods." He sounded a bit exasperated at the end, even as he gave him a look that firmly said, really, you had to make it difficult?

Ezra smirked, unfazed by the thinly veiled criticism. "I'm here to win, Drake. However that happens, it happens, it's all within the rules." He shrugged with forced casualness, "Some people in your circuit here just don't know how Gyms work, you should get on that." He made sure to look up at Cissy in specific, smiling sweetly.

He'd written the two little booklets and he'd leave them for Drake afterwards. He hoped he showed them to Cissy and Danny.

Danny and Rudy had to hold Cissy back as she tried to jump into the stadium, Luana putting her face into her hands. Drake sighed, giving him a long suffering look.

Drake eventually just nodded, speaking up like that little episode hadn't happened, "Very well. But remember, here in the Orange League, we value the spirit of fair competition and the bond between trainers and their Pokemon. Let's see if your methods hold up against me." He smirked as he caressed the Pokeball on a chain that he had around his neck.

Ezra shrugged, already pulling out his Pokeballs. "Let's get on with it." A smirk growing onto his face, "I'm looking forward to you admitting you were an ass, when I beat your entire league in a day without a full team."

The rules were simple this time - a full six-on-six battle, with no restrictions on types or moves. Ezra knew he would need every bit of cunning and strategy (and cheating) to defeat Drake's formidable team. He had already studied Drake's known Pokemon as they were listed on the website, but there was always the element of surprise to consider.

Anything could happen in a battle. The amount of times an evolution happened mid battle and changed the game were too numerous to count.

Drake released his first Pokemon, a Ditto, just as Ezra released Rider, his Cubone. The Ditto immediately transformed into a copy of Rider.

Exactly what he wanted. This Pokemon stumped many of Drake's challengers, and he wouldn't allow it to do the same to him. He might not be the best battler around yet, but he planned it all out better than the rest.

"Rider, Alpha." He ordered, having named his different plans against Ditto by four different numericals, he wasn't about to make it easy for Drake by telling him and his copycat what he was doing.

"Ditto, Copycat." Drake said calmly, arms crossed.

Just as I predicted… Ezra thought, eyes gleaming as the two Pokemon used Quick-Attack to strike at each other. Leaving Ditto close enough for Rider to move into stage two.

Without Ezra giving an order to warn Drake, Rider used Iron Tail, slamming into Ditto's skull, Drake immediately shouting, "Use Quick-Attack to get out of there, Ditto!" Having been caught completely by surprise.

It didn't help the Ditto, who was already woozy from the Iron Tail bashing it's skull, Rider chasing it in another Quick-Attack, taking advantage of Ditto's lowered reaction time to take it out of the game, jumping for joy as the Pokemon got recalled, lifting its bone club in the air and chirping.

"Good job, Rider." Ezra said, feeling a little smug at Drake's sudden frown.

From what the website said, he'd never been the first to lose a Pokemon.

"Well played, Ezra. But this battle is far from over," Drake said, releasing his next Pokemon, an Onix.

The giant Pokemon roared as it was released into the field, dust kicking up, it's body curling up slightly as it rose up, staring down at Rider from high above.

Ezra just smirked, recalling Rider, tossing out another Pokeball in his stead.

"Onix, Rock Slide!" Drake ordered immediately, taking advantage of the time he had before Ezra's Pokemon materialized, even as he looked at him oddly for removing a Pokemon capable of Iron Tail from the field when its opponent was a rock Pokemon.

Ezra just smirked, his hand still raised from tossing his Pokeball, Loki appearing, eyes gleaming with mischief.

The giant rock snake roared, slamming its tail into the ground and sending a barrage of boulders towards Loki. Not the most effective move, even as Ezra winced slightly as Loki did take some damage.

But the dust cloud and debris from Onix's appearance and the Rock Slide, completely hid his actions as he couldn't miss a target that size, Loki joining him, four attacks of Hypnosis hitting the Onix, who immediately succumbed.

"Dream Eater." He ordered Loki immediately, forcing Drake to withdraw his Onix in chagrin, looking surprised at how easily it had succumbed to little Loki's Hypnosis.

"You're doing well, Ezra. But this next one will be tough," Drake said, taking the Pokeball on the chain around his neck off, releasing his third Pokemon, a Dragonite.

Ezra winced, the punishment for my success…. It would have been much better for his strategy if Dragonite came at the end. But he would have to make do.

The Dragonite roared as it took to the sky, its wings flapping powerfully. The atmosphere in the stadium seemed to tense, as if the very air was crackling with energy. Ezra knew this would be a tough battle now - Dragonite was a powerful Pokemon with a wide range of moves.

He'd have to sacrifice Loki to get his plan to work. He couldn't afford to switch right now. If he did, he might lose his ace against this dangerous Pokemon.

"Dragonite, use Thunderbolt!" Drake ordered sharply, not as easy going now that he was on the back foot.

The Dragonite's antennae sparked with electricity as it unleashed a powerful Thunderbolt which crashed to the ground with almighty force.

Loki already knew what to do, having used Shadow Sneak to avoid the attack, but it brought it within Dragonite's reach, Loki's desperate attempt at Hypnosis not taking hold, as Dragonite hit him with a point blank Thunderbolt.

Ezra silently thanked Loki for his efforts, immediately tossing out Nyx onto the field.

"Nyx, use Curse!" Ezra commanded, straining his Ghostly companions and their energy to force the Dragonite to miss dodging, even as Drake shouted at it to dive.

Nyx's form became more solid as it used Curse, sacrificing some of its own life energy to place a powerful curse on Dragonite. The Dragonite shuddered, a dark aura enveloping it as the Curse took hold, its dodge not enough, slowed down by his cheating, even as he winced at the sudden headache - he wouldn't be pulling that off again in this battle.

Drake frowned, recognizing the move, looking irritated. "Dragonite, use Dragon Breath!" He yelled, fingers twitching slightly.

Curse would take a quarter of Dragonite's health each turn, Ezra would have preferred to wait until the end to do this, giving Drake no options. As it was he could still recall Dragonite and concentrate on whittling his Pokemon down, using it as a last battering ram at the end before it ran out of juice. Yet it appeared he was continuing on.

The Dragonite opened its mouth, gathering a massive amount of energy. Ezra knew this was a dangerous moment; Dragon Breath from this powerful Pokemon would be a devastating attack, and there was nothing in Nyx arsenal to really stop this.

"Nyx, Hex!" Ezra shouted, doubling down, as Hex would double the damage of any status effect. Which meant the Dragonite would only last two turns after this. He crossed his fingers, this needed to hit.

He really hadn't expected Drake to bring it out so soon.

Dragonite unleashed the Dragon Breath. The immense breath of energy crashed against the ground causing the arena's barriers to shimmer and flicker. Nyx stood no chance, although it seemed Hex had hit, the Dragonite unable to dodge while using such an intense move like a fully powered Dragon Breath.

Unfortunately taking out the Pokemon that cursed you, meant the curse would do no damage this round. Which meant Dragonite still had two moves in it. Which could theoretically take two more of his Pokemon out of the fight.

Ezra gritted his teeth. Dragonite's were bullshit anyway, he recalled Nyx, thanking his Pokemon for its sacrifice, because if he won this, it would solely be down to Curse and Hex.

If Dragonite had gone last, he'd be able to completely spend his Pokemon on just keeping it busy for a few turns, no worries about it as long as one Pokemon on his side survived it. Now, he couldn't just send Pokemon out to get wasted easily, because Drake would still have three Pokemon to go.

"Smart move with Curse, and that Hex, what a combination." Drake said conversationally, Curse only worked once his Pokemon made a move, so they were safe to talk without rushing into it. "But do you have the capability to survive for two rounds, and still have anything left for my other Pokemon?"

"Kick his ass, Drake!" Cissy called from the stands, waving her arms excitedly.

"Tch, that Dragonite is so troublesome." Ezra complained, hand fiddling with a Pokeball, the Dragonite such a monster that he couldn't even cheat anymore, having spent all his energy on ensuring it got cursed.

He'd wanted to save it for last, or not use it at all, but he supposed he was left with no alternative. He sent out the crystal Onix on the field. "Dig!' he shouted, having absolutely no idea if it would even listen.

Drake, unfazed even as the few audience members let out oohs and ahhs at the sight, quickly issued his next command. "Dragonite, use Dragon Rush!"

Dragonite's body glowed with a bright blue aura as it charged forward with incredible speed, aiming to smash into the Onix with a powerful Dragon Rush. The air crackled with the energy of the impending collision.

Onix stood no chance, barely even beginning to dig when the powerful Dragonite slammed into it, the Onix valiantly trying to resist, but eventually submitting, Ezra recalling it, hoping it didn't get its finish scuffed or anything.

At least it got Dragonite down to its last move before it faints. But he was left with 3 Pokemon left, versus Drake's three after Dragonite, and Dragonite still had a move left.

This is why he'd wanted to go through all his other Pokemon and cheat his ass off before getting to this…

"You're quite resourceful, Ezra," Drake admitted, a hint of respect in his voice. "But the battle isn't over yet, and you've hit your limit, there's only so many tricks you can pull."

"Pidgeot, Sand Attack, then fly away." He yelled as he released his Pidgeot, having already spoken to it before this battle, about the unfortunate necessity of it playing a part.

"Twister." Drake ordered, and Dragonite, used its wings and powerful energy to send a twister spiraling across the sky as Pidgeot desperately clawed at the air, its attempted Sand Attack lost in the chaos before it could have a chance to hit.

It was impossible to see in the storm of air that suddenly took over the arena, but eventually it died down, Dragonite slumping to the ground, the curse taking full effect, forcing it to faint. And by some miracle, Pidgeot descended from the sky, feathers ruffled something fierce, but it had managed to avoid the Twister using Fly, just barely.

Likely due to the Dragonite's very weakened energy while on its last breath.

Drake recalled his Dragonite, slowly caressing the Pokeball with a conflicted look on his face, the audience was dead quiet. No one had ever beaten his Dragonite, Ezra knew.

Drake released his Pokemon moments later, an Electabuzz. The electric-type Pokemon sparked with energy, ready to battle.

"Electabuzz, Thunder Punch!" Drake ordered.

"Massive Sand Attack!" Ezra ordered, a move they'd only practiced hours earlier while his other Pokemon rested.

Pidgeot sacrificed everything to toss a heavy gust forward, showering Drake's Pokemon in sand, even as it closed in and took Pidgeot out with one well placed Thunder Punch.

Ezra immediately released Cheshire, taking advantage of Electabuzz hopefully being affected by the Sand Attack. "Confuse Ray!" He barked, Chesire immediately complying.

"Thunder Wave!" Drake ordered, apparently willing to risk sacrificing his Pokemon to ensure Ezra's second to last Pokemon would have a disadvantage.

Ezra won the encounter, the Confuse Ray hitting the Electabuzz - Cheshire's eyes glowing, sending out confusing energy towards Electabuzz. The electric-type wobbled, its eyes dazed from the confusion. It stumbled around, unable to focus - while its Thunder Wave missed Cheshire in return, barely. "Lick!" Ezra ordered immediately, trying to add paralysis to the confusion.

Drake sighed, as Electabuzz fell under paralysis as Chesire grinned widely, eyes purple as it finished the Pokemon off afterwards. Drake could have recalled it, but he obviously didn't see the point.

He still had a better looking position, if barely. Both of them had two Pokemon left, Drake had three if you count the sleeping Onix, but that could easily be taken care of when let loose again.

"You're full of surprises, Ezra, I haven't been this pushed by a challenger before," Drake said, releasing his next Pokemon, a Gengar. Its eyes gleaming with excitement. "It ends here though…"

"Cheshire, Shadow Sneak, and Shadow Ball, keep it up." Ezra snapped out an order, feeling the pressure, it was looking like he might lose.

"Gengar, it's going to come behind you, Hypnosis." Drake immediately ordered.

Ezra winced, he'd been using Shadow Sneak so much yet he hadn't really prepared his Pokemon for appearing and immediately being attacked.

This could sink him.

Cheshire appeared, Drake grinning, before they all watched in shock as the Gengar just took the super effective Shadow Ball to the face, never firing off Hypnosis.

"Gengar! Focus, Confuse Ray, then Hypnosis!" Drake snapped.

Ezra couldn't help but laugh inwardly as the Gengar seemed focused on him instead, before moving to obey Drake but with a second of delay that doomed it, Cheshire taking it down with another Shadow Ball. The arena was fully quiet, everyone trying to understand what happened. Drake's fortune suddenly turning around in one moment.

Drake bit his lip as he handled his second to last Pokeball, "Venosaur will handle it." He said confidently, but his brow was furrowed, as he tossed the Pokeball forward.

The massive grass-type Pokemon landed heavily on the field, its eyes glowing with determination.

"Venusaur, Sleep Powder!" Drake commanded.

At the same time as Ezra called out, "Confuse Ray, then Shadow Sneak and Shadow Ball." Knowing he'd be unlikely to get many more attacks in, the sleep powder was going to have spread by then.

"Bullet Seed behind you!" Drake called out.

Venusaur's flower opened wide, releasing a cloud of sleep-inducing spores. The spores immediately spread all over the area, Cheshire managing to fire off the Confuse Ray, which seemed to fail, before arriving behind the Venusaur, taking Bullet Seeds straight to the face even as it fired off a Shadow Ball into Venusaur.

Then the sleep powder became too much, and his sluggish Cheshire was taken down by several consecutive Bullet Seed attacks it couldn't dodge and the sleep powder. Barely hanging on, but somehow not fainting.

"Sunny Day." Drake ordered, using the fact Cheshire was asleep and on its last leg to set up the next bout. The arena shone brightly as sunlight coalesced above them, the Venusaur's flower beginning to shine.

Ezra had no choice but to return Cheshire, he couldn't allow Drake to spend a few turns just powering up, "Rider, it's all on you!" He called out, as he let his Cubone out on the field.

"Vine Whip, restrict it." Drake said, clicking his fingers like he'd already won, a relieved smile on his face.

"Quick Attack out of its reach, then Bonemerang!"

Venusaur's vines shot out, trying to ensnare Rider. But he managed to dodge, the bone club striking Venusaur in the face, doing some damage, but not enough. Not nearly enough. The bone club returned to Rider's hands like a boomerang.

He didn't dare have Rider approach with Iron Tail, he'd get caught in the Vine whips. Rider really didn't have enough ranged attacks. He was in trouble. For all his plans, the Dragonite coming out early scuppered them all. He still couldn't feel the ghostly energy he'd been using all through the League, so he couldn't help either.

"Solar Beam!" Drake ordered, pumping his fist, even as the audience cheered, Crissy the loudest of them all.

I'm going to lose! Ezra thought. His Cubone was not really a match for the Venusaur. Coming so far, only to lose! It was a joke! He could not!

"Rider, DODGE! You're not going to lose this!" Ezra shouted hoarsely, mentally willing his Pokemon forward.

Venusaur's flower glowed as it gathered energy from the sunlight. Ezra knew this was the moment of truth; Solar Beam was a powerful move, and Rider likely would not withstand it. He needed to dodge it.

Venusaur unleashed the Solar Beam, a massive blast of energy shooting towards Rider in such a wide circumference he was unlikely to dodge in time. Instead of dodging, Riders bone club turned steely, as it charged straight at the Solar Beam with a warcry, club first.

"What are you doing!?" Ezra shouted, absolutely shocked at Rider's crazy idea. And since when could he pull off steel energy in his club anyway?

The collision was spectacular, a burst of energy and light filling the battlefield. For a moment, everything seemed to stand still, the crowd holding their breath as they waited to see the outcome.

The strain of using such a massive Solar Beam had taken a toll on Drake's Pokemon, and the massive Pokemon slowly sat on the ground, letting out a breath.

Rider however looked on its last legs, barely holding on. Ezra bowed his head, 'You did awesome, Rider." He called out, his voice down, I've lost…. "Get some rest." He raised the Pokeball to recall him, Drake respectfully not making any moves.

Rider raised its bone club as it began to glow, stopping Ezra from recalling him, no… Seriously? Now of all times?

Holding its bone club aloft. The weapon began to glow with an intense, ethereal light, casting an otherworldly glow across the battlefield. Ezra, who had been moments away from recalling Rider, stopped in his tracks, eyes widening in surprise and wonder. The entire stadium seemed to hold its breath, the air thick with anticipation. As the glow intensified, Rider's form began to shift and change. The Cubone's normally somber brown eyes sparkled with a new inner light, reflecting the energy that surged through its body.

The bone club in its hand grew longer and thicker, the dull brown surface transforming into a sleek, polished black. Spectral flames danced along the club, vivid and vibrant, flickering with hues of blue and green. Rider's body elongated and grew, shedding its old form as it transformed into something new and powerful. The previously brown, leathery skin became a rich, dark charcoal color, almost black, with an iridescent sheen that caught the light.

The bone helmet that had always been a symbol of its past loss now reshaped itself, becoming more streamlined and fitted to its new form. The skull appeared more angular and pronounced, giving Rider an aura of power and mystique. From Rider's shoulders, two slender, bony spikes emerged, glowing with the same spectral flames that danced along its bone club. The flames licked up along the length of the spikes, adding a ghostly, ethereal quality to the Pokemon's appearance.

Rider's eyes, once filled with sorrow and with honest curiosity, now shone with a fiery intensity, reflecting the powerful spirit within. The transformation complete, Rider stood tall as an Alolan Marowak, a rare and unique form probably not known anywhere on this continent before now.

He'd only had it train in fire energy for a week, did no one else teach a Cubone about fire energy, ever? He glanced at the sky, the sunny day and Solar Beam's effects having hidden the fact the day had ended, and they'd turned to night, just barely. But apparently it had been enough.

The Pokemon's new form was both beautiful and intimidating. The bone club, now a polished black staff, was crowned with a flame that burned brightly, casting an eerie light around the battlefield. Ezra watched in awe as Rider lifted its club high, the flames roaring to life as if celebrating the transformation. The crowd erupted into cheers, the spectators thrilled by the rare sight of a Pokemon evolving in the midst of such a climactic battle. Even Drake, seasoned and composed as he was, couldn't hide his admiration and surprise at the sudden turn of events. The Alolan Marowak looked back at Ezra, its eyes meeting his. There was a new confidence in its gaze, a silent understanding passing between them.

This was no longer the small, grieving Cubone that Ezra had known, this was a warrior, a guardian of the flames, ready to fight with renewed strength.

He somewhat mourned that idea, out of all his Pokemon, he'd bonded with his Cubone the easiest. Spent the most time personally training and working with him. It kind of felt like he'd lost him, in a way. He quickly shook that thought away, focusing on the now. It was complete bullshit, but he'd gotten a hail Mary just at the end.

Drake lost his awe first, snapping out, "Venusaur, Razor Leaf, then try and catch it with your Vine Whip!"

Ezra didn't even know what attacks Rider had now, so he kept his order simple, pointing at the Venusaur. "Rider. Burn!"

Rider dashed forward, it's staff twirling as he ran through the storm of razor leaves, the flames on his staff burning them to cinders as he passed, a whirlwind of motion, before he slammed the staff into the Venusaur, what appeared to be a flamethrower attack firing point blank into the Venusaur.

Drake immediately recalled it as it fainted, shaking his head, a wry grin on his face, "Well, luck had its part, but every good trainer needs that as well." He nodded at Ezra, "Congratulations."

Ezra cocked his head, "We have Pokemon left." He pointed out.

Drake shrugged, "My sleeping Onix is hardly going to beat your… Marowak…? And you have one sleeping one left in your Haunter as well. You have won, Ezra Kassian, champion of the Orange League." He said formally.

The crowd erupted into cheers at the announcement, not that it was very loud with so few of them.

Rider slammed into his knees, chirping happily, eyes closed in an eye smile, and Ezra felt a great sense of relief. It's still my little buddy.. Thank Arceus…

Drake walked up to him, shaking his hand, "This worked out even better than I had imagined, really." He mused out loud.

Ezra stared at him suspiciously, "Aren't you mad I embarrassed your League?"

Drake laughed quietly, "Oh, you win some, you lose some. We'll be laughed at a little no doubt, but when you then go dominate elsewhere, everyone will know what happened here, and we'll reap the benefits in tourism."

They stood in silence for a moment, Ezra irritably acknowledging that even in beating Drake, he helped Drake profit. Drake spoke once more shortly thereafter. "You've earned this, Ezra. But remember, with this victory comes responsibility to live up to. The title of Champion is not just about strength; it's about honor and the bond you share with your Pokemon. I hope you continue to grow and learn on your journey."

The trophy ceremony took place shortly thereafter, and he particularly enjoyed making Cissy and Danny shake his hand. Later he exchanged numbers with Rudy and Luana, and reluctantly, Drake. You never knew when it would be useful.

The ceremony concluded, and Ezra headed to the Pokemon center, Rider out and chattering at him, playing with its new staff with awe. Rudy walked with him, loudly detailing each portion of the fight.

It wasn't… unpleasant.

It was… Nice.

---

In the Kanto wilderness, the next morning.

"COME ON! The Orange Islands?" Karen screamed at her pokedex, shaking it as if to make it make sense, the message from Agatha telling her she'd been wasting her time trekking out from Lavender Town.

This brat… She cursed inwardly, teeth gritting together, left eye twitching violently.

"He's only been a trainer for what? Two weeks? How the fuck is all the way over there?" She shouted at nothing, several trainers traveling down the route taking the long way around, looking at her in askance as she cursed and screamed at the air.

And he won the fucking league…

She'd never won a league… As Agatha so snidely pointed out in her message.

Right, that's it, I'm going down there and beating the brat into the ground and dragging him to the old lady face down in gravel the entire way!

She released one of her Pokemon, "Honchkrow, Orange Islands, now!" She hissed out.

She had to get there while he was still busy with his little victory party.

---

Sky over the Orange islands.

Ezra didn't waste any time, leaving the islands immediately after his victory ceremony,

He had no intention of dealing with Drake anymore then he had to.

Especially when he might face some questions on how the fuck he pulled some of his shit.

Nope, he'd be far away from the Orange Islands by dawn.

The fact Drake wasn't even upset his League got crushed in a day really sucked all the fun out of it…

---

Author's note:

Orange Island arc begun, and done.

I took some creative liberties with the surroundings, challenges etc, going with mostly the same but not sticking entirely like for like. Mostly because I didn't want to rewatch the whole Orange Island arc.

So Ezra cheats a lot. And seems personally offended that other people aren't doing everything possible to squeeze out an advantage. The Orange League really wasn't ready for him, at least the first stages. And no, he doesn't think their arbitrary challenge rules count as squeezing out an advantage.

Cissy might actually hate him for life for his comments and how carelessly he treated the seel, let alone him rubbing it all in her face.

He'd never be able to pull that stuff off in Kanto, the Pokemon League would be all over him if his matches had a bunch of mysterious happenings, but here, with them not even able to prove he did anything, no Pokemon out to affect anything, he just walks free.

Note that originally he'd intended to just go about the islands and enjoy himself, train his Pokemon before taking on the Kanto League, so he didn't have too many quibbles of catching a water Pokemon or another to play casually in the Orange League, he's just more spiteful now that's he's been told to do it.

Edgy teen character problems.

Although by the end he's not quite seeing things exactly the same.

And ass pull Pokemon evolution is ass pull, it's pretty much normal Pokemon battle bs.

Cheers

JollyHippopotamus

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

An awesome chapter. Shame he wasnt able to enjoy the Orange Islands but it is what it is. At least he got an Evolution, Spiritomb, and Onix out of it(even if hes gonna regretfully sell the latter. Hope it gets a good home). Speaking of he could probably get some money if he publishes how to evolve a Cubone into its variant.

 

[FTR2017]

Lmao at Ezra proving his chops as a Ghost and Dark specialist trainer, already making waves while cheating like there is no tomorrow!

I will suck monkey balls if one is on the receiving end of it, but it highlights Ezra's uniqueness as he even managed to evolve a normally region-locked 'mon in front of an audience.

Rider was awesome, and the fights themselves were hectic and entertaining--well done, man!

 

[Mythraal]

Is he going to get an annihilape?

 

[JollyHippopotamus]

Is he going to get an annihilape?

Click to shrink...

Definitely, can't be a Ghost leader and not have that one!

 

[TikkyMikk]

Hehe Karen gonna go crazy searching for him.

 

[trudny1]

At the beginning I felt bad for those he was going to cheat against, but then you showed their stupid requirements, and my conscience started cheering for MC.
Poor Karen, unless they fly into eachother, she's going to miss him again.

Cheshire appeared, Drake grinning, before they all watched in shock as the Gengar just took the super effective Shadow Ball to the face, never firing off Hypnosis.

"Gengar! Focus, Confuse Ray, then Hypnosis!" Drake snapped.

Ezra couldn't help but laugh inwardly as the Gengar seemed focused on him instead, before moving to obey Drake but with a second of delay that doomed it, Cheshire taking it down with another Shadow Ball.

Click to shrink...

Speaks in Bane's voice: The ghosts betray you, because they belong to me!

Thanks for the chapter.

 

[stads]

nice chapter thx for writing it
fun seeing him rush the orange league
poor karen she is going to be chasing the mc allot

 

[Darquesse]

Will he be adding an Annihilape to his team? Love to see indigo freaking out about the new evolution.

 

[ApiLol123123]

He'd acknowledge he was an asshole. But he was an honest asshole.

Click to shrink...

..... he says after he cheats

I hope he captures a Hisuian Zoroark and a Dragapult too! Thank you for the chapter!

 

[cazador]

Shame he can't find a frillish or basculin here

 

[The Radiance's Follower]

TFTC. Welp, that's one way to complete a league.

 

[a guy1013]

i think we would need an index for mc pokemon for battling and companions

 

[JollyHippopotamus]

Here's chapter 5: Winning.

A patron winner again, so here's another chappie earlier than projected.

It's quite possible I'll make mistakes with Pokemon moves and such, I'll try and get it right, but sometimes my memory gets things wrong and I don't wiki every move, so we'll see.

Enjoy 12k of Ezra's wacky adventures.

As usual, I do not own Pokemon or the associated companies that deliver material from it. I'm just playing in the kiddy pool, don't hurt me.

Enjoy!

---

Ezra soared through the sky on his Pidgeot, the wind whipping through his hair and the lush greenery of Johto spreading out below him. He enjoyed the feeling of freedom that flying provided, a sense of being untethered from the worries of the world below - as long as it was brief, anyway. The flight from Lavender to the Orange islands had been a pain in the ass, quite literally.

As they approached Cherrygrove City, the dense forest gave way to a quaint riverside town nestled along a sparkling blue river that snaked through the forest. Johto was closer to the islands then Kanto, and he wasn't in a rush to get started on the league quite yet anyway, so he figured it was as good as any place to slow down for a day or two and get his Onix sold.

He'd already posted a picture of it online on several different forums, marking it for sale. He would let word spread before accepting any bids, hopefully Steven Stone would notice it and bid, without Ezra having to give himself a bad bargaining position by going to him first.

If Stone thought he had competition, he'd be likely to pay a lot more after all. He also had other ideas brewing there, but he'd have to think on it.

Pidgeot began its descent, the wind rustling the feathers of its powerful wings as it gracefully glided down towards a clearing just outside the city. Ezra patted Pidgeot's neck appreciatively as they touched down, the bird Pokemon cooing softly in response.

"Good job, Pidgeot," He said, returning the Pokemon to its Pokeball. Just because Pidgeot was more of a tool to him, didn't mean he shouldn't be appreciative of its help. He took a moment to adjust his pack and smooth his clothes, which were slightly ruffled from the flight.

That done, he let Rider out, the guy chirping happily, eyes closed in what he was beginning to think of as his signature smile, as he investigated the tall fragrant flowers everywhere around them. He quickly released Nyx, Chesire and Loki as well, although he shuffled them into his shadow before moving forward, aware that it was considered rude to have more than one Pokemon out outside of emergencies, while in a town.

With his shadow, he could break the rule, have his 'mon with him at all times, and no one would be the wiser. Everyone won. Especially him, in case someone tried anything. He was kind of looking forward to Team Rocket sending some poor goon after him at some point.

They'd get all the surprise Ghosts up their asses.

The path leading into Cherrygrove was lined with cherry blossom trees, their pink petals fluttering down in a gentle breeze as he walked on without a hurry. It created a picturesque entrance to the city, one Rider enjoyed as he ran around Ezra's legs pointing at things excitedly with his flaming club. It was cute, Ezra had to admit, lips twitching against this will as Rider acted like a puppy, out for its first proper walk.

As they walked, Ezra took in the vibrant surroundings. Unlike the more industrial towns of much of Kanto, Cherrygrove had a quaint, almost old-world charm still alive and well within the city limits. The buildings were a mix of traditional Japanese architecture and more modern structures, their roofs curved elegantly upwards, painted in various hues of red or pink, with a splash of green here and there.

Definitely more colorful than Lavender Town, he had to say, enjoying the view, not feeling nearly as stressed now that the Orange Islands were behind him, and the Onix was his. Financial stability was already practically secured, so he took the time to smell the roses so to speak.

From the sky Cherrygrove had looked like several modern ten story buildings peeking out of a forest, but now that he was on foot, he could see the old style houses that surrounded the modern buildings, greenery everywhere in sight, the road itself cut in two as the middle of it was for trees and benches, with the odd fountain every hundred to a hundred fifty yards or so.

The streets were bustling with people, and Ezra noticed immediately how different their attire was compared to those in Lavender. The clothing was more colorful for one, with intricate patterns and bright fabrics that likely reflected the local Johto culture. Many women wore yukatas with floral designs, while a lot of the men were dressed in casual kimonos or brightly colored shirts. Interspersed with them were men and women in smart business attire, really giving the sense the small town was somewhat in a transition from rural to modern.

The city itself was a blend of natural beauty and human craftsmanship. Cobblestone streets wound their way through the town off the main avenue, flanked by carefully manicured gardens and small parks. The air was fresh and carried the faint scent of the sea from the river running right by it, mixing with the fragrance of blooming flowers and cherry blossoms. Small wooden bridges arched gracefully over clear, babbling brooks that ran through the city, fed from the river, adding to the serene atmosphere.

He probably couldn't have found a town so opposite on the spectrum from Lavender if he'd tried. Even the weather shone down on them like the sun was happily smiling like some kids cartoon, instead of the perpetual gloom Lavender lived under. People here… Would probably be disgustingly cheerful, he thought with a grimace.

Well that's one reason to not linger too long… They're probably all morning people too. He thought, grumbling slightly at the idea. Cheerfulness was fine… In low doses. But it was extremely annoying in groups.

He passed by a series of banners strung up between lamp posts, each one advertising an upcoming Pokemon tournament, starting the next day. The vibrant colors and bold lettering caught his eye. It seemed the whole town was gearing up for the event, with stalls and decorations lining the main thoroughfare. Ezra made a mental note to check out the tournament schedule later; it could be a good opportunity to test his skills and earn some prize money.

If it was money that they gave out anyway. He vaguely remembered tournaments often had prizes like Pokemon techniques or Eggs. For the winner at least. It was worth a look, even if the prize wasn't something he personally needed.

As he made his way towards the Pokemon Center, Ezra's stomach growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since he left the Orange Islands. He glanced around and saw a row of food stalls set up along the street, the enticing aromas of grilled meats and other delicacies wafting through the air. One stall in particular caught his attention, its sign proudly proclaiming "Best Meat Skewers in Johto!"

Unlikely to be true, but anyone willing to be that confident in their signage, probably didn't sell garbage. With money coming in soon, he didn't worry about spending whatever little he had left. He probably preferred the fact that the stall didn't advertise exactly what the meat was. Mystery meat was probably better than finding out he was eating something he'd once obsessively collected.

He approached the stall, where a cheerful vendor was expertly grilling skewers of meat over an open flame. The vendor, a middle-aged man with a wide-brimmed hat and a bright smile, greeted him warmly. A Pikachu was lazing on a pillow by the grill, briefly twitching as it looked over at Ezra and Rider, before sinking into its pillow with a happy, "Chuu~"

"Welcome! Would you like to try our famous skewers? Freshly grilled and absolutely delicious!" The man said enthusiastically, lowering Ezra's mood as he confirmed the obvious cheerfulness of the town.

Ezra dug into his pocket and pulled out a few coins, the size of the skewers meant he wouldn't need to buy many, it was almost the size of a whole roasted chicken, pieced out and slathered with some sort of sauce that made it glisten, the skin crackling on the grill in a way that made his mouth water.

"I'll take two," He said somewhat cautiously, handing over the coins, not wanting to set off any bombastic answers.

The vendor nodded and quickly prepared two skewers, handing them over with a flourish. "Enjoy! And good luck in the tournament, if you're participating!"

Ezra thanked him and took a bite of the first skewer. The meat was tender and flavorful, a perfect blend of spices that made his taste buds sing, the sauce reminded him of Asian BBQ sauces back home. He savored each bite as he continued his walk towards the Pokemon Center, enjoying the sights and sounds of Cherrygrove City. It was good to be back in a city, he just wished it had less actual people in it.

Rider sniffed the air curiously. Ezra chuckled and held out the second skewer. "Here you go, Rider, got it for you guys, I think you'll like this." Most Pokemon were omnivores. There were specific diets and Pokemon food that were 'ideal' for different Pokemon - but almost all of them could eat other food just fine.

Rider took the skewer eagerly, gnawing on the meat with visible delight. The sight drew the attention of several passersby, who pointed at the adorable Pokemon. Children especially seemed fascinated by Rider, some of them whispering excitedly to their parents. There were enough Pokemon around that people didn't immediately clue in to the fact Rider was a never before heard of Pokemon - once he officially began fighting in the league, he was sure he'd get some questions about it though.

The world had a lot more than 150 piddly Pokemon after all, and the regular citizen or trainer wouldn't realize how special Rider was, unless they happened to have a fascination with Cubone's and Marowaks.

Periodically, chunks of the meat would disappear as Rider got close to his shadow, the nice boi sharing with the rest of the team. Ezra patted him on the head, smiling as Rider seemed torn between continuing eating, or focusing on headpats.

He had to hide a chuckle as his 'mon decided the best course of action was to stuff the rest of the food in his mouth and enjoy the headpats, leaving him looking like a chipmunk.

They soon neared the Pokemon Center, plenty of signage having shown them the way. Ezra pushed open the glass doors and stepped inside, greeted by the cool, sterile air and the gentle hum of machinery.

Nurse Joy was at the counter, her pink hair and welcoming smile instantly recognizable. "Welcome to the Cherrygrove City Pokemon Center. How can I help you today?"

"I'd like a room for the night." Ezra asked politely, he wasn't going to mess with the Joys, "Maybe two nights, depending on how things go. And do you have any information on the upcoming tournament?"

Nurse Joy took his trainer ID before taking a look at her computer monitor, typing something in quickly, sliding him a key with the number 7 on it. "Of course! Enjoy your stay! The tournament starts tomorrow actually so you're in luck. It's a 3v3 elimination style competition, and trainers from all over the area are here to compete. You can register right now if you wish?" She asked with a peppy attitude.

Ezra nodded, feeling a spark of curiosity to see how he matched up with 'regular' trainers. "Thanks, definitely sign me up." He told Joy, who took down his name, trainer ID, and Pokemon, signing him up on the spot.

Ezra thanked her, before he headed for the computer area, having to wait ten minutes for a free station. While his Pokedex was able to go online, an actual Pokecenter computer was far superior in being able to conduct business quickly. He went through his mail, finding several dozen offers already for his Onix, but none of them were from Stone yet, so he held back on doing anything about it for now.

He had time, and everything he remembered about the man suggested he'd want the one of a kind Pokemon.

He stepped outside soon afterwards, the morning sun casting a warm glow over the city. With his Pokemon at his side and his hunger sated, he felt ready to explore more of Cherrygrove and mentally prepare for the upcoming battles.

As he walked through the city, he couldn't help but notice the festive atmosphere for something that was in all likelihood a regular occurrence. Small tournaments like this always took place throughout the league season, every city had them, they weren't anything special, mostly locals half the time, yet the city was acting like it was a big deal. Banners and posters for the tournament were everywhere, and trainers were milling about, some practicing battles in the open fields, others chatting animatedly about strategies and previous matches as they traversed the markets, shopping or hanging out.

In his short time in this world, Lavender Town had already had three minor tournaments like this, it was cheap entertainment, and a good way for the people who don't leave the city to get some battles in. Unless there was a big prize on the line, most serious trainers eschewed these types of events.

Ezra wandered through the market area, where vendors sold a variety of goods ranging from Pokeballs and potions - to handmade trinkets and souvenirs. He stopped at a stall selling berries and other Pokemon treats, buying a small bag of Oran berries for Rider and his other Pokemon.

He continued his stroll, eventually finding himself at the edge of the river. The water was a stunning shade of blue, glistening under the sunlight. Boats bobbed gently at the docks, and a few old fishermen were casting their lines a ways down, hoping for a good catch.

Ezra took a moment to sit on a bench overlooking the water, enjoying the serene view. Rider hopped up next to him, munching on an Oran berry contentedly.

"Beautiful place, huh, Rider?" Ezra said, patting the Marowaks head.

Rider chirped in agreement, his eyes reflecting the sunlight. With no one particularly close by to complain, he let his other Pokemon out to frolic in the bushes and trees, playing a game of tag above his head.

"Cheshire is behind that tree." He said calmly, pointing at the Haunter who gave him a look of betrayal, as Nyx and Loki gave out battle cries, flying after Cheshire, Rider jumping off the bench to join in, with a war cry of his own.

"You know you're not supposed to have them all out within city limits, right?" A raspy sardonic voice asked, and he turned, already prepared to tell the busybody to fuck off.

It was a girl around his age, or maybe closer to eighteen - it was hard to tell with the makeup, she'd somehow made herself comfortable at the other end of the bench, making it within five feet of him without him noticing.

She had a striking appearance that immediately set her apart from the locals. Her hair was jet black, and dyed purple at the tips, styled in a way that left her left side over her ear shaved, while the hair cascaded down over her face on the right side. It was a bit nostalgic for him, reminding him of Cyberpunk 2077, one of the main girls having had the exact same hairstyle, if differently colored.

Black lipstick and heavy eyeliner contrasted sharply with her pale skin and amber eyes, she couldn't be more then 5'4 at most, but she was stacked, like, anime style stacked to go with it. She wore a spiked choker around her neck, a black leather jacket with patches sewn onto it to go with the leather pants that were painted on her they were so tight, and a black t-shirt with a Pikachu roasting on a spit on it, the print saying - Cuter this way. Her nose and her bottom lip were both pierced with studs, and she wore a bored, almost disdainful expression on her face as she leaned back, with her elbows over the backrest of the bench.

This girl… It's like she looked up all the ways to rebel against authority or society and went ahead and did all of them…

"You look like you care so much about rules." Ezra said dryly, finally speaking up, as the girl's expression became flatter and flatter as he didn't bother to hide how he looked her over from head to toe.

"Rules are important." She deadpanned, putting one leg over the other. Her boots looked like they were steel toed ones, Ezra wondered if that was supposed to be a subtle threat.

Honestly… It only made him want to poke at her more. If she wanted to toss out all the bad girl vibes, she could take it, right?

"So call Officer Jenny over to come fine me." He challenged, even as Rider came back from his chase, bumping his head against his knee. Ezra smirked at her, even as he rubbed Riders head, "Or are you already so well acquainted with her that you don't want the police involved?"

She snorted, resting her cheek on one hand, "That's stereotyping." She said in the same kind of deadpan tone.

He gave her a flat look, "You're a walking talking stereotype, now why the hell are you bothering me?"

She was hot, no doubt about it. A definite short stack with attitude. Smoking hot. 9/10 for sure, probably a ten if she didn't dress like she was trying to outedge everyone. But if there was anything he could take from his old life and transfer to this new life, it was one life lesson.

The hotter the girl. The bigger the issues. The more trouble in your life.

Heard of don't stick your dick in crazy? Well Ezra subscribed to - High level hot - equaled high level maintenance - and high level costs.

Not that he'd had that much experience with it, Having been a filthy cripple. But he'd seen it enough with friends and acquaintances too. The cute girl next door was safe. The hot girl was undoubtedly a vampire that would suck out all your sanity and mental stability in exchange for a few good fucks.

All the no.

A rebel girl like her too? No way she sought him out because she enjoyed chatting with strangers. These kinds of girls didn't do small talk for the hell of it with random strangers. Challenge him to a Pokemon battle? That he could believe… Seeking him out just for a chat? It Seemed far-fetched to say the least, so his suspicions were piqued.

"You're weird looking, dress almost as cool as me, and you have a - I don't give a fuck attitude - that I can vibe with." She said with a sly smirk playing on her lips, "This town is full of Jigglypuffs, I just wanted a few minutes with a Houndoom to recharge from all the sweetness." She idly played with the bottom of her t-shirt as she watched his reaction.

Ezra did have a black leather jacket on, but he refused to agree to any other comparisons, he was nowhere near as weird as her. "Fuck you too." He grouched, giving her a gimlet stare, "I just look like this naturally, you choose to look weird."

She smirked, tilting her head, part of her face hidden by her hair, "Take your compliment you salty bitch."

"Didn't sound like a compliment to me." Ezra snarked back, annoyed at the fact he kind of… Agreed with her. This conversation was preferable to going back into town with all the cheerful smiles and bombastic greetings and just plain niceness that just made him feel icky. And he'd just arrived. If she'd been here longer, looking as she was, she'd probably be worse off.

It was weird, the way people in Cherrygrove pretended he wasn't weird looking so far. That they pretended that his red eyes weren't off putting - greeting him cheerfully on the street, not staring at him, no one asking him about it. He felt more at home now that she'd brought it up. Was it him? Or was Cherrygrove just that accepting?

Even on the Orange islands people had at least commented on it, even if they also hadn't made a big deal out of it. He wasn't used to people just… Ignoring his peculiarity, it made him itch, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

She shrugged lightly, "Not my fault if you can't follow along, I'd dumb it down, but I don't know if I can go down that far." She said sweetly, her raspy voice challenging.

She wants to duel, huh? Ezra thought, eyes narrowing. Two can play that game!

"You sure? From the look of you, you go down pretty often." He fired off, sneering at her.

Her lips twisted into a wry grin, as she relaxed back where she sat even further, "What are you? Thirteen?" She drawled, "I know I said I'd dumb it down, but kid, don't make me write your material too, did you just discover sex now, huh? Do I make it tingle?" Her voice turned absolutely mocking, "In your little special place?"

"I'm sixteen!" He said, mortally offended. Kid? Fuck right off with that! I want to be back to 21, dammit! He also realized her mocking game was very strong, annoying him further.

She straightened up smugly, jutting her chest out, a victorious glint in her amber eyes, "So younger than seventeen then, ~kid…" She crowed.

"Bitch!" He spat out, although his lips twitched minisculely.

She buffed her purple nails off her shirt, "Yeah, a better bitch than you." She said smugly.

"Fuck you. I'm Ezra." He introduced himself, unable to keep a smile away, amused despite his own thoughts of caution against her.

"In your dreams kid, I'm Shae." She said, offering him a fistbump, which he obliged.

"So, in town for the tournament?" Ezra asked, gesturing to the Pokeballs on her studded belt.

Shae scoffed, even as she nodded, "No other reason to be here, really." She gestured to their surroundings, "It's just plain boring, if the tournament prize wasn't at least half decent I would have taken off already."

Ezra hadn't even checked what he'd signed up for yet, so he was immediately attentive, "What's the prize? I signed up but I never checked it out…"

Her eyes flickered to Rider, and then back to meet his gaze, "You have a Marowak evolution I've never seen before, yet you're the kind of dumbass who signs up without reading what you've signed up for?" She shook her head, "You really are a kid, kid."

She also notably didn't answer him, the bitch.

He scowled, "Hey, I'm gonna start calling you tits if you keep that up, I'm no kid!" He was more cautious now, eyeing her thoughtfully.

If she'd recognized Rider was special, she might have been lying about why she came over. She might have seen the Pokemon first and was simply scoping him out. It made more sense then the excuse she gave.

"Yeah? Try calling me that, I dare you." She said, suddenly cold, face going blank, her eyes boring into his.

"Tits." He said slowly and drawn out, meeting her gaze and not hesitating for even a second, because he wasn't a punk ass bitch.

"Heh… Snrk!" Shae snorted, before she began snickering, "I can't believe you did that!" The snickers turned to laughter, raspy and throaty, "People always back down like little bitches, but you just went for it!" Her hands went to her midsection as she laughed, taking way too much amusement from this, in his opinion.

Ezra eyed her oddly for a minute afterwards, getting whiplash from this whole meeting, "I'm getting the feeling I should have just walked away when you sat down." He said, inwardly cursing himself for not following his own advice. No hot girls allowed. Cute only!

"Aww, don't be like that, kid, everyone needs a friend, and people like us ain't gonna find many like-minded ones." She said, amusement still clear on her face.

"I don't." He grumbled, not sure he trusted her intentions. People didn't do that, right? Just walked up to people and tried to make friends?

She fished in her back pocket for a moment, lifting her butt off the bench, surprising Ezra in that the painted on pants had pockets in the first place. She cried out in triumph as she brought out a lipstick tube, black, of course. "Here, have some, if you're going to be edgier than me you need something a little bit extra." She cooed, smacking her black painted lips for effect.

Ezra stood up abruptly, "And that's my quota of socializing met for the week." He gestured for Rider to follow him, stepping away to take a route through the bushes, so he could surreptitiously collect his Ghosts, who'd all hid when the other trainer showed up. She'd already seen something, but that didn't mean he needed to confirm what each Pokemon he had was.

She gave a lazy wave, stretching out on the bench, "Later, kid."

He sighed, knowing he would absolutely be fighting her in the tournament tomorrow. "Later, tits."

His comment only made her snicker again, and he left the area feeling like he'd come up short in that conversation.

Well, the best way to not lose that game in the future, was to not play the game at all.

He collected his Pokemon and left the area, wondering how much Shae might have seen before she approached, especially as he hadn't even cottoned on until she was right there - a feat considering she was dressed to be seen. Worst case, she literally knew his entire team, while he knew nothing about hers.

He'd learn more when he fought her. But he had a feeling something was up. Hot girls didn't just randomly approach weird dudes like that. Not without a reason.

So the question was… What was the reason?

Back at the Pokemon Center shortly thereafter, he settled into one of the trainer rooms, Rider curling up at the foot of the bed as his Ghosts poked at different things in the room, bored. Ezra lay back, staring at the ceiling, he'd find out more tomorrow, and that would have to be that. He'd be leaving soon enough anyway, so the mystery girl wouldn't be a problem for long.

He'd been jumping between tasks and training without rest, so he and his team would rest for the day, figure things out tomorrow.

They'd fight, and beat Shae, because he had no doubt she'd make it far into the tournament.

Shae, if that's even your real name… You won't swindle me…

---

The next morning,

Ezra awoke to the sound of chirping birds and the gentle hum of activity outside his window. The morning sun cast a warm, golden glow over Cherrygrove City, making the cherry blossom petals sparkle as they floated down to the cobblestone streets. Ezra felt a surge of determination rise within him. Today was the day of the tournament, and he was ready.

It was time to see how he stacked up against other normal trainers. Ghosts were an advantage to begin with, but he needed to learn and improve his strategies - and the only way to do that was through more battles.

After a quick breakfast at the Pokemon Center, he gathered his belongings and headed out. The path to the tournament site was lined with colorful banners and stalls, vendors already busy hawking their wares. The scent of freshly baked pastries and roasted nuts mingled in the air, drawing in passersby. Ezra walked through the lively streets, taking in the festive atmosphere. The energy of the town was loud and boisterous and not really to his liking, but these were the kind of things he had to get used to.

The tournament grounds were set up on a large grassy area beside the river. Wooden stands had been erected around the battlefield, filled with spectators eagerly chatting and cheering. Temporary vendors lined the perimeter, selling everything from snacks and drinks to Pokemon accessories and memorabilia. The vibrant colors of the stalls and the lively crowd created a cheerful, bustling scene.

It kind of reminded him of high school football games, really, sans the cheerleaders. Wait, didn't Gary have cheerleaders? Can I get cheerleaders? He thought it over, and then immediately discarded it for how annoying it would get after the first amusing time.

Ezra approached the registration booth, a small tent with a cheerful banner reading "Tournament battlers get your fight card here!" A young woman behind the counter greeted him with a bright smile, not even blinking an eye at the albino in dark clothing.

Honestly, it was beginning to freak him out a bit. Lavender town was the spookiest place on the continent, yet were they the only ones that gave a crap about how weird he looked?

"Good morning! Are you here to find out your battle order for the tournament?" She asked.

"Yes, I am," Ezra replied tersely, handing over his trainer ID. He'd rather just start this already, he itched to battle and work out some frustrations.

She quickly checked his information on a laptop. "Great! You're all set. Your first battle is scheduled for an hour from now. In the meantime, feel free to watch the other matches and enjoy the festivities."

Ezra thanked her and moved away from the booth, deciding to scout out the competition. He found a spot in the stands with a good view of the battlefield and settled in to watch the early matches, his Pokemon in their balls for once, as to not give anyone other than Shae any heads up.

The first few battles were fairly uneventful, mostly local kids who were enthusiastic but lacked real skill. The crowd cheered them on anyway, encouraging their efforts. Ezra watched with mild interest, but his mind was already strategizing for his own battles. This really is the definition of local. I mean that one kid had three weedles! Three!

Then, a movement at the edge of the battlefield caught his eye..

The crowd reacted with a mixture of disapproval and curiosity, the older spectators whispering among themselves. Ezra found himself watching with interest as Shae took her place on the battlefield, blowing kisses at the crowd to rile them up. She had also accessoried her outfit with several chains attached across her hips for some reason, he rolled her eyes at how ridiculously edgy she was shooting for.

Apparently looking weird was fine for him, but they were much more disapproving of a girl doing it. Typical. There were still a lot of old fashioned beliefs in the world. Trainers might be equal, but there were certain expectations on behavior he supposed. The world was still based on Japan to a certain extent, so standing out in such a rebellious way as Shae did, it wasn't appreciated by the older generation he could see.

He remembered thinking about it in Lavender, the uniformity with which a lot of people dressed, behaved and socialized. It was nowhere as rigid as Japanese society, but it certainly wasn't as 'modern' as the western world either.

He focused back on the fight, Shae's opponent was a local boy by the amount of cheering he was receiving. Probably no older than thirteen-fourteen, and he had a determined look on his face. He sent out his first Pokemon, a Pidgey, which fluttered its wings and chirped confidently.

Shae rolled her eyes and lazily tossed a Pokeball into the air. "Let's get this over with, Pride."

The Pokeball opened to reveal a large, menacing Arbok. Its hood flared, displaying its intimidating pattern, and it hissed at the Pidgey. The crowd gasped, clearly not expecting such a powerful looking Pokemon.

"Pidgey, use Gust!" The boy shouted, his voice tinged with nervousness as he eyed the Arbok.

Pidgey flapped its wings rapidly, creating a whirlwind aimed at Arbok. The snake Pokemon barely flinched, its eyes locked on its target, the winds buffeting it to no real effect.

Ezra hummed, leaning back, her Pokemon are just on a level where that kind of weak Pokemon won't even scratch it.

"Pride, use Poison Sting," Shae commanded with a imperious wave of her hand, her voice steady and bored.

The Arbok launched a barrage of poisonous needles at Pidgey, striking it repeatedly even as the boy screamed for it to dodge. The small bird Pokemon cried out in pain, its movements becoming sluggish as the poison took effect.

"Pidgey, hang in there! Use Quick Attack!" The boy urged, desperation creeping into his voice.

Pidgey tried to comply, darting towards Arbok with all the speed it could muster. But the poison had already weakened it significantly, and its attack was slow and uncoordinated.

"Wrap it up, Pride," Shae said with a cocky smirk.

Arbok moved with lightning speed, coiling around Pidgey and constricting it tightly. The bird Pokemon struggled, but it was no match for the powerful snake. Within moments, it was unconscious.

The boy recalled his Pidgey, a look of frustration on his face. He sent out his second Pokemon, a Rattata, which bared its teeth and squeaked aggressively.

Oh boy, you should have just surrendered if that's the lineup you've got, kid. Ezra thought. That Arbok was no joke, it's skin looked shiny and tough, and the ripple of muscles in its long body hinted at harsh training.

I want to fight her. He realized, even as he continued to watch with interest, even if the match was already decided.

"Rattata, use Quick Attack!" The boy shouted. Because if something failed, do it again? Ezra supposed he couldn't expect more from some random local kid who probably wasn't even doing the circuit.

Rattata darted towards Arbok, moving faster than Pidgey had. But Shae was unfazed, if anything being nice enough to let the kid yell out an order before she stomped him into the ground.

"Pride, use Dig," She commanded, crossing her arms, one foot tapping on the ground.

Arbok swiftly burrowed into the ground, disappearing from sight. Rattata skidded to a halt, looking around in confusion.

"Stay alert, Rattata!" The boy called, his eyes darting around the battlefield. He should have ordered it to move around, he's just a target now…

Seconds later, Arbok erupted from the ground beneath Rattata. The snake Pokemon didn't waste any time, striking with its fangs, biting the rat Pokemon, and injecting it. Rattata was quickly poisoned, its movements becoming sluggish just like Pidgey had, with the added caveat of what looked like Crunch, taking a nice bite out of it.

"Finish it with Wrap again," Shae said, her tone still bored.

Arbok wrapped itself around Rattata, constricting it tightly. The local boy's face fell as he realized his Pokemon had no chance.

"I surrender," He said reluctantly, recalling his Rattata, not even bothering to bring out his third Pokemon.

The crowd's reaction was mixed, with some murmuring disapproval and others clapping politely - notably it was the younger generations that applauded the winner. Shae didn't seem to care, returning the Arbok to its Pokeball and walking off the battlefield without so much as a glance at her defeated opponent.

Ezra watched her closely, noting the efficiency and ruthlessness of her battle style. She clearly knew what she was doing, and her Arbok was well-trained. He wondered what else she had.

As she walked past the stands, she caught Ezra's eye and smirked. He felt a flicker of curiosity and challenge in her gaze. She was clearly used to getting disapproving looks and seemed to revel in it.

The morning continued with more matches, but none were as memorable as Shae's. As the sun climbed higher in the sky, the crowd grew larger, the excitement building for the later battles, the early morning featuring a lot of the scrubs. Vendors continued to shout their wares, the smell of street food mingling with the earthy scent of the river.

He would have probably been in with the scrubs, but no doubt his Trainer ID showcased his Orange League victories already. As for Shae… She probably had the luck of someone older deciding her match ups. No way was she a rookie. It wouldn't surprise him if she had several gym badges.

When the time for his battle approached, Ezra made his way to the battle area. He took a deep breath, centering himself. I got this, compared to Drake, this is a cakewalk.

As he walked towards the battlefield, he caught sight of Shae again. She was leaning against a tree, arms crossed, watching the matches with a bored expression. When she noticed him, she gave a slight nod, a glint of something in her eyes.

So of course he completely snubbed her, walking past her, pretending she didn't exist. From the throaty laughter behind him, she just found it amusing.

Ezra stepped onto the battlefield, the sun shining brightly overhead. The crowd hushed in anticipation as he took his position, the referee having announced him as a winner of the Orange League. He clicked his tongue, annoyed that his trainer ID so easily let people know such things.

The girl facing him, almost looked like she was going to pee herself, suddenly finding herself in front of a League winner, however minor.

She then released a Caterpie, and he struggled to not just walk away and call this all a waste of time.

Sighing, he chose Chesire as his battler. If he was just going to bully kids, Cheshire would at least have fun.

…

Kids these days are weak. I mean, crying? He wasn't even fighting seriously!

How many fights until the final?

He'd have to go through at least four matches. Joy… Well Cheshire would have fun, he supposed.

---

Several hours later, and lots of tears.

Ezra and Shae had swiftly battled through the locals, their Pokemon demonstrating a level of skill and power that set them apart from the competition. The early rounds were little more than warm-ups for the two trainers, their victories decisive and their strategies not tested in the quick and ruthless battles. The crowd quickly began to anticipate their matches, eagerly awaiting the inevitable clash between them.

It was obvious by now that no one that was seriously doing the circuit had even shown up for this tournament. Except him, and Shae.

When the final match was announced, a palpable excitement rippled through the crowd. Ezra and Shae stepped onto the battlefield, the sun now high in the sky, casting long shadows on the grassy arena. The stands were packed to the brim, the air buzzing with anticipation. Vendors shouted over the noise, trying to make last-minute sales as the final battle would soon commence.

Shae stood confidently at one end of the field, her punk aesthetic even more striking in the bright daylight. She glanced at Ezra, her eyes filled with a mix of challenge and confidence. Ezra, standing tall with Rider by his side, nodded at her. This was the moment they had both been waiting for, the actual fight.

Not this show and tell with the little kids that they'd been doing.

The referee raised his flag and signaled the start of the battle. Shae wasted no time, sending out her first Pokemon, a Koffing. The purple, levitating ball of gas hovered menacingly, its toxic fumes wafting through the air. "You know what to do, Envy."

Is she really naming her Pokemon after the seven deadly sins? He thought, but his mind was more focused on something else, above that realization. It was the first time today she used something other than the Arbok, and Ezra narrowed his eyes as he stared her down. Ekans/Arbok and Koffing are Team Rocket Pokemon…

Now there weren't really any specific Pokemon that were classified as typically Team Rocket style Pokemon. But when you read about them in the news, there sure were a lot of Ekans, Arboks, Koffings, Grimers, Raticates, etc.

If you were a rebel against normal society like Shae seemed to be, would you join an organization like that? Am I being too paranoid? She couldn't have followed me from the Orange Islands, but if someone there contacted the mainland… Cherrygrove is the closest city to the islands, bar New Bark town… It's not hard to place one agent in each town in case I'd show up…

He could just be seeing things, attributing things to her due to her style and attitude… But the Pokemon choices… Naming them after the seven deadly sins? Which was weird that this world even had that, but really?

Was she hiding in audacity? Or was it all a giant coincidence? I don't trust coincidences…

Ezra nodded to Rider, who stepped forward with his bone club ignited in eerie flames. Rider's ghostly appearance and fiery weapon drew gasps from those in the crowd who hadn't noticed him before, he could hear the wave of - who's that Pokemon? Pass through the crowd.

"Envy, use Sludge Bomb!" Shae commanded, amber eyes intense, her bored mien of the day, completely absent.

At the same time Ezra calmly ordered, "Tac 3." Having set up tactics ahead of time to deal with a poison Pokemon, albeit it was Arbok, it would do here as well. Tac 3 was shorthand for tactic 3, Tac 1 and 2 not as effective against a hovering Pokemon.

Koffing released a barrage of toxic sludge at Rider, who was already running wide, nimbly dodging the attack, arm already stretched back, whizzing his flaming club forward in a Bonemerang, the effect looking like a spinning wheel of fire as it approached the Koffing.

Shae immediately snapped out orders, "Smokescreen, Toxic spikes!"

The Koffing bellowed out smoke in a manner that pushed it back, narrowly avoiding the Bonemerang as it whiffed by, before returning towards Rider, managing to clip the Koffing for minor damage as it went by. The smokescreen completely covered Shae's area of the field soon after, preventing sight of the toxic spikes the Pokemon was laying down at that moment.

A poison specialist enjoying laying down traps, how surprising, he thought sarcastically, knowing his ghosts wouldn't even be threatened by such, but for Rider it would make things more difficult. Tactic 3 was all about keeping distance and keeping on the move, avoiding getting poisoned while hammering away. His eyes narrowed, the smokescreen would also make it impossible for the Koffing to aim at Rider. "Change of plans, Rider, Focus Energy."

Rider immediately stopped in place, taking a stance, his bone club held in both hands in front of him as he focused, glowing slightly with energy.

If Shae wanted to hide away, he'd use the time to power up. Even if he had to have Rider firing Bonemerang blindly into the smog, eventually he'd hit, and with his power amped up, one hit would likely be enough.

Shae snapped her fingers, a small smirk on her face, "Guess you're not entirely stupid, kid."

Ezra immediately snarked back. Even if he should avoid engaging with her, it was just a knee jerk reaction that he couldn't hold back, "It's easy with you here, since you monopolize all of the stupid to yourself!" Then he added, "Focus Energy again, then Bonemerang, do a wide sweep."

Shae clicked her tongue, "How annoying, forcing me into this." She proclaimed, not sounding very annoyed, if anything she was wearing an amused smirk, "Let's end this, Envy. Use Self-Destruct!" Shae called out, a fierce determination in her voice.

Ezra raised an eyebrow, what's the point of that? Rider isn't even near the smokescreen. Besides, normal moves won't work anyway…

The ground near Rider broke, the Koffing rising, already beginning to glow ominously - before it detonated in a massive explosion. The shockwave sent dust and debris flying, and when it settled, Rider lay unconscious on the ground, having taken the full brunt of the attack, the Koffing also knocked out. The crowd erupted in cheers and gasps, impressed by the sheer power of the move, and the trickiness behind it - even if it could only get a double knockout.

"How…?" He demanded, shocked that it worked.

Shae smirked, buffing her nails on her jacket, "I knew you had Ghost Pokemon, so I already told Envy that if I ordered him to dig, he was to use Foresight, and wait for my order to then Self-Destruct." She said smugly, "Don't need line of sight for Foresight to work."

She taught the Koffing Dig… The Smokescreen was a twofold trap, if my Pokemon entered, he'd run into the toxic spikes, but the second part of the trap was making me believe the Koffing was still inside… Ezra was reluctantly impressed. Shae had realized that any attack on Rider would need to be an instant knockout or the retaliation would beat her, so she'd sacrificed the Koffing to ensure Rider with his two power ups wouldn't be in play anymore. Foresight allowed a normal type move to work on Ghosts, so she'd planned ahead well.

Ezra would have done it differently, thinking about it. It wasn't a bad play, but she could have given Rider a Sludge Bomb or Toxic to the face, ensuring Rider would be heavily poisoned for any further moves, the Koffing would perhaps be knocked out right after, but there was also the chance the poison would make Rider miss, allowing her the chance to take out Rider and keep her Pokemon.

He supposed it was all about how daring one was willing to be. It told him somewhat about her playing style, because for all her daring attire, she didn't fight the same way. She wasn't willing to bet it all from the beginning, preferring hedging her bets.

Ezra recalled Rider, a determined look on his face, his heart thrumming with excitement in a way it hadn't in the Orange League. That had almost been work, what with his goals for that endeavor, this? This was fun! "Good job, Rider. Nyx, it's your turn." He called out, tossing out the Pokeball.

Nyx, his Spiritomb, materialized on the battlefield, its eerie purple and green visage causing a murmur of awe from the crowd. He knew Ghost trainers were exceedingly rare, it was likely most here had never seen one. Ghosts tended to be… Temperamental. Shae recalled her fainted Koffing and sent out Arbok next. The snake Pokémon hissed menacingly, its hood flaring.

"Pride, use Glare!" Shae commanded quickly.

Arbok's eyes glowed with a paralyzing light, but Nyx seemed unaffected, its ethereal form making it immune to such tricks. A mark of inexperience against her there, she didn't remember in time that a normal move like Glare wouldn't work despite what just happened. Or she fell back on habits without accounting for the Pokemon type, Glare one of her go to's. He thought critically.

"Nyx, Shadow Ball switch!" Ezra called out, the move Shadow Ball was something that all his Ghost Pokemon had worked on the most during training. Cheshire and Loki having helped Nyx become respectable at it.

And again he hid a second command, one Shae wouldn't know what it entailed. Ezra was glad his Pokemon were fairly intelligent, able to memorize tactics just as easily as anything else.

Nyx formed a dark, pulsating ball of energy quickly, about half the size the move usually was, and hurled it at Arbok. The attack struck Arbok head-on, causing it to recoil in pain.

"Pride, Mud Shot then close in and use Crunch!" Shae shouted, her voice edged with irritation at herself.

The Arbok slammed it's tail into the ground, turning it muddy before hauling it forward in a giant throw, but it was already too late, Nyx already performing the second part of Ezra's order.

The Arbok lunged after its Mud Shot to get at Nyx, its fangs bared, but Nyx vanished into thin air before the mud got close, reappearing a moment later behind Arbok, having used Shadow Sneak, a second Shadow Ball already materializing in front of its leering face.

"Nyx, finish it," Ezra said calmly.

Nyx's eyes glowed, and the Arbok stood no chance, taking a charged up Shadow Ball straight to the back, after already having suffered through one. It fell flat, still in the fight on a technicality, not fainted, but in no state to fight back.

Once he got to the big leagues, he'd have to diversify a little, as Nyx, Loki and Cheshire had too similar a moveset. Although teaching them something new with the boatload of money he was going to get could mitigate that somewhat.

Shae gritted her teeth, recalling Arbok rather than have it take another unnecessary hit to remove it from play. She fingered her Pokeballs, sending Ezra a fierce look, before sending out her final Pokemon, and it was a Croagunk.

The Croagunk, a toad like Pokemon, had its poison sacs inflating and deflating rhythmically as it hopped onto the battlefield. It eyed Nyx with a calculating gaze. "It's all on you, Greed!" Shae called out, sounding determined.

"Curse two." Ezra said simply, ensuring that even if he lost this round, he won. By adding two to the order, he was informing his Spiritomb that instead of just firing off the curse, he wanted it to use an opportune moment to Shadow Sneak behind the other Pokemon and ensure the curse hit, even at the risk of taking a hit in return.

"Croagunk, Flatter!" Shae ordered, looking frustrated at not being able to tell what exactly Ezra had told his Pokemon.

Nyx vanished, as Shae shouted urgently, "Behind you!" The Croagunk turning quickly, the two attacks both hitting, the Croagunk being cursed, and Nyx taking Flatter straight to the face, becoming confused and becoming ripe for the taking.

"Nyx, Shadow Ball!" He ordered, on the off chance it would wake Nyx up, but Nyx just hovered confusedly in place.

"Croagunk, use Sucker Punch!" Shae snapped out, a relieved glint in her eyes.

Croagunk lunged at Nyx, its fist glowing with Dark energy. The jab struck Nyx, it wasn't super effective due to Nyx' Dark/Ghost typing, but considering Nyx had already given up half its 'life' energy to power the curse, Nyx fainted anyway.

Ezra recalled Nyx, whispering praise to the Pokeball, because he had faith his last Pokemon could either outlast Croagunk for the few moves necessary for it to faint from the curse - or outright defeat it. So Nyx had set up his victory.

"You're too tricky, kid." Shae breathed out, shaking her head, although she wore a smirk on her painted lips, "Best fight I've had since I joined the circuit."

"I'm not a slut, you'll have to butter me up a lot more for me to tolerate you." Ezra deadpanned, tossing out another Pokeball as she laughed at his rebuttal, "Loki, take it home!"

Since Cheshire had gotten to play with all the scrubs, Loki got to handle the actual fight worth a damn. The Shuppet crowed in delight, hovering on the battlefield, eyes gleaming with viciousness as it stared down the Croagunk.

Shae didn't bother waiting, "Sucker Punch, now!" She snapped, taking initiative, "If it vanishes, switch to attack behind you!"

Someone's scared of a little Shadow Sneak, Ezra thought smugly, before giving his own orders. "Switch two." He ordered, taking advantage of Shae's order.

Loki crooned eerily, before vanishing from Croagunk's sight as it threw itself forward, fist glowing. It immediately pivoted, throwing a backhand behind it, only for Loki to appear and disappear, immediately going into another Shadow Sneak, appearing in front of the Croagunk. "Hypnosis!" Ezra ordered.

Croagunk was off his footing, and immediately fell under Loki's spell, ending things anticlimactically. "Your loss? Or I can have Loki shoot off some Shadow Balls while the curse works its way through your Croagunk…"

Shae recalled Croagunk, a small smile on her face, even as her face fell slightly, "Ah, can't win them all, I guess." She perked right up, pointing her fist at him, a cocky smirk right back on her lips, "Next time brat! I'm wise to your tricks now!"

Ezra twitched at having graduated from kid, to brat. "Fuck right off with that, loser tits."

Shae just scoffed at him, crossing her arms, "You still suck at that, get better insults."

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause, having been somewhat delayed as they watched their back and forth, with part amusement, part scandal. Ezra had a feeling their discussion wasn't really how the two finalists usually talked with each other.

As the crowd continued to cheer, Ezra and Shae walked off the battlefield together, the intensity of their battle lingering in the air. It had been the only worthy battle of the tournament.

They were brought up onto a cheap wooden podium, the Mayor of Cherrygrove using the occasion to do what politicians do best - Uselessly drone on about things no one there cared about. Eventually he finished, and gave them their prizes.

For Shae, as the runner up, 5000 Pokedollars and six Great Balls. She didn't look overly enthused about the prize, accepting it while trying not to grimace, obviously not having fought this tournament for that prize.

Ezra however got a technique, Fissure. Which blew his mind a little. It was the equivalent of a little league team filled with brats barely able to swing bats yet, winning their little piddly league, and instead of getting a pizza party as a prize together with a fake trophy, they instead got 50 000 dollars.

He knew Pokemon battling was everything here, but to have a little tournament like this, filled with kids whose major achievement was being able to point their Pokemon in the right direction - have a prize of that kind of level - it was just wild.

Upper end techniques like Fissure, Hyper Beam etc, were expensive, like buying a house instead, levels of expensive. He practically sleep walked through the rest of the ceremony and for his walk out of the battling area, thinking it over. Tournaments suddenly were worth a second look when he'd begin taking the circuit seriously. He'd be rich enough soon to buy techniques, sure. But if piddly tournaments like this had Fissure. What did an Area wide tournament offer?

As he walked out of the fighting area, his thoughts turned back on Shae. She was also too good to fight in a tournament like this. And when he'd received the Fissure technique, she hadn't even looked that interested, and definitely not upset about losing out on it. So why was she here?

The sun began to set soon after, casting a golden glow over Cherrygrove City. The festivities continued, the townspeople celebrating the day's events with renewed vigor. Vendors continued to sell their goods, children played in the streets, and trainers discussed the battles with excitement.

Ezra felt a sense of accomplishment as he walked through the lively streets, Loki by his side and his other Pokemon resting in their Pokeballs. He had proven himself in the tournament, he did know how to fight, his use of code words or just hiding his tactics did work, and the experience had only strengthened his resolve to continue his journey and that he was on the right track.

As he approached the Pokemon Center, he saw Shae leaning against a lamp post, her expression thoughtful. She looked up as he approached, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"Hey," She said, pushing off from the lamp post. "That was fun. We should do it again sometime."

Ezra just nodded silently, watching her carefully. If there was any time she'd ambush him or pull something, it was now. Two of his Pokemon were down, and he was in an assumed weaker position…

If she was Team Rocket, this was the time. That or she'd attempt to hang onto him, offering to travel together. He prepared himself to reject her handily.

Shae ran a hand through her hair, stretching in a way that pushed her chest out, a twinkle in her eyes as his eyes were immediately drawn there. Damn puberty still going on… He groused.

"Well, see you sometime." She said languidly, before walking off with a casual wave.

Leaving Ezra standing there in shock.

Where's the ambush? The questions? The begging to travel with me?

Was I… Wrong?

---

Later that night,

Ezra slid into the seat in front of the computer in the Pokemon center, after having ascertained that no one was around.

"Make sure no one interrupts." He ordered softly, as his shadow undulated, releasing several Ghost Pokemon who formed a perimeter.

Steven Stone had reached out to him, wanting a video conference to convince him to sell the Crystal Onix to him, and it gave Ezra a unique opportunity.

He had a lot of knowledge that stood to make him a lot of money. The problem was that he didn't have a partner he could trust. And with his somewhat prickly personality and trust issues, finding someone to say, farm Milotics for him - was a non starter.

Unless…

He could cut a deal with Steven Stone. A man with his reputation, with Devon Corps reputation on the line - would not break a contract. If Ezra negotiated something with the man, he'd have his Pokemon farms, his evolution secrets and tips - put to use for his monetary gain. While he took a nice cut, Steven would have to actually run the place. Albeit through staff, Ezra wasn't stupid enough to think the man himself would do any of the work.

If he could contract with the Devon Corps, he could get all the protection for his secrets he needed. Because it would be their secrets as well. And he'd get paid forever. Sure, at a lesser percentage then if he did it himself. But say 30-40 percent forever, without doing any of the actual work? Not a bad deal.

Ezra leaned back in the uncomfortable chair, his eyes fixed on the computer screen as the connection stabilized. The Pokemon Center was quiet, its usual bustle reduced to a faint hum of machinery and the occasional flicker of light. His Ghost Pokemon, hidden in the shadows, formed a vigilant perimeter around the room, ensuring he wouldn't be disturbed.

The screen flickered, and then Steven Stone's face appeared. The man was as impeccably dressed as he'd expected, his hair perfectly styled, and his eyes sharp and focused. Steven exuded an air of calm authority, but there was an underlying intensity that told Ezra this was a man who didn't waste time. Good, I don't waste time either.

"Good evening, Ezra," Steven greeted, his voice smooth and measured. "I appreciate you making time for this discussion. I understand you've recently come into possession of a Crystal Onix. I'm very interested in acquiring it." He flashed a smile, small and smug, "I don't really think there's a need for an auction, they won't beat me anyway."

Ezra didn't bother with pleasantries. "Let's get to the point then, Mr Stone. The Crystal Onix is rare, possibly one of a kind. I know what it's worth, and I know you wouldn't be reaching out if you didn't think so too." He leaned forward, a shark-like grin on his face, "I'm well aware that having the only thing of something, is worth its weight in gold."

Steven's smile was slight, but it didn't reach his eyes this time. "Indeed. I'm prepared to offer a substantial sum for it. I'm aware of its rarity, and Devon Corp has the resources to properly study and preserve such a unique specimen." Like you're not just going to show it off to prove how rich you are, heh. Although maybe… Does he know how to evolve them into Steelix yet?

Ezra leaned forward slightly, his gaze unyielding. "How much are we talking?" He just knew he was getting low balled first, it's how discussions like these usually went.

Steven's fingers tapped lightly on the desk before him, as if weighing his words. "Ten million Pokedollars. It's a fair offer, considering Onix in itself isn't a very interesting Pokemon."

Ezra's eyes narrowed. "Ten million is a lot, but not enough. You and I both know that the research alone on this Onix could lead to breakthroughs in Pokemon evolution or even new defensive applications. I'm not just selling you a Pokemon - I'm giving you a potential goldmine."

Probably not, or there would have been a crystal type or something already, but he doesn't know if that is a possibility.

Steven's smile faded slightly, replaced by a more serious expression. "I won't deny the potential." He acknowledged, giving him a small nod, "However, it's still speculative at this point. There are risks involved, and it could take years before any substantial results are seen. That's time and money Devon Corp will be investing."

Ezra didn't flinch. He knew this was his moment to pivot the conversation. "That's exactly why I'm not interested in just a lump sum. I'm looking for something more… enduring. I want a partnership, Mister Stone. Something that benefits both of us in the long run."

Steven raised an eyebrow, a condescending look on his face. "Go on." He offered.

Ezra took a deep breath, choosing his words carefully. "I have more than just the Crystal Onix. I know how to evolve a Pokemon into a Milotic, which if farmed would bring in substantial profits in prism scales let alone in selling the Pokemon itself. I also know how to ensure specific Eeveelutions - including some that haven't been seen yet, and I have access to several other rare evolutions that aren't well known. With the right setup, I can make sure these evolutions happen consistently. What I need is someone who can take care of the logistics - setting up and running a Pokemon farm, security, marketing, the whole package."

It was a risk, admitting all this, but Ezra found it more likely that Stone would agree to partner - over trying to steal him away and milk him for everything he had. The man, while a corporate behemoth, was also a champion, or would be champion.

He released Rider, making sure Stone caught the look of his Pokemon on camera, "This is a small bit of proof that I know what I'm talking about. A Ghost/Fire type Marowak, unheard of." He smirked, patting Rider on the head, "Until me."

Stone's eyes gleamed with interest, but he remained cautious. "That's quite a claim. Consistent, controlled evolution of rare Pokemon is no small feat - let alone claiming to be able to do so with unknown evolutions. You're proposing a large-scale operation, Ezra. One that would require significant investment, infrastructure, and ongoing management." The way he was looking at Rider, and hadn't shut down the discussion, proved he was at least Interested.

Ezra nodded, inwardly pleased, prepared for this line of reasoning. "Exactly. And that's where you come in. Devon Corp has the resources and expertise to manage this, and you know how profitable it could be. I'm offering you a chance to get in on the ground floor of something huge. We split the profits fifty-fifty."

Stone let out a short, quiet laugh. "Fifty-fifty? You're asking me to take on all the financial risk, handle the logistics, the security, the staff, and you want half of the profits? That's not realistic, Ezra. Devon Corp would be shouldering the bulk of the work. Your knowledge is valuable, if it's true, but it's the infrastructure and operations that will turn that knowledge into profit."

Ezra expected the pushback. "I understand you're taking on a lot of the burden, but without my knowledge, there's no farm, no consistent evolutions, and no profits. I'm not just handing over information - I'm creating a new market for you."

Stone nodded thoughtfully, but he was already shaking his head. "I can't agree with fifty percent. That's too high considering the scale of the operation we'd need to set up. I could offer you twenty percent, and that's generous."

Do you think I'm a dumbass? That's just insulting.

"Twenty percent is a joke," Ezra shot back, his tone calm but firm. "You're underestimating the value of what I'm bringing to the table. The rarity of these evolutions alone would guarantee high returns. Forty-five percent, plus a licensing and royalty fee for every new evolution process I bring to you."

Stone's expression hardened slightly, his gaze calculating. "Forty-five percent is still steep. The costs on our end would be considerable - buying land, constructing the facilities, hiring and training staff, security, ongoing care and feeding of the Pokemon, and not to mention the risk of something going wrong. We'd be looking at millions of Pokedollars in upfront investment, and that's before we even see a return. I could go up to thirty percent, but no higher."

Ezra wasn't ready to concede just yet. "Thirty-five percent, plus a licensing fee of one million Pokedollars for each new evolution technique I reveal as a one time payment. And I want three percent royalty on any sales on new evolutions beyond Milotic and Eevee Evolutions that I bring to the table."

Stone leaned back in his chair, considering the offer. "The licensing fee is acceptable, but three percent on additional evolutions is problematic. Each new Pokemon type would require new research, new facilities, and potentially new staff. It's not as simple as just tacking on extra profits. How about this: thirty-two percent on profits, one million Pokedollars licensing fee per new evolution, and two percent royalty on additional evolutions."

Ezra's mind raced, calculating the potential earnings. He had to be careful not to push too hard, but he wasn't ready to drop below thirty-five percent so easily either. He knew Stone would want this more than he was showing. "Thirty-two percent is close, but I can't go that low. I'll meet you at thirty-five percent, with a one million Pokedollars licensing fee per evolution, and two and a half percent on additional evolutions."

Stone's eyes narrowed slightly, fingers tapping away at his desk. "Thirty-two and a half percent, one million per evolution, and two percent on additional evolutions. That's my final offer."

Ezra stopped for a moment, thinking it through. He could accept that. It was still amazing money. But part of him refused to let the other man dictate to him in that way. He was the one with the money making ideas here. Sure Stone would have to spend money first, but with his larger cut, he'd make it back rapidly, and then rake in profits for a long time.

Any Devon Corp facility would have enough security to ensure everyone else didn't learn how to do the same evolutions. Although some of the Eevee evolutions would likely eventually be discovered anyway - the ones he had on tap beyond that wouldn't be discovered any time soon meaning consistent profits.

"Then hear my final offer." He said softly. "Take my last offer, or I go offer it to Silph co instead. And for trying to short change me, you'll still have to pay ten million for the Onix instead of getting it free as part of the deal." His heart was hammering in his chest as he gave the ultimatum, but he had a gut feeling Stone wasn't going to drop this opportunity, and Silph co wasn't necessarily a bad choice either, worst case.

Stone's smile returned, this time more genuine as he gave a rueful shake of the head, "I must say, it's rare I find a young man so ruthless in business. I find myself forced to accept." He continued with a flourish, "I think this will be the start of a very profitable partnership, Ezra. I'll have my legal team draw up the contracts, and we can finalize everything within the week."

"Looking forward to it," Ezra replied, trying to hide his elation, but from the chuckling the older man let loose, he hadn't succeeded.

"If you need funds right now, we can finalize the transfer of ten million for your Onix." He offered, seemingly having no hard feelings at all about being put on the spot in negotiations.

Using the transfer system in the Pokemon center, within minutes, the Crystal Onix was gone, and Ezra had ten million Pokedollars in his account. Considering the many many evolutions he knew that wouldn't be known in the world for a decade at least if it ran even slightly similarly to the games - this ten million would be chump change for him.

He'd have to hire a lawyer before Stone sent over the contract, to ensure everything was done to his specifications, just in case. He looked over at Stone, "How do you feel about letting Devon Corp break into Kanto's economy?" He asked.

Stone raised a surprised eyebrow, lips twitching, "And here I thought your ambitions were already surprisingly vast, you do realize what kind of trouble you're asking for?"

Ezra smiled, and if it was a little nasty, well… "Lavender Town and its surroundings would make for a great location, in the future I intend to create a gym there, so I would be around to protect both our investments as well." He'd hide his involvement in the business until he returned, wouldn't that be a shock for Lavender? "Once you mention the evolutions you will farm, the League will step in and allow you to buy land, they won't want to lose out on it." He said, fairly self-assured.

Kanto might be somewhat isolationist at the upper level of government, but more Pokemon types was an advantage they wouldn't say no to, couldn't. Even if it was a Hoenn company building on Kanto soil. The Pokemon League would force it through.

Stone smiled, "I think this partnership will be very interesting. You'll hear from me within the week."

As the call ended and Steven Stone's image faded from the screen, Ezra leaned back, exhaling slowly. The deal was done, and he had secured a future filled with both security and potential wealth. Now, all that was left was to deliver on his promises - and ensure that he stayed one step ahead of everyone else.

If Steelix wasn't a thing yet, he could use it to ask for further favors from Stone later.

He didn't need to give away everything he knew after all.

It would be good to always have something in his back pocket to use for further advantages.

Today had been a very good day…

---

Orange Islands,

Karen was calm. The picture of serenity, she was like the ocean, calm, cool, just floating.

One tick mark appeared. No, I'm calm, cool, it's not a big deal… A vein pulsed. Calm, I'm calm! I'm fucking calm!

"We don't know where he was going, but he seemed in a hurry."

The calm ocean erupted into a category nine hurricane, "WHAT THE FUCK!?" She yelled, face red, eyes staring daggers at Luana, the Orange League gym leader being the only one who'd answered her request to meet immediately. "HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHERE HE WAS GOING!?"

"He didn't say." Luana said with a wry smile, "Are you alright, dear?" She asked, finding something amusing.

Karen forcibly bit back a reply that would have likely brought Agatha all the way here to put her over her knee. "I'm perfectly fine." She bit out, steam practically erupting from her skin with how hot she was running.

"Just… Just tell me about his Pokemon." She asked, slumping her shoulders in defeat. This brat… When I find him…

…

Karen left the Orange Islands the same night, heading towards Pewter at full speed. If the brat intended to do the circuit, he'd have to hit up Flint in Pewter soon. So instead of scouring all of Kanto for him, she'd set up an ambush.

Then she'd drag the brat kicking and screaming to Agatha. Her cheek twitched as she smiled maniacally. Not necessarily in one piece…

She had her plan, and it was a good one. That brat had to come by Pewter, she would have him within the week, she was positive.

This time she'd outsmarted him, she thought viciously.

There was no way he could travel through Kanto and not run into her now.

---

Cherrygrove city, Johto.

Ezra hummed in thought, looking over a map of Johto, there really was no rush to get to Kanto was it?

He was sure there were some interesting things he could do here in Johto first.

---

Author's note:

As you can see, Karen is going to continue to be frustrated!

Ezra gets a feeling for fighting, and realizes that above the fact he uses Ghosts, which is practically cheating as it is with how rare and difficult they are for normal people - he's also a decent battler as is.

A deal with Seven Stone is pretty much the best he could shoot for, because while he'd get a lesser cut then he'd really want, he also gets the security in knowing he'll always get his cut. No backstabbing.

Although how happy Kanto will be with him when he's bringing Devon Corp around and making them richer is another question.

Basically the deal he made was he gets thirty-five percent of all profits, but on any evolutions he coughs up besides Eeeve and Milotic - he gets an extra two and a half percent, so 37.5 of the profits, plus one million Pokedollars as a one time payment for each evolution.

Not too bad when he'll have to do absolutely none of the work, or the security.

And of course he wants it in Lavender Town, it's totally just so he can protect his investment later, he's absolutely not going to rub it all in.

Cheers

JollyHippopotamus

 

[a guy1013]

so will he try to get ursaluna, which is practically improbable now, same with Stantler's evolution, there is also trying to breed out hisuian variants of pokemon

 

[Darquesse]

as a ghost type specialist, will he be getting the Angriest monkey?

 

[trudny1]

Heard of don't stick your dick in crazy? Well Ezra subscribed to - High level hot - equaled high level maintenance - and high level costs.

Click to shrink...

Based.

She had her plan, and it was a good one. That brat had to come by Pewter, she would have him within the week, she was positive.

This time she'd outsmarted him, she thought viciously.

There was no way he could travel through Kanto and not run into her now.

Click to shrink...

Sounds like a flag.

Ezra hummed in thought, looking over a map of Johto, there really was no rush to get to Kanto was it?

He was sure there were some interesting things he could do here in Johto first.

Click to shrink...

Oof, poor Karen, she's gonna go mad, haha.

So the goth chick is an OC? She really goes for an edge, you could say she's a master at edging.

So Johto huh? Is he going to walk through blackthorn area and find dreppy?
Thanks for the chapter.

 

[ThunderBasilisk]

Awesome chapter. And a fun little tournament. And now his monetary problems are over as long as hes not stupid. Is he gonna stop by Kitakami? I think it has Dreepy? And if we go by its IRL location it should be North of Johto. And kek poor Karen. Hes not in for a fun time when she finally gets ahold of him.

 

[TikkyMikk]

Hahaha the adventures of Karen are genuinely hilarious.

 

[stads]

nice chapter thx for writing it
fun oc with the girl wonder what her deal will be
interesting talk with stone will be interesting to see how that will play out

 

[Prenicolado]

Great Chapter!

 

[FTR2017]

Oh wow, I look forward to seeing the Kantoan government--and Johto, for that matter--being salty that there will be a new player in their playground who will not be giving any fucks about their goals.

Now that I think of it, how are relations between Johto and Kanto? I've seen it done in fanfic that Johto impoverished Kanto through vicious economical means after losing the war, or Johto outright winning then impoverishing Kanto to keep them under their heel while exploiting their resources.

I can see Devon Corp's existence here being a threat to plans such as these, and probably will get Ezra a lot of flak for bringing in 'filthy foreigners to local affairs', or some shit like that.

That said, it is quite the ruthless, ambitious, and utterly petty power move on his part to volunteer Lavender Town as his base of operations, and I love how that fits his personal view!

I look forward to him recruiting a Mankey and training it to become too angry to die!

 

[JollyHippopotamus]

Oh wow, I look forward to seeing the Kantoan government--and Johto, for that matter--being salty that there will be a new player in their playground who will not be giving any fucks about their goals.

Now that I think of it, how are relations between Johto and Kanto? I've seen it done in fanfic that Johto impoverished Kanto through vicious economical means after losing the war, or Johto outright winning then impoverishing Kanto to keep them under their heel while exploiting their resources.

I can see Devon Corp's existence here being a threat to plans such as these, and probably will get Ezra a lot of flak for bringing in 'filthy foreigners to local affairs', or some shit like that.

That said, it is quite the ruthless, ambitious, and utterly petty power move on his part to volunteer Lavender Town as his base of operations, and I love how that fits his personal view!

I look forward to him recruiting a Mankey and training it to become too angry to die!

Click to shrink...

Kanto and Johto are 'allies' but probably best not to put too many of them in the same room. Still lots of memories of war. And Kantonians are very salty the champion is from Johto and the likely new champion is also from Johto, so Kanto can be somewhat isolationist at times.

Ezra really should have studied regional politics a little more, because bringing in someone from Hoenn, while an injection into the economy any nation would like...

Kanto and the indigo League isn't going to very happy with it no matter what he thinks, so he's kind of shooting himself in the foot there.

Silph is going to be absolutely ecstatic Devon Corp is plotting a major investment in Kanto too..

It's not something that makes it impossible for him to move ahead or anything, but he's definitely not going to be very popular until he kicks enough ass that power kind of trumps any dislike.

 

[FTR2017]

It's not something that makes it impossible for him to move ahead or anything, but he's definitely not going to be very popular until he kicks enough ass that power kind of trumps any dislike.

Click to shrink...

Oh dear, complications.

...

I love the fact that you're already working that behind the background, and will be showing that in-story when the right time comes!

Besides, he's a petty dark/ghost specialist. If he's not screwing anyone up for his amusement and selfishness, he's not trying!

Plenty of motivation to grow strong enough to get away with it all, like a Gym Leader equivalent of a Heel! Perhaps nurse his strength to be Champion-tier but having everyone else being wary of motivating the petty dark/ghost specialist into championhood.

That way lies reforms that would make everyone salty while also being good for everyone else!

 

[JollyHippopotamus]

Oh dear, complications.

...

I love the fact that you're already working that behind the background, and will be showing that in-story when the right time comes!

Besides, he's a petty dark/ghost specialist. If he's not screwing anyone up for his amusement and selfishness, he's not trying!

Plenty of motivation to grow strong enough to get away with it all, like a Gym Leader equivalent of a Heel! Perhaps nurse his strength to be Champion-tier but having everyone else being wary of motivating the petty dark/ghost specialist into championhood.

That way lies reforms that would make everyone salty while also being good for everyone else!

Click to shrink...

He's not going to make himself popular with Lance that's for sure. He's about to kick ass and become champion, and before he can even sit his ass in the chair, Steven Stone is muscling in on Kanto.

He'll probably have Agatha's support just for pissing off Lance though.

 

[FTR2017]

just

Click to shrink...

See? They'll bond over screwing over fuddy-duddy bureaucrats!