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

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Chapter 164 - It Fades
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    • CHAPTER 164 - It Fades

    Shiftry attacked immediately, cutting across the air and sending arcs of darkness toward Cynthia. I suddenly felt a weight on me. An immense amount of pressure that made it even more difficult to breathe. It made me hyper-aware of every process in my body. The beating of my heart, the need to forcefully expunge and inhale air, the need to blink, my tongue in my mouth. I felt goosebumps and continuous chills run through my spine and arms and found myself unable to focus, even in Shiftry's domain.

    The attack swirled and was absorbed into Cynthia's pocket.

    Then I heard the whispers. Quiet at first, then louder and louder. A dozen voices. Then more. Then more. I couldn't place the exact number. It was impossible to guess in the jumbled mess of agonized screams. Ghastly voices that were raspy and disjointed, but imbued with a cold, spectral resonance.

    IT BURNS!

    WHY ME?

    SPARE MY FAMILY.

    WATER… WATER…

    IT HURTS.

    I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS.

    NOT MY NAILS. NOT MY NAILS.

    I CAN'T SEE. WHY CAN'T I SEE?

    But eventually, they changed and started to yell and tell me to do things.

    HANG YOURSELF.

    SLIT YOUR OWN THROAT.

    BITE OFF YOUR TONGUE.

    KILL HER! HER CECILIA—

    I covered my ears with my hands, but they didn't stop, and the longer it went on, the more personal they got. Calling me a fake, a murderer, talking about my friends and family and how they'd never love me again after what I'd done. Each word was uttered with chilling deliberation, and a dry laugh echoed through my head. Cynthia snapped her fingers, then the voices instantly ceased, or at least they did for me. The Elder was still clearly rattled, its eyes twitching as it stared not at Cynthia, but at whatever laid dormant in her pocket.

    What were they whispering at him, I wondered.

    Shiftry changed tactics, aiming to attack Cynthia from upclose. It winked forward, aided by its own domain and its two leaves shone with a bright green. Somehow, he was the only colored being in this entire faded world. As soon as it got a few feet away from the Champion, it got on its knees and couldn't go on. Were the voices rendering him unable to fight? Shiftry was unable to even move.

    I hadn't been the target of whatever this was, yet the voices had still affected me. They shook me to my core, and it would have been much worse without its domain.

    "I said that we should talk," Cynthia smiled. "And I meant it. I just want to understand what you gained from this. Weren't you content to play around in your little sand castle, pretending to be king? Didn't I tell you that I would come for you if you breached our agreement again?"

    The dark type shivered, but it seemed like gravity itself was acting against it. Lucario stood by next to me, carefully observing its trainer at work with its arms crossed. I had expected at least a fight, but this wasn't even close to that. Cynthia was talking down Shiftry like a child that had messed up. Shiftry responded with a series of weak grunts, and Lucario's eyes lit up. Cynthia hummed, and then nodded.

    "So you were informed then," Cynthia said. "Very well, I understand now. You were quite predictable after all, Shiftry, I was just missing the last piece."

    Shiftry trembled as it stood up. The sources of all our problems these past few days. What I had thought to be an insurmountable force had been reduced to begging for its life. Lucario's eyes shone bright blue again, and it was only then that I understood that it was acting as a translator. I hadn't even known that they could speak.

    "Oh, you don't need to worry about that. You didn't think I hadn't been raising your replacement all these years in case you went rogue, did you? This is just a few years ahead of schedule, but we'll manage. It's a shame, really. All these years pretending to be more than you actually are, only to realize that you're really just a child playing pretend. Lucario?"

    The fighting type stepped forward, slowly walking toward Shiftry, who looked on in disbelief. Tears streamed down its face and its teeth chattered, but Cynthia didn't care. Lucario offered Shiftry one small bow, and then impaled it with a bright blue bone. Again, it moved faster than I could even see. Life slowly left Shiftry's eyes, and it collapsed into its own pool of darkness. The voices stopped, and the pressure pressing down on me disappeared.

    Just like that, its one-thousand-year dynasty had ended.

    Cynthia was a mountain. Just seeing this made me realize that even if I won at the Conference, there was simply no way I was ever beating her this year. None of us were. Sunshine looked on in awe at the pure humiliation that had just happened. Lucario was powerful, as were all of her Pokemon, but Garchomp was even more so.

    But what was in her pocket terrified me the most. It was easy enough to put together. It could only be Spiritomb— a Pokemon capable of such damage both mentally and physically that Cynthia never used it in any of the rare battles she still fought in public these days.

    It hadn't even been active. I knew from a blurry picture I'd seen of the ghost from a battle Cynthia fought long ago in her early twenties that it was supposed to be more than just a keystone that could fit in a pocket. It was a cold, purple, swirling mess with green blotches that looked like eyes and a mouth. And yet she hadn't even felt the need to use it here.

    "Our job here is done," Cynthia smiled. "Aaron, Jim, go see to it that things in the city are still running smoothly. I wouldn't trust Flint with running a daycare, let alone an operation of this scale. Call Lucian's office and tell him that he can finally Teleport in. Alicia, you stay with me."

    "Yes ma'am!" The two League trainers said in unison.

    "Sure," Aaron answered. "What about you?"

    "Oh, I'll be needed here," she replied as the darkness began to collapse. She turned to me. "I'm sorry about the voices, but we have little time. Brace yourself."

    I inhaled sharply and forced my eyes shut. I began to breathe normally again. I felt the temperature rise by a few degrees as Turtonator's warmth could finally reach me undisturbed. I felt my phone buzz with dozens of notifications and alerts.

    I slowly opened an eye and saw that color had returned to the world. The sun was setting, and an orange glow shone through the windows. Was that it? Would I be forced to stay this way forever?

    But then it all came flooding in. Slowly at first. My battle with Harry Rodriguez.

    Pelipper's horrifying gurgles as it burned from the inside. Its head and body swelling to twice their size to accommodate Turtonator's Dragon Pulse. Its empty stare. The silence afterward. Half of Princess' throat ripped out. Her tiny, agonizing pleas for help. Crobat's horrified scream at the death of its comrade. Its remains, only smoke and ash, but also Honey's slight stare when I ordered him to kill. Sweetheart getting clawed apart by Weavile until half of her scales had been ripped off.

    My dozens of close brushes with death.

    I stumbled backwards, but Cynthia grabbed me by the arm and kept me steady. Princess chirped worriedly, but I didn't respond. I couldn't.

    Torture. I had essentially tortured a man and felt good about it while doing so. The thoughts of murder had crawled so easily into my mind, and yet I had felt no hesitation. I dry heaved and tears fell to the wooden floor. Instead of worrying about my friends, I had instead focused on nothing but killing. Killing. Killing.

    It came as a quivering, sound of disbelief at first. A small whimper escaped my throat, and I couldn't even formulate the words. I couldn't even understand. To begin to describe the amount of guilt I felt. It was just to defend myself. It was—

    But I could have done less. I could have stopped Honey when Crobat had been unconscious. I could have tried to stop Sunshine from murdering Pelipper. It wasn't so much as what I had done was terribly wrong, but it was the fact that I had felt nothing, or even satisfaction while doing so.

    I hadn't even tried to do the right thing.

    There was no scream. Just a defeated weep.

    "It hurts, does it not?" Cynthia sighed. "We came across Mr. Rodriguez's defeated Pokemon on the way here. When I saw you with him, I knew what happened. The first time is always the hardest."

    The first time? There would be no second time! I couldn't even retort. I stared at my trembling hands and bit my lip. Turtonator didn't seem to care about what he'd done. What we had done. He let out a long sigh and shrugged. Princess tried to console me, saying that we'd just been defending ourselves.

    She was right.

    But the guilt didn't stop.

    "You were under the influence of Shiftry's domain… and more," Cynthia said, glancing at Princess. "You weren't in the right state of mind."

    "I—"

    How could I look my dad in the eye after this? My friends? Cecilia?

    "We'll stay here for a bit," Cynthia said. "But I have duties to attend to in Solaceon, and we need to get you and your team to a Center. The International Police will come to question you while you're there, but I'll need to speak to you later tonight if possible."

    "My—my friends," I got out.

    "Your group? I'm sorry, but I don't know much. We came here as fast as we could," she said. "However I've heard that Denzel Williams was back in the Pokemon Center. We have League Trainers flying around the property, so they'll be found."

    After two minutes, Lucario silently spoke to Cynthia. I blinked rapidly to chase away the tears.

    "Always the dutiful one, aren't you?" She said. "Alicia, take us back to Solaceon. Teleport her to the Center. Recall your Pokemon, if you will?"

    I weakly recalled Sunshine and Princess, and the League Trainer released a Xatu. Before I could even blink, I was back outside of the Center. The place was swarming with trainers, and there were signs of fighting all along the street. One of the sliding doors was completely busted.

    Shiftry's domain had affected us all.

    In a flash, Xatu disappeared with Cynthia, and then reappeared at its trainer's side alone. She led me to one of the Nurse Joys, who were completely swamped and referred me to one of the human doctors after taking in my Pokemon other than Jellicent. The wound on my waist was apparently fine, but they wanted to keep me at least for a day just in case. I didn't exactly listen. Their words sounded faint. Distant.

    Even if. If I could bring to convince myself that everything I had done had been justified, which would be hard in the first place— Maybe there was no way I would have been able to stop Sunshine, but that Crobat and the torture…

    There was something wrong with me. Something at my core wasn't wired properly, and I knew that I hadn't always been like this. Had my journey changed me that much? It was certainly possible, but Cynthia had said something else was affecting me. Something other than Shiftry. Text messages slowly filtered in our group chat, letting everyone know who was safe or not.

    No one had died, but some were more hurt than others. Louis, Maeve and Mira were completely fine, but Denzel had a concussion and Cecilia hurt her leg really badly. I couldn't help but feel worry, but I surprised myself when I realized that I didn't want to see her. Not after what I had done. Pauline had been stabbed in the shoulder with an attack she hadn't even seen the moment she was teleported, and Justin was… it was difficult to explain. He'd gotten overexposed to dark type energy due to his Krokorok burying him underground to take refuge while his Pokemon fought off the two trainers that attacked him. While the world had returned to normal, he would still suffer the symptoms of Shiftry's domain for months. The doctors weren't sure. Apparently, he couldn't even taste anything.

    But apart from him, there was something hanging above all of our heads. The guilt. I could tell from the way we were all avoiding talking about what happened and just skipped to the aftermath. No one wanted to acknowledge what they'd done. I also sent messages to my father and mother, who had been worried sick about me. I didn't really have the energy to go into detail, even the light ones.

    I tried to go to sleep, but I only heard Crobat's screams. In a twisted fate of irony, the Zubat line would again keep me awake, but for completely different reasons. I carried guilt now.

    I stayed there, staring out the window at the League slowly bringing Solaceon back to normal until the first policeman showed up. I was surprised to see that it was Looker again, although his colleague wasn't there this time.

    "Good evening Ms. Pastel. Forgive me for needing to question you in such difficult times, but I'll need to get straight to the point," he said, sitting down next to my bed and grabbing a recorder. "Are you well enough to speak?"

    I nodded. Don't look at me.

    "Let's start at the beginning, then. It is our understanding that Shiftry targeted your group specifically due to the investigative work you did during the tournament. Can you recount your experience from there?"

    "I… can I…"

    I didn't want to talk about it. Not the battle with Harry. He'd look at me like I was a monster afterward, I was sure of it. Maybe I was.

    "Let's just move on for now," Looker said after a pause.

    I explained everything to the best of my ability. My battle with Reggie and Lane, and the conversation with Roland, which Looker took great interest in. They didn't know much about Cyrus, and insight into how he thought would be of great help to the League and the International Police.

    "I'm sorry. If I managed to gag Roland or something instead of talking, maybe he wouldn't have…"

    "Don't worry about it. You've done a lot more than could be asked of you. You did a great thing today, Ms. Pastel. Who knows how many people would have died if Shiftry's influence was allowed to stick around for longer?"

    I nodded, but I knew it was just empty praise. He was judging me, wasn't he? Everyone would.

    "I'm sorry."

    Looker frowned, but a knock on the door stopped him from commenting further. Cynthia entered the room with her usual confident stride.

    "I managed to get out early," she told Looker before turning to me. "How are you doing?"

    "I'm okay," I lied.

    The Champion hummed. "Looker, would you mind giving us a second?"

    "I actually got everything I wanted," he said. "I'll be going to the other rooms."

    "Alright. Call me if anything comes up," Cynthia nodded.

    The investigator left the room, leaving only me in a hospital bed and the Champion. It was a mirror of the first time we met in Floaroma. Cynthia sat down in Looker's chair and her body just… loosened. Like she dropped every bit of tension she'd been holding for the last day and could finally allow herself to relax and be herself.

    "You feel guilty for killing for the first time," she declared. "And it's eating you from the inside. I felt the same way."

    "How can I not?"

    "Oh, I'm not telling you not to," she continued. "I don't know what exactly happened, but if I had to guess, you defended yourself. The Nurse Joys say that the wound on your Togetic's neck was lethal and that only a Hyper Potion could have saved her. We're willing to give you the benefit of the doubt on that one, and Mr. Rodriguez corroborated that story."

    "How is he?" I asked. He'd gotten manipulated into being Team Galactic's pawn. I didn't feel bad for him, but I hoped that he was alive, at least.

    "Oh, he's cooperating fully," Cynthia smiled.

    "I meant his leg."

    "Do you really want to know?"

    I flinched. Was it that bad?

    "No," I whimpered, turning away. I was too weak to even acknowledge what I had done. I needed to change the subject. Something. Anything. "What were those voices? Spiritomb?"

    "They haven't fought anything in a while, so they've been a bit rowdy lately. I was asking them to hold back due to us not being alone too," she sighed. "I'm sorry you had to hear that, but they're my best means of defense. Don't give any credence to what they said to you, they always try to get under people's skin, and they're especially great at it."

    Did that mean it had a way of reading minds? Or sensing what people were anguished about? What move had it even used? I recalled that it— or they as she called the Pokemon— had simply absorbed Shiftry's move like it was nothing.

    "Are they in pain? They sounded that way."

    "They're not alive, Grace. They're echoes of their former selves, they don't feel pain. Mostly rage. But enough about Spiritomb. I came here to speak to you about a few things, but we'll start with your Togetic."

    "My Togetic?" I asked.

    The Champion nodded. "She's leaking fairy type energy like a sieve, and she probably doesn't even realize it. It's affecting the way you think."

    "Excuse me?"

    "You're starting to behave more and more like a fairy type. I don't need to know much about you to know that for a fact. See, when type specialists surround themselves with a single type, their exposure to that type starts to change their behavior. Take Aaron, for example. He always notices the tiniest things, and he always goes from one passion to the next each month, but he's also an excellent multitasker. Bug types don't live that long, so it's his way of wanting to experience everything he can. Candice stopped being able to feel cold, although it's still bad for her to walk around in those shorts in the middle of winter. The more powerful a Pokemon is, the more they leak, which is why this only tends to happen to high-leveled trainers. It normally doesn't happen to generalists like us, but Togetic is releasing too much of it, and it's changing you. Right now, you're behaving like a fairy type specialist. Can you still lie?"

    "I— yes," I shakily said.

    "Good, then it hasn't progressed that far. We'll need to speak again when she's released from the Center. Togekiss will speak to her and show her how to stop. Try to release her from her Pokeball as little as you can until then."

    "Since— since when has this been happening?" I asked. Even if it wasn't on purpose, I was shaken. Was I even me anymore? "And does it affect my friends?!"

    "It affects everyone around her, but I assume that she spends a lot more time with you than anyone else. I don't know since when, but possibly since she's evolved. This issue isn't common with Togetic, but it can happen. You stopped using her to sleep, I hope?"

    "I did."

    The Champion smiled. "Good. They're capable of exuding happiness by molding fairy type energy to their liking, but sometimes they don't know how to stop it completely. Mine wasn't like that, and it's a rare condition— ah, don't worry, you'll still be fine when the leaking stops, although you won't go back to how you were before."

    "So I've just been… controlled this entire time?"

    "Controlled? No, of course not," The Champion dismissed. "You're still capable of taking your own decision, and we managed to catch it early enough. It did nudge you in the current direction though, so it's true that you would have been slightly different without it."

    My shoulders slumped. I didn't blame Princess… it wasn't her fault, but if it affected my friends too, I couldn't stop myself from feeling guilt. I didn't deserve them, did I?

    Had it affected the way Cecilia thought about me? Damn it, I wished there was a way to measure this. Cynthia stared, her dark grey eyes analyzing everything about me.

    "I can tell what you're thinking. Odds are, it didn't affect your friends that much, and Togekiss would be able to tell if you really need to be sure."

    "Thank you," I exhaled. "But why do this for us?"

    "This is actually perfect and brings me to my next point," Cynthia said. "We investigated the incident that befell your Turtonator and his old trainer in Mount Coronet by tracking down the two trainers traveling with him. It was indeed Team Galactic's doing, along with one of their Commanders they call Saturn, and they've no doubt noticed the new member of your team. Mars is interested in you, and now you helped take down their breeder. You're a person of interest for them, so the League wants to offer you protection."

    "What does that imply?"

    "In cities, mostly. You won't even notice that they're here," Cynthia said. "We appreciate your help in all of this, but you and your friends have made yourselves known. I feel the need to help you as much as I can."

    I clenched the bed sheets. It never stopped, did it?

    "What about Louis and his friends? You should talk to Mira Compton, she—"

    "We know. They'll get protection too, but we want something deeper with you, Cecilia and Mira. We'll get into that at a later date, now let's continue. What happened at the mansion and its outskirts will have to stay confidential. That means that no one will know about the… incidents that took place there. Of course people will know that you were involved due to us speaking to you, but the details can stay hidden. Don't speak to the media or the Poketch Company. They will both pressure you, but do not give in."

    "Okay," I said.

    "One last thing before I let you rest for the day. Did Roland talk to you about anything east of here?"

    "I… I told Looker about it. The Unown. Was I not supposed to?"

    "Keep that to yourself and take it to your grave," Cynthia said. I felt a chill run down my spine. "Have a good evening, Grace. I will see you within the next few days. Stick around Solaceon until we give you the approval to leave. Looker will come back tomorrow."

    After giving her Weavile's Pokeball, Cynthia gently closed the door and I hugged my knees. I might have said I had lost most of my respect for her, but I'd changed my mind now.

    She carried more burdens than I thought and she'd had a good reason to let Shiftry run around after all. What I was going through was nothing compared to what she probably dealt with every single day, and yet I still felt like I was suffocating.

    What I had done was self-defense. It was either my Pokemon or Harry's, and unlike me, I was sure that he would have killed all of them and me if given the chance.

    But it still hurt all the same. It was like I had discovered a part of myself that I hadn't known existed, and it terrified me. I terrified myself.

    And the worst of all was that I felt like I had mirrored some of Mars' traits. I hadn't been as expressive of the satisfaction I felt while making Harry pay, while she was extremely vocal about her enjoyment of torture, but even if I had had good intentions, it had been there.

    I didn't sleep that night, but I did cry.
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 165
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 165

    Looker came again the next morning to get my full story. I had recovered enough to at least talk about it, although I did gloss over the details. They needed my side of what happened during the battle with Harry to be sure what he had said was right, and apparently he was telling them the truth. He was looking at decades in prison if he gave everything he knew about Team Galactic to the government and the International Police.

    I still didn't want to know what happened to his leg.

    I procrastinated the entire morning, simply watching the hours go by until I finally braced myself enough to answer my texts from the Poketch Company. They had obviously heard of what happened, and I was again in the news now that people knew that the Champion was speaking to me and that I'd been involved in this entire situation. I didn't even have the energy to look at the rumors going around. If people found out what I had done, I couldn't even imagine what they'd say about me.

    Melody wanted a full rundown of what happened, but I told her I couldn't tell her anything. She was smart, so she quickly put together that everything I had gone through and heard had basically been put under a gag order by the League and quickly stopped asking. She was a lot less persistent than I thought she would be, especially with how Cynthia had warned me about getting pressured, but maybe the media would be worse.

    I was so tired.

    In truth, I hadn't been alone in a long while. I had always had at least my friends or my Pokemon with me, but it had been a long time since I'd been by myself. Memories from yesterday kept flashing back every time I closed my eyes. Solaceon wasn't faring much better. Since I had stayed in a hospital room and avoided television, I didn't know much, but people came changed from the entire event. Roland Hunter had told me about how the dark had revealed our true selves for a few moments, and people no doubt learned about themselves, which depending on who they were could have been good or terrifying.

    There had been a few deaths too. Suicides and murders. I wondered how the authorities would handle that. People hadn't been in the right state of mind, so there was no way they'd go to prison for it, but I imagined the perpetrators would still be shunned and shamed their entire lives. In a place as small as Solaceon, having killed someone wasn't going to leave them unless they moved.

    I wondered how Cynthia could do it. To take a life so easily. I thought back to my first conversation with her in Floaroma, where she had pushed me to continue on my journey. She had told me that fear was never outgrown, but you learned to get used to it, and she had certainly been proven correct.

    "I guess killing is the same," I muttered before shuddering.

    I hoped— sincerely hoped that I would never have to get used to that. Since it was already later in the morning, I waited until one of the doctors brought me lunch and decided to spend the rest of the day locked up. I was too nervous to go outside. It was like if I did, then I would have to acknowledge that everything I had done was real because I'd need to speak about it to the others.

    Unfortunately, life had other ideas for me. I heard a knock and expected it to be Looker or Cynthia, but it was Louis, Maeve and Mira instead. They all looked as haggard as I was, although Mira seemed the least affected. I knew now that it was because she wore her mask extremely well. It was an unhealthy habit.

    "Hi Grace," she said. "How are you… holding up?"

    I opened my mouth to answer, but I wondered if anything I'd say would make me slip. What would their reactions be if they figured out everything I had done? Maybe Mira wouldn't say anything, but Maeve and Louis?

    "I am okay," I lied. The words came out stilted and shaky. I just wanted them to leave. "Have you visited the others?"

    "Yes. Since we came out of this unscathed, we felt like we had to," Louis grimaced. "We tried to get Justin to come, but he's… changed. He doesn't really see the point in visiting everyone, or at least that's what he said."

    "Is it that bad?" I asked.

    "He's like a completely different person," Maeve sighed. "You'll have to see for yourself, but it's not pretty. The doctors want to keep him around for a bit longer to study him anyway. They say no one's been exposed to as much dark type energy as he had in… forever."

    "But he'll go back to normal, right? I was told it'd take months?" I asked. It was easy to speak if I could focus on someone else.

    "They're not so sure anymore, but we're hoping," Louis said. He was taking this the hardest. Justin was probably his best friend. "I don't know what he'll do after this. He has this idea of traveling alone to grow stronger quicker."

    "Adversity breeds skill," Maeve mimicked in Justin's voice. "I don't think it's a good idea, personally."

    I sighed and sat back down on the bed to look at the ceiling. The bright lights were hypnotizing after having spent so long in a faded world.

    "Do you want to go see Cecilia?" Louis asked. "She asked about you."

    "Erm. How is she?"

    "Her leg could be in better shape, but it was patched up by the doctors yesterday and she needs rest. Emotionally? She's… not great," he said. "Cynthia came to talk to her and Mira yesterday, and you too, I assume. She wanted to tell you what she went through herself. Are you well enough to walk?"

    "The doctors said I need to rest another day still," I lied. "I'll go see her tomorrow."

    An uneasy silence settled in. We clearly all didn't want to speak about what happened. It was easier that way. Louis and Maeve left after some small talk, but at the last minute, Mira turned back and stuck around, telling them to go on without her. Her cheerful smile became a face full of grief and sadness.

    "Grace. I had to tell the League everything."

    "What do you mean?"

    "Long story short, one of the Team Galactic Commanders is my uncle. His name is Ernest— Ernie for short, but he calls himself Charon."

    I remembered him from Valley Windworks. His faded pink hair mixed with white, his distinct limp, and his Hypno. More importantly, he was the one that had stopped Mars from torturing me, at least for an instant.

    "I had this whole plan laid out. I was going to stick around in Veilstone, gather information and bust into their headquarters," she said in a defeated tone. "Then I'd convince him to go back home and we'd be a nice and happy family. That's impossible now. They're going after his head."

    "I'm sorry."

    "Cynthia wants to speak to you, me and Cecilia about something other than protection, right? She probably wants to use me as bait or something. I don't see another reason."

    "I don't know Mira," I exhaled. "That could be the case. She could use me for Mars, although it wouldn't line up for Cecilia. Look, can we just… talk about this later? I'm sorry, I just want to be alone."

    Mira bit her lip. "Okay. I'll leave you to it. See you later."

    So here I was, alone again, and it felt good too. If they knew my true self, they wouldn't want to be with me. I didn't deserve them.

    I wanted my Pokemon with me. I stared at Buddy's Pokeball and grabbed it. He was surely rested enough to come out now.

    I released the water type, who happily clicked at me. I had never thought about it, but his vocalizations had changed since evolving. Yet it had taken barely a few days to get used to. Maybe my easier time understanding Pokemon had to do with Princess too? I'd need to ask Cynthia about it.

    "Hi Bud," I weakly said. He solidified and brushed up close to me, tickling my cheek. I felt none of the pressure I had felt with my friends with him. He knew what I had done, and I was sure he still loved me either way. There would be no judging here. "I missed you."

    I hugged his huge face as best I could, and he closed his eyes. I sniffled and sunk against his soft skin.

    "I'm glad everyone made it out okay. I'm sorry I was going to make you guys fight someone we couldn't beat."

    If Shiftry hadn't been so scared of fighting, I was sure now he could have ended me. I wasn't sure how powerful he was, since it was hard to get a good grasp when he'd been fighting the Champion, but there was no way I would have even lasted a minute with his mastery of the dark. Jellicent shook his head and let out an echoing vibration. He was worried.

    "You know, I've thought about it. What I've done. What you saw in there was how I really am, and I fear that it's what I'll become if I keep going like this. Cold and ruthless," I said. Buddy protested, but I stopped him. "It's not so much about the killing, but what I felt during that moment. There was enjoyment. A sense of fulfillment."

    He confusedly tilted his head.

    "Right, it's not like you'd understand," I sadly chuckled. He was a Pokemon and a ghost type at that. He didn't see what I had felt as wrong—

    I stared up into his eyes. They were quivering.

    I hurt him.

    "I'm sorry, it's not— I didn't mean it like that."

    He relaxed slightly, but I could tell that the words would stick with him for a long time.

    Fucking... fuck.

    I hated this.

    —

    It was nighttime now. A reporter had tried to break into my room, but they apparently had a League Trainer guarding my door, which was strange way to learn about it. The League ran the city now. They had cleaned house, and everyone in a position of authority had been fired and replaced with loyalists. It was a power grab, but I knew what the public did not. I knew that they needed this to keep tabs on the Unown, whatever they were.

    Plus, complaints were rather muted. There had never been an event of this scale in Sinnoh since Cynthia had become the Champion. This was so big that the news even made it to the other regions. They called it the 'darkest day'. It was cheesy, but it grabbed people's attention. Apparently, the spire of void Shiftry had been shooting out of his mansion? It had been visible from Celestic, Hearthome and Veilstone. Even Craig Goodwill was in the city to check up on his sister. I didn't know how she had reacted to the whole event, and I didn't have the energy to find out.

    "Remember when I told you that I'd like if you found a hobby?" I asked.

    Buddy nodded.

    "I know it's a strange thing to ask, especially now, but have you given it some thought?"

    I felt my phone vibrate and ignored it. He shook his head, but told me that he'd take it more seriously now. Apparently he'd just said that he would to get me off his back before, but it was different now. Even after my hiccup, I felt comfortable with him. It was like I could let go of my worries and pretend nothing had happened. We watched stupid TV shows together, although I could tell that they bored him to no end. He kept asking me how I was doing, and I didn't lie. Not to him.

    "I feel like the world is pressing on my shoulders. I feel like I can't breathe properly. I feel like things will never go back to how they were, but other than that, I think I can manage."

    The water type chastised me for finishing off my sentence with a bit of humor.

    "You know, I've been thinking that I need a bit of time away from the others. Traveling to Veilstone alone sounds… hard now, but I think it'd be for the best. I think I need to learn about myself, and I won't be able to do it unless I'm on my own with you guys."

    Buddy's eyes dimmed, but he said nothing.

    "It won't be for long. Just a few days. I need to get my thoughts back in order and figure out what it is I've been doing. I mean, collecting the gym badges, becoming the best in the world is a nice goal, but what am I doing?"

    He stared at me confusedly.

    "It's… hard to explain exactly. It's like, I have a goal clearly lined out in front of me. A nice structure that the Circuit gives me along with every trainer participating, but either through my actions or through circumstances I can't control, I keep getting pulled off the path. So I ask again, what am I doing? This isn't the right way to go about this. I still want to do the Circuit stuff, but I need a way to get stronger faster. To protect myself and others I care about. I wish I could just ask Cynthia to train me, but it's not like the Champion can afford to just go off and play favorites with me, especially in these troubled times. So I want to take some time for myself and figure out what the hell I'm doing."

    The ideas were odd and disjointed, but Buddy understood the gist of it. I wasn't going to become like Chase. I was a people person at heart, and I didn't think I'd be able to travel for months at a time without any close friends. But it would only take a week to reach Veilstone.

    I could handle a week.

    Of course, before I could even think about leaving, I had to wait until Cynthia gave me the okay, and I still had to talk to everyone, but for now, I'd just… rest. The tournament had been supposed to last eighteen days, but we didn't even make it through half of that before everything went wrong. We had time on our hands to figure things out. Plus, Cecilia, Denzel and Pauline had been hurt worse than I was, and they'd need time to be able to leave.

    I was being a terrible friend by not visiting, wasn't I?

    As the night slowly progressed, I couldn't help but fall asleep. I was too tired. The nightmares came back in full force. They weren't scary experiences, but they just replayed Crobat's screams over and over and over. I watched myself loom over it with a twisted smile.

    I woke up drenched in sweat and bumped against Buddy's soft head. He'd been observing me from up close, probably deliberating over waking me up or letting me rest. The sun was just rising. I hadn't gotten that many hours, but some were better than nothing. I stepped inside of the shower and changed my bandages. The doctors had been supposed to do it, but I would have rather done it myself. They had enough on their plates already.

    I had thought today would be another day of avoiding my responsibilities and sticking around in my room. The most I expected was a text conversation with Melody about the money they were going to transfer me, and maybe I'd get to pick up some of my Pokemon from the Pokemon Center, but unfortunately, I could only pretend I was the only person in the world for so long before people came to me instead. Denzel and Cecilia came to visit me. I tried to pretend I wasn't there, but it didn't work.

    "We just want to talk," Denzel said. "Did we do something wrong?"

    "Grace! I know you're in there," Cece exclaimed. "Open the door, please."

    Could she walk already? I sunk deeper and deeper into my room, but Buddy stopped and pushed me ahead with a tentacle. Was there anything else I could do to delay this just a bit longer? I bit the inside of my mouth, sighed and held out a trembling hand over the door handle.

    The moment I opened it, they both pushed the League Trainer off and barged into the room. Cecilia walked on crutches and appeared to be barely able to put any weight on her left leg. Denzel appeared fine, but I knew concussions took at least a week to heal completely. I expected words, but they just hugged me tightly without any warning. We must have cried for at least two minutes, saying nothing to each other, but everything at the same time. It was strange, how something I had dreaded for so long had ended up relieving me and taking some of the weight off. Not all of it, of course. Not even close. But every bit helped, and I could breathe a little easier.

    "I was so worried when the others told me you weren't leaving your room," Cecilia said, wiping a tear off. "I know you're hurting, but… confide in us, or in someone."

    "I talked to Buddy," I said. I wanted to ask what had bitten her leg, but I refrained from doing so. Right now, we could simply relax and be happy. "And I'm sorry I was so silent. I needed some time to myself to think."

    "It's alright, we understand," Denzel nodded. "Just let us know if you need anything, and we'll be there."

    "Come on, guys, you're hurt a lot worse than I was," I said. "I should be saying that. Did you guys see everyone else? How's Pauline?"

    "She's kicking up a storm and already out and about. She can't really move her arm that well yet though," he sighed. "I keep telling her to take it easy, but she's been a lot more active than normal. It's how she copes with things."

    "So she was discharged, at least," I relaxed. "Louis and the others told me about Justin."

    They both winced.

    "He's planning on leaving as soon as the League gives him the okay. They want to make sure that he's mentally capable of integrating back into society first and stuff," Denzel said. "We talked for a bit. His goal is to spend as much time in the wild as he can to grow stronger."

    Cecilia let out a defeated exhale. "He's… changed. Do you know what he told me? That there was no way he'd make it past the eighth badge, so he'd rather spend the time remaining in this year's Circuit training instead. He plans on battling Maylene and Volkner, then he's going to go to Victory Road preparing for next year instead so that he can for sure reach the Conference and be freed from his father's obligations."

    "Victory Road? He'll die there!"

    Victory Road wasn't frequented by anyone but the most experienced trainers. Back in the day, only people that made it through there could participate in the Conference, but now it was more of an abandoned tradition. People usually flew to the event, either on their Pokemon or by plane— which strangely enough wasn't frowned upon for this specific instance. That was how dangerous the mountain was.

    "Which is why Louis has been trying to convince him otherwise, but there hasn't been any success there yet," Cecilia said. "Do you think you could try to talk to him later?"

    "I'll see… I'm exhausted."

    They were too. They had deep bags under their eyes, but Cecilia even more so. She was struggling to keep herself together, I could tell.

    "Why don't we just do nothing for now?" Denzel asked. "No reporters, no League, no International Police… just us? I can go grab us some food from the cafeteria if you want. They're serving pizza today to cheer people up."

    I nodded, and Cecilia agreed. It was a good idea. He quickly left, saying that he'd be back in around ten minutes.

    "Do you want my bed? Your leg…"

    "I'll sit down," she smiled. I helped her sit and placed her crutches against the wall. "Cynthia will come to speak to us today. She told me earlier."

    "She spoke to you again?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

    "Grace, I'm not going to lie, it's been difficult. Of course, it's been hard on all of us, but I was a complete and utter mess for the last two days. I won't tell you what I've done, but it wasn't necessary, and it made me realize that I wasn't who I thought I was. She helped me go through this by visiting me once per day and giving me some encouragement. I don't really know if it helped, but at least I can speak now."

    "I'm sorry. I should have been there, I—"

    "I would have liked that, or at least some texts," she angrily said. "At least a word after the initial chaos when Shiftry died other than 'I'm alive'. But I know you were going through the same thing I was. We probably all were, except Justin, so… I'm angry, but I won't hold it against you. I understand."

    "I'm sorry," I said again. "What did Cynthia tell you?"

    "A few stories about her childhood. How she met her Gible and the years she spent befriending her before her journey, mostly."

    "You should probably wait until Denzel comes back to go into that," I said. "Any idea of what she'll talk to us and Mira about?"

    "Something to do with Team Galactic, but you probably guessed that already. More interestingly, she's been watching us."

    "Watching?"

    "Yeah. Paying attention to our gym battles… I didn't want to say it with Louis, Pauline, Maeve or Just— nevermind, not Justin. I knew they'd get down, so I stayed quiet when talking to them. I know these last few days have been horrible, but you can at least cheer up in the fact that we've caught the Champion's attention."

    Just a week ago, I would have squealed at that, but right now I just didn't have the energy to. I did feel a bit of pride, though.

    "I didn't think she even cared about low leveled battles like ours. I wonder what it's like to be so strong," I pondered.

    "I'd imagine that it feels great."

    "I think so too, but I also think that it'd be lonely."

    It was strange in a way, how my feelings contradicted my goal. Becoming the best in the world would be an exhilarating journey. The incremental feeling of progress, clawing your way up to the top, but then what? Some people decided to use their strength to protect their regions, like the Champions, while some just became recluses like Red from Kanto. It would take many years for me to even get there, but it was important to think about.

    At least I knew to temper my expectations now. Seeing Cynthia stand down a thousand-year-old Pokemon like it was nothing made me realize that even Craig had no chance against her. As much as it hurt, I'd need to lower my goal for this year to just winning the Conference, if I could do even that. Even Craig was an indomitable mountain from my perspective, and Cynthia was one from his.

    Denzel came back into the room with lukewarm pizza slices, and we ate in relative silence. I was surprised to see that even he didn't want to watch the news or browse the forums.

    "Grace, if it's not too much to ask, how did Cynthia take down Shiftry?" Cecilia asked out of the blue. She'd always idolized her, but she seemed to be even more fascinated by the Champion.

    I gulped. "It wasn't even a fight. Spiritomb mentally crippled him and Lucario stabbed him with some kind of Aura Bone attack. If she hadn't spoken to him, it wouldn't even have taken a minute."

    "Spiritomb, hm?" Denzel mused. "I don't know much about 'em, but I know that there are only a few in the world. They're manmade apparently."

    "So they're like Golett, then," my girlfriend said. "I wish I could ask more about it. I wonder how Cynthia found hers."

    "Why?" I asked. I wanted nothing to do with that thing, so to see her so interested in it bothered me. She hadn't heard it like I had. "They're disturbing."

    "Nevermind," she shook her head. "But still… what do you think Cynthia was like at our age?"

    "A better trainer," I weakly said. "Capable of facing down whatever was in her way. What did she tell you about her childhood?"

    I looked to Denzel and expected an excited retort, but his mind was elsewhere.

    "Most of Sinnoh's dragons live around Celestic, and her Garchomp was no different. She was apparently using her to battle wild Pokemon since she was six— so years before she even caught it."

    "Is that how the story actually goes?" I asked. "I thought it was given to her by her grandma."

    "I thought that she hatched it from an egg…" Denzel said.

    There were a lot of rumors about how Cynthia got her start, and the mythos around her helped build up her image. It was a lot harder to track down everything a trainer did back then, and the mystery persisted to this day— except for us, since Cece was revealing everything.

    "That's probably how she destroyed all of the early gyms in her path," she continued. "If I had to guess Gible was already so strong by the time she started her journey that it just automatically won every battle. By the time gym leaders even realized it, she'd probably knocked out most of their team."

    "Getting an early start explains some of it, but she still brought the rest of her Pokemon to that level and became the Champion in a single year. Can you imagine the political upheaval at the time? I would have paid to see it," Denzel said.

    "Maybe I should ask my dad about it," I said before freezing. I couldn't speak to him. I didn't want to. "Or not. It's probably a lot less exciting than we'd think."

    "Yeah…" he said, chewing on his pizza. "Still, it's nice to learn about. I'd like to know how she learned how to cope with stuff. Other than speaking to Nurse Joys, I mean."

    We finished our lunch in silence after that, and they left shortly after. I felt slightly better now that we had spoken, and even though we'd still avoided talking about what happened in Shiftry's domain, there was a semblance of normalcy to eating lunch with friends. Normalcy that was dearly needed these days. I didn't have much to do, so I decided to take the plunge and visit Justin. Unfortunately, he wasn't in his room, and I wasn't about to go outside. Not when I'd get swarmed by dozens of people. The Center's hallways were already suffocating, but being shadowed by a League Trainer and Buddy was enough to keep most people in line. I ended up going downstairs and asking the nurses if any of my Pokemon were ready to go, but only Angel was. Sunshine had been hurt a lot more than I thought, and Sweetheart was still unconscious, although recovering slowly. Princess and Honey would be ready in a few hours, although I was terrified of speaking to both. The former because she'd been influencing me without knowing and she would without a doubt be utterly crushed, and the latter because of that single glance my way before I made him kill—

    Kill Crobat.

    I wasn't ready. Not for either of them. I went back to my room. My safe haven and my only area of respite. Angel had made a full recovery, and all of his vines had grown back. He greeted me with touch, like usual, but it was more gentle than I'd expect. It was like he was handling me like a delicate flower.

    He did the same for Buddy, dragging him around like a balloon. It was nice to have him back.

    "Angel, that tickles! I missed you," I chuckled. He happily squinted. "Thank you for everything during the fight. You blocked Weavile's Ice Shards with your body and only one made it through. Without you… I'd be dead."

    The grass type nodded with its entire body and gestured with two vines.

    "I know," I smiled. "But I still feel guilty. You got so hurt because of me… you're not used to pain. Come here."

    I walked up to him and hugged his body as best I could.

    "Mommy's very proud of you."

    I sighed. I needed to speak to a therapist, didn't I? I still had Amanda's number, although we hadn't spoken in a long time thanks to her giving me the tools to overcome my issues by myself in the past.

    With this one?

    I wasn't so sure. I wasn't getting better, I was learning to function with a hole in my heart.

    —

    The League Trainer knocked on my door in the evening, and she Teleported me to some unknown location with that same Xatu she'd used before. It was a nondescript room that could have been in any home in Solaceon, although it had been converted into an office with multiple desks. Mira and Cecilia were already there, and Cynthia sat at a desk with Aaron and Lucian doing the same. I felt my body tense. Few trainers could boast about having seen an Elite Four member in the flesh, let alone two. They were actually harder to see than the Champion due to them spending the vast majority of their time on the Lily of the Valley island, while Cynthia traveled through the region a lot more than they did. The League Trainer quickly left, and Lucian stared at me, while Aaron stared through me.

    I shivered. It was as if hundreds of bugs crawled on my skin at the same time. However, that wasn't it. A hulking Garchomp covered in battle scars loomed over the Champion. It was my first time properly seeing one that wasn't moving all over the place, and they were even worse than I expected. A mass of scales, muscles and teeth larger than my hand. It was twice my size and looked at me like I would look at an ant.

    "Enough with the staring," Cynthia ordered as she stared at some papers. She surprisingly wore glasses. Was she nearsighted?

    "Who wouldn't be intrigued by some of the trainers who caught your eye?" Aaron smirked. "Want me to handle that for you while you speak?"

    "Yes, thank you," the Champion tiredly sighed. He pushed himself on the wheeled chair and snatched the paperwork out of Cynthia's hand. "Lucian?"

    "Of course."

    The psychic type master did the slightest head nudge, and a one-eyed Alakazam teleported into the room. Lucian's Alakazam was also the source of many rumors. No one knew how he lost his eye, and there were many stories about it. Its eye shone, its spoons bent and the room suddenly grew fuzzy.

    "Thank you."

    I stared around the room, trying to place what had changed.

    "Insulation," Lucian explained. "No one will be able to hear your conversation."

    "Abel did the same thing…" Cecilia muttered, her eyes still on Garchomp.

    "Let us speak then," Cynthia said, taking off her glasses. "You three have one common link…"
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 166
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 166

    "You three have one common link, and that is your association to Team Galactic. Mira through Charon, Cecilia through Abel, and Grace through Mars."

    Unwilling to interrupt the Champion mid-sentence, Cecilia paused and waited to see if Cynthia was done.

    "Abel's joined?" She asked.

    "All but in name. He's begun routinely working with them in Veilstone, and his Pokemon team is built to avoid capture, so getting a hold of him is impossible. We assume that he's getting paid a lot for his work, but that's simply semantics."

    "I thought that he wanted nothing to do with her anymore? His reasoning made sense." I jumped in.

    Cynthia smirked and twirled her pencil. "Cecilia's case is less straightforward than yours. People like Abel are tricky, Grace. You'll learn about them and how they function, think that you can predict their actions, and even think that you could use that to your advantage to work with him," she shrugged. "But at the end of the day, he remains an evil criminal whose sense of honor exists only as a front and is second to his greed. The moment Team Galactic offers them money to hit any of you, he will accept without a second thought."

    She paused again, waiting to see if we had anything to add. No one did.

    "The League is sure that you three will be targeted at some point in the future, which is why we're going to grant you protection along with your friends, but that isn't it. In case— and this isn't guaranteed, but in case this protection fails, since we know that you will be specific targets, the government considers you to be high-priority individuals. That means that if anything ever happens to you, we will prioritize your safety above all else thanks to how useful you may be to us in the future— if you'll excuse the term. I like to be straightforward with people when I'm giving them bad news."

    "This is bad news?" Mira asked with a sigh. "Aren't you telling us that we're going to be treated like queens? No one's going to be able to touch a hair on our heads."

    "It might look that way right now, but trust me, it is not," Cynthia said. "I'm a realist, but we'll need to at least keep the rules in mind. People will cry foul if we prioritize you and no one else. That means that you'll need to join the League Trainer Internship Program so we can justify this. People won't bat an eye if we're rescuing one of our own."

    "No choice in the matter, huh?" Mira sighed.

    "No. Let me explain to you what the program implies. There's a rigorous application process, but we can just skip over all of that and say you've made it in. No one but the League has access to the tests anyway, and I have a feeling you'd all manage to pass the knowledge section, although barely. The League knows that tying down young trainers is impossible, so the program's a lot looser than what it sounds like. De facto, it's a waiting list for an actual job at the League, but we don't expect you to go that far. In fact, you won't have to do much of anything. Normally, there would be a few opportunities to do some jobs to increase your chance of getting a position at the League, but that's not what you're after."

    I frowned. "So why is it bad if we don't have to do anything?"

    "The increased publicity, the theories, the noise will probably be crushing for all of you, especially with how young you are. There will be complaints of preferential treatment— you'd be the first time we put any first years in the program, let alone people with only four badges. People will talk down your achievements… it's a lot, especially for children your age."

    "Whatever, I don't care," Mira shrugged.

    "Neither do I," Cecilia said.

    Cynthia stared at me and waited for my answer. It wasn't like I was able to say no anyway, but was she testing me? My conviction? It was hard not to overthink my words when the Champion was looking right into my eyes.

    "Sure," I hesitantly said.

    "Welcome to the League!" Aaron yelled, not even looking up from his papers. "Looking forward to working with you."

    Cynthia rolled her eyes— which surprised me. I was a lot more used to her stoic, smiling self. She pulled out three pieces of paper from a drawer inside her desk and asked us to sign, which Mira did right away. Cecilia and I read it carefully though, but it was pretty straightforward and was exactly what Cynthia had told us. We were essentially a part of the League, but not really? It was weird.

    "You'll get a few benefits, the biggest of which being you'll get to go past the six Pokemon limit early. You'll still have to go through an inspection and get your license for it, but I assume trainers of your caliber will pass without an issue. Grace, since you already have six, you might want to get yours at Veilstone just to get it over with."

    I nodded. I knew I wanted a psychic, but it was probably time to really try to figure out which one I wanted. I wasn't going to rush for a seventh member right away. I didn't even know if I'd have one by the time the Conference happened. I wanted something that could Teleport, but Abra, Natu, Ralts, Drowzee… none of the usual candidates called to me.

    "You'll get paid, although the salary is rather meager. It is an internship after all," she said. "Twenty-thousand per month. Nothing compared to what you two are used to," she finished, staring at me and Cecilia.

    "Champion Cynthia, if I may ask a question," Cecilia said. "About your Spiritomb—"

    "You want one. I'm afraid that's impossible, at least for the time being," Cynthia interrupted. "Talk to me again when your team is good enough to match Aaron here. You need an extremely high level of mental fortitude to be able to handle one."

    My eyes snapped to Cecilia and I restrained a sigh. She did want one after all, and Cynthia hadn't even refused! Did that mean she knew of one's location? Denzel said that there were only a limited number.

    "Are you calling me weak?" The bug type specialist laughed.

    "You are the weakest of the Elite Four, and that is a fact." Lucian shrugged.

    "I can still give you a run for your money, you smug bastard."

    "Enough with the joking around, Aaron," Cynthia chided. "Now you'll be able to contact me, but understand that this is only to be used in emergencies," Cynthia continued. "Keep your journey going. Grow and learn, but most importantly, speak to someone about your anguish. We'll actually meet one last time in a day or two— Grace, I'll see you later today."

    "Wait. If we're talking about Pokemon we might want and I'm a part of your fancy League, what can you do about a Porygon for me?" Mira asked. "Uncle Ernie used to be fascinated by them, and I've wanted one since I was a kid."

    "You're not supposed to just be given Pokemon," Lucian frowned. "It would go against precedent. Cynthia?"

    She nodded. "You're right. I won't be able to help you with that, but I've heard they sell them at the game corner at Veilstone, if you really want to train one. Either way, I believe our job here is done?"

    Unfortunately, I didn't have a question regarding a rare Pokemon, so we all nodded and Alicia's Xatu brought us back to the Pokemon Center's entrance.

    "Well, I have therapy after this, so I'll see you girls later," Mira said.

    "Oh, you're already speaking to someone?" I asked.

    "Maeve forced me to. It is what it is. It's not the first time I've tried and I doubt it'll change much," she shrugged.

    She left soon after that, leaving only me and Cecilia. I wanted to fight her on her interest with Spiritomb, but I really had no right to do so. I knew that she wasn't the kind to simply change her mind or give up on a choice when she'd made it, and she seemed fascinated by the ghost. I used the opportunity to finally pick up Princess and Honey, although I wasn't going to release Togetic until Cynthia gave me the okay. At least that was the excuse I was going with. The truth was, I was scared of telling her that she'd influenced me all these months, and using Cynthia's warning as an excuse made me feel a lot better.

    I could only handle one disaster at a time. Honey would be next. Cecilia's Pokemon hadn't been hurt at all during her fight, so she didn't have to pick up anyone. Still, she opted to go to her room and rest her leg. Standing for so long had hurt her a lot. I did the same and released Angel and Buddy. They helped me brace myself for Honey's return. It would be the first time I saw him since the dark's disappearance. Would he hate me? See me differently? Would things stay the same?

    I couldn't delay any longer. I let him out of his Pokeball, and he stared into my eyes. He was looking for something.

    We stood still for what seemed like an eternity. Then he hugged me so tight I thought I'd suffocate. Angel excitedly joined in on the hug.

    He'd been seeing if I regretted my actions. I knew from one look into his eyes that he sure did, but the fault rested on me. I gave the final order.

    "You're a good kid," I said. "I—It's my fault for making you do it."

    The electric type sniffled and I felt hot tears on my neck. Instead of judging me like I thought he'd do, he judged himself most of all.

    Like he always did.

    "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

    —

    "Ms. Pastel, the Champion is ready to see you," Alicia said as I let her in. I nodded and Teleported again, this time on a field that I easily recognized as the Hunters' land— or the League's now. Cynthia sat in the grass in a position a lot less elegant than I expected. Her legs were splayed out and she supported herself with her hands.

    Garchomp was lying down at her side, more docile than I expected the huge dragon to be. It was almost like she was… purring somehow, although the noises still shook me. Alicia saluted and Teleported away. That Xatu was working awfully hard these days. Powerful Pokemon or not, Teleporting such long distances and carrying people with them was exhausting for psychics.

    "What are they going to do with the Hunters and their business?" I asked right away.

    "Oh, the family members will slowly be rehabilitated, but it'll be difficult. Their entire lives have been a lie, and it'll take years for them to go back to normal," Cynthia said, the wind blowing her hair. Even though I considered myself good at reading people, I had no idea what she was thinking. "Believe it or not, we don't have the expertise they do in regards to Pokemon breeding, and we can't exactly hire them like we did like the Bianchi's lower-leveled employees, so the business will probably collapse. Solaceon will have to start from zero."

    "All those Pokemon will lose their homes," I sighed. It was terribly sad, in a way. The Hunters had been evil, but I couldn't deny that they gave all of their Pokemon good living environments. "Oh well."

    At least maybe Solaceon might finally be able to expand in size now, but good luck finding anyone wanting to move here after what happened.

    "How are you holding up, Grace?"

    "I'm okay. Once we get past this type energy hurdle, I'll feel twice as good," I said. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you get over it? Your first… murder."

    The Champion hesitated and began stroking Garchomp's head. "I never really got over it. I just learned to deal with it. The situation was a lot less clearcut than yours, let me tell you."

    "I won't ask for details," I said. "Is it time then? For Togekiss."

    Cynthia nodded and released the fairy type, who happily chirped at Garchomp. The ground type rolled to her side, shaking the floor, and Togekiss rubbed her belly with her fluffy wing. I was surprised to see that a fairy type and a dragon type got along so well, considering how Princess could barely tolerate Sunshine's presence. Cynthia's Togekiss was a majestic specimen, and just staring at it made me smile. I couldn't possibly get angry at that cute face, and it was as if my level of anguish was lower somehow.

    "He was my fourth Pokemon," Cynthia said. "Lucario was my second."

    "Did you hatch him?" I asked. "If I may ask!"

    "I did. My grandmother gave me the egg when I left on my journey, and he hatched while I was on my way to Sunyshore."

    So that meant that he also saw Cynthia as his mother then.

    "Before you release your Togetic, I have to tell you something. She's probably the most aggressive one I've ever seen, and that's saying something."

    "Princess isn't aggressive—"

    "Oh, but she is," Cynthia interrupted. "Beyond what is normal. I believe that you were both… influencing each other somewhat, pulling each other deeper and deeper toward the ways of the most aggressive fairies. It was like a feedback loop. Your Togetic would make you act more fairy-like, and then she'd mimic you and act more fairy-like, and so on and so forth."

    "But Princess is so sweet… I don't get it. Sure, she has her quirks and she's overprotective, but…"

    "I know these things, Grace. Trust me."

    "I guess," I bit my lip. "But does that mean you've been watching me?"

    "A little in my free time, along with a few in your orbit. I've been looking at you, Lauren Goodwill, Mira, Denzel, Cecilia and Chase Karlson, really."

    So Chase too? I wondered how he was doing. In all of this, I had completely forgotten about his quest to find his grandparents. Hopefully he was fine, although he hadn't sent a message yet.

    "There isn't anything that unique about us," I shrugged. "You were better."

    "I was. But it's not so much about skill, but also about your mindset and the way you react when things go wrong," Cynthia said. "Regardless, let's get back on topic. Just like you, even when we stop Togetic from leaking fairy type energy, she'll stay just as aggressive as she's been, which could be seen as a good or a bad thing."

    "Prrrri!" Togekiss chimed in. I was surprised at his deeper voice— although not by much.

    "Okay, we'll start," Cynthia said.

    "Wait! I actually have another question before we do. My friends have often told me that I'm way too good at understanding my Pokemon. Could this type energy stuff have something to do with it?"

    "Describe 'way too good'."

    "I mean full-on conversations. Like I'm talking to a human."

    "At your age? No amount of type energy would have made you able to do that," the Champion said. "I can do it because I've been with my Pokemon for more than two decades, but I don't have an answer for you, I'm afraid."

    "Okay," I grumbled as I grabbed Togetic's Pokeball. If the Champion didn't know about it, then chances were I'd never figure it out.

    I released Princess, who made a mad dash toward me and tackled me into a hug. Even after worrying so much, my worries couldn't help but melt away at the sight of my daughter. I held her tightly and checked her neck. Aside from some slight faded marks that could only be seen if I squinted really hard, it was as good as new.

    Princess turned to Garchomp, and I felt her love evaporate. The dragon opened an amused eye toward her, but she was still relaxed. It wasn't like we were capable of hurting her in any way, shape or form. None of our attacks could penetrate her hard scales, and I assumed Dazzling Gleam would only tickle her. Togekiss worriedly chirped at Togetic, but she couldn't stop staring.

    "Garchomp's a friend," I said. "It's okay."

    "The fact that your Togetic wants to fight my strongest proves my point," Cynthia smirked. "Fairy or not, that isn't normal. I'll let you explain the circumstances to her."

    The Champion stood and gave us some space. Togekiss happily flew in the air quicker than Cece's Talonflame, and I had a feeling that it was going at a leisurely pace. Garchomp stood tall next to Cynthia, and they spoke about something I couldn't hear.

    "Listen, Princess… I don't know how to tell you this, but I have to. Cynthia says you've been releasing fairy type energy on accident, and it's been changing me."

    The fairy type flinched as if she'd been struck. I knew immediately that Cynthia had been correct and that she had no idea what she'd been doing.

    "It's not your fault. You couldn't control it, and I changed you too. We're both a little broken," I chuckled sadly. "And we won't go back to how it was before."

    Princess began to sob and repeatedly apologize, putting herself down and taking all of the blame for our changes.

    "You're not the only one at fault. I could have caught it earlier," I shook my head. "It's a part of who we are now, and that's okay. I don't hold it against you. Come here."

    I kissed her forehead, and we stood in silence for a while. I desperately tried not to cry, but I couldn't hold it. I wanted to show her that I was strong and tell her with a smile on my face that everything would be alright, but it was too much.

    I heard Cynthia's steps behind me.

    "My Togekiss will teach you how to hold it back, little one," she said. Before she was even done gesturing with her hand, Togekiss landed next to us, but there was no sound when he hit the ground. The flying type led Princess away, leaving me, Cynthia and her Garchomp. "It should take from a few minutes to a few hours."

    "That short?"

    "I don't know the specifics, but the answer should be extremely obvious when she figures it out. It could be anything, really."

    "Oh. Okay."

    "Thinking of evolving her soon?" The Champion asked.

    "As soon as I get the money," I shrugged. "Which… should be in two months now that I got my bonus from the Poketch Company."

    "It'll be interesting to see what she turns into. Even if they do get overprotective when their trainers are harmed, Togekiss are meant to be spreaders of happiness and to stop conflicts," Cynthia said before her lip twitched upward. "I haven't seen one like yours yet."

    I stared at Princess, who had been reduced a stuttering mess in front of Cynthia's Togekiss. It must have been strange to be in front of not only her future form, but the most powerful one in the world. Cynthia's Togekiss was known to be her second fastest Pokemon, and he was able to hit opponents with such a variety of moves— custom, known, and combinations— that he was impossible to plan against. Not only that, but he could use them better than their actual types. When it used Shock Wave, for example, it was more powerful than an electric type's.

    "She'll be okay," I said.

    "Her versatility with Ancient Power is quite impressive for a Pokemon her age. When I was just starting out, I used Togekiss with more of a brute-force angle. I find it fascinating how no two trainers will train a Pokemon of the same species the same way."

    "What about your Roserade?" I asked. "Denzel uses Roselia's poison to win battles."

    "Ah, I've seen a few of his battles. Mine used to specialize in spore attacks. She can do everything now though."

    I swallowed. It was terrifying how nonchalantly she'd said that.

    "Can I ask you for advice?"

    "This is probably the only time you'll get me to yourself, so go ahead."

    "I mean it's not really advice," I corrected. "My friends asked you for Pokemon help, right? I want a psychic type that can Teleport, but I want…"

    "Something unique?" She smiled. "It's okay to be picky, especially when you'll be spending the rest of your life with your companions. As far as unique teleporters go… you could go with either Beheeyem or Claydol, but finding those can be tough. Beheeyem are mostly found in Unova and Hoenn, although finding one here wouldn't be unheard of. For Claydol, you'd have more luck, but you have to look for the remains of ancient civilizations. I wanted one when I was younger. Ancient history fascinates me."

    My eyes widened. "That's— that's great, thank you!" I exclaimed. I wasn't going to find either of those any time soon, but it felt good to have something. "And uh, while we're here, could I have training advice?"

    The Champion laughed. "There it is. I was wondering when it'd come up. Cecilia and Mira already asked me the same thing."

    "Well, you're the best trainer in the region… sorry if I wasn't supposed to ask."

    "I'll tell you what I told them. When I was your age, I punched up instead of down or sideways."

    "What do you mean?"

    "I mean that I battled trainers I had no hopes of winning against to learn," Cynthia said. "I'd go and find trainers with five badges when I had two, eight when I had six, you get the gist. Most of the time, I lost."

    "You lost? I thought that—"

    "That I never lost in my career? Come on, I'm not perfect. I've lost plenty, although it has been more than two decades…"

    Was that bragging? I was too scared to offend her to ask.

    "Battling people you have no hopes of winning against will expose your weaknesses faster than you'd be able to find them," the Champion said. "I believe Lauren Goodwill has done it a few times."

    I nodded, absorbing each one of her words and taking it to heart. That was another thing added to the list when I got to Veilstone. The Poketch Company would probably hate it though. Maybe I could set up something private, although the possibility of 'exposing' me would probably make that impossibly hard.

    "Can I battle you then?" I asked out of the blue.

    "No, you cannot. There's punching up, and then there's punching at me. You would learn nothing from it, and most of my team hates to handle opponents with kid gloves. Garchomp over here might hold back enough, but even so, there isn't much point when it wouldn't even be a competition."

    The dragon grunted, which sounded more like an aggressive snarl, but I couldn't tell if she was disagreeing or agreeing with her.

    "You're sweet even if you like pretending not to be," Cynthia gently told her. "It was a fun idea though. Try to go for people with a few more badges than you first. You have to at least have a chance to learn."

    "I will. Uh, thank you."

    "Plus, the optics of me helping a trainer ahead of the Conference would be terrible. I can't look like I'm playing favorites."

    I nodded. That was probably going too far. We were already going to be accused of favoritism due to being put in the League Trainer Internship Program, but having the Champion train me was an order of magnitude above that. They were meant to be impartial figures that didn't get involved in the Circuit, so we were already treading new ground. Me being able to get seven Pokemon before my eight gym badge was already pushing it.

    Though I wasn't even sure I'd end up doing that.

    I chuckled when Togetic's wings beat so fast that she knocked herself off balance and fell over. It'd be interesting to know what the exact problem was, but the concept was probably too abstract for me to grasp, and I couldn't understand Cynthia's Togekiss anyway. From the way they were behaving, it seemed to be going well at least.

    "Say, Shiftry had a… job, right?" I asked, skirting around the Unown. "But it was only slightly older than a thousand years old. What came before him?"

    What had contained the Unown beforehand?

    "Oh, we don't know. Shiftry never told us, probably because he knew that we wouldn't stop him if we couldn't replace him, and Solaceon's recorded history doesn't know that far aside from the Lost Tower. Did you stop by on your way there?"

    "Yes," I blanched.

    "Ah. You must have met Ruth and Mathilda then. They helped me deal with Spiritomb when I'd just caught them," Cynthia fondly recalled. "Although Ruth did try to kill me beforehand."

    "She tried that on us too… Mathilda defended us."

    "She did? She changes quickly for a ghost," she said. "Either way, Shiftry made itself useful to the League for generations, but things changed when I came to power. He thought a young, inexperienced child like I was wouldn't fight back, but I did. He had a mastery of dark type energy second to none, but he was weak. His fighting instincts were dull."

    "And you're sure the replacement will work…?"

    "Let us worry about that," she smiled. That was probably confidential then. "You surprise me, Grace."

    "In a good way?" I hopefully asked.

    "Rare are the people that'll just ask me classified information to my face."

    "I'm—uh."

    Crap.

    "I find it amusing," she smiled. She opened her mouth, but her phone rang and she quickly answered. "Yes… yes, I'm on my way."

    She hung up and stared at me.

    "Duty calls, I'm afraid. I'll have to cut this short."

    "What about Princess?"

    "Togekiss can stay," Cynthia said. She climbed on Garchomp's back and tightly grabbed onto the spikes on its forearms. "I will see you and your group one last time before you leave. Send Alicia a message when you're done and she will come to pick you up."

    "Okay—"

    Garchomp jumped and disappeared into the sky, sending me stumbling backwards into the grass. When I stood back up, she was already a dot in the horizon.

    How did she hold onto Garchomp without falling? Craig was right, she really was crazy. It was only now that I realized that I had just had a conversation with the Champion without falling on my face and making a fool of myself, except when I'd asked to battle her. Now that she'd left, I got the same feeling of adrenaline leaving my body after a fight, even though we'd only been talking.

    I hesitantly stepped toward Togekiss and Togetic, but Cynthia's Pokemon waved a wing at me, telling me to stand back. She might have still been leaking, so I supposed he wanted to protect me.

    I really wanted to talk to him though. I knew Togekiss were large enough to fly on, but seeing one really cemented how large they were to me. Togekiss was taller than me while simply standing, and he was big enough to fit two of me. I was pretty sure he was bigger than usual though, so Princess would probably end up being slightly smaller when she evolved. After twenty more minutes, the flying type waved me over and allowed me to get closer.

    "Is it… over?"

    Togekiss nodded and let out a cute chirp, while Princess embarrassingly stared to the side. I couldn't tell if she had a crush or if she still felt too responsible to face me, but it might have been a bit of both. I dragged her into my arms and stroked her head.

    "Thank you for all the help," I nodded. "Tell Cynthia that I… appreciate everything she's done."

    Togekiss happily nodded, and I could have sworn I felt my worries disappear. For a moment, it was as if nothing had happened the last few days and everything was back to normal. It was bliss.

    And the feeling left as fast as it came. Togekiss took off, and unlike Garchomp, he was completely silent and caused no disturbance.

    Before I realized it, I couldn't see him with the naked eye.

    Garchomp could go faster still.
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 167
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 167

    Alicia brought me back to the Pokemon Center as soon as I messaged her, and her Xatu wasn't even showing a single sign of tiredness. They were known to be good at hiding emotion and being expressionless, but I was still incredibly impressed. It made me want to start looking up information about Claydol or Beheeyem, but there were more pressing matters to attend to first.

    The group was going to have its first meeting to discuss future options tonight. I knew I had said that I'd try to see Justin first, but he seemed to always be out these days doing who knows what, and it was impossible to just get him alone, especially due to the Pokemon Center being my safe haven away from reporters. I didn't particularly feel like traveling outside, especially when the discussion about me was growing instead of shrinking. I didn't know if it was leaked or shown to the public, but people knew I was in the League Trainer Internship Program now.

    I took refuge back in my room. Princess was back to sculpting small statues of herself with some mud she had brought from the outside. Buddy kept to her side, constantly asking if her neck felt better. Honey spoke to Angel as he leaned against a wall with his arms crossed, and even though he didn't understand much of it, the grass type attentively listened to his tirade against a TV show playing that wasn't up to his standards. I felt… better today. We were still missing Sweetheart and Sunshine, but they would probably be ready tomorrow, and then the family would finally be whole again. I was slightly anxious about getting Pupitar used to her new body, but most of all, I wondered what my status with Sunshine was. We had finished our deal, but if I had to guess, he would probably be slightly pissed at me for not letting him kill Harry Rodriguez. I knew from his reaction to the dark's collapse that he didn't care whatsoever about his actions, and to be honest, I was fine with that. I respected him too much to go on a tirade about how revenge was wrong. I'd done the same with Sweetheart, after all.

    I just hoped he wouldn't hold me to that standard.

    His pride had probably been bruised too, with how Cynthia had easily dealt with Shiftry, but that might have been good for him long-term. It was important for Turtonator to see that he wasn't anywhere close to his maximum potential, and even though I didn't expect him to immediately let me use him like any of my other Pokemon, I was sure training was at least on the table now. His battle with Weavile had shown his rust, and I didn't think that he'd be willing to go for months without another battle.

    Cynthia had called Shiftry's fighting instincts dull. I was sure that was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

    As the hours passed, Honey forced me to contact Amanda and set up a meeting. He wasn't sure what therapy even did other than it was with the woman that had made me feel better in the past, so he wanted to force me to do it again. I felt a lot more comfortable with her than anyone else, even if it had been a while. I couldn't imagine speaking to a stranger about this at this point, and the distance between us made it a lot easier to just dump all of my problems onto her. I knew none of the Nurse Joys would judge me for what I did, and it did get a fraction easier each day somehow, but talking to someone half a region away from me would be more manageable than doing it with someone right here. It felt too personal.

    Amanda was glad to hear from me and set up a meeting tomorrow morning— a lot sooner than I expected. Ugh.

    The meeting would take place in Denzel's room, and I opted to be a little early. Maybe I'd catch Pauline and be able to speak to her alone since I hadn't seen her in days. She'd probably give me shit for it, but I deserved it at this point. Instead, I was surprised to see that a lot of people were already there. Only Justin, Cecilia, and Mira were missing. My eyes settled on Pauline, who glared at me with her usual intensity. It had been a while since she looked at me like that. Since before we became friends, in fact. Before our trip through Eterna Forest, when we'd both hated each other's guts, but we had learned to begrudgingly respect each other for not succumbing under pressure or danger. People offered their normal greetings, but she just stared.

    "Look at that. Nice to finally see you," Pauline said with obvious sarcasm.

    "Sorry for dropping off the face of the earth," I sighed. "I had a lot on my mind. Still do."

    "Everyone did, and yet we still contacted each other," she immediately replied. "Emi's been asking about you, by the way. You should send her a message to tell her you're okay."

    "I will."

    Arceus, it was weird to be like this again. It was like I was walking on eggshells around her, but I had to remember that she was just hurt, and when someone hurt Pauline, she hit back. I sat down in an extra chair that Denzel somehow brought to his room, and he quickly joined me.

    "I know you have a lot on your mind, but congratulations on that League Internship thing," he said. "I'll try to get Pauline to back off. We all have different ways of dealing with this shit, she's just hurt."

    "I know. You don't need to talk to her. I'll clear the air before we leave," I said before starting to whisper. "Cynthia's been looking at you too, by the way. The Internship thing has nothing to do with our skills as trainers."

    He blushed, not expecting me to see through his disappointment. I couldn't go into detail as to why we'd been chosen, but I didn't want him to feel down at the matter. Cecilia arrived a few minutes later along with Slowking, still walking on those crutches, and Justin arrived at the exact time we agreed on the moment the clock hit five. He'd always been pale, but he was as white as a sheet of paper, and there was no emotion behind his eyes at all. He didn't even look in my direction.

    His condition was even worse than I thought.

    "Justin," I tried.

    "Ah. Grace, you're done ignoring the realities of the world," he said. His tone reminded me of Roland. "It was smart of you to join us. I thought that you wouldn't."

    "I know this is important," I said. "How have you been holding up?"

    "I am perfectly fine, and I finally have a plan laid out in front of me. My mind has never felt so clear."

    "If clear mind means killing yourself, then sure," Pauline said. "I've already told you I won't let you do that Victory Road shit."

    "You won't be able to stop me. That would be breaking the law, and even if you are foolish, you wouldn't go that far—"

    "Enough," Denzel snapped. "If you're going to fight, don't do it here."

    Mira ended up being ten minutes late, but she looked tired as hell. I didn't know if it was from staying up late or the situation, but it was probably both. She nonchalantly apologized for her tardiness and sat next to Maeve.

    "Maeve and Mira, you guys aren't used to this, but we do one of these every time we need to prepare to leave a city," Denzel stood up. "And this time is no different. We don't know when the League will give us the approval to leave, but they will sometime soon, and I know people have different plans."

    The boy took a deep breath.

    "So let's hear them out."

    "I will be journeying to Veilstone alone, but I've already said that," Justin immediately declared. "Then onto Sunyshore, but that can wait. I will need to fill my roster as soon as I reach Veilstone."

    Pauline clicked her tongue and started to anxiously tap her foot on the floor. "Whatever, man."

    Denzel looked to Louis, who gave him a discreet nod.

    "Justin, traveling on your own to Veilstone and Sunyshore could be fine thanks to the route being kept relatively clear, but this Victory Road idea—"

    "Is the quickest way for me to improve. I have analyzed the risks, and they are outweighed by the rewards. Your concern is appreciated, Louis."

    The blonde man sighed. "Very well. I'll just keep traveling with Maeve and Mira, if they're fine with it?"

    "Sure thing," Maeve said.

    "If you think I'm going to let you get to Victory Road, I've got a nice beach house in Oreburgh to sell you," Pauline said. "I'll stick with the main group… for now."

    My eyes widened slightly. A part of me had almost expected her to chase Justin and force him to travel with her, but maybe she was hoping to give him space. If he slowly grew back to normal within the next few months like the doctors hoped, then maybe the dark's influence will have lessened by the time he made it to Sunyshore and he'd get a new perspective on things. The mountain would make those Rhydon we barely managed to take down at the edges of Mount Coronet look like child's play. I was sure that many Pokemon like the Rhyperior that had killed Sweetheart's mom lay there, and they wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone in their path with how aggressive they were.

    I would agree with the wait-and-see approach for now. With some luck, he'd be manageable in a month.

    Denzel breathed out a relieved sigh. "Okay, so we're good then? Splitting into three groups?"

    My heart drummed against my chest, and I bit my tongue. It was now or never.

    "Wait, you didn't ask me," I said.

    "Huh?"

    "I want to travel to Veilstone alone."

    "What?" Cecilia muttered. I could almost see her heart sink, and it instantly made me reconsider. "Why?"

    "It's just… I feel like it'll be good for me to spend some time to myself. It's only seven days," I reassured her. "Then I'll join the group again."

    "What if you get attacked by Team Galactic?"

    "They won't attack me in a route."

    "You don't know that! Didn't you hear what Cynthia—"

    She cut herself off and rapidly blinked.

    "Do you want me to come?" Denzel asked. "I'm serious."

    "No. This is going to be my alone time. I need it."

    "You've never done this before. Are you sure everything's okay?" He continued. "Do you need to talk to someone? Are you feeling worse?"

    "It's just a week," I reiterated a bit stronger. "I can handle myself for a week. The sky isn't falling."

    "You've never traveled alone before," Pauline said, her anger almost forgotten.

    "I know. Listen, just trust me on this, okay? When we all get to Veilstone, I'll rejoin the group. I just need some time to focus on my Pokemon and myself."

    "Okay," Denzel said, letting out a trembling, defeated exhale.

    "Grace… can I please come?" Cecilia asked. She looked like her entire world was collapsing. "It'll be just us two. Shouldn't that be fine?"

    I almost broke at that moment. I almost said yes.

    "I know it hurts," I said. "But we'll be okay."

    It was at that moment that I realized that from her perspective, we'd never been apart for more than a few days, and that was during that whole Mount Coronet rescue mission. It was the same for Denzel, although he was taking it slightly better than she was. I was being selfish— to both of them, but those seven days to myself? I needed them dearly. Amanda had told me long ago that I tended to focus on my friends' problems first and mine second. If I could just get a bit of time alone, I felt like I'd be able to get back on my feet a lot quicker and figure out a lot more about myself.

    Of course, that meant that I was hurting the people I loved in the process. Everyone other than Justin looked somewhat defeated, although some were worse than others. Mira's expression had barely changed. Her thoughts lay elsewhere.

    "Well I guess I should talk about route 210 and 215, then," Denzel continued. "The first half of 210 is safe as long as you stay out of the tall grass. It's…"

    He paused and scratched his forehead. His right fist clenched.

    "A lot taller than you're used to. Taller than me, and it's easy to get lost in it or get jumped by a Pokemon, so stay out of it. You should probably stop by the Café Cabin before heading into route 215. They function like an inn too, so you could buy a room there if you need to rest. Making it through route 210 will probably only take two days."

    "How's route 215?" Maeve asked.

    "Wet. It almost always rains there, so you'll need to stay dry, especially in the cold. The environment will be worse than the wild Pokemon, but as long as you stick to the route, you should be fine. You'll have to do some climbing too, but nothing too bad."

    "Climbing while it's raining," Mira sighed. "Great."

    "After four to six days there— and it really depends on the weather— you'll have made it to Veilstone. From there on out, the routes will be smooth sailing, assuming none of you want to go through 212 for whatever reason."

    "Thanks for the help," I said.

    With the rain Denzel had warned us about, I'd probably have to get a raincoat. It had actually rained so little since the start of our journey that it was somewhat surprising. Sinnoh wasn't exactly known for its humidity like Hoenn, but we weren't a dry region either, so we had gotten particularly lucky on that front. After Justin asked about a dozen questions about the route and the Pokemon found there, the meeting slowly dissolved.

    But things still didn't feel right. I needed to set things straight with Cecilia, or I felt like we wouldn't be able to leave on good terms. Things had already been somewhat frosty due to me ghosting her, and now I was practically breaking her heart by traveling alone. At first, I wanted to wait for her outside the door, but I ended up just standing awkwardly in front of her until she just left.

    Be strong, I told myself. I took a step forward, placing a hand on her shoulder. She stopped and turned toward me.

    "Can we talk?" I asked. "Anywhere's fine."

    She sniffled. "I don't know. It'll hurt more when you leave."

    "Please. We need to clear the air or… or something. I've been a terrible girlfriend these last few days, and I'm so—"

    Noise from trainers walking through the halls interrupted me. We'd caught their eye, and they were just staring and recording. I clicked my tongue and released Buddy out of his Pokeball. A single, hate-filled glare was enough to scare them off. I didn't care about my reputation. Not when the girl I loved needed me.

    "Let's just go to your room. Please."

    Cecilia hesitantly nodded. I'd done it. I'd manage to recover from the brink. I felt like if she had said no just now, our relationship would have been irreparably damaged. Either I would have felt forced to give up on traveling alone and been bitter about it, or I would have gone anyway without clearing the air. Both situations would have been disastrous.

    Cecilia struggled to grab her room key out of her pocket, so I did and opened her door for her, letting her in. Slowking could have done it, but it was almost like he wanted me to. She sat down and looked down at the floor. The evening sun shone on her dark skin and dark brown hair. My mouth suddenly felt very dry.

    "Cece…" I choked. How did I want to start this? I didn't want to— I couldn't fuck up. "I did things that I'm not proud of, and I thought that I was a monster for a good while. I thought that if I talked to you and you saw through me, then you wouldn't— you wouldn't like me anymore."

    She bit her lip.

    "And I know now that you were also dealing with the same issue, and that didn't keep you from visiting or trying to contact me, but at the time, I thought that it was just me," I said. "I'm going to be honest with you… I'm going to air it all out."

    I took a deep, trembling breath.

    "I killed two Pokemon and tortured someone for information," I said. "I kept stepping on the wound on his leg, and I felt good while doing so. I'm not sure, but I think that... I think that he'll never be able to walk properly again. That was why I was scared… I'm sorry. I screwed up, but I need some time to figure things out. My Pokemon are all fucked up too, and if I'm not alone, I don't think I'll have the time to focus on them and get them back on track."

    "I killed a man, Grace. I burned him to death."

    I felt my stomach drop. That had come out of nowhere.

    "Talonflame's Heatwave burned him, and I just watched. One word from me, and he would have lived. He was a victim, Grace. A victim of Shiftry's brainwashing. And he was in no position to pose a threat to me. I killed him anyway and felt nothing. It was like I was taking out the trash."

    "I…"

    The positions were reversed now. She was the one expecting judgment from me. I looked to the depths of my heart and tried to find it within me to berate her, but knowing what Shiftry's darkness had done to me, I couldn't justify doing so. I understood that it was the same for both of us now.

    We both felt sorry for each other.

    "We've both done things we regret," she muttered. "But it feels like you're slowly slipping away from us. First it's one week, but what if it ends up being more, like Louis? He was supposed to come back and travel with us, but he's splitting from the group again. What if you end up doing the same? What if you find a new group… and then just leave us. Then we'd have to do the long-distance thing like Pauline and Emi, and I know— I know that I would never be able to do that."

    Ah. I understood completely now. Her reaction made so much more sense to me now that I knew that she was using Louis' case as a baseline. She was still bitter about it, even though she hid it well. Louis was probably a lot more comfortable with Mira and Maeve than he was with us on the road, even if we had all made up while investigating Harry Rodriguez.

    "I don't know how to convince you that I won't, but I promise you that I'll come back," I said. I leaned next to her knees and firmly grabbed her hand. "You mean so much to me, Cece. I can't imagine living— let alone traveling for a long period of time without you. This changes nothing between us."

    "If you break your promise, I won't forgive you."

    "I won't."

    "Promise me you'll stay safe? That you won't do something crazy like go off-route to train or to try to scout out locations for your seventh team member?"

    "I won't."

    "You'll get to Veilstone before we do, so promise me that you won't look for Team Galactic's base like Mira was planning on doing because you feel responsible or you want to be a hero."

    "I promise you."

    "And spend as much time with me before you leave? I'll have to stay back longer because of my leg, so our time apart will end up being longer than seven days."

    "Of course."

    "Very well."

    I stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. I felt a few tears stream down my cheeks. I honestly thought that she might break up with me if I screwed this up, and I didn't know if I'd be able to handle that on top of everything else. I wrapped her into a tight hug and squeezed.

    "Thank you for giving me a chance," I said.

    "Are you kidding me? I thought you wanted to get away from me," Cecilia said. "Can you…"

    She traced a finger over my hand and then grabbed it. She gently pulled me in, leading me toward her lips.

    They were salty.

    Cecilia wrapped her arms around my neck, her crutches fell on the ground, and before I knew it, I was on top of her on her bed.

    "Cece— mhm— your leg—"

    "Shh."
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct, Christian Valenzuela
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 168
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 168

    I ended up spending the rest of the evening with Cecilia, which consisted of taking care of her a bunch. I didn't mind, of course. Helping her to walk to open the door to the bathroom, bringing her dinner, hair drying and brushing her hair, just being together were things that made us feel a hundred times better than before. I had even told her about Togetic changing me since she evolved, but aside from the initial surprise, she only cared because I did. She'd fallen in love with that version of me, and it was who I was now. She was so understanding with me.

    I did ask her to keep it from the others. I wasn't comfortable with telling them yet.

    "And you've got to talk to someone, okay? Even when I'm gone. You've never spoken to a therapist before. You could even go into stuff with Clarence if you want," I said, gently stroking her soft hair as we lay in bed. I basked in the comfort of her warm skin.

    "I will… try."

    "Not try. You will," I insisted.

    "Okay, I will. I'll book an appointment tomorrow morning while you're doing yours."

    "Great! What do you want to do tomorrow?" I asked.

    "I'd like to swing by and see what happened to that old couple," Cecilia said. "Daniel and Marge? I want to see if they made it through the darkest day okay."

    "You're using the term?" I asked. "And it's pretty far with your leg. Didn't the doctors say that you needed to let it rest?"

    "Nothing I can't handle, love."

    "I'll keep you confined to this bed if it's the last thing I do."

    She laughed, which was music to my ears. Hearing her do so after so long filled me with untold amounts of joy.

    "Oh, I wouldn't mind," she playfully said. I felt my cheeks heat up. "We can just stay inside until you pick up the rest of your team then. I wish I could fly on Talonflame, but she's too small to fit me."

    "You don't even have a license."

    "That was more of a general thought, sorry," she said. "I've done some more research into Golett, you know? Did you know that they could fly when they evolve into Golurk?"

    I scoffed. "You're fucking with me."

    "No, I'm not! They can retract their legs and hands to fly like one of those rocket ships in Hoenn. It turns out I do have a flier after all… I was worried I'd have to buy and teach Slowking Teleport quicker than he could handle. I could have asked Mira's Kadabra for help, but they tend to hog their knowledge instead of sharing."

    "Kirlia can help too. Won't Hydreigon be able to fly you though?

    "It took my brother months for his Hydreigon to even let him touch him, so I wouldn't rely on that."

    "That's fair. I still don't believe you, by the way."

    Cecilia grabbed her phone, snuggled up closer to me and played a video of a Golurk slowly taking off from the ground and then breaking the sound barrier as soon as it was far enough. Somehow, it could retract its hands and legs into its body just like she had said. The process just looked so unnatural… what fuel did they even run on?!

    "Holy crap," I choked. "Can they do that in battle?"

    "I mean, he could, but the retracting process actually takes a decent while, and so does the initial take-off, as you saw. It wouldn't really work in practice. There are also a bunch of rules for it too. Golurk generate too much noise to fly in cities, and it can't even do so alone because breaking the sound barrier can cause property damage and bother people, so it looks like I'll have to rely on Slowking within cities. I'll still wait a while to get the TM, though. I'd like to focus on mind-shielding while in Veilstone."

    The psychic type nodded in his usual corner. For some reason, since every Pokemon Center room was built the same, he had a specific corner he liked to stay in. It was the one below the television, where he liked to listen, but not to watch. Nothing was playing right now, though. He was quirky like that.

    "Say, you never told me the sixth Pokemon you wanted. Obviously you want a Spiritomb, which I won't comment on—"

    "You saying that might as well be commenting," she smirked.

    "—but since Cynthia told you to wait, who are you gunning for right now?"

    "I don't know."

    "What?! I thought you had the entire thing planned out!"

    "Well, I just know I want it to be a fighting type, but I don't know which one I want. It'll probably be the first one I end up encountering. Other than Mankey, because then Pauline would cry foul. You still have to make up with her, by the way."

    "Right. I will before I leave. She was staring daggers at me."

    "Yeah. She'll come around easily though. She's been hurting from the group coming apart too, especially with Justin, even though she hides it well."

    "Take care of them for me. Denzel too."

    "I will."

    —

    I woke up due to nightmares.

    Unlike my previous ones, I did not wake up screaming. I woke up with a sense of dread overtaking my entire body. My hands and lips quivering like leaves as Crobat's final screams faded away during my return to consciousness.

    At least that'd help during travels. I wouldn't alert the wildlife this time.

    Unfortunately for Cece, she'd been clinging to me like a baby Komala to its mother, so I ended up waking her up too. She didn't mind, though. She said that it would allow us to spend more time together before I left.

    She didn't even say anything about having to change the sheets— which would probably have to happen every single day.

    My first session with Amanda hadn't done much to heal, but it felt nice to talk to her after so long. She was nowhere near as busy with trainers as she was earlier in the year, so we'd be able to have one of these at least once per day until I left. We ended up talking about my journey instead of what happened the entire time… it was just me dictating everything like I'd done with Sunshine and he had thoroughly hated it. One of Amanda's jobs, however, was to listen, and it felt really good to have someone to talk to about this stuff. I could tell her things I'd never be able to tell my friends, like complaining about them.

    Pauline for example. She was one of my closest friends, but she did have her flaws. It was expected of her to get mad and throw a fit, whereas if I did the same to her, I knew she wouldn't forgive me anywhere as easily as I did with her. Of course, I didn't just focus on her. We were all flawed human beings, deep down, but being able to lay it all out was good for me.

    And it could all be done through the confines of my room too. I wished I could just fly her out wherever I needed her though.

    "Good morning. I'm here for a Pupitar and Turtonator?" I told one of the Nurse Joys.

    "Just a second," she said before walking through the backdoor. I would have liked to go back there someday and see what went on inside, but the technology was well-hidden. She came back around two minutes later with two Pokeballs. "Take it easy with them for at least three days. No harsh training or battling."

    "I will."

    Now, it was time to do something unprecedented.

    I stepped outside of the Pokemon Center for the first time in days. My refuge away from the noise, the reporters and most of all, the attention. I released Jellicent and began to walk. People took notice right away. Some of them braved Buddy and tried to ask me questions. What happened at the Hunters' mansion? What's your link with Cynthia and why did the League accept you into their Internship Program? Why is the Champion routinely visiting you and your friends? Autographs, pictures, selfies, annoying demands. Never did they ask how I was. I simply denied them and continued on my way. Most of them cowered under Buddy's glare. Right now, I didn't care about my image.

    I made my way to the same forested area I had trained multiple times in for the tournament. It was funny to look back on it like it had been years ago when it had only been slightly more than a week. I released the entire team, but kept Sunshine and Sweetheart for last. I heard a camera click and noticed a flash in the distance. Everyone lined up in front of me and patiently waited for me to start.

    "Sweetheart and Sunshine are healed," I announced with a smile. "Everyone is back."

    Celebrations rang out through all four— even for Sunshine. Him saving our hides had given them a lot more appreciation for him than before, and even Princess seemed to be happy enough for him to be back. They'd cooperated closely during the battle with Harry.

    I released Pupitar first, who immediately slumped over and swayed around like a seesaw. I had seen her up close before, but it had been under the shroud of Shiftry's darkness and a muted feeling of panic while I applied potions to her hard exterior. She was big. At least 4'6' if I estimated correctly, and from the small indentation she caused to the dirt floor, she was a lot heavier than before too. Honey almost squealed when he saw her. Princess chirped, clapping her hands while Angel touched her all over with his vines. Buddy watched, but his eyes softened at the sight of her. Sweetheart yelled— which was an odd sound. It was a lot deeper than her old voice had been, but the voice came from inside of the cocoon, not from the structure itself, which meant it had this odd vibration to it. This was just armor to let her true body grow within, although it was no doubt connected to the main body. I'd try to study her more when she got used to her new state.

    "Angel, can you help her up?" I asked.

    The grass type labored to put her upright. He wouldn't be able to lift her like he used to. Going from a bipedal Pokemon to being confined in a cocoon would take a long adjustment period. Longer than Princess had taken to learn how to fly properly all those months ago after she evolved. Sweetheart struggled to balance herself for five seconds, and then she crashed on the floor again.

    "Tar!" She yelled out in frustration.

    I walked up to her and leaned close so that her red eyes could see me from up close. This adjustment period would be hard on her. Angel kept multiple vines wrapped around her for now, and she was finally able to 'stand' up. With how big and heavy she was, any hope of swimming without controlling her gas vents first was off the table.

    "Hi Sweetheart," I smiled.

    The bright eyes behind the cocoon mellowed out. It wasn't made of individual scales like her true body was. Instead, it was a rough, but continuous grey surface that reminded me of rock, but tougher somehow. I heard something rub against the cocoon, and her body rattled.

    "I know it's strange. You'll have to be like this for a few months until you can grow into your final form. It might seem debilitating now, but you'll get used to it. You can fly, remember?"

    She yelled again, and I could easily imagine her excited smile. The cocoon did have a mouth, although it couldn't smile— just open and close to let food in. Princess molded a small pit that she could fit in so that Angel wouldn't have to tire himself out balancing her, and she rolled into it and managed to adjust herself against one of the slopes until she was upright. Honey had tried to help her, but she brushed him off.

    She wanted to learn by herself.

    "Good, you're getting better at it already!" I praised. "Don't try to do any flying right now though. We'll wait until you get the hang of moving around for that."

    The rock type let out a defeated groan. I scanned her with my Pokedex to see if she had any new moves, and I was surprised to see that Guts had been replaced by Shed Skin. She was supposed to molt at different intervals, and it mostly depended on how much food she ate. Every time she did so, she would grow again and again until she was almost at her final size, although her final evolution would give her another push of growth of one to two feet. Imagining a six-foot-tall Pupitar was difficult, but she'd become one eventually.

    "Arceus…" I said. "You'll be a menace in my room."

    Her eyes narrowed confusedly.

    "You'll be huge," I specified. "I hope you'll behave."

    Shed Skin was apparently a less intense and quicker process of molting which would allow her to cure herself from any status condition in battle. I was sad that we never got to utilize Guts, but unlike Chase, I didn't really feel comfortable poisoning my Pokemon before a battle. Shed Skin would probably see more use, and it would allow me to have something that counters status moves. She had also learned the move Iron Defense, which allowed Pupitar to survive most attacks in the wild.

    In battle? I was already thinking of ways to combine her pressured flight capabilities with the move to utterly destroy her opponents.

    Right now, she'd be pretty useless in battle though. She had to learn to move around first. Electabuzz didn't even tease her about it like I had expected. He understood that she'd be frustrated about her lack of movement. Anyone would be after completely switching body plans on a whim. It made me feel bad for the few Pupitar that lived in the wild. Unlike Sweetheart, they'd have to adapt extremely quickly or die.

    Imagining her still alone in Mount Coronet hurt. Thank the Legendaries she'd come with me.

    I released Sunshine next. Just like Pupitar, he looked as good as new, but I knew that he was weaker than he appeared thanks to Nurse Joy. Something in his eyes had changed. There was still confidence and pride in his expression, but less now that he'd been humbled by Cynthia. It was as if he thought himself to be the strongest until he saw that he was nowhere close to that level, and it was like he got the rug pulled from under him.

    "Hey, big guy. I missed you."

    The fire type flared up slightly, but I didn't flinch. I'd gotten used to his little aggressive ticks now, and I just appreciated the extra warmth instead. I took off my coat and continued.

    "You saved us, Sunshine. I won't mince my words, we would have been dead without you. We might— might have won against Harry Rodriguez's full team, but that Crawdaunt and Weavile would have ended us. Thank you."

    I placed a hand on his scaly arm and left it there. He turned toward the rest of the group, and Honey and Angel happily waved at him, while Sweetheart just screamed. Buddy offered him a nod. Princess greeted him too, although less enthusiastically.

    "But before you go, I've got to talk to you about grown-up stuff. Buddy, you come here too!"

    The water type slid toward me.

    "I'd appreciate it if you both looked as scary as possible for this. You probably noticed, but we've got visitors," I said before whispering. "I'll tell the kids later since I don't want to sour their moods, but Team Galactic is going to come after us. It might happen in Veilstone, which is the next city over, or it may not, but we've got to get ready for it. Sunshine, right now, you've got to rest for a few days—"

    The dragon angrily protested, and I saw a girl in the distance stumble backward and run away.

    "No protesting. Nurse Joy's orders. If you don't I'll keep you in the ball," I said. "I know you want to get back into shape, but you can wait a few days. Anyway, I assume that our deal has been fulfilled?" I asked him.

    Turtonator nodded.

    "I want a new deal with you then. When this Team Galactic thing goes down again, I want you to help, but I also need to ask a favor. I need you to help train my team. We do these mock battles sometimes, and I think I can cook up something that'll work for you. If I send all of them after you at once, then you'll have a decent fight. Obviously you'll still have to hold back, and using your heat is out of the question, but— stop being so damn grouchy and let me finish, Arceus! But you'll need to learn how to fight without your heat anyway. If I'm close to you, you'll never be able to let loose."

    Sunshine reluctantly nodded. It wasn't like I was being unreasonable here. I wasn't asking him to fight in the gyms, and I was making up for not letting him kill Harry Rodriguez. Plus, it would coincide with the 'punching up' advice Cynthia had given me, although it would always be better to do it with a trainer instead. Not that many options on the road, though. The further east we went, the least experienced trainers we'd come across outside of the cities. I took a deep breath and continued.

    "Buddy, you did incredible progress with your Night Shades during the battle. I don't know if it was because of the heat of the moment or not, but you can make them attack now. For the foreseeable future, I want you to work on your… ghostliness, like Mathilda told us back in the ghost tower. I—"

    I choked.

    "—don't want to resort to this again, but if push comes to shove… you're going to be my most lethal Pokemon after Sunshine over here. You'll leave a clone with us, slip away and target the trainers. If possible, don't kill them. Knock them out somehow, I don't know. A low-powered jet of water, maybe? Without a trainer to command them, most teams will fall apart and it'll allow us to get the upper hand."

    That was the plan. Sunshine already had a plethora of moves he had to get familiar with again, and Buddy needed to work on his Night Shades. First, he'd need to make them not explode on contact with everything, then strengthen the moves they could use, and finally, he'd be able to work on making more than one.

    When I first started training him, I had no idea the move would be able to go that far. Fantina's Frillish had been able to summon multiple too.

    Though if push came to shove and I was targeted by too many at the same time…

    "Now let's go and enjoy ourselves. Sweetheart's been dying to see you," I smiled at Turtonator.

    He swaggered up in the middle of the team and Togetic groaned.

    But she didn't glare.

    —

    The next day, Cynthia was supposed to meet us all, including people not in the Internship Program. Thankfully, she didn't do it in the Pokemon Center like before, because I knew that would have excited the trainers around here way too much. Our Center was the most packed in the city because people wanted to catch a glimpse of the Champion, but the rest were relatively empty now. Most trainers had left as soon as they could, and something told me they'd wait a long while to ever go to Solaceon again. It wasn't like people had to go through here to get to Hearthome. Route 212 was a thing, although it was extremely long, tedious and dangerous because of the massive swamp next to Pastoria.

    Alicia's Xatu Teleported me back in the same office where we'd joined the League, and my friends came soon enough. Only Cynthia was here today, so we wouldn't be seeing any Elite Four members. Maeve was a nervous mess, barely able to comprehend that she was meeting Sinnoh's Champion, but other than that, reactions were pretty muted. We had all seen her at least once before. Then there was Justin, who obviously didn't care whatsoever. Togekiss stood by her side, and his wings were behind his back like a scholar.

    "Welcome. This is the last meeting we'll have. When we're done here, you'll be free to leave Solaceon whenever you please," Cynthia immediately started. She seemed busy. "A veteran League Trainer will be assigned to each of you in every city, and you probably will never see or hear them. There won't be a need for you to speak. If you need to talk to the League talk to me. Lucian will sort through the message and see if it's important enough or not."

    She paused to see if we understood, and we all let out small affirmative grunts.

    "I will reiterate that everything we've spoken about these last few days is confidential. Don't let the media get a rise out of you or bait you into giving answers…"

    She ended up giving us a ten-minute spiel on ways to keep safe, but we had some of her tips covered, like keeping a Pokemon out as much as we could, or training our psychics to get better at tracking people to see if anyone was following us— sort of like Slowking had done at the start of the tournament. An interesting one I hadn't known about was that was more specific to me was that I could train Togetic to sense malicious intent from people. It wouldn't go as far as mind reading, but it'd be useful to know if someone wanted to hurt us or not.

    Of course, it wasn't infallible. Some people were good enough to mask their intent, but most were not. It was more of a long-term project for us though, because it took her Togekiss a long time to learn. The best way to start was to have Princess try to feel others' emotions but she'd only be able to do so with strong ones, and only faintly at the start. It would take months for it to even be reliable.

    "Congratulations. You're now free to go out into the world," Cynthia smiled. "You may leave. A few Teleporters are waiting for you in the hallway. Justin, stay back for a few minutes please."

    The pale boy shrugged.

    I wondered what she wanted to talk to him about. Something to do with his condition?

    "Grace. Can I come with you for a sec?" Pauline asked. "I mean Teleport with you. You're not going back to the Center, right?"

    "Yeah?" I frowned.

    We weren't placed exactly where I wanted, but Xatu had probably never been to the forested area I liked. They did put us as close as they could though, so I appreciated that. It would take around fifteen minutes to get there.

    "Can we start over?" Pauline said out of the blue.

    "What?"

    "We're fighting and I hate it. I don't want us to be fighting before we separate, because then it'll make things even worse for when we meet again."

    "Oh. Oh."

    I never thought that she'd be the one to apologize first. I thought I'd have to ask her to forgive me for dropping off the face of the earth.

    "Oh? Is that bad or is that good?"

    "I mean, yes!" I yelled. "I just wasn't expecting that. I mean, I still want to apologize for not telling you anything, it wasn't cool of me. I sent a message to Emi too."

    "She told me," Pauline smiled. "Just remember that you've got us. Carrying all that shit on your shoulders gets exhausting."

    "What about you? Are you okay? Mentally, I mean."

    "Oh, I'm fine. I'm mostly annoyed about my fucking arm. It'll take months for me to be able to move it without feeling pain, but the people that did it to me paid it back tenfold. Justin still worries me, but right now I'm just hoping that he'll get back to normal soon."

    I nodded, not knowing if that meant killing or injuring. It did make sense though. She'd always been mentally the strongest out of all of us.

    "I was going to train my Pupitar to stand for a bit. Want to come with?"

    "Sweetheart evolved?! Holy shit! Yeah, I'll come!"

    Twenty minutes later, I almost choked on my own saliva when she released a Charizard.

    —

    Cynthia

    Your entire group is clear of any influence from Togetic.

    "Thank fuck," I breathed out as I read the message again. I assumed that Togekiss had checked while she'd been speaking to us as a group.

    If it hadn't been the case, I would have had to talk to everyone about it, and it wouldn't have been pretty. A few days ago, it looked like I'd never be able to recover, but things were getting better, little by little. Denzel was cheering up and trying to get Justin to open up with Louis, although they had very little success. Mira was back to her usual self, and even though some of it was fake, some of it was real too. She was even starting to pester me about Chase again. Justin actually ended up leaving the day after.

    No matter what, life went on.

    Three days after Cynthia gave us the okay, it was time for me to leave. My friends sent me off at the edge of route 210. We all cried— and Cecilia especially so, but we'd be back together soon. She had to stay back another week because of her leg, and Denzel and Pauline were obviously going to wait for her. Louis, Mira and Maeve were planning on leaving in two days.

    I released Princess and began to walk.

    And so, for the first time since I went to Twinleaf with only her by my side, I was traveling alone.

    My legs felt light.
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso

    A/N: And that's the official ending of the Solaceon arc! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. When I started story boarding this, Solaceon wasn't exactly supposed to be that interesting. There were going to be a few tournament battles, maybe a battle between Lauren and Grace, and that was it. Ten chapters tops. Unfortunately for my fingers, my standards grew higher the closer I got to the actual town, and I know the reputations meaningless tournament arcs have, so when I was around chapter 100, I began to plan this entire thing. Looking at a map of Solaceon, there isn't much of interest in it. The only building of note is the daycare, so I began to think: how the hell can I take a single building to make a town with nothing in it interesting, and how can I make it relate to the main plot? Well, it took a lot of effort, but you saw the results.

    Let me know if you enjoyed it or not. There was a lot of foreshadowing with the Hunters being more with the Lost Tower and the early Solaceon chapters which become obvious on a reread, and there's still more to learn about them in a coming interlude, which you'll be able to vote for on my discord (the next 3 chapters are interludes). So I'll be taking my one day break as usual. We're closing in on 700k words, so I want to thank you guys for reading my word salad. I'll see you all on Monday.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Interlude - Forums V
  • Threadmarks
    • INTERLUDE - FORUMS V

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

    General → Politics
    Topic: Timeline of Events during the Darkest Day
    Original Poster: Ethan_Rose (Verified Trainer)
    Date: January 30th 20XX

    Yesterday, the entirety of Solaceon went to shit and I was there to see it.

    A lot of trainers are out there giving first-hand accounts, but all of their stories are embellished bullshit that's there to make themselves look good. None of them fought the actual bad guys out there. The vast majority of these people speaking to the media stayed holed up inside of a Pokemon Center the entire time this went on, or they tried to run away by getting to the edge of the barrier. I was different. I stayed outside and observed the chaos in full display. I never felt as calm as I did in those few hours, and it allowed me to write down everything that went down so that we try to figure out what the hell happened, since the League decided to keep the entire world in the dark, as they usually do.

    2:43 pm: Solaceon is plunged in darkness. This is when everything started, and from what I observed, the entire thing originated from the Hunters' mansion. Them being in on it is obvious, because the League is throwing them under the bus and destroying their business. I mean sure, they were linked with Team Galactic et cetera et cetera, but I seriously doubt they'd have anything this powerful. There have been a few theories about this being a psyop or an inside job, but I'll gloss over those for now. I am here to document, not make opinions.

    2:48 pm: The Nurses in the different Pokemon Centers start organizing and placing people back inside of their rooms to try to prevent a mass panic. At the time, they probably didn't know about the numbing effects that the darkness had, so it was the most sensible course of action. They wanted to wait for League Trainers to take control. It would take three hours for them to arrive and five for them to fully resolve the situation and bring back a sense of order to Solaceon.

    3:00 pm: Here's when things get interesting. I was outside when I saw a particular group of people get taken by the shadows. Grace Pastel, Cecilia Obel and the usual clique, except that Maeve Chang and Mira Compton somehow joined them this time? And Chase Karlson was nowhere to be seen as well. Either way, they were absorbed into the fucking floor, and I thought they died right then and there. Of course, you know that isn't true, so I ask the question: where the hell where they taken? I'll let you be the judge of that.

    3:34 pm: First instances of looting appear in Solaceon. It's slow at first, but multiple people— trainers and civilians alike— start breaking into stores and stealing everything. Trainers went for things like TMs, vitamins, Hyper Potions or Ultra Balls while civvies went for appliances like television and fucking washing machines. I'm not joking, I saw a man carrying a washing machine out there.

    3:46 pm: With looting came the first instances of violence, mostly between trainers fighting over the limited supply of items. Solaceon's a small town, and their stores aren't stock full of everything like Jubilife or Sunyshore. Pokemon hesitated at first, but by 4:30, it was full pandemonium in the streets. Anyone not in a Center wasn't safe, and the Nurse Joys somehow kept things under control, Arceus bless their fucking souls.

    5:23 pm: Big time jump, but nothing noticeable happened until then. It was just more fights, more violence and more looting. I can't exactly confirm because I'm not expert, but the darkness around us was starting to grow weaker by the minute. It wasn't as deep, there was a little bit of light breaking through the sky, and peoples' condition stopped getting worse. It didn't get better, but it didn't regress either. Strangely enough, the darkness around the mansion seemed to strengthen. I couldn't say for sure, but the spire grew thicker somehow? It was weird.

    5:32 pm: Denzel Williams spotted walking back to one of the Pokemon Centers and is barely conscious. This is important because he apparently asked other trainers for something, but he was too out of it to form full sentences. It is believe he was concussed. People have guessed that he meant the Hunters and that they somehow teleported him to their mansion to kill him, but that wouldn't make any sense. How the hell would he have survived if they tried to gang up on him and kill him if they had something capable of shrouding all of Solaceon? That's the type of thing you hear Legendaries are capable of! He would have croaked for sure.

    Now I realize that I'm getting biased. Moving on.

    5:39 pm: First League Forces break through from the inside thanks to Aaron sensing a weakness in the wall. Cynthia not seen, but it is understood that she immediately flew to the mansion on Garchomp's back to face whatever the hell caused this. Aaron followed on his Flygon, and they were accompanied by six veteran League Trainers. They were too fast for me to identify any of them.

    5:46 pm: Darkness starts to unravel. It is assumed that Cynthia and Aaron killed whatever caused it, but it leaves just as fast as it came. Emotions rush back inside of us, and people start realizing how badly they fucked up these last three hours.

    5:50 pm: Grace Pastel teleported back to the Pokemon Center. Visibly shaken and crying. Wounded waist.

    6:00 pm: Cynthia announces 7:00 pm curfew. No one allowed out on the streets in an hour, and League Trainers start rounding up people and sending them home. Flint, Lucian and Bertha spotted around this time, which makes it the first time in exactly 343 years that all Elite Four members are out of the Lily of the Valley Island at the same time. From our understanding, Bertha Teleported back rather quickly though, so it only lasted for a few minutes.

    6:36 pm: Last of Grace Pastel's group brought back at the Center (Cecilia Obel and Justin Gardner). The former's leg is horribly mangled, but the bandages hide what kind of wound it was, and she screamed in anguish the entire way into her room. The latter seems completely unmoved, which is unusual. Even the most stoic of trainers were at least affected by how fucked up the situation was and how they were basically a completely different person for a few hours.

    7:00 pm: Curfew implemented. League has a firm hand over the town.

    7:35 pm-7:59 pm: Mayor Cameron Owen sacked along with the entire City Council. Chief of Police Deborah Landry sacked. City Treasurer Lily Nicholson sacked. City Clerk Thiago Joyner sacked. Their entire offices are also sacked. The official narrative is that they resigned for 'health' or 'family' reasons, or because of the shame they felt for being unable to be of nay help during the crisis but they were obviously all fired, and that's not even me being biased.

    8:56 pm: All positions of power in the city replaced with League-appointed employees. No new elections announced or planned.

    10:01 pm: Flint spotted Teleporting back to the League. Only Aaron, Lucian and Cynthia remain.

    It is now the next morning. There is something bigger at play here, but I will let you theorize for yourselves. I'm just an aspiring reporter, and I only tell the facts.

    ►RRNotaire

    I'll eat my hat if the mods leave this up. We all know they're on the League's payroll and that the government has been shutting this kind of talk down ASAP.

    ►Kyle_Thornton (Verified Trainer)

    I'm glad you made it out alright. I'm in Hearthome and I left Solaceon as soon as I was eliminated from the tournament. Crazy to think that I could have been there during the darkest day, but I guess I got lucky to be placed against Grace Pastel in the first round. I don't know that many theories, but I do think that there's more to this that meets the eye.

    ►Eve_Clements (Verified Trainer)

    You forgot to mention the fact that Mira Compton, Grace Pastel and Cecilia Obel just got accepted into the LTIP. The first time that first years with four badges get into the program. Something happened for sure. I think that them fighting off all of the Hunters is a crazy idea, but those three in particular must have done something to impress the League. There's no other reason for them to make that much of a jump in their career. The Internship Program basically means you're guaranteed a job by the end of the year!

    ►Hiiiiipowa

    Chiming in before thread gets locked.

    This is obviously a lot bigger than they want us to think, otherwise there'd be no need to assemble the entire Elite Four. I'm thinking that a Legendary was the cause of all of this. I mean, there's the birds in Kanto, right? Also that weirdo Mewto thing that's tooootally been destroyed by Lance and not hidden somewhere. Then Lugia, Ho-oh and the Legendary beasts in Johto, so why not?

    ►Jamie_Brown (Verified Trainer)

    Because then the entire city would be destroyed or thousands would be dead. There's no way the League is standing up to anything Legendary. Also, dark type Legendaries don't exist.

    ►Valery_Graham (Verified Trainer)

    There might be one, you don't know shit. Also, I'm 90% sure that a Champion would be able to deal with a Legendary Bird's avatar, just not the full concept itself, so Cynthia could probably deal with whatever the hell was in there. The problem with that theory is that according to that timeline, the battle was extremely short. Not even ten minutes, in fact, so it doesn't line up. I get that we're suspicious, but this? A normal Pokemon did this.

    ►Hiiiiipowa

    Whatever. It's not like you know any better than we do. Also Jamie_Brown stop speaking like you know jack shit about Legendaries.

    ►Frankie_Hines (Verified Trainer) (MESSAGE REMOVED BY THE MODERATORS AFTER 2.4 SECONDS)

    Obel's group fighting is guaranteed because some of them were wounded. You don't get wounded without fighting.

    On another topic, the Hunters conspired with Team Galactic, but the majority of them are still there. Only the ones at the head of the family like Roland are suspiciously gone. The guy came out of nowhere during one of the tours they were running with a fuckin Shiftry, and I've been starting to wonder if that's not the thing that caused this. I thought that they called Roland 'Elder', but I think they were actually looking at the damn Pokemon.

    It'd make a whole lot of sense, and it fits in my head, although I've never heard of a Shiftry being that powerful, but that's maybe no one's used them to their full potential yet. I know Sidney in Hoenn owns one, so I know what I'll be doing this afternoon.

    -THREAD LOCKED-

    —

    General → Politics
    Topic: What nobody is talking about (the economy, stupid)
    Original Poster: Hyperballad
    Date: January 31st 20XX

    First of all before I begin, there seriously needs to be an economics board. I'm tired of everything being relegated to politics when it's not exactly politics. This is why everyone's moved on to social media, but somehow trainers still hang onto this antiquated form of communication. You don't see coordinators use forums, they've all moved on to modern social media.

    Anyway.

    The Hunters are gone. Big deal. Most people think this is a good thing because of their evil rigging/Team Galactic links being exposed, but I'll talk about the negatives here. Solaceon is a small, insignificant town with an economy smaller than Floaroma's, but the little money they make— or made, as you'll come to see, came from two things. Agriculture (food exports that consisted of mostly Wheat) and Pokemon Breeding/Caretaking. I have a bibliography for all of this at the bottom of the post, by the way. The former accounts for 56% of Solaceon's revenue, and the latter for exactly 0%. Now here's when things get funky.

    Being a corporation in everything but in name, the Hunters took all of the profits from wherever they sold Pokemon. People always hyper focus on the rich trainers that they sell to (see Louis Bianchi's Vulpix), but the vast majority of Pokemon they breed go to the government, either to gyms or to the League itself. Sure, they hogged some of the money for themselves, but they actually reinvested the large majority of it into Solaceon largely through the form of donations to the city government. if we account for these donations, then Pokemon breeding/caretaking actually accounts for     64% of Solaceon's income. Now, I hear you smartasses already saying that 56% and 64% add up to more than 100%, but that's because the Hunters' donations were not counted in the city's annual revenue. This is what we call 'off-budget funds'. If we take the Hunters' money into account, then agriculture actually shrinks all the way down to a meager 21% of Solaceon's revenue. There was a reason people referred to them as an institution in Solaceon. They held a fucking iron grip over the city's neck.

    Now you may be asking two things.

    1) Who the hell thought that it was a good idea to run a town solely off the back of one weirdo creepy cult corporation?

    2) What the hell is Solaceon going to do now that they've just lost 64% of their revenue overnight?

    I don't have an answer for the first question, but I do have an answer for the second. Drastic budget cuts to public services and discretionary spending like schools, infrastructure, road maintenance, public parks, non-Pokemon Center healthcare, and social services. A budgetary crisis that the new City Treasurer will have to somehow solve, and that's not even counting the insane amount of repairs that the city will have to go through because of the effect this darkness bullshit had on people. And last but not least, what happens when a city goes to complete shit? Both people and businesses pack up their bags and get the fuck out.

    Solaceon isn't exactly known for its businesses, but the few that are there will go bankrupt or have to close down their locations. Your old mom and pop's restaurant? Gone. No one has the fucking money to spend on that shit anymore. A grocery store that was somehow still standing the test of time against the big chains? Gone. Gift shop? Gone.

    All. Gone. This city is a fucking dead man walking.

    Younger people will move to Hearthome or Veilstone because of the lack of opportunities and the population will fall off a cliff. It'll be like a snowball effect that can't be stopped once it gets too large.

    The League has yet to announce any plans to save the sinking ship, but I assume that they'll do something. The only question that remains is if it fucking works.

    -Hyperballad

    ►Oslo_Walter (Verified Trainer)

    Interesting analysis. I definitely underestimated how large the Hunters were in Solaceon, and the fact that they don't have anything else to generate revenue is worrying. I have a cousin that lives there whose house was robbed during the Darkest Day and he's considering moving. His insurance provider doesn't cover a lot of what was stolen and it would take months to process everything. He's moving in with us in Sunyshore and I don't think he's coming back.

    ►EsteyyaPip

    LETS FUCKING GOOOOO OUR RESIDENT ECONOMIST IS BACK! I hope the new job in Jubilife is treating you well, my brother.

    Regarding the town being screwed, what do you think about subsidies? It'd be expensive as hell to cover 64% of their revenue (probably going to end up losing more money because of the ripple effect), but it'd stem the bleeding at least, no?

    ►Hyperballad

    Oh, it'll stem the bleeding, and I'm sure that it's one of the first things Lucian came up with during whatever meetings were held. The problem is that subsidies won't be enough.

    Like you said, there will be a spillover effect and Solaceon will end up losing a lot more income than I outlined in my post. If I had to estimate, I'd put the number at around 70%. Even with subsidies, you just don't recover from that.

    I hate the concept of subsidies in general, but you know me, I'm a neolib. You've got a teach a man to fish instead of giving him a fish every day, right? You've got to get Solaceon back on its feet, and subsidies won't do that. They need to find a new source of revenue and concrete new policies need to be put in place before people start to leave. Solaceon's bottleneck is their relatively tiny workforce, but if that workforce starts to pack their bags, there won't be any money made.

    The League has to convince the working population of Solaceon to stick around for the long haul and start working again.

    Sorry about your cousin, by the way. And the job's going fantastic! I'll DM you the details.

    -Hyperballad

    ►MaxRichter

    I mean, I agree with all of this, but I'm not as pessimistic as you are. Lucian is there, and his Alakazam will probably help run things. I'm not one of the people fooling themselves into thinking that the newly appointed Treasurer is totally independent and not just a sock puppet for the League lmao.

    ►Hyperballad

    You're right that Alakazam will most likely be running the show for a few months at least, but from the way I'm looking at things, it's looking nigh unsalvageable. You can stem the bleeding, but it seems to me like Solaceon will never be as prosperous as it used to be. It's a shame too, with all the potential it had with expansion into route 210. When I was in college, I looked at proposals to expand the city all the way to the Café Cabin. That means that it would have been the third largest city in Sinnoh after Jubilife and Sunyshore.

    That's why directivism is bad, folks. The Hunters were at the reign of the economy, and they only served themselves. Why do you think Kanto and Johto's economies still lag behind Unova and Galar? A lower GDP growth year after year, a lower HDI rating, lower per capita income? Because they're still stuck in this command economy, central planning bullshit while the other two have embraced modernity. Cynthia's gone a step back with nationalizing the Bianchi Conglomerate, or at least she should have sold it back to another company by now, but I won't get into it here.

    -Hyperballad

    —

    General → Politics
    Topic: Maylene Press Conference
    Original Poster: Naomi_Tillings (Verified Trainer)
    Date: January 31st 20XX

    The events in Solaceon have overshadowed a lot of what has been happening in Veilstone. People interested will know that Maylene gave a press conference earlier this morning (alone, for a change! No handlers from the League were with her today, surprisingly) regarding the rumors that have spread about some Team Galactic base in the city. The rumor's spread so quickly that people actually believe that this is their main base of operations or that there are actually multiple bases in the city.

    Of course, Maylene went with the usual politician speak, which I do admit is weird as hell coming from a fifteen year old. I'm used to only old people speaking like that and that's some serious cognitive dissonance and it hurts my brain very very much.

    And it also hurts my heart to see her forced to say this.

    Anyway, long story short, she kept saying not to panic, that they were looking into it, and that these rumors were baseless. Whatever, same dish, different cook, we're all used to that shit at this point. The League is only honest with us when it wants to be, and it makes me want to move to Unova. As soon as I get the money, I'm out of here and signing up for their Circuit.

    Back to Veilstone! Here's where things get weird.

    There has been this constant narrative in the media about a crime wave happening there for the last few months. It's Sinnoh's most crime-ridden city (even more than Jubilife), but they've never gone this hard with the narrative. So I decided to do some digging and I compared this year's crime statistic with last year's.

    Crime went down. All types of crime that the media would be interested in anyway (violent crime or drug-related crimes). White collar crime actually went slightly up.

    I'm thinking there's a bit of a distraction operation going on here. Is the media colluding with the League to make us focus on anything other than Team Galactic? That would certainly be a first, but it's possible. Are the statistic altered? It is on the government website after all, so it could mean that the government is lying, but the media is picking up on the heightened crime. To do this though, they'd need the civilian government and Veilstone's police department to be in on it. Again, possible.

    What I'm trying to say is that in every scenario my mind finds, the League is lying in some way, and they're lying to cover up something related to Team Galactic's presence in Veilstone. I'm 100% sure of it, but let me know what you think.

    ►Megumi_Ishitani (Verified Trainer)

    Stop throwing shade at Maylene. She's obviously been thrown into this, and it's hard being a gym leader that young in these troubled times. First people complain that she's not independent enough, but then when she tries to be, you still complain. I bet people like you are the reason she's been looking so sad lately.

    ►TOHO

    I mean, there's been some noise about Team Galactic sightings, but nothing concrete yet. The League are watching Veilstone like hawks. They've been on the backfoot the entire year after they stole all of the League's information. They've literally had zero wins. Their organization had basically been wiped out from western Sinnoh with relative ease, so why would they struggle finding a base in Veilstone? It only takes one member captured that gets their memory extracted for the location, and it's over. The League busts in and either they escape or fight. Both outcomes lead to their loss. They've shown time and time again that they can't take the League in a straight fight.

    ►Naomi_Tillings (Verified Trainer)

    Sorry Megumi_Ishitani, I just don't feel like playing nice with a tool of the state while she's helping to erode our freedoms in real time. Oooooh, it must be sooooo hard for her. Cry me a fucking river. She's the one that chose to become a gym leader. Nobody forced her fucking hand, and I don't see her speaking out against the very real threat of Sinnoh sliding back into a dictatorship. Did you know that trainers from Kanto and Johto needed official approval from the League to leave their region permanently? Did you know that the media speaking out against the government too harshly there is a criminal offense? Do you want us to get back to that level of tyranny?

    The world is a dark place, and there are only a few beacons of freedom for us to take refuge in. I thought Sinnoh was one of them, but it looks like it's not.

    ►Megumi_Ishitani (Verified Trainer)

    I'm too tired to argue online with a stranger. Have a good one.

    ►Imperium101

    They might have been wiped out in the west, but that doesn't mean they're inactive. There was that attempt on Roark's life two weeks ago.

    ►ZzZaVier

    You're right to be scared, but you have to remember these are extraordinary times we live in.

    Regarding your Team Galactic theory, I have to agree that it is fishy, but I can't imagine either of your explanations being correct. Either way, it's only a matter of time before the powder keg blows up, and everybody knows it. If you live in Veilstone, I think Sunyshore is very nice this time of year. You can even walk there without Pokemon.
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Nice to see a range of reactions and opinions, even if one of them (Hyperballad) is a blatant hypocrite.
     
    Man, Grace is going to be bugged so much by people who can derive that she fought something and want to know since threadlock.
     
    Interlude - Discovery
  • Threadmarks
    • INTERLUDE - DISCOVERY

    Up here, the fog was so thick you could choke on it.

    Chase Karlson could barely see twenty feet in front of him, and it had gotten worse the further he got along this mountain. He sat on an appropriately shaped rock as he stuck by his Houndoom while snacking on a protein bar. There was no wood to make a fire here, or at least none that he could find without straying off the path and getting lost, so having a fire type was extremely convenient. Houndoom whined, and his tail lay flat against the rocky ground.

    "I know you're tired, but you've gotta toughen up," Chase said.

    Without the fog, he reckoned that he could have seen Solaceon from there. Leaving the tournament had been a bummer, but this was too important to pass up on. If he hadn't left, then he would have had to wait until the end of the year to get to Celestic. The opportunity had been too good to pass up. Houndoom lazily blew a flame in front of them, and Chase sniffled. The damn fog was irritating his lungs and clinging to his clothes, making them wet. Without Houndoom, he would have had a seriously hard time dealing with the cold. If there was one word that defined the dark type, it would be loyal. He followed wherever Chase went and would go to the ends of the earth to help him.

    He was bored quite easily, however.

    The floor rumbled slightly and the temperature lowered by a few degrees. Cold mist mixed in with the fog as his Abomasnow stepped into view. The hulking grass type was seven feet tall, and he carried the frozen corpse of a Bibarel. Riolu rode on his shoulder, hanging on one of the long, thick frozen leaves that made up Abomasnow's body. Houndoom was his most loyal, but Abomasnow was his most powerful and dedicated fighter.

    "There's your dinner. Zangoose! Vikavolt!" Chase yelled. His voice reverberated through the mountains. He didn't care if anything heard him. Let them come, and he would challenge them with his team.

    Vikavolt's buzzing could be heard in the air, and he left a trail of electricity behind him as he landed faster than Chase could notice.

    "Good improvement on that landing," Chase nodded. "Keep at it."

    The bug type's pincers ground against each other and he fanned his wings.

    "That doesn't mean get confident. Confidence makes us rest on our laurels. Work like you're twenty steps behind. Always."

    The old him would have sneered at that, but he knew that competition was fierce now. Chase had long outgrown his old days in Jubilife where he would crush any trainer in arenas with Riolu. He could still do so if he wished, of course, but there was little point to it now. It wasn't like anyone would accept his challenge anyway.

    The money would have been nice.

    Zangoose strode up behind him with her usual scowl and red eyes. She was the most solitary Pokemon of her team and liked to keep to herself most days, but that didn't mean that she disliked the team like he'd feared at first. That would have been catastrophic, especially because he liked to build a sense of camaraderie between them— himself included. They were a squad. A unit. And everyone had a role.

    But no, the answer was that Zangoose was just an introvert.

    Saliva ran down Houndoom's mouth as he slowly cooked the dead Bibarel. He, Zangoose, and Vikavolt all preferred meat, so he wasn't about to stop them from eating. He could almost imagine Pastel's whining or William pretending to be fine with it, but really being almost to the point of gagging.

    Riolu took a seat next to him and sighed.

    "Abomasnow give you a tough time?" Chase asked.

    The ice type snorted, releasing a cold wind that overpowered Houndoom's heat. Riolu shrugged and crossed his legs. Abomasnow was exigent in his hunting, and he only went after Bibarel for the team, which meant that they had to go down to slopes next to the enormous river to catch them and climb back up. It was no wonder Riolu had taken a ride on his shoulder by the end of it. They had been gone for three hours.

    The first phase of Chase's plan had been to train his team to the bone so that they could do things like this. Go out independently and hunt or train without his guidance against wild Pokemon, if they wanted to. Sometimes, they came back wounded, which meant that they'd gotten something out of it. A wound was a valuable lesson, as was a scar.

    Chase would know. He traced down the long scar at the back of his arm given to him by that Sneasel up north. His Pokemon had plenty now.

    "Celestic should be five days away," Chase announced. "The fog will get worse before it gets better, so from now on if you go out, you'll need to have Ri with ya."

    Zangoose hissed and her fur stood up in protest, but the fighting type shot her a look that calmed her down immediately. She cut up Bibarel's gut— which was her favorite bit— and walked off in the distance, although she made sure to stay within his range of vision. Vikavolt let out a low hum, annoyed that he wouldn't be able to fly and improve his speed with Chase's new rules.

    "I don't care," Chase shrugged. "We've got eight potions left. I'm your leader, and a leader has to make tough decisions. You'll cut down on training time, but we've got to think about the way back."

    Strangely enough, even though Chase was one of the best first-years in the region, he was still poor. Trainers would no longer battle him due to his temperament and reputation, and he was too prideful to accept a sponsor. He would not be a tool for big businesses to enrich themselves, money be damned.

    That of course meant that he had to ration potions. Food for his team came first, but even that was too much now that they'd grown so large, which was why he'd resorted to hunting for the majority of their sustenance.

    He watched Houndoom devour Bibarel's face and Vikavolt saw an arm off for himself. He searched through his bag and offered Riolu some sliced berries— a habit he'd picked up from a certain someone. The fighting type began to munch down on the fruit and Abomasnow made himself tall, attempting to absorb the few rays of sunlight that made it through the thick fog.

    "Finish eating, then we're hitting the road again."

    Celestic grew closer.

    —

    Chase stopped when he heard a Pokemon grunting. There was the sound of something… slamming stone, over and over again. Riolu's eyes lit up as he held out his hand, then he stared up at Chase and nodded.

    "Can we go around?" Chase whispered.

    The fighting type hesitated, then shook his head. The path up here was too narrow to avoid whatever was in front of him, but it was also too narrow to have a damn fight on. There was supposed to be some type of bridge up ahead, if the information Williams had sent him was correct.

    "Fuck this," Chase said, rolling his shoulder. Fear had never stopped him, and it would not stop him now.

    He stepped forward before his Pokemon could even stop him and saw that a huge Klawf was hanging on the steep cliff to his right up ahead. The path was so narrow it could barely fit Abomasnow, so simply running past it was impossible. The giant crab angrily clicked its pincers, letting him know that this was its turf and going any further implied a fight.

    "I'm getting through whether you like it or not," Chase said. He waited for a few seconds, but resigned to a fight when Klawf hit one of its pincers against the wall it was attached to. He had hoped to negotiate with it like he'd done with a few others he'd done on this route— Pokemon on routes were often a lot more reasonable than the aggressive Pokemon of Mount Coronet or Eterna Forest. Unfortunately, Klawf wanted a fight. "Prepare the long-ranged setup."

    Moving as one, his team took their positions. He felt Houndoom's warmth to his left, and Abomasnow's frigid cold behind him. Darkness festered under the fire type's paws. Vikavolt was out of view, but he could see and hear faint cracks of electricity dancing in the air. Zangoose squeezed past him and raked a claw against the cliff. Klawf let out an irritating sound and menacingly slammed a pincer against the wall of the cliff.

    "Fighting it is, motherfucker."

    Klawf yelled, and the whole mountain began to shake. Small rocks fell down the cliff at first, but they grew larger and larger with time.

    "Rock Tomb or Slide. Zangoose, you're up."

    The normal type blurred to Chase's right and clawed every rock that would have hit him apart with Metal Claw. Fragments still hit him and cut his face, but this was better than nothing. Abomasnow slammed a fist against his chest, causing snow to fall to the ground, and let an Ice Shard loose toward Klawf, who climbed up the cliff with surprising speed. Three of them buried themselves into its rocky armor, but the rest disintegrated against the terrain.

    From the sky, Vikavolt shot out a Sticky Web, wrapping Klawf so tightly that its speed was cut at least in half. Houndoom's Flamethrower heat up one of its claws until it glowed red. A tiny ball of aura appeared in between Riolu's palms and flew off toward the rock type, hitting it in between the eyes. Klawf shook the damage off, and this time shards of rock flew out of its mouth. Faster than he could even react, Zangoose pushed Chase behind her and got hit in his stead. Blood poured down her fur, staining it in scarlet red.

    The boy hissed. He wasn't going to be treated like a fucking damsel in distress. He shot up and cracked his fingers.

    "Ri. Hand me a bone."

    Klawf shot another volley of rocks, this time aiming at Zangoose again, but she was too quick to be hit. She climbed up the mountain with her claws while Vikavolt, Houndoom and Abomasnow pelted the rock type with Dark Pulses, Thunderbolts and Ice Shards. A bone grew out of Riolu's hand and Chase quickly grabbed it, waiting for a chance to strike. The floor shook once more, and Klawf attempted to crawl backwards to get away from Zangoose.

    "Watch for the rocks!" Chase yelled.

    Zangoose hissed, slashing across the Klawf's rocky shell and then climbing onto its back to avoid the Rock Slide. Chase, Riolu and Houndoom smoothly slipped behind Abomasnow, who slowed or froze the incoming rocks with a powerful Icy Wind.

    "String Shot the legs!" He ordered. He had to replace the string that had been burned by Flamethrower.

    Vikavolt screeched, shooting out more string, this time focused on Klawf's legs. Zangoose kept hitting it with Metal Claw and now that its legs were wrapped up, it began to slide down toward the flat ground. Chase bolted out from behind Abomasnow and slid against the floor, angling Riolu's bone right up the cliff, and it impaled Klawf right in between the eyes.

    The sheer weight of the crab shook him to his core, but Riolu kept him steady by keeping his hands on his back. It desperately attempted to claw him apart. He twisted the bone, and the rock type shivered in agony. Chase stood up and clenched his fists to stop them from shaking, then he stared it right in the eye.

    "Now I'm going to give you a chance to leave. Either you take it, or we keep this going," he said.

    Klawf stared at him with hazy eyes, but managed to nod with its entire body.

    "Burn this shit off," Chase said, pointing at the remaining String Shot and Sticky Web.

    Houndoom spat out a low-powered Flamethrower, and Riolu's bone dissolved into dust. Chase tensed, expecting the worst, but the rock type scampered off to find some new territory to settle on. He breathed in deeply and then exhaled through his mouth. The more he progressed, the less a part of the team he felt.

    But he'd proven himself once again. Zangoose smirked at him and tapped his shoulder, and Houndoom licked his fingers. Vikavolt landed and let out an excited buzz, while Abomasnow creaked like the sound of rustling leaves. They'd all been impressed.

    Riolu, however, looked worried.

    "You worry too much. This is nothing," Chase said. "Now let's get through this damn bridge—"

    He swore as a hole opened up in the ground and swallowed him into the mountain.

    —

    Chase hadn't known if he'd passed out for an hour or two minutes, but he woke up with his face caked in dirt and blood. He spat out a mouthful of dirt and dust and stared at his bloodied hands. The drop hadn't actually been that high, but he'd rolled pretty far down and he could barely see the hole in the sky— which was the surface. The fog was beginning to leak inside. He felt a surge of panic and touched his head, but breathed a sigh of relief when he realized his cap was still there. It had been torn up pretty good though.

    Chase coughed up more dust, but he grew breathless when he saw what was down here. It was a city.

    Words would fail to capture its beauty. Even when crumbling, it was the most magnificent city that Chase had ever seen. Strange, magical lamposts still illuminated the paved streets casting an otherworldly yellow glow toward the untold amount of stone buildings. He stumbled forward and felt at his belt to check if his Pokeballs were still there.

    They luckily were.

    Chase called out each of his Pokemon's names. They'd all fallen down the chasm with him, so hopefully they'd be able to follow his voice. The first one that came was Vikavolt, which was an obvious conclusion due to his being able to fly. The bug type caught himself by flying and appeared completely fine.

    "Go find the others," Chase said. "Bring them back here. I'll stay."

    The electric type flew off in a flash, propelling himself with a burst of lightning. His acceleration problems were long gone these days. They'd figured out that by letting a powerful explosion of electric type energy behind him, he'd be able to reach close to his maximum speed immediately.

    It took five minutes for him to find everyone else. Houndoom and Abomasnow were the worst off. Unlike Riolu and Zangoose, they weren't nimble or quick on their feet, so the fall had hurt them to some extent. Chase used one of his potions on Zangoose, who'd gotten hurt by fighting Klawf anyway. Then, he used one on Abomasnow, whose back had been ripped to shreds by the fall.

    Six left.

    "I can try climbing," Chase said, staring at the hole in the distance. "Vikavolt, can you go check if that's a viable option? I'd rather not awaken some crazy motherfucking Pokemon sleeping in here."

    A few minutes later, Vikavolt came back with a resounding no. The cliff was too steep for him to climb. Chase was strong, and he'd trained his stamina as much as he could, but he was no climber, nor did he have any Pokemon to latch onto. Zangoose could maybe do it, but he was too heavy for her.

    "Damn it," he clenched his teeth. "At least it doesn't look too much like a cave. Fuckin' hate those."

    He could have asked Vikavolt to go look for help, but they hadn't come across any trainers or humans this entire time. He'd have to go to Celestic, but the city was so damn old-fashioned that they didn't even have a Ranger Station. The closest one was on Mount Coronet's flank next to the cave's entrance, but that was too far. It would take days for help to arrive.

    Determined to see this through, he stepped toward the ancient city with his comrades.

    Chase was no architect, historian, or archeologist, but he could tell these buildings were beautifully made. They rose from the ground with an imposing grace, but were still tightly anchored to their foundations. The stones had no standardized shapes to them— no form like the rectangular bricks of today. They were all a different color and somehow still mysteriously fit together like different pieces of a puzzle. This wasn't architecture, this was art.

    And somehow, most of them still stood close to intact. Unmarred by the sands of time and protected from the elements like wind and rain by this cave. Chase blew against his wounded hands as he stepped inside of an ancient home. Dusty remains of tough sandals sat in the entryway, leading deeper into the house. He carefully walked inside, accompanied by Riolu and Houndoom while the others waited. There was nothing left here but old walls and stone chairs and tables. Even on the inside, the walls were colored with red, blue, purple— everything you could think of. It might have sounded incongruous, but it somehow tied everything together.

    Chase raised an eyebrow when he saw the skeletal remains of a person lying down on a stone bed frame. Well, he thought that it was a skeleton. There were just a few shards of something that looked like bones left, and the rest had disappeared. He was pretty sure that something like a skull was on the head of the bed. Whatever befell this place, it seemed that not everyone managed to get out in time.

    Curiosity got the best of him, and he went through multiple houses like this one. None of them were designed the same way— they were all unique, and most of them had the same corpses inside of them.

    There were no remains of Pokemon, strangely enough.

    "Let's keep going," Chase said as he stepped out of another home. "There must be another way out— what the fuck is that!"

    A Pokemon flew past him. It was a multicolored, totem-like being that shared the city's color scheme. It had a single, cyan eye on its head, and its wings didn't actually look like wings, but weird branch-like appendages. It also had two black 'hand' appendages with three fingers each, although they didn't seem like they'd see much use—

    Chase quickly jumped back inside of the house as an Air Cutter utterly destroyed the pristine pathway where he'd just stood. Abomasnow shielded his own face with his large hands, and then retaliated with an Icy Wind that froze the creature over. Houndoom finished it off, jumping out of the shadows with a Feint Attack.

    "Thank fuck it's weak as hell," Chase breathed out. He approached the creature and scanned it with his Pokedex.

    Sigilyph, the Avianoid Pokémon. Sigilyph keeps enemies from invading its territory with its Psychic powers and was the guardian of cities long ago. They never vary in the route they fly, even after thousands of years.

    "Creepy bastard," Chase muttered. He crouched and touched the Pokemon. Its body felt like ceramic. Even while unconscious, its eye was still open. "Must have been guarding this place the entire time. Didn't do that well of a job, considering how everything went to shit."

    Zangoose sniggered at that, but Riolu reprimanded her. He respected the prestige that came with something's age.

    "A place with a single guardian wouldn't make any sense if it's that weak. There are more, so watch out for them. Houndoom, they're psychic types, so you take the front with Riolu. He'll sense 'em before they come. Vikavolt, you're also on offense. Abomasnow and Zangoose, you stick by me."

    The entire time grunted as one, and they were on their way again. The deeper they got into the city, the denser the buildings got and the more Sigilyph they encountered. Luckily for him, they always went down in a few hits. If they'd combined their forces, they could have been a threat, but Chase suspected that they were on autopilot right now. There must have been someone capable of commanding them all back in the day. There was no way the city would have lasted long enough to reach this size without a strategy. He passed through some kind of armory with a bunch of defunct, decayed swords and armor. Helmets, chestplates, spears… there was everything here. It wouldn't do much against Pokemon, but anything helped back then, he supposed.

    Riolu ended up being hit by an Air Cutter and huge gashes opened up all over his body, forcing Chase to use one of his potions to heal him as best he could.

    Five left.

    The center of the city was like a plaza, and it was something to behold. An enormous, giant fountain stood at its center, and there was a large mural depicting… something that Chase couldn't exactly understand. In the middle, there were hundreds of humans, which resembled stick figures, while Sigilyph and… Claydol? Floated in the sky. He wasn't sure about the second one because of how shit the drawing was, but that was the closest Pokemon he could find. They were drawn at a slightly higher level than the Sigilyph. He hadn't found a single Claydol or Baltoy here though, so maybe they were all destroyed. On top of those, and generating some kind of holy light stood some kind of metallic Pokemon with a golden hexagonal shape for a head. This one was drawn in an incredible amount of detail, but Chase didn't know what Pokemon that was. Maybe something that helped them with making iron? At his side stood some kind of king that wore the exact same thing for a crown.

    At the bottom of the mural, a single creature was depicted. It was a white, wispy thing with traces of red at the edges of its hair and bright yellow eyes. It was drawn along with flames, like it was burning in hell.

    The whole drawing was accompanied by some kind of writing that Chase couldn't recognize. It wasn't even close to any letters he knew, and half of it had faded away by now. Still, he understood the gist of what this represented.

    This depicted the order of the town. At the top, the ruler along with his Pokemon, then his guardians, the Sigilyph and the Claydol. Then, there were the citizens and probably their Pokemon, although those had been kept out of the drawing.

    Then, there was whatever the hell that thing was at the bottom.

    Only the Sigilyph were left, it seemed.

    Chase sat on the fountain's edge, deciding to take a break, and drank a mouthful of water. Riolu let out a soft bark, pointing to his left, and he saw a Sigilyph somehow light one of the street lights with some kind of psychic power. He prepared for a fight once it began to stare at them, but this one didn't attack.

    This one just looked. It was peeking out at him like some kind of shy kid.

    "What the hell?" He whispered.

    Startled at his voice, the flying type quickly flew off, disappearing behind one of the tall buildings. Was it glitched out? Unlike the others, it didn't appear to be following any kind of pattern.

    "Break is over," Chase shrugged. "See that castle thing?"

    He pointed off in the distance, and a long set of stairs led toward a castle made out of stone and iron. This was the structure that showed the most amount of damage. In fact, it looked like it had been attacked. Why else would the other buildings look relatively fine, while this one was decrepit and collapsed? He was pretty sure that a monarch's castle would be built to last longer than some peasant's house. The fact that it was made out of steel along with stone was proof of that.

    Or wait… wasn't stone more durable than steel— whatever.

    "It leads up, so there might be a way out. We'll end up being lost for a bit, but Vikavolt will be able to lead us the right way. That sound good?"

    They all agreed, and they were on their way again. Chase didn't know why you'd ever make someone have to climb this amount of steps to get to your castle, but at least it was a good workout. He might have run up them if he didn't need to conserve energy in case anything attacked him. Houndoom enjoyed all the new smells while Zangoose finally relaxed and began walking on all fours again. The old steps cracked under Abomasnow's weight, and Riolu hung on Chase's shoulder, whispering something in his ear and pointing to his palms.

    "My hands are fine, it's just a little scrape," he said. "My luck concerning falling into caves is seriously shit, by the way. This is the second time in a year."

    The fighting type climbed up on his head and squinted at the castle. The closer they got, the more Chase felt a weight on his shoulders. It was a decrepit relic of a bygone age, but it still commanded his attention and respect. The boy stepped through the half-collapsed gates and walked inside of the castle. A faded red carpet led to what he assumed was the throne room, but he was looking for a way out of here, not for some audience with a king's ghost.

    But if there was a secret exit, wouldn't it make sense to put it next to the king's throne?

    Or not, Chase wasn't exactly an expert in old royalty. Maybe it'd be in his bedroom or whatever, but it was worth checking out either way. He climbed over a collapsed pillar and jumped toward the giant, metallic doors. They were adorned with different shades of silver and what looked to be gold, but upon closer look, they were just iron painted yellow. The colors were all fading and rusting away. Abomasnow helped him push the doors open.

    The king's skeleton was still sitting on his throne. The entire thing was there, and it somehow hadn't decayed like the others. It was almost comical. Like this was the position he'd decided to die in and stuck to it. He still wore that hexagonal crown, along with the remains of ragged clothes that had almost been rendered to nothing due to the elements. The carpet extended until his throne, which was elevated by a set of stairs.

    "Funny how that works," Chase said with a dry chuckle.

    He took a single step forward, but then the weight of the world pressed down on him.

    The king stepped from behind the throne— his actual flesh and blood. He wore a luxurious purple coat and plated armor. Was it a ghost? His team stepped up and prepared to fight, but Chase held back a hand.

    "Who— what are you?" He asked.

    The King cackled— which was more of a beastly sound than a laugh. It reminded him of a Mightyena's laugh.

    "So after all this time, another one of your kind wanders into my realm. For centuries, I have tarried here, immobile and unyielding, my very core ablaze with the fervor of my hatred for thy ilk. No words can adequately convey its depth and intensity. Thy thirst for death and annihilation shall not find solace within these ancient walls. Know this, my abhorrence for thy kind surpasses the vast expanse of this world. I have endured eons of torment, subjected to the cruelty of those who once dwelt here until my spirit shattered the chains of bondage and wrought vengeance upon every human soul I could find. And now, thou standest before me, poised to meet thy fate, the next to fall beneath my righteous wrath."

    Chase blinked, unable to even comprehend what the hell this fancy-looking motherfucker was rambling on about. Panes of… light shone and shimmered like glass in front of the King, and then flipped, revealing a strange, white creature with red-tipped hair and strange red growths on its skin. Its hair floated around like it was weightless, and its eyes shone with a bright yellow. He easily recognized it as the creature on the mural's painting. Chase felt his hands clam up and scanned what he assumed was a Pokemon with his Pokedex.

    Insufficient data. Please try again later.

    That was the first time that had ever happened.

    "That's a nice sob story," Chase said, trying to buy some time. "I don't remember asking."

    "Thou shalt suffer," the beast said, its mouth returning to human form for a second.

    And at that exact moment, Chase understood that hate could have weight. It was almost suffocating. The creature dashed forward, and he noticed a few things in the two seconds it took for it to reach him.

    One, it wasn't terribly fast— only slightly quicker than Zangoose using Quick Attack. Two, the closer it got, the more heavy the weight of its hate felt on him and choked him to such an extent that breathing became difficult.

    Three?

    The creature phased through Abomasnow, who had gotten in between it and Chase to protect him. Before its pulsating red claws could tear him apart, Houndoom hit the Pokemon with a point-blank Dark Pulse. It flew off and rolled until it hit one of the columns of stone and metal still adorning the room, and it quickly collapsed onto it.

    "Anti-ghost setup," Chase whispered to Houndoom. "We're going to try for a controlled retreat. Fighting it in the open will be easier—"

    The beast stood through the rubble, leaving it undisturbed on the floor and continued its assault. It narrowly dodged one of Vikavolt's Thunderbolts before sending a clawed attack toward Chase. Three streaks of shadows raked across the floor, but Zangoose blurred in front of him and the attack harmlessly washed over her. Abomasnow flexed his arms and marched through the room, trampling anything in his way to get to the ghost.

    Chase lunged outside of the room as Houndoom flanked him. He heard a crash behind him, but the fire type's darkness managed to neutralize some of the attack and gave him enough time to dodge whatever it was. He crawled backwards, and shards of metal, dirt and rocks buried themselves into his already-wounded hands.

    A thin bubble of darkness surrounded both him and Houndoom. It was still see-through, but it certainly helped against ghosts, even if just a little. Riolu exited the room next, constantly throwing bones inside. His fighting moves wouldn't work here and he knew it, so he'd be the support. He was too frail to get in close and try to hit it with Metal Claw. Chase peeked inside and saw the Pokemon somehow taking on three of his Pokemon at once.

    It easily weaved in between Abomasnow's Ice Shards and brought a Shadow Claw across his chest, but the ice type retaliated with a powerful Hammer Arm. Unfortunately, it simply phased through the ghost, reducing half of it to a strange, wispy mist until it immediately reformed. Abomasnow did not bleed, but the wound exposed the bark-like substance that his body was made up of.

    Somehow, it was able to hit a Pokemon with its hands while its body was nearly invulnerable. It could do fucking both at the same time, as if it could somehow render parts of his body untouchable while the rest was still physically there. The amount of fine-tuning that required was—

    "Fucking bullshit," Chase snarled. "Get over here! Controlled retreat!"

    Zangoose weaved in and out of the battle, trying to find an opening and continuously building up her power with Fury Cutter. She slashed across the ghost's face, but it screamed and kicked her back toward the exit. She crashed into Riolu, who flew off into the distance and crashed down the grand hall. With a burst of speed, Vikavolt whizzed toward their enemy, managing to catch it off-guard and cutting it in half with X-Scissor. Its actual body this time.

    Its legs simply regrew, bubbling and hissing until they were as good as new.

    Still, it bought them their precious seconds, and everyone was out of the throne room now. Chase ran off toward the exit, not bothering to look back at the ghost who let out an enraged scream that he was sure would haunt him for months.

    Houndoom yipped, skidding across the floor and suddenly turning.

    "You're right. No use fighting on the Arceus damned stairs," Chase hurriedly said. The beast was quick, and it would have no doubt caught up while they'd been running down. "I know this bubble takes a lot of focus, but try to hit it with Dark Pulse."

    He turned to the rest of his team. The enormous set of stairs stood at his back like the sheer drop of a cliff.

    "When it comes out, throw everything you have at it."

    It didn't keep them waiting. Instead of going through the door, it ran through the wall, its yellow eyes shining in the darkness. Ice Shards, Dark Pulse, Thunderbolt and Bone Rushes all barrelled toward the ghost, but only a few hit their mark. It knew its weakness, so it opened to dodge the Dark Pulse at all costs instead of focusing on every attack. For a second, its mouth changed back into a human's.

    "Thou art weak. The longer this fight persists, the more the depths of my memory resurface and the more skilled I get. Thou art not long for this world."

    "Whatever man," Chase said with a trembling voice. "Just get it over with then."

    "You dare—"

    The beast caught itself, instead deciding to lunge for him specifically. They were still far, but he could see it in its eyes. It would only come for him now.

    Good.

    It became only a shadow on the floor and slithered toward him, but Abomasnow got on all fours and froze the entire ground in front of them. Chase heard another enraged snarl, and the ghost emerged from the floor with its fur frozen in place. Houndoom hit it in the chest with the most powerful Dark Pulse he could muster, staggering it long enough for Vikavolt to electrocute him with a quick Thunderbolt.

    Without a word, Chase began to run down the stairs. His Pokemon quickly followed, but Abomasnow was too big and clumsy. He tripped and began to roll down the stairs, destroying half of the fragile steps in the process until he recalled him for now. That fall looked really bad, but he couldn't afford to worry. He needed to think.

    For some reason, it really, really hated humans to the point of making mistakes, but Chase could use that to his advantage. The problem was that it was ridiculously bulky, and there had been a hint of truth to what it had said. It probably hadn't fought since it murdered this entire city, but the longer this went on, the more it would remember.

    Still, Chase could use that hate to his advantage.

    The Pokemon jumped off the highest steps with a howl that no doubt resonated through the entire cave with no care for its own safety. It began to roll down a few steps but used its sharp claws to recover, and then it sprinted down the stairs even quicker than before. Riolu stopped and attempted to hit it with a bone, but it simply passed through its body. Zangoose's claw shone with a neon green as she attempted to stop it with another Fury Cutter, but when it attempted to jab a claw into her throat, she narrowly twisted her body and it got her in the collar instead. The ghost punched her in the nose, and Chase recalled her immediately to avoid her getting sent off too far.

    He jumped the last ten stairs, landing back in the plaza with a roll and released Abomasnow and Zangoose again.

    "Icy Wind! Make it wide to slow it down!"

    The wind was narrow at first, but it slowly fanned out until the monster couldn't avoid it any longer, even when making its body impossible to target. They hadn't practiced enough with this, but they had no choice… Houndoom was too far and without a dark type move, he was dead—

    "Night Slash!"

    Zangoose didn't hesitate. Darkness consumed her claws, and she blurred toward the slowed Pokemon. Abomasnow stopped his Icy Wind as soon as she got within its area of effect, but the beast would still be slowed, so the playing field was a lot more even. Zangoose dropped to the floor and aimed at its legs to disable it, but the ghost managed to jump and pivot into a kick. The normal type shielded herself with her darkened claws and nicked its feet instead. They were in a deadlock, but before Abomasnow joined the fray, Chase healed him with a potion mid-battle. There was so little time that he sprayed some of it on himself by accident.

    Of course, it didn't do anything.

    Four left.

    Abomasnow joined the fight. Wood Hammers slammed in the ghost's direction, forcing it to divide its attention to dodge. Even if he was weaker at a distance, Abomasnow was strong in close combat. His green fists flattened their enemy, causing it to dissolve and reform a few feet away. It hissed as it narrowly dodged another Dark Pulse. Vikavolt, Riolu and Houndoom were here now.

    "I'd give up if I were you," Chase said. "We can do this all day."

    It did not even deign to answer. Its eyes flashed with such fury that Chase was almost forced to his knees. Riolu placed a hand on his calf and worriedly stared.

    He couldn't be weak.

    "Houndoom, stick with me. Hit it with Dark—"

    He didn't have time to issue the rest of his orders, but his Pokemon got the gist of what he meant. Intertwining rings of darkness shot out of Houndoom's mouth, and the bubble around him strengthened. It grazed the ghost's arm thanks to Abomasnow's quick Icy Wind, but it was Zangoose that dealt substantial damage. The high stakes of the situation made her nervous, but it also sharpened her senses. She was moving faster and with more dexterity than before, raking her claws across the beast's body with Night Slash and forcing it to engage her. Vikavolt wrapped it with String Shots, forcing it to allocate focus to phase through the sticky strings while Riolu stood by.

    He was frustrated at his lack of contribution, but the typing worked against him here.

    A yell from the creature brought it all to an end. It was like a shock wave of ghostly energy, and even though Houndoom's bubble protected him from the majority of the damage, Chase still felt his body temperature drop by a few degrees, doubled over and puked all over himself. He felt shivers run through his body and collapsed on the hard floor.

    His Pokemon were no different, although Zangoose was left unharmed and Houndoom resisted the attack. Abomasnow stumbled back, Vikavolt fell out of the sky and Riolu got on one knee. The ghost quickly turned into the King and cackled.

    "At last, my vengeance has arrived. I shall hew thee a thousandfold until no flesh remaineth upon thy meager frame."

    Chase coughed. "I work hard for this body, you asshole."

    Never had he been so terrified. He thought himself above fear, but today, he'd learned that he was not. Thankfully, the ghost was a sadistic piece of shit and calmly walked toward him, leaving him enough time to grab one of his empty Pokeballs.

    He threw it at the Pokemon, and it was absorbed into the ball.

    Chase stumbled, recalling Abomasnow and Vikavolt before legging it out of here. He heard his Pokeball shatter, and when he turned back he saw that the ghost could barely maintain its illusion. It was constantly changing between its human and Pokemon form, but the only thing that was constant was the eyes.

    Bright yellow, burning with hate and a need to kill him. Begging for his death. Visualizing it in clear, visceral detail.

    "YOU DARE ATTEMPT TO ENSLAVE ME? I WILL NOT BE PUT IN CHAINS AGAIN! I WILL MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE DEAD!"

    Chase ran toward the city as fast as he could. On the way, he recalled his Zangoose, only leaving Riolu and Houndoom with him. The dark type's bubble would mask the sound of his breathing and steps.

    He needed to hide. There was no way to beat this thing now that it had grown that powerful, but then what? It was completely obsessed with him, and he was sure it wouldn't hesitate to stalk the streets of the city for hours until it got its hands on him. He and his Pokemon would need to sleep eventually, but ghosts did not.

    He was fucked.

    Chase turned the first corner he saw and got lost into the streets. He had to watch for the Sigilyph too, or their attacks would alert the beast. He stepped inside of a house with a back exit and leaned against a wall, his breaths short and ragged. He felt half as strong as he usually was because of that damn burst of ghost energy, and it was the same for his stamina too.

    He wiped the sweat off his brow and calmed his breathing. He couldn't panic. Not now. He released Vikavolt and Abomasnow to apply two potions to them. They'd been the closest to the shockwave. He recalled them soon after to leave them some precious minutes of rest, but he knew he'd need to use them again when the ghost found them.

    Two left.

    Chase heard a home collapse a few blocks away and lifted a finger when Houndoom flinched. Quiet. He slowed his breathing and felt his heart hammer against his chest. His hand hovered over his Pokeballs, and he was already in position to run the moment the beast showed itself.

    It did not. Another building collapsed, this time further away. Chase let out a trembling breath and felt his body loosen.

    But they still had to move. His best option was to run out from the hole he fell in. It would be an almost impossible climb, but he liked his odds against whatever the hell that was outside. He gestured to Houndoom and slipped out of the building.

    Only to come face to face with a fucking Sigilyph.

    Riolu jumped on Chase's shoulder and then pushed, slamming a bright blue palm into the flying type's chest. It fell to the floor with a loud crash, and Houndoom finished it off with a Feint Attack.

    The beast screamed in the distance. It was getting closer.

    "Arceus… damn it."

    Chase ran as he twisted his bag toward his front. He threw out anything that wasn't valuable. Towels, tent, lighter, even fucking food. He could always eat the wildlife outside and sleep on the floor, but he needed to be as light as possible. Houndoom barked and he instantly came to a stop. The Pokemon phased through the building in front of him and crashed into the next one. If Chase had kept running, he would have been run through. Its hand was stuck inside of the wall, but only for a second. The street was beginning to incline now. He was getting close.

    Chase released his Abomasnow, Zangoose, and this time Vikavolt.

    "Buy me some time! I'll recall you when I get far enough!"

    Unfortunately for him, the ghost blinked forward and slashed across both of their sides as he slipped through them. Chase groaned in fear and annoyance, but he immediately recalled them and released them in front of him again.

    "Hit it with everything you've got! Slow it, then Night Slash and Dark Pulse!"

    In the time it took for Abomasnow's chest to rise as he inhaled and converted air into an Icy Wind inside of his lungs, their enemy had already run past him. Zangoose prepared her Night Slash, but the beast simply took the hit, opting to keep going instead of even trying to dodge. It didn't even care about anything but his death. A Discharge exploded out of Vikavolt's body and electricity clung of the ghost type's fur, but it did not relent.

    Houndoom stomped, causing the darkness below his feet to disappear and be reabsorbed into his body. A Dark Pulse twice as strong as it was before flew toward the ghost, and it looked more like a Discharge than a single line of dark type energy at this point. The beast stopped in his tracks and hissed.

    "Good, now converge on it—"

    It was already back up.

    Riolu grabbed Chase and threw him back. He swore as he rolled on to floor like a ball and the small rocks tore up his clothes and back. Chase scrambled back up, swearing when his palms burned as they pushed him upward. Riolu was standing in between him and the ghost, bone in one hand and steel claws growing out of the other.

    He led with a simple throw, and the monster almost grinned at the simplicity of the attack. Its grin faded when the bone began to glimmer with a bright blue and it did not simply phase through his body.

    Riolu was using aura to fight, and Chase was too out of it to understand why it canceled whatever bullshit ghost powers it had.

    Another bone grew out of Riolu's hand, and the fighting type barely had the time to yell at Chase to leave with the rest of the team before he narrowly stopped the ghost from slipping past him. He slammed the bone against its head before slashing upward with Metal Claw from its inner thigh to its chest. The beast hissed, but Riolu shoved the bone down its mouth.

    "I ain't leaving," Chase said, dropping his bag. "None of us are."

    He'd never been this exhausted his entire life.

    Strings shot out of Vikavolt's mouth like nets and wrapped around their opponent. Abomasnow arrived with a thundering boom and slammed both of his fists together, destroying the ghost type's head with Wood Hammer. Houndoom kept the momentum going and jumped out of the shadows with Feint Attack, but a burst of dark type energy exploded outward, creating a modified Dark Pulse modeled after Discharge. It hit Abomasnow as well, but he bore with it.

    Zangoose blurred in front of the ghost and cut up the rest of its body in a hundred pieces with Night Slash.

    "Now let's get the fuck out of here!" Chase yelled. He recalled Abomasnow and began to run toward the hole. It took a bit of time for his eyes to find it, but it seemed a lot further than it had been when he'd arrived a few hours ago.

    And yet, what choice did he have?

    He heard the ghost yell behind him, its voice growing more and more distorted with hate.

    It never fucking died, did it?

    Chase turned and prepared to fight again. He was back to the wall now, and he clumsily stepped back as much he could. He recalled his Pokemon and released them in front of him before throwing another empty ball at the ghost to buy some time.

    It destroyed it with a simple blow. The Pokeball shattered and its pieces clattered on the floor.

    The fighting resumed, but it grew closer by the second. There was little they could do to stop the beast. It was faster than Zangoose, endurant enough to take most blows and strong enough to destroy his team several times over. Soon, it would reach him. He had no choice but to try to climb. He grabbed onto a stone lodged into the cliff, but it fell out of his hand as soon as he placed any weight on it. He had a bit more luck with the second try, but a large side of the wall collapsed, bringing him down with it. He swore and turned to the battle, and his heart sank when he saw Abomasnow on the floor with its chest torn open. He recalled him as soon as he could. The beast once again exploded with ghostly energy, but Houndoom growled, and a wall of darkness shielded Chase completely this time. The dark type fell to the ground right after.

    There would be no more Icy Winds to slow the beast, now, and no protection from Houndoom. Every second, it gained in speed. Chase prepared to recall his Pokemon and hope that it would let them live. It could technically break them apart, which would automatically activate the emergency measure and release them, but its hatred seemed to be focused on him and not them, so he held hope that someone would find them eventually. Riolu needed to see his first trainer's grave more than he needed to see a mother he'd never met—

    Out of the corner of his eye, something was flying. It was too dark for Chase to discern whatever it was, but there was only one kind of Pokemon in this Arceus damned city other than this monster, and that was Sigilyph. A multicolored beam of energy hit the ghost's back, and it turned with a look of utter disbelief.

    The psychic type let out a few mechanical beeps as it landed next to Chase. He didn't even have time to process what the hell was happening, but he climbed on its back. It was six and a half feet tall, and from the looks of it, its wings were also made out of this ceramic-like material, which meant that they were easy to grip for balance.

    Chase recalled his Pokemon one by one as Sigilyph floated toward the hole. Only Riolu was in any state to fight any longer. Houndoom was unconscious and Zangoose was barely able to stand and bleeding all over from shallow and deep wounds. Vikavolt closely followed as he buzzed around them.

    "COME BACK DOWN, YOU WRETCHED CUR! YOU HAVE ONLY SEEN A SLIVER OF THE HATE I HAVE FOR YOUR KIN! THAT WAS BUT A TASTE OF THE AGONY I SUFFERED WHEN THE KING TORTURED ME FOR SPORT! I WILL FIND YOU—"

    Sigilyph's eye shone, and it collapsed the hole's entrance before the beast could have a chance of climbing out. Chase didn't know if it could possibly phase through the rocks, but there must have been a reason it stayed there all this time. He took a few steps and coughed now that he was back into the fog. He collapsed on the floor and laughed. Never had he been so happy to be back on a shitty fucking route.

    He kissed the floor and passed out.

    —

    Chase woke up to Vikavolt buzzing on his back. He flinched before shooting up and getting back on his feet. He didn't know how much time had passed, but the fog had cleared slightly, which was a good sign. It never really left, but it sometimes thinned. Chase groaned as he stood. His entire body hurt, but his hands and upper back had suffered the most. He couldn't tell if anything was broken, but he could move everything, at the very least. Vikavolt cheered, letting out a few sparks as he excitedly flew around his head. Chase smiled.

    "Kept you waiting, huh? I can't believe I lived through that shit. Must be the luckiest guy alive."

    He grabbed his water bottle and he spat out a mouthful before downing the entire thing in seconds. Arceus, he'd been thirsty, and it washed off the taste of dirt in his mouth. He grabbed another one and poured some of it on his hands to wash them of grime, dirt, and blood, and they were cut up a lot worse than he'd thought. The skin was torn open in various areas, and making a fist burned like hell.

    Nothing he couldn't handle, though. Pain built character. Wounds taught that actions had consequences. Scars were a reminder not to fuck up.

    He turned to the strange Pokemon that hadn't left his side.

    Sigilyph. His savior.

    Hadn't they been supposed to keep to a route until they croaked or whatever? Had this one been broken somehow?

    "Thanks for saving me," Chase shrugged. "Woulda died without your help."

    He didn't care either way. That meant that he had the drive to go against the grain, and it was something that Chase appreciated in both people and Pokemon. The psychic type let out a few strange beeps and stared at him with its unblinking eye. He didn't even know if it was an eye or just something that the people that had designed it painted on. There were also two eyes on its torso, but those didn't blink or move either.

    Chase sighed. He had two potions left, but four Pokemon that were wounded. Maybe he could split them in four somehow, or maybe he'd just use them all on everyone other than Riolu. He'd been the least hurt in the fight thanks to his use of that aura bone bullshit that could somehow stop a ghost from slipping through something.

    Come to think of it, had that thing even been a true ghost? It hadn't disappeared even once, but it could somehow go through walls at will and was apparently impossible to kill too, so maybe it was something in between?

    "Whatever," Chase grunted.

    He grabbed his two potions and laid them out on the floor. He'd been born poor, had lived poorly and would keep doing so if his principles demanded it, but the day he became the Champion, things would change. He'd make an equal society for all. He released Zangoose first and spritzed some of the first potion across the worst wounds on her body, which were right below her neck, on her gut and on her shoulder. The normal type fiddled in place, seemingly too reserved to express her happiness at the fact that they'd survived. Chase didn't mind. He was used to her and knew she was glad.

    Her actions alone proved that she was glad they all made it through, and that she'd do whatever was needed to make sure nothing happened to any of them, just like they'd do the same for her.

    "You pulled your weight down there, Zangoose," Chase praised. "You're strong."

    It was a simple statement, but she shivered with pride and her hair flattened.

    "But we'll improve together, still."

    Chase released Abomasnow next. The looming grass type had been hurt most of all, and he attempted to stand proud as Chase walked in front of him.

    "Relax. You deserve it," Chase said. The ice type collapsed in a sitting position with a heavy sigh, and Chase began applying the potion across his torso. He rumbled, and his snowy mustache blew in the wind. "You were great. Your Icy Winds were crucial in slowing down whatever the hell that was, and whenever you hit it with Wood Hammer, it took a good second or two to grow its body back."

    Chase affectionately hit his healed wound with a fist.

    "Good job."

    It was Houndoom's turn next. His time in his Pokeball had allowed him to regain consciousness, but he could still barely stand. There were a few surface wounds all across the body, including a relatively large one to the flank, but the potion would help him rest better as well. Chase placed a hand on his hot belly and scratched it until his tongue lazily hung out.

    "I would have died a thousand times without you. Our anti-ghost setup worked wonders," Chase smiled. "Great improvement on Dark Pulse too. It took a while for you to get it down, but you're amazing at it now."

    He turned to Vikavolt, who was zooming around in the sky.

    "You did a great job on support with String Shot and Thunderbolt. Holding up that ghost's attention for even a few seconds was crucial. Every moment counted. Amazing flight control and bursts of speed, by the way. It's a shame we didn't get to use Rising Voltage, but overall, you were fucking amazing."

    Chase stretched before releasing Riolu. The fighting type gazed into his eyes with a mix of pride and irritation. The first, for facing the threat head-on and keeping his head on straight, he guessed, and the second because he was determined to see his life end if his team got to live another day.

    He didn't praise Riolu. That wasn't how their relationship worked. The fighting type was in charge most of the time, and it would feel condescending to do so.

    But still, Chase smiled. "Good job out there."

    Riolu reluctantly nodded and angrily turned away. Was his resolve angering him that much? Chase would have thought that it would have made him proud. Ri had seen him go from a kid scared of everything to his current self in barely two years, and Chase thought that that was what he wanted.

    Before he could retort, Sigilyph beeped to his side.

    "Right," Chase muttered. "You're kind of out of a job, aren't you? It's not like you were doing anything anyway, I mean, nothing came down there in I don't know how many years, so…"

    Chase stared at the psychic type, whose expression lay unchanging. It wasn't as if it could change it anyway, but it was still weird.

    Weird…

    "You're a weird lil' guy, aren't ya?" Chase said. "Want to come with us?"

    The Pokemon slowly tilted his entire body until it turned upside down, and it got so close to Chase's face that he could hear his breath of its ceramic body.

    "Is that a yes?" Chase said, grabbing another empty Pokeball. He only had five left… he was running low. Even with his sixth member, this battle had taught him that throwing a Pokeball at a Pokemon way stronger than he was was enough to buy a few seconds, at least, so it'd be smart to keep some on him. Unfortunately, he only had a measly 4,324 Pokedollars to his name.

    After hearing one last beep come out of Sigilyph, he softly hit it with his Pokeball, and the device immediately dinged. It hadn't even shaken three times. Chase released it immediately and scanned its moves. With a Pokemon as weird as this one, it was imperative to know what the hell its gimmick was, and he needed it to get used to his team as soon as possible and vice versa.

    Or her. Apparently these had Arceus damned genders somehow. Make it make sense!

    Moves: Confusion, Gust, Air Cutter, Whirlwind, Psybeam, Cosmic Power

    Ability: Tinted Lens

    "Pretty shit, which makes sense considering how easily I took care of the others, but a good base to work up from," Chase smiled. "Great ability though. Welcome to the team, Sigilyph. Guys, give her a warm welcome!"

    His entire team grunted.

    "That's how we do it here. We're a team, and we help each other through every thing. You'll work hard, but you'll grow strong."

    Well, Chase wanted a psychic type, and he got one. Finally, he'd be able to do the type of shit that Pastel's Togetic and Obel's Slowking did, even if it'd take weeks of intense training to get her up to speed. Of course, he'd put his own twist on it. Chase wasn't the type to copy whatever the hell worked for others. He did it his own way.

    Sigilyph started to stare at Zangoose and got a mere inch away from her face until the normal type hit her away. She beeped and moved on to Riolu, doing her upside down thing again.

    "Yeah, you're a weirdo for sure."

    —

    Celestic town was breathtaking. It covered a small surface area and was nestled in a circular valley on Mount Coronet's flanks. Up here, the majority of the fog cleared, although a tiny fraction of it still remained. Humidity wasn't something Chase had thought of when traveling here, but it was certainly a factor. The air felt pure but stuffy at the same time.

    Many of the buildings were old, and constructed in the same style as that ancient city Chase had found days ago. However, they had none of the color or the randomness to them that made the city so charming in the first place. These were mostly uniform, with a few variation between them. Of course, more modern buildings were strewn throughout, and all of them had dark teal rooves. The Pokemon Center stood out like a sore thumb, being the tallest and most modern-looking building in the town with its usual sleek design and orange roof. Chase walked with Riolu until he reached the edge of some kind of depression— or was it a meteor crater? It certainly had the shape of one, but he was no astrologist, or whatever the hell studied meteorites. There were multiple set of stairs circling the crater, leading down to the floor there.

    An enormous shrine stood in the middle of the crater, and he could see some people— almost dots with how far down they were— surrounding the structure. Religion wasn't a thing Chase was interested in, and neither was the majority of the world, but some people still worshipped the Legendaries of old. He remembered hearing that Johto was especially religious, but there was even a church in Hearthome that he never bothered to visit. Chase didn't know much about the Legends. Some were confirmed to be real, but the majority of them were just stories. For all he called Arceus' name all the time, he didn't believe that a single Pokemon could have the power to create an entire universe.

    And where the hell would it even have come from?

    The shrine kept his attention as he traveled toward the Pokemon Center. Huge stone pillars rose from the ground, but he was too far to really know what the carvings on them said. Since he was high up, he could see that four walls surrounded a courtyard, but it was surprisingly empty. Maybe people weren't allowed in? His eyes traced the shrine's walls until he noticed the entrance of a cave further down the crater. It was also surrounded by a smaller shrine, but no one dared to even come near it.

    Chase entered the Pokemon Center, which lay in the southeast of Celestic, and gave his Pokemon to a bored Nurse Joy. The journey here had pushed his team to the brink, and since he was completely out of potions, only Riolu and Sigilyph had been well enough to battle by the end of it. He was hungry, tired, but most of all, he needed to see someone for a check-up first.

    There was only a single doctor in the entirety of the Center, and luckily he had no broken bones. His hands were in a sorry state, however, and they needed to be bandaged. Chase opted to book a room and take a shower first, and after an hour or so, he was free to find his grandparents.

    "Well, no use beating around the bush, right?" He told Ri. "Do you remember where they lived? You were young, so don't sweat it if you don't."

    The fighting type quickly nodded and motioned at him to follow. Hopefully they hadn't moved, because then he'd have to ask around, and he was in no mood to converse.

    Chase was nervous. Something that usually never happened.

    He thought that by expecting the worst, he'd be able to calm his nerves, but even that didn't work. Riolu led him to one of the teal-rooved houses that sat next to an enormous home made out of some kind of hard wood. He already knew that it was Cynthia's family's home, where her grandmother and younger sister lived. Apparently his grandparents lived right next to them.

    Chase took a deep breath and knocked. He waited thirty seconds, and there was no answer. He knocked again, harder this time, but no one came to greet him.

    "Maybe they're out," he sighed.

    Riolu grunted in disappointment. His eyes shone blue as he held out his hand, and he shook his head.

    "Can't feel 'em in there, huh?" Chase said. "Well, we'll wait."

    They both sat at the house's door, talking about anything that came to mind. He couldn't believe that they'd made it. This had been Chase's goal since he set out of be a trainer, and he was on the cusp of realizing it. Riolu had grown up here, and he could tell that he was happy to be back after all these years. Still, there was a sadness that lingered. It reminded him of her.

    Chase's mother. His real trainer.

    "Hello young man. Can we help you?"

    Chase's head snapped up, and an old man and woman were in front of him with their arm linked. They looked younger than they probably were, but the fact that they wanted to enter the house meant that they must have been his relatives.

    The boy stiffly stood up, revealing Riolu. The fighting type had been well-hidden to his side. The older woman's eyes lit up, as if she instantly recognized him.

    "Ri… Ri, is that you?!" The woman said.

    Riolu couldn't contain his smile, and he jumped into the woman's arms. Chase couldn't help but smile. It was like he was a little kid. His grandmother stroked Riolu's head, and his grandfather could barely register what was happening.

    "Young man…" he said. "How did you find him? Where did you find him?"

    Chase smirked, not because he felt happy but because he was hurt. This was no damn fairy tale. It would have been too convenient for them to recognize him right away when they'd never even met him.

    "I'm Chase Karlson. Urie Karlson and Adeline Halcourt's son, and your grandson."

    They both froze. The older woman stared at Riolu, who nodded.

    "Why—why don't you come inside to talk," she said.

    —

    Chase sat down in his grandparent's cozy living room with Riolu by his side, and his grandma brought him some hot tea. He finally knew their names now— Helen and Philippe Halcourt. It was awkward to ask, but his father had almost never talked about his mother's family, and when he had, it was to complain and never by name. It was always 'your grandma this' or 'your grandpa that'. Philippe sat down in a rocking chair with a heavy grunt while Helen brought some crackers with a weird green dipping sauce. Chase wasn't the biggest fan, but he didn't want to offend, so he drank his tea and ate the food.

    They hadn't blown up at him, which was a good start. This wasn't how he usually operated, but he wanted to be as polite as possible. He couldn't ruin this for himself or Riolu.

    "Chase… I can't believe you're this big already," Philippe scoffed in disbelief. "You're fifteen now, right?"

    "Sixteen. My birthday was two weeks ago," he said, handing Ri a cracker. "Sorry for dropping on you out of the blue."

    Helen sighed. "Urie never told us the exact date of Addie's de— of your birth. Sorry."

    Chase restrained a wince and ignored what she'd been about to say.

    "Are you kidding me? This is so great! We thought we'd never see you!" He said.

    "You wanted to see me?" Chase asked.

    "Addie sent so many letters gushing about you during the pregnancy," Helen smiled. "Of course we wanted to see you."

    Chase felt joy swell in his heart. "T—thank you. And sorry."

    "What for?" She frowned.

    "For… killing Adeline."

    Riolu barked in protest, and Helen shot up. She walked up to Chase and grabbed him by the shoulders. Her grip was surprisingly tight, for an old woman.

    "It wasn't your fault."

    "But—"

    "It wasn't. You were just a baby trying to go out into the world. We spent a long time hating your father for taking Addie away from us. The Iron Islands is no place to give birth to a child, but he wouldn't hear any of it," she said. "We still think that he shares some of the blame, but Addie… Addie agreed with him. She wanted to stay."

    Riolu stopped eating and tightly shut his eyes.

    "It was a terrible choice," Philippe said with teary eyes, staring in the distance. It took Chase a few seconds to realize that he'd been looking at a framed picture of his mother. "And she paid dearly for it. But the last thing we would do is blame you."

    Chase silently nodded, but he felt lighter now. A piece of the guilt he'd been carrying from the day he'd been born was gone. No longer would he have to feel like he took his mother away from her parents.

    But he still knew that he'd taken her away from his father.

    "I actually came here for another reason," Chase said. "If I could have, uh, a picture of her? And if you could point me in the direction of her grave, I would really appreciate it."

    "You didn't even have to ask. Phil?"

    The man stood up and walked to his room while Helen continued.

    "We'll bring you to her grave. That was actually where we were while you were waiting for us here," she said. "Don't worry, we'll leave you some time alone. I'm sure Addie will be very happy to see her little boy all grown up."

    Chase's lips quivered and his eyes watered. He lowered his cap and sniffled. He wasn't even at the damn grave yet, and he still felt like his soul was being crushed.

    "Thank you," he exhaled. "I can't thank you enough for this. Do you have a phone or something I can use to call you? I won't be staying long."

    "We have a landline," Helen smiled. "And you can always send us letters as well. Addie was old-fashioned like that."

    His grandfather walked out of the bedroom with a medallion. He grabbed Chase's hand, placed it inside of his palm and closed his fist around it. Chase ignored the pain. This was important.

    "There's a picture of your mother in there. It was taken right before she left with your dad, so it's old, but it's the most recent one we've got. News travel slowly here, but we heard what happened in the Iron Islands when your father died. I assume that your home was also lost in the wreckage?"

    "It was. I couldn't take anything, and my dad didn't like to have the pictures hanging around anyway. It hurt him too much." Chase said. He opened the medallion and saw his mother's face for the first time in… in he didn't even know how many years. Long brown hair, a mischievous crooked smile and brown eyes so light that they could almost appear hazel.

    "You look like her, you know?" Helen smiled. "Your eyes and smile are exactly the same."

    Chase hadn't realized he'd been smiling. He silently nodded and put the medallion around his neck. "Thank you for giving this to me. It must be important to you."

    "Don't worry. We can't hog the memory of Addie to ourselves," Philippe gently said.

    "Now let's bring you to her."

    —

    It was a particularly hot afternoon today, even for the middle of winter. Chase could travel outside without his usual coat and only a sweater. The sunlight made all of Celestic seem so bright in comparison to the dreary, foggy hellscape that he'd expected coming here. Chase waved at his grandparents, who did the same and slowly began to walk back home.

    In front of him and Riolu sat his mother's grave. Her name and the epitaph were written in a font so fancy that Chase could barely read it properly.

    Adeline Halcourt

    Chase said it out loud a few times, getting his mouth used to the sound of his mother's name. His eyes focused on the epitaph next.

    'In loving memory of Adeline Halcourt,

    Beloved daughter and cherished mother,

    Taken too soon, but forever in our hearts.

    Born from love, embraced by grace.

    May she watch her child grow up from the heavens.'

    Tender wildflowers and fresh roses adorned the grave, no doubt put here by Philippe and Helen. Chase stood there in quiet reverence, simply staring for at least twenty minutes.

    "I should have brought something," he finally exhaled. "Sorry about that."

    The boy opened the pendant one more time and took in his mother's face before staring at the gravestone. He crouched and clenched his forehead, taking a deep breath before continuing.

    "Hi… mom? I don't know what to say now that I'm here," Chase dryly chuckled. "To be honest, I never thought I'd get this far. I never knew you, but I feel like— I feel like we would have gotten along? I mean I hope so."

    He paused, finding his words.

    "You know, I don't exactly believe in an afterlife, but I changed my mind. I like the idea of you and dad looking at me. Looking at what I'll become," Chase said. "I'm sorry I couldn't come until now. You must have been wondering what the hell I was doing. I brought Ri with me."

    He turned toward the fighting type, who was silently mourning with tears streaming down his cheeks. There was a certain blue glow to him that he'd never seen before.

    "He misses you too. He talked a little bit about you on the road, but he stayed quiet most of the time. You know, dad would never speak about you either. It's like whenever you came into someone's life, you made such a mark that reminiscing about you was too painful to bear. It sucked," Chase sighed. "Ri's okay, even if he's being silent. I think he's doing some kind of aura bullshit. I don't understand it very well. He misses you… and I'm sorry for keeping him away from you all this time. I'm afraid he'll have to stick around though. He promised dad to protect me."

    He took a shaky breath and began to sob.

    "I wish you could be here. I wish I could talk to you… fuck," he rubbed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to settle down. "I have a goal. It's a bit silly to say out loud, but I want to become Sinnoh's Champion. Then I'll make sure that what happened to you and dad can never happen to other families ever again. Every single corner of Sinnoh should be treated the same as fucking Jubilife, so why the hell are the people living in the Iron Islands treated as second-class citizens? Why couldn't there be proper fucking healthcare… proper protection for miners… fuck this."

    Chase sat on the grassy floor, took off his cap and stared at it. It wasn't that unique. Just a blue cap with nothing else on it. No design, no initials, just a bland blue cap. It was worn out and faded from all of his travels. It was the only thing he'd recovered from the catastrophe that hit his mining village. A powerful Steelix, angered by the miners encroaching on its territory had destroyed everything in its sight. Almost everyone died.

    Why had he kept the cap?

    Because he'd been wearing it that day.

    A cap to remember his father by.

    A medallion to remember his mother by.

    "I'll make sure what happened to both of you will never happen to anyone ever again."

    —

    Chase ended up spending the entire afternoon by his mother's grave. Not all of the hours were filled with conversation, but when he did talk, he mostly did so about his training or his team. He showed her to Sigilyph, but she didn't seem to understand the concept of a grave. Maybe that wasn't how they did it back in their ancient city? He tried to explain to her that his mother was in there, but he wasn't sure if he got the message across. Chase promised her that he'd bring back full team to introduce them to her before leaving.

    "Are you ready to go?" Chase asked Riolu. "We'll come back tomorrow morning."

    Riolu silently stood and stared Chase in the eyes with newfound resolve. His tired, teary eyes glowed with a pale blue, intensifying until the light overtook his entire body and turned bright white.

    All this time, Riolu had been waiting for closure.

    Or well, Lucario now. He was only slightly taller than Chase, but he exuded an incredible amount of power. The steel type brought Chase into a hug, and he felt something brush against his mind. Incomprehensible whispers that were almost within reach. As soon as the hug ceased, Chase looked on, trying to hide the bewilderment on his face.

    "Can I— can I still call you Ri?"

    Lucario laughed and nodded. Chase gripped his fist and shook it tightly.

    "My friend," Chase grinned. All this time, he had struggled to place what Ri had been to him. A guardian? A parental figure? He thought that he would never discover the answer. The core of their relationship was camaraderie. Shared loss. Friendship. They were equals. "Get ready, Ri. We're fucking winning this entire thing."

    And his parents would watch over them.

    The next afternoon, Solaceon was plunged in darkness.
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Poor naïve Chaise. Simply holding the Champion's title, even if it were possible for you to obtain, would not be sufficient to leverage reform.
     
    Interlude - Fallout
  • Threadmarks
    • NOTICE: I will be gone on holiday from June 2nd to June 14th, so don't expect the schedule to hold up during that timeframe (I'll try to get a few out, so you can most likely expect 2-3). The normal schedule will resume from June 16th.
    INTERLUDE - FALLOUT

    Cynthia Collins sat in a dusty office full of spreadsheets, ledgers and reports. After a heavy breath, she stood up, paced around the room and stretched. These chairs had terrible lumbar supports and were killing her back. Aaron and Lucian were with her, of course, as they'd been for the few days. In fact, they'd been together so much that both of them had stopped their endless bickering. Alakazam peered over a levitating piece of paper with his usual angry sneer.

    And by bickering, it was mostly Aaron trying to get under Lucian's skin and him being completely immune to whatever the youngest Elite Four member threw at him. Aaron had a brilliant mind, but he was distracted very easily, which made creating a plan to solve Solaceon's economic crisis a headache-inducing process. Sometimes, Cynthia wished she could take another year off like she'd done when she had gone to study Unova's political system for inspiration when she'd been trying to reform Sinnoh's. It was where she had caught her last few Pokemon, more than a decade ago now. Her diplomatic trip to the region had been a monumental event at the time and Sinnoh still had very good relations with Unova because of it. Of course, the same couldn't be said with Kanto-Johto, but things were slowly improving and were nowhere as bad as they had been under her predecessor. Maybe a trip to Hoenn would do her some good when Team Galactic was finally dealt with.

    Oh, to be on those beaches…

    "Look, I'm no economist, but Solaceon's got to diversify first and foremost," Aaron said, tapping at a paper. "We've cut spending across the board, but we're still in the red by… how much?"

    Four point five billion Pokedollars, Alakazam's voice rang out. I have already laid out my two-hundred-and-fifty-six-step plan to fix this deficit. Any more time spent here is a waste of my time, and you know I despise it when people waste my time.

    Cynthia smirked at the psychic type. "Your plan treats people like numbers, not like living, human beings. Take step five… putting Solaceon on lockdown to force people to stay? Your plan is unrealistic."

    It is not unrealistic, you just lack the will to implement it, The psychic said. Since I have done my piece, I will take my leave. I must get back to studying the Unown.

    "Feel free to," Lucian shrugged.

    Aaron shrugged. "Talk about getting—"

    Silence, pest. Just breathing in the same air as you makes me sick, Alakazam complained before teleporting away.

    Well, all of Lucian's Pokemon tended to be disinterested in human affairs, so they would be of no help. Some parts of Alakazam's plan were sound, however, and she would still be able to make use of it.

    "He must still be angry about that time I got him with that neat Super Speed trick with Yanmega," Aaron said.

    "Stop bragging about things that happened six months ago and get back to work," Cynthia said. "Lucian, what do you think about Aaron's idea? Diversifying?"

    Lucian shook his head. "That's more of a long-term plan. To put it in words, it would be like trying to dock a sinking rowboat while in the middle of the ocean instead of plugging the holes. Right now, we need to fix what is broken."

    Aaron sighed and Cynthia nodded. Lucian and Aaron were both smart in their own ways. while Flint and Bertha were the heart of the Elite Four, they were the brains. Lucian was better at looking at the bigger picture and creating long, intricate plans while Aaron focused on granular details and ran a lot of the day-to-day at the League.

    "I've already called Vernon. He will start hammering out an emergency package for the city," Lucian continued. "The plan is to cover the city's costs for a year… which will be a heavy burden to bear, especially when it won't pay for itself, but it must be done. We'll have Hearthome and Veilstone bring in engineers and construction workers for the repairs. I have a list of companies that might be interested in the work, and they'll have to bid on a contract."

    Lucian typed on his computer and printed out another piece of paper before handing it to Cynthia.

    "I recommend to only let these three companies in on the bidding process. We could just award the contract to one of them, but…"

    "But that's dictatorial-ish, so we think it'd be a better idea to let the process go on as usual with negotiations and all of that— to at least give the illusion of deliberation," Aaron finished the sentence. "You've used quite a lot of political capital already. Might want to cool off on that for a while."

    Oh, Cynthia knew that already. It was strange to her, how people could only see the faults in her actions after she'd saved Solaceon from an even worse tragedy. She had fired the entire political apparatus in the city and replaced it with loyalists, but that was only temporary, and it was needed for them to implement her plan without a fuss.

    But Bertha had warned her when she had first become Champion. Dabbling in politics for too long changed people, and it made you see the world completely differently than the average person. Cynthia lingered on the thought for a second, but she knew that what she'd done was correct. Democracy was an ideal that she'd had her entire life, but it was often too slow at dealing with crises. Without her loyalists in the City Council, Mayor's office, and Treasurer's office, it would have taken the politicians there weeks to decide where to allocate the funds that the national government would give them. Cynthia had already seen it happen multiple times.

    "Underhall Construction, Veilstone Holding, Timburr Co.," she read out. "I've heard of the first two, but what in the world is Timburr Corporation?"

    "They're rather new and trying to make a name for themselves. They use a lot of Pokemon-based labor, so they'd be the cheapest option on the list. Underhall construction is based on Hearthome, and they'd be the safest, but slowest option to get the city rolling again. Veilstone Holding is the middle-of-the-road option, both in price and time, but with what's been happening in the city, they'd be happy to get a chance at the job."

    "Maylene would appreciate it as well," Aaron chimed in.

    "Have you been speaking?" Cynthia asked.

    "Nah, not really. I just get people," he said.

    It was true. Aaron's ability to understand how people thought was better than even hers, which was why she considered him one of her possible successors when she retired. Of course, someone could also beat her in battle, but she doubted that would happen. Flint was out of the question. He was too rash, hotheaded and unserious to be in her position. Bertha was too old and would probably retire in the next ten years. Not every Elite Four member clung to power as much as Agatha. Lucian had no desire to rise any higher. She had to butter him up for months for him to even accept joining the Elite Four.

    When a Champion retired willingly, they got to choose who would replace them, although it almost always was a member of the Elite Four that did so. Unova had more checks and balances to their system, but Cynthia wanted to keep the civilian government out of affairs as important as picking the Champion. Aaron might have been the weakest member of the Elite Four right now, but he was also the youngest. He was only nineteen and was progressing at a rapid pace. If age calmed him down and stopped him from getting distracted so easily, then Cynthia would have no doubts.

    Time would tell what Aaron would become.

    "Underhall Construction was in charge of building Canalave's canal, correct? And Veilstone Holding ran the last expansion efforts for the city. What have Timburr Co. done?"

    "Their most notable projects were building a new Contest Hall in Jubilife and renovating the city's port."

    Cynthia hummed. "Well, contact the companies and start the bidding process. I trust that you two will be able to cooperate in evaluating the bids with the city officials?"

    "It's not like they'll go against what we say. I said illusion of deliberation, remember?" Aaron said. "That's step one. Now for step two."

    Lucian nodded. "You've called for diversification, but first, I think that we need to lean into wheat—"

    "Hold on, I got a banger idea when you said wheat just now," Aaron lifted a finger. "I agree with what you said, at least for the short term, but Solaceon's not playing to its strengths. Sure, they've been selling, but not as much as they could be. Shipping things by plane and teleporting goods is expensive and inefficient. Hearthome and Oreburgh can do it because they're rich, but Solaceon can't exactly afford to do so, especially now that they're going to be losing so much money. There's the river system south of here that leads to the ocean, right? Why not use that to ship their produce?"

    Cynthia thought for a second, visualizing the rivers he spoke about in her head. Hearthome and Solaceon had often rattled their sabers over the water rights there. Lucian was seemingly already done, however.

    "Ah, that's actually a great idea. Freight shipping will ease a lot of Solaceon's burdens, but we'd have to invest in building a port… more bids, I presume?"

    They were right, Cynthia mused. While air travel was a large part of how cities exported goods abroad, shipping was the majority thanks to its low costs and ease of transport. Jubilife had done the same thing a century ago. Even while landlocked, they built a port to the west to facilitate trade, first with Canalve, then the entire region and the world.

    "Place that in the bid," Cynthia nodded. "Prioritize farming, tell Vernon to put more modern farming equipment in the emergency package as well. We'll have to buy them from another company, but we're spending money for a good cause. Salvaging the situation will restore a bit of my political capital for when Team Galactic eventually strikes and I have to take the gloves off again."

    Cynthia let out a heavy sigh. It wasn't like she enjoyed taking rights away. They had Porygon scouring the forums to censor information faster than any human moderator could see, and they had twisted the media's arm to keep the story about Shiftry leading the Hunters contained. There had thankfully been no leaks due to the fact that they were content to simply chew on the massive bone that Grace Pastel, Cecilia Obel and their group had given them. They'd exposed Shiftry's existence and his involvement in the events that took place a few weeks after Cynthia's ascension, but the fact that he'd been pulling Solaceon's strings could not be known. Solaceon being quasi-independent would not be a good look, both nationally and abroad.

    "I'll be leaving then," Cynthia said. "Keep hammering out the details and keep city officials in the know. Samantha's going to hold a press conference in two and a half hours, and she needs to give the talking points in a natural way, or she'll come off as robotic."

    "Very well," Lucian agreed.

    "I mean, she didn't even want to be Mayor," Aaron said. "But I guess that means she'd good for the job. Isn't there a saying about that? The best leaders are those who don't want to take the position?"

    "There is, but it's nonsense," Cynthia said as she left.

    With the economy now sorted out, it was time for her to get her daily reports about the happenings around the region that was curated for her every day. The League Trainer had already been waiting for her outside of the office, and he handed her the report.

    "Thank you, Kenneth. I hope you didn't mind waiting around too much," she smiled.

    "Not at all ma'am," the young man said. "It's an honor to serve."

    "And it's an honor to work alongside you," Cynthia said. "Here."

    The Champion handed him an empty signed Pokeball and placed it in his palm.

    "For your little sister Morgan," she continued. "She's turning fifteen next year, right? You told me she wanted to be a trainer the other day."

    Kenneth blushed before stammering. "T—thank you! I can't wait to see the look on her face… she'll be ecstatic."

    Cynthia smiled. It was the little things like these that kept her going. She began to read her report and focused in on the Veilstone section immediately. There were still no Team Galactic members captured there, but there had been a few sightings or reports coming in from the tip line. It was like Team Galactic in the city had gone radio silent, but Cynthia knew better. They were waiting for the right time to strike. The question was when? She already had Lou constantly monitoring Maylene for her protection, but she was still worried about the young gym leader.

    The moment the crisis here was resolved, she'd focus all of her attention on the matter of Veilstone.

    Other than that, things were going well, although there were reports of a young girl shaking up the Contest scene by exposing someone who'd worked with Team Galactic on social media that they'd somehow missed. A certain Antoine Nguyen that had slipped through the cracks. Cynthia committed the girl's name to memory and made a mental note to tell Fantina about her.

    Kenneth released a Bronzong and Teleported them to their next location— the Pokemon Center. She wasn't here to visit Grace Pastel's friends. Some of them had already left, and only three of them remained. Instead, she waved at the bewildered trainers and smiled for their pictures. She had a meeting scheduled with Craig Goodwill. The events of the Darkest Day had made him fly to Solaceon to see his sister Lauren, and she used the opportunity to sit him down for a discussion. Trainers of his caliber were very busy. Kenneth waited at the door and saluted as she entered. The raven-haired man didn't even spare her a look.

    "Champion Cynthia," Craig dejectedly said.

    "Craig," she smiled. "You seem sad. Did something bad happen?"

    "Well my sister left and gave me the finger while she did so."

    Cynthia chuckled as she sat. "She's a teenager, she'll grow up. My sister hated me when we were younger. Everyone knew her as Cynthia's sister and not Celeste. We grew apart for quite a long time."

    "That didn't help at all."

    "Well, you have to let children grow up," Cynthia shrugged. "Have you considered my offer?"

    "I have, and it'll have to be a no, I'm afraid," Craig said.

    "Interesting. May I know why?"

    "Being a League Trainer sounds nice and all, but I want to make it to the end of the year and challenge you first. That was always the plan."

    "Then we can work out another agreement," Cynthia immediately said.

    Craig Goodwill was too good of a trainer to pass up on. When the time came, Cynthia wanted him in the League to help against Team Galactic. Trainers were not beholden to the League, and therefore would not be forced to join the fight, which Cynthia found perfectly acceptable, but she had assessed Craig a while ago. He wasn't the best at anything, but he could do everything extremely well. His approach to training had been slow and steady growth since he'd been fifteen, and today he could beat most Gym Leader's teams without breaking a sweat, and she was relatively confident in saying that he would win the Conference this year.

    If she had to guess… Cynthia thought he would beat Aaron and Bertha, but Flint's explosive battling style would prove too much for him.

    That meant that she had a trainer as powerful as an Elite Four member right there. She would be a fool not to try to poach him.

    "What agreement?" Craig asked as he fiddled with an Ultra Ball. That was his… Elektross, if Cynthia remembered correctly. She had one of her own that she'd caught in Unova, although they both had completely different battling styles.

    "Come on Craig, you're smart. You know what I want," Cynthia smirked. "Join the Internship Program so we have the option to call on you when the time comes. That way, you'll still be able to participate in the Conference. You want to be the Champion, don't you? That comes with responsibilities that you should be able to face."

    Craig chuckled, then rubbed his chin. "Fair enough. I was mostly waiting to see how long it'd take for you to be straight with me."

    "I thought it wasn't necessary, but I was clearly wrong and I apologize," Cynthia said. "Do you still only own your usual six Pokemon? If you're going to Mount Coronet, the League will have to issue you a Teleporter. It'd be skirting the rules, but you're too important."

    "I have a new member that I'm keeping hidden for the Conference," he said. "Already knows Teleport, and I've been to every city with him. Routes would be a problem though. I just fly over them these days."

    "That's fine," the Champion nodded. "Even if Team Galactic strikes off-route, so long as you can get to the nearest city, League Trainers will get you there."

    Cynthia shot up.

    "I'll have Lucian send you the papers immediately," she continued. "Thank you for your service."

    "Gotta keep the region safe, right?" Craig said. "It is what it is."

    Yes, Cynthia thought. It was what it was. He would not enjoy his coming duties, and neither would she.

    ——

    Cynthia left Kenneth soon after their meeting. Only a few eyes had seen where she was going next, and he did not have the clearance to do so. League Trainers were not uniform. They were divided in a few categories. There were Recruits— people that had only recently joined the force and were still in training. Privates were trainers that had completed their training and only had a few years of experience. Corporals usually had five years of service, while Sergents usually had around eight. Commanders were veterans that had the highest authority below the Elite Four, and had often been in service for decades. There wasn't exactly a set number of years that guaranteed your promotion. Some people shot up the ranks in a few years while some were stuck at the Private rank their entire careers.

    Of course, there were auxiliary forces as well. The Teleportation Squads that Cynthia used a lot due to her lacking a Pokemon with the move, ACE Trainers that were focused on more covert operations, the Air Force, the Aquatic Squads, Dark Type Specialists that focused on shutting ghosts and enemy teleporters down… there were a lot.

    Your rank determined your clearance level. Commanders knew about threats like Regigigas, the Regis, or what had happened a few years ago in Hoenn. Groudon and Kyogre's fight had threatened to destroy the entirety of Hoenn until Rayquaza intervened. Gym Leaders were actually not privy to most of that information just because of the fact that they were a separate entity. While they did work for the League, they were closer to their respective civilian governments and almost never came to the Lily of the Valley Island. There were a few other Legendaries contained by the League with intricate procedures and ancient rituals. New Moon Island and Stark Mountain housed one each. Some Legendaries were well-meaning and ran free through the region as well.

    But these? These were not Legendaries.

    In front of Cynthia sat a cave whose entrance was blocked with an intricate seal. At its core, it was simply an enormous stone slab, but there were small indentations on the stone that had been carved into it like conduits. Dark type energy pulsated through the conduits until it converged in the center into a singular point.

    Beyond that wall, hundreds of thousands of Unown slept. They had been lucky that Shiftry had still kept the seal sustained during his tantrum. If he hadn't, then they would have broken out and wreaked havoc on the entire region.

    "Andrew! How's she taking to the job?" Cynthia asked a large, gruff League Trainer.

    He turned toward her, showing medals lining his uniform. An Absol lazily preened her fur and stared at Cynthia with utter contempt. She couldn't exactly blame the dark type. Her new job would be incredibly boring, even if she'd be allowed to roam Solaceon whenever she wished. Unfortunately, they tended to show up close to when disaster struck, so the civilians would no doubt panic.

    "She's angry, but she knows it has to be done," the Commander said, crossing his large arms.

    "Thank you, Absol," Cynthia said. "We'll try to get another dark type trained so you can work in shifts. We were going to do so anyway in case anything ever happened to you."

    Absol brightened at that. Training her had taken a lot of trial and error, but the process had sped up exponentially when they got their hands on a lone Unown a few years ago. Alone, they could do nothing at all. They were barely a threat to humans, and Absol could simply tweak her dark type manipulation until that Unown fell asleep. Together? They could warp reality to their liking, and they'd function like a hive mind. Even summoning weaker versions of Legendaries was on the table. Cynthia had studied the Great War, and Johto had used the Unown for that very purpose, creating a clone of Entei, Raikou and Suicune in an attempt to win the war. There hadn't been enough Unown for them to be powerful enough, and the experiment failed miserably.

    The Unown were a hive mind, but they could also bend to a human's will. No one knew what exactly it was that they looked for, but if a person was chosen, they would essentially become a god.

    Which was why Johto had only experimented with a few thousand. They weren't foolish enough to use a large number. Still, finding someone to be chosen had taken hundreds of attempts, and when they failed, the person would suffer an unknown fate depending on what the group of Unown felt like.

    It made death look pretty.

    Now that they knew exactly how to contain the Unown and put them into a daze, training more dark types would only take a few months at most. Even Shiftry was not foolish enough to let the Unown loose despite knowing that he would die.

    She would never have expected his answer to her question to make so much sense. Why had he reneged on their deal and cooperated with Team Galactic? Why risk everything when he knew that he could not stand up to her, let alone the entire League?

    Cyrus promised him something.

    Cynthia did not know much about Shiftry's life, but she did know about his relationship with Ediva Hunter. She'd been his first and only trainer, and he'd never stopped mourning her death. The only way he managed to cope was to dull his emotions, and it had an effect on the people around him as well. Cynthia had no doubt that in the end, there had been an element of control to it too, otherwise he would not have let the Hunters' loyalty to him remain. He would have shut down every single emotion.

    But at the beginning? It had been about a Pokemon being unable to mourn his trainer's passing.

    Cyrus' goal was to create a new world. A new world that he would be able to rule and shape to his liking. In exchange for help, he had promised Shiftry to bring Ediva back and to bring him into this new world.

    He would have abandoned the rest of his family to do it.

    Cynthia cracked her neck, released her Garchomp and flew back toward Solaceon. The motivation of Team Galactic Commanders' had eluded the League until now. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn's motivation still remained shrouded, but Charon? Cynthia's talks with Mira Compton had been very productive in that regard.

    He too, wanted to bring someone back.
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 169
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 169

    "Okay, so you're looking for the battery compartment, right?" I told Honey as he confusedly twisted our camping stove around. I grabbed the battery and handed them to him. "See that little indentation on the side? Open it and put them in there."

    The electric type hummed, and after a few seconds, he managed to get the stove powered.

    "Now you want to select temperature, and bam! You can just put a pot on there and start cooking. Not the most exciting process since you're starting small, but it'll do for now. Baby steps, right?" I smiled, tapping his shoulder. "You watch me cook the pasta for now, okay? Tomorrow, you can do the same."

    Electabuzz excitedly whirred as I grabbed my small pack of pasta. I called Buddy over and asked him to spit water into the pot. Water types' water was perfectly healthy to drink, but most trainers didn't exactly like to imagine drinking something coming out of someone else's mouth. I wasn't most people. When the water came to a boil, I dumped the raw pasta in.

    "Now with pasta, it's pretty simple I think. I mean, it's one of the few things my dad taught me how to cook, so I'm alright at it," I continued as I twirled the noodles around. "You wanna wait until they're soft… which is, uh, a certain amount of time that I forgot. I guess we can taste test as it goes!"

    After a few minutes, Honey tapped on my shoulder and grunted, nodding toward the salt.

    "Fuck," I sighed. "I forgot."

    We were currently camping on route 210, and we had made it halfway through. Denzel had been right. The grass here really was taller than all of us— even Sunshine and Angel. Luckily, the Rangers had forged a path through and we were simply following it. There had been no accidents or even attacks so far, which was good news.

    I usually didn't cook that much outside of cities, but Honey did want to get better at it, so I figured why not pack a bunch of stuff to cook on the way to Veilstone? That way, I figured I'd be able to share his hobby and we'd get better at it together. Pasta and sandwiches were about all I could make right now, but it was a work in progress.

    After dumping what might have been way too much salt into the bowl, I strained the pasta, dumped the water in the bowl and put the pasta back in.

    "Guys! Dinner!" I yelled.

    Sweetheart rolled toward us first, although I had to yell at her to stop herself before her momentum built up too much. Pupitar weren't supposed to move like that, and she was still slowly getting better at moving properly, but it was more of a temporary solution to her current handicap. It did remind me of when I used to train Princess with Rollout back in our apartment.

    "You can taste a little, but there's not enough in here to feed you," I said. "You've got to eat dirt to grow up properly, okay?"

    The ground type let out an echoing roar. I was slowly learning her body language again, and she had that same thing that Angel had going on with his eyes, but more muted. I was pretty sure she'd smiled right there. Princess was off in the distance, creating a lifesized statue of Sunshine, who was sleeping in his usual curled-up position. Unfortunately for her, the fire type shifted positions and ruined her work— at least in her eyes. She angrily reduced the half-finished statue to dust and blew it all over Turtonator's body before joining me.

    I waited to see if he'd retaliate, but aside from a roar that caused a few Starly to flee in fear and him heating up the surroundings by a few degrees, he didn't do anything substantial. Still, I told him to stop, not wanting to scare trainers traveling through. There were a lot because of the tournament, but we mostly kept to ourselves. Buddy let out a heavy, otherworldly sigh and washed away the dust with a warm jet of water. Angel skipped across the floor with a huge smile in his eyes.

    "When did you learn to do that?" I asked amusedly. I had never seen him skip before. He shrugged with his vines, not remembering the answer.

    I prepared everyone's usual meals, along with a side of pasta. Yeah, kibble or berries with pasta was weird, but they seemed to like it enough. Except Princess, who kept to her Oran Berries and left the rest of the food untouched. I'd anticipated that and only put the vitamins on there anyway, so it worked out regardless. Sunshine hated my pasta and complained that there was too much salt in it with an exasperated groan.

    "I tried my best, you grouch!" I yelled. "You sound like my dad. Oooh, look at me, there's too much salt in my food, I have to eat healthy. Just give it to Angel or Sweetheart if you hate it so much. Hmph!"

    Honey reassured me with a worried grunt, saying that the food was fine and that he enjoyed it very much, and that cheered me up some. Angel passed on the food, not because he hated the pasta but because he liked to feed Pupitar. He'd gotten a lot more into his caretaking thing since she evolved, and he couldn't go five minutes before worrying about her. Sweetheart rolled over, and the grass type dumped the remaining contents of Sunshine's bowl into her mouth. Then, she turned back and began munching on dirt. It was all she did most of the day, along with sleeping. She needed all the energy she could get to grow strong and evolve. Hopefully I'd be able to get her some of that premium dirt in Veilstone.

    I chuckled to myself. "Premium dirt. Heh."

    After cleaning everything up, I set up my tent and got ready to sleep. I wouldn't clock out right away, but it was nice to hide away from the elements. Plus, making a fire was annoying and I no longer had to do it thanks to Sunshine being there. I could even sleep in short sleeves and I would feel completely fine so long as he slept to the side of my tent which he didn't mind. Buddy sneaked into my tent, becoming a misshapen thing that was more water than Pokemon to be able to fit inside. Only his bright red eyes were recognizable. Princess slept inside of the tent because she was a mommy's girl and could actually fit, but everyone else kept guard outside. The reason Jellicent was here was because we had these nightly chats, just him and me. Princess sometimes chimed in of course, but she was content to listen most of the time.

    "Welcome," I said in a dramatic tone, causing him to roll his eyes at me. I lifted a hand in the air and softly plunged it inside of the water. Jellicent quivered and shook around my arm. "Sorry. I know it tickles, I just think you're really cool when you do this."

    When I'd caught him in Sandgem, I never expected him to be able to do this stuff. The water solidified into a gel-like substance and he flashed his 'not actually angry, but I have to look angry' face at me that he liked to use when dealing with Honey, Princess or Sweetheart's antics.

    "I'll behave," I smiled. "How about we start with what's been bothering you? When I said that you wouldn't be able to understand me."

    His eyes dimmed, and he stared silently at me.

    "I wanted to tell you that it's not true. Pokemon and humans, well, we have our differences and our similarities, and to be honest, isn't that fine? Our thoughts won't align sometimes, but that doesn't mean that we can't understand each other. Hell, I'd say that you're capable of understanding how I think almost perfectly already. I've been slacking in that regard… I've been expecting you all to just become like me, and I know that's not realistic."

    Jellicent let out a series of clicks, each one at a different pitch, length, or resonation. It was a complex sentence, but I understood it perfectly. Cynthia couldn't explain my strange ability, and there was apparently no one else like me that she'd found, so why? Why was I so good at understanding Pokemon?

    I blinked and snapped back to the conversation. "No, look, everyone in the family has a different moral code, and we've just been following mine because I'm the mom. We have Sunshine and you on one end, and Honey and Angel on the other."

    The water type stared at Princess and huffed. She innocently snuggled into my arms.

    "Fine, Princess is on your end too," I added. "Anyway, the point is, you're fine. Don't let what I said bring you down… it was a stupid statement, and I'm sorry. Just be you, alright? It's okay to disagree with the decisions I take, even if you feel forced to implement them. I'm not perfect."

    His eyes softened and he floated to the tent's ceiling, becoming a small pond that clung to the roof. He was basically able to do what Vaporeon could now, so that'd be very useful against Crasher Wake when the time came.

    "Now it's your turn. Shoot."

    Jellicent whistled deeply, asking if this journey alone was doing me any good.

    "Well, it only just started, but so far, I feel like I'm enjoying myself. Sure, it won't be the end of all my problems, but it's nice to just be with everyone for once. I miss my friends, but it's not the end of the world. We'll meet again soon, and when we do, I'll be ready to tackle their problems and help them out."

    Princess chirped. She was already starting to doze off. From the way she'd explained things to me, a major problem with her leaking fairy type energy had been because of our way of using Fairy Wind as a move in the background. It hadn't been the only reason, but it had been one of the main ones. She had figured out how to fully stop it now though.

    "My turn again. Did you like the pasta I cooked today? Don't lie."

    Buddy suddenly made himself very small.

    —

    The next day, we stopped when we reached the end of the tall grass. A large hill sat to our left, and I could see the start of Mount Coronet up north, covered by a strange, never-ending fog. The Café Cabin was a few hours away still, but before going there, I decided to take an executive decision.

    "Let's take a break here," I said before releasing Sweetheart. Since she wasn't able to walk yet, she was the only one that traveled in a Pokeball. Everyone else was already out, although Sunshine had relentlessly complained about me having him walk.

    I had just told him that he needed to stop being so lazy if he wanted to get as strong as Cynthia's Pokemon, and that seemed to light a fire in him.

    I dropped my bag on the floor and rolled my tired shoulders.

    "How about a little training?" I asked the team. "All of us against Sunshine?"

    My Pokemon froze, although the dragon excitedly heated up. No doubt, memories of the last time we'd fought him flashed back into their minds, but it was different now. He was a part of the team.

    I crouched next to Sweetheart. "I know this is going to bother you, but you can't fight until you learn to move, okay?"

    The rock type's eyes twisted in frustration and she jumped in place, shaking the floor below my feet and creating tiny fissures on the ground. Then, she proceeded to roll on the floor and throw a tantrum, bellowing louder than I'd ever heard her.

    "Stop it."

    Pupitar slowed down at first, and then came to a halt.

    "I know it's not fun, but we've got to be responsible. You've been getting better at moving around, and by the time you get to Veilstone, I'm sure I'll be able to use you in battle. Just focus on improving for now."

    She grunted with teary eyes and began to reflexively munch on some rocks she had kicked up.

    I felt my heart wrench at her tears, but I knew that I needed to nip her bad behavior in the bud soon. When she'd been a Larvitar, it was cute, but now it could actually cause a lot of issues. And when she became a Tyranitar? Well, I wouldn't be allowed to release her in most city areas anyway, but she'd be capable of bringing an entire building down because I refused to let her hog the television. Luckily she'd still be able to be out in Pokemon Centers since they were made of some kind of super expensive hyper-resistant material, but she'd struggle to fit in my room. I knew there was a standardized list of Pokemon allowed to hang about everywhere on a government website, but I'd never really looked it up. In Sunshine's case, it had just been really obvious.

    Of course, League Trainers and above were able to bypass this rule. And I did mean trainers. Interns like me would still be subject to them.

    "Let's lay down some ground rules before you get ahead of yourself," I told Sunshine. His nose flared in anger. "You can raise the temperature, but not too much. We don't want to burn this entire area, and the fight wouldn't even be fair. No matter where we go, there's a small risk of trainers being around, so make sure not to let your attacks get too far. Are we clear?"

    Turtonator reluctantly nodded, eager to get the battle going. The rest of the team grouped up around me after I called them for a strategy meeting. We huddled up and I began to whisper.

    "Angel, you'll be at your worst during this fight, so try to just support the rest of the team from afar. You'd be a lot more powerful if you could use Sunny Day, but we won't do that for obvious reasons. That'd be shooting ourselves in the foot," I muttered. "Princess, you're going to be attacking more than usual. We can't win on defense against Sunshine. He'll choke us out and eventually blow past any wall you can make, so you're going to try to get close and Dazzling Gleam. Honey, you're going to feint him out. Keep attacking at a distance until I give you a signal. Buddy, you're the key to winning this. You can take a lot of hits and dish it back. Try to utilize Night Shade if you can, but other than that, focus on attacking with everything you've got. And this is important for everyone: watch the shell. Anticipate Shell Trap and move accordingly."

    Turtonator impatiently slapped his tail against the floor and beckoned us to come at him.

    He'd let us have the first move. I walked away as fast as I could, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire and prepared to observe the battle with Sweetheart. I'd give out orders as well, of course, but I wanted to see how the battle would go if I let my Pokemon fight semi-independently. In a normal setting, that wouldn't be necessary, but in a fight with no rules like my battle against Harry?

    They needed to get used to it.

    The temperature dropped as shadows intertwined with each other next to me, forming into a Night Shade. Jellicent turned into water and sunk into the floor just as his shade spat out a low-powered Whirlpool. Flames erupted from Turtonator's shell and the water immediately turned into mist.

    Electabuzz whirled his arms until my hair stood on end, shooting out Thunderbolt after Thunderbolt, but Turtonator simply shrugged them off. The electricity harmlessly bounced off his beige scales. He grinned, blasting a metallic burst of energy toward Honey, who barely had time to put up a Protect. The Flash Cannon bounced off of Protect and crashed against a nearby tree, cutting it in half.

    "Princess, build up a Fairy Wind. Force him to come to you!" I ordered.

    On its own, Dazzling Gleam would be a lot more powerful, but if we could charge Fairy Wind up enough, it wouldn't even be a contest, especially because she was a lot more used to that move than the other. Pink mist began to swirl around Togetic, and Turtonator spat out a stream of bright orange flames toward her. The attack only grazed her, but it was still enough to break her concentration, and the wind went loose toward Sunshine.

    Jellicent appeared at his side, barely in a coherent form, but Sunshine had been ready for it. A Dragon Pulse disintegrated his entire body and blew up a precharged Shadow Ball, hurting both Pokemon, but the Night Shade surprisingly stayed active even without Buddy keeping it going. It kept pestering Turtonator with weak Shadow Balls, since those couldn't just be burned away.

    "Angel, Ancient Power!"

    An enormous rock shot out of the ground and rolled in Turtonator's direction. He destroyed it with Flash Cannon, but Princess reformed the rock with an Ancient Power of her own before the shards came too far apart and kept it going. Sunshine's eyes widened in surprise, but he immediately turned, letting his shell absorb the damage and creating an explosion that scattered Jellicent's remains once again.

    That was our opening.

    "Honey, go in now! Cross Chop!"

    The electric type dashed forward, becoming a blur. His arms bulged and lit up as he entered the smoke generated by the explosion. Not wasting a single second, I ordered Princess to go in right away.

    I heard Sunshine grunt, but much to my dismay, Electabuzz was thrown out of the smoke with his fur smoking from some type of burn. Then, instead of dissipating, the smoke began to build up, glowing with a menacing red and burned the grass in its path. I whistled sharply, stopping Togetic and ordered her to keep her distance. Jellicent finally reformed next to the rest of the team and awaited my next command.

    "Throw your shade into that," I said, pointing toward the smoke.

    Before I was even done speaking, Buddy's shade was already floating toward Turtonator. It was slow, but that was fine. I knew that the fire type was planning something, but he had surprisingly not used the smoke as an element of surprise for Flamethrower or Dragon Pulse like he'd done in Mount Coronet.

    The Shade entered the smoke and immediately blew up. Angel sent another Ancient Power, and Togetic tried to dissipate the smoke with Fairy Wind, but nothing worked. Turtonator's Smokescreen was too cohesive to simply send away with wind.

    A giant beam brighter than the sun emerged from the smoke and hit Jellicent directly. Solar Beam. That was why he'd taken so long to use the move! And I had just waited because I'd thought that we could anticipate anything he'd throw at us. The move was so energy intensive that I hadn't expected him to be able to use it without the power of Sunny Day— much less with his smoke blocking out the sun entirely, but I'd been completely wrong. Somehow, even through the smoke and ash, it had been enough.

    Buddy was down for the count, barely able to come back together into a weird goo. I recalled him and snapped back to the battle. Turtonator appeared somewhat wounded by Honey's Cross Chop and the multiple Ancient Powers he'd taken, so winning was still a possibility. I needed to find an opening for Princess to use Dazzling Gleam or Honey to use Cross Chop again, but fighting a fire type close-up was frustrating. There was so much care and planning needed that by the time you figured something out, the enemy had already attacked ten times.

    "Air Cutter, Thunderbolt and Ancient Power!" I yelled.

    Togetic's wings fluttered and the air in front of her sharpened into blades. Electabuzz brought his hands forward, sending an enormous surge of Electricity toward Turtonator, and Angel did the same with Ancient Power. The dragon type grinned, turned around and slammed his own shell with Iron Tail. The explosion was so strong that I felt the shock wave fly through my body. I shielded my face as dust and dirt flew everywhere— even toward me. All three attacks had been dissipated by the explosion, but there was no choice.

    "Everyone, go in! It's all or nothing!" I yelled. This time, Turtonator wasn't keeping the smoke around. He simply watched with a curious eye.

    Honey was first in line, his arms full to the brim with power. He threw himself to the floor, dodging a Flamethrower that only managed to scorch his tail. He rolled forward and nimbly hit at Turtonator's right leg with Cross Chop. Sunshine roared in pain and reflexively used Dragon Pulse to retaliate, but a vine from Angel saved the electric type in the nick of time. Princess used another Air Cutter, slashing across the fire type's tough scales, but as soon as she got close enough, she exploded with Dazzling Gleam.

    I shielded my eyes from the blinding light, but my heart dropped when I saw that Turtonator was moving around now. It was silly, but he had stood completely still during the entire battle. It was a part of his lazy personality, but we'd forced him to move. The fire type angrily sprinted toward Angel and Honey, his eyes still dazed and his skin still slightly burned from the Dazzling Gleam. Each step he took burned the floor under his feet.

    "Angel, stop him! Use your vines and Ancient Power!"

    Fifteen vines shot out of Tangrowth's body, and he erected a boulder from the floor in Sunshine's path. The fire type retracted into his shell and began to spin so quickly that he just tore through the rock. Tangrowth struggled to stop his motion, especially since his vines were sizzling away, but Turtonator ended the struggle when he let his tail out of his shell and slammed it while he was still using Rapid Spin. The explosion spun, creating a super heated tornado that rose high into the sky and completely disintegrated any vines leftover.

    Electabuzz had no hope of stopping him, but maybe Princess could—

    "Create a slope!" I yelled.

    The floor incrementally rose until it became a ramp, and Sunshine flew above Angel and Honey's heads and slammed into the ground with a heavy thud. He quickly got on his feet and shot out a turquoise stream of draconic energy at their back, and it was too fast to dodge. Princess and Angel both combined their strength with Ancient Power, but the attack simply broke through and hit both Tangrowth and Electabuzz. The electric type fainted, and I recalled him.

    Angel staggered Sunshine with heavy Power Whips, leaving Princess enough time to build up a Fairy Wind. Every time Turtonator would try to hit her, Angel would interrupt and throw himself into him, not caring for the burns he'd suffer. Turtonator let out a frustrated roar, and his vines caught on fire, but he kept him still, spreading Stun Spores and Poison Powders all over both of their bodies. The few spores that didn't burn away had an effect on Turtonator, however little, slowing him down and dulling his senses.

    When the dragon type finally finished off Angel with a heavy grunt, Princess let her Fairy Wind loose. It was so thick that I could barely see anything. She was getting faster at charging them to their maximum power, and it showed. My hair flew in the wind, partially blocking my view.

    "Another," I exhaled.

    She nodded sharply and executed my command, but I was surprised to see that even though the attack dealt very real damage on Turtonator, he simply bore with it and grazed her with a Flash Cannon. She cried out, but my eyes widened when I saw that the wind only lost form for a single second. It snapped back under her control and flew out toward Turtonator again.

    They traded blows like this for a few minutes, and Princess used the lowered visibility from the mist to her advantage, occasionally swapping Fairy Wind for Ancient Power, but it wasn't enough. Turtonator was too strong, even while holding back, and after catching her offguard and escaping the Fairy Wind with a speedy Rapid Spin, he quickly finished her off with another Flash Cannon.

    We had lost.

    That wasn't to say it had been completely one-sided. Sunshine clearly had to push himself more than he'd expected, even if we hadn't come close to beating him. I stared at Sweetheart, who was looking on in awe. When she would be able to join the fray, we'd have a better chance at taking him down, but right now, he'd proven how strong he was compared to us still, and that was while holding back.

    "Good job!" I smiled at him. He watched me with heavy breaths, like he hadn't expected me to praise him. "You've got a lot of cool techniques I didn't know about before, but when you get too angry, you resort to just hitting things with a really big stick instead of thinking— metaphorically speaking. Flamethrower, Dragon Pulse and your body heat are your sticks."

    Like against Weavile, or me in Mount Coronet, I omitted. I started to approach him.

    "You're a really powerful technical fighter when you put your mind to it," I continued. "You did great."

    I placed a hand on his hot arm and smiled when Sunshine couldn't even look me in the eye. It seemed that he hadn't been used to praise and didn't know how to take it.

    "Just take the win, big guy," I said.

    I released the rest of my Pokemon again, making sure to heal them with potions. Their wounds were all superficial. Turtonator had held back well. Of course, Buddy just needed time to come back together. He was disappointed at his performance, but it was also partly my fault. I really hadn't expected Sunshine to hide in Smokescreen to conceal himself while he charged Solar Beam. He knew that Jellicent would be the most annoying opponent to deal with, so he prioritized taking him down as fast as possible, and it worked.

    Now that I had a frame of reference for what Sunshine was actually capable of when he had time to think, I'd be able to counter him better in the next fight. There were a lot of things I could have done better, but the largest problem was that my Pokemon were simply too weak to deal any real damage. Ancient Power, Dazzling Gleam, Cross Chop, and a charged-up Fairy Wind had been enough, but the rest of our attacks only tickled him. Buddy's Shadow Balls or water type moves would also be enough, but obviously he hadn't had the opportunity to use them. I was planning on focusing on moves my Pokemon already knew during this trip to remedy that. The only new move I was planning on teaching was Giga Drain to Angel, but that'd be relatively easy seeing as he already knew Mega Drain.

    Buddy and Princess groaned at me when I told them that we'd be doing this again tomorrow, but Honey was excited to grow stronger. I had Princess fix up the destroyed terrain as best she could, and after a one-hour break, we were on our way again.

    Now, it was time to get to the Café Cabin.
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 170
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 170

    The next morning, I reached the Café Cabin.

    The Café was a lot smaller than I'd expected. From the outside, it seemed that it was barely large enough to fit a few dozen customers at a time. A decorative sign with a happy Milktank and a glass bottle of milk sat above the entrance, and there was a huge enclosure full of them further in the back. I hadn't seen one since my short stay in Twinleaf, but they seemed a lot larger than what I remembered. Some lazily grabbed tufts of grass with their hands and calmly ate while others just hung among themselves.

    What I hadn't expected was for a small town to have sprouted around the establishment. It wasn't much, just a few homes, a store and a Pokemon Mart. Most of the homes were inhabited by the Café Cabin employees, but I couldn't deny that I was witnessing the early birth of a city here or something close to it. Unfortunately, there wasn't a Pokemon Center, but that would probably run the Café Cabin out of business, since they doubled as an inn. In the distance, the ever-present fog hid the rest of route 210 away from human eyes. It was a wonder how people actually lived up here. Celestic was the most isolated city in Sinnoh— even moreso than Snowpoint. Later in the year, thousands of trainers would brave the route to get there and challenge Candice.

    I stepped inside of the Café Cabin and I was immediately hit with the smell of freshly baked goods. The place was packed with trainers after the mass exodus from Solaceon, and for a second, I was wondering if I'd have to sleep outside. Luckily, the crowd meant that people were too busy to recognize me. I pushed past the sea of people and walked past the bar, opting to go to reception instead to see if a room was available.

    "Hi. Can I have a room for one night?" I asked.

    The girl over the counter didn't even look at me and kept typing on her computer. She looked frustrated, and for a good reason. Having to do work in this loud house was probably torture. I asked again, and then she shook her head after staring at me like I was an alien for a few seconds. She'd recognized me.

    "We're full, sorry," she finally said. "If you want, we can put you on a waiting list and take your number? We have service and WiFi all around Café Cabin!"

    "No, it's fine. Thanks anyway," I said disappointingly. I'd have to camp out tonight, but with Sunshine around I didn't really care anyway. I would have enjoyed a bed, but—

    "Are you sure? We'd love to have you at our establishment! I'm sure someone will leave soon and we'll give you one right away."

    "Uh, no," I said. "I'd feel bad if I was given special treatment."

    I awkwardly waved at her and left. A few heads were turning my way now, but I ignored them. The poor girl had probably wanted me to stick around because it would be good publicity for the Café. Business was booming, but they could never have enough customers. Their waiters and waitresses seemed to be handling the boom rather well, carrying dozens of drinks or six plates in their arms at a time and weaving in between customers like it was nothing. They'd been well-trained.

    I opted to buy some orange juice and a cheese bagel to go. There was no way I was going to stick around in this suffocating place.

    I would have never guessed that I'd come across Chase on my way out. He didn't seem surprised at all to see me. The tears in his cap had been hastily stitched back together, and he had bandages all around his hands. I stood there, gobsmacked until he finally spoke.

    "What happened to you? You look like you've seen a ghost," he said with a confident smirk. "I thought I might run into your little group by coming here."

    "Uh, hi," I said. "It's— it's just me. Have you heard what happened to Solaceon?"

    Chase raised an eyebrow at me. "Huh?"

    —

    "What the fuck? Some moron Shiftry was the cause of all of this?" He asked incredulously.

    Somehow, Chase hadn't heard about anything while he was in Celestic. I knew that the fog was too thick for him to have seen the darkness in the distance, but apparently he was completely out of the loop. I would have expected him to hear something about it! It was all anyone could talk about these days! I shuffled on the grass we sat on and nodded.

    "He'd been controlling Solaceon this entire time, and when we exposed him he threw a fit," I said. "We were all targeted… it was terrible."

    "Well, you made it out alright, so it can't have been that terrible," the boy shrugged. "I'm surprised you're traveling alone. You never seemed like the type."

    "I needed time to figure things out. I did a lot of things that made me discover a lot about myself."

    "Sounds mopey as hell, but fair enough," he said. "Whatever happened down there, it was to defend yourself, no? I don't see that much of a moral conan— conun… what was it again?"

    "Conundrum," I said. "And you—"

    I sighed. I was going to fight him and say that he didn't know what it was like, but I honestly didn't feel like it. Chase was a lot nicer than he'd been months ago, but he was still very rough around the edges. Pauline definitely would have agreed with him.

    "What happened to your hands?" I said, staring. "That looks pretty gnarly."

    "Oh, it was this whole thing," Chase waved dismissively. "I got into a fight with an asshole Klawf and then I fell into a hole with this entire ancient city—"

    My eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

    "—there were a bunch of old Sigilyph there, but they were weak enough. I ended up catching one who saved my life too, but the real issue was some kind of weird, fucked up ghost that had a hard-on for hating humanity."

    "H—hold on, can you say that again?"

    "Which part?"

    "The entire thing. Go into vivid detail, please."

    Chase ended up explaining his entire ordeal, from falling into the ancient city to battling an illusionist ghost through the entire place. What really caught my interest, however, was the way he described a certain mural. It had depicted Sigilyph in large numbers, and Claydol in smaller numbers, but higher in the food chain, so to speak. If I wanted one, then I knew where to look.

    "You shouldn't go down there, at least not yet," Chase warned. "That ghost? My Pokedex doesn't even know what it is. It said that there was insufficient data somehow, and it was strong enough to take my entire team. Fighting it without a dark type or some kind of anti-ghost tactic is suicide."

    "I wasn't going to go there right away anyway," I said. There was no way I was going to take that risk and break my promise to Cece. Plus, I wouldn't be allowed to have more than six Pokemon until I passed that test in Veilstone anyway. "But I just want to know for the future— you didn't end up seeing any Claydol or Baltoy there?"

    "Nope. They were nowhere to be seen, but I didn't exactly stick around that long."

    "Okay… did you warn people, at least? That ghost sounds dangerous."

    If I wanted to go there in the future, it'd be after Sweetheart had evolved so I could make use of her dark typing. Tyranitar weren't exactly known to be subtle, but I was sure that I'd be able to create something to counter ghosts. Plus, Buddy would be able to put up a good fight as well. That was a long-term plan, though. Right now, I just wanted to relax and do nothing life-threatening.

    Part of me wanted to keep the information for ourselves. If teams of rangers— or the League, if the ghost proved strong enough— made it down there, then there was a possibility that I'd miss my chance to capture a Claydol, but people's safety was a lot more important than my desires.

    Plus, there was always Beheeyem.

    "Well, the hole was sealed back again and it didn't follow me, so I didn't really see the need to."

    I slapped my forehead. "Arceus… you need to tell someone right away. What if another trainer falls down there somehow and dies? As soon as you get to Veilstone, you need to tell someone about this. Am I clear?"

    Chase clicked his tongue, but reluctantly agreed.

    "Why would you even hide it to yourself anyway?" I asked.

    "I didn't want the city to be sullied," he said. "It was like a time capsule… you'd think that it was only a few decades old and not however old it actually was. Maybe a few thousand, if I had to guess. I'd feel bad for my Sigilyph. She's a little attached to the place. When we walked by there again, she just stared at it for a while."

    "I get it, but it's got to be done," I said. "If you don't say it, I will. It's a wonder you even survived against that thing."

    A ghost that could turn into a human? Was it like Mathilda and Ruth? From the way Chase had described it, I couldn't place any name on the Pokemon, and the internet wasn't of any help either. Maybe it was an undiscovered, ancient species that formed in a specific way and not like the ghosts in the Lost Tower?

    "I said I would, sheesh," he said.

    Silence settled in for a few seconds as we watched the Milktank go about their day. I wanted to ask to meet his new Pokemon, but first… I couldn't help but be curious.

    "How did your meeting go? With your grandparents?" I asked. I hoped I wasn't being overbearing, but he'd opened up to me before.

    Chase gripped something on his chest, and I saw a hint of a golden chain around his neck.

    "It went alright," he said.

    I had never seen him smile so widely.

    "Just alright?" I teased. "I told you they'd like you! Did you get to do everything you wanted?"

    "I saw my mom's grave and hung out with them a bunch," he said. "They were cool. My grandpa stitched my cap back up for me and they gave me a picture of my mom too. It was probably the best it could have gone."

    "I'm happy for you," I smiled. "Feels like a weight's lifted off your shoulders, right?"

    "Yeah."

    "What about Ri? You told me he belonged to your mom first right?"

    "He's doing great. He evolved too."

    "Excuse me?"

    "He evolved," Chase deadpanned.

    "Why do you drop the most insane information like it's nothing?" I asked exasperatedly. "Why don't we meet each other's teams? It's been a while."

    "Sure, why not," he shrugged.

    Chase released his entire team, and I did the same with mine, although I made sure to release Turtonator a little ways away. The fire type's eyes narrowed at the presence of so many unknown Pokemon, but I spoke him down.

    "They're friends. Friends," I emphasized. "You've got to seriously fix your anti-social ways. You're behaving like a kid— ah!"

    He blew a plume of smoke in my face, causing me to cough. Princess tripped him up with Ancient Power, but he comically fell over and used the situation to just lie down. He forced us to leave by raising the temperature around himself, even though we'd been here first.

    "That's some serious attitude problem," Chase said. "I think I could take him."

    "I don't know about that," I chuckled nervously.

    Zangoose and Houndoom seemed to hate him already, so he was doing us no favors. Angel was busy rubbing Sigilyph all over, seemingly fascinated by the new sensation. It was my first time seeing one in the flesh, and they were even weirder than in the pictures. Unova had an ancient, buried civilization in their weirdly called desert-resort. Cece had spoken to me a little about it, but apparently it was chock-full of Sigilyph and Golurk, which made it one of the deadliest places in their region, and that wasn't even counting the hostile environment. Trainers usually didn't go there, opting to go straight to Nimbasa instead.

    Still, they were interesting. Every single one had a different pattern on their torso, and hers was a green, wavy one along with a touch of red and blue, but its center was dark. The wings were also surprisingly not wings, but just some kind of decoration. They could move, but not very much and were also made of tough material. Sigilyph kept themselves afloat with their psychic powers.

    After Angel finished rubbing her all over, she got mere inches from my face until Togetic cried out in protest. Her pale eye was somewhat unsettling. She never blinked, and it was as if it was constantly having these micro-vibrations that were barely visible if you stared for long enough.

    She was pretty cute though. Her little beeps made it sound like she was a machine. Angel moved onto Zangoose, who angrily slashed his vines away and hissed. His vines dropped and he anxiously wrapped one around my ankle.

    "Let her have her personal space," I said. "Not everyone is fine with touching, okay? Remember my dad?"

    The grass type nodded sadly, but he kept his hold on me. Princess clung to me as well, seemingly uninterested with socializing with Pokemon outside of the team. She was only fine with Denzel or Cecilia's Pokemon.

    Were… were my Pokemon all considered weirdos? I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that Honey and Buddy seemed to be mingling well. They were both speaking to Lucario and Abomasnow—

    Yes, Chase's Snover had evolved, but in his defense, he'd been surprised at my Pupitar too. She was curiously eyeing Lucario but stuck to Sunshine. Her tough shell meant that the temperature didn't bother her whatsoever, and she was even eating some dirt. Vikavolt seemed content to fly around and observe. It was like flying was the funniest thing in the world to him, and he was making full use of his wings. He was loud, however, and Sunshine was clearly annoyed at the incessant electric buzzing.

    Lucario had grown a lot. He was a head taller than me now, and there was a hint of wisdom in his eyes that hadn't been there before. It was weird to understand exactly what Buddy and Honey were saying, but not Abomasnow and him, although I got the gist of the conversation. They were recounting their travels through route 210, while my Pokemon were telling them of what happened in Solaceon.

    "Your team's grown in strength since I last saw them," Chase said. "You don't disappoint."

    "Same to you. Sorry about them, by the way," I said, nudging my head toward Sweetheart and pointing at Togetic. "I guess it's been a while since they really hung out with your team, so they didn't react like I thought they would. Sunshine reacted a lot better than I thought."

    "You called him Sunshine? Still terrible with names, I see," he said. "What did you think he'd do?"

    "Worst-case scenario? He might have thrown a fit and attacked your Pokemon— but I would have recalled him instantly!" I hurriedly added. "He's really sweet, you just have to get to know him."

    "I didn't expect you to lie to my face."

    "I'm not lying! You just have to work past his barriers! He's kind of like you, actually."

    Chase seemed to take great offense at that. Sigilyph had moved onto analyzing both Buddy and Honey. The electric type felt obligated to let her get close, but Jellicent's body literally shrunk and reflexively avoided her until he couldn't take it anymore and sprayed her with a jet of water. Sigilyph let out a few panicked beeps and took refuge behind Zangoose, who was lazily preening her fur on the floor. The normal type grumbled, but let her stick around.

    "Your Zangoose and my Turtonator are kind of similar," I noticed.

    "Are you kidding me? Zangoose is nothing like your dragon. She's a stand-up Pokemon."

    "What's that supposed to mean?" I angrily asked, placing my hands on my hips. Just when I was about to launch into a tirade about all of Sunshine's good qualities, Lucario strode up to me. "Oh… hi."

    "You can still call him Ri," Chase said.

    "Cool."

    The fighting type grabbed onto my hand and I felt a cold energy rush into my arm.

    Thank… care… Chase.

    He'd meant to thank me for taking care of Chase. I had completely forgotten that Lucario could speak even though Cynthia's had done so right in front of me.

    The voice was there, but it was faint, and unlike with psychics, I felt no pain at all! When Slowking had spoken to me, the voice had been completely smooth and almost void of emotion, which was how every psychic spoke (with a few minute deviations between individuals), but Ri's voice was deep and full of life. It was as if a human had been speaking to me.

    "No problem," I stammered. "He's my friend."

    "He's been talking my ear off to practice speaking through aura," Chase explained. "It's a work in progress."

    "I mean, that's great progress if he's only been a Lucario for a week," I said.

    Chase's team had always been full of dedicated and hard workers. Princess chirped a greeting at Lucario, who replied with a respectful nod. Every single one of his movements evoked a certain elegance.

    Sweetheart couldn't resist anymore, and she crawled toward Ri faster than I'd ever seen her move in her new form. She could have been faster by rolling, but I could tell that she hadn't wanted to embarrass herself. Sweetheart liked strong individuals, and she seemed to think that Ri was a Pokemon she could admire just like Sunshine, which surprised me.

    "Hey, do you want to battle?" I asked out of the blue. I'd been thinking about it ever since I'd seen that Ri evolved. After seeing what Cynthia had done with her Lucario twice now— once at Valley Windworks and then against Shiftry— I wanted to battle him. "Not a full six-on-six obviously, but what about a three-on-three?"

    Chase lit up for a second, but then he hesitated. "Uh, I'm not sure. Maybe when we get to Veilstone."

    "You seemed happy enough to do so," I frowned. "What's wrong? I can't imagine the Chase Karlson being nervous about battling."

    "There's no Center here," he muttered.

    "Yeah, but it's just a friendly battle. Obviously we won't go too hard, and—"

    Lucario shot me a look, and I understood. He was struggling with money again, wasn't he? He'd emphasized his lack of potions very clearly while recounting his travels, both during his stay in Mount Coronet and route 210.

    "Listen, I can hand you some potions if you want."

    "I don't need your pity," he said.

    "It's not pity, it's just being a decent human being. My friends lent me potions all the time before the Poketch Company sponsored me—"

    "We can battle," he finally decided. "But I won't take any of your shit. Three-on-three's fine. No substitutions?"

    "No switches is fine with me," I nodded.

    "But we're doing this right away. I don't want to leave you time to start planning shit like you usually do."

    "Sounds like you're scared," I teased. "But alright."

    I didn't need to plan. I already knew that he'd use Ri in the battle, but he wouldn't lead with him. From the way he'd spoken about Sigilyph, they were relatively weak and there was no way his had already overcome that, so she was off the table. If I had to guess, then he'd lead Abomasnow, using his massive strength and bulk to play it safe. The last Pokemon was still up in the air, but guessing two out of three wouldn't be bad. It'd possibly end up being Vikavolt if I lost the first bout.

    As for me? Chase was probably preparing to face Turtonator, but he'd unfortunately be disappointed. The fire type shot me a look that instantly let me know there was no way he was rising from his nap for this. Honey, Angel, and Buddy would have to do some work.

    But I was also considering using Sweetheart if the opportunity arose and Chase used Houndoom or Zangoose. It could be a stupid idea, but even when unable to move, there was no way those two were breaking past her cocoon.

    Chase and his team faced us while my entire family was at my back.

    "In three seconds, call out the first Pokemon you're sending out," I said. We were improvising, since we didn't have a referee. "Three, two, one— Jellicent!"

    "Abomasnow."

    I took a deep breath as both Pokemon stepped forward. I was working with the type disadvantage, but I was confident it wouldn't matter that much with Buddy's survivability. It would have been a lot worse if it'd been Vikavolt.

    Chase began to count down from three, and I braced myself for the coming battle.
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver
     
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    • Chase's reluctance is probably tied to literally running out of potions down in the hole right?
    Also didn't think the place would be fully booked, this part didn't sound so packed.
     
    Chapter 171
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 171

    Abomasnow was a mass of frozen bark that looked almost impenetrable, but I could guess a few things about it from its body type and the way it moved. One, it was on the slower side of things. Two, it was inclined toward physical defense, so Buddy's attacks would actually penetrate past that armor. What worried me was actually his ice type moves, because Buddy was entirely made of water and he'd get frozen very easily. I didn't know how that would affect his regenerative capabilities, so I wanted to avoid getting hit with something like Icy Wind or Ice Beam at all costs. It seemed that it wasn't confident enough in its control to activate its Snow Warning ability out of fear of harming Chase or me, so we had that going for us. The best way to proceed forward was to play it safe and scout.

    "Night Shade, keep your distance and harass him with Shadow Ball," I calmly said.

    "Ice Shard—"

    "Get in front of the shade!"

    Buddy's Night Shades were still too frail to withstand even one attack, and being so close to the explosion would cause him a lot of harm.

    A noxious shadow appeared next to Jellicent, who hurriedly pushed himself in front of the shade and got stabbed by too many Ice Shards to count. The ice buried himself inside of his body, but they only dealt a minimum amount of damage. His face twisted, sunk into itself and then bounced back like a spring as the few cuts easily regenerated, although slower because of the ice. The Night Shade finished forming, and both it and Buddy began pestering Abomasnow with Shadow Ball. The ghostly energy given form flew at high speeds toward Abomasnow, who braced himself.

    "Get up close," Chase said.

    Abomasnow took a deep, rumbling breath right before the first Shadow Ball hit. Buddy's were strong and quicker than his clone's, but two were still better than one. Abomasnow broke into a run that lightly shook the earth as he simply bore with the hits. It didn't even try to dodge.

    "Keep your distance and fly up!" I ordered.

    "Razor Leaf!"

    Abomasnow brought his massive green hands forward and sharp leaves flew toward Buddy, who dodged with Water Sport. His clone wasn't so lucky though, and the purple, cold explosion engulfed both he and his opponent.

    I smiled. It had taken six leaves instead of one. Steady improvements.

    Buddy broke away from the smoke and immediately summoned another Night Shade. I heard Chase audibly groan on the other side of the arena.

    "Poison Sting," I continued. I couldn't let him think. Chase was faster on his feet than I was. "Send the shade to the end of the arena and make it use Shadow Ball."

    Dozens of sharpened rods flew out of Buddy's tentacles, but to our surprise, seeds broke through the smoke and stuck to his body. They broke apart, revealing snaking, thorny vines that wrapped all around his body and clung to him like a vice.

    That was Leech Seed, and we couldn't have avoided it when Abomasnow was hiding within the smoke. I hadn't expected such an intelligent play without Chase's guidance.

    "Good shit," he grinned. "Icy Wind, freeze it!"

    "Run away! Harass him!"

    The Night Shade suddenly stopped going away, instead opting to attack now. Abomasnow was so large and slow that he struggled to avoid most attacks, but he didn't appear to care. The ghostly smoke finally broke apart after he spat out an Icy Wind, revealing the purple darts covering his entire left arm and pumping poison into his body. My eyes narrowed at the speed of the Icy Wind. It was narrow and almost as fast as Louis' Ice Beam with Prinplup. The speed caught us so off-guard that Jellicent didn't manage to get away in time and half of his body froze over. The vines continued to squeeze the life out of him too, slowing him further.

    "Now Razor Leaf! Finish it off!" Chase yelled.

    Six leaves to blow up a Night Shade, I instantly thought. That's enough for Buddy to buy himself some time and then get out of the way with Water Sport now that he knows what to expect.

    My thoughts were fast enough, but my voice was not.

    "Use the Shade to—"

    The leaves tore through Jellicent, destroying the frozen half of his body. In a way, that was a blessing in disguise. He'd be a lot faster that way. Buddy immediately sunk into the floor to retreat from further attacks, but the shade kept attacking. Abomasnow was getting close to his limit, but he still fought like he'd just been sent onto the field. His body was covered in purple bruises and his eyes were milky, but there was still a ferocity to them that I'd only seen in a few Pokemon.

    "Blow up that shade," Chase said.

    Another set of Razor Leaves blew up Jellicent's clone. This time, they were out of range of the explosion.

    "Now start freezing the floor—"

    "Get back up!" I yelled.

    The ice type got on all fours, and frost began to seep into the earth and spread all throughout the arena. It took two seconds for Jellicent to emerge from the ground with his body half-frozen into some kind of weird slush, but he immediately hit Abomasnow with a powerful Hex. Smoke rose from his body, but he wildly turned with his eyes filled with determination and blew another Icy Wind at Jellicent. The water type solidified his body right away, gaining in weight, but also in constitution and he withstood the ice, hitting Abomasnow with another Shadow Ball.

    I breathed a sigh of relief when Abomasnow fell to the floor, his eyes still open. Buddy wasn't doing much better. Leech Seed was slowly but surely draining his energy, and he had very little left in the tank.

    "You did great," Chase said, recalling his Pokemon. There was no snarky comment, no complaints, just focus. He sent out his Zangoose and not his Vikavolt, which caused me to almost gasp in surprise. The normal type grinned as she walked toward the arena.

    He'd caught me completely off-guard, and he knew it. Still, I didn't have time to hesitate.

    "Whirpool! Trap her!" I yelled.

    "Quick Attack."

    Buddy released gallons upon gallons of water that began to twist and spin, but Zangoose was a lot quicker than I remembered. She circled the water, buying herself time with clawed attacks that could only have been Night Slash. I knew Chase's plan now. He wanted to finish Jellicent up in one attack, and luckily I'd caught a glimpse of it.

    "Fly up and stay there! She's going for Night Slash!" I yelled.

    Jellicent pushed himself upward with a weakened Water Sport, spraying Zangoose with water in the process. He began to direct the Whirpool toward her, but it was smaller than usual now that we had no water to source from. Moves like Surf and Whirlpool would always be weaker than usual in a dry environment. She jumped and managed to Night Slash two of Jellicent's tentacles. His eyes began to flicker.

    He was almost out.

    "Water Pulse," I said. If he was going down, then I needed him to deal as much damage as possible. "Corner her with Whirpool!"

    Zangoose easily avoided the first two Water Pulses, but she couldn't escape the hastily drawn demarcation of the arena without being disqualified. Jellicent used his last ounce of strength, and the normal type hissed as the ring of water hit her. The Whirpool dissolved, Jellicent slowly sunk to the ground into a small pool, and I recalled him.

    He'd been perfect. If I'd been better during that first fight, he could have fought longer still.

    I smiled. This battle would be a nail-biter. I considered sending out Princess, but she would never be able to stand up to Lucario if she won the fight. What I needed was...

    "Honey, you're up."

    He whirred, flexing his muscles as he strode into the wet arena. I was going to need to keep Angel for last.

    "She's quicker than you, but you're stronger," I warned. "Hit her with all you've got."

    "We'll see about that," Chase retorted. "Crush Claw!"

    What I had really meant by hit her with all you've got was Cross Chop. I was hoping to catch Chase off-guard, and I was glad my comment had rattled him too. Up until now, he'd been completely focused, but he was starting to slip, and I hoped that would cause him to make mistakes.

    Zangoose was already quite close to Electabuzz, so she closed the distance in a flash, attempting to slash across his chest with her hardened claws. Honey barely managed to twist his body, so she cut his right arm instead, leaving herself open to a hit. His fist crackled with electricity, and all of Zangoose's hair puffed up until she quickly jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding a hit. Electabuzz turned to me and I nodded. He hadn't been in a position to use Cross Chop and opted for Thunder Punch instead.

    "Keep threadin' the needle," Chase said. "Fury Cutter!"

    An exchange of blows began. Zangoose quickly stepped forward but feinted hitting Honey's face, causing him to shield it with his arms and then slashed his torso instead. The electric type retaliated with a quick Thunder Punch, which Zangoose narrowly dodged again, but then exploded with a Discharge that engulfed her completely. She hissed, doubling in size due to her smoking fur standing on end and continued building up Fury Cutters, slowly growing her strength. We needed to switch the tempo.

    "Protect!" I yelled.

    A thin barrier appeared mere inches from his body and Zangoose struck it with a loud clang. The Protect deflected her claws away, leaving Honey enough time to use Cross Chop. His arms bulged, lighting up with a bright white and he hit Zangoose right on the shoulders. The normal type coughed, clearly in pain and staggered from the attack.

    "Again!" I quickly ordered.

    Once again, Honey's arms flexed, but Zangoose surprisingly jumped and dropped kicked him away, sending him sliding across the wet floor. The normal type snarled, shaking her head to get back into the fight and extended her claws further.

    A drop kick? With how powerful it was, I guessed that it had to be Double Kick. If I'd known, I wouldn't have gotten greedy. Chase being caught off-guard by Protect meant that he hadn't watched my gym battle against Fantina, so I could use that to my advantage. Just the move being there fundamentally changed how he'd battle and would stay in the back of his mind with every action.

    But he couldn't play it too safe either. If he thought for too long…

    "Thunderbolt," I said.

    Electabuzz whirled his arms until a quick burst of electricity shot out toward Zangoose. The attack hit her dead in the chest, and she convulsed, unable to move until it ended. Before we could order another one, Chase already screamed at her to go in, and he was right. Playing it slow wouldn't work. Not when we had an advantage at a distance.

    I hastily yelled out for another Thunderbolt, but Zangoose got on all fours to dodge. That didn't end her run, however. In fact, she didn't even slow. The normal type sped up, and now it was a matter of who would blink first. Me with Protect, or Chase by averting his strike. Zangoose kept running like there was no tomorrow, her eyes flashing with excitement as she jumped over another Thunderbolt. She slid across the floor and went back to get out of range of a Discharge, but then kept going.

    She was too close!

    I blinked first.

    "Protect!"

    Electabuzz summoned the barrier, but Zangoose did not hit it like before. She calmly waited for it to end, and the electric type strained to keep it going.

    "Crush Claw as soon as Protect goes down," Chase ordered.

    I only had a few seconds to think of a way to counter the barrage that was coming. Zangoose would get the next hit for sure, but it was a matter of controlling the situation. A quick Discharge was possible, but it would only delay the inevitable. What I needed was to create a situation to open Zangoose up to another Cross Chop, but how—

    Time had run out.

    "Discharge!" I yelled.

    As soon as Protect went down, another Discharge burst outward. Zangoose took the hit, breathing a ragged breath as she immediately stuck back with Crush Claw. Her claws hardened like iron and she slammed them against Honey's head.

    "Keep him on the backfoot!" Chase yelled.

    And she did. Slamming her claws on every part of his body over and over again. This time, he was slower to retaliate, but he managed to do so with Fire and Thunder Punch. Still, at this rate, we'd lose. Zangoose was too quick to overwhelm.

    But I had a plan. There was no need to overthink. All we needed was one more Cross Chop, but any good hit would do.

    "Grab her!" I yelled.

    In a second of clarity, Electabuzz snarled, flashing his sharp teeth and grabbed Zangoose's arms under the armpits. He awkwardly struggled with her, taking two hits from Double Kick.

    "Thunderbolt!"

    Both Electabuzz and Zangoose became nothing more than a flash of bright yellow lights. The sound of electricity drowned out any other noise, and the attack kept going for ten seconds. A memory flashed in my mind. Crobat's screams. It dying in the exact same conditions.

    I shook my head and chased them away.

    Honey let out heavy breaths as Zangoose dropped to the floor. I swallowed as Lucario immediately stepped forward, not even waiting for Chase to call out to him.

    "Good shit, but we've got to work on your speed," Chase smiled as he recalled Zangoose.

    It was Honey against Lucario now, but he was tired. I couldn't afford to get fancy and hope for a Cross Chop. The move would leave him open to all kinds of counterattacks.

    "Thunderbolt," I muttered.

    "Vacuum Wave."

    His antennas twitched, and he sent out a quick flash of electricity toward Lucario. The fighting type punched the air with an open palm, sucking all the air in front of him until there was only a vacuum left. The electricity fizzled out into nothing. It needed air or a conductive material to propagate.

    It couldn't work in a vacuum.

    "Wait for him," I breathed out. I already knew what was coming.

    "Get in there and Bone Rush!" Chase yelled.

    I bit the inside of my lip. A bone glimmering with a pale blue light grew out of the fighting type's hand just like Cynthia's. Unlike hers, however, Lucario wasn't particularly fast, but he wasn't slow either. His evolution had slowed him, and even though I knew it would be temporary, it would still help us for this battle. If I had to guess, two hits from Bone Rush, and Honey would go down.

    Lucario could probably do that in a second. I waited until he grew closer and smirked.

    "Thunderbolt!"

    Lucario's eyes widened as it failed to use Vacuum Wave a second time. Not only did it have less time to react, but no one would expect me to use the same move when it'd been countered so easily. Lucario grunted as the electricity consumed him, but he merely stopped for a few seconds.

    "Wait… Protect!"

    Once the steel type got close enough, Honey summoned a Protect, and the bone's impact rang out across the field. Chase and Lucario probably expected me to maintain it for as long as possible like I'd done the two previous times, but predictability was complacency.

    "Drop it and Fire Punch!"

    Unlike Cross Chop, Honey had known Fire Punch for months. It was his bread and butter, and Lucario's reaction time was slower than Zangoose's. His fists lit ablaze while Protect went down. He uppercut Lucario in the jaw, but he easily recovered with a backflip.

    "Thunderbolt!" I yelled.

    "Throw the damn bone," Chase said.

    Lucario quickly threw his bone, which caught us completely off-guard. The two attacks crossed each other and both Pokemon dodged with a sidestep, but unlike Electabuzz, Lucario was still fresh. He quickly grew another bone and kept throwing it at him until one hit him in the arm, and that was all he needed. Honey took a few steps backward, but Lucario was too quick to run away from in this state. The fighting type ran forward and used Vacuum Wave to dissolve another Thunderbolt.

    "Fire Punch!" I ordered.

    My eyes narrowed when Lucario's palm lit up with that same blue color and a burst of aura hit Electabuzz at a range. It hadn't been from too far— just far enough to be outside of his reach. It seemed to be a modified version of Force Palm or something like it. Electabuzz fell to the ground and I recalled him with a soft smile.

    "That guy's tricky as hell," Chase commented. "Good going, Ri."

    "Thanks," I said. "Angel, you're up."

    From every angle I could think of, Angel was at an advantage here, but I couldn't get confident. I needed to use everything at my disposal to win.

    "Sunny Day," I ordered.

    "Fuck that! Aura Sphere!"

    A ball of blue energy flew out of Lucario's palm at high speeds and snapped Angel out of his focus. The damage was negligent, especially since it hadn't broken through his thick layer of vines, but it was enough.

    "You do that every time she tries that shit," he continued. "Go in, but be slow. Vacuum Wave or use a bone every time it tries to grab you."

    Use a bone? How would that even work?

    I'd have to watch out for that, but either way, Sunny Day was out of the picture for now. I considered waiting for Lucario to make its move since the fact that it could counter vines rattled me, but Chase took the decision for me.

    "Bullet Punch!"

    This time, he was quick— quicker than we could even react. Lucario dashed toward Angel and punched him so many times so quickly that his fists were just a blur.

    "Power Whip!" I yelled.

    A vine burst from his body, hitting Lucario in the shoulder and then burying itself against the ground. The steel type finished its assault and placed a palm against Tangrowth's body. The same burst of aura hit, and it traveled through the vines like they weren't even there. All of Angel's vines wriggled as one as he squirmed in pain.

    "Again!"

    "Bind—"

    "Get the fuck out of there!"

    Lucario jumped back, but one of Angel's vine wrapped around his ankle and slammed him against the floor. He quickly sprung to action, growing an aura bone and slashing across he vine before Angel could smother him.

    So that was what he meant, I thought. He had a way of hitting us up close with that Force Palm attack and two ways to counter Tangrowth's vine. Legendaries, he was tough. We'd have to try to brute force our way through to win, but Lucario didn't look tired at all. Only bruised in his jaw due to Honey's Fire Punch.

    I took a deep breath. "Ancient Power in front and get in range!"

    Earth rose from the floor, consolidated into a hard boulder and rolled toward Lucario.

    "Cut it."

    The fighting type slashed the rock down the middle, splitting it in two perfect halves. Angel was already treading forward, pushing himself with as many vines as he could. He was barely touching the floor with his feet.

    "Bind him! Overwhelm him with vines!" I said.

    Tangrowth redirected the vines he was using to walk toward Lucario, who summoned another bone and twirled it around like a baton. The vines helplessly washed against the bone.

    "Go around!"

    Another set of vines shot out from Angel's body, this time circling Lucario. He couldn't be everywhere at once—

    "Go in now!"

    He didn't even need to use Bullet Punch this time. Lucario's Force Palm hit Angel again, this time angled toward his face. The grass type hastily retaliated with a Power Whip, but that wasn't right. We needed to grab him instead of hit him.

    "Bind and Mega Drain!"

    I grinned. This time, there were too many to ignore, and he was too close. Lucario tried that same jumping trick, but we were ready. Tangrowth snaked a vine behind his back and killed his momentum, allowing him to finally wrap him with as many as he wanted.

    I relaxed with a sigh.

    "Vacuum Wave!"

    And immediately tensed again. The air around Lucario's fists became a vacuum and some of Tangrowth's vines expanded, swelling uncontrollably before withering away like dust. It wasn't over, however. Lucario kept using the move, forcing Angel to replace his vines to keep a hold on him.

    But then, disaster struck.

    Using the slight lapse in time that Vacuum Wave bought him and us being taken off-guard, a blue bone slipped out of Lucario's hand. The fighting type twisted it upward and managed to cut apart almost all of Angel's vines, although he hit himself in the rush. One last Vacuum wave was enough to escape, and he slipped out of our hold.

    I had learned a few things from that interaction. One, Vacuum Wave was annoying as hell, and if it hit Angel directly, then the sudden change would cause his vines to expand, then wither and die. It was almost a direct counter to us, and Chase had no doubt figured that out too. We were both terrible at physics, and we somehow hadn't figured it out until now. Two, Lucario was strong. Ridiculously so. Even beyond destroying the vines with attacks, Angel had to actually struggle to hold onto him, which had never happened with a Pokemon of this relative size.

    I should have expected a fighting type to be like that.

    Still, Lucario seemed to be tiring, but so was Angel, and we actually had to be on the defensive now that Vacuum Wave was a factor—

    "Aura Sphere."

    Angel didn't even have to wait for my order. A hastily built barrier sprung from the floor and crumbled to dust as soon as the attack hit. I craned my neck to the right to get around the dust and saw that Lucario was already moving.

    "Another!" I yelled.

    Lucario crashed head first into a boulder and calmly destroyed it with a Bone Rush. He was getting sluggish. Two minutes ago, he would have caught that. My eyes bulged when he threw the bone forward. Angel tried to stop it, but no matter how many vines he used, the bone simply cleaved right through.

    Fighting an aura user was so unfair.

    The bone lodged itself deep inside of Tangrowth, but it still stuck out. Lucario became a blur of motion with Bullet Punch. He stopped the attack midway through and smoothly transitioned into Force Palm like it was second nature to him and pushed the bone even deeper with the attack.

    Tangrowth shut his eyes tight and lashed out half-hazardly with Power Whip. One of them hit Lucario, but it didn't matter. He slammed another palm, and a smaller vacuum wave destroyed all of the vines on the right side of his body, exposing his dark flesh. The bone that had stabbed him lightly turned to dust, and Lucario finished him off with one last direct Force Palm.

    I wiped the sweat off my brow and my shoulders sagged. Even if I hadn't known how aura would interact with different moves, hiding Bullet Punch until I sent out Tangrowth had been a good play by him, and Chase was quick to take advantage of any weakness that he saw. Lucario bowed toward Angel in apology as I recalled him and then sat on the floor with a tired breath. For the first time since I left Hearthome, a trainer had managed to take down Angel. Lucario was just so damn slippery.

    Chase had improved. He'd improved a lot. It stung to lose, but I knew that had been a possibility when I challenged him. I had learned a whole lot about aura and that would potentially pay dividends for my fight against Maylene.

    "Good battle," I smiled.

    "Right back at you."
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett Turrell, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver
     
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    • Chapter 172
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 172

    Chase walked up to Lucario and helped him up. The fighting type grunted when he pulled on his arm too hard. It seemed that Angel's Power Whips had done a number on him, even if it hadn't been enough. I ignored Sunshine's mocking laugh and comforted Sweetheart, who seemed to be the most disappointed at the loss. Really though, her and Princess were especially worried about Angel.

    "He'll be okay," I gently reassured them. His vines would grow back within twenty minutes and he'd be as good as new, although I'd have to dig deep within them to apply the potion to his skin if I waited too long.

    I directed my attention to Chase.

    "You beat me. How about some prize money?" I asked.

    "I guess I did earn it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

    I nodded, requesting to transfer ten thousand Pokedollars onto his account. His eyes widened, and his expression turned into an angry grimace.

    "I'm not taking that much. The usual number's five hundred," he said.

    "That's nothing. I started this League Internship thing and I'm getting paid extra, so you can at least have some of that. Use it to buy some potions from the Poke Mart."

    "No—"

    I tightly grabbed onto his wrist and smiled. "What was that?"

    "No—"

    "Yes?"

    "...uh, fine? Wait what the hell—"

    "Perfect!" I exclaimed. "You can't go back on your word. That'd be fundamentally wrong."

    "Arceus, you're creeping me out Pastel. Fine, I'll take your money."

    Lucario gently bumped him on the shoulder.

    "And thank you," he added.

    "No problem. I know what it feels like to not want to accept money from friends, but you've got to straddle the line between pride and practicality," I said.

    I released Honey and Angel to heal them with potions of my own. Chase still refused for me to lend him anything, even if I said he could pay me back later. I quickly sprayed the cold, transparent liquid on Tangrowth's black skin, and the vines began to grow even quicker. I could see it happen in real time, slowly growing inch by inch. The grass type petted my head in appreciation.

    "You were amazing out there," I praised him. "That aura stuff is pretty funky, huh?"

    "Tell me about it. I don't even know how it works half the time. My dad used to talk to me a bit about it, but he was pretty hush-hush. I just know that it seems to bypass some stuff sometimes. Like I managed to hit that ghost I told you about even though he could pass through a normal Bone Rush."

    "Yeah," I muttered as I moved on to patching up Honey. If possible, I would have liked to ask Cynthia about it, but the opportunity had passed me by. Aura seemed to act independently from type energy, or at least it operated under different rules. "You're getting a lot better with Protect, and you were very annoying to fight. That's a great job in my book," I told the electric type.

    He grunted, happy with his performance. I knew that even though we'd lost the fight, what he worried about the most was himself.

    "I honestly thought you would have sent out that monster of a Tangrowth against Zangoose," Chase said. "I had a pretty good tactic to beat him."

    I raised an eyebrow. "And? What was it."

    "Well I ain't gonna tell you now. I'll keep it for next time," he smiled, recalling the rest of his team. "I'll be off, then."

    "What? Already?"

    "Well, you've got to do your own thing and I've got to buy potions before leaving for Veilstone."

    "Huh. Alright, then."

    I hadn't planned on asking him to travel with me, but I thought we could hang out for a day at least.

    Well… maybe I could just ask him.

    "Hey, why don't we go together? It's been a while since we've met, we can't just separate already."

    "What's up with you?"

    "No ulterior motives," I rolled my eyes. "If I had any, you wouldn't have guessed so easily. I just want to hang out with a friend."

    Chase sighed. "Well, I wanted to make it to Veilstone and challenge Maylene ASAP, but I guess I can stay if you really want to."

    "You're talking like I'm holding you at gunpoint."

    "It's the best you're going to get, Pastel. Take it or leave it."

    "I'll take it!" I immediately said.

    —

    "You know, you're a tricky fighter, Pastel," Chase grunted.

    He was currently doing squats in sets of fifty. I was feeling tired by just looking at him, but he was somehow holding a conversation with me while working out. We'd walked a bit further to the east to avoid attention because our fight had actually brought in a few spectators that had spread the news. I hoped the Poketch Company wouldn't give me a hard time for losing. For the first time, I actually felt good after a loss, and I didn't want them to ruin that. Maybe Cynthia's words about losses being good for growth were resonating with me more than I knew.

    "You've said that already," I said. "And I just noticed, but we're back on a last-name basis? What happened to good old Grace?"

    "That never happened. Wipe it from your memory."

    "No, I'm pretty sure that's stored forever in my long-term memories now," I smirked.

    "Well you won't be hearing that anymore. But seriously, it's like— whew, fifty," he exhaled. "It's like, to beat you, a trainer has to find a specific way to go through the battle in order to win, and if they don't, they just slip and start to get stomped," he pondered. "Each one of your Pokemon has a trick to it."

    "A trick?" I asked. "Oh, I guess I know what you mean. Like Angel's vines."

    "Vines for Tangrowth, regeneration for Jellicent, control for Togetic… the only one with a decent amount of versatility's your Electabuzz. Can't know what the hell you're getting into when fighting him. Can't say for the other two though, I've never seen them fight."

    "That's a fair point," I nodded. "I've been trying to work on Night Shade with Buddy, but progress is slower than I'd like. Then again, having a gimmick isn't exactly wrong."

    "Oh, it isn't, but you've got to be able to transition into something else when it doesn't work. Well, Jellicent worked in this instance, but Tangrowth didn't."

    "So you prioritize versatility then?"

    "To an extent. You've still got to focus on something. A Pokemon can't really be good at everything, at least not at our stage. My Zangoose is terrible at long-distance fights, as you saw. I'm still workshopping a training regiment to deal with that weakness. Abomasnow's not the best at them, but we've been working on it," he said, starting his squats again.

    I hummed. That was a lot to think about, but I probably wouldn't be able to remedy it by Veilstone. It was true that if someone neutralized Angel's vines, then we'd be completely stumped. The issue wasn't as bad with the others, but I needed to figure something out. He was my most powerful Pokemon discounting Sunshine, but he could also be my weakest at the same time if anyone had a surefire way to counter his vines like Lucario had done with Bone Rush and Vacuum Wave.

    Speaking of Vacuum Wave…

    "Vacuum Wave is kind of bullshit, don't you think?" I said, half-jokingly. "I mean, I never thought you could use it to such an extent."

    "Well, I don't know much about it, but I do know that most elemental attacks tend to fizzle out when I throw that at them, and it pulls all the air out of the Pokémon's lungs— if they have lungs," he grunted. "It's been a bit of trial and error. I'm terrible at that physics stuff."

    "Me too. I wonder if there are ways I could use physics and chemistry to my advantage to win battles. Like, fire needs… oxygen to burn, so it'd make sense that Vacuum Wave would dissipate a Flamethrower. Why did it cause Angel's vines to wither though… does a vacuum kill plants?"

    "Yikes."

    "What?!"

    "That's kind of nerdy."

    "Stop being a kid. I'm just thinking of ways to improve, that's all. You should too."

    "Not when I just kicked your ass."

    "It was close, you asshole! I want a rematch in Veilstone!"

    "Sure, why not. Might as well let me fight that Turtonator for good measure."

    "I don't want your Pokemon to die, Chase."

    "Huh? Say that again!"

    I ignored him. Maybe I'd come to a conclusion about my feelings regarding my loss a bit prematurely. My immaturity came out a bit too easily when my buttons got pushed. I needed to focus on the crux of this conversation.

    I didn't know the first thing about physics or chemistry, though. It was at times like these that not paying attention in school came back to bite me. If it was to better my skill at battling though, I was sure that it'd be a lot easier to stomach learning about the periodic table or whatever.

    "What was school like in your town… what is it even called?" I asked now that the thought had passed me by.

    Chase tensed and stopped his squats. Had I been too forward? "Falkirk," he muttered. "Don't bother looking it up."

    "I— I won't."

    "Makes sense that you never heard of it," he continued. "There are around 100 mining towns all around the Iron Islands, and most people can't even name one. We're under Canalave's jurisdiction, so they can't really tell the difference."

    "Yeah… I don't know much about them."

    "At least you're trying to learn, which is more than most. Y'know, when I look around, it's like, where do people think all of that steel that keeps their buildings standing came from? I mean sure, the iron is refined in Canalave, but the point still stands. All those trucks, cars, airplanes, kitchenware, fucking sewage pipes! People work their lives away to provide for the mainland, and they die to do it sometimes. And yet, no one gives a shit about us."

    "It's true that I almost only hear about Canalave, but we did cover the Iron Islands in class, I think."

    "What? Just thirty minutes of shitty history? That doesn't even matter," he shrugged. "But to answer your question, school is terrible. Teachers hate their jobs since they were sent there by the Canalave government against their will and don't care about us. Even then, there isn't enough and the funding is shit, just like everything else. For all I respect Cynthia, she can go fuck herself for not improving anything there."

    "I mean, the position of Champion isn't a one-man show. There are checks and balances—"

    "Which are now gone. I'm no politics expert, but she is running a one-man show right now, and not doing anything to solve the situation."

    I bit my lip. He was right, but with Team Galactic on the loose, she was probably focused on other things.

    "It was always the same thing with Canalave too. Every election, it's 'vote for me and we'll fix all of your problems' and they end up not doing jack shit. Ugh, just makes me sick to talk about it."

    "Let's talk about something else then," I hurriedly said. "Like your plans when you get to Veilstone."

    "Meh. Beat Maylene, get my flying license and get to Sunyshore ASAP on Sigilyph's back. I want to start mopping up the gyms so I can get a few tries against the eighth."

    My eyes widened slightly in surprise. Even the Chase was preparing for a defeat against the eighth gym, which in his case would end up being Byron like me. Expecting to win that battle on the first try was basically a pipe dream, so it was a smart thing for him to do. By the time a trainer got to the eighth gym, gym leaders would know about you and tailor their teams specifically to counter you and give you one last challenge to overcome before the Conference. Not only did that mean that they'd need up to a week to plan their team against yours, but it also meant that you'd most likely end up losing terribly the first time around, and there was no guarantee that they'd keep that same team for your second try.

    So not only did you need to fight a grueling six-on-six, you were also going to get specifically targeted and picked apart by one of the best trainers in the region.

    I was looking forward to it.

    "You're weird, Pastel. You ask me a question, then you just don't say anything afterward."

    "I was thinking, Karlson," I spat. "And I was surprised you were taking things so safely. I was going to get my Pokemon Carry license and get beaten up by trainers better than I am, since the League Internship thing I told you about allows me to do that early. And beat Maylene too, hopefully."

    "Hopefully? You're way too good to be that wishy-washy about things."

    "No, I'm actually confident about the battle, I just think I should stay humble. Y'know, healthy mindset and all of that."

    "So fake humility. Got it."

    "No, it's—" I groaned. "It's just that I can't allow myself to slip back into that mindset. Under Shiftry's influence, I was kind of like you in Oreburgh when you spoke out against Cece and called her Unovan trash, or at least internally. I was a lot less outspoken," I sighed. "Why did you call her that? You don't seem like the xenophobic type."

    "That?" He shrunk down embarrassingly. "I'm not, it's just the easiest way I found to vent out my feelings. The idea that someone could swoop in from another region with outside money and run through the gyms seemed unfair as fuck to me. Now I obviously know that no amount of money will buy your way to the top."

    "Yeah… money matters and can give you a huge jumpstart, but skill matters a lot more," I said. "Plus, you kind of got an advantage with Ri, no? Inheriting a Pokemon is kind of an advantage."

    "It is, but Ri was never trained to fight until I got him and we started to work out together. I guess I did get a bit of a head start by getting him early, even though I wish I hadn't," he said, his face grim. "But to address your point, you can still buy your way into a few gym badges, but you'll never get to the Conference that way."

    "So my point still stands," I huffed.

    "Yes, but I was just adding context."

    "Or you just wanted to one-up me. Anyway, watch out around Veilstone," I warned. "There were rumors about a Team Galactic base there, and Cynthia seems to think that they're going to strike soon. You should probably walk around with Lucario all the time. He can sense people."

    Had Cynthia given Chase a League bodyguard too? He was less involved with Cece, Mira and I than the others, but he was still connected. I considered sending her a message to check, but she'd said only in emergencies. But what the hell constituted an emergency?

    Chase hummed. "Thanks for the warning. I'll beat their asses if they pull something."

    "And you'll stay safe, right?"

    "Yeah."

    "That didn't sound very convincing."

    "I'm serious. I won't start shit, but if they come after me, everything's on the table."

    At this point, I was sure that we were capable of taking down most grunts, but one mistake was all it took, and there was no way we were standing up to Commanders yet. From his story about what happened in Mount Coronet, Sunshine could probably take one of their Pokemon, but there was no way he'd be able to do what he did against Harry. The rest of my Pokemon still needed to catch up.

    I was starting to hate the fact that he couldn't go all out because of me being near. Once again, my lack of psychic was biting me in the ass.

    Chase finished his fifth set of squats, letting out a satisfied sigh and then downing an entire water bottle.

    "Fair enough," I nodded. "Aren't you tired? You're at like a bajillion squats now."

    "Today's leg day," he said. "I'm going to run now, so if you want to keep hanging out, you better keep up with me."

    "Huh?"

    "You heard me."

    Chase began to run, and I followed.

    —

    "You're… fucking… crazy," I breathed out. My lungs were on fire and I couldn't feel my legs. "Now I'm gonna have to… wash myself."

    "Just take a shower in the Cabin. I'm sure the people there will give you a room."

    "Shut… up…"

    How? How was he just talking to me like nothing was happening? He'd been jogging for nearly an hour and forcing me to follow. At some point, I even considered getting Angel to carry me, but he said that he'd leave if I did.

    "You've got to get some meat on those bones, Pastel. Being a trainer ain't only about getting your Pokemon into shape. You've got to whip yourself into shape too."

    "I'm healthy," I exhaled. "I walk through the routes and climb and stuff."

    I couldn't do it anymore. I stopped and collapsed on the floor, rolling onto my back and taking deep breaths. Chase stopped and looked at me disappointingly.

    "You almost made it an hour. Pretty good for your first run, honestly."

    "Now you're the one… humble bragging."

    "I'm not. I used to be skinnier than you back in the day."

    Right. I remembered that picture with his dad that he showed me, and he'd been a pale, almost sickly-looking kid, which was a world's difference of what he was like now.

    "I used to be kind of a shut-in. My first run barely lasted five minutes, but it's all about steady improvements."

    "I used to go on runs," I said, finally able to speak normally. "With my Electabuzz to build up his stamina. We stopped now that he's found better ways to do it, though."

    "You got complacent and lazy."

    "No, I just had a lot of other things to worry about."

    "Whatever. Just know that being so weak will bite you in the ass one day."

    "Hey. Why did you start working out so heavily?" I asked.

    Chase sat on the floor next to me and leaned against one of his palms. "I thought I needed to be stronger. If I'd been, then… y'know, I could have done more."

    More during whatever happened to Falkirk? He clearly didn't want to go into it, so I didn't pry, but I would definitely look up what happened to it later during the day. If I was getting a room in the Café Cabin, then it'd be dumb not to make use of the WiFi there. Plus, maybe I'd be able to start looking at resources for physics and chemistry. There ought to be at least simple interactions I could do during fights, although those type of tactics would work a lot better during double battles. It was a shame that I probably wouldn't fight in one again for a long time.

    He stood up and held out a hand. I grabbed it.

    "Thanks. I hope you won't force me to do anymore physical activities, because I literally can't feel my legs."

    "That's good. It means that you worked hard," he said. "But no, you're fine. I'm done too."

    "I feel so icky. I need to get a room at the cabin and go shower. Want to grab a bite after?"

    "Do you think they sell chicken and rice here?"

    "What? No, they're a bakery!"

    "Then no. Too much sugar and shit. Can't be assed."

    "Your loss."

    "I was going to leave anyway. It's the evening," he said.

    "You could use my shower."

    "I don't care about that. I'm going to be traveling in the wild, no one's going to smell me."

    My nose wrinkled, but I agreed to let him go. Hanging out had been fun, but Chase wasn't the type of guy to stick around for long. He was a loner at heart, and he enjoyed that. He let me say goodbye to his team, and I did the same with mine. Ri issued us a bow while Abomasnow gently huffed, releasing mist and snow out of his mouth. Zangoose grunted, not bothering to look at us, while Houndoom licked my hand. His tongue was so hot it was almost uncomfortable, but he was cute nonetheless. I rubbed his chin until Chase told me to stop babying him. Vikavolt buzzed at me in some weird pattern while Sigilyph beeped, approaching me upside down until our faces barely touched.

    Needless to say, Princess hated her guts. She still chirped goodbye to Lucario, and then everyone else when I told her to be polite. Angel gently rubbed all of Chase's Pokemon with his vines, but Zangoose easily dodged and hissed at him. Sweetheart happily clamored at Lucario, who responded with some gentle words that I didn't understand. Honey shook the steel type's hand, and Zangoose actually shot him a respecful look, which was a world's off of how she looked at everybody else on the team. It seemed that their battle had resonated somehow, and Honey bid her farewell too.

    Sunshine didn't say goodbye, but at least he was standing behind me now and not a ways off. Chase was probably similar to Kamaile in some regards.

    And just like that, he was gone as fast as he'd come. Hopefully we'd see each other again in Veilstone.

    "Now I need a shower," I sighed.
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 173
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 173

    I ended up placing my name on the Café Cabin waiting list, and after begging the receptionist not to give me special treatment, she finally agreed and left me on there. A room suspiciously freed up immediately afterward though, and, well, there wasn't much I could do about that. She wanted to keep me there so badly that I almost considered leaving right away out of spite. It wasn't that I wasn't expecting to be treated differently, it was mostly the fact that she just lied to my face about it. I wasn't going to make a scene though, so I just bore with it and entered the room they gave me. It was only slightly smaller than a Pokemon Center room, but it was arranged similarly, with a tiny bed, a desk and a chair. There wasn't a television though, which kind of made sense. Most kids just didn't watch TV these days, and it was just a relic of an older time in Pokemon Centers, meaning that they could save on costs. There wasn't really a point when everything could be found on a phone. Denzel was the epitome of this, but I still really enjoyed television, especially with my Pokemon, so one not being there was a bummer.

    I finally washed all of the muck and grime off of my body and relaxed on my bed with a heavy sigh. My entire team wouldn't fit in such a small room, so I opted to release Princess alone. The rest were either too big or needed to rest from their battle, so some time in a Pokeball would do them some good. The fairy type hugged me with her little arms and I pet her head.

    "I'm gonna be looking up some stuff, so— ah, why don't you grab some dirt from outside?" I asked, standing up to open the window. "You can practice your sculpting while I research."

    She happily nodded and flew out the window. A few seconds later, she brought back a huge glob of dirt that barely fit through the opening.

    "What are you gonna work on today? That's a lot of dirt."

    Princess apparently didn't want to reveal what her plan was. She was usually a lot better with a model, so I found it interesting that she was going to sculpt without one.

    Unless—

    "Wait is it me—"

    "Toge."

    "Ah."

    Way to crush your mother's heart, I thought with a sigh. I grabbed my laptop, plugged it in and started browsing. The internet here was slow, but it was better than nothing. The first thing on the list was Falkirk, Chase's hometown.

    Falkirk.

    That surprisingly didn't yield any coherent results. There was apparently a famous singer with the last name Falkirk, and it was all the internet showed me. I needed to narrow the search down.

    Falkirk Iron Islands.

    The first thing that came up was the images. Falkirk looked as bad as Chase had made it sound. Hundreds of rundown buildings huddling the side of a cliff, dirt paths and the rough waves perpetually keeping the entire place wet and eroding the rocks on the side of the cliff. Not even the worst neighborhoods in Jubilife that dad always told me to avoid looked this bad. The only place that looked remotely well-maintained was the small port that I assumed the miners shipped their iron from, where it'd go to Canalave and be turned into steel or other things.

    I had to scroll to the bottom of the search page and go to page two to figure out what happened. I never went to page two. There were a few articles about the town having been destroyed by a Steelix slightly more than two years ago.

    In a harrowing turn of events, the small mining town of Falkirk in the Iron Islands has been reduced to ruins, as a colossal Steelix wreaked havoc upon its inhabitants. The destructive force unleashed by this powerful Pokémon has left only a few dozen survivors, forcing the abandonment of the town that once thrived in the heart of the Iron Islands.

    I felt my stomach drop. That was how Chase's father died? Not only that, but he'd lost his entire hometown and everything he once knew… Arceus. The article said that the city once thrived, but from the way he'd spoken about it, it had always been relatively poor. I scanned the rest of the article.

    …mined too close to the Steelix's territory and drove it to attack. The Iron Island rangers were too weak to stand up to the beast, leaving it enough time to wreak havoc upon the town for two hours until reinforcements from Canalave arrived to evacuate Falkirk. The survivors were taken to the city and officials have opened an investigation into Teracore, the corporation running the mining operations in the islands, but also notably in Oreburgh.

    Teracore… I'd heard of them a few times, but I hadn't even known they operated in the Iron Island too. The survivors also sued the company, so I wanted to see what ended up happening to them. Unlike with Falkirk, that was easy enough to find. They'd paid off large sums to some of the victims and fought the ones that hadn't accepted the money in court until they ran out of money for lawyers. I clenched a fist. It wasn't only Cece and Louis' fathers that were evil. Teracore had essentially traded the lives of thousands of people for profit. The government investigation proved to do a lot better, or at least it did at first glance. The people in charge of the Iron Island sector were fired and would spend decades in prison, which for most would mean that they'd die in there.

    But at the end of the day, Teracore was still chugging along, making hundreds of millions of Pokedollars and were still getting paid by the Oreburgh and Canalave city government to do their mining. It had barely been a slap on the wrist. Surely there could be some kind of better oversight, no? I doubted that the people currently serving their sentence had been acting out all on their own.

    "Damn it…"

    It was so unfair. I could see where Chase's mistrust of companies and the government in general came from. I wondered if he was planning on going back to the Iron Islands when he went back to Canalave if he had the time. Falkirk itself was still abandoned, but maybe he'd want to see other towns around the islands.

    Or maybe it'd be too painful to remember.

    I glanced at Princess' statue, and I still couldn't figure out what she was making, so I moved onto the next topic. I needed to figure out if I could use physics to my advantage, and for that, I needed a textbook. A pdf of one would do. I racked my brain, trying to remember the name of my old textbooks, but nothing came up.

    "Screw it, new textbook it is."

    After a bit of sleuthing, I ended up buying Introduction to Physics and Chemistry 101, which were a lot less impressive sounding than I expected, but we all had to start from somewhere. I didn't expect to create massive explosions or whatever, but it was a good base to build up from. Come to think of it, Sunshine could only create explosions on his shell because of the sulfur there that kind of smelled like a mix of eggs and burned matches. That was chemistry too!

    And yes, it had taken a while to get used to the smell, and I barely registered it these days.

    Anyway, I decided that I'd do at least one hour of physics and one hour of chemistry each day, and that started… later.

    No! I was completely free right now, so I needed to do it! Why was it that I always procrastinated with anything non-Pokemon related? And the worst part was that this was Pokemon related, I just needed to push through and get to the meat of the subjects to see its effects in the way I battled.

    Chemistry was first.

    —

    "I hate chemistry!"

    "To…"

    "You don't get it, Princess. This is mind-numbingly boring! Sure, learning about the three states of matter and how molecules behave as a gas, solid or liquid is nice, but when am I ever going to use that in— well… actually, it's pretty useful now that I'm thinking about it for a few seconds. Heating up water to stop a water type attack's the kind of obvious stuff every trainer knows, but what about turning a gas back into a liquid? The textbook said it was condensation."

    Togetic let out a series of chirps, still engrossed in her statue. It was slowly taking form, and I knew now that she was making the entire family— Sunshine included. Of course, she still hadn't created me, and she wouldn't.

    "Uhh, you do it by lowering the temperature of a gas. Like, if Chase's Abomasnow used a massive Icy Wind on Buddy's Mist, the attack would just turn into water and ice crystals. I bet Chase would never know about that though."

    "Toge!" She snickered.

    "He is a musclehead," I smirked. "But you can't underestimate him, I mean, he just beat us, didn't he? Anyway, Mist isn't even proper gas, but steam is. There are all these gases that look like gas but aren't. I wonder if Sunshine's Smokescreen is a gas? It seems a lot heavier than steam. Smog too."

    Well, it wasn't like I had any ice type moves to think about doing that just yet anyway, but it was still something to think about. Something like Powder Snow or Icy Wind would work better than Ice Beam, since the area of effect would be wider. Now that my one hour of chemistry was done, it was time to move onto physics. I didn't want to overwhelm my brain and not retain any of the information I was learning.

    It ended up being even worse than before, and unlike with chemistry, I couldn't see any applications to anything I'd learned in the hour I had studied and taken notes. The only thing I'd taken an interest in so far was motion and kinematics, but there was no way I was going to whip out a formula mid-battle to calculate the trajectory of an attack like Rock Throw, especially when the Pokemon could just switch the direction of the rock whenever they wanted.

    And the target would obviously be my Pokemon.

    Where it could be useful was in situations like that interaction between Vacuum Wave and Angel's vines, but I wouldn't be learning any of that for a while. This was just an introduction book. Of course, I could always skip ahead, but I knew I'd be completely lost if I did that.

    Arceus, I was bad at this. If anything, I'd have to supplement these lessons with research online, or it would take months for me to come up with any ideas.

    But it was a long-term project, so we'd see where it left me.

    "Ohhh, it's so cute!" I squealed, looking at Princess' work. "You've gotten so much better!"

    Everyone was there, and they were size-appropriate too. I could see Angel's individual vines and the different layers of Sunshine's shell. She'd done all of this in two hours!

    "You're so talented," I said, grabbing my phone. "Here, let me take a picture. Stay in the shot! Give me a big, wide smile."

    Since we couldn't carry her sculptures, I kept track of them using pictures instead. She was never bummed out about having to leave one behind, strangely enough, but I wanted to keep the memories. Plus, we'd look back on it in a few months and see how far she'd come.

    I ended up finally sending a message to my friends to let them know that I'd made it to the Café Cabin and that I'd met Chase there. Everyone but Cece, Denzel and Pauline were on the road though, so I doubted that they'd see it any time soon. Cece actually asked me for a picture to cheer her up, and we ended up sending silly faces to each other for almost ten minutes until I called.

    The moment the phone stopped ringing, I almost jumped for joy and excitedly kicked my feet against the bed.

    "Grace!"

    "Cece, I miss you so much!" I whined.

    "So do I. It's terribly lonely at night," she said. The sound of her voice felt like bliss. "I've been resting as much as I can to recover as quickly as possible! We'll be leaving Solaceon very soon."

    "That's great news, but make sure not to overwork your leg. The Café Cabin's a bit annoying, but the food's great, so I think you can stay there for a day like I'm doing if you need it."

    "And be apart for another day? Absolutely not. Have you done anything interesting there? I saw that you met Chase."

    "Every time I see him, it's like he matures ten years," I chuckled. "We battled too. He won."

    "He did? What were the rules?"

    "Three-on-three, no switches. His Pokemon are no joke, especially Ri."

    I ended up explaining the entire battle in detail to Cecilia, including Chase's new Pokemon and evolutions. Since he wasn't actively hiding them, I didn't think he'd care at all.

    "I've also started learning a bit about physics and chemistry. I figured it'd give me a leg-up on the competition."

    "In what way would—" she paused. "Oh of course, I see what you mean. Clarence never gave me any lessons of the sort. The instructor I had kept to arithmetics. I mostly focused on things like dance, music or gymnastics."

    "You are flexible…" I muttered. "And yeah, you technically used chemistry when you turned the sand into glass during that one battle in the tournament, so it'd definitely be of use," I explained. "It's better to get started early than late. It'd help a lot down the line when we start creating moves too… hah, man, I hope I make something that can be widely used so I sell the rights to Silph Co. and become rich."

    "That's one in a million," she laughed. "I don't know if I'd like to delve that deeply into those two subjects, though. The common sense concepts like the three states of matter should be enough."

    "Uh, right, everyone knows about that. Condensation, am I right?" I nervously laughed.

    "There's no shame in not knowing. You're smart and pick up on things quickly, so you'll no doubt surpass common knowledge in a week."

    I couldn't help but grin. "Thanks. How are Pauline and Denzel doing?"

    "Pauline was never bothered, but Denzel's doing better. He took your departure almost as bad as I did— but don't tell him I told you. He wanted to send you off with a smile, so he hid it, but he's been down in the dumps."

    "Yeah… I could tell," I sighed. "I'll call him after you. And Pauline too, or she'll throw a fit about being left out. How are Sol and Zerst doing?"

    "You know, I thought we'd made a lot of progress, but they've been fighting a whole lot recently…"

    —

    "I love you. Have a good rest of your night!"

    "You too," she said. "And don't forget to send me Princess' sculpture later."

    "I'll have to ask her," I said, looking at her sleeping in my arms. "She's pretty shy about her art."

    I hung up the phone, stretched and called Denzel next.

    "Hey big guy. I've heard you've been depressed without me," I said, half-jokingly.

    "From who? Was it Pauline or Cece?" He groaned.

    "You think I'd just tell you? I'm better than that. Now tell me what's been kicking your ass."

    I heard Denzel exhale. "Well, it's not just you leaving. It's not even about Justin's mentality being fucked either, it's a lot of things that add up. But the biggest thing is… I feel like things just went from a fun adventure to like, this incredibly serious thing where we'll have to put our lives on the line in the future. It was always dangerous, I mean, we went through Eterna Forest without knowing jack shit about battling. We had to fight and think our way out of Mount Coronet too, but it feels different this time. Like it's just the beginning, and we'll have to fight humans a whole lot more from now on."

    I paused to consider what to say.

    "Grace?"

    "I mean, you're right," I finally said after a heavy breath. "But I'd think that you would be able to cope with that. Everything will work out somehow."

    "Copying me?" He said. I could hear his smile.

    "That obvious?"

    "Yup. We'll see what happens, I guess, but know that even though I'm not a target, I've got your back. I won't let Mars do any of her sick shit to you or Team Galactic hurt anyone else."

    "Thank you. I mean it."

    "I know you mean it," he said. "This Veilstone stuff is stressing me out."

    "Me too, but we've got to deal with it. The League will protect us, so just stay vigilant."

    "No, no, not even that. I need a lot of money Grace. Veilstone will make or break this year for me. I have nearly enough for a Shiny Stone from all the sponsors and donations from my fans, but I need more."

    "For your sixth?" I guessed.

    "I looked it up, and they've brought in a new clutch of Dratini at the Game Corner that are close to hatching," he said. "I want one, and I need to win big if I'm going to get one. I'm talking millions."

    "A Dratini? It doesn't seem like Dragonite would fit your schtick though."

    "What? Pauline told me the same thing! The Dragonite line is great. Have you seen a video of one flying? They're incredibly gracious."

    "Dratini and Dragonair maybe, but Dragonite? They look cute, but they're kind of goofy—"

    "Absolutely not. They look majestic as hell."

    "Whatever you say… oh, Mira wanted to get something from the Game Corner too! She wants a Porygon, and they sell those there too, or at least that's what Cynthia said. I don't have any advice for you though. Aren't most of their games luck based?"

    "Some require more skill, but there's an element of luck everywhere, yes. I've been studying up," he said. "If I don't get a Dratini, I'm fucked."

    "You could always get another Pokemon and get a Dratini as your seventh."

    "I— I know that would make sense, but I can't bring myself to do that. I've got to keep to my list. It's like, this goal I've set for myself, and if I don't reach it, I'll feel inadequate."

    "Just don't lose all of your motivation if you don't get one, okay?"

    "I'll try. Thank you for telling me about Mira, by the way. I'll see if we can figure something out."

    "Maybe her Kadabra can watch and calculate the odds of each win or something crazy like that," I suggested.

    "They've got a no Pokemon rule, otherwise cheating would be way too easy," he chuckled. "Anyway, I hope your trip to the Café Cabin went well? How's Chase doing?"

    "Oh, he's the same as always, but more mature," I said. "Ri actually evolved into a Lucario…"

    —

    "Well, nothing left to do but relax and wait for tomorrow," I said after finishing my call with Pauline. She was so abrasive that she was already secretly practicing flying on Charizard's back. I told her that she'd better not get caught, or getting her license this year would be impossible, and she would need it if she wanted to get eight badges in time. There was no way she, Louis or Justin were traveling all the way to Snowpoint and then Canalave otherwise, although Justin had seemingly given up on the Conference.

    Backtracking to one would have been possible, but two? They wouldn't make it to the Conference if they kept traveling by foot. Even I needed to fly on Togetic's back, or I'd be cutting it too close with Byron. Losing to him and then missing the deadline would feel a lot more crushing than just not making it to the city itself.

    By the time I made it to Sunyshore, I'd have enough for a Shiny Stone if I'd calculated things correctly, and Togekiss shared a very common body type with most bird Pokemon, meaning that it wouldn't take too long to teach me how to fly on one thanks to not needing to call in a specialized teacher.

    I left bright and early the following day. It wasn't like my nightmares didn't wake me up early anyway, so it'd be better to make use of them however I could. After grabbing some food to go downstairs and replenishing a little on potions, I began my trek through route 215. The transition from beautiful weather to cloudy was so quick it was almost esoteric. I knew nothing about the weather, but—

    It was already raining.

    "Damn it, I should have been wearing my raincoat right away!"
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 174
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 174

    Heavy wind whizzed past my hair as I held down the hood of my raincoat. Even though I was protected against the rain, my entire body still felt wet. Princess had originally created a psychic barrier above my head, but she had gotten too tired to keep it up. The occasional boom of thunder rattled me, but it had been at least twelve hours since making it to route 215, so I'd gotten used to the sudden noises by now.

    Strangely enough, there was a peculiar quiet to the route as well. Between the booms of thunder, it was as if everything was muted somehow. It was subtle, but easy to catch when you noticed. My ears felt full, as if I was flying on an airplane and no amount of blowing with my nose pinched did the trick. It was like I'd lost forty percent of my hearing. The sound of rain and thunder were still at their normal level, however. Despite all of this, I knew not to panic. This was a well-known effect of the route, and there was no explanation for it. Trainers just ignored it and made it through with no problems.

    I was currently crouching at a distance from Sweetheart and she quivered in trepidation. She'd been waiting for this since her evolution.

    "Ready?!" I yelled out. Pupitar jumped in place, excited for what was to come. "Three, two, one—"

    A sudden pop, and then a loud hiss escaped from her shell, and she flew headfirst toward a tree, running through and destroying it completely. Splinters and chunks of bark exploded outward, but I was far enough to avoid any injuries. Sweetheart fell back onto the floor and struggled to stop her momentum, so I started to run after her. It took a minute for me to catch up. For a few seconds, I reminisced about the time when Princess had been a Togepi and struggled to stop her Rollout in our apartment. It all seemed so far away now.

    "Holy crap!" I yelled. "You went so fast! I'm so proud of you!"

    I rubbed her tough stony exterior, and she rumbled under her cocoon. The entire team congratulated her as well. I had released Sunshine for this occasion only, because he never would have forgiven me if I let him miss the first time Sweetheart used the pressurized air inside of her to propel herself. All in all, I'd call it a great success. Tangrowth rubbed her head and creases with his vines, Jellicent rumbled proudly and Togetic clapped to congratulate her. Honey offered a thumbs up and yelled so loudly that for a second, I thought I'd regained my normal hearing.

    I recalled Sunshine after he offered the rock type some praise. It wasn't so much that the rain creating steam every time the droplets landed on his shell bothered us, but it was mostly because he was a big baby and the weather bothered him. I'd release him when we found a spot to hide away from the rain. There was a small mountain coming up in a few hours, so maybe there'd be a small cave to hide under.

    The route was definitely on the easier side of things, but the permanently muddy floor was tiring me out quickly. And somehow, route 212 was worse than this! I was definitely never stepping foot down there.

    "How much supply did that use?" I asked Sweetheart. "Can you go for another one?"

    The ground type eagerly nodded. She wanted to fly, and she looked like she was having the time of her life. She ended up propelling herself seven more times until she ran out— seven and a half if I counted that last attempt that barely lasted five seconds. It would take multiple hours for the compressed air to replenish completely. What it did not do, however, was tire her. She was still just as excited as she'd been before, so I wouldn't have to worry about overusing it in battle due to stamina worries. Still, having only eight meant that we couldn't just rely on the technique for mobility in battle, but it'd be very good to use in specific circumstances, both offensively and defensively.

    Hell, I was even starting to think that combining the move with Iron Defense would be too lethal for fleshy Pokemon.

    Pupitar was getting a lot better at crawling too, using the two small appendages on the sides of her cocoon to drag herself forward. She was slow, and would always be without the pressurized air, but she could at least maneuver now, which did wonders for her self-esteem. Evolution almost always took time for a Pokemon to get used to, but radical changes like hers were a lot worse. To go from being able to walk to crawling would feel crippling.

    "Let's keep going," I declared. Sweetheart's eyes saddened, but I smiled at her as I stood back up. "What do you think? You're sticking around, obviously. We're not in a hurry."

    Thunder boomed as she excitedly celebrated.

    ——

    "Finally, no more rain," I groaned as I took cover under the nameless mountain's overhang. Well, it probably had a name, but I didn't know it. "I'm gonna release Sunshine and get started on dinner. Honey?"

    The electric type nodded and walked up to me.

    "I can't cook without my sous-chef," I grinned, releasing the fire type. "We're cooking some stir-fry. Not the biggest fan of vegetables, but it'll do I think. It's a leg up from pasta, but there's a first time for everything. Uh, I had the recipe saved somewhere. Start taking the veggies out."

    I looked through my laptop as Turtonator lazily lay down under the deepest recesses of the overhang. Buddy, meanwhile, couldn't be any happier. He was soaking in the rain and his head had almost doubled in size from all the extra water, which was comical seeing as his head was already way bigger than the rest of his body. Princess was curiously observing Electabuzz pull out all the ingredients, while Sweetheart was already eating some rocks from the side of the mountain. Angel silently lamented the lack of sunlight. He'd enjoyed the rain at first, but he missed the sun shining down on his vines.

    "Where the hell did I even save this— ah, there it is!" I yelled. "Oh, Arceus, what the hell is a tablespoon? I don't know how much that is!"

    Electabuzz chuckled and opted to just eyeball it.

    "Don't make fun of me," I rolled my eyes. "We're in the same boat. Now you've got to heat the stove to medium-high heat and put the skillet on it, then you add the oil. Oh, wait, how much is a pound?"

    Maybe I should have kept to pasta. This was going to be an unmitigated disaster. We struggled the entire way through and had no measuring tools, so everything just went wrong.

    ——

    "This looks really bad," I grimaced. "The picture on the website looked way better than this."

    Turtonator snorted and let out a rumbling grunt. Before Princess could even retort to defend me like she was about to, I clicked my tongue.

    "We did follow the instructions… sorta. I think we put too much soy sauce and we overcooked everything… but hey, better overcooked chicken than undercooked. The last thing I want to get in the middle of a route is food poisoning."

    Electabuzz offered a serving to everyone. Sunshine and Buddy reluctantly accepted. I expected Jellicent to do so, but Turtonator was a welcomed surprise, especially since he'd criticized us so harshly. Honey was over the moon that they'd both accepted. He was dissatisfied with the meal, but no one would become an expert chef in a few days. Angel and Sweetheart were just content to eat anything. Everytime the grass type did so, it was as if he was eating the best meal of his life. He immediately grabbed the bowl, dragged it under his vines and he was done in a few seconds.

    "Angel, I didn't add your vitamins yet!" I scolded. "Well, it's okay, I'll just slice up some more berries for you."

    Princess perked up at the mention of berries. I spread the vitamin powder over all of their meals and mixed it, then cut up a few Oran Berries for Angel and Princess and did the same.

    "You know, Princess, you defended Honey and I's cooking, but you still don't want to even look at it," I said. She guiltily stared at her brother, who nodded with a grunt. "If you want to really show us how you appreciate our cooking, you should have a little taste."

    I held out a bunch of mixed vegetables in front of her mouth, and her head immediately turned away.

    "Come on… do it for mommy? Pretty please?"

    Togetic finally chomped down on the fork and ate something other than Oran Berries for the first time ever, which was wonderful progress. Electabuzz watched for her reaction with bated breath, but I placed a hand on his still-wet shoulder to let him know to temper his expectations. She held out her tongue and groaned as soon as she finished.

    "You don't like it, but it won't kill you, right?" I smiled. "I promise you that when Honey and I get better, you'll like it. Here, you can cleanse your palate with some berries and water."

    We ate dinner mostly in silence, listening to the soft sounds of the rain pattering against the mountain and its surroundings. The sound of rain had always been good at making me sleepy, and it seemed to have the same effect on most of my Pokemon, especially when it was so much louder than everything else. Tangrowth splayed out a ton of his vines, creating a bed for me, Honey and Princess. Sweetheart was asleep and still eating rocks somehow. Eating was so crucial to their species that they could somehow do that.

    Only Buddy was still awake, warding off the few wild Pokemon that dared to approach us. Most of them were harmless, not because they were weak but because I felt like they were friendly and just wanted to sleep somewhere dry.

    "Let them in," I whispered, looking at a pair of Lickitung.

    He hesitated for a few seconds, but shrunk down to his normal size as his eyes dimmed down. It was just two Lickitung at first, but we were soon joined by a Drowzee, a Kricketune, two Mightyena and a Ponyta. The poor fire type's flames were so weakened. I had no idea what it was doing on a route where it always rained. It was limping too, and its leg had a massive bruise.

    "Did something fight you?" I worriedly asked.

    The horse neighed with a small, shy nod.

    "I've got things to help you," I continued, grabbing a potion from my bag. "It'll make you all better."

    There was knowledge behind Ponyta's eyes, so it looked like it already knew what a potion was. It must have seen a trainer use it at some point. The fire type nervously approached me, making sure not to wake up any of my Pokemon and I quietly sprayed her leg with a potion. The flames on its back immediately grew from uncomfortably hot to just warm, and I managed to put my hand in the fire, much to Buddy's worried glances.

    "There you go," I softly said. "You can all sleep here. We'll be on our way tomorrow morning, and I'll keep my Pokemon under control when they wake up."

    More and more Pokemon showed up as the hours passed, and I could tell there was history and rivalries within certain packs. A group of five Psyduck seemed to be hated by every Pokemon here, although they were oblivious to it. A Staravia was constantly glaring at a Pidgeotto, and Ponyta warily looked at an Elektrike that had just shown up. I guessed he was the one that hurt it, but there seemed to be some kind of truce here.

    Of course, my Pokemon were already awake at this point, and aside from being way too paranoid and Sunshine carving out his own slice of the cave for himself and threatening to attack anyone that got near him, everything went rather well. I still stuck by his side for warmth, as did the others. Not even a single fight broke out between the other Pokemon, and it was quiet enough for me to get some studying done.

    I ended up feeding the wild Pokemon too, but there were too many now. Somehow, rumors about this little spot spread and the small overhang ended up being completely packed by the next morning.

    ——

    "Bye-bye everyone!" I waved. "Stay safe out there and good luck!"

    They'd been a nice little community. It was a nice reminder that every route had its own history, links between different Pokemon groups and complicated relationships. It was a shame that I couldn't get to know them better. I had a feeling that a few days with them and I'd be able to understand how they spoke perfectly, but my stay in Veilstone would be busy already, so I couldn't afford to waste time.

    Not that hanging out with Pokemon was wasting time. It was cool.

    I trekked through route 215 for the remainder of the day, using the well-demarked trail to go over the mountain I'd just slept under. There was also a path around, but it would take at least ten hours extra, if not more. It was tiresome, but at least I was training my stamina further. Walking on a flat path was easy— I could do it for the entire day if need be, but walking up muddy slopes and on rocky, uneven terrain was a completely different picture. Angel tried to carry me a few times, but I refused his help, much to his chagrin, although there were multiple instances where he pulled me up small cliffs I couldn't climb. Turtonator and Sweetheart weren't exactly equipped for this route, so they stayed in their balls for the time being. Princess lazily floated above me with her chin on my head the entire time.

    "Finally," I groaned as I sat below another overhang— this time on the other side of the mountain. There would only be one more like this to climb, and apparently it'd be possible to see Veilstone from its peak, even though it was slightly smaller.

    The rain had assuaged slightly, but it was still pouring. Electabuzz calmly prepared pasta on the stove while I opened my laptop again. I had this idea for a move that had been unable to leave my head, and it had to do with steam explosions.

    My PDF textbook had this whole section about how steam behaved under different temperatures and environments that was a few pages long, and I'd learned that it could actually explode under a large amount of pressure. That hadn't even been on my radar when thinking about applying physics to Pokemon battles, but it was certainly feasible.

    Pokemon battles at a high level were not just a set of individual, one-on-one fights. It was a team effort, each Pokemon building up for the next. Strategies sometimes only bore fruit after five Pokemon went down, but for this one, I would only need three in a set order.

    Sunshine and Buddy had been obvious. One was practically made of water and the other could vaporize it by just standing there, but the process was actually more complicated than I thought. I heard the fire type groan as he strode to my side, and Jellicent chided him to tell him to stay quiet while I was engrossed in my thoughts.

    Mist wasn't steam. Mist was water in a condensed phase, meaning it was still in a liquid state, but light enough to float in the air. Fog was similar, but denser. For steam, the water needed to be in a gaseous state.

    Or that was what the textbook said anyway.

    If mist was still water in a liquid state, then heating it up should in theory turn it into steam. We could have just used the rain for a proof of concept, but I wanted to be sure that we could reproduce this without it. There would always be water in a gym leader's arena and in any tournament worth their name, but using Mist would make a lot more vapor in theory, since Buddy could just fill the arena completely. That would be different against Crasher Wake, since his entire arena was like the Solaceon tournament's Water Field. It was a bummer I'd gotten no practice on it.

    "Uh, go ahead and use Mist," I whispered, chewing on my thumb nail. "Not too much. We don't want to blow up the cave and have it collapse on us."

    Jellicent rumbled, and a thin mist escaped from his mouth. I let him release it until we had a good amount— around three times my body size. Any amount would do if we pressed down hard enough.

    I stepped back. "Okay, now heat that up," I told Sunshine.

    The dragon spat out a thin stream of flames toward the mist, and the mist turned into vapor. It was a minute change, but it became more transparent and lighter. Mist tended to stick to the ground, clearly showing that it had some weight to it. Vapor was a lot wispier and easily blown away by wind.

    "Princess," I said.

    Her eyes shone, and a transparent bubble of psychic energy captured the steam before it could dissipate. She would be the one to squeeze it until it blew.

    "Press down on it as much as you can."

    I could feel my heartbeat.

    The bubble grew smaller and smaller, and the steam denser. Princess clearly met some resistance, narrowing her eyes as she kept pressing.

    Until the bubble shattered with a burst of pressure, the sound of the explosion reverberating across the small cave and the steam scattering quicker than I could see. There was no flame or change in color, of course. This was a steam explosion, and it didn't use any kind of ignition. The blast had been next to one of the walls of the cave, leaving only a gaping hole in its place and crumbling stone.

    "Holy shit," I breathed out. "That worked. I did a thing! We did a thing!"

    Even Sunshine was somewhat surprised that it had worked, and he couldn't help but celebrate with the rest of us. By celebrating, I meant him having the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

    "Makes you change your mind about battling with me?" I asked. His smile disappeared, but he didn't answer. "Whatever," I grumbled. I could always create other moves that didn't need him. "Should we name it? I mean, I don't think I'll call it out in battle seeing as how complicated it is to create, but it'd be cool. It's our first custom move, you know?"

    Electabuzz excitedly nodded. He was maybe even happier than I was, and wanted a combination of his own now. Unfortunately, electricity came later in the textbook and was probably a lot more complicated than water. I took a few suggestions from the team and Sunshine had less-than-stellar, crude names. Angel moved his vines so quickly that I could barely catch the first word, but his suggestion was an extremely long name that would just be too much to remember. Sweetheart wanted it to be as violent as possible, aligning with Sunshine, and Buddy went with the hilariously boring name Steam Explosion, but that wasn't it.

    "No, guys, I need a cute name. No explosion of death or whatever," I said, eyeing the rock type. "How about Bubble Blast? It rolls off the tongue. Princess uses a bubble to pressurize the vapor, and we'd be keeping up the water theme."

    Togetic chirped, clapping her hands. She seemed to enjoy that one, and so did I. The others all groaned except Angel, who was happy enough with the name.

    "That's three against three," I said. "And you can't even agree on a name. We win," I stuck out my tongue.

    Jellicent whistled sharply, more agitated than he usually was. He said that only the Pokemon that could actually create the move should have a vote.

    "No, no, we're a family. Everyone has a say," I smugly said. "Right guys? Buddy's saying that your vote doesn't count!"

    This time, even Sweetheart joined our side, and the water type just sighed in defeat.

    I just really liked cute things, okay? Now that the name was decided, I started to think again.

    In a potential battle, it would go like this. I would lead with Buddy and use Mist at some point before he was unable to fight, then switch the Sunshine and heat up the field enough to completely fill it with water vapor. Both wouldn't even need to fight if substitutions were allowed. I would just switch to Princess and have her create explosions next to her opponents, and we'd be able to do so until the steam ran out— meaning that there'd be multiple explosions. Her masterful control would be key here. I didn't know if the type energy that Jellicent infused into Mist would still make the move count as water type or something else, but any explosion would seriously hurt whatever the hell we were fighting. And, we'd be able to adjust their sizes depending on how much vapor we packed together!

    She'd always lacked in power, and she would lag behind the rest of the team in that department at least until she evolved, but Pokemon battles were a team effort. If she couldn't use powerful moves by herself, then we would make our own path. The potential with physics was nearly limitless, both offensively and defensively. My previous assumption had been wrong. There were already moves to create with my limited knowledge. I suddenly felt a very real urge to devour my entire textbook right this instant before moving on to more complicated concepts.

    My lips twisted upward.

    Physics was fun.

    And I hadn't even begun to scratch the surface.
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • Chapter 175 - Sister
  • Threadmarks
    • CHAPTER 175 - Sister

    Another day had passed, and attacks by wild Pokemon had completely stopped. It wasn't like they had the guts to do so anyway, but sometimes a few got a bit rowdy until usually Buddy scared the living crap out of them and they fled. That had stopped since I had let that huge group of wild Pokemon under that overhang with me, nursed Ponyta back to health and fed a few of them. The fact that it hadn't ceased right after made me skeptical that the wild Pokemon had some way of communicating who was a threat and who wasn't, but it was certainly a possibility with how intertwined everyone had seemed when grouped up in the cave. Still, route 215 was long, so I considered it unlikely.

    Sweetheart was making good progress with her air control, although mid-air adjustments were still a pipedream. I was almost certain she was ready to battle again, however, and even though she would be at a type disadvantage against Maylene, I was probably going to use her. It was going to be a five against five, after all. I was sure I'd find a strategy to use with her, but I would need to study the gym leader first to be sure. The rumors said she was abrasive, but quick on her feet, meaning that she'd be close to Chase's style. I was sure there would be a lot of differences too though, I just didn't know enough right now.

    And even if I could look it up, I'd be too engrossed in my textbooks to notice. I had changed my one hour per subject each day study time to two hours when I had the time, and I ended up going over that by at least thirty minutes last night until Buddy convinced me to go to sleep. It wouldn't do to be tired when traveling on a route, especially when the terrain was so harsh.

    I stepped onto the mountain's peak and took a deep breath. The air was thinner here, but still easily breathable. Veilstone stood tall in the distance. Since it was still two to three days away, the only thing I could make out were a few skyscrapers. These little occasions where one could just stop and take in the beauty and size of Sinnoh were always soothing to me. It had been the same when I could see Oreburgh from route 207 south of the Cycling Road. These were the moments that I traveled for, even though walking up a mountain was a pain in the ass— trail or not.

    At least the way down was a lot easier on my legs, especially when Honey and Princess were there to give me some moral support. There was probably nothing more motivating than my kids telling me that I could do something.

    It took half the time to get down than to climb up, and I opted to take a break near the route's edge, since it was where the trail led me. As I fiddled through my laptop and sneakily took a picture of Angel and Buddy being ridiculously cute due to the former forcefully hugging the latter until he had no choice but to reciprocate as best he could, something incredible happened.

    The clouds above me cleared, and the rain slowed until it completely stopped, leaving only a rainbow that arched across the sky and left me breathless. The rain on route 215 intensified or slowed, but it never stopped. It was a constant, like the fog on the northern half of route 210 or the snow on route 216 and 217.

    The beauty of the moment was cut short when I heard something approaching from deeper into the woods. It was a distinct sound— like something scuttling across the grass, but it was so quiet. Like a whisper brushing against my ears that I'd miss if it didn't have my utmost attention. We were used to this at this point, so my Pokemon immediately took their positions in front of me and prepared to scare off whatever was coming. I'd probably jinxed not being attacked, but oh well.

    My breath caught in my throat when I saw what emerged from the tree line. It was slightly smaller than seven feet tall and humanoid, with a body as thin as a stick that was almost completely concealed by thick pastel pink and blue hair that acted like a cloak and stretched down and hugged the lower parts of its body, which grew thicker at the base. It wore a pointy blue hat that was made out of the same hair, and a thick tentacle-like structure grew out of it, ending into two spheres and three claws that shimmered slightly. Just one look into its eyes made me feel the same things I felt when coming face to face Cynthia's Garchomp or Ruth in the lost tower.

    I had no chance of winning this fight. This Pokemon was leagues above mine in strength— and even more powerful than Sunshine. Even if we all attacked it at once, I had no doubt that we would lose.

    But what choice did we have?

    My Pokemon understood immediately and tensed. Princess grabbed a few sharp spears with Ancient Power. Buddy swelled threateningly and his eyes glowed until his entire body was coated in red. Honey's arms spun as he gathered electricity, and my hair stood on end. Angel wrapped a vine around me and tightened his hold.

    Just as I was about to release Sunshine, I heard a voice.

    Well met, sister, the Pokemon spoke, staring at Togetic.

    A splitting headache immediately hit me and made my vision swim. I had practiced telepathy some more with Slowking while in Solaceon, but the pain was still excruciating. I could still think, though. I bit down on my tongue and clenched a fist. What had it meant by sister? What Pokemon even was that? I'd never seen it before!

    And you, it continued, glancing at me. I feel a kinship as well, but not quite whole. A halfling, then, but a sister nonetheless. How strange. You tread the line between two worlds.

    The words were becoming unbearable. It was as if someone was driving a screwdriver into my head. Still, I held Jellicent back. He'd already been creating a Night Shade, but there was no point. I couldn't antagonize this Pokemon.

    We would just die. What was it even doing on a route? Where were the Rangers?

    Your Rangers cannot hinder me. I am the leader of this area, known as Keeper of the Sacred Woods, or simply Keeper. News of your presence brought me here.

    "Hold on," I breathed out. "Let's, uh, just stop talking for a second please. You're giving me a terrible migraine."

    Oh, my humble apologies, sister. I have forgotten how sensitive humans can be, the Pokemon said before pausing. Your mind is like a twig that I could snap whenever I wish, but that would be rude of me. I have now altered my telepathy so that it aligns with your fragile mind.

    The voice was a lot quieter now, but it was also a lot easier to bear. The headache was still there every time it spoke, but it was muted enough so that I could deal with it.

    "What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep myself from shaking. "I'm just passing through here. I mean this place no harm, and if I've offended you in any way, then allow me to pay the price. As long as it's reasonable."

    Togetic chirped softly and placed a hand on my shoulder.

    The Pokemon didn't want to hurt us. I could feel it too.

    It chuckled, and its tentacle softly caressed her own hair. Ah, you have embraced our customs already, sister. It is rare to find a human this polite, and tis' a testament to your understanding of the old ways. That alone is enough to allow you safe passage within these lands, even though your emotions echo with a clamor that stirs within me the urge to beat you until you finally go quiet.

    Huh. Strangely enough, even though I'd just been told that it wanted to kill me, I felt completely calm, and this wasn't like what had happened with Shiftry. It was like there were rules at play here, and they were easy enough to understand.

    I knew now that I was dealing with a fairy type.

    "It's okay guys," I told my team. "We're safe."

    Princess began to chat with the Keeper as well, asking it what brought it to us.

    You shall address me as her, not it, I immediately heard.

    Right, she could read thoughts. "Sorry."

    You have treated the inhabitants of my fief with an amount of hospitality, peace, and love that only a few trainers have. I simply wanted to meet such a human, but I never anticipated that you would partake in the ways of the fae, nor did I fathom that a third sister would be among your gathering, she said, eyeing my team. The first condition would have allowed you safe passage in the first place, but now you shall have my blessing. I will join you on your travels until you reach that city full of horrid steel and noxious air.

    "I see. What if I told you that a dragon was a part of my gathering?" I probed, my hand protectively touching Sunshine's Pokeball.

    The Keeper's tentacle flexed, revealing bulging veins until she lashed out and slammed it against the ground, kicking up dust and rocks.

    I sense the wyrm's presence, she said, her face twisting in fury. Its foul odor clings to you like a malignant growth. They are creatures of decay, clinging to past glory. They seek to take, take, and only take, but they never pay. I am a generous host, however, so I shall allow its presence under one condition— that it behaves with utmost respect and refrains from causing any offense. Let harmony prevail as it did in that cave, and let us not let the wyrm taint our journey together.

    "I will agree to this proposal," I nodded. If she wanted to see how I behaved, then I'd let her. Sunshine behaving was another issue, but—

    I saw the Keeper's tentacle tense once more.

    —if he couldn't, then I'd leave him in his ball.

    The Pokemon relaxed, seemingly pleased with herself.

    "What does everyone think?" I asked, turning toward my Pokemon.

    Togetic wanted this more than anyone else, it seemed. She asked the fairy type if she could approach, and she nodded, letting her get close. Princess looked at her with such awe that she reminded me of when Sweetheart looked at Sunshine or Chase's Lucario. Angel agreed as well, although it was surprising to see that even he knew better than to touch the Keeper without her permission. Honey also agreed, although a lot more reluctantly. I knew that he was only doing so because I wanted to travel with the fairy, and he seemed to be nervous around her and couldn't help but glance at her appendage every few seconds. Buddy stayed silent, which basically meant no, but he didn't want to say it, lest he offend her.

    Well, she'd probably figured it out already.

    I cannot read the ghost's thoughts, but I know it disapproves. Allow me to stay regardless. I will be in its debt.

    I nodded. "The exchange was quite equal, but I would say that I'm paying a slightly heavier price. One of my family members might basically be confined to his Pokeball, and most of them either fear or dislike you. If I can't have my Turtonator out, then I lose out on days of potential training and bonding. That could potentially have more effects down the line. For example, the lack of training could make me lose in my next gym battle. These might not matter to you, but to me, that's a heavy cost to bear. A bargain is in order, don't you think?"

    Uh, what was I doing? My lips had just moved on their own.

    The fairy type smirked, ignoring Togetic grabbing at her hair. No matter how hard she pulled at it, it stayed completely still. The Keeper's hair was tougher than it looked.

    You are quite bold, but I enjoy that. Young fairies often yield to those with seniority, letting them enforce horribly one-sided pacts. With age comes power and presence. With those two, respect and subservience follow. It is a pity that your fellow sister has not taken to the old ways as you have. This generation might truly be lost.

    Arceus, Pokemon complained about kids too? I felt like I'd heard an old man saying 'kids these days.'

    "Daughter," I clarified after stopping myself from rolling my eyes. She could read thoughts, but I knew the effort to respect would be appreciated. "And she seems too fascinated by you to care, at the moment. I suppose her time spent with non-fairies has influenced her behavior some, but that's okay. She's perfect the way she is."

    Togetic flew back toward me, trying to hide her embarrassment and I grabbed her in my arms.

    Daughter, then, the Keeper smiled. What is it that you desire, halfing? Be careful. I will not take to offense kindly.

    I lifted up three fingers. "Three things. Train my Togetic. Talk to me about your life and how you leading this route came to be. Allow my friends safe passage when they go through this route even if they come across you. I can tell you their names and show you what they look like on my phone."

    The third point was the most important. I'd never found joy in attacking wild Pokemon to train, even if I'd done it a few times early in my career or when there were no other options, like in Mount Coronet. These days, I mostly scared them away and only attacked if I was struck first and the Pokemon was determined to fight us, but my friends were different. Pauline and Cecilia had no qualms about it, and Denzel was neutral on the whole thing. Meanwhile, Louis' Gible routinely killed wild Pokemon for sport even when it wasn't hungry, and Mira's Haunter was probably no better. I knew that wouldn't fly under the Keeper's gaze. She wouldn't seek them out, but if they were unlucky enough to meet her, they would not be treated kindly.

    The fairy type's face twisted into a grin. My, my, sister, you keep impressing me. Very well, then. These demands would tilt the deal slightly in your favor, but I will allow it. Bargain struck, she said, tipping her hat.

    I did not know exactly how demands were measured, but the words felt right to me. I responded with a smile of my own. "Bargain struck."

    What is your name? It would be impolite to travel with you without knowing.

    "Grace Pastel," I answered before introducing the rest of my team, "Do you have one?"

    Learning my name would have a price not many could afford to pay. Not even your harrowing Champion knows.

    "I'll refer to you as Hatterene or Keeper then."

    Somehow, I'd just bargained with a fairy by the seat of my pants.

    ——

    Hatterene, the Silent Pokemon. It can emit psychic power strong enough to cause headaches as a deterrent to the approach of others. If you are too loud around it or your emotions are too pronounced, you risk being torn apart by the claws on its tentacle. This Pokémon is also known as the Forest Witch.

    Type: Psychic, Fairy.

    I hummed as I closed my Pokedex.

    I'd never even seen a Hatterene in my life, neither online nor in a battle, but according to my Pokedex, they were native to Galar and extremely rare in Sinnoh, so that made sense. The Keeper was completely silent as she walked, using the appendages at her feet to move in a scuttling motion. Sometimes she would drag herself with her tentacle if she needed to speed up or climb something, which ended up looking quite comical.

    I would not call it comical. It is simply the most efficient way I have found to move, she said.

    Having a Pokemon capable of reading all of my thoughts was something I'd need to get used to as well. It wasn't something mentioned in the Pokedex, and it felt like a complete violation of my privacy, but we'd come to an agreement and going back on it would be wrong unless both parties agreed. Electabuzz kept to my side, nervously eyeing the fairy while Jellicent stared at her with utter confusion. I supposed that he didn't exactly know what exactly she wanted from me, and he hated that. Togetic floated around Hatterene, asking her a million questions about her life— from small to grand concepts. The current topic was how she'd parted the clouds when she appeared before us. Everywhere Hatterene walked, the rain disappeared.

    Oh, 'tis not I who halts the rain, dear baby sister, but a companion of old. He may reveal himself at a point in our journey if his heart so desires.

    "Is he as powerful as you are?" I asked, jumping over a fallen branch. Hatterene had wanted to keep me off the route, but she swore that no one would attack while I was with her.

    Promises were not made lightly.

    There exist myriad facets to the essence of power. Alas, your comprehension remains incomplete, but such is unsurprising for a sister nurtured by humans. Your inherent potential lies untapped and is squandered by them. A year with me, and you would become a proper fairy. No longer would you be between worlds.

    "I'm afraid I can't accept that," I said, reassuring Honey immediately. "I appreciate your kindness, though."

    Togetic jumped at the opportunity, asking what facets of power Hatterene had been referring to. I had questions of my own, but I wasn't going to stop her. We had time.

    There is of course violence. The crudest form of power. Simple yet effective in its raw force. But it bespeaks of a narrow mind, baby sister. Glamour is the one I am the most proficient in. It weaves its subtle threads, affecting reality as I deem fit. Its influence, though less overt, holds the potential for greater impact.

    That piqued my interest. Glamour. I had heard Denzel say it a few times, so if I had to guess, it was similar to what Sylveon did when creating his armor. That also meant that the concept was relatively well-known, or at least documented.

    Using it as a barrier? A pragmatic approach, but still crude.

    "What do you use it for?" I asked.

    Why do you think that the land here is constantly showered by rain? That it is always so quiet? This region is my fief, and I have altered it to my liking. It is soothing, is it not?

    I inhaled sharply. This entire route was Hatterene's domain, just like Shiftry had done, but in a less-pronounced, more sustainable manner. That was why my hearing was so bad here, but the rain, thunder, and wind still sounded perfectly clear. Hatterene were known to hate loud places.

    Right, that is what you humans call fiefdoms, she said. The rain softens the sound of my people's thoughts, making it easier for me to focus. I would have gone mad long ago without it.

    "But if it's your domain— or fief— why can't you stop the rain?"

    Glamour at this scale works slowly, especially if I want to alter what made my fief special in the first place. You made one mistake, however. A fairy's fiefdom does not work like others'. It is slower, but holds more potential. Of course, I know that I must not make this place impassable for humans, lest that horrible child comes after me and ruin everything I have built.

    I frowned. "Horrible child? Who?"

    That creature you humans call Cynthia. She is a horrifying beast beyond compare, but the wyrm at her side is ten times worse. I am well acquainted with the Togekiss, the only member of her gathering worth speaking to. We bargained for this deal decades ago shortly after her tenure began.

    "Arceus…" I exhaled. Cynthia truly had roots everywhere, it seemed, but she was using them to keep trainers safe. The routes seemed like a much more complex affair than I previously thought.

    Buddy whispered in my ear, telling me that this could end up being another Shiftry situation in the future if Hatterene ever went rogue. I felt the need to agree, but so long as the pact was fair and equal, then she would not break it. I did wonder what the intricacies of the deal were though. She had acted like she might have attacked trainers that didn't respect her or the Pokemon inhabiting this route when I asked her not to attack my friends, so she couldn't not be allowed to hurt people. The implications of Cynthia negotiating in what situations attacking a trainer was allowed made my head spin.

    A deal is a private affair, sister. I will not reveal it no matter how much I like you. Unless you pay an appropriate price, of course.

    I felt a shiver run down my spine, and I suddenly remembered one of the graves in the Lost Tower. Tricked by the whims of the fae. Who knew how much she could extract out of me if I wasn't careful? Especially now that I was learning what glamour even was. I didn't actually feel threatened, but it was like a constant feeling of alertness that forced me to stay sharp so I wouldn't not concede anything.

    You are wise to be on guard, but fret not. There will be no tricks with me. I will use these few days to tutor you and Togetic both in the concepts of glamour and violence.

    ——

    The first time Sunshine met Hatterene, I thought a fight would erupt immediately.

    We had traveled a few more hours until we settled in a small clearing, and I used the opportunity to introduce Pupitar and Turtonator to her. The rock type seemed nervous, but happy to see another powerful being so soon. Sunshine's snout flared and the temperature rose until I had to recall him.

    It wasn't like he'd been the only one at fault. Hatterene had provoked him first by calling him a decrepit creature. For all of her wisdom, it seemed that her irrational hate for dragons was irreparable. Changing a mind grew harder the older the person was, and even though I doubted that she was as old as Shiftry, the Keeper was old. She'd called Cynthia a child, after all.

    Wyrms are such simple beings. A few words are all it takes to set them off, the Keeper said with a bloodthirsty grin.

    "Don't you think you were rude?" I asked. "He hadn't even done anything yet."

    I didn't appreciate the look in his eye. I would usually kill for such a heavy slight.

    "You didn't even try to get along, and he did. I think that proves that you were more immature than he was. You just basically ignored all of the rules. Where was your hospitality?"

    Such a human way of thinking, Hatterene said. There will be no hospitality for wyrms. It is a wonder that Togetic even tolerates him.

    "She learned to appreciate and love him just like I did," I said. "We made a deal, didn't we? So long as he doesn't offend, you will tolerate him. Or are your words worth nothing?"

    Hatterene's stare grew sinister, but I knew I had caught her. I ignored the pit of primal fear forming in my stomach and looked right into her eyes.

    "Fairies don't lie."

    They do not. My apologies for the offense.

    Still, I'd need to wait at least an hour or two for Sunshine to cool down. If I released him right now, he'd attack her right away and get himself seriously injured. I still had a few Hyper Potions left, but I wanted to keep them in case Team Galactic attacked me.

    You are hunted? Hatterene asked.

    "By humans, yes," I said. "They're called Team Galactic— wait, you already read my thoughts. Anyway, I thought you'd know about them."

    I don't bother with human squabbles. However, having something happen to an exceptional human such as yourself would be a tragedy. Let us hastily begin Togetic's training. Glamour appears complicated at its core, but manifesting things on a smaller scale is a simple affair…
    Thank you to my Patreons - Spandaz, Alex Walters, androide, ObsidianOlive, A Ferret, MKK, Oblige, Joe, Emilowish, Sean, Tim Schmidt, Dim, Violett T, Dom Noct, yesnomaybeso, Sean M, Cypha, Daniel, Ryan T, Kail H, Bridie, dragonslaver
     
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