Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 1

“And would you look at that! Weavile has gone down! Craig Goodwill’s Salamence has completely swept Petra Dixon’s team with barely any difficulty! What a testament of his skill as a Pokemon trainer!”

“You’re right about that, Doug. Goodwill’s Salamance was good enough to overpower Dixon’s ice and fairy types. With this victory, he continues his undefeated streak at the Sunyshore tournament. I think Craig will be the one to watch during this year’s conference at Fall’s End.”

“For sure. That Salamence and Typhlosion are a deadly combination, and we haven’t even seen the rest of Goodwill’s team! Now, for the next match, we have Ellis Bahl all the way from Heahea city in Alola against Peter Newman from Pastoria right after this commercial break. Stay tuned!”

I groaned, hitting my head against the couch. This tournament was the only good thing on T.V., and they had to have ads in between every battle, even when said battle lasted five minutes.

“Prrrii!” My Togepi squealed in my arms.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m just bored,” I said, petting her head.

August was fast approaching, and that meant that soon, thousands of trainers would sign up to Sinnoh’s league circuit again, like every other year. What that meant, however, was that unlike every other time of the year, there was a serious lull in battle content on television. Most tournament organizers wanted to wait for trainers to be traveling to start up again, and gyms were closed. And so here I was, watching the only tournament on T.V. today, where some guy that was clearly way better than everybody else was crushing the competition. He was probably on a power trip. Props to him for having raised a Salamence, though. I wouldn’t be able to be anywhere near those things.

As I turned my brain off watching some advertisement about Ultra Balls, I heard our apartment door open.

“Toge! Prrrri!” Togepi said, squirming out of my arms. She jumped off the couch and ran toward the door.

Weren’t you almost asleep just a second ago? I thought with a silent chuckle.

A balding man came into the living room and dropped three paper bags on the table.

“Welcome back, dad. Not too busy out?” I asked.

“Nah, it was fine. You know Jubilife, people are out with their families enjoying the break— Oh, hello little princess!” Dad exclaimed, picking up Togepi. He spun her in the air and blew a bunch of kisses at her.

“Dad, stop babying her. Plus, you just look silly,” I sighed. I stood up and made my way to them. “What d’you get?” I rustled through the paper bags and saw some juice, berries, food, and— “Yes!” I screamed. “Chocolate cake! Gimmie some!”

Dad laid Togepi back down and snatched the bag away from me. “Nuh-uh, that’s for after dinner tonight. I’ll put it in the fridge.”

We talked about our day while Togepi was simply content to listen in, and after he finished putting away all the food, we laid down together on the couch.

“To! Toge!” Togepi said. It took him a while to understand, but dad let her go, and she snuggled up against me.

“Watching the Sunyshore tournament, eh?” Dad grinned.

“Not this again, please,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Stop trying to—”

“Make you sign up for the circuit, yes,” Dad interrupted. “Sorry, Grace.”

We had gone through this before. I had turned fifteen this year, which was the age every kid dreamed of reaching all over Sinnoh because that was when they were allowed to go out into the world and start traveling, challenging the gyms. It was every child’s dream to get their eight badges, win the conference and then go on to beat the elite four and the champion. And yet I had never been interested in all of that. Sure, watching battles was fun and all, and it would have been a lie to say that I hadn’t daydreamed about doing it, or theory crafted about which Gym Leader was the strongest at school or whatever. Normal kid stuff. But when I looked at Togepi, and I imagined her being hurt, or even worse… it sent shivers down my spine. I couldn't imagine actually sending a Pokemon you owned and loved out to fight like that.

“Prrrri?” Togepi looked up at me, like she sensed something was wrong.

I scratched one of her crown “spikes”, which were actually quite soft, and she smiled.

Cute, I thought. Dad had gotten me Togepi for my fourteenth birthday— well, it would be more accurate to say that he won an egg completely by accident at a lottery and gave it to me. He had been after the pokedollars, but he ended up being pretty happy with his win. His plan was to get me to train her as my starter for when I went on the league circuit. Even back then, battling hadn’t really interested me that much, but when she hatched, and I looked into her eyes… all of my interest in the field evaporated.

‘Twas still fun to watch, though.

“You know, I was going to ask you something,” Dad started after lowering the sound of the T.V.

“Can’t it wait? Come on, I want to hear the commentators speak,” I said lazily.

“Just hear me out for a sec, alright? I already know you won’t like this.”

I pouted playfully. “Whatever.”

“I’m serious, Grace. I’m going to be really busy with work for the next week. We’re pushing for a new version of the Poketch to be out by the holidays, and the crunch is real,” He said.

I nodded. Dad worked at the Poketch company, and they made a new version of the device every two years or so and sold it at full price, even though they barely added anything to the new model. Supposedly though, this one was the real deal.

“But I was also supposed to deliver some vitamins to your mom’s Herdier. He’s getting old, and he needs these to stay healthy. I really can’t afford to be traveling right now or my boss will fucking kill me,” Dad said, with a flash of fear appearing on his face.

“So? Just get it delivered or something,” I said, letting a little bit of panic slip in my tone. “Or get mom to buy the vitamins in Twinleaf. This has nothing to do with me.”

“Twinleaf is a small town, Grace. There’s no internet there, no delivery services, and no Pokemart or Center. You’ve got to do this. I know you and your mother aren’t on the best terms, but you don’t have to stay. Just pop in, say hello, make some small talk, give her the vitamins and go.”

“And how do you expect me to get there? Togepi’s an indoor Pokemon! I’ll need her to protect me, but what if she gets snatched by a Staravia or something?!” I screamed.

Togepi flinched at my sudden outburst and began to whine.

“Damn it! You made her cry!” I hissed at him. “I’ll be in my room trying to calm her down. In the meantime, let me know how you expect me to get through two routes with her without dying!”

I grabbed Togepi, ran to my room, and slammed the door. I placed her on my bed and began pacing.

“I hate him! I hate him, I hate him, I absolutely hate him!” I muttered. “Stupid dad and his stupid vitamins!”

I jumped into my bed, screamed into my pillow, and kicked repeatedly. I felt two stubby arms touch my hair. Togepi was petting me, just like I always pet her when she was sad. I teared up and hugged her.

“I love you, Togepi.”

I spent the next few hours on my Poketch— that I had gotten for free thanks to my dad’s work— browsing the internet for information about the upcoming circuit. I always followed a few trainers during their journey and rooted for them through the screen. Apparently some hotshot from Unova had just flown into Jubilife to prepare for the circuit. Her name was Cecilia Obel, and her brother, Mark Obel, was Unova’s newest champion. There was a picture of her posted to the Circuit forums. It was blurry because it had been taken by the press while she was walking toward a taxi right out of the airport, but it was the best we had. She had beautiful brown skin and dark hair tied into a ponytail.

“She’s just some carpetbagger hoping to ride her brother’s coattails,” One of the comments said.

“I heard she’s been training since she was five years old to be a trainer. Plus, her family’s rich, so she’ll have all the potions, vitamins, and top-tier food to keep her team healthy. I wouldn’t underestimate her.” Someone replied.

“Oh yeah? Well I already signed up to the Circuit, so I’m bound to run into her eventually. My Bidoof and I will destroy her and send her running back to Unova,” The first commenter said.

My eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. A Bidoof?! Talk about being confident. Anyway, I ignored the comments, but bookmarked the page. She’d be interesting to follow, even though ‘carpetbaggers’, or people who flew in from other regions to join another League Circuit, were frowned upon. I spent a few more minutes scrolling for interesting trainers before hearing a soft knock on my door.

“Don’t come in!” I said.

To my dismay, dad opened the door anyway and sat down at the foot of my bed.

“I said not to come in,” I muttered before turning away from him. Togepi had woken up again and began trying to climb his back.

“Listen, kiddo…” He sighed.

“Whenever you use kiddo, you usually just want to appear relatable to me so I forgive you,” I said quietly.

Dad laughed softly. “You’re right on the money. But seriously, listen. I know I’m asking a lot out of you, but you gotta understand that if I had any other way, I’d let you stay here. You know that, right?”

I didn’t answer.

“It won’t take too long. A week and a half at most for the round trip. Route 202 and 201 are really short,” He said.

“Mm.”

“And the Pokemon there tend to be really weak and relatively peaceful, especially next to Twinleaf. I’d say it’s a good opportunity to get Togepi to toughen up a little bit, right? You’re the one who always tells me to stop treating her like a baby,” He continued.

“Mhm.”

“And it’d be nice for you and your mom to reconnect. I haven’t forgiven her, you know. It’s not like we talk every day. I’m still pissed she took our Herdier!” He said. “But I also know how depressed she’s been ever since she moved back in with her parents. You haven’t been answering her calls. I— I want you to know your mother, Grace.”

“I already know her. She’s a bitch.”

“Language, young lady! Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is that I’m sorry, but I think that long term, this will do you a lot of good,” He said, caressing my shoulder. “Now come on. Gimmie a hug.”

He spread his arms and looked at me with Lilipup eyes. I tried rebuking him for a few seconds, but I ended up embracing him.

“I love you, dad,” I said. “And I’m sorry for saying I hate you, I know you heard that. I don’t actually hate you.”

He held me tightly “I know you don’t. Every teenager is entitled to saying they hate their parents at least once.”

“Prrrri!” Togepi cheered.

“Aww, aren’t you a sweet one,” Dad said, petting her shell. “Look, she’s happy we made up!”

I smiled. “So when do I have to leave?”

“Uh, in two days would be ideal. You have time to prepare and buy some supplies, I’ll give you some money for potions. I’m getting a big bonus when this damn Poketch is released.”

“Alright,” I sighed. “Let’s do it then. I hope you’re ready for this, princess.”

“Toge?” The little Pokemon looked at me and tilted her head.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 2

The next day

Jubilife had a bunch of Pokemon Centers and Marts. It was, after all, the biggest city in Sinnoh, home to millions of people. Where the city really shone, however, was the Pokemon Mall. It was a government-owned facility with stores as far as the eye could see. If you wanted anything related to Pokemon— potions, stones, TMs, grooming, trading— you’d find it in the mall. I, however, was only here for supplies. I had already wrangled my dad into giving me enough food to last the entire trip and then some, mostly in the form of granola bars. He had also bought me camping supplies, a lighter, a small axe and spade, and a book called ‘A trainer’s first guide’. So right now, I was only there for Togepi. She was in her Pokeball right now, since she wasn’t used to being next to so many people at the same time.

The mall was bustling right now with people and Pokemon, but it’d be packed to the brim in a few weeks when the Circuit would actually be about to start. I made my way through the facility with a specific store in mind: the general items store, where a trainer could find the most common, cheaper items. I wasn’t here for the best, I was here for what was necessary, so I wasn’t about to buy a bunch of hyper potions.

Although I wish I could have.

I stepped into the quiet store and inhaled loudly. I loved the smell— it was a particularly perfumy smell, probably what they used to clean the store during the night. I made my way to the potion aisle and grabbed five potions. 300 pokedollars each. Ouch. I bought a few antidotes too, because from what I had looked up, the routes I was going to go through had some bug types as well, although way fewer than Eterna Forest.

I slowly shuffled toward the queue when something caught my eye. The Pokeball aisle.

I wasn’t planning on catching anything.

But… what if, right?

I grabbed five Pokeballs and shoved them into my basket. You never know when you’re going to run into a legendary. It’d be real silly not to have any Pokeballs. I joked to myself.

The woman working at the checkout had dyed purple hair and looked really tired, with deep bags under her eyes. I quietly placed my items on the counter and let her scan them.

“That’ll be 2,800 Pokedollars, please,” She said.

Cursing at myself for not having gotten the money out beforehand, I fumbled through my bag and gave her the cash.

“Thank you for shopping at the Pokemon mall, have a—”

“Um, wait, sorry!” I said. The woman looked at me like I had just murdered her firstborn child. “I had a question regarding repels! I, uh, was wondering if they would work if I was traveling from here to Twinleaf?”

She gestured at the person next in line. “It depends. Most of the time, it’ll just annoy the wild Pokemon, but it won’t actually deter them from attacking you. Hell, sometimes it’ll even make them attack you. They’re mostly only useful if you already have a strong Pokemon at your side when traveling. Twice the deterrence.”

I bowed my head. “Thank you very much!”

“Thank you for shopping at the Pokemon mall, have a great rest of your day,” She said to someone who had just paid. She then turned to me and smiled. “Good luck out there, and good luck on the circuit. It was the best time of my life, although I only got to two gym badges.”

I’m not even signing up for the circuit, I thought, but I just decided to be polite and say thank you. Two gym badges was impressive, though. Every year, after every League Circuit, there’d be stats that came out about the percentage of trainers that got to what number of gym badges. Usually, half couldn’t even get past the first gym. There would be all these tips online about which gym battle was the easiest one to tackle first, and most people agreed on Oreburgh because of the many weaknesses of rock type Pokemon, but most of the time, people would try their hands at the gym the closest to them instead of traveling for weeks with no progress. Probably had something to do with the time pressure and all of that.

I quickly got back home and let Togepi out of her ball. She chirped, shook her entire body, and then smiled as she saw me. I leaned down and caressed her cute little cheeks.

“Hey, princess,” I said. “Got some bad news for you.”

She tilted her head in confusion. She was only a few months old and still had difficulties understanding everything I said.

“We’re going to go on an adventure, you and I. Well, I call it an adventure, but it’s gonna suck. We’ll be living in the wild for a week and a half and sleeping on the cold, hard, ground. Well, I’m exaggerating, dad’s going to bring a sleeping bag tonight, haha…”

“Toge! Togepi!” Togepi exclaimed.

“Are you telling me not to worry?” I guessed. There was no way to truly know what a Pokemon was saying, but a good trainer would usually be able to tell with tone and body language. Not that I was a good trainer, I had just spent the last few months of my life locked inside with this adorable little thing. “That’s sweet. But, uh, yeah, it’ll be dangerous. Not too dangerous, but traveling always has some degree of danger. So I want to make sure that we’re ready.”

“Prrrri?” She asked.

“So I want to try out some of your moves and stuff. You know, just to get you into shape. I need to make sure we’re on the same page with verbal commands and stuff like that, you feel me?”

The Pokemon nodded hesitantly.

“Great! So, uh, there are battle arenas in the city for this stuff, but…” I started twiddling my thumbs. “I was too embarrassed to go. I mean you have all these kids tryharding for the Circuit, I’d just get destroyed!”

“Toge…”

“No, it’s not your fault! It’s completely on me! Well, anyway, let’s see what you can do,” I said as I got up. I tapped my feet and thought for a moment. It’d be great if I had a Pokedex for this, but you only get one if you sign up for the Circuit. Pokedexes allowed you to see the moves a Pokemon knew, so I’d be able to know if Togepi had any hidden moves I had never discovered. Right now, all I knew was that she had Pound, Rollout, Sweet kiss, and Growl.

Pound, I had discovered pretty quickly when she saw dad and I argue for the first time. Togepi believed that the first person or Pokemon they set their eyes on when they hatched was their mother, so essentially, she thought dad was about to hurt her mom. In reality, I had just lied to my dad about stealing a little bit of his money and he had found out.

Togepi ended up hitting him with her stubby little arm, which knocked him on his ass. Scary in the moment to see this tiny baby hurt a human, but funny to look back on. Plus, he basically loved her more than me now. Growl was… well, growl. It was a move almost every Pokemon was capable of learning, and it could trip up an opponent enough to make its attack slightly off or weaker. It usually only worked on weaker Pokemon though. For Sweet Kiss, Togepi had used it on another male Togepi we saw at a Pokemon Center when we brought her in for a check-in when she was a little bit sick. That trainer was practically about to tear my arm off before dad intervened after he came back from the bathroom. And for rollout, that move was more of a theory. Sometimes, Togepi would just roll into things, but the damage it did was substantial, meaning I believed it to be a move and not some random action. I looked at a crack in the bottom of my wall and snorted. Still just a theory, though.

Reminiscing about these events made me nostalgic for some reason. I grabbed Togepi and raised her into the air, and she chirped happily at me.

“Let’s believe in ourselves! We’re gonna do it!”

——

“Togepi, use Pound, and then Rollout!

Togepi’s little arm shone slightly as she ran toward the empty plastic bottle. She slashed it and cut it in half before retreating into her shell and rolling toward one half of the bottle. It was crushed under her weight.

“Good job— wait Togepi, stop, stop!”

She continued rolling right into the counter and dented the old wood.

“Prrrri?” She said, tilting her head.

“Damn it… dad’s going to kill me,” I said, putting my face in my hands. “Togepi, when I say stop, you need to stop, understand?”

“Togepi!”

“You’re saying that, but you keep not stopping!” I said. “Man, the counter is so fucked. Damn it. Is it the momentum maybe?”

“Toge?” She said with a confused look on her face.

“Like, when you’re using rollout, maybe you can’t stop until you run into something?”

“Prrrri!” The Pokemon nodded happily.

I punched my palm as my eyes widened. That was progress!

“Alright Togepi, let’s try this again. You’ve got pound down pretty well, but we need to work on your rollout. Try to stop as soon as you hit your target alright?” I said, grabbing another plastic bottle from the recycling bin.

——

“Togepi, stop!” I screamed as I winced, expecting her to hit another wall.

Togepi slowed down and clumsily ended up on her back. She struggled to stand back up, taking a few seconds, but she had stopped!

“Yes! Yes, yes, let’s go! You did it, princess! I’m so proud of you!” I said, grabbing her and spinning her around.

“Prrri! Togeprrri!” She said, happily moving her arms.

“Arceus, what time is it? Is the sun already setting?” I asked myself. I grabbed my Poketch from my pocket and my eyes bulged at the time. It was already 5:23 pm. Dad was going to be back any second!

“Oh, fuck.”

I cleaned up where I could, but it was no use. Dad always came back by at 5:30 pm at the latest. He walked into the house as I cleaned up some glass from the ground that Togepi had knocked down by rolling into a cabinet.

Togepi, as usual, chirped as she ran toward my dad, oblivious to the dressing down that we were about to receive. Dad dropped his keys when he entered the kitchen. He had calmly asked me to go back to my room to wait for him to finish cleaning up. That was bad. Calm dad was really mad.

Twenty minutes later, give or take, dad entered my room and crossed his arms. He stood at the entrance, blocking the door.

“Grace—”

“I’m really sorry, dad! I just got carried away and, uh, I wanted to train Togepi for our journey. It turns out that it was really fun and I— I’m sorry,” I finished weakly.

“Grace, I’m not angry at you because you wanted to train. In fact, I’m proud of you for taking this seriously. I just don’t understand why you had to do it here. There are public arenas for this very purpose!” He said, finally raising his voice. “Pokemon gyms, new trainers looking to battle, everything! Now I have to deal with this and work,” He sighed.

“I’m sorry,” I just said. Togepi seemingly imitated me and gave a sad chirp.

“Look, you’re leaving tomorrow and I don’t want this argument to be on your mind when you’re out there, so I’ll just let it go. But promise me, when you come back and if you happen to want to train again, you’ll actually use the correct facilities.”

“I will, I was just scared… sorry.”

“Scared? What do you mean?”

“I was scared that I’d just make a fool of myself. You have all these trainers— really good trainers, even, training for the Circuit, and I’m just… there. I’m a really bad trainer with no experience and I have no idea what I’m doing,” I vented.

He took a deep breath and sat down next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. Togepi jumped on my thighs.

“Grace, I thought you didn’t care about training or battling?” He asked softly.

“I mean, I don’t. Or I think I don’t. I still don’t want Togepi to get hurt, but training her today… it was fun. More fun than watching some shi— crappy tournament on T.V. or browsing the internet. I was actually doing the real thing. But I feel that if I actually took that final step— that step into the real world, then I’d realize how behind I am regarding everything Pokemon-related. It’d be like getting woken up with cold water. So if I stay home, I’m safe in my little bubble. I can act like I’m getting better and not just pretending.”

“Wow… that’s some heavy stuff, kid,” Dad sighed. I just nodded and hugged Togepi. “Listen, I won’t go into wanting to be a trainer, or signing up for the Circuit, or whatever. But, Grace, to be successful in life, you’ve got to be unafraid of failure.”

“What if the failure is really big?”

“Really big? Come on, losing your first battle is an event almost everyone goes through. Want to know how my first battle went?” Dad asked.

“Uhuh,” I simply said.

“I signed up for the Circuit as soon as I turned fifteen along with Herdier— well, he was a Lillipup back then. I set off toward Oreburgh on route 203, and I was challenged by some other kid way younger than me. He looked eight, or nine, so he wasn’t on the Circuit. I got cocky and underestimated him. His Budew just completely obliterated me. I couldn’t even get one hit in.”

“No way,” I said with a small gasp.

“I swear! He’d just keep his distance after setting up Leech Seed, and Lillipup was too panicked to do anything. He started rolling around the ground, trying to get the plants off of him while Budew kept attacking. It was… embarrassing, to say the least. But you know what I did after that?”

“You went on to win the Conference and then the League to beat the Champion?” I joked.

He chuckled. “Young me would have wanted that. But no, I went back to square one, and trained for a few weeks in Jubilife before setting off again. Of course, when I reached Oreburgh I got my ass kicked by the Gym Leader, so the story doesn’t really have a great ending,” Dad coughed and clapped his hands. “But it’s about your mindset, kid! You can’t be just doom and gloom all the time, right? Whenever you want to get good at something, you’re going to fail at some point no matter what— even the most gifted, talented people fail. Get it?”

“Yeah, I get it,” I nodded. “Thanks for the pep talk dad.”

“I’ll be rooting for you during your Circuit.” He grinned.

I pushed him off me playfully. “Shut up, I’m not signing up for it. As soon as I get back from Twinleaf, I’m never battling or training again.”

“We’ll see about that. You got the bug, it’s going to be impossible to get rid of now.”

“The bug?” I frowned.

“The training bug. It’ll grow and grow until you only want one thing,” Dad paused.

“To be Champion,” I finished, as something clicked in my mind, and dad’s smile grew into a wild, toothy grin.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 3

I placed my hand over my forehead, shielding my eyes from the harsh summer sunlight as I stepped out of the gate to route 202. Route 202 was one of the shortest routes in the Sinnoh region, but I wasn’t going to underestimate it. I retied my laces as tight as I could and released Togepi from her ball. She chirped happily at me before observing the unfamiliar surroundings.

“Come on Grace,” I said, slapping my cheeks. “You can do this. You’re a tough girl.”

I stepped onto the road. It would continue for a few hours until nature overwhelmed it and I would only have grass to walk on. There were trainers all around me, some of them battling, and some of them just hanging out with their Pokemon. I expected the population to lower the deeper I got into the route. Togepi pulled at my jeans and chirped sadly.

“Sorry, princess. You’ve got to walk for now. We’re building your endurance.”

“Toge…”

Her sadness tugged at my heartstrings, but I managed to ignore her for now. The next hours were uneventful. It was almost anticlimactic how peaceful it was. I hadn’t even gotten attacked by a wild Pokemon yet, although I had seen a bunch. I wasn’t exactly expecting this to be like hiking to the top of Mount Coronet, but I couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed.

Was there something wrong with me?

Eventually, though, the vegetation began to slowly overtake the dirt road. Route 202 wasn’t exactly a forest, but it wasn’t exactly some grassy plain either. It was something in between. I decided to take a slight break below a tree, shielding myself from sunlight. I was actually more tired than Togepi was. It’d take a while to get myself into shape.

Into shape for what? I asked myself. I’m still not signing up for the League Circuit!

“Whew. That was a workout, huh?” I asked my Togepi.

“Prrri!” She answered.

“Want some water? I’ve got—”

“Yo. You want to battle?” I heard a voice toward my left.

My head whirled toward the voice. It was a kid my age— probably training for the Circuit. There was a small Shinx at his side.

“Ah— Uh— I mean—”

“ Arceus, why are you so nervous? We’re all in the same boat, right? We battle, we both get better. So you’re in or what?” He asked.

“Um, yeah!” I managed to get out. “My name’s Grace, by the way, haha,” I laughed nervously.

“I’m Patrick. One on one?”

“Sounds good. I only have one Pokemon anyway,” I said.

I stood up and Patrick went around fifty feet away from me. His Shinx roared— which was more like a cub pretending to roar than an actual roar— and steeled itself.

“Alright Togepi, remember our training,” I said as confidently as I could. I hoped she wasn’t noticing my shaking legs or hands. Sweat was accumulating dangerously fast on my palms and my armpits. I took a few deep breaths.

“Alright! I’ll throw this rock, and when it hits the ground, we can start!” My opponent said.

He threw a rock into the air. Time seemed to slow the closer it got to the ground. I ran through dozens of scenarios in my mind, imagining the worst.

“Shinx, hit ‘em with Tackle! Then Bite!”

Patrick’s Shinx roared again and dashed toward Togepi. He was faster than her, so dodging wasn’t an option.

“Togepi, wait… keep waiting… Growl!” I screamed.

Togepi chirped louder than I’d ever heard her, and Shinx flinched right before hitting her. It didn’t stop it from biting her, but her shell was shielding her from most of the damage.

“Uh, Togepi, use Sweet Kiss! Get it away from you!” I yelled out.

Togepi puckered her lips, and a pink heart escaped from her mouth, hitting the Shinx directly in the face. It stopped its attack and looked around confusedly.

“Shinx! Snap out of it! Focus on my voice!”

Oh no, you don’t, I thought. “Togepi, use pound!”

Togepi’s arm turned white, and she hit the Shinx directly in the nose. It screeched in pain and snapped out of its confusion.

“Focus, Shinx! Use Charged Tackle!”

The Shinx began to charge up electricity into its body.

“Don’t let it finish its attack! Togepi, rollout!”

Patrick’s eyes widened. “Shinx, stop charging! Dodge!”

Togepi’s rollout was too fast and struck Shinx’s hind legs. The Pokemon went flying toward his trainer.

“Keep going, Togepi! Keep using rollout!”

She followed Shinx closely, hitting it again right after it fell to the ground. Shortly after that, Patrick returned Shinx to his Pokeball.

“I forfeit,” He said, after clicking his tongue. “Damn it.”

“What? Why? The battle wasn’t over,” I said.

He approached me and reached for his backpack. I flinched, but he placed a few hundred pokedollars in my hand.

“I don’t want Shinx to be too beaten up and have to go all the way back to the Pokemon Center in Jubilife. I could tell the fight was going to end badly after you hit me with Sweet Kiss. Good battle,” He said, holding out his hand toward me.

I shook his hand and stayed there like I had been hit by Astonish. I had… won? I had won my first battle?

“Good luck. Maybe I’ll see you again on the Circuit, Grace,” Patrick said before leaving.

I could only muster a nod. When he left, I grabbed Togepi into a happy hug. That had been the most fun I’d had in years. The rush, the adrenaline, the tension, the feeling of victory.

“The training bug,” My dad’s voice echoed in my head.

I was going to have to find some new trainers to fight on the way to Sandgem!

——

“Bidoof, shake it off! Use Headbutt!” My opponent screamed in frustration.

“Togepi, use rollout! Keep going if he’s still standing!”

Togepi chirped in acquiescence and folded into a ball rolling toward the confused Bidoof. She hit it square in the face, and then again as it tumbled down a hill. The Bidoof fainted.

“Grrr, using Sweet Kiss is cheating!” The girl said. “How are you even supposed to counter that?!”

Not knowing what to say, I stayed silent as the bliss of victory washed over my body. She handed me a hundred Pokedollars and left with her unconscious Bidoof in her arms. I crouched and called for Togepi, who walked back to me. She was limping slightly, which made me quickly look for a potion in panic. This was the third trainer she beat, including Patrick, and she had gotten hit multiple times.

“I’m sorry, princess,” I said as I sprayed her leg with the potion. “No more battling for now, I promise. I got a little too carried away.”

Seeing her limp like that… it almost made me grab her into my arms and run back to a Center, but dad had already warned me not to be too impulsive about this. After a few sprays, she seemed to be back to normal, but I couldn’t afford to use too many potions. I wasn’t even near halfway to Sandgem yet, where I'd be able to restock.

I began carrying Togepi in my arms to give her a little break. We continued on our way, and soon enough, the road ended completely. I opened my Poketch and looked at the map application that I had downloaded yesterday. I could either go through these woods or go around toward the left. The woods would be a bit faster… but I decided on staying safe. What if I stepped on some unsuspecting Wurmple and angered an entire colony? Dustox were really dangerous and usually took care of their young, while Beautifly were more solitary until breeding season. Either way, I wasn’t about to be poisoned by some bug— antidotes only worked on Pokemon.

I carefully stepped around the woods, gladly taking the two-hour detour. However, as I jumped down a ledge and walked down the gentle slopes of route 202, I came across a Scyther and a Dustox fighting right outside of the woods.

I froze. A Scyther, here? They were one of the most powerful bug Pokemon around! My head frantically turned, searching for a place to hide. If they noticed me, Dustox would possibly run, glad that I gave it the opportunity to escape being eaten, but Scyther? I looked down at my Pokemon and saw that she was just as scared as I was.

I swallowed. It’d be furious that I caused its meal to escape, and all of that anger would probably be refocused on me. And there was no way I was risking Togepi. The ledge was too high for me to climb back with Togepi still in my arms, and returning her to her ball would make too much noise. There was no other choice.

I stepped into the woods.

——

Walking through some unmaintained woods wasn’t like I thought it would have been. It was seen as one of the most common trainer experiences, yet no one explained to you how grueling it would be.

Or maybe they did, and I just hadn’t looked hard enough.

The ground wasn’t an even thing. It was a mess of fallen leaves, branches, ferns, and more than everything, it was slippery . I had fallen three times in an hour. After the first fall, I’d gotten Togepi back in her ball to be able to better catch myself. It didn’t help. I was bleeding from the back of my forearm after a fallen branch tore through the skin. The good news was that it wasn’t hurting much and that I hadn’t seen the Scyther. The bad news was that the sun was setting soon and that I’d probably have to sleep in this hellhole.

“Shit, I should have just gone right away without battling anyone. Maybe then I’d have avoided the Scyther,” I whispered to myself. “Need to find some kind of clearing.”

The sun's rays turned orange-red and then disappeared completely. It was nighttime now, and all I had for light was my Poketch. The device came with a charger, but it also charged with solar energy. Unfortunately, I now had neither, so I was on a time limit.

“Hissss,” I heard through the underbrush. I flinched, and then shined my light toward the sound. An Ekkans launched itself at me, and I fell on my back. I swore, ignoring the pain as it bit into my arm. I clicked on my Pokeball and saw a flash of red, then white as Togepi chirped in anger, hitting the snake with Pound.

I scrambled backward and grabbed my little axe, waiting for the Ekkans to strike at me again. For a few seconds, there was a complete silence, only interrupted by the bustling wildlife in these woods. Then Ekkans attacked me again, and I swung the axe wildly in front of me with my eyes closed. I heard it hiss in pain as it finally decided I wasn’t worth the risk and fled.

“Damn it!” I hissed, looking at my arm. I looked around for my Poketch and found it on the ground after a few seconds, covered in mud. I shone it at my arm and sighed in relief. It looked like it hadn’t penetrated the skin anywhere to inject its venom. I leaned against a tree and sighed. All that fun from earlier had disappeared now.

“Toge,” Togepi said quietly, touching my leg. She was barely visible with how high the underbrush was.

“I’m okay. We just have to find a spot to sleep in,” I lied as I returned her. I wiped my hands on the back of my jeans and kept going.

I hate woods, I hate woods, I hate woods, I screamed in my head. Thirty minutes later, I found a mini clearing, and by clearing, I meant a spot where it would be possible to lay flat on the ground. Unfortunately, it was still muddy, so my sleeping bag would get really dirty, but it was what it was. Luckily, it was still summer, so lighting a fire wasn’t necessary. Sinnoh winters were known for their brutality.

I snuggled up in the sleeping bag and slept, waking up every few minutes to a Pokemon cry. Tomorrow was going to suck .

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 4

Tomorrow sucked.

I was sore all over, tired, and Togepi kept not wanting to go in her ball because she was worried about me. I was attacked a few more times by two Rattatas, a Wurmple, and even a damn Paras. At last, however, I got out of the woods safe and sound. The next few days were paradise compared to what I had gone through in those woods. One thing was for sure, I wasn’t passing through them on the way back. No more jumping ledges for me!

Finally, after three days of traveling, I reached Sandgem town. It was a quaint little coastal town and the closest large human settlement next to Jubilife. The first thing I did was get Togepi to a Center, and myself as well. Pokemon Centers had doctors specialized in treating trainers as well, although they were nowhere near as good as treating Pokemon. They washed my cuts and bandaged them up, but the cut on my arm was too deep, and they put me on antibiotics. I hated taking pills, but I’d have to do it.

I also put my clothes in the wash and changed into my second set of clothes, another pair of jeans with a different shirt. Pokemon Centers also had clothes they could give trainers if they were out, mostly thanks to donations. Basically, if a trainer needed something, chances are, they’d find it in a Center.

“How’s Togepi, Nurse Joy?” I asked a pink-haired nurse at the counter. “Can I visit her?”

She wasn’t actually called Joy, and her hair was a wig, but it was a part of the Pokemon Center brand, and everybody usually played along.

“Togepi will be fine, she was never a worry. You were in much worse shape than her. You’ll have to be careful during your travels… what’s your name? I don’t think we have you in our database.”

“Grace Pastel,” I said. “It’s my first time in Sandgem.”

“No, I mean the region-wide Pokemon Center database. Could I get your trainer ID?”

Ah, I thought. “I’m not actually signed up to the League Circuit, so I don’t have an ID. I hope that’s fine?”

“Oh, alright. You’ll have to pay for your treatment, then, if that’s ok? Togepi’s checkup is still free of charge. Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

“Sure,” I nodded. The cost ended up being 2,100 pokedollars, most of that spent on the antibiotics. Luckily I had padded my savings by beating those three trainers, so I still had a good amount left in case something else happened.

I spent the next few hours walking around Sandgem, seeing the sights. It was way calmer than Jubilife, and just had a relaxing vibe in general. It was nice to be away from the city like this, although the way it had happened was… less than ideal. I watched a few battles at the arena close to the Pokemon Center, and one of the trainers there had a Munchlax, which were notoriously hard and expensive to raise. It seemed to be well-behaved, though.

Seeing people battle gave me the itch to do the same, but with Togepi still at the center, I wouldn’t be able to. Plus, I wanted to give her a few days of rest, at least. The last thing I did was head to the beach. Sandgem was a coastal fishing town, and it was also home to some tourist trainers. I hadn’t brought a swimsuit, so I just got my feet wet and walked along the beautiful beach. It was true what they said. The sand shone like gems.

After heading back to the center to pick up Togepi, I called dad on my Poketch.

“Hey dad, hope I’m not interrupting your work,” I said.

“No, no, don’t worry about it,” He whispered. I could hear him type away on his keyboard, so I knew it was a lie. “How are you, Grace? I hope the first leg of the trip wasn’t too hard?”

I stayed silent for a few seconds.

“Grace?” He said.

“No, it was fine,” I lied. “Battled some trainers and some wild Pokemon. I’m at the center right now picking up Togepi. Listen to this! My first battle…”

I explained to dad how Togepi beat Shinx using her Sweet Kiss into Rollout combo.

“She’s way stronger than she looks!” I said.

“Well, I’m really proud of you both. Keep it up! Have fun and live a little. There’s nothing like traveling when you’re young,” Dad whispered. “And with that, I’m going to hang up. Talk to you later, sweetie. Call me when you get to Twinleaf.”

I agreed and hung up. Togepi came back a few minutes later, looking healthier than she had been even back at Jubilife. I carried her in my arms as I showed her the city a little bit, but after a few more hours of fun and buying lunch at a local restaurant, I decided to have a little team meeting.

“So, what did we learn during our travels so far?”

“Prrri!” She said cheerfully.

“We learned that wild Pokemon were extremely dangerous and not to be trifled with. And that I should probably walk with you around when there's a risk of being attacked by one. I'll still recall you if it's too dangerous, but—”

“Toge, prrri!” Togepi disagreed.

“I know you only want to protect me, but I don’t want you to get hurt. Anyway, route 201 should be relatively easier. There are way less bugs there and fewer forested areas. It’s mostly a straight path through some grasslands. I’ll keep you out of your ball for now so you can keep building up your endurance,” I said.

“Prrrri!” She said.

“Next up, we learned that trainers are actually pretty nice! Before starting this, it was them who scared me the most. Did you know that back in the day, if a trainer challenged you, you weren’t allowed to refuse?” I asked. “That honestly sounds horrible, and I’m glad they changed that rule.”

Togepi nodded as we walked toward the gate.

“Lastly, we need to teach you more moves somehow. Right now, what we have— using Sweet Kiss to trip them up and then overwhelming them with rollout— it works, but when we…”

“Prrri?”

I paused. When we what? I was going to get Herdier his vitamins, get back to Jubilife, and then go back to how it was before.

Go back to how if was before…

Spending my days in bed or on the couch watching T.V., rarely doing anything apart from occasionally going out with dad. Would I be okay with going back to the status quo? Traveling was horrible, but the battles? Oh, Arceus , the battles were so fun . I wanted to go to different places and battle different trainers with different Pokemon. Maybe even… Gym Leaders.

“Hey, Togepi, I’m going to ask you something, but you’ve got to promise me to only say yes if you’re one hundred percent sure you agree, alright?” I said, picking her up. She looked at me. “I think I want to sign up for the League Circuit when I get back to Jubilife. It’s this whole thing where we’d have to travel like now to other towns, get stronger together and battle really strong trainers called Gym Leaders.”

Togepi continued to observe me.

“It’ll be hard,” I said. “I bet some moments will make what happened in those woods look like a stroll in the park. But… I think I want to do it. But I’ll only do it if you agree. If you say no, I’ll give up on it.”

She said nothing for a few minutes and stayed silent as we entered route 201. She was probably thinking about how to say no and lay me down gently. I sighed mentally. I was probably way in over my head anyway. Just because I beat a few beginner trainers didn’t mean I’d be able to—

“Prrri! Toge, prrri!” She said, moving her arms excitedly.

I smiled. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Prrri.”

“Thank you,” I said, bringing her into a hug. “I won’t disappoint you.”

——

Traveling through route 201 was rather uneventful and took two days. There were very few trainers there, mostly because they had left for Sandgem already in preparation for the League Circuit. There was no Pokemon Center in Twinleaf, so there was no way to sign up from there. I had battled a few wild Pokemon and began trying to teach Togepi Headbutt, but we weren’t making much progress. When I signed up for the Circuit, I’d get a Pokedex and access to her potential moves, so that would help a lot.

Twinleaf was home to only a few hundred people, and they were mostly farmers. It was a close-knit community where everybody knew each other, or at least according to my dad. Apparently, it was why mom had left at first, but she went back soon after they divorced. I looked down at my Poketch, where I had written down mom’s address and how her house looked— at least according to my dad. Togepi followed closely behind me, and we attracted a lot of stares. People here weren’t used to seeing new, young trainers. I made my way toward the town’s edge and found mom’s house sitting next to a small lake. My heart pounded against my chest as I approached the door. What would she say? Would she be happy to see me? Angry I hadn’t answered her calls in so long? I retrieved Togepi and placed my ear against the door. Nothing.

I swallowed my anxiety and knocked on the door loudly. After around thirty seconds, an old woman opened the door. She had long, white hair and piercing blue eyes.

“Yes? Who are you?” She said in a dry tone.

I winced, realizing how bad this must have looked. I was dirty, I probably stank, and had crazy hair. I was a crazy-looking stranger knocking on their door.

“Um, I’m looking for Samantha Pastel? I came here to deliver some Vitamins for Herdier,” I said. “I’m also her… daughter.” I continued weakly.

The old woman’s eyes widened. She turned back into the house and called out. “Sam! You won’t believe this! The son of a bitch sent your daughter here!”

I frowned. She must have been referring to my dad, and I didn’t like that. I heard someone step closer and closer, eventually breaking into a run. A woman burst through the entrance and embraced me.

“Grace! Oh, Arceus, look at you! You’ve grown so much,” The woman who must have been my mother said.

The resemblance was uncanny. We had the same dirty blonde hair, the same thin nose and the same freckles covering our entire faces. Our eyes were different, though. Hers were blue, and mine were green like my dad’s.

“Come in! Traveling here from Jubilife must have been awful, but we’ll catch up. You can take a shower if you want,” She said.

I was in a dazed state. She wasn’t angry at me, and that was good, but why was I feeling… happy? I was supposed to be angry at her for what she did to dad. I bit the inside of my lip.

“We were in the middle of a luncheon between neighbors,” Mom said, showing me the dinner table. This is Ronald and Casey, they live in the house at the opposite side of the lake. And this is their son, Denzel. He’s sixteen, so slightly older than you. Oh, and this is mom— I mean grandma. She’s the one who opened the door,” She continued with a nervous laugh. “Herdier’s out somewhere in town. He always comes back in the evening, though.”

They all greeted me, and mom guided me to the bathroom.

“Take as long as you need, and then join us downstairs. We have so much to catch up on.”

“Wait, the medicine,” I said. I pulled the pack of vitamins out of my bag and handed them to her.

“Thank you so much, Grace. This’ll last us a few months,”

I took a long, hot shower, and I needed it. This was going to drain my social batteries so hard, and then I’d have to talk to mom alone. This sucked. I ended up releasing Togepi and cleaning her up too. Soon afterward, I dried us, took a deep breath, and stepped toward the dining room.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 5

Togepi hid behind my leg as I introduced myself to everyone at the table. They were all nice people, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. Even my grandmother seemed to have eased up on me. It seemed that most of her hate was toward my dad and not me.

“So this is your Togepi then, Grace? Those are pretty rare, from what I’ve heard,” Casey said, tilting her head to get a better view.

“Yeah, she’s mine. They’re not that rare— I’ve seen multiple people with one, and even a Togetic once a few years ago,” I answered. “Forgive her, she’s pretty bad with crowds. I’m trying to work on that.”

“Oh, no worries,” Ronald waved his hand. “I don’t have any Pokemon, and no one ever comes to Twinleaf, so I’m just happy to see a new one.”

“Sit, Grace. You can have some of this if you want. You must be famished after your journey here,” Mom said.

Well, I wasn’t going to say no to that. The juicy meat they were eating looked really appetizing, as was that salad on the side.

“Thanks,” I said, sitting down in an empty seat. I grabbed food while they continued chit-chatting, stuffing myself with as much as I could. It was a very welcome change after days of eating granola bars. “Cun I have sum watew?” I asked. Grandma poured me a glass.

“What’s wrong, Denzel? You haven’t talked since Grace got here,” His mother asked.

“I’m— uh, yeah, I have a stomachache. I think I ate too much,” He answered. His voice was extremely deep— deeper than his father’s.

“You were fine when she was showering. Why don’t you tell us all about your plan for the Circuit,” Mom said.

“Oh, don’t remind me,” Casey exclaimed. “If he hasn’t changed his mind by seeing Grace’s state when she came here, Denzel’s a fool— no offense, Grace.”

“None taken,” I answered, my mouth full.

“Let’s not do this here, mom. I already told you I was going no matter what. You already stopped me from going last year!”

“Oh, sorry for not wanting my son to risk his life out there when he has a perfectly normal life in Twinleaf. So sorry!” Casey said in a sarcastic tone.

This was getting awkward. Ronald had stopped talking altogether and was fidgeting in his seat. Casey kept going.

“Do you know how many trainers die out there? Poor kids that get lost going through Mount Coronet, or Eterna Forest? I don’t want that to happen to you!”

Denzel slammed the table and stood up. “I already made up my mind. Thank you for the food, Samantha.”

I slowed my chewing as I observed him go out. He slammed the door. A few seconds later, he opened it again and apologized for slamming the door, and then left again.

Casey and Ronald took off pretty quickly after that. I finished my food and fed Togepi an Oran Berry. She didn’t eat much— I couldn’t blame her; the entire berry was bigger than her head. Maybe next time, I’d slice it up instead. Mom and Grandma worked on cleaning up the dishes while I played a little bit with Togepi. I’d throw her on the couch, and then she’d jump off, chirping happily. How cute.

“Are you ready to talk now?” Mom tapped my shoulder.

I inhaled sharply and nodded.

“Let’s do this in my room,” She continued.

I followed her, and she invited me in, closing the door behind her.

“Whew… let’s do this,” Mom said. “I’m sure you have questions for me. Go ahead, and then I’ll ask you mine.”

“Why did you cheat on dad?” I blurted out.

She put her head against the wall and sighed. “The big one’s first, huh? I’m sorry, Grace, but there… there wasn’t a good reason. I was a terrible person, and I’ll always regret it. I begged Arthur to stay when he found out, but he wanted a divorce. At first, I wanted to stay in Jubilife to see you, but the city had this… oppressive force. It was like I couldn’t breathe properly there. It reminded me of what I had lost too much.”

I let the statement marinate in my mind for a few seconds. I knew it was stupid, but I had been hoping. Hoping for there to have been a reason better than ‘I was selfish, so I slept with someone else.’ “So you moved to Twinleaf to escape that?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Why’d you take dad’s Herdier?”

“Your dad worked long hours, and I didn’t work at all. You were still a toddler, and Herdier take a lot of work to care for. He was… extremely disheartened to let go of him, but we mutually agreed in the end. Plus, Twinleaf’s a better town for him than Jubilife. All that open space.”

“Why does Grandma hate dad? I heard her call him a son of a… b-word,” I asked hesitantly.

“Oh, don’t mind her. She just loves me too much. She knows I’m in the wrong, but she can’t help it.”

“That just isn’t right! Dad’s always so nice to me and so understanding… I don’t like it,” Togepi chirped in agreement. “But anyway, I’m done. It’s your turn now,” I finished, crossing my arms and legs.

“Well, I certainly won’t ask why you never answer my messages or calls, but I’ll ask you now. When you leave, can you please at least talk to me every few weeks? Just so I can hear your voice?” Mom asked as she began tearing up. She fanned her eyes with her hands. “Sorry, it’s just— I don’t want us to never speak again.”

“I can try to make an effort…”

“Thank you, I mean it.” She said. “And um, I was wondering if you were signing up for the Circuit? You have a Pokemon.” She lifted her chin toward Togepi.

“Toge!”

“I wasn’t going to, but I changed my mind recently. I’m all in,” I said with a reluctant smile.

“I’m sure you’ll do well. Denzel’s also signing up this year, maybe you guys could help each other out? He’s quite the shy one, and he likes to keep to himself. There aren’t any kids his age left here.”

I thought back to the scene in the dining room. “He seems a little scary, though.”

“He’s as sweet as they come! He’s just been having problems with his parents, but it’s not my place to say. Speaking of, I hope your dad agreed to you joining the Circuit?”

“He did,” I said before slapping my head. “Crap, I was supposed to call him when I got here!”

“Well, I’ll leave you to it. Me being in this room when he’s calling would be a bad idea,” Mom said. I nodded, and she left.

I called dad, put him on speaker for Togepi, and told him about me signing up for the League Circuit. He was ecstatic, saying he’d root for me and watch every battle I would have. It was embarrassing, really, but I couldn’t help but smile. I also told him I kind of made up with mom, and he was genuinely glad for me, even though he would still never forgive her. The call ended after I told him I’d spend a few days here to get to know mom better and maybe deal with this Denzel situation. The truth was, I really wanted a trainer friend to talk to, but right now I had nobody, so there was certainly a selfish reasoning behind my reason for helping.

That night, Herdier came back and licked my face all over. He somehow recognized me, even though I hadn’t seen him in eleven years. Mom said it must have been my smell. We gave him his vitamins by mixing them with his food, and I went to sleep shortly after in the Guest room. The only good thing I could think of about living in Twinleaf was that every house was huge. More space for me.

The next morning, I trained a little bit with Togepi outside. We practiced the speed of her rollout, which was getting more and more powerful, and we also practiced Sweet Kiss on wild Pokemon like Bidoof near the lake. Maybe with enough training, it would be more effective, but right now, I was basically shooting in the dark. The worse thing was that if Togepi eventually evolved, she wouldn’t be able to use rollout anymore.

After a few hours of training, I recalled Togepi and made my way around the lake toward Denzel’s house. It was slightly larger than my mom’s, and there was a pasture with a bunch of Milktank in the back.

“Woah. They’re bigger than they look like online,” I said, quietly observing the Pokemon go about their day.

I climbed the stairs to their porch and rang their doorbell. Surprisingly, Denzel was the one that answered, and not his parents.

“Who— oh, you’re that girl from yesterday. What’s up?” He asked.

“Uh, I’m really bad at this, but… do you want to be friends?” I said, averting my eyes. “I’m also signing up for the Circuit soon, and I think we could help each other.”

His face brightened up in surprise. “Oh, no shit? Come in!”

——

Denzel brought us glasses of Milktank milk and homemade cookies that his mother had made.

“Those look really good, thanks,” I said.

“They are. My mom runs a patisserie. That’s what she calls it. Apparently it’s a Kalosian word. So yeah, usually we have a bunch of homemade stuff lying about,” He explained as he sat down. “So,” He took a deep breath. “The League Circuit, huh? How are you feeling about it?”

“To be honest, I’m super excited, but the nerves will probably get to me when I actually am a part of this thing. Right now, it’s unofficial, you know? I just declared it.”

“I totally get that,” Denzel said, dipping his cookie into his milk. “I’m so happy I can finally go, though. My mom wants me to keep helping her around the store, and dad just lets her walk all over him. They guilt-tripped me into staying last year, but not anymore. I’m going no matter what!”

“Sounds rough. My dad’s been supportive. In fact, he had to basically push me to get out of my shell. Just a few days ago, I basically wanted nothing to do with Pokemon battling.”

“I think you’ll be glad you changed your mind. We only have a few attempts at the Circuit before going back to the real world, you know? Even less for people that fail really early,” Denzel pondered.

“Why? Can’t you just try over and over? The League hasn’t set a limit.”

“Yeah, but consider this: have you ever seen someone older than, like, twenty-five attempt the Circuit?” He waited for my answer, and I shook my head. “I’ve been watching a lot of Circuits online in preparation for this year, and everyone’s young.”

“Wait, you have internet here? I thought you didn’t.”

“What? Why wouldn’t we have internet? I think that’s just your mother’s house— but anyway! The fact is, you can’t be trying over and over. At some point, you’ve got to start working in the real world, right? Boring nine-to-five office job.”

“Couldn’t you make a living off of fighting trainers?” I asked, remembering the pokedollars I had gained on my way here.

“Theoretically, you could. But the truth is, you’ll be making less money than with a normal job, and if you can’t at least do well in the Circuit, what’s the point? Might as well go back home and sleep in a comfy bed every night and eat hot food.”

“Ok, I get your point. But some people still do it and join tournaments too. Like that Craig guy with the Salamence—”

“You know Craig Goodwill?” Denzel said, his face lighting up. “Isn’t his Salamence the coolest?! I heard he was signing up for the Circuit too. I hope I can see it in person.”

“A Salamence? Those things are capable of killing thousands on a whim. Dragon types are terrifying…”

“But he raised it correctly, so it’s not a danger. Plus, he’s not allowed to have them out in cities. The danger rating’s too high, and it would cause a panic.”

“Ok, enough about Craig,” I said, shaking my hand. “Want to show me your starter?”

“Sure,” He said. He grabbed a ball from his desk and released a sleeping Eevee. “This is my Eevee. I rescued him from route 202 two years ago, and he’s been with me ever since.”

“He’s so cute!” I gushed. The Eevee slowly woke up and looked me straight in the eyes. He then ‘huffed’ and jumped onto Denzel’s bed, turned a few times, and laid down. “I think he doesn’t like me.”

“He’s a little bit rude,” Denzel said. “But I’m hoping the Circuit will get him to open up a little. So you have a Togepi?”

I sent her out, and she chirped happily, much to Eevee’s dismay. He barked and crawled under the covers.

“She’s still a little young, but I believe in her fully,” I said.

“Prrri!” She said with a smile.

“She looks energetic. How long have you had her for?”

“She’s eight months old,” I replied. “Hatched her from an egg.”

“Cool,” Denzel said. “It’s my first time seeing one ever— well, outside of a computer screen.”

Denzel spent some time getting familiar with Togepi while I tried approaching his Eevee, but that was to no avail. Togepi was a little wary at first, but she got used to him very quickly.

“Her little noises are too much! I love them,” He smiled. “But anyway, I’m a little nervous about asking you this, but… want to battle?”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 6

Denzel looked at me and grinned. I certainly felt the urge to say yes— hell, it almost slipped from my mouth. Unfortunately, though, I had some worries.

“I’d really like to, but Twinleaf doesn’t have a Pokemon Center. The odds are pretty low, but if Togepi got really hurt, potions wouldn’t be enough, and I need her healthy for the trip back.”

“Ah, I see,” Denzel said awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. “Well, don’t worry about it. It was just a silly idea.”

“Maybe if we see each other in Sandgem or something,” I said. “But anyway, you said you had internet here? Can I get the password? I want to check the Circuit forums.”

I placed Togepi on the bed and let her decide how to approach this Eevee. Denzel gave me his wifi password and leaned to watch as I typed in a familiar name in the search bar.

“Cecilia Obel, huh?” He said.

“You know her?”

“She’s the talk of the forums. Everybody knows her. Her brother’s—”

“Unova’s Champion, I know,” I said. “Before I decided to sign up, I was just going to root for her, but now she’s competition,” I finished.

“Aiming for the top already?”

“No point in not trying your best.”

“Eh, right now I’m just aiming for one gym badge. Mom said she would start paying for some of my supplies for the Circuit if I at least get that,” He said. “But this Cecilia girl intrigues me. She’s never been seen battling before, even in Unova. There’s nothing about her online. It’s like she just appeared when she first flew to Jubilife.”

“Mhm,” I acquiesced. “But anyway, I just wanted to see if there was anything new about her, but nothing substantial. Just footage of her going in and out of her insanely expensive five-star hotel with bodyguards.”

“She won’t have those for the Circuit,” He chuckled.

We spent the next hour or so just looking up interesting trainers and theory-crafting about our strategy for different gyms. Togepi tried making inroads with Eevee, but the little one was not having any of it, often trying to push her off the bed. Unfortunately, Denzel was still a beginner trainer, so I had no luck trying to learn the best way to teach Togepi new moves. Still, it felt great having someone to talk to about this.

Eventually, I decided to leave to go hang out with my mother. I hadn’t forgiven her, but I still wanted to get closer to her. Dad would always say that family was important whenever he tried to get me to call her, and I wanted him to be happy. He deserved nothing less. Mom and I went to Casey’s store and ate together, talking about her life in Twinleaf. She found it boring, but she always filled her days by helping around town with whatever she could. Every time she tried to bring up her old life in Jubilife, I shut her down. I didn’t want to hear her reminisce about her life with us, because that would get my mind racing about what could have been if she hadn’t screwed up. When we got back home, I ended up letting her hang out with Togepi while I caught up with Herdier. His fur was graying, and he had a little bit of hearing issues, but other than that he looked healthy. Every time I crouched to pet him, he’d get up on his hind legs to lick my face.

The next day was more of the same. I went to Denzel’s house in the morning and stayed with mom afterward. The day after that, however, when Denzel and I were walking around, he asked me something.

“Hey Grace, want me to show you something?”

“What is it? Please don’t tell me it’s at the patisserie, your mom overwhelmed me with questions about you last time I was there,” I hoped. Casey was a nice woman, but she was way too overbearing when it came to her son.

“Sorry about her,” He said. “But no, it’s outside of town just a thirty-minute walk away. It’s my secret spot.”

“Okay, and what’s so special about this spot that I have to walk all the way there instead of you telling me about it?” I asked with a hint of sarcasm.

“Dude. You’ve gotta feel it, then you’ll know,” He said.

I frowned, wondering what he was talking about, but I agreed to follow him. We reached the edge of town and got our Pokemon out, just in case. Togepi walked close to my legs and Eevee quickly climbed on Denzel’s shoulder.

A pack of wild Starly attacked us ten minutes in, but Eevee quickly dispatched its leader by baiting it low and then hitting it with a Sand Attack. The bird was too disoriented to get back in the sky and was hit with a Quick Attack shortly after. The rest of their pack fled after seeing their leader taken down.

“You guys are really good at that,” I said after watching their battle in awe. They were locked in step, never wasting a single moment.

“I’m used to taking this route, so I’m pretty confident I can deal with whatever nature throws at me here,” He said. “I even used to make the trip without Pokemon.”

“Huh? You must have a death wish,” I exclaimed.

“Nothing strong enough around here to kill a human. Plus I’m good at running away.”

That’s what I thought about route 202 before a damn Scyther showed up, I thought. Maybe this route was different? Regardless, I trusted him if he was still here to tell the tale, but it still wouldn’t calm my nerves.

The vegetation began to become denser and denser until we crossed a thick line of trees and found—

“Woah,” I said, unable to come up with any other words. “This is… wow.”

In front of us stood a lake way larger than the one back at Twinleaf, with water clearer than anything I’d ever seen. And it was just so still, without a single ripple at its surface. Around the lake, Pokemon were coexisting and living together. The area was completely… peaceful. That was the word I was lacking. It was peaceful.

“People from Twinleaf call this Lake Verity. Its location has been passed from generation to generation, and most people outside of our town don’t even know this exists,” Denzel said before sitting down on the grass.

Togepi chirped quietly and just watched the water’s surface, while even Eevee jumped off of Denzel’s shoulder to stand next to her.

“This is amazing. It’s so peaceful, but there’s something else about it. I feel at ease here. All of my worries are just washing away,” I said with a heavy breath.

“That’s the effect of the Lake, and it’s why Pokemon here don’t attack each other. You could put a Zangoose and a Seviper next to each other here and they’d just ignore each other without any problems.”

An absurd statement to make in any other circumstance, but here? I actually believed him.

“I come here when I want to clear my head, or when I want to relax. I figured it’d be good to bring you at least once before you go back tomorrow,” Denzel said.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you come with me back to Sandgem?” I asked.

“But I’ve got nothing prepared.”

“So prepare when we get back! Who knows, we could be traveling companions during the whole Circuit. A lot of people do that to have it easier in the wild. Two trainers or more is always better than one, and I think that I vibe pretty well with you, no?” I said.

He paused for a few seconds before breaking into a smile. “Screw it. Let’s do it, Grace. You, me, Eevee, and Togepi against the world.”

I didn’t know how that had just happened, but I was still delighted. It was as if the Lake itself had popped the idea into my mind. Or maybe it was just some repressed emotion that clawed its way out? Either way, things were looking up.

Just then, I heard a rustling in the trees behind us. A man with spiky blue hair and bizarre-looking clothes with a yellow ‘G’ written on it passed through the treeline and walked toward the Lake, paying us no mind. Denzel practically jumped, and I frowned at the peculiar individual.

“Um, hello,” I quietly said. The man did not answer. “Is he from Twinleaf?” I whispered to Denzel.

“No, I’ve never seen him before,” Denzel answered. “Sir? How’d you find this Lake if you don’t mind me asking?”

I called Togepi back to me and she hid behind my leg, while he recalled Eevee back to his ball.

“Please don’t leak this to the press,” He continued. “Or anyone for that matter. This is Twinleaf’s secret, and I’d like for it to stay that way.”

The blue-haired man stayed silent and perfectly still, observing the lake’s surface with his hands behind his back.

“This guy’s creeping me out. Let’s just leave?” I asked.

“No, I need answers—”

“Mister Cyrus, sir!” A woman passed through the trees. She had a similar, skin-tight uniform with the same ‘G’, this time at its center. “Please don’t get too far away from us—” She started before noticing us. “Who are these kids?”

“I’d like to ask the same question to you,” Denzel said.

I pulled his arm, indicating for him to calm down. I didn’t know who these people were, but I wanted out. This situation gave me a bad feeling even Lake Verity couldn’t shake.

“Oh, yeah?” She smirked as five other people joined her. She grabbed one of her Pokeballs and released a Golbat with a mouth large enough to swallow me whole. The others released their Pokemon as well, including Zubat, Stunky, and Glameow.

Denzel’s bravado evaporated straight away. Not even entertaining the thought that we could fight them, I recalled Togepi to her ball.

“We—we’re really sorry! We’ll leave now, just let us go,” I said, my voice shaking.

“Sir? What should we do with them?” One of them said. She then gestured cutting her throat with her finger and giggled.

“Please,” I pleaded.

The blue-haired man called Cyrus turned to us slowly, his face stoic. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

“Let them go,” He said with a smooth voice. I felt a giant weight lift off my shoulders. “We did not come here to harass children. Call Charon and tell him the Lake has been located.” His eyes drifted toward us, and he lifted his chin.

We took that as our sign to leave, slowly at first and then running as fast as we could. I felt my legs turn to jelly, but I couldn’t stop. Not until I was sure we were safe. This was scarier than any wild Pokemon attacks. These people had consciously trained their Pokemon to kill. I let that feeling sink in and felt a shiver of dread. They had threatened to kill us.

We reached Twinleaf and collapsed on the ground. I was drenched in sweat, could barely breathe, and my throat was dry. I heaved for a few seconds as a nauseatic feeling took hold of me. A few seconds later, I threw up all over the grass and coughed up the rest of my breakfast in chunks.

“We… have to… tell someone…” Denzel croaked.

I kept coughing and then rolled over. I couldn’t speak. I was too tired. My lungs were ablaze, and my heart was hammering my chest to the point that I believed that I was having a heart attack.

“Sandgem… Police…” Denzel said.

It took ten minutes for me to recover. I had never run this hard for that long, and it took a lot out of me. My legs still shook when I stood up, and even walking took an immense effort because of the soreness. Denzel supported me back to his house— I didn’t want to have to explain why I could barely walk to my mother.

“This is fucked!” He said, slamming the door to his room. “Completely and utterly fucked.”

“Who were these people?” I asked. “What did they want with the lake?” I asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine, but all I know right now is that they’re trainer killers. There was no hesitation, no doubt in their eyes when they asked what to do with us. They wanted to kill us.”

“Their leader spared us, though,” I said before my eyes widened. “The common uniform, the logo, a leader… what if this is an evil organization? Like Team Rocket from twenty years ago in Kanto?”

Team Rocket had run rampant in Kanto for years, and they had been adept at stealing trainers’ Pokemon to sell them on the international black market to make a profit. They were only stopped when it was discovered that one of the Gym Leaders was their leader, and that was why they always seemed to know how to avoid the authorities.

“Pokemon traffickers? Could be. Either way, we have to leave for Sandgem now and go to their police department. I’ll call them too, but it’ll be better to make a report in person so they can ask us anything,” He said, nodding to himself. “I hate that this will bring the secret of Lake Verity into jeopardy, but this is more important.”

“You’re right,” I agreed. “And then they might be able to find evidence… DNA or something. And also warn the League.”

He agreed, and after we warned our parents about what we had seen and told them not to go to the Lake, we set off for Sandgem immediately.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 7

Thanks to Denzel knowing the area like the back of his hand, the trip back to Sandgem took around a day and a half instead of two. Togepi was finally getting around to being able to use Headbutt as a move in battle and not just as a proof of concept. She was getting tougher, even though it was little by little. I noticed that her eggshell was getting harder, and she was growing slightly. During the night, Denzel had to sleep on a towel since he didn’t have a sleeping bag, and I had to lend him a potion after his Eevee suffered a nasty bite from a Nidoran. He kept saying that he’d pay me back, but I didn’t mind.

That night, I was barely able to sleep. I kept jolting awake at the slightest noise, expecting that huge Golbat to sweep down and kill me with its sharp fangs. When we reached Sandgem, I was tired, still sore, and in desperate need of a shower. I took one in the Pokemon Center while Denzel checked in our Pokemon, and I used the opportunity to buy some new bandages. I had run out and had been forced to wear the same one two days in a row, which was obviously unhygienic.

After our Pokemon were healed, we made our way to the Sandgem police department. We talked to the receptionist and waited in a room for an officer to talk to us. After a short wait, Denzel was called in a room, and I was summoned shortly after to a different one. The officer closed the door behind me and directed me to sit at a table. She was old— probably in her fifties, and had a soft look on her face, making me relax a little.

The interview began with her confirming my information. My name, age, and address. She also asked for my trainer ID, making me remember that I still had to sign up for the League.

“So, Grace. Can you explain to me what happened in detail? Everything you remember,” She said.

I told her everything. The uniforms, the thinly veiled threats of murder, and that I suspected this was a new evil organization. The officer let me speak and offered me tissues when I choked up at the thought of that Golbat.

“Did you hear any names? Describe the people you saw for me.”

“Only Cyrus… he was their leader— maybe not of the entire organization, but just this group,” I said. I then proceeded to describe everyone I could recall. The only one I remembered clearly was Cyrus. “He had deep, sunken eyes and spiky dyed blue hair. And… oh! He had no eyebrows! That was really weird.”

The officer nodded and kept writing. “And the uniforms, you said they had a yellow ‘G’ insignia?”

I nodded. She finished writing and put her pen down.

“So… what happens now?” I asked.

She sighed. “Well, we send a few officers there to verify that there’s a lake at all. Might be time to ask the League for funds to make a new station in Twinleaf,” She said. “Then we see if we can find any evidence at the scene, and if we find something substantial, we’ll contact the League about it.”

I frowned. “So you aren’t contacting the League now? Why?”

“Grace, when we first got this call, we thought this was a prank,” The officer said with a light chuckle. “Now that you showed up, we’re obligated to confirm your report, but… an organization? Sinnoh isn’t like Kanto. People don’t do that here.”

I scoffed in disbelief. “How could it hurt to at least tell them? So that they’re on high alert if something else comes up with these people? What if they actually hurt or kill someone next time?”

“No need to exaggerate, Grace,” The officer rolled her eyes. “The Circuit’s right around the corner, and we wouldn’t want to distract anyone with rumors.”

Feeling anger boil up inside of me, I stood up. “We’re done here, correct? You saw me cry, and you still think I’m lying? You’re beyond help.”

The officer let me out and muttered ‘teenagers’ under her breath as I left. Denzel was already waiting for me in the lobby and was seemingly as angry as I was. We talked on our way back to the Center.

“Arceus, these cops are so useless. They didn’t believe a word of what we said! I bet they’re not even actually sending anyone to the lake!” I said angrily.

“I can’t believe it. I thought the police would take care of this, but they don’t even want to try,” Denzel said.

“Can we tell anyone else? Rangers?”

“Rangers only take care of wild Pokemon going berserk too close to where trainers are. They wouldn’t be able to do anything about this,” He said. He paused for a second. “Maybe we could tell someone. A Gym Leader! All we need is to actually get to Oreburgh or Eterna. Those are the two closest Gyms.”

“Oreburgh is closer,” I said, remembering my time looking at my Poketch map. “Plus, we need to go there anyway, right?”

Denzel grinned as we approached the Pokemon Center. It was time to sign up for the League Circuit.

——

The process was more complicated than I thought it would be. First, I needed to get a full health check-up, including blood tests. Needles were not my forte, but I went through it anyway, relieved that it hadn’t hurt as much as I thought. That relief lasted for about ten minutes before a nurse brought a slew of vaccines I needed to take to protect myself against diseases. Those ones hurt.

Next, I needed to read through the entire terms of services page. Yes, I actually needed to read it. It essentially said that the League wasn’t responsible for anything that happened to us out in the wild, including death. That sobered me up a little, but I wasn’t going to change my mind. I signed at the end, and they took the form away.

Next, I got into a queue with a bunch of other kids. After a short wait, they took a picture of me. I was a little sad that I couldn’t have any makeup on for it, but at least it had come out really well. I watched as they quickly 3D printed my trainer card. The newest card model has a thin, digital screen that would tell you how many badges you had at all times, along with the amount of Pokedollars on your account— an account that I was forced to open. I put in everything I had, which wasn’t much: a few thousand Pokedollars.

Finally, I was given a Pokedex and taught how it worked. It was considered a trainer’s most important tool, showing you what potential moves your Pokemon could learn and the moves they already knew, along with crucial information about every Pokemon you scanned. It could be the difference between life and death in the wild.

The entire process took a few hours, but I was glad it was finally over. Being a part of the Circuit came with many advantages. All services at the Pokemon Center became free, and you would get a deposit of ten thousand Pokedollars to start your journey just to equalize the playing field a little. Supplies, food, potions; all of that added up very quickly, and if your parents weren’t able to help you with money, then you would be screwed. The money helped with that.

“Whew! All done!” I said, releasing Togepi.

“Togeprrri?” She said curiously.

“It’s finally done. I signed us up for the Circuit, Togepi! I’m officially a trainer!”

Togepi chirped and hopped around happily, garnering the reaction of many who fawned over how cute she was.

“Alright, princess. Stand still for a sec.”

I opened my Pokedex and scanned her.

Togepi, the spike ball Pokemon. As its energy, Togepi uses the positive emotions of compassion and pleasure exuded by people and Pokémon. This Pokémon stores up feelings of happiness inside its shell, then shares them with others.

Type: Fairy

Moves: Pound, Growl, Sweet Kiss, Rollout, Headbutt (click for more information)

Ability: Hustle (click for more information)

I was surprised by the Pokedex entry, but smiled at the confirmation that she had learned Headbutt.

“So you can share positive feelings, huh?”

“Prrri!”

I thought back to many little events after which I suddenly felt better for no apparent reason like arguments with my dad, missing an important show on T.V. Larger occurrences like what had happened with the Scyther or that Cyrus individual seemed to be too big to affect, however. Maybe she was still trying. Maybe without her, I would have been scarred.

I crouched and caressed her little crown, and she buried her face into my hand. I loved her, and we were going to go places.

“Thanks for taking care of me, princess.”

Our heart-to-heart ended as Denzel appeared in the lobby.

“All done?” He asked.

“Yup.”

“Great! I’m thinking of buying a Poketch with the money they gave me, but then again, I should probably save for actually important things for the journey,” Denzel said, rubbing his chin.

“Since you’re tight on money, I wouldn’t. You can use the Pokemon Center phones to call your parents— but I’m not trying to influence your decision, or whatever.”

“I’ll see when we get to Jubilife. Did you check out how awesome the Pokedex is, by the way? I just discovered that Eevee could have used Baby Doll Eyes the entire time, and that little bugger didn’t even try to tell me or anything.”

“Yeah, it’s awesome. Way more in-depth than I thought it’d be,” I replied.

“Anyway, before we set off for Jubilife, I believe you owe me a battle,” Denzel smiled.

I chortled. “I almost forgot. Let’s get to it then.”

——

I stood in one of the few battle arenas that littered Sandgem town. It was a rather small one, with a simple Pokeball design at its center. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and released Togepi. We hadn’t worked on any strategy, but I trusted myself and her to make the right decisions.

Denzel released Eevee and I watched as a large screen at the side of the arena counted down with a robotic voice.

“Three, two, one, begin!”

“Eevee, get closer with Quick Attack!” Denzel yelled.

“Don’t panic! Growl when he’s in range!”

Eevee began to glow white and became a blur. In just a few seconds, he crossed the entire length of the arena, and suddenly turned and began circling Togepi.

Togepi was struggling to keep up. I bit the inside of my lip. “Concentrate, Togepi!”

“Go!” Denzel yelled.

Eevee stopped, and used its hind leg to gain another burst of speed, barreling toward Togepi. He hit her side, but not before she got a Growl out, lowering the damage dealt.

I hid a wince as she got hit. “Shake it off! Use Sweet Kiss before he gets away!”

A pink heart escaped from her lips and drifted toward Eevee.

“Dodge—”

“Start rolling out! Block off his escape!”

Togepi collapsed into a ball and rolled toward Eevee, who chose to get hit by the confusing attack rather than take a rollout to the face.

“Great! Now keep gathering speed and then hit him with everything!” I yelled.

“Eevee! Eevee, snap out of it!”

Togepi rolled faster and faster and then hit her opponent, sending him flying.

Alright, keep the initiative, I thought.

“Keep it going! Follow him!”

“Quick Attack out of the way! Growl if you can’t!” Denzel said.

The Eevee landed on its feet and barely got out of the way. Togepi wasn’t able to stop and hit the wall.

“Hit her while she’s down!” He screamed.

“Don’t let him hit you without getting out unscathed! Pound!”

The two Pokemon both hit each other and brawled for a few seconds without using any particular moves.

I have to end it now. Togepi’s younger and getting tired.

“Alright, princess! Hit him with another Sweet Kiss!”

Sweet Kiss would get less and less effective the more it was used on one Pokemon, but we just needed a few seconds.

Another pink heart flew toward Eevee, who couldn’t dodge because of his proximity.

“Now, Headbutt!” I said.

Togepi ran as fast as she could on her two little legs and jumped at the last moment, aiming her crown toward her opponent. She hit him and hit him hard, but he still stood, and this time he was no longer confused. Denzel ordered another Quick Attack and that was that. Togepi was out for the count.

My shoulders sagged, and I hung my head. My first defeat in battle stung, but the words of my father echoed in my head.

“To be successful in life, you’ve got to be unafraid of failure.”

I hadn’t even realized it, but I was out of breath and sweating. I wasn’t even the one that had been fighting! This hadn’t happened in any of my previous battles.

“You were great, Togepi,” I told her as I recalled her. “Let’s get you healed up.”

Denzel finished celebrating with his Eevee and came to shake my hand.

“That was a great battle— wait, stop, you don’t have to give me money. Arceus, it was just a battle between friends,” He clarified as I searched through my backpack.

“Thank you,” I said.

“It was really close. It’s the first time Eevee had to work that hard for a win, and Togepi’s still a baby.”

“You went easy on me,” I accused him. “You didn’t use Baby Doll Eyes, which is faster than Growl. Plus, this wasn’t really the best terrain, because you couldn’t use Sand Attack, and—”

“I was going one hundred percent the entire time, I swear. I just panicked a little bit after that Sweet Kiss. That combo with rollout is nasty.”

“It’s pretty good,” I acquiesced. “But I’ve got to get better if I want to get past the first badge.”

“As do I. Now let’s get to a Center.”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 8

We waited a few hours for Togepi and Eevee to heal, and I used the opportunity to call dad to tell him I was back in Sandgem and that I’d be back in Jubilife soon. I also introduced him to Denzel and said that we’d be traveling together, and he seemingly did not approve. I got embarrassed because I knew exactly why, and I hung up on him before he could run his mouth. Just because we were the opposite sex didn’t mean we couldn’t just be friends.

Anyway, after getting Togepi back, I had one more thing to do before getting back on the road. Denzel was curious, so he came with me to observe. We made our way to the beach, then I rolled back my sleeves, took off my shoes, and dove into the water.

“What in the world are you doing?” He asked me.

“How haven’t you figured it out? I’m trying to bait a Pokemon to attack little old me,” I said. In reality, I was more scared than I let on. We were on the non-public side of the beach, which meant wild Pokemon would be there.

“You should have bought a fishing rod or something. Is this even deep enough?”

“Doesn’t hurt to try, right? You should probably do it too. We’re going to challenge Roark first, right? But we don’t have anything good against rock types. I’m just trying to remedy that.”

“I have a specific team in mind I’m trying to build, and the water type I want wouldn’t be here. But knock yourself out, I guess. All you’ll get is a Magikarp, probably.”

“I’d take a Magikarp. Who wouldn’t want a Gyarados?” I said, as I continued wading through the water.

“According to some stats I found online, only 5% of all Magikarp owners actually manage to evolve them.”

“Why? Does it take some super rare stone or something?” I asked.

“The exact method isn’t known, but it just takes a lot of time. And by time, I mean years, where all you have on your team is a Magikarp that can’t fight.”

“Okay, that does sound awful,” I agreed. “But all I’m saying is that Gyarados are really—”

I felt a shiver run down my spine. Something cold touched my leg and I felt tired. Denzel noticed, jumped into the water, and dragged me out. I could barely keep my eyes open, but I saw a blue pokemon with five tentacles, shining red eyes and some kind of light blue collar around its neck. I grabbed my Pokedex and scanned it.

Frillish, the floating Pokemon. It wraps its veillike arms and legs around prey swimming by, uses its ghostly powers to tire them out, and drags them down to the depths of the ocean.

Type: Water, Ghost

I’d only be able to see its moves and ability if I managed to capture it. It hovered over the water and began to approach us. I saw Denzel grab his Pokeball, but I stopped him. This was my fight. I released Togepi.

“Sorry about this,” I told her. “I know you just got healed, but I need you for this fight.”

“Prri!” She said, determined to help me.

You’re too nice to me, I thought.

The Frillish’s eyes shone brighter as it yelled and launched a stream of bubble toward Togepi.

Was that bubble? No, it’s too fast, it’s—

“Togepi, roll out of the way, then stop!”

The Bubblebeam attack pounded the ground and threw a good amount of sand all over me. Our opponent kept throwing out bubble attacks while I was trying to find a way to bait it toward Togepi so I could deal damage to it.

An idea formed in my head. I got back into the water and watched it smile gleefully as it floated toward me. It attacked me with another Bubblebeam, but I dove underwater, avoiding the attack by the skin of my teeth. I slowly made my way toward Togepi and waved my arms to keep the Frillish’s attention.

As soon as it got close enough, I dove to the side.

“Use Sweet Kiss, Togepi!”

The heart barely avoided me and confused the Frillish, who moved haphazardly. It began hovering over the sand, and now I knew I had it.

“Headbutt it!”

“Prrri!”

Togepi jumped and hit the Frillish as fast as she could. The Pokemon fell to the ground onto the shining sand, and I threw an empty ball at it.

“Get closer and prepare to Sweet Kiss and Headbutt again if it breaks out,” I warned.

The Pokeball shook once, twice, and finally, three times. I laughed in disbelief. I had caught my first Pokemon!

——

Moves: Bubblebeam, Night Shade, Absorb, Water Sport.

Ability: Water Absorb

As we waited in the Center, I was giddy when I saw my new team member’s moves. This was a perfect moveset for my future battle against Roark, and it would seriously add to my long range offensive abilities. Denzel had berated me for using myself as a distraction to trick the Frillish, but it had been worth it. I felt like I was making real progress now.

We finally made our way back to route 202, and that meant I had to start getting familiar with Frillish before we reached Jubilife. Trainers were obligated to have their Pokemon under control if they wanted to release them in cities— and even then, some Pokemon were considered too dangerous. Regardless, I released Frillish from his ball, and he started attacking us right away. A ghostly replica appeared in front of him and rushed toward me. I managed to recall him just in time for the attack to dissipate before hitting me.

“That was Night Shade,” I said with a shaky voice. “I wasn’t expecting it to hate me that much.”

“It always depends on the Pokemon. Sometimes, they’ll warm up to you real quick, like my Eevee. Other times, well… they try to kill you repeatedly.” Denzel explained.

“Let’s try again.”

After releasing Togepi just in case, I freed my new teammate from his ball again, this time at a distance.

“Frillish! I’m sorry I tricked you and caught you, but I really need your help. We can be friends—”

A stream of bubbles exploded where I stood just a second ago. I cursed under my breath and continued.

“Ok. I get it; not friends. I still want us to be a team.” I pointed to Togepi. “She’s my Pokemon, just like you now—”

His eyes shone, and he flew toward me. I returned him again.

“Okay, ownership seems to be a no-no,” I said.

“It didn’t attack you right away this time,” Denzel pointed out. “That’s progress.”

I nodded and released Frillish.

“Alright, I’m sorry. I think I know what the problem is. I still want you to help me on my journey, but I won’t force you to do anything. If you don’t want to do something, I won’t make you. That’s already how I treat Togepi, but I guess the wording I used confused you,” I said. I spoke slowly, and methodically, expecting to get attacked at any moment. The attack never came. “I won’t force you to battle or train if you don’t want to. But I’ll keep you fed and healthy, and maybe if you change your mind one day, we can be partners.”

Frillish paused and nodded slowly. I did the same.

“So, uh— do you want to stay out? Or I can return you to your ball,” I asked hesitantly.

Frilish bobbed his head and gestured toward the ball, and I obliged. Denzel breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“That was impressive. I thought it’d take much longer for you to convince it,” He said.

“Him,” I clarified. “But you’re right, I’m also surprised. I was winging it the entire time. I honestly thought I’d take a Bubblebeam to the face at some point and that we’d have to rush me to the Center.”

“And yet you still tried.”

“No risk, no reward.”

We resumed our journey, battling a few trainers and wild Pokemon along the way. Denzel did most of the fighting, and for every battle, I had Frillish out to observe how Togepi and I fought. He didn’t look interested, often drifting off in the wind and looking somewhere else. Either way, I was happy he wasn’t attacking me anymore, but I couldn’t help but watch my back every time he was out. Something about his eyes disturbed me. They were both carefree and intense at the same time somehow, and I couldn’t help but break eye contact every time I talked to him, something I’d have to fix if I wanted to gain his respect. Frillish seemed not to hate Togepi as much as me, however, and I’d seen them talk a few times. I wish I knew about what.

We took the long road around the woods I had found Scyther in. Denzel was interested in going in and trying to fight, but I dissuaded him. Scyther were ruthless predators, and extremely quick. If it decided to come after us instead of our Pokemon, it would be impossible to dodge. Eventually, however, we finally made it back to Jubilife.

I took a deep breath, smelling the city air. “Home sweet home,” I said.

Denzel was speechless. This was his first time in a city, and considering it was the biggest one in Sinnoh and home to hundreds of thousands, it must have been a big culture shock. We stopped by one of the Centers to heal our Pokemon and shower, and then we grabbed a bite in a restaurant close by.

“So what now?” I asked, shoving a handful of fries in my mouth. “Every Center is packed. You’ll have to wait to get a room.”

“I can buy a few nights at a hotel with League money, it’s not a problem.”

I pointed a fry toward him. “You’re weird. You never ask for any help. Is it, like, an independence thing?”

He laughed and took a sip of his drink. “So straightforward. No, I just don’t want to intrude in your house when it’s not necessary.”

“What if I told you I didn’t have a problem with it,” I said.

“I know you wouldn’t, but your dad?”

“Eh, my dad will come around. He’s a big softie.”

“If you say so… but if he gets mad at you, I hold no responsibility. Thank you, though, I really appreciate it.”

“Gotcha. Our couch can turn into a bed, so you should be fine.”

After we finished up our meal, Denzel decided to go and buy a Poketch. He bought an older model to save money, and then we took a bus ride home for free— another benefit of being a League trainer. We reached my apartment, and I showed him around. It’d be a while before my dad came back. I wanted to show Frillish around too, but I was scared he’d make a mess since he wasn’t used to… civilization.

“It’s pretty small, but it looks cozy,” Denzel commented. “Can I let Eevee out?”

I nodded and also let Togepi out, who was ecstatic to be back home.

“Shouldn’t we let your dad know about this before he comes back from work?” He asked.

“I’ll call him. I just need to change into my PJs first. Oh, crap, are you alright with your clothes, by the way?”

Trainers usually traveled with clothes that were fit for living in the wild, not cities. That meant that he wouldn’t have something comfortable to sleep with.

“Don’t worry about it, you’ve done enough. Sleeping with normal clothes won’t kill me.”

I left him in the living room and changed in my bedroom, putting on shorts and one of dad’s t-shirts that were way too big for me that I had stolen. I let my hair down, placed Frillish’s ball on my desk, and called my dad.

“Grace? I’m a little busy at the moment, so make it quick if possible,” He said.

“Hey dad. Remember how I told you I was going to travel with my friend for the Circuit? Denzel from Twinleaf?”

“Yeah?”

“Great! Well, we’re back in Jubilife, and since all the Centers are full, I decided to let him stay with us until the start of the Circuit—”

“Excuse me?” He interrupted, incredulous.

“He’s actually already here, and it’d be really rude to kick him out—”

“So I have no say in this?”

“You owe me for delivering Herdier’s Vitamins and reconciling with mom, and I’m cashing in the favor now.”

“No, we should talk about this—”

“Hello? Dad? You’re breaking up.”

“Grace, don’t you dare—”

“Okaythankyoubye—”

I hung up. That could have gone better, but he’d come around. Denzel and I spent the rest of the day watching television and browsing the Circuit forums. We created profiles and verified our accounts using our trainer cards. I didn’t want to post anything, preferring to just lurk on the forums and observe the different posts and comments. Meanwhile, Denzel started commenting under a lot of posts. According to him, it was to start getting his name out there.

“Being a good trainer is half the work,” He said before pausing. “Alright, that sounded wrong. Let’s say it’s two-thirds of the work. But you also have to build connections, and not only with other trainers. Sometimes, rich people use the forums and bet on who’s getting the furthest that year, or they even sponsor you and pay for a lot of your expenses.”

“Holy crap, really? You’re not pulling my leg, are you?”

“No, I swear. Oh, speaking of sponsorships, look,” He said, showing me his brand-new Poketch. “Cecilia Obel is sponsored by a bunch of big names. The Bianchi family, Tanaka Ikeda, and Carla White.”

“I have no idea who any of those people are,” I said with a blank expression.

“And I’m the one from the middle of nowhere,” Denzel joked.

“I don’t care anyway. I’m going to become the Champion without any help from these bigwigs. Plus, I feel like we talk about this Obel girl too much.”

Never mind that I was probably more intrigued with her than I wanted to be, I thought.

We kept hanging out for the rest of the day, and then dad came back.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 9

Dad yelled out my name immediately as soon as he entered our apartment.

“Let me do the talking,” I told Denzel. “You just nod and smile unless he addresses you directly, alright?”

“Got it,” He answered, adjusting the shirt collar around his neck.

I had dealt with an angry father a thousand times before, and that meant I had learned how to diffuse the situation effectively. First, I placed Togepi on the ground and watched as she ran toward the door with a joyous chirp. It had been two weeks since she had seen my dad— the longest she had ever gone without seeing him.

“Grace!” Dad yelled out again as his stomps got louder in the hallway. I could tell exactly when he noticed Togepi because he suddenly stopped walking, then greeted her. His steps were lighter now, so that was part one of the plan completed. There was no way to stay angry with a cute little Togepi at your feet.

He entered the living room with her in one arm and groceries in the other.

“Answer me when I call you, damn it!” He scolded. Dad nodded toward Denzel. “Is this—”

“Togeprrri!” Togepi chirped, waving her hands needily. That meant she wanted a hug.

Dad put down his groceries and obliged her. “So you’re Denzel?” He asked, much calmer.

“Yes, sir,” Denzel answered.

“He has no place to stay, dad,” I started, getting straight to the point. “And his parents aren’t supporting him financially because they disapprove of his decision to participate in the Circuit. It’d be rude not to house him.”

“You could have told me beforehand.”

“You would have said no,” I said.

“Maybe not! You don’t know that,” He said.

I stared him straight in the face, letting him know I could see through his obvious lie.

“Ok, maybe I wouldn’t have,” Dad admitted. “But I pay rent here, so I should decide who gets to stay.”

“Togepi likes him a lot. Plus, she’s just started getting friendly with his Eevee.”

Dad groaned and then looked at Togepi. I could almost see the gears turning in his head, deciding if making his second daughter sad was worth punishing me for my actions. But I knew he couldn’t resist that stare. Nobody could.

“Fine,” Dad sighed. “But I reserve the right to change my mind at any moment. And I don’t want his Eevee on the couch. Fur’s hard to clean up, and since I wasn’t expecting this, I don’t have a lint roller.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” I squealed as I rammed into him with a hug. “Thank you so much dad, you won’t regret it.”

“I already do.”

——

Dad asked us to put away the groceries while he showered, so we did so while letting Togepi and Eevee mingle. Her efforts to get closer to the little furry Pokemon were bearing fruit. Eevee would act angry while she would play around with his fluffy tail, but Denzel told me he secretly enjoyed it. I would still need to show dad Frillish at some point, so I’d also have to figure that out.

“I wouldn’t call that being a softie, by the way,” Denzel said. “His glare was terrifying, and his tone… my dad’s not like that at all.”

“Eh, that’s because you don’t know him,” I said as I placed dad’s beers in the fridge. “I know what makes him tick, so I can plan around whatever made him angry in the first place. Don’t let him know that.”

“Obviously I won’t. But still, it’s usually my mom who yells at me and stuff, and she’s way smaller than I am. I guess I’m just not used to it.”

“My dad wouldn’t hurt a Cutiefly, don’t worry about him. He’ll warm up to you soon enough when I tell him how big of a help you were in the wild,” I smiled. “Plus, notice how he bought all of this food? I bet you he did it because we didn’t have enough food for three people tonight.”

“By the way,” I continued, suddenly getting serious. “This goes without saying, but not a word about what happened at Lake Verity.”

Denzel nodded, and we finished putting the groceries away in silence. Dad came out of the shower and started cooking a big dinner for all of us— Pokemon included. It was somewhat awkward, but at least he and Denzel were making small talk, mostly about his parents, life back in Twinleaf, and our trip back to Jubilife. I would sometimes interject and compliment my friend about his trainer or survival skills. By the end of the night, dad was talking to Denzel like they’d known each other for years.

Ok, maybe that was an exaggeration, but they were friendly with each other. The next few days went back quickly and were spent introducing Denzel to the city and its facilities designed to train your Pokemon. There were dozens of arenas where trainers could battle or gyms that had targets to train your Pokemon on. I battled a few trainers there, and I won the majority of my battles. People here were better than people on Route 202 or 201, and every battle was extremely close. Even Denzel lost a battle to a guy with a Teddiursa.

He was focusing on battles more than I was. He would stay in arenas as long as he could, getting Eevee to be as strong as possible before the Circuit started. Me, however? Just like yesterday, I walked through the gate to route 202 and released my Frillish. He stared at me and began floating in the wind.

“Hey buddy,” I said before releasing Togepi. “Let’s hang out.”

“Prrri!” Togepi chirped happily.

It seemed silly at first. How did you get a Pokemon to warm up to you? Well, as the internet answered when I looked it up on my Poketch, it was something that changed on a case-by-case basis. There were no easy answers, no skips, no special items or berries that would speed up the process. So I decided that we’d just… hang out. I sat on the grass and sliced a bit of Oran with my knife.

“Want some?” I asked Togepi. She chirped, and I fed her. I cut another slice and looked at Frillish. “You want some too?”

The blue Pokemon bobbed his head up and down, and I threw him a few bits of Oran, which he caught mid-air. I still wasn’t able to touch him because then he would always start draining my energy with Absorb, so I had to feed him this way. I struggled to understand how Frillish thought. He was fine with just staying with me, but touching wasn’t allowed? I sighed. At least I wasn’t worried about him attacking me anymore, and I was getting more comfortable with eye contact.

After finishing the Oran berry, Frillish started levitating away. I raised an eyebrow and then followed him. He was floating at a leisurely pace, and I turned down challengers from a few trainers, mostly because I was scared Frillish would go too far and kill their Pokemon. One of the first things most trainers needed to instill in a Pokemon they had just caught was that battling trainers was different than just battling wild Pokemon, and seeing as I still hadn’t even talked that much with Frillish, that was a lesson for another time.

“Toge? Togepi?” Togepi asked. At first, I thought she was talking to me, but it appeared she was addressing Frillish. Needless to say, he didn’t answer. Looking back, I had never even heard him talk.

I kept following him until I reached a small creak. He dove into the water, and for a second, I got nervous. I imagined the worst. Was he going to run away and try to escape? Thankfully, he just stayed there and chilled with his head peeking out of the water.

“Do you miss the ocean?” I asked.

Frillish looked at me and threw a little bit of water at my face. I flinched, thinking it was an attack, but it was just a normal, low-pressure jet of water.

“Does that mean yes?” I continued, wiping water off my face. He didn’t answer. “I seriously don’t get you, dude.”

I paused for a few seconds and smiled.

“Want to come back here tomorrow?”

“...lish” He murmured.

——

Denzel Williams was on top of the world.

Throughout his stay at Jubilife, he had been in sixteen battles, and he had won fifteen of them. The last one had been particularly close, and if he had anticipated that Teddiursa knowing Bulk Up, he would have won, he was sure of it. Instead of playing it safe with Sand Attack from a distance, he would have immediately rushed in with Quick Attack, and Eevee’s brand new move, Bite.

Regardless, he and Eevee had kept it close. Denzel was steadily building his reputation among Jubilife’s new trainers waiting for the Circuit to start, and that would go a long way. The teenager smiled. All of that was far off in the future. First, it was time for another day of battling. He stepped into the large, stadium-like building and saw a number of trainers already battling among the many arenas. He also noticed a few heads turn as he walked toward an empty battlefield and had to stop himself from getting too giddy.

Just you watch mom, he thought. I’ll make you eat your words.

The first two battles went as he had learned to expect. Eevee was on top of his game and only got hit once by a Piplup’s Bubble attack. He had taught him to use Quick Attack defensively without his command, and it was paying off. Most Pokemon couldn’t land a hit on him.

“Great job, Eevee! Keep it up, just a few more.”

Eevee barked at him, clearly prideful about his performance. He loved that little Pokemon, and he couldn’t wait to see how far they’d get.

“Attention!” Denzel heard a yell near the entrance. “Who’s the strongest trainer in here?”

He frowned and observed as a short-haired teen with his cap on backward strode in the building like he owned the place. Denzel rolled his eyes and minded his own business, applying a potion where Eevee had gotten hit. There were always these types of trainers that thought they’d dominate the Circuit before they got knocked down a peg. He waited for a few minutes, hoping a new challenger would approach him, but people had started avoiding him.

“Yo,” He heard to his left. “I heard you’re the strongest kid in here.” The same person who had caused the earlier ruckus approached him with unmatched confidence. He was slightly shorter than him, but looked extremely fit.

“I might be, but I’ve only been here for a few days,” Denzel replied dryly. He disliked these kinds of people. It was fine to be confident, but keep that confidence unchecked, and it would quickly grow into arrogance.

“Battle me and I’ll show all of these losers you’re worth nothing,” The teen with the cap said.

“Oh?” Denzel answered, feeling anger build up inside of him. “Sure, I’ll battle you.”

“Thank you for being a stepping stone for my ultimate goal of becoming the Champion. I just got here, and I need to make a big splash,” He smirked.

“One on one,” Denzel hissed.

“Sounds good to me!”

They each got into position and sent out their Pokemon. Eevee was already out of his ball, so he had sensed his trainer’s anger and was growling in a battle-ready position.

“Your time to shine, Ri,” He said with a bored look on his face as he sent out a Riolu.

The screen counted down and as soon as it hit zero, Denzel barked out the first move.

“Eevee, rush him with Quick Attack and then Sand Attack!”

Surrounded by a white glow, the little brown Pokemon became a blur and dashed toward the Riolu. He had gotten faster, and Denzel struggled to follow him with his eyes now.

“Ah, just deal with it, Riolu. I can’t be bothered.” He said, waving his hand in dismissal.

Denzel clenched his teeth as Eevee used his front paws to throw sand in the Riolu’s eyes. It simply backstepped out of range, and then a small bone grew out of its hand.

“Eevee, keep going! Hit him!” Denzel said.

Eevee listened, and with a jump, he hit Riolu’s torso with Quick Attack. The Riolu, however, didn’t even flinch. He grabbed Eevee’s head, locking him in place.

“Eevee, Bite him! Get out of there!” Denzel screamed, his voice faltering.

With impressive strength, Riolu threw Eevee into the air and slammed him with his bone like a baseball, sending him flying back toward Denzel. It shimmered and rushed forward, positioning himself directly under where Eevee was about to fall.

That was Quick Attack, Denzel thought. So much faster than ours, but what was that bone move?

Denzel snapped out of his thoughts. There was no way for Eevee to dodge what was coming, but maybe—

“Eevee, listen to my voice! Use Baby Doll Eyes!” He screamed. Eevee didn’t move, sending a wave of panic over Denzel’s body. What was going on?

Riolu’s palm shone with a pale blue light, hitting Eevee once again. Denzel couldn’t believe it. His Pokemon was lying unconscious in the dirt, having lost after two attacks. Sure there was the type advantage, but that had been so quick. And Riolu hadn’t even received any commands!

“Well, that was boring. I got my hopes up a little bit after hearing that you were the strongest here, but you’re just as bad as everybody else,” His opponent said, returning Riolu.

Denzel just stayed silent. He couldn’t believe it. The loss wasn’t the issue, the issue was how hard he had lost. He returned Eevee and noticed the small crowd of trainers that had gathered to watch their match. They were whispering among themselves— some of them were even laughing.

“Well, that should be enough. Onto the next arena facility then!” The teen said. He walked off but turned back before leaving the building. “Oh, and the name’s Chase Karlson. Remember it, losers, because you’ll be watching me on the big screen after the first Gym’s sent you packing. See ya!”

The crowd dispersed and people slowly went back to battling. Denzel gnawed on his thumb nail the entire way to the Pokemon Center. He opened up his Poketch and looked up Chase on the forums, hoping that he was some experienced trainer that had signed up for the Circuit again. Deep down though, he already knew the answer. He was fifteen, and it was his first time in the Circuit. There was nothing else on him, but his following had supposedly skyrocketed these past few days after he went around and beat up everything in his path with his Riolu without ordering it a single time during any battle.

How had he gotten so good? Denzel thought.

Failure was a good thing. Something that was always hard to experience but that trainers could grow from. And yet when a loss was so complete and total, without the opportunity to even theorize what had gone wrong, without even entertaining the idea that a battle could have gone a different way, a little thing would start to crawl into your mind. Slowly at first, and then it would become completely unstoppable.

For the first time, Denzel Williams began to doubt himself.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 10

The next few weeks were a blur. I spent most of them getting closer with Frillish. I discovered that even though ghost types didn't need to eat, he was a glutton. He’d eat anything I threw toward him, and his stomach was seemingly bottomless. There was unfortunately still no progress on him letting me touch him. Surprisingly, he didn’t misbehave when I introduced him to dad, or Jubilife city, although the sensory overload was too much for him, and he asked to be put in his ball soon enough. Dad, for all his praise about me catching a second team member so soon, seemed to dislike him. When I asked him why, he simply said he hated ghost types. How silly.

Denzel was changing up his strategy, deciding to train in the wild on route 202, going out for days at a time before coming back. Togepi’s jumping Headbutt— which was now her main attack— was getting stronger and stronger. I didn’t want to put all of my eggs in the rollout basket because when she evolved, it would be impossible to use the move. We also started working on a new move called Fairy Wind. My Pokedex told me it was one of the fairy moves Togepi could learn, and it would be great to give her a bit of variety and range. Unfortunately though, it was kind of a shot in the dark. Togepi tried her best, but the amount of wind she was making was barely enough to even bother me, so right now, it would do nothing against another Pokemon.

Finally though, September 1st rolled around. Children younger than fifteen would be going back to school, but for us? It was time for the League Circuit to begin.

“You’ll call me when you reach Oreburgh, right? Straight away!” Dad sobbed.

“Yes, dad, I will. Please don’t cry, you’re embarrassing me,” I said, trying not to tear up. “Plus, when we’re done in Oreburgh, we have to go back through Jubilife anyway, so cheer up!”

Dad sniffled and then nodded. Denzel stood by my side, acting like he couldn’t see what was going on to spare me the embarrassment. We stood at the gate to route 203, along with hundreds of young trainers and their parents going through the same thing we were: saying goodbye. Some trainers had already left days, or even weeks earlier, to be able to challenge Roark as soon as the Circuit began. Denzel and I had decided against it so I could spend more time with my father. I was thankful for that because I could tell he wanted to leave early. Something was bothering him, but I couldn’t tell what.

“And call me before your gym battle! Both of you!” Dad continued.

Denzel’s eyes widened. “Um, of course, sir.”

“Come on, Denzel. Enough with the sirs. You’re just making me feel old,” Dad said. He clapped both of our shoulders. “I believe in both of you. You’ll go far. I can feel it in my gut.”

I hugged dad and told him I loved him. He did the same. We started to leave before dad called out one more time.

“And Denzel! Take care of Grace for me!”

My cheeks reddened, and I dragged Denzel past the gate’s exit before he had time to answer. Route 203 lay before us, along with hundreds of trainers and their Pokemon. It was honestly overwhelming to see this many people, all heading in the same direction. The route was relatively simple and well maintained by Rangers because it was often the first route a trainer would actually go through, so unless we strayed off the road, there would be very little to worry about in terms of wild Pokemon until we reached Oreburgh gate. Denzel and I had estimated it would take three days to get to the cave if we weren’t stopped by too many trainers looking to battle, and another day and a half to get through Oreburgh gate.

The first few hours were uneventful. We mostly kept to ourselves. There were a few incidents between trainers, however. Apparently, someone’s aggressive Phanphy had gone on a rampage and wounded a few people and their Pokemon further up the route, and had to be neutralized by four trainers at the same time. Phanphy’s owner had gotten furious and started a fight, and chaos ensued. It was scary to hear about, but it also taught me a valuable lesson. Not every trainer would be as diligent as I had been with Frillish, making sure that they stayed in their ball if I wasn’t confident there wouldn’t be an accident. Some trainers were rash, or immature, and didn’t think before they acted.

We had to take a few breaks after a few hours of walking. Route 203 went permanently uphill, so it drained our energy faster than a normal route. We sat near the side of the forest that surrounded the route.

“You know, this is kind of anticlimactic so far, isn’t it?” Denzel said.

“I’d rather this be anticlimactic than too dangerous. This was expected. There’s no way the League would still exist if a bunch of teenagers died every year at the first route they went through.”

“Yeah…” Denzel answered, trailing off. “I was thinking though, how about not following the route for a little?”

I frowned. “How? It’s a straight path to Oreburgh gate, so it’d make no sense. We would just be wasting time.”

“Well, it isn't exactly a shortcut. In fact, we might be wasting a few days in there, but there’s a certain Pokemon I want to look for. Remember when I said I already had a team in mind?”

I nodded and took a swig out of my water bottle.

“The first one on my list is a Budew, and they can apparently be found here. I thought I’d just find one on the normal route, but the Rangers seemingly went extra hard on keeping wild Pokemon out of the way here this year. If I ever want to beat Roark’s rock types, then I’ll need a new team member anyway. You already have Frillish, but I only have Eevee.”

“Ah,” I said, suddenly understanding. “Well, I don’t like it, but I said we’d travel together right? So I’ll follow you and help you out.”

Denzel’s face brightened. Had he expected me to say no? “Thank you, Grace. How about leaving the route after our break? I want to catch one as early as possible so I have time to train it before Roark.”

“Sounds good. I’ll use the opportunity to see if Frillish feels like fighting any wild Pokemon.”

“How’s it looking with him? You were almost always out of Jubilife when you used him,” Denzel asked as he glanced at the Pokeball on my hip.

“I like him. He’s certainly stubborn and weird, but he’s my stubborn and weird friend, y’know? Plus, he’s kind of cute if you look at him the right way. We’ve been connecting more and more.”

Denzel scoffed. “I wouldn’t call him cute. Menacing, maybe. Anyway, I certainly hope the Budew I catch is easier to manage than that. Otherwise, I’ll have to spend weeks in Oreburgh just trying to get it to listen to me.”

“You were good with Eevee, right?” I asked.

“Yeah, I was,” My friend said, looking at the sky. “I told you I rescued him, right?” I nodded. “I don’t know what he got attacked by, but when I found him on route 201, he was barely breathing. I took him back home and my family and I nursed him back to health. I tried releasing him afterward, but he wouldn’t leave my side,” Denzel continued, putting his hand on his Pokeball affectionally. “So I decided to keep him. He didn’t even have a Pokeball for an entire year.”

“Woah,” I said. “You did a great thing. I don’t know if I’d try to save an injured wild Pokemon I randomly came across.”

Denzel sighed. “Pokemon… they can be your greatest friend, but the world they live in is ruthless. It’s kill or be killed. I honestly feel bad for them. Could you imagine Togepi trying to survive in the wild?”

I shook my head.

“Hey y’all,” A short trainer waved toward us. “Fancy a battle?”

“You can go ahead,” I told Denzel. He had battled much more than me back in Jubilife, and I expected him to do the same during our journey.

“Uh— I’m good, actually. Not feeling it,” He stuttered with a nervous laugh.

“Mind if I take this one, then?” I asked, noting his strange behavior. I thought I was imagining things, but he had been… timid when it came to battling for a few weeks now.

I faced the challenger and sent out Togepi. I considered sending out Frillish, but I decided against it. It would be better to be safe and try him out in a battle against a wild Pokemon instead of a trainer. A quick Sweet Kiss, Headbutt combo made quick work of his Plusle, but not before it shocked Togepi with Thundershock. It was a quick battle, but I was surprised at how much damage a single attack had done on Togepi. I thought about it for a while as we finished our break until I figured it out. Togepi’s shell was excellent at mitigating damage from physical attacks, but she was still vulnerable to special attacks. There wasn’t much of a solution to this problem right now, and Togepi was slower than most attacks, so there was no way she could dodge unless she was using rollout and building up speed for a decent while. Luckily, rock type moves were mostly physical, so I wouldn’t have to worry about it for a while.

We passed through the thick tree line and started looking for a Budew. Denzel released his Eevee, and I released Frillish, who looked extremely irritated that he was in such a dense forest. I was starting to be able to tell how he felt using his body language. It mostly had to do with how bright or dim his eyes were, and how tense he was while floating.

“Sorry buddy,” I told him. “Togepi’s resting right now, so I wanted to ask you if you were alright with helping us out?”

Frillish’s eyes dimmed, and he slowly bobbed his head.

“Thanks,” I told him. “I’ll give you a lot of food later. Maybe we can even get some poffins when we get to Oreburgh.”

“Fri…”

We continued looking for hours. Luckily for us, this forest was relatively well maintained and it was nowhere near as hard to walk through as the woods on route 202 had been. Frillish dealt with most Pokemon from a distance with a few Bubblebeams or Night Shades, while Eevee took care of the grass types with Bites and Quick Attacks. To my delight, Frillish was starting to listen to what I said during battles. Only starting, because sometimes he’d follow every move by the letter, and other times he would just do whatever he wanted. I had to stop him from killing a few wild Pokemon— apparently, that’s how he was used to eating. He would knock a Pokemon out and then start draining all of its energy with Absorb. I suppose that was why he was so enamored with the taste of normal food. I doubted pure energy tasted like anything.

“Grace! Stand still and quiet,” Denzel whispered, interrupting my train of thought. He pointed to my right with a trembling finger.

Five green Pokemon looking like plant buds with yellow faces on their bottom half were waddling through the forest alongside a small pond. I scanned them with my Pokedex.

Budew, the Bud Pokemon. When the sun’s light strengthens, the bud atop this Pokémon’s head opens, releasing toxic pollen. This can be a sign to the people that the harsh winter is over, and the season of budding has begun.

Type: Grass, Poison

“I’m going to need your help keeping the rest of its group off of Eevee,” Denzel whispered to me. I responded with a determined nod.

Denzel gestured to Eevee and called him to his side and then gestured toward the biggest Budew of the group. He grabbed an empty Pokeball, and Eevee started to shine.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 11

With a growl, Eevee rammed into the biggest Budew walking at the back of the group. They all shrieked and started attacking him.

“Night Shade!” I yelled out to Frillish.

A ghostly, ethereal form appeared in front of Frillish and hit two Budew. Eevee was dodging as best he could, but he was starting to slow down after inhaling spores.

“Change of plans, Eevee! Deal with the small ones first!” Denzel said.

Eevee barked and bit hard into one of the Budew. The group’s attention was now focused entirely on us. I swore in pain as seeds slammed into my abdomen. I coughed and fell to the ground.

“Fuck! Eevee, hurry up!”

My vision was swimming, but I heard a Bubblebeam come out of Frillish’s mouth. I slowly crawled behind a tree and heaved myself up. With a few ragged breaths, I released Togepi, who immediately rushed to my side, her face warped with worry.

“Keep it going! You’ve— fuck, fuck, fuck!” I heard Denzel scream with rage. “Get back!”

I heard a dozen of small impacts scatter throughout the battlefield— most likely that seed attack that had hit me.

“I need you… to help them,” I croaked. “Sorry… I know you’re hurt, so just try to use Sweet Kiss.”

Togepi screeched in anger and joined the battle. I peeked my head and looked at what was going on. Three Budew had fainted, but the largest one was still fighting hard, ejecting seeds toward Frillish and spores toward Eevee. Togepi’s Sweet Kiss hit the smaller one, who immediately received a Night Shade to the face and fainted.

“Get behind him and Quick Attack! We’re almost there!” Denzel yelled out.

Eevee circled around his opponent, much like he had done to Togepi during our first battle. The Budew shrieked, and plants around it began to wither. Eevee crashed to the ground, as did Frillish.

“Togepi… Headbutt.” I said.

She obliged and rammed into the raging Budew, who stopped whatever it was doing. Denzel fumbled around his bag and threw a Pokeball at it. The ball shook amidst the deafening, post-battle silence. One time… two times…

Budew broke out of the ball, but Eevee was back on his feet and bit its bulb. I returned Frillish, who was out for the count, and told Togepi to use Sweet Kiss on Budew. After a few more attacks from both Togepi and Eevee, Budew finally fell to the ground and was caught by Denzel.

——

“How does it look, doc?” I asked Denzel jokingly. My chuckle turned into a painful cough. Laughing hurts. Got it, I thought. “Oof, this sucks.”

Denzel— who was looking at my stomach area— was extremely apologetic. He kept saying it was his fault, and that we shouldn’t have attacked such a big group.

“Lesson learned,” I simply told him. “Now tell me if it’s bad or not.”

“Well, it’s very… purple. I think your entire midriff area’s going to turn into a giant bruise.”

“Damn it,” I swore in frustration. “This is going to suck so bad. How’s Eevee?”

“Poisoned. He could barely stand, so I retrieved him, but we have antidotes and potions for that. Worry about yourself.”

“Well, I’ll live,” I said. I wanted to appear strong so that I wouldn’t slow us down, but in reality, I was terrified. I felt like if I stood, I would throw up because of the pain. “What kind of Budew even was that? A Budew on steroids?” I said sarcastically.

“I never expected it to be so strong, but it was the leader of the group, so it makes sense. I guess I underestimated how strong Pokemon in this forest would be. They’re somewhat passive, but if you attack them… Arceus,” Denzel sighed. “Sorry. I should have been more careful.”

“You should have,” I reprimanded him. “This is going to slow us down. I— I’m not going to lie, I don’t even know if I can walk.”

Denzel grabbed a towel from his bag, soaked it in water, and pressed it on my giant bruise. He asked me if I wanted to get back to Jubilife.

“Just let me rest a lil’,” I said. I released Frillish— who was barely staying afloat— and Togepi. “Hey, if you’re really as sorry as you say, do me a favor and heal my team.”

“Sure,” He murmured.

Denzel did just that, using multiple potions on my Frillish and Togepi. He used the opportunity to heal his Eevee as well.

“What about the little beast?” I asked before leaning back against the tree. The little movement caused the pain to flare up, and I hissed.

“Budew? Now’s not the time. That battle was intense, and we essentially robbed it of her family here… I think it’ll be a while before she even lets me talk to her without attacking me right away, and I don’t want to risk that with your wound.”

“Makes sense. What move was that, by the way? I’ve never seen it in any battles I watched,” I asked. The truth was, I didn’t really care, but anything to distract me would be good.

Denzel opened his Pokedex. “Bullet Seed. Hold on, let me get the description… ah, there it is. The user forcefully shoots seeds at the foe. Two to five seeds are shot in rapid succession.”

“I’m pretty sure that was five,” I said, holding the wet towel against myself. “What else does it have?”

“Poison Powder, Stun Spore, Growth, and Absorb,” Denzel answered. “Quite the powerful moveset.”

I glanced at the dead, withered plants surrounding where Budew had last stood. “That Absorb… it was way more powerful than Frillish’s. And Budew used it at a distance too, while Frillish has to make contact with his target.”

Denzel tapped his chin for a few seconds. “I think that’s just because Budew’s a grass type, and Frillish isn’t. I read online that moves of a Pokemon’s type will always be more powerful. Plus, I’m pretty sure it used Growth.”

“Makes sense,” I said. The silence settled in again, and I felt the dull ache flare up again. “Ow, um, can you distract me? Talk about something. Anything?”

The next few hours were painful, but Denzel tried his best to keep my mind focused on something else. With his help, I eventually managed to stand up, although I almost cried from the pain. I leaned against his shoulder, and we managed to get back to route 203. I was in no shape to keep going for the day, so we ended up deciding to set up camp and stay here for a few days. Sometimes, he would go back in the forest to train with Eevee or attempt to get on more… civil terms with his Budew, but there was no progress on that axis.

“I don’t understand how to get through to her,” He said as he poured pellets into a bowl for Eevee. “Like, I can’t even speak with her. I don’t even have time to open my mouth.”

I was lying down, carefully avoiding any movement. The pain was slowly getting better, but it was obviously slower than I would have liked.

“I honestly don’t know what to tell you,” I said after a pause. “Maybe she’ll understand that attacking you doesn’t work after a while.”

“I hope so,” He agonized. “I really need her for Roark.”

Eevee threw a powered-down Sand Attack at Togepi when she tried to steal his food, and Frillish was hovering above me, soaking in the sunlight.

“You might be going at it with the wrong angle,” I mused. He frowned at me. “If you want her to listen to you just to beat the gym, then it’ll be hard to bring her on board. Why don’t you try to just hope to reach a mutual understanding first? Sometimes I feel like Pokemon can sense that kind of thing. Or at least that’s how it was with this guy,” I said, nodding at Frillish.

“I mean, I do want that too, but…” He trailed off. “I want— no, I need to get stronger.”

I noticed the straining in his tone. His clenched fist. The anger in his eyes.

“Alright, I have to ask. Did something happen to you in Jubilife? You’ve been kind of weird, and I haven’t known you for that long, so if I’m wrong, just let me know.”

Denzel practically flinched at my question. “Weird how?”

“You never battle with trainers anymore. You seem kind of frustrated with yourself too. Does that make sense?” I asked. “Plus, you stopped posting on the forums before we left. I thought you wanted to get your name out there. Put yourself on the map.”

“You’re right,” My friend sighed after a pause. “And annoyingly perceptive. It was during one of the days when you were on route 202. Some trainer called Chase Karlson absolutely destroyed me. Ever since then, I haven’t battled anyone. I’ve tried going back to the battling facility, but I just can’t… cross the door. I’m terrified of losing again.”

I sat up, which caused Denzel to panic and an unbelievable amount of pain. I took a few deep breaths. “Listen, buddy. I used to be like this until my dad knocked some sense into me, so I’ll try to do the same with you,” I said. “There will always be trainers better than you and I. Gifted, talented people who will dominate the Circuit. People who probably work ten times as hard as we do. But look at it this way: we have a year to catch up.”

“I don’t know… what if I can’t even beat the first gym? Budew—”

“Then you try again. Or we leave and go to another town. Challenge another gym. There’s no set order. There’s no need to give up at the first hurdle.”

“But if I can’t even beat Roark—”

“Arceus, you’re being such a Debbie downer. And I’m the one who can barely move. Pull yourself together!” I said, raising my tone. “Look!” I pointed toward the route. We were sitting at the edge of the road. “Look at all these people. You think they’re all like this Chase guy?”

Denzel shook his head.

“And they’re still trying. Battling, getting better and better. You’re going to be left behind if you keep doing this. Come on,” I extended my hand. “Let’s reach the Conference together.”

He sniffled and shook my hand. “Promise.”

“Also, I hope this internal crisis isn’t why you roped me into engaging with five Budew at once because that would be kind of fucked up.”

“Um. It… was? I think?”

“Shit. You owe me!”

——

In the end, it took another five days for me to be able to walk at a reasonable pace. I already knew Pokemon were dangerous, but to be this hurt by one attack from a Budew? I’d have to be more and more careful as we progressed and reached more dangerous routes that weren’t as well maintained as this one. Denzel was back to battling and was doing well mentally, whereas I was taking a break because of my bruise. Regardless, I was glad that my friend was back to his confident self.

Frillish was getting progressively grumpier as we progressed. I knew him well enough now to know that it was because he hadn’t been in water for too long, but I kept him in line by telling him that there was supposed to be a lake next to Oreburgh gate where he’d be free to do whatever he wanted. Togepi was still making slow progress on Fairy Wind, and she was always cheerful no matter how our training sessions went. I was glad she was there to keep my morale up, and I believed she was also sharing some of her happiness with Denzel.

Finally, after days of painful walking, we reached Oreburgh gate. The mountain looked imposing, and its jagged cliff stretched for thousands of miles upward. The entrance to the mountain was less… wild than I imagined. It looked like the entrance of a tunnel rather than a cave, and a lot of trainers were taking a break at the entrance. Instead, we continued ten minutes to the west and found the lake I had promised Frillish. I released him, and with a happy cry, he dove headfirst into the water.

“Don’t go too far! Don’t kill anything!” I screamed. I knew he was a water type, but I couldn’t help but worry he’d get in trouble with the local wildlife.

We decided to camp out here for a night, and tomorrow, we’d head into Oreburgh gate.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 12

Huge stalactites hung high on the cave’s ceiling. The air felt colder than it had been outside, but more humid, and the ground was slick with moisture. Geodude could be seen camouflaged against the cave walls or among rocks, and a pack of Zubat could be seen hanging upside down on the ceiling. Oreburgh gate was often a trainer’s first caving experience, and I found it to be an oppressive, anxiety-inducing experience. My throat felt clogged up, and I had to remind myself how to breathe often. Plus, even with how cold it was, I found a way to sweat.

Stupid nervousness making me sweat everywhere, I thought.

Luckily, the cave was also mostly a straight path, just like route 203 had been, and it was lit up all the way through by gas lamps to help new trainers.

“Ahh!” I squealed as I heard flapping wings right behind me. I waved my hands around wildly and ran away, ignoring the pain it brought to my abdomen. “What the hell was that?”

“I think that was a Zubat,” Denzel said. Eevee was on his shoulder and barked at the bat Pokemon, chasing it away.

My mind flashed back to the Golbat that I had seen at Lake Verity, and I shuddered.

“Zubat, Golbat, I hate all of them. What was nature thinking when it made that Pokemon line? First, there’s a creepy little guy with no eyes and whose mouth basically takes up its entire face, and then there’s its evolution that’s basically just a mouth! That’s literally what it is! How does it survive?! It’s a flying mouth!”

“Nature doesn’t think,” My friend deadpanned.

“Please indulge me for at least a second,” I groaned. “How much longer do we have to go?”

Denzel opened his Poketch. “Eh, Eighteen hours or so, including breaks. More if you keep panicking at every noise you hear.”

“Fine,” I sighed. “Let’s keep going.”

Eevee barked in agreement. I wished I could have my Pokemon out, but Togepi was absolutely terrified of the cave— even more than I was. When we first walked in, she had just grabbed my leg and pulled, begging me not to go. I decided to carry her, but she kept crying, and I couldn’t bear to see her scared like that, so I recalled her to her Pokeball. Meanwhile, Frillish just felt lazy and wanted back in the ball as soon as I released him. In the end, that meant that all we had to defend us was Eevee, but he was doing a pretty good job so far.

“Hey, on a scale of one to ten, how stupid would it be for me to find a Geodude and train with Eevee against it?” Denzel asked after a few minutes of silence.

My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. “One hundred!”

“That’s not on the scale,” Denzel chuckled. “I was just wondering. I’ve never fought any rock types, and even though I know normal type moves aren’t very effective— or most physical moves in general— I’d like to see how Eevee fares against one of them.”

“Dude… no, just no. I’m not getting hit by another Pokemon attack trying to help you. I’ve had enough of that for the entire League Circuit.”

“Think about it—”

“I already thought about it. No. Or at least wait until we’re closer to Oreburgh.”

“I feel like I could be doing more to train,” Denzel grumbled.

“You’re fine,” I said, rolling my eyes. Denzel was in a better mental space than he had been a few days earlier, but I could tell he still thought a lot about that trainer who beat him. “Hey, why don’t we play a game to pass the time? Truth or dare?”

“Now who’s the crazy one? I’m not doing any dares in the middle of a cave.”

“So you can be responsible when you try.”

We kept going, occasionally coming across a few trainers traveling alone or in groups as big as ten. To me, that number seemed way too chaotic, but if it worked, I wasn’t going to shame them. Our goal had been to reach the cave’s exit in a day, which was theoretically possible. Unfortunately, we underestimated how slow we’d be going because of the uneven ground and my bruise. Much to my chagrin, we ended up spending a night in the cold, wet cave. It felt like the moisture was seeping through my backpack somehow as well, and I got scared a few times my Poketch would get wet. Fortunately, at least Pokedexes were waterproof, so I didn’t have to worry about that.

About ten hours later, we were finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. I squinted and covered my eyes with my hand as we finally stepped outside. Seeing sunlight after so long was painful. In the distance, plumes of smoke rose into the sky, and huge apartment complexes covered the entire city center. Whereas Jubilife was a nice-looking modern city, Oreburgh was an industrial mining town. Coal, tin, and copper were the vast majority of the products exported all over the region by air, but they also were famous for the number of fossils that were unearthed here every year.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me. Finally, we were out of that stupid cave, and our first objective was practically right in front of us! These next few days would be extremely important and would determine if I had what it took to keep going on the League Circuit or not. The first gym awaited us.

——

The first thing we did was obviously head to the Pokecenter. I immediately took a very earned shower, checked in Togepi and Frillish, and then headed toward the human care wing of the building.

“Legendaries, that’s a large contusion. And you said you’ve been walking around with this?” A male doctor told me.

“Yes, but it’s been slowly getting better,” I said. “I can walk, and I can bend over if I really brace myself.”

He exhaled loudly. “I wouldn’t say that’s great progress. Now, what move was the one that hit you? And from what Pokemon?”

“Bullet Seed from a Budew on route 203,” I said. I omitted the fact that we had gone off-route.

The doctor grabbed a huge dossier, licked his finger, and flipped through what must have been hundreds of papers. “Budew… Budew… ah, there it is. Hold on a second,” He said, writing something on a piece of paper as he read.

“It’s not bad is it?” I said, with a slight surge of panic.

“Well, it could have been worse. It could have hit a bone and broken it. It could have hit you in the neck or temple and killed you. So I would say you got off pretty easy, ms. Pastel,” The doctor said nonchalantly. I swallowed. “Alright, give this to the front desk. It’s a prescription for a cream that you’ll have to apply on the contused area four times a day. Next, I’d like to run some tests to see if you didn’t inhale any spores.”

“I was pretty far. I’m more worried about my friend in that case.”

“Better safe than sorry. Budew’s poison isn’t weak by any means, but it is slow acting. In a month, you could be dead if you don’t go through the necessary precautions now.”

“...Alright.”

He ran a few more tests on me, including a blood and a urine test, but I ended up clean. I hurried up back to the front desk, grabbed my prescription, and told Denzel to go get scanned asap for poisoning as well. Luckily, he was also unaffected.

——

While our Pokemon were being healed, Denzel and I visited Oreburgh. He complained endlessly about the polluted air, but I couldn’t really tell the difference between Jubilife’s air and Oreburgh’s. We made our way to a fast food place, where I ate enough for two people. I ordered a milkshake to go and we went to the Oreburgh Mining Museum, which was one of the city’s main touristic attractions. There, we learned about Orebugh’s history. The city was relatively young, only being settled a few hundred years ago during the industrial revolution. We also learned that coal was formed with the help of dead grass type Pokemon and plant matter, and we saw a bunch of old mining artifacts and some fossils. All in all, I found it pretty boring, but Denzel seemed to have liked it.

Finally, we reached the city’s main attraction: the rock type gym. The building was grander than it looked on television, being easily one of the largest in the city. It looked like Jubilife’s battling arena facilities, just three times bigger. There was a giant queue that stretched all around the block to sign up, and it took an hour and a half to finally get inside the gym. There was a receptionist in the lobby that helped trainers sign up for a battle, and he sported a white and brown uniform with a brown Pokeball on the white side of the shirt. Above him, there was a screen with all the scheduled matches, and the monitor changed days every so often. I groaned internally when I realized that Roark had been booked for the next week already, and I’d have to wait that long to challenge him. The truth was that the situation was a mixed bag. I would have more time to train, but I’d feel the stress build up the entire time. I just wanted to be done with it, win or lose.

I couldn’t really blame the way the gym was organized either. Every match was scheduled to last twenty minutes at most, and then there’d be a ten minute break in between. That meant that Roark would be battling for the majority of his day, from eight in the morning until the gym finally closed at seven every single night for the foreseeable future. I loved battling, but there was no amount of money anyone could pay me to do this job.

“Next!” I heard.

Finally, after an annoying wait, it was my turn. I walked up to the receptionist with a smile.

“Good afternoon, and welcome to the Oreburgh gym,” He said, almost by reflex. “Are you here to sign up for a gym battle?”

“Yeah,” I said, suddenly feeling very small.

“Alright. Trainer ID, please.” I quickly handed him my ID. “Grace Pastel…” He muttered as he typed something on his computer. After ten seconds or so, he handed me a piece of paper and a pen. “Read through this and answer the questions honestly. Lying on any of these is grounds for disqualification from the Circuit.”

I understood right away what the questionnaire was for after reading the first question.

Is this your first time participating in the League Circuit? If not, how many times have you done so and how many badges did you get during your most successful year?

They were gauging our skill level to know what Pokemon to use against us. The questions I found the most interesting were these ones:

Have you joined any of the Circuits in other regions? If so which ones and how far did you get?

Have you had any experiences battling before joining the League Circuit? If so, please state how many years/months/days.

How many Pokemon do you currently own? (Make sure to warn a gym official if you catch another Pokemon while waiting for your match)

I answered all of them honestly and handed back the paper. The receptionist typed away for another minute or so and then placed my form in a drawer full of them.

“Alright, ms. Pastel. Let me explain how this gym works to you very quickly. In five days at 2:40 pm, you’ll have to battle one of our gym trainers. If you win, you move on and get a battle with Roark, but if you lose, you have to wait two weeks to sign up again. This also applies if you miss your battle, by the way. We’ll only wait for five minutes until you’re counted as missing, so don’t be late.”

I absorbed the information as best I could. The receptionist clicked his mouse a few times, and a small slip of paper came out of a device to his side.

“This is your ticket with the date and time. Do not lose it, or you have to wait the full two weeks. Any questions?”

I shook my head.

“Next!” He yelled.

I walked past Denzel and winked. I decided to wait for him outside, and as soon as he came out, we walked back to the Pokemon Center to grab our teams back.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 13

“Please make sure to warn us adequately next time, Mr. Williams,” Nurse Joy said in a stern tone as she gave him back his Pokeballs. “That Budew wasn’t just aggressive, it was a danger to our staff and all the Pokemon around it.”

Denzel could only hang his head in shame and apologized profusely. His Budew had attacked everything around it as soon as the nurses let her out of her ball, and had to be shot with a tranquilizer twice before going down. It was the only way they could heal her.

“I’m so sorry,” Denzel continued. “I thought my warning was enough…”

The nurse sighed. “Well, make sure to let the nurse know if you go to another center and it’s still behaving this way. Have a great day.”

As we left the Pokemon Center, I kept trying to find the words to cheer Denzel up. I figured something out, but he raised his hand and stopped me.

“I need to be alone today,” He muttered. “Don’t look at me like that, I’ll be fine. I just need to figure this whole Budew thing out. If I can’t… well, I might need to release her. Let’s meet back here tonight and get something to eat,” He said as he touched her ball.

I nodded. “Alright, but be careful.”

He left and made his way back toward Oreburgh gate. I considered following him, but I felt that he would be disappointed if I did.

“Well, it’s just me now,” I told myself.

The first thing I did was call my dad to let him know I was in Oreburgh and that I had signed up at Roark’s gym. It took a few minutes for him to understand that the gym trainer I was supposed to battle in five days was not actually a gym leader and that it wouldn’t be televised. The gym trainer system was rather new, and according to Denzel, it had been implemented by Roark to create another barrier before reaching him. This was because the number of trainers that signed up for the League Circuit increased each year. And if you couldn’t beat a gym trainer, there was no way you were beating the gym. Then, since I had called one parent, I decided to make good on my promise and check up on mom. The fact that I could tell she was almost crying of happiness made me feel terrible I hadn’t gotten in contact sooner, but I couldn’t change the past, so all I could do was look forward.

If Denzel was going to brood, I decided it was time to work on my team. I made my way to the city’s northeast, past the museum, and toward a small portion of route 207 that was isolated in Oreburgh. This area was a small, self-contained wild zone that had been created by the city to help trainers get ready for the gym without having to train in the cave— something I was very grateful for. Wild Pokemon here were supposed to be weak and passive, and any threats were always quickly dealt with by the Rangers. The area as a whole was about two miles squared.

Luckily for me, most trainers ignored this area, preferring to battle in Oreburgh’s battling facilities as a training method instead of this. To some extent, they were correct that they would get stronger faster using trainer battles, but today, I wanted to do something different.

I released Togepi and Frillish, now fully healthy from their trip to the Pokemon Center. Togepi hugged my leg and chirped happily, while Frillish spun around in the air, which was certainly the happiest I’d seen him. I smiled at both of them and clapped my hands.

“Welcome back, guys! Our first big fight at the gym is in five days, so let’s have a little team meeting,” I told them. “Now, before we even talk strategy, I want to get something out of the way. Let’s make you friends!”

The truth was, even though Togepi and Frillish seemed to get along, they didn’t interact with each other very much. Sure, they talked a few times, but I wanted us to be a team, and to be a team, they had to be as close with each other as they were with me.

“Prrrri!” Togepi agreed.

Frillish stopped spinning and stared at me with a confused look in his eyes.

“This won’t help us in the short term, but in the long term? If I can have a team that fully trusts each other in every situation, it’ll help us a lot, especially in the wild, so I’m doing this whether you like it or not,” I explained.

Frillish started drifting away.

“Hey! Don’t just drift away from me, mister! I promised you poffins, and I haven’t forgotten. It’ll be your reward for cooperating today.”

He stopped and then reluctantly joined us again, but not before shooting a jet of water at my face. I let out a small scream of surprise and sighed as the little prankster laughed silently, bobbing his head up and down.

“I’ll act like that didn’t happen…” I said, wiping my face with my shirt. “Anyway, another reason why we’re doing this is because I’m still hurt, and I don’t feel like I’d be able to focus on battling properly with this pain at the back of my mind,” I explained. “Hopefully it’ll be better for our battle.”

I told the two to face each other, and I placed myself at a distance in between them so that we’d form a ‘triangle.’

“Alright! First of all, I want you two to say something you like about each other. Oh— let me go first. I love how Togepi always tries to cheer me up no matter how down I’m feeling. She’s always trying her best to keep the mood up.”

“Togeprrri!”

“And I love how even though Frillish acts like he doesn’t care about anything, he seems to be a little softie inside.”

For a second, Frillish didn’t react, and I was scared he was going to take my comment the wrong way, but he propelled himself upward excitedly as his eyes shone bright red. I smiled.

“Doesn’t that feel good? When someone compliments you? Togepi, you go first.”

My two teammates went back and forth, and soon enough they were speaking together on their own. It felt a little lonely not being able to tell what was being said, but I was still extremely happy, because it seemed they had finally befriended each other. They went a few hours hanging out, and Frillish helped Togepi play around by doing tricks like spinning upside down, or making a Night Shade do the same. It didn’t take much to make her have fun.

Our little friend-making session was interrupted when a trainer challenged me to a battle— something I had to force myself to refuse. I left the route, returning back to the city with Togepi in my arms and Frillish floating by my side. After a twenty minute walk, I found what I was looking for. I entered the Poffin house and took a deep breath.

“Smells good doesn’t it?” I asked.

“Prrri!”

“Lish!”

I went to the counter and eyed the dozens of different Poffins through the glass.

“Which one do you want, Frillish? You really liked the sweet ones in Jubilife, didn’t you?” I asked.

He bobbed his head and smiled.

“Wow, uh, we gotta work on that smile buddy. Okay, two sweet poffins… one made out of Mago berries, and one made out of Pecha,” I told the clerk, who promptly started stuffing them in bags. “And for Togepi, one made out of Oran, please,” I continued, already knowing what her favorite one was.

I handed the clerk a few dozen Pokedollars through my trainer card and exited the building with my poffins. I carefully split Togepi’s into five pieces and fed them to her. As for Frillish…

“Say aaah,” I teased, placing the poffin right next to his mouth.

Frillish turned away.

“C’mon… do it for me… please…” I asked with Lillilpup eyes. He rolled his eyes at me and ate out of my hand. “Yes! Thank you! Now let’s do the other one—”

He hurriedly and clumsily snatched the bag away from me and stole the poffin.

“No fair!” I pouted, but I couldn’t help but laugh.

This was possibly the happiest I’d been in a long while. My Pokemon were getting along with each other and with me, and soon I was pretty sure I’d be able to call Frillish family. Traveling was fun most of the time, and although I had gotten hurt, I didn’t regret signing up for the Circuit at all. I was glad I did, and that I was going to experience new things for the next year, and possibly multiple years. Nothing was going to ruin this—

My mind flashed back to Lake Verity. The Golbat’s giant maw that led to an oppressive, unending darkness. Forever falling into its mouth. The smell would be atrocious. I would be digested alive and melted by its poison. The pain would be unimaginable. Unbearable—

“Toge?” Togepi asked.

As if I had been jolted awake from a dream, I snapped out of my vision. Togepi had little chunks of blue Poffin around her mouth. I smiled.

“I’m alright. Thank you, princess,” I said, petting her head.

I felt a cold, slimy tentacle touch my neck. I turned my head, and my eyes widened as I saw Frillish with a worried face caressing me.

“I made you worry, didn’t I? Sorry,” I said in a comforting tone. Suddenly, I realized that he was touching me. “Wait, you’re not using Absorb! You’re fine with touching now?” I asked.

The blue Pokemon nodded and barely had time to register what was going on before I pulled him into a hug.

A few hours later, Denzel called me to let me know that he was back at the Center. I joined him quickly, but no matter how hard I asked, he wouldn’t tell me how his attempts to calm Budew down went. I just assumed they had failed because of his aversion to the topic, but I obliged him and stopped bringing it up. He checked in Eevee, who had seemingly been wounded, and then we decided to chill out in our room until it was time for dinner. We spent that time studying up on Roark’s tactics.

“So far, I’ve only seen him use Geodude, Ryhorn, Aron, and Nosepass depending on the battle, but that just means he’s holding back,” Denzel said as he watched a Geodude’s Rock Throw annihilate some poor kid’s Spinda. “No Onix, no Cranidos or Boldore yet this year.”

“I mean, maybe he’s just going easy on us because we’re too many,” I contemplated. “It wouldn’t be a good look if he just used Onix over and over and crushed everybody.”

“That, or maybe everyone this year is so bad that he hasn’t even had to use some of his alright Pokemon yet,” Denzel said.

“Well, if he doesn’t use at least one of those against me, I’d feel bad,” I said, before reconsidering. “Actually, I can go without fighting an Onix.”

Denzel laughed as he switched to another one of today’s gym battles. “This is going to be difficult. There haven’t even been that many wins yet.”

“The Circuit just started. It hasn’t even been a month yet,” I said, waving my hand. “It’ll be fine.”

In reality, I couldn’t help but be terrified. Who wouldn’t be, for their first gym battle, with tens of thousands, or possibly hundreds of thousands of people looking at you. But I thought that acting confident would in turn give Denzel his own confidence back. First the battle against Chase, now this Budew issue… I was worried about him.

“I can’t afford just to squeak by. I need to make an impression on Roark— not only for my potential career, but for him to listen to me when I try telling him about what happened at Lake Verity.”

I nodded solemnly. “I’ll try my best too.”

“I know you will. We both will,” He said. After a small pause, he kept going. “I wanted to ask you something, by the way. In two days, the arguably most anticipated matches of this entire Circuit so far are going to happen. Chase Karlson and Cecilia Obel are both fighting Roark, and their battles are back to back,” Denzel said.

My eyes widened. I had never seen Chase battle, but I knew he had left his mark on Denzel, who now considered him a rival or a goal of some sort. Then there was Cecilia, whose Pokemon had never been seen yet.

“Want to go see?” He asked.

“Hell yes,” I answered.

Chapter Text

INTERLUDE - STEPS (PART 1)

There was a certain comfort to being in a cave that Denzel found hard to explain. It could have been the humid air that coated his throat every time he took a breath, or the warm embrace of the gas lights that hung from the ceiling. Either way, he had decided that Oreburgh gate was going to be his main training area until his battle with the Oreburgh gym trainer.

“That seems like a good rock to practice on,” Denzel said. “You ready?”

“Vee!”

Eevee jumped off of his shoulder, landing gracefully onto the wet ground. Denzel rolled his shoulder and then pointed at the rock.

“Double Kick!” He yelled. His voice resonated in the cave, probably spooking trainers traveling through it.

Eevee barked in acquiescence before he turned around and kicked the rock with his two glowing hind legs. The impact left two small craters, which was more damage than yesterday, but still not good enough.

“Again,” Denzel said. “Try turning around faster and using that momentum to hit harder. Like… your turning velocity’s the hammer, and your legs are the nail. Or something like that.”

Eevee continued using their new move, Double Kick. It was something Denzel hadn’t planned on teaching his starter, but with Budew still being as uncooperative as she was, he realized that he would need a fighting type move if he hoped to even take down one of Roark’s Pokemon. Fortunately, his Pokedex had told him that Eevee could potentially learn the move, but he hadn’t expected it to be this difficult. Bite had only taken a day, as had Quick Attack back when he lived in Twinleaf. But this? Denzel feared it was taking too long, which was why he was going to spend as much time as humanly possible trying to get Eevee’s Double Kick at its peak.

That wasn’t to say that he was neglecting Eevee’s other moves, however. Bite wouldn’t be very useful against rock types given their hard exterior, but Quick Attack would still be an excellent move to use. In all the high-level battles that Denzel had watched, almost no one used Quick Attack defensively— which was, in his opinion, a waste of opportunity. The only downside he could see was that it would tire Eevee out fast, but he wasn’t counting on a prolonged battle anyway.

Eevee turned around slightly faster and hit the rock as hard as he could, cracking the entire surface. The rock collapsed quickly after.

“Great job, Eevee,” Denzel smiled as he crouched and scratched Eevee’s neck. “Let’s find another one.”

He needed to get stronger faster. He needed to catch up.

“I promised you that we’d become the Champions, didn’t I?” Denzel told Eevee.

It was as much Eevee’s dream as it was his. Back in Twinleaf, when he first thought he was going to set off on his journey at fifteen like everybody else, Eevee and Denzel had sworn to become the best in Sinnoh. His Pokemon had an unending thirst for battling that put Denzel to shame, and when his mother had stopped him from leaving, Eevee was the one who had been the most depressed.

And after finally starting to realize their dream, they had been dealt a lethal dose of reality. They were like Magikarp in a very big pond. Thankfully Grace had pulled him out of that rut, but Denzel still couldn’t help but wonder.

Was he the right trainer for Eevee? Was he disappointing him with his failures?

“That seems like a good one,” Denzel said, pointing at another rock. “You know what to do.”

Eevee barked and started hitting the rock with all he could, but it moved out of the way.

“Dude!” A Geodude revealed itself, and it was angry.

Before Denzel could even regain his bearings, Geodude hit Eevee with a nasty Tackle, hitting him into the cave wall. Seeing his Pokemon hurt snapped him out of it.

“Eevee! Are you ok? Can you f—”

A rock flying faster than a car hit the wall next to Denzel, crumbling against it. With a scream, he flinched and fell backward, instinctively crawling away. If that had hit him… Arceus.

“Geodude!” His opponent shone, and its stony skin began to sparkle. It grabbed another stone and threw it toward Denzel with all of its strength, and it was faster than before. Unable to dodge, Denzel raised his arms to protect his face, but the rock never hit him.

Eevee jumped and destroyed the Rock Throw with a mid-air Double Kick. He growled at the Geodude, who hit the ground with its fists in frustration.

“Eevee… you saved me.” Denzel muttered.

Eevee shimmered, and in an instant, he was behind the wild Geodude, ready to hit it with another Double Kick. He only had to hit it once before it fled, unwilling to risk itself any further.

“Thank you,” Denzel simply said, clenching his jaw. Again, he had been too weak to even react.

Grace had kept ordering her Pokemon to help him in the forest on route 203 even after getting directly hit with a Bullet Seed, and he couldn’t even give simple commands to his after a miss? Pathetic. What was he doing here? Had his mother been right? Was he just wasting time—

“Vee! Eevee!” Eevee barked out.

Denzel stared at him for a second before smiling sadly. “You’re right. I can’t be beating myself up all the time. I need to look forward,” He said, remembering what Grace had told him. “I will improve. I will be the Champion.”

“Vee!” Eevee said, snuggling close to Denzel.

“The future…” Denzel muttered.

——

“Alright, remember to breathe as little as possible,” Denzel said. “I’ll do the same. Don’t hit her unless she’s about to kill me.”

Denzel stared at his Budew’s Pokeball sitting in his palm. He had decided. He was never going to give up on her. He would make her a part of his team, no matter how long it would take, one step at a time.

After making sure that no trainers were nearby, he released Budew as far away as he could. She let out her usual, ear-piecing shriek before throwing out a Bullet Seed toward Eevee, who dodged with Quick Attack.

“Budew! Listen to me,” Denzel yelled. She ignored him and continued to attack Eevee, throwing purple, toxic spores. “This thing you’ve been doing? Attacking us over and over, I understand! I understand that the way I captured you was completely unfair and uncalled for.”

Budew only screeched in response. She attacked him with a Bullet Seed, but Denzel managed to hide behind a human-sized boulder.

“I thought I could bring you a better life than out there, in the wild,” Denzel continued. “And I also wanted your strength. To help me in trainer battles. I realize now that I was being foolish.”

Denzel left from his hiding spot and started walking toward Budew, who only looked on with a fury he didn’t even know their faces were capable of.

“And I know nothing I say will ever be enough. I know I’ve robbed you from your group. Your family—” Denzel winced as a series of seeds grazed his left arm. He carried on. “I just want to let you know from the bottom of my heart that I am sorry. Truly. But I can’t release you. I can’t bring you back. I’m a selfish son of a bitch, aren’t I? Springing all of this on you.”

Budew let out another scream, probably letting him know not to get any closer. She wasn’t attacking anymore, so he listened to her and stood at a distance.

“But I have a goal I set for myself, and you unfortunately are a part of it. I know this won’t change anything between us, but I just wanted to let you understand why I did what I did. I had a reason for it— which you may disagree with, but it was a reason nonetheless. Have you even been in the sun that long since I caught you? You’re starting to look unhealthy, and your attacks against us are getting weaker and weaker. I wish we could at least come to an agreement regarding that,” Denzel paused, waiting for a reaction. There was none. “I can take you out and let you soak in the sun's rays. All I need is for you not to attack me right away.”

“Bud…”

“We can take this one step at a time. I don’t expect you to ever forgive me, but let’s at least keep you alive,” Denzel finished. “How about it?”

“Dew.” Budew agreed with a small nod.

“Alright. I’ll return you for now, and bring you out of this cave, alright?”

He recalled her and clenched at his arm. It had only grazed him, but that Bullet Seed hurt like a bitch. After thanking Eevee for the help, he began making his way out of the cave.

“One step at a time, I’ll catch up,” Denzel told himself.

Chapter Text

INTERLUDE - STEPS (PART 2)

To Chase Karlson, life was about excellence.

Most humans would be satisfied with doing the bare minimum, drifting along the current and offering up no resistance. Living your life as a spectator, so long as you earned three meals a day, a warm bed, and maybe a trip or two per year. Then eventually start a family. This was what people thought was a good life, and honestly, could he really blame them?

Yes, he could, and he would.

In through the nose, out through the mouth. Chase felt the blood pump through his legs as he ran through route 207. After another thirty minutes of jogging, he would slowly increase his speed as time passed until he reached his maximum velocity. He jumped over a fallen tree trunk as if it was a hurdle. Riolu did the same, flipping twice in the air and landing gracefully without even a single noise. Chase paid it no mind. It was an expected performance.

This was their routine. They had been doing this for years, even before the Circuit started. Chase had implemented a workout regiment to bring them into top shape, and Riolu had taken it in stride, just like he had expected. They were so alike, Chase and he, and that meant they both expected excellence.

This was only the first section. First, they always worked on their endurance. Chase smiled as he began hitting his second wind. The pain was almost all gone now, and it was being replaced by numbness. The next thirty minutes went by in a flash, and he handed Riolu a bottle of water. The small Pokemon clumsily held it with both paws and downed the whole bottle. They could have done this in a gym— Oreburgh had many gyms adapted to Pokemon— but why practice in an unrealistic environment? Being a trainer was all about survival in the wild, and so in the wild, they trained.

“Alright, Riolu. Five minute break. Walk off the pain if it hurts. No sitting down,” He told his Pokemon.

Riolu looked at him with his usual determined stare. “Rio!”

As usual, Riolu simply stayed by his side, emulating his stretches. He always imitated Chase and looked to him for guidance. At the same time, Chase believed Riolu to be as close to perfection as it got. Sure, he had other Pokemon— two, in fact— but their bond went beyond that. It was in Riolu that Chase believed above all, and it was Riolu who would bring him the title of Champion.

After all, Riolu was the only one who could tell how he was feeling at all times.

Chase’s dad had explained the concept of aura to him when he gave him his Riolu, but it still was difficult to believe sometimes. The young trainer stared into Riolu’s red eyes and wondered.

What is he thinking about right now?

In some ways, Chase was jealous. Humans ruled the world behind their fortified cities, as had been the case since pre-history, but they were imperfect. Flawed. Riolu, meanwhile? He could go on a run twice— no, three times as long if he so desired. Chase was the only factor holding him back, and it was infuriating to think about.

He would be perfect one day.

“Let’s cut the break short,” Chase said. “Time for push-ups. Five sets of ten, then another break.”

Chase took off his cap and placed himself flat against the ground, and pushed. Riolu did the same. He was not fully grown, and so he was weak, but this would pay off in the long run. His muscles would destroy themselves, and then be rebuilt a little stronger every time. The teen had planned his life in meticulous detail, and he would make sure to have the strongest body possible to stand by Riolu’s side.

And so he pushed past the pain, knowing that next time, this would be slightly easier.

Another hour later, their workout was finished. Chase made his way back toward his Poke Center and took a well-deserved shower, using the opportunity to clean Riolu right afterward. Next was lunch. He kept it simple and healthy: chicken, rice, and vegetables on the side. The taste was mediocre, but it was necessary to push through. Riolu only ate in the mornings and evenings, just like the rest of his team. While eating, Chase spent his hour browsing the forums or sometimes watching one of the gym battles.

The boy always ego searched his name, seeing what people said about him. He had made quite an impression in Jubilife, and he reveled in their admiration. It was good that they knew their place. Their only job was to watch and wish they were as good as he was. Chase could sense their jealousy through the screen. Their envy only fueled his desire for excellence. Sometimes though, Chase would see others being talked about, and one name came up more than any others— even his.

Cecilia Obel.

Anger boiled up inside of Chase. Cecilia this, Cecilia that, it was all these losers could talk about! She was nothing! Some Unovan trash who was too scared to compete in her own region because that meant she would have to fight her brother. And yet, she was more popular than he was? Someone who had proven himself time and time again since the Circuit had started? These people were all trash—

“Rio!” Riolu yelled out.

Chase snapped out of his inner rant, realizing he had already cut a slice of chicken and was just slicing the plate, creating an eerie scratching noise. That had garnered the other trainer’s attention, and they stared at him with irritated gazes.

Don’t look… don’t look at me while I’m being mediocre.

Chase finished his meal quickly and left the center before his one hour break was up. He needed a distraction to put this moment of mediocrity behind him. So he decided to go to a battling arena a few blocks away from the gym.

“Hey losers!” He yelled as he walked past the door. “Who’s the strongest trainer here?!”

They stared at him like a group of confused Spinda. Chase continued walking, wasting his breath by asking around for the strongest trainer. This time, he got answers.

Soon they’ll understand. He thought. No— he would make them understand that he was the only name worth following in this League Circuit full of losers.

“One step at a time, I will reach perfection,” Chase murmured to himself.

Chapter Text

INTERLUDE - STEPS (PART 3)

The evening sky was settling over Oreburgh city, and with it came the lights. Cecilia Obel had always thought that a city at night was the most beautiful thing there was. A city was made out of millions of individual parts and inhabited by hundreds of thousands, but at night? All individuality melted into a concert of flashing lights, and humans couldn’t be seen, especially from so high up. Still, no city had ever compared to Castelia, her home back in Unova.

“And so apparently, the Gible my parents bought me has the potential to eventually rival— or perhaps even overtake Cynthia’s. That’s what our private breeder said. Can you believe it? All those times that I let that little monster feast on the wildlife here seem worth it now,” Louis Bianchi bragged.

“You don’t say?” Cecilia answered with a high-pitched voice. “Well, I certainly believe you can achieve that potential.” She tilted her head, stared straight into his eyes, and smiled at him. The young man blushed.

Internally though? In the depths of her mind? She was miserable.

Louis Bianchi— the heir to the Bianchi family and their fortune numbering in the billions. The potions you bought, the vitamins, the repels, everything that could be found in a Pokemart? Chances are they were made by the Bianchis. And this young, eighteen-year-old boy had signed up for the Circuit for the first time and was traveling with her along with an entourage of other rich heirs. Tonight though, they were alone, as he was, unfortunately, also Cecilia’s fiance.

Cecilia hadn’t had any say in it, of course. She had been practically forced to fly to Sinnoh and sign up for the Circuit by her father, and he had told her this a month before her flight. She hadn’t been surprised by not picking who she was going to marry, of course. Her family— the Obels— had raised her for that very purpose. To be married off to a man of high status. Cecilia had just been surprised at how early the decision had been made. She was still just fifteen, and set to marry someone three years older than her as soon as she turned eighteen.

Guessing her father’s goal was easy enough. As soon as they married, the Obel Energy Company in Unova and the Bianchi Conglomerate would inevitably intertwine economically and would be able to throw their influence around the entire world. She knew her father would no doubt urge her to have a child before she even finished reading her vows so that eventually, the two companies would merge.

The second goal was obviously name recognition. If Cecilia did well enough in the Circuit, then the Obel name would start spreading throughout Sinnoh and would stop only being a Unovan household name. She had been instructed to gain eight badges, help Louis do the same, and then lose to him at the Conference.

“Well, I am glad you agree, Cecilia. I believe we will go very far this year together,” Louis said, placing his hand on hers.

Ew, she thought.

“Of course. With you as our leader, there is no glass ceiling we couldn’t break,” She answered. She had to resist the urge to pull her hand from his.

“How are you finding the food, by the way? I have to ask where they raise their Goldeen, these sushi rolls are simply exquisite,” Her fiance said.

“It’s perfect. Just like you, darling,” Cecilia lied.

She needed to keep showering him with platitudes. Her father had explicitly asked her to make Louis fall for her, and he had. Hard. Men were so easy, and yet so terrifying all the same. A smile, a few compliments, and they’d be eating out of the palm of your hands. But if they ever realized that they weren’t in control for an instant? Cecilia held back a shudder.

Louis swallowed. “Say, Cecilia… would you want to join me in my room tonight? I could order the best champagne bottle in this city.”

Cecilia drew a sharp breath. The stare, oh, Arceus the stare.

My eyes are up here, She screamed internally.

“I don’t know… it’s getting late, and I’m quite tired. I think I’ll just go straight home and sleep. Maybe Emilia or Justin will keep you company.”

“I see,” He said, not bothering to hide his disappointment. “Maybe some other time then?”

“Some other time,” Cecilia said.

Cecilia knew she was beautiful and… well-developed for her age, which was more a curse than a blessing. Since the age of twelve, she had suffered under the stares of men. Father’s business partners, friends, or even family. They sometimes stared for an entire conversation, unable to realize that she could tell. Or maybe they just didn’t care?

“Cecilia? Are you feeling sick?” Her fiance asked.

“I—uh—I—” She stuttered

“Is the smell of fish too overwhelming?” Louis continued. “Server! Here, please.”

Is that really how weak I am to you? You think smell is making me feel like this? Cecilia thought.

“It’s quite alright,” She told the server. The poor man looked whiter than a sheet of paper. The entire restaurant had been cleared for them, and they were attended by the entire staff. “I apologize, I’m just feeling tired.”

“Should we cut dinner short then? It’s a shame, but we must prioritize your health before all else. Plus, you have to be well rested for your battle against Roark.”

Cecilia nodded and they quickly left the restaurant after Louis paid an astronomical sum. To them, however, it was spare change. They were in the richest neighborhood in Oreburgh, separated from the rest of the city to avoid the heavy pollution that gathered around the mines and the industrial area. They got into a taxi and rode in silence to their hotel.

When they got there, Cecilia quickly said goodnight to Louis and her other companions, Emilia, Justin, and Pauline. They smiled at her and wished her well, but were those smiles fake? Were they even friends, or was it just a facade? Cecilia couldn’t tell, but the fact that she had to ask herself this didn’t bode well.

The young girl locked herself in her room and stared at her three Pokeballs in silence. The weight of her battle was slowly mounting on her shoulders, creating an ample amount of stress. Not because she wanted to win, but because she knew the wrath from her father her defeat would incur. She slowly touched her cheek, caressing it softly. She had never felt so alone in her entire life. At least in Unova, she had—

Her Poketch rang, and Cecilia beamed as she read her caller’s name.

“Amy! I was just thinking about you, how are you doing?” Cecilia asked in an upbeat tone.

“I’m fine, I was just excited. You hadn’t called yet tonight, so I wondered if you had finally taken the plunge with your chérie.”

Amy Saunier was Cecilia’s best friend back in Unova, even though she had originally come from Kalos. She was the only one Cecilia could be herself with, but she hadn’t come to Sinnoh for the Circuit.

“I didn’t. Not tonight. But enough about him, how did your modeling gig—”

“No, no, no,” Amy interrupted. “You need to hurry up and sleep with him, Cece. If you don’t he’ll get tired of you and find another woman.”

Cecilia froze. She couldn’t even comprehend the words that had come out of her friend’s mouth.

“W—what?”

“Are you surprised? He’s a man, he wants to have sex. The longer you wait, the more cumbersome your relationship will get. Take it as advice from your best friend. I know you’re nervous but—”

“Has father been talking to you about this?”

“Monsieur Obel? No, why?”

Is she lying to me? Cecilia thought. Why can’t I tell? I should be able to tell!

“D—doesn’t it bother you? The fact that I’m supposed to marry him? I’ll have to live in Sinnoh and we won’t be able to see each other.”

“Well, it is a shame,” Amy started. “But I also can’t get in between you and your familial duty.”

“I have to go,” Cecilia said.

“Cece? Hold on—”

Cecilia was on the verge of tears as she hung up. Who had she just talked to? She sat on her bed and hugged her legs as she silently cried for what seemed like hours. She had no one here, no one back home, and she had no agency. She was a tool for her father to exploit, and there was nothing she would ever be able to do about it.

Even the one she loved the most had betrayed her.

Was this it then?

She stared at her Pokeballs through her teary eyes and cursed. There was one way. One avenue through which she could escape. To forego her father’s plan and build a life for herself here by actually winning the Circuit. Not only would she get a good amount of money and stop being dependent on her father, but she would also burn his plans to the ground. But would she? Could she? She was so tired. A part of her hoped she would go to sleep and not wake up tomorrow.

The only thing she could was—

“Take it one step at a time,” She cried.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 14

Frillish inhaled and released a stream of bubbles.

“Now, Togepi!” I yelled

“Toge!”

Togepi held out her little hands and wind started to form— gentle at first, and then as powerful as a small storm. I held on to my shirt and observed as the Fairy Wind changed Bubblebeam’s direction, making it hit the edge of a tree.

“That was great, everybody! Frillish, your Bubblebeam is getting faster than before, but we need to work on that power with the time we have. Togepi, you’re going great. Just a little more progress before we can use Fairy Wind in battle,” I said, congratulating my team.

Our battle with the gym trainer was fast approaching, and I was desperately trying to get Togepi to perfect her Fairy Wind. She was getting a good grasp of controlling the wind— something that was probably owed to her future evolution being flying type— but the fairy part of it? The part that would deal real damage against rock types? That part of the move was still rudimentary. I picked her up and caressed her head.

“Oof, you’re getting heavier. My poor arms…”

“To…”

“Don’t worry, I’ll still carry you around! Or maybe Frillish could,” I said sarcastically.

“Prrrri!” She chirped with a smile.

“Fri…” Frillish said, obviously disagreeing.

Suddenly, my Poketch started to ring. I put Togepi down and answered.

“Hey, it’s Denzel. Where are you right now?” He asked.

“Route 207. Why?”

“Might want to start getting to the gym. I’m there and the place is already starting to get packed,” He said.

“What,” I asked in a surprised tone. “But Chase Karlson’s battle is in more than two hours. What the hell is wrong with people?”

“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger—”

“I’m on my way,” I said, hanging up.

I recalled my Pokemon and headed directly to the gym. I cursed internally at Oreburgh for not having any public transportation like in Jubilife, forcing me to get there by foot. I alternated between running when I had the energy to, and walking when I got too tired and the pain from my abdomen got too serious. The cream the Center had given me was doing wonders, and had sped up my recovery to the point where I was sure I’d be ready for my gym battle with Roark. It would probably still be there for my battle against the gym trainer, however, but at least it was more of a dull pain at the back of my mind now instead of something I just couldn’t ignore— unless I moved too much that is.

I met Denzel inside of the gym, using him to skip a large part of the queue, which got me a few death stares. People here were mostly non-trainers who wanted to watch battles, but they had to pay for a ticket to get in. The League had to make money somehow. Trainers participating in the Circuit, however, got to spectate any match they wanted for free. We made our way deeper inside and reached the stands, which surrounded the entire battlefield in an oblong-like shape. Denzel managed to spot two seats in the second row to the arena’s side.

“Hell yes! I’m so glad we got good seats,” He said, sitting down.

“Yeah,” I said. I was kind of out of it. To me, this almost felt like a dream. The buzzing in my ears from everyone talking around us, the sheer size of this place, Roark getting ready for his next battle by healing a Geodude on the ground. The atmosphere here was so thick I could almost drown in it.

“Now that we got our seats, do you want anything? Hot dog, burger, fries?” Denzel asked me. I shook my head. “Alright, I’ll get myself some, then. I’ll get nervous if I stay too still.” He released Eevee and instructed the Pokemon to stay in this seat. “Don’t give it up under any circumstance, got it? Fight for it with your life! Grace, take care of him for me.”

And he was gone.

“I should have asked him for water,” I murmured.

Roark’s battlefield was larger than any I’d seen so far, and was specifically built to give rock types an advantage. Rocks and large boulders littered the field, and tall, jagged hills had been raised in each corner. There was also a small pond in the center-left that was there for water types that couldn’t fight outside of water, such as Goldeen— something each gym was obligated to have.

Soon enough, the next battle started. And then the next. Since Roark was battling almost all day, people were always filtering in and out of the gym. Most people only came for a single battle, or a few, and when those were over, they were out. Some more passionate about Pokemon battling would sometimes stay the entire day— but that category mostly included trainers trying to find any weakness in Roark’s battling style. I had already taken note of this before, but it was even more obvious when I saw the real deal. Roark was a brutal trainer to take on. Normally, someone would think rock types to be defensive Pokemon, but the gym leader was relentless and simply did not stop attacking.

I winced as a poor trainer’s Spheal was slammed against the ground repeatedly until it bled by Geodude. That hadn’t even been a move! The teary-eyed trainer left without shaking Roark’s hand. To think that a Pokemon that strong wasn’t even a part of Roark’s real team… it was sobering.

That could happen to Togepi or Frillish, I thought as I felt my palms get clammy. Or Denzel’s Eevee, I continued, looking at the little furry Pokemon. He was somehow asleep on his trainer’s seat, as if the loudness of the gym didn’t affect him whatsoever.

We made our choice. I won’t back down now.

Soon enough, Denzel came back with a bunch of food and two drinks.

“I got you fries and a soda anyway. I’ll eat ‘em if you don’t,” He said.

I felt my lips rise. “Thanks.”

“Did I miss anything?”

“Oh, not much. Just a few trainers getting their hopes and dreams crushed in front of thousands of people,” I said with a hint of sarcasm before grabbing a fry.

In the next hour and a half, only one trainer managed to beat Roark by using a pretty innovative strategy. He ran out the clock with a Shuckle that had insane defenses, and according to Denzel, they were higher than normal. There had only been one trainer that had participated in the Circuit last year, and Roark used even stronger Pokemon against him, beating him by the skin of his teeth.

But now, it was Chase Karlson’s turn.

I leaned to the side to get a better look at him. He had dark hair, wore a cap, and was seemingly extremely well-built. That was all I could see from up here. I glanced at Denzel, who had his hands clenched around the handles of his seat.

“Welcome, challenger,” Roark began in a dry tone, as he probably had a thousand times before. “This will be a three-on-three battle with one switch-in allowed. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the League Circuit. Now, send out your Pokemon.”

Chase sent out a Riolu, and Roark sent out a Rhyhorn. The referee raised his hand, and then threw it downward. The battle had begun.

“Begin!”

“Riolu, Quick Attack to get close, and get a Bone Rush ready,” Chase said.

“Rock Polish,” Roark said.

The Riolu shone, and then dashed forward in a blur as a bone grew out of its paws. Within seconds, it was on the opposite side of the arena, and it swung its bone downward—

Rhyhorn dodged to the side, almost as if it was figure skating on the rocks.

“Keep up the pressure until it hits,” Chase calmly said.

“Dodge, then Horn Attack.”

My eyes widened. Riolu was using two moves at the same time, something that should have tired him out in seconds! Especially with a move as intensive as Quick Attack.

Riolu struck again and again, hitting the ground and kicking up dust, rocks and sand. Rhyhorn roared and rammed into Riolu, but it ignored the hit, instead grabbing onto the rock type’s head.

“Circle Throw!” Chase said, raising his voice for the first time.

Riolu lifted the huge Rhyhorn and slammed him backward, flipping it on its back. Its palm began to glow blue, and it struck the poor Rhyhorn’s belly five times until his armor cracked. Roark recalled it and signaled to the referee.

“Rhyhorn is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out your next Pokemon.”

Roark obliged and sent out Nosepass.

“Riolu, get in close and Metal Claw!” Chase said.

“Rock Polish,” Roark calmly said. “Then Thunder Wave.”

Using Quick Attack again, Riolu rushed toward the Nosepass with shining, metallic claws growing out of its fists. The Nosepass shone, and then sparks of electricity slowly materialized around it. Riolu feinted toward the left, prompting the Nosepass to dodge right, but then suddenly followed it and hit him straight in the face with two brutal Metal Claws. The Nosepass fainted before it could even paralyze Riolu.

The audience cheered and broke into thunderous applause. I discretely looked at Denzel, who was the most focused I’d ever seen him. He was barely blinking, analyzing every second of the battle.

“Nosepass is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out your last Pokemon,” The referee said, not bothering to hide his astonishment.

Roark grabbed his last Pokeball, but didn’t send out his Pokemon. He frowned, and then placed it back on his belt before grabbing a new one and sending out—

A huge Onix appeared in the arena with a roar that shook me to my core. It stared down at the Riolu like it was a bug, and awaited for Roark’s command. It was the first time Roark had used it this entire Circuit.

Chase stared up in disbelief, unable to speak.

“If you won’t start, I will!” Roark said, seeming more alive than he had been the entire day. “Onix, Slam it!”

Onix’s massive tail slammed downward as Riolu jumped out of the way, recovering with a roll.

“Riolu, Metal Claw again! Get close!” Chase said, snapping out of his stupor.

Close to that monster? I thought. Why?

Using another Quick Attack, Riolu approached the Onix and slashed its hide multiple times. Onix roared in pain.

“Screech! Get it away from you and Rock Throw!” Roark yelled out.

The humongous Pokemon lowered its head toward Riolu and screamed, forcing even me to cover my ears. The sound was horrendous, like nails on a chalkboard, and it knocked Riolu to the ground. The Riolu squirmed in pain, covering its ears.

“Now Slam it! Knock it out!” Roark said.

Onix let itself fall onto Riolu, covering it completely. When it rose, Chase’s pokemon was down for the count. Chase’s face contorted into what I could only describe as pure rage as he retrieved Riolu.

“Riolu is unable to battle. Challenger, please send out your next Pokemon!”

Chase yelled as he released a Houndour.

“Don’t disappoint me,” He said. “Smog!”

A sinister purple smoke began to leave Houndour’s mouth.

Luckily these psychic barriers will protect us, I thought, But a fire type? This is going to be hard.

“Don’t let him! Rock Throw!”

Onix curled its tail around a boulder and threw it toward the Houndour.

“Jump out of the way!” Chase yelled.

Houndour barely made it out, and the rock slammed against the barrier right next to Chase, who seemingly paid it no mind.

“Now, Ember!”

Onix was starting to struggle because of the toxic Smog, but he was still a rock type. He took the Ember and barely flinched.

“Keep Rock Throwing! One is bound to hit!”

The battle kept going like this for the next minute, with Houndour barely dodging Onix’s attack and retaliating with Embers that barely scratched its opponent. Onix was slowing down more and more, however.

“Now, Smog again!”

“It’s all or nothing, Onix! Get in close and Screech, then Slam!” Roark yelled with his hand outstretched.

Onix slithered into the thickest part of the smog and screamed again, forcing the Houndour to stop its attack. Then, using its face, it slammed into the Houndour, sending the small Pokemon flying into the barrier.

“Houndour is unable to battle. Challenger, please send out your last Pokemon,” The referee said.

“Fuck, fuck!” Chase whispered, which was then picked up by his microphone. He sent out his last Pokemon— one I had never seen before. “Grubbin, you’re the last one. Do not lose.”

“Onix, let’s finish this quickly! Screech into Slam one last time!”

“String Shot! Don’t let it get near you!” Chase yelled out, letting panic slip into his voice.

The bug type Pokemon spit out an incredible amount of string, sticking and slowing the Onix down. However, Onix’s huge size meant that he barely had to move to get in Screech range. He used the move one final time, and again, Grubbin was stunned and unable to move. As Onix prepared to slam into the small bug, he stopped moving, and then fell to the side. Smog’s poison had slowly but surely finished it off.

Chase Karlson had won. Barely. But a victory was still a victory. The stadium erupted into a cacophony of applause and cheering as the referee announced Chase’s victory. Roark shook his hand, looking happier than he had ever been, and gave him the TM to Rock Polish, along with digitally adding money and his badge through his trainer card.

Again, Chase Karlson had won.

But he looked like he had lost.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 15

“Wow, that kid was good,” Someone behind us said.

“He made Roark use Onix… I’ve never seen him smile like that.”

“He definitely has potential. That was the best battle of the year so far.”

All around us, there were murmurs of gossip about Chase Karlson. He had already stomped off angrily, but the effect of his victory still lingered in the room. Roark had left to take a break twice longer than normal to get his Pokemon sent to the nearest Center and also replace his team, and a lonely gym trainer released a Kadabra to rebuild a part of the psychic barrier surrounding the arena. It had been damaged by Onix’s Rock Throws and showed signs of cracking.

“You good? Doom scrolling already?” I asked Denzel. He had his Poketch open and was scrolling through the Circuit forums, looking at what people had to say about the battle. The thread was already sporting more than two thousand comments and was on the front page even though the battle had only just happened.

“Yeah. I’m just surprised that Roark used Onix, that’s all,” He said, his face glued to the device.

“That thing was a beast. One Slam is all it takes and your Pokemon are gone… wow,” I reminisced. “I wonder how I’d go about beating something like that.”

Togepi would be out of the picture immediately— her only ranged attack being Fairy Wind and that wasn't even fully learned yet, so I’d have to use Frillish. I closed my eyes and imagined the potential battle. I’d tell Frillish to float up high out of Onix’s Slam range and keep throwing out Bubblebeams. How would Roark respond? Onix’s Rock Throws were pretty telegraphed and easy to dodge because of his size… could I potentially win?

My head told me yes, but knowing Roark, he probably had a strategy to get his opponents back in range of his Onix. Anyway, it wasn’t like I was even strong enough to warrant using that monstrosity.

How frustrating…

“What are they saying online?” I asked, distracting myself.

“Most of it is sucking up to him, calling him the next potential Champion or whatever. I’m just looking at the very few comments analyzing the inner workings of the battle so I can see if what I’m thinking is right,” Denzel said.

“What are you thinking?” I continued.

“That other than Riolu, his other two Pokemon were underwhelming. Even with the type disadvantage, you have to admit that Houndour and Grubbin were so much weaker than Riolu. Or maybe Riolu’s just too strong and that's warping my judgment?” Denzel said.

I let him focus on what he was doing and continued looking back on the battle. My strategy for Onix was already set, but what about that Ryhorn or Nosepass? Roark was an avid user of the Rock Polish move, and thanks to that, his rock types could actually be fast, closing in the distance with Frillish in seconds. Nosepass looked to be a long-range attacker with Thunder Wave, but I hadn’t seen him in action enough to know his other moves. Meanwhile, Ryhorn wouldn’t be able to reach Frilish at all, although I doubted Roark would even use it against us.

I had a lot of studying to do. This gym battle was going to be hard, and I wasn’t going to be able to rely on type advantage alone to win.

Another fifteen minutes passed until Roark came back with a fresh set of Pokemon on his belt. Gyms had dozens of Pokemon of all skill levels available to them able to be used by gym trainers or the leader alike. That was the only way they were able to keep going the entire day without stopping— except for a lunch break. None of these were a part of the gym leader’s actual team, who had to be strong enough to gain at least eight badges. Almost every single current gym leader had previously made it to a conference during a Circuit. Roark was twenty-four years old, which was relatively young, but he was not the youngest gym leader. He had made it to the conference on his third attempt to the Circuit and then been personally chosen by the League to become the old rock type gym leader’s apprentice. He had taken over two years ago after his retirement.

Cecilia Obel walked through the arena doors, stopping my train of thought. She looked even prettier than in the pictures— granted they had been blurry. She wore a checkered black and white skirt with a black long-sleeved shirt, and her dark skin glowed under the gym lights. Roark once again welcomed his challenger and stated his gym rules, including that this would be another three-on-three battle. I swallowed as Cecilia grabbed her first Pokeball. This was it. The first time anyone would see what she used.

The Pokeball released a four-legged Pokemon, whose blue body was covered in dark fur— or were they scales?— Going up to its eyes. Its roar reverberated through the stadium, and the audience started to go wild.

“What is that?” I asked Denzel. He didn’t hear me.

I grabbed my Pokedex and hoped I was close enough for it to work.

Deino, the irate Pokemon. Because it can’t see, this Pokémon is constantly biting at everything it touches, trying to keep track of its surroundings. It will usually eat anything that moves near its mouth.

Type: Dragon, Dark

I read over the typing again.

It was a dragon type. The most feared Pokemon type that only the greatest trainers could raise. Even their unevolved forms were a threat to anything that could anger them. And Cecilia Obel had that power at her beck and call.

Roark’s eyes widened, and he sent out his Cranidos— another Pokemon he had never used this year. The referee signaled the start of the match.

“Begin!”

“This one’s a doozy, Cranidos. Rock Polish!” Roark yelled out, shifting into gear right away.

“Dragon Breath. Fifty percent,” Cecilia said in a calm tone.

Cranidos glowed white and increased its speed as Deino burped, then gurgled and roared out a massive beam of yellowish-blue draconic energy.

“Outflank it to the left! Don’t get hit!” Roark screamed.

Cranidos ran left and hid behind a boulder. The Dragon Breath shortly followed and—

The boulder exploded, sending chunks that would have landed in the stands if not for Kadabra’s barrier. It hit Cranidos, who promptly fell to the ground and fainted. That Dragon Breath had lasted more than thirty seconds— and Deino wasn’t tired whatsoever. In fact, he looked angry.

“Calm down. Be a good boy.” Cecilia said.

The dragon snapped and roared at her in anger, but he listened.

“Cranidos is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out your next Pokemon.”

Without any hesitation, Roark sent out a Lairon. I nodded, remembering my days back at school. The steel type would help resist dragon type attacks—

“Deino, Incinerate. Eighty percent.”

I gasped as Deino’s mouth was engulfed in flames before they were ejected at full speed toward the Lairon.

“Lairon, run—”

The flames already hit it, superheating its iron plates until they glowed red.

“That was as fast as a flamethrower…” Denzel said in disbelief.

“L—Lairon is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out your last Pokemon.”

“Impressive. In my few short years working as a gym leader, this is the most impressive Pokemon I’ve seen a brand new trainer raise,” Roark said as he grabbed his last Pokeball. “I underestimated you. But no longer.”

He sent out a Graveler, Geodude’s evolved form.

“Rock Polish into Rollout!” Roark said.

“Dragon Breath, full power,” Cecilia responded.

The Graveler retracted its arms and began rolling as fast as a Quick Attack, taking the brunt of the Dragon Breath attack. It rammed into the Dragon, who quickly attempted to bite it in retaliation.

“No biting! Focus! Keep using Dragon Breath!” Cecilia yelled.

The Dragon snarled and kept attacking the Graveler, but eventually, the speed it had built up was too much. It rolled around the arena, taking a full lap before making another pass at Deino.

“You can’t dodge! Give me another Dragon Breath!” Cecilia said.

The Graveler hit the Deino and sent him flying into the barrier. For a second, there was only silence as Cecilia waited to see if her dragon would stand back up. It didn’t.

She sighed as she returned him, whispering something to her Pokeball that the microphones didn’t pick up.

“Deino is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your next Pokemon.”

“Very well,” She answered as she released a sleeping Slowpoke. The pink Pokemon lazily got up and stared at its trainer in confusion. “That Graveler took down Deino. Steel yourself.”

As if a switch had been activated in its mind, Slowpoke lost all of its sluggish movement and stood ready for any attack.

I’ve never even heard of a Slowpoke like this, I thought. They’re supposed to be stupid and… well, slow.

“It’s fast! Water Gun!” Cecilia said.

Slowpoke opened its mouth and a huge blast of water flew toward the Graveler.

“Roll left, and then Bulldoze!”

“Send it left!”

The Graveler obliged and dodged to the left, but the Slowpoke’s eyes turned pink as its Water Gun attack curved mid-air and hit its opponent. Graveler yelled out in pain and fell unconscious. That was it. The battle was over.

That girl was even stronger than Chase Karlson. Not only did she keep a dragon type under control, but her other Pokemon were seemingly strong as well. Denzel and I decided to leave quickly afterward now that the two battles we had come to see were over, but we were both shaken. I expected her to be strong, but that was entirely another level. My mind whirred as I looked back on the battle. How would I have beaten Roark if he used the same Pokemon? After thinking about it for a few minutes, I realized that I just couldn’t have.

“I’m going training,” Both Denzel and I said at the same time.

“Ah—”

“Sorry—” He said.

We both laughed it off and went our separate ways without more words needing to be spoken. That battle had completely upended the way we looked at the way we were currently doing things. I needed to work harder. I needed to reach the level they were standing at. And I knew I would in time. I smiled to myself. This was the joy of Pokemon battling. Striving to become better and stronger, and working hard until you won. And that win? It would feel like the best thing in the world.

As I left the stands and reached the lobby, I saw Cecilia Obel surrounded by a bunch of other people. Were those her friends? Her traveling companions, probably. I stared for a few seconds before her eyes met mine. I flinched, averting my eyes, and pretended that the ceiling was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world.

I’m so obvious, I cringed at myself.

Luckily, Cecilia seemingly ignored me and left the building. Unwilling to see her again because of shame, I waited a few minutes before exiting the building as well, but what I saw surprised me.

A massive group of trainers was standing in a circle around something.

“What’s happening?” I asked someone at the edge of the circle of human bodies.

“Looks like two people are about to fight,” He said. “And they’re apparently really good, but I don’t know much about ‘em. Ask someone else.”

“Thanks anyway,” I said.

I decided to take the initiative using my small stature. It was sometimes a curse, but today it was a blessing. I sneaked in between a few people, reaching the front of the group, and saw that Chase Karlson was practically frothing at the mouth in anger at Cecilia and her group.

“Let’s get our teams healed and then battle me, you coward! I’ll show the world that you’re nothing but overrated Unovan trash!”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 16

A series of ‘ Ooooohs ’ ran through the crowd after Chase’s challenge. Cecilia simply sighed and shook her head.

“No, thank you,” She said.

“That wasn’t a question. I’m going to put you in the dirt and expose you like the fraud you are!” Chase yelled.

“Watch yourself, low-class trash ,” One of Cecilia’s companions said. “Don’t you dare talk to her like that! Don’t you know who I am?!”

“Fuck off, I’m not talking to you. Can’t she speak for herself?”

“I did, and I said I wouldn’t battle you,” Cecilia said, before walking off. Her group followed suit.

“I know what you are! I looked you up! You think you’re so strong when the only reason you’re here is because of your brother and father ,” Chase said. She stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh? Did I hit a nerve?” He grinned and turned to the audience. “Everybody acts like this chick having a dragon is some great unimaginable feat, but her brother owns a Hydreigon— which I’m sure most people here know, but connect the dots! They probably gave her its offspring. Not only is that an unfair advantage, but she has the best Deino possible! Good genes, and someone to call for training advice whenever she wants.”

Murmurs ran through the crowd as people began to agree with his points.

“Now, with your father, you get virtually infinite amounts of cash! And not only that,” He paused as he pointed to the biggest kid of the group. “But you’re also engaged to this motherfucker.”

I heard a few people gasp, along with whispers about his name. Bianchi .

“So yes, motherfucker . I do know who you are, and I just can’t be bothered to care. Don’t you people see?!” Chase asked, addressing us. “These rich fucks are pooling their resources together and helping each other even though they already have an unfair advantage to begin with! And I’m going to prove that no matter how much you cheat, you’re still worse than I am,” Chase finally finished. The crowd was now fully on his side, chanting for the girl to go back to Unova. Cecilia’s shoulder were shaking, and she was frozen in place.

“Why are you like this?” I blurted out.

“ Huh? Who the hell are you? Some other groupie?!” He asked.

I looked around myself, and my eyes widened. I had just spoken without realizing it, and everyone’s attention was now on me . My breathing quickened and my heart pounded against my ribcage.

“Ah—uh—I mean— There’s no reason to be m—mean, right?” I said, stumbling all over my words. “Let’s all just get along…”

“You add nothing to the conversation. You don’t counter my points. Do us all a favor and stop talking—”

“N—no, look, sure, some of it might be unfair, but it’s not the first time this happened. It’s like this every year!” I said, finding my courage. I remembered that this was the man who had destroyed Denzel’s self-esteem for sport, and now he was trying to do it to someone else? No. “In fact, I think that you’re just mad that her victory overshadowed yours. Am I wrong?”

“Even if you were right, my point still applies.”

“Then complain to the League, don’t make all of these people gang up on her. Ask them to institute some standards! She’s not at fault here, the system is!”

“Why are you fighting so hard for someone who would never give you the time of day? You’re sucking up to them for no reason!” Chase asked me as if he was unable to comprehend my actions.

“Because it isn’t right! We’re all in this together, and fighting because of your small ego won’t make you any better. Try to be a better person for a change, and maybe one day, you’ll have friends to ask for help too if you’re struggling!”

"Gr aaaah ,” Chase groaned. “ Fine, you’re off the hook for now, Unovan . You can thank the Legendaries that some bootlicker decided to bat for you— you didn’t even have to defend yourself. But that’s how it always is with you, isn’t it ? Always have other people speak for you. Your dad, your brother, and now this random trainer,” He finished. “This city’s fucking mediocre, I’m out.”

The boy shoved his hands in his pockets and stormed off. The crowd dispersed soon afterward, and I noticed that some people had been recording with their Poketch. I hoped nobody would put this online— with these two trainers being the center of attention this year, some would inevitably fall onto me, which was something I didn’t want. Unlike Denzel, I simply wanted to do my own thing without being ‘famous’. I wanted to be able to walk down a street without trainers recognizing me because that could either go well, or really badly— case in point: what just happened to Cecilia.

“You. What’s your name?” Someone asked.

I jumped and turned toward the voice, which was Cecilia and her group.

“M—me?” I asked.

“Of course. Who else?”

“Grace Pastel. Why?”

“Well, Grace. Thank you for your help, I appreciate it. I didn’t have it in me to defend myself, but it was nice to have someone willing to do so,” She said in a passive-aggressive tone.

Was she throwing shade at her group, or was I imagining things? Either way, Cecilia was gone as fast as she had come, and I’d probably never see her again. I sighed. I wanted to ask her about how she battled. She was so cool and collected the entire time. And the percentages? What did that even mean ? The power of her Pokemon’s attacks, maybe? How did one train a dragon to do something like that, and why would you even do so?

So many questions, and so few answers.

Anyway, that was enough drama for an entire year. It was time to train. I may have disliked Chase and wanted to know more about Cecilia, one thing was for certain: they were way better trainers than I was, and I had to discover what was the difference between us. For now, though, it was time to train.

——

I spent the next few days training harder than ever before. With Frillish, we worked on strengthening his Bubblebeam as much as possible, along with attempting to increase his speed. Sure he could float, but he would just be a sitting target for Rock Throws if he wasn’t able to move out of the way. Denzel had told me to go train against the Geodude from Oreburgh cave, although he had warned me explicitly not to underestimate them and take cover whenever I fought one. He didn’t have to tell me twice— I already knew wild Pokemon were extremely dangerous because they wouldn’t hesitate to target the trainer, and had no restraints on their attacks.

Frillish’s training had gone well, and his Bubblebeams were faster, more powerful, and lasted longer, along with Night Shade, although we neglected his other attacks in order to make more time for those two. I just couldn’t see a scenario where Frillish ever got in physical contact with one of Roark’s Pokemon and lived to tell the tale. Unlike Togepi, he was way too frail to take more than one attack. Maybe two, if I felt generous. At the end of every training session, I’d have to go and buy Frillish poffins, which was seriously draining my money reserves.

For Togepi, she was now fully capable of using Fairy Wind. I had to be careful with her, however, because she still couldn’t really control how big it was, which meant that I was forced to stand very far away from her every time she used it and that I couldn’t use it in battles to avoid risking the lives of trainers facing her. I didn’t know what would happen if a human was hit with it, but knowing how strong Pokemon were, I was sure it wouldn’t be pretty.

The second move we worked extensively on was Sweet Kiss. It was faster now, and its confusion effect was more potent. I was confident Roark’s Pokemon would stay confused for at least two of Togepi’s next attacks instead of the one we normally always got. We had also created a signal for it so that it wouldn’t be telegraphed so easily. Whenever I’d tap my foot twice against the ground hard , she would send out a Sweet Kiss. I had already tricked quite a few trainers with it. The only other move we worked on was Rollout, but not as an offensive move. It would do nothing against Roark’s rock types, but it would be useful as a movement-oriented ability. Like Frillish, Togepi was quite slow— obviously, with the size of her stubby little legs. With Rollout, however, she’d be able to relocate anywhere on the field at relatively good speeds, and it would be useful to dodge attacks as well. In the end, we had improved on her maneuverability with the move, and she was able to take sharper turns and stop abruptly more easily.

At last, my battle with the Oreburgh gym trainer had arrived. Denzel’s would be tomorrow, and he had attempted to come to see me, but the battles were meant to be private. I followed the gym trainer deep inside of the gym until we reached a battlefield that was a replica of Roark’s— only one point five times smaller.

“Alright, let’s do it. This’ll be a two-on-two battle with no switching allowed. Obviously no killing , and you have to send out your Pokemon first,” She said in an upbeat voice.

“You seem excited,” I asked as I grabbed my Pokeball with trembling hands. I was trying to distract myself with small talk, but it wasn’t working.

“First time doing one of these, so that means Roark acknowledged my skills,” She said with a smile.

“Cool, cool…” I said.

Enough stalling. I took a deep breath, held it there for a few seconds, and exhaled as I released Frillish. Calm down, Grace, I thought to myself. It’ll be fine. You trained for this.

“You’re up Frillish. This is it. This is what we trained for,” I told him.

He nodded and stared straight ahead.

“A Frillish, huh? Interesting, I haven’t seen many of those before,” The gym trainer said as she sent out her Pokemon. A small tree-like being materialized in front of her, confusing me for a second before I recognized it. It was a Bonsly.

A screen flanking the arena lit up and counted down from three.

I got this .

“Get up high and then Bubblebeam!” I yelled out as soon as the timer hit zero.

Frillish propelled himself upward with his tentacles, and a stream of bubbles rushed toward the Bonsly.

“Jump back, and then Rock Throw!”

Bonsly dodged, but Frillish’s attack hadn’t ended. The Bubblebeam followed it and impacted it directly, causing it to faint.

Yes! I celebrated in my head. I had taken inspiration from Deino’s seemingly endless Dragon Breath and trained Frillish to keep his Bubblebeam going as long as possible. One more .

“Wow, you’re good,” The gym trainer said as she sent out a Geodude.

“I am?” I asked, beaming with a smile.

“Yep. Geodude, Rock Throw!”

Geodude grabbed a rock and threw it upward, but it failed to even reach Frillish because of how high up he was.

“Aw, shucks,” She said.

“B—Bubblebeam?” I ordered, unsure of what was going on. Wasn’t this too easy?

Frillish sent out another Bubblebeam, which Geodude dodged with Rollout. Eventually, however, he tired out, and after two hits, he went down.

“Congratulations, challenger! You’re now allowed to battle Roark. Head down to the lobby, and we’ll tell you the date and time of your battle,” She said, returning her fainted Pokemon. After a pause, she spoke again. “I can see the look on your face. You’re good, but you’re not that good— no offense. This is just the only check we have to regulate the amount of trainers taking up Roark’s time. Beating the Pokemon we use is the bare minimum level of skill someone should be at before challenging him, and if you struggled, the odds are you’d never beat him. You have a chance, though,” She said with a wink. “Don’t let the win get to your head. I’ve seen it happen, and the consequences could be disastrous.”

I took her advice to heart and made my way back to the lobby. I immediately told Denzel I had won, and he looked ecstatic for me. After a few minutes of waiting, my battle with Roark was scheduled. In three days, at 5:30 pm, my first gym battle would finally take place.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 17

Obviously, I spent the next days training on the same moves I had been. They had delivered me a victory against a gym trainer, and they would help me immensely against Roark. We took very little breaks, apart from waiting for the results of Denzel’s gym trainer battle in the lobby. He came out with a huge smile on his face and had apparently done even better than expected, just like I had.

“Eevee should be able to deal with it— I don’t want to use Budew at all, which is a shame because I caught her specifically for this gym,” He said. “But our Double Kick, Quick Attack combo is lethal.”

“I hope so,” I responded dryly. I was too focused on strategy to have a conversation, as rude as it sounded.

Every moment I didn’t spend training was spent going through battle scenarios in my head. I went through as many battle videos as possible, analyzing each one of Roark’s Pokemon and moves to be ready for anything. Some nights, I would barely sleep at all, much to Togepi’s chagrin. She was worried about me, the little sweet thing. I couldn’t stop, though. I was so close, and I would better be safe than sorry. Plus, gathering information about Roark calmed my nerves, even though I was still terrified.

“Are you sure you’re okay with taking a day off work to watch me?” I asked Dad the night before my battle. “I don’t want you to get scolded by your boss.”

“Nonsense. I had a lot of sick days saved up, and the new Poketch is finally out. Plus, I think the higher-ups are going a little bit insane— they have this whole marketing idea with clowns…”

Dad kept talking about his work. I wanted to cut him off at multiple points to get some last-minute studying in, but I felt bad. He didn’t have any friends— more like work acquaintances— and now that Togepi and I were gone, he didn’t have anybody to talk to. He was fully confident I was going to make it, and his belief in me did more to help than he could ever imagine. After our call, which lasted an hour and a half, I looked at the time. 11:23 pm. If I started back up again at midnight, I’d have four hours or so to study Roark, and then I could sleep for another five. Before that, however, I called my mother.

“Your battle is tomorrow? Oh, Arceus, I’ll have to go to Ronald and Casey’s place to watch, our house doesn’t have the internet.”

“Just internet, mom. No ‘the’ at the start. Anyway, it’s at five-thirty, so make sure to root for me,” I said.

“Of course, I will. I’m sure you’ll do very well!” She said. I could tell she was smiling on the other side of the call.

I had been nervous about reconnecting with mom, but to be honest, it was… nice. Her voice felt reassuring in a way that I couldn’t explain. I was glad dad made me go to Twinleaf that day. We spent thirty minutes or so just chit-chatting about anything that came to mind. Herdier was doing better than ever, and there had been no ‘weird people’— which was how we had described that shady organization to them before we left— hanging around Twinleaf

“You should go to sleep, Grace. It’s almost midnight, and you’ve got a big day tomorrow,” Mom told me.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. I’ll stay up for a little while longer.”

“I’m not going to tell you what to do— you’ve been doing fine without me in your life so far. But from experience, you’ll do better during an important day if you had your full eight hours the night before. You’re exhausted, aren’t you? I can tell.”

“I’m… I’m fine.”

“Do what you think is right, Grace. I… I love you. Was that fine to say? Is it too early?” She asked with a shaky voice.

I let out a little gasp and hung up out of surprise before throwing my Poketch on the other side of the bed. Her words had jolted me out of my dazed state, and I was now fully awake. Waking up like this made me realize that she had been right. I was tired.

I sighed and got into bed before drifting off to sleep.

——

“And you’re okay with bright, flashing lights?” A gym trainer asked me.

I nodded.

“Sounds good,” He said as he finished fitting me with a microphone. “There… you… go! On you go! Oh, and reminder not to touch Kadabra’s barriers. That can mess with them, and we certainly don’t want that. Good luck out here, challenger!”

I nodded again and got ready to step into the arena. The night had passed so quickly. One second I was awake, and the other, the sun was shining through my curtains. I bit the inside of my lip to stop my teeth from chattering, and I wiped my hands on my jeans before stepping outside. I raised my hand to cover my eyes, trying to get used to the light. There were a lot less people than there had been for Chase or Cecilia’s matches, but there were still thousands here. And that wasn’t accounting for the people watching from the comfort of their homes.

My entire body felt tight. Like I was getting squeezed until I’d pop. I had to remind myself to breathe before I stepped toward the area designated for trainers— a slightly elevated rectangular platform. A few seconds later, Roark did the same. He looked older than he was, with deep-set lines running across his face and rectangular glasses.

“Welcome, challenger,” Roark said nonchalantly. “This will be a two-on-two battle with one switch-in allowed. I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the League Circuit. Now, send out your Pokemon.”

“Alright Grace, y—you’ve got this,” I told myself after a few deep breaths.

A few people in the audience started laughing, confusing me until I remembered that I had a microphone on. I drew a sharp breath and apologized, which provoked more laughs.

I wanted to die.

I hurriedly grabbed Frillish’s Pokeball with a sweaty hand and almost dropped it before releasing him on the field. He was a little taken aback by the uniqueness of the situation, but I had warned him ahead of time, along with Togepi. After a few seconds, he was ready.

Roark nodded and a small rock-like creature covered in shining diamonds floated into the air. It was one of Roark’s rarest Pokemon to use, but I had still studied it, so I knew what to expect.

“Begin!” The referee said.

“Power Gem,” Roark said.

Instantly, my mind went from a nervous wreck to overdrive as everything I had learned in the last few days rushed back to me.

“Just like we practiced! Dodge with Water Sport!” I yelled out.

A few shining light rays appeared next to Carbink and rushed toward Frillish, who quickly propelled himself out of the way with a jet of water.

“Now Bubblebeam it!” I said.

Frillish reared his head back, and then forward as a mass of bubbles escaped from his mouth faster than they had ever been.

“Light Screen.”

A shiny barrier surrounded the floating Carbink, weakening Frillish’s attack. From what I studied, it was one of Roark’s most defensive-minded Pokemon.

“Keep it going, buddy!”

The Bubblebeam didn’t stop. After twenty seconds or so, the Light Screen was broken. Carbink attempted to move out of the way, but Frillish homed in on it with incredible accuracy.

“Get behind a boulder!” Roark said, raising his voice.

Carbink chimed and escaped from our relentless attack. Frillish stayed up in the air as we waited for Roark’s next move.

“Ancient Power, then rush it!” Roark said after a few seconds.

Ancient power and not Smack Down? I thought. That was new!

A few rocks were surrounded by blue light and levitated toward Frillish. Slowly at first, and then extremely quickly. Without needing my command, he dodged the first few with Water Sport, but he was hit by two. Before he could even recuperate, he was hit directly by Carbink’s Tackle and began falling to the ground.

“No! Focus! Get him away from you with Night Shade!” I screamed, letting panic slip into my voice.

“Fri!”

A shadowy replica of Frillish appeared behind the two falling Pokemon and dashed through the Carbink, getting it off of him. With another jet of water, Frillish stopped himself from hitting the ground too hard, and he was back in the air in seconds. Carbink crashed into the field, kicking up an insane amount of sand, rocks, and dust.

“Don’t let it recover! Bubblebeam again!”

Frillish started hitting the plume with multiple, short attacks until he found his opponent thanks to its chime of pain. He focused on that area until it was revealed that Carbink had fainted.

“Carbink is unable to battle. Leader Roark, send out your last Pokemon.” The referee said.

One more, I thought. One more, and I’m fucking golden.

Roark smirked and returned his Carbink before sending out his last Pokemon.

What would it be, I thought to myself anxiously as the red form materialized into shape. One of his strongest?

Needless to say, I couldn’t help but be disappointed when I saw a large Geodude appear. On one hand, it was the one I had studied the most, but on the other, it stung to know that I wasn’t good enough to warrant using one of Roark’s main threats.

“Up high, Frillish!” I said, recalling my plan. “As high as you can, then Bubblebeam!”

Frillish began to float upward—

“Rock Throw, crush variation.” Roark said.

Crush variation? What was—

Geodude’s body crackled as it flexed its arms before grabbing a huge rock. Using its hands, it crushed the rock down to rubble and then threw them at incredible speeds toward Frillish.

“Shit! Frillish, Water Sport—”

He was already using the move before I even finished, propelling himself downward to dodge the barrage of rocks making its way toward him. Unfortunately, they covered an area too large to dodge. I swallowed as my Pokemon was hit by a dozen of small rocks, penetrating through its body. If he hadn’t been a ghost type, he would be bleeding right now.

“Another one, Geodude!”

If this keeps up, I’m done, I thought.

“Don’t let him! Attack, attack, attack!” I yelled out.

A stream of bubbles rushed out of Frillish’s mouth, but they were simply popped by Geodude’s attack, and only a few reached their target. Meanwhile, another dozen rocks hit Frillish, staggering him.

This isn’t working.

“Get down, and then get close with Water Sport!”

Frillish deactivated his levitation powers and fell to the ground like a ragdoll before propelling himself with a jet of water seconds before hitting the ground.

“Rock Polish before another throw!” Roark screamed.

Geodude shone for a few seconds and then crushed another rock. It threw the rubble toward Frillish hard, and it would deal more damage now that the distance was lower. I gambled that he’d be able to take it anyway.

Frillish spun around and tried as best he could to evade the oncoming rocks, but the majority of them still hit him. He slowed a little, but kept going.

“Wrap around him and then Absorb!”

He bumped his soft body into Geodude and wrapped his tentacles around it before sucking its energy.

Roark’s eyes widened. “Get him off of you quick!”

Foregoing levitation, Geodude used its two hands to run toward the biggest boulder he could find before ramming into it. Frillish bore the brunt of the damage, and after struggling to get off the ground for a few seconds, he fainted.

“You did great,” I said as I retrieved Frillish. “I’ll give you lots to eat later.”

“Frillish is unable to battle. Challenger, send out your last Pokemon.”

I sent out Togepi.

“Frillish is out. It’s up to you and me, princess!”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 18

Geodude was slower, and he looked tired. Frillish had done a great job, but now it was time to finish this.

“Rollout!” Roark said immediately.

The Geodude scrunched up into a ball and began to roll toward Togepi. It was incredibly fast thanks to Rock Polish, but if it was going in a straight line, that wasn’t a problem. I waited as much as I could until I slammed my foot twice against the ground hard.

A pink heart hit Geodude, prompting it to veer off course and ram into Kadabra’s barrier.

“Fairy Wind as long as you can!” I said.

“Geodude, get up!”

Pink mist began swirling around Togepi and then rushed toward the Geodude. It keened in pain, but was still too disoriented to do anything. For the next few seconds, I thought that this was it. That there was no way he’d be able to withstand such a move after that onslaught he had suffered fighting Frillish.

I was wrong.

“Snap. Out. Of. It!” Roark bellowed.

Geodude shook itself, and then faced Togepi, who was too tired to keep up her Fairy Wind.

“Now Rollout again! Zig zag randomly to avoid Sweet Kiss!”

“Dodge with Rollout! Run away!”

Togepi retreated into her shell and fled, but the Geodude was faster than her. It caught up and rammed into her, sending her headfirst into a rock.

“Togepi!”

She slowly got back on her feet, but she was staggering now. One more hit and she was done. I clenched my fist.

“Fairy Wind! I know you have another one in you!”

“Get behind something!”

The Fairy Wind was weaker than it had been before, but it still hit the Geodude before he managed to take cover.

“Now, get ‘em!” Roark continued.

Geodude rushed toward Togepi, grabbing her and slamming her against the ground. My hand hovered over her Pokeball as I wondered—

Snap out of it! There’s still hope—

Geodude threw her high into the air before using Rock Throw and hitting her.

Ah. It’s over.

But suddenly.

High up in the sky.

A light began to shine.

She was like a star.

Togepi was surrounded by a blinding light as her body morphed and elongated. She never hit the ground.

“Togepi, you’re— you’re flying!”

“Geodude, Rock Throw, crush variation!”

I snapped out of my daze. There was no way to know if she had learned a new move, so I stuck to what I knew.

“Try to dodge! Then Fairy Wind!”

Togetic clumsily beat her wings and dodged whenever she could as she gathered fairy energy around her. Rocks began to swirl in the wind as she gathered everything she had into one last attack.

“Go!” I said.

“Getic!”

The wind was faster now, and thicker. Geodude rolled behind a rock, but Togetic could control it better now. The wind curved around the boulder and slammed Geodude against the psychic barrier.

It didn’t get back up.

I had won.

The stands broke into thunderous applause as I stood there, wondering if I was dreaming. Still in my dazed state, I returned Togetic to her ball while Roark made his way around the battlefield at a brisk pace.

“Congratulations, challenger, that was a great battle. May I have your ID?” He asked.

I stared at him for a few seconds before slowly giving him my trainer card. He scanned it using some kind of device, and when I got it back, my first badge was displayed near the bottom left.

“I’ve handed you the coal badge and transferred five thousand pokedollars to your account. Your Pokedex, please?” He continued.

“Uh— yes.”

He inserted a disk into the TM compartment and gave it back to me after a few seconds.

“You’ll be able to teach the TM Rock Polish to Pokemon that can learn it. Again, congratulations. Feel free to catch your breath in the waiting room for a few minutes before leaving. I can tell you’re shaken.”

“Wait! I—I have something to tell you. Ah, the microphone—”

“They’re disabled as soon as a match end. What is it?” Roark asked.

I felt like telling him about what happened at Lake Verity would make me lose all of my credibility. Looking at it from his perspective, who would even believe what a random fifteen year old said? Unfortunately, I still had to forego all common sense and try.

“Could we do this in private? It has to do with something that happened near Twinleaf. There’s a criminal organization in Sinnoh— or at least I believe so. They threatened to kill me and my friend.”

Roark frowned. “Is this a joke?” I shook my head. “You’re serious then. Meet me back in the gym lobby when I’m done battling for the day. Bring your friend.”

“But the gym will be closed—”

“I’ll have someone let you in. And this better have some substance to it. I don’t take nicely to people wasting my time. Now go.”

I nodded and left. I was happy I even managed to get the story out. Passing through the waiting room, I saw a nervous trainer waiting for her turn. That had been me ten minutes ago, and now I was on top of the world. It hadn’t sunk in yet, that I had gotten my first gym badge. Fifty percent wouldn’t make it past their first gym badge. That meant I was better than at least fifty percent of trainers.

I made my way to the lobby and waited for Denzel. He came out of the stands with a radiant smile.

“Grace! You did it! You were fantastic— you and your team! I can’t believe Togepi evolved!” He said with his hands on my shoulder.

“I can’t believe I won. I mean, I worked like hell for it, but I think there was a part of me that just expected me to flounder and lose miserably. I’m… so happy,” I said softly.

“Cheer up, dude! You’re looking all morose when you should be celebrating! In fact, let’s go out tonight, I’ll treat you to something,” Denzel cheered.

“What about your training?” I asked.

“I still have tomorrow. I want to celebrate with you, come on!”

I broke into a smile. “Fine!”

On our way back to the Center, I spoke to him about our meeting with Roark tonight, turning him into an uneasy mood— a far cry from his joyful attitude just minutes ago.

“So that’s it, huh? This is our last chance to make our pitch. There’s no one else to rely on.”

“Well, there’s still the other gym leaders, but if Roark doesn’t take us seriously, there’s no reason to think the others will. So yeah, you’re right.”

I handed in my Pokemon to Nurse Joy and took a long-awaited shower in my room. My clothes were soaked in sweat, something my body did without my consent whenever I was nervous. You’d think I had just gone for a run in a marathon. I sighed as I let the warm water wash over my skin. The water was free after all, and I was going to take my sweet time.

——

Thirty minutes later, I stepped out of the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes and noticed that I had a grand total of twelve missed calls on my Poketch. Eight from dad and four from mom.

“Arceus… you guys are so extra,” I muttered as I called my dad.

“Grace! I’m so, so proud of you! Legendaries, I was so nervous the entire battle, I thought I was having a heart attack! Hell, I want to go out in the streets and tell everybody that my daughter’s got a badge!”

I smirked. “Dad, don’t embarrass me.”

“I’ll have an entire selection of cakes when you come back! Chocolate, carrot, vanilla, name it, and it’ll be on the table! And I can’t believe our little Togepi’s all grown up. That evolution came in the nick of time, eh?”

“Yup. I think I would have lost without it, I don’t know if she was getting up after that Rock Throw.”

“And your Frillish was great too! I don’t want to look like I’m playing favorites— although between us, Togepi— ah, Togetic now, will always be my little princess. I’m so happy for you two.”

“I was a nervous wreck. I hope nobody remembers that.”

“If I hear or see anyone talking about you in a bad way, I’ll knock ‘em out.”

“And then you’ll go to jail for assault,” I chuckled.

“Worth it. But seriously Grace, don’t let anybody take this way from you. This is your accomplishment. You worked hard for it, and you deserve it. Enjoy the win.”

It was finally sinking in. I was a good trainer. I wasn’t a prodigy or even a top contender, but I was fucking good.

“Thank you, dad. I love you.”

“Love you too, future champ,” He said. I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help but smile. “Make sure to treat yourself to something.”

“I will. Denzel’s taking me somewhere— although I still don’t know where.”

“Alright, well I won’t annoy you any longer. You kids have fun! Bye!”

I hung up, and after a few moments, I started skipping around my room.

“I’ve got a badge! I’ve got a badge!”

——

A few hours later— just before we were supposed to head out to meet Roark— I got my Pokemon back. I brought them out and brought them into a tight hug as soon as we were back in my room.

“You guys… you did so good,” I said, feeling tears well up in my eyes. “I’m so happy we’re partners.”

Togetic let out a familiar chirp, and Frillish wrapped his cold tentacles around my back.

“I love you,” I told them both.

After a small heart-to-heart, I freed them from my grasp.

“We’ll review the battle later to see what we can improve on,” I said. “Mind if you go in your ball again, buddy?” I asked Frillish. He shook his head, and I returned him. “Now, let’s take a look at you,” I told Togetic.

She had grown so much. She stood slightly taller than two feet, and her shell had been absorbed into her body. Every Togepi had a unique pattern on their shell that would be imprinted onto them when they became a Togetic, and this was no different.

“Can you try flying for me?” I asked.

“Toge!” She answered right away.

She began flapping her wings and clumsily got into her air, knocking over all kinds of items I had laid on the room’s counter. She continued until she hit a wall and then fell on her back.

“Alright, we can work on that,” I said. “I wonder how you even fly.”

Togetic’s wings were small for a body of her size, and she shouldn’t have been able to fly under any realistic circumstances. Maybe she was using some kind of fairy energy to help her float. Either way, I scanned her with my Pokedex.

Togetic, the happiness Pokemon. Togetic is said to be a Pokémon that brings good fortune. When the Pokémon spots someone who is pure of heart, it is said to appear and share its happiness with that person. No records exist of Togetic being seen in the wild. It evolves under the loving care of a trusted human companion, upon whom the Pokémon then bestows great joy. It can float in midair without moving its wings.

Type: Fairy, Flying.

Ability: Hustle

“Seems like you think I’m kind-hearted. I’m flattered,” I joked.

“Tic!” She cheered.

“Let’s try this again. Apparently, you’re supposed to be able to fly without your wings. I think they’re just for maneuverability,” I explained.

Togetic nodded and began to float like Frillish could. When she was unable to stop, she wiggled her feet and arms around. It didn’t help. She hit the ceiling and then fell to the ground again. I crouched at her side and caressed her face.

“You okay, princess?”

She smiled as she wrapped her tiny arms around me and snuggled into my chest.

Still as cute as ever, I thought. Now it was time to check for any new moves. My Pokedex displayed the moves Extrasensory and Ancient Power, which surprised me. I had no idea Togetic could be this versatile, but I wasn’t going to complain. Still, that meant two new moves to work on, along with her flying. And that wasn’t even adding Frillish to the mix, who I wanted to start working on too now that I didn’t have to focus so much on Bubblebeam.

But that was all in the future. For now, it was time to go meet Roark.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 19

It was strange to be in the Oreburgh gym at night. Most lights were turned off, and almost nobody was there, giving the building an eerie atmosphere because it was just so large . The gym trainer that had let us in led us to Roark’s office upstairs, which was in an isolated corner of the building. Personally, I wouldn’t want to work somewhere that took so long just to get to, but maybe the peace and quiet during the day was worth it. The gym trainer gently knocked on Roark’s door and waited for a few seconds.

“Come in,” He said.

The trainer opened the door and gestured for us to get in before closing the door.

“So, Grace Pastel and Denzel Williams. Tell me your story.”

Denzel and I glanced at each other and waited. I think we both expected the other to do the talking, so we ended up in this moment of awkward silence.

“Well?” Roark probed.

“Ah— well, a few weeks before the Circuit…” Denzel started.

Just like we had done with the Sandgem police, we told him everything, but this time we stressed that they had threatened to kill us with their Pokemon, believing that was the thing the most likely to spur the League to action. Roark asked for more details, such as the exact location of the lake, and the exact time the incident took place. We answered as best we could.

“Anything else?” Roark said, spinning a pen in his hand. His uninterested, tired gaze made me anxious and was a far cry from how he looked when he battled me.

“That’s everything,” Denzel said.

“I hope you’re not lying to me. Criminal organizations are extremely dangerous— so I hope you understand that I wouldn’t take kindly to this being all fake.”

“We have nothing to gain from lying,” I said. “Especially when Denzel’s battling you soon. You could make sure he never gets his badge.”

“Fair enough,” Roark said after a pause. “I’ll look into it. Now leave, I have work to do.”

We nodded and left quietly. All things considered, that could have gone way worse, and we at least had confirmation that someone important was at least going to attempt to figure this out. I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. If something was to happen without us having done anything about it, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself. I looked up at the sky as the cool air blew into my hair. Autumn was soon approaching, and I finally felt like I’d be able to enjoy this year to the fullest.

Denzel ended up taking me out to a somewhat fancy restaurant to celebrate my victory, and even after my many protests, he still ended up paying after snatching the bill away from me. It tasted great, and it was a nice change from fast food or the Pokemon Center cafeteria. The next day, Denzel was about to go off to Oreburgh gate to train. I could tell the nerves were getting to him, so I did my best to cheer him up.

“Once the battle starts, you barely even register the audience, I swear,” I said as I watched him tie his shoelaces. “You’ll do fine. Eevee’s a little trooper.”

“Vee!” Eevee exclaimed.

“I’m already getting a stomachache, and it’s not even tomorrow yet… I literally just went to the bathroom, man…”

Whereas I sweated all over the place when I got nervous, Denzel apparently had to go to the bathroom. A lot .

“Want to call my dad? He said he’d watch your battle since it’s on a weekend.” I asked.

“Now I’m even more nervous… I gotta go to the bathroom!” Denzel said before running back to his room.

Again? I thought. How is that even possible?

I left the Center soon afterward and let out both of my team members. While Togetic was going to focus entirely on her flight for the time being, I was going to have a more personal training session with Frillish.

“Alright, Frillish. I have two moves I want you to start learning: Water Pulse and Hex. Bubblebeam works, but it’s more of a precise attack, whereas Water Pulse can hit a bigger area in one go— that means it’s harder to dodge,” I explained. Frillish nodded. “Good. Next, according to my dex, Hex doesn’t need to be aimed or directed— it just affects your opponent directly from the inside. That should mean it’s basically impossible to dodge unless you’re confused or something.”

I left out that the move dealt more damage if the enemy was affected by a status condition, such as poisoning or a burn because we had no means to do that yet. Either way, Hex was a better ghost type move than Night Shade, and we needed to learn it. When both Togetic and Frillish mastered these new challenges, then I figured it would be time to think about a third member for the team.

Throughout the day, Togetic stumbled through the air, and Frillish barely managed to get something that didn’t look like a Bubblebeam out of his mouth.

Maybe it was too early to think about that, then.

——

It was strange to be back in the stands after having been down in the arena. Everything up here seemed so small now. I watched as a clearly nervous Denzel walked up to the arena, and Roark did the same. I had no doubts in my mind that he would win. I fully believed in my friend.

After Roark’s pre-battle instructions, Denzel sent out his Eevee, and Roark sent out a metallic Pokemon with stubby little feet that I immediately recognized as Aron. The battle would be two-on-two with one switch in allowed, but I hoped that Denzel wouldn’t have to use Budew.

“Begin!” The referee announced.

“Quick Kick!” Denzel yelled out as he pointed forward.

A custom move, I thought. Trainers sometimes would come up with moves that weren’t listed in the official Pokedex list— or in this case, they’d combine two moves together to create something new.

Eevee became a white blur as he weaved in between the rocks, making his way toward Aron.

“Harden,” Roark simply said.

When he reached Aron, Eevee dashed to his right and quickly spun around with one foreleg before kicking Aron’s flank twice. The metallic Pokemon cried out in pain, but it was nowhere near done.

“Headbutt,” Roark continued.

Aron reared its head and ran toward Eevee, who promptly jumped over and kicked his opponent in the back. The battle continued like this for a while, with Eevee simply being too fast for Aron to even hope to touch.

“Enough! Mud-Slap and then ram him!” Roark yelled.

The steel type used its leg to hurl as much sand as he could in Eevee’s general direction. He staggered and closed his eyes before Aron crashed into him with a Headbutt.

“Next time he does that, use Baby Doll Eyes,” Denzel said as he wiped the sweat off his brow. “Keep up the pressure with Quick Kick!”

After six more kicking attacks, Aron finally went down without much of a fight. It seemed that Roark had underestimated Eevee and had thought that Aron’s defenses would be enough to make up for its lack of speed. Luckily for Denzel, that backfired and got him the first win. I squinted and looked at Eevee. He was clearly tired and panting heavily, and I didn’t know how many times he’d still be able to use Quick Kick.

“Aron is unable to battle. Leader Roark, please send out your last Pokemon!”

Roark frowned as he hovered his hand over his Pokeballs for a few seconds before finally choosing his next fighter. Rhyhorn came out of its ball with a defiant roar.

“Rock Polish into Horn Attack. Quickly!” Roark said right away.

“Wait for him to get to you, and then Double Kick!” Denzel responded.

Smart. He’s saving Eevee’s energy, I thought.

The Rhyhorn shone and then skidded across the battlefield without any resistance, aiming its horn toward Eevee. He responded by laying flat on the ground before kicking Rhyhorn’s head upward and then scrambling away. He ran as fast as he could, gaining a little bit of distance with Quick Attack whenever his opponent got too close.

“Smack Down, and then ram him!” Roark said.

Rhyhorn slammed his horn into a rock, and a large chunk hit Eevee in the back. He fell and struggled to get up.

“You’ve got this! Sand Attack!”

Eevee threw sand into the Rhyhorn’s eyes with its tail before rolling to the side and then hit its rocky hide with another Double Kick. I clenched my fists around the handles of my seat. This was it! They had regained the initiative! The rock type shook its entire body and then began ramming into random boulders with its horn.

“Focus on my voice, Rhyhorn! He’s on your left!”

Rhyhorn roared before suddenly tackling toward Eevee.

“Quick Attack so you’re faster! Double Kick!”

Eevee blurred to the left and kicked the Rhyhorn’s head before getting clipped by his horn. Blood soaked his brown fur, and he could barely stand, but Rhyhorn went down and never stood back up. I was the first one to stand up and clap, yelling out his name. We had both won! Denzel quickly returned his panting Eevee got his badge, money, and TM before he left. I squeezed through my row to leave the stand and met him in the gym’s lobby with a hug.

“You were great down there,” I said. “I knew you’d win.”

“Thank you for being such a great friend Grace. I don’t know if I would have won without your support. My parents didn’t even call me—”

“None of that gloomy stuff,” I said. “Screw them! You’ve got your first badge! Hell, didn’t your mom say she’d send you money now?”

“Mhm,” Denzel said. “I hope she actually goes through with it,” He paused. “Wow, I can’t believe this is real.”

“Feels like a dream, right? It was the exact same for me. All that worrying you did seems silly now, doesn’t it?”

“It does, but I feel like it whipped me into shape. I don’t think I would have trained anywhere near this hard with Eevee if I hadn’t been destroyed by Chase back in Jubilife. I’m almost… happy it happened now? Does that make sense?”

“It totally does,” I said. “But it’s my turn to treat you now. Let’s get you some lunch! We can plan our next moves over some fries.”

“Just fries isn’t a healthy lunch…”

“It’s not supposed to be healthy, it’s supposed to be a treat. Let’s buy some poffins for everybody on the way.”

During lunch, we decided that we’d stay in Oreburgh for a few more days to get a well-deserved break. We considered getting a plane ticket back to Jubilife, but after checking the prices, they were way too expensive. Plus, Denzel was averse to the idea. There weren’t any rules that said trainers weren’t allowed to forego traveling through the routes and take a plane ride instead, but it was frowned upon, and it meant that we would skip on a lot of training. With Denzel’s goal of becoming famous, he didn’t want to get caught boarding a plane, only to get ridiculed on the forums.

Denzel ended up calling his mother and wrangling for a good amount of money which she transferred to his account. She still disagreed with his decision to participate in the Circuit, but she was a woman of her word. The faces and the eye rolls he made when speaking to her were too much. I could tell they didn’t have the best relationship, but a part of me wondered if these issues went back to before they even disagreed on Denzel’s journey.

I ended up lightening my team’s training, going down to barely an hour per day. Togetic, Frillish and I would usually just hang out in my Poke Center room. Togetic would cuddle with me while I watched T.V. or browsed the internet while Frillish soaked in the bathtub to simulate being in a body of water. I felt bad for him, but soon we’d be back on route 203 and he would be able to get in a real lake. Soon enough, we finally said goodbye to Oreburgh and headed back into Oreburgh gate. All in all, we had made good progress and we hadn’t even spent a month in the city. At this pace, we’d make it in time for the conference at the end of the year.

Oh, and I couldn’t wait to see dad again.

Chapter Text

INTERLUDE - ROARK

“Fair enough,” Roark said after a pause. “I’ll look into it. Now leave, I have work to do.”

Roark van Aarde watched as the two young trainers left his office. As soon as they were gone, he relaxed into his chair and sighed.

“Paul, you and the others can leave early,” Roark told the gym trainer who led them to his office. “I’ll close up.”

Paul smiled. “Thank you sir. Have a good night.”

Roark stretched with a groan. What he had just heard was almost unbelievable, but he didn’t get the sense that the kids were lying. On the off-chance that they were right, it was better to verify their story.

“More work for me,” Roark sighed. He opened up a familiar app on his computer and scrolled through his contacts. He paused before pressing the call button. “Ahh, just do it.”

He called his boss. Roark heard his computer ring for a few seconds until he heard a smooth voice on the other end of the call.

“Good evening, Roark. To what do I owe the pleasure?” The Champion of the Sinnoh region asked.

“Cynthia. I just wanted to check up on you and let you know about something that might be important,” The gym leader declared as he immediately straightened up as if she was in the room with him. “I hope I’m not taking too much of your time?”

“If you were, I wouldn’t have answered. How’s work treating you?” Cynthia asked.

“Don’t even talk to me about work,” Roark groaned. “This is the worst year so far… I’m having to battle for longer and longer hours, but I’ll manage. At least the gym trainers do most of the paperwork now.”

“Good,” She simply said. “I got word from the Directorate that trainers are complaining about you. Apparently, you’ve been going extra hard this year.”

“Pff, the Directorate. What do they know? More and more trainers are joining the Circuit each year because they won a few battles at trainer school with their first Rattatta. That doesn't mean I’m obligated to let them win out of pity.”

“I’m just letting you know, Roark. I’ve already told them that the average skill level is going down, I just want you to be informed about what they think of you.”

Roark groaned again. Sinnoh was governed by a top-down structure system. But each of these ‘ranks’ had trainers and non-trainers in charge, as a sort of balance of power system. Gym leaders and mayors cared for their respective cities— although cities without gym leaders only had mayors. The Elite Four and the Directorate oversaw the entire region, and finally, the Champion and the leader of the Directorate— the Prime Minister— were the supreme authority of the region. Most of the time, Roark was mostly fine with this system. After all, trainer supremacy led to the rise of Team Rocket in Kanto. It was always good to have some checks and balances on power.

Now was not most of the time, though. The Directorate clearly didn’t know what they were talking about, and it showed.

“Thank you for the information, though. Do let them know I won’t be changing the way I battle,”

“Of course. And the family? Have you still not made up with your father?”

Roark winced. “I have nothing to say to Byron,” He blurted out. “And I have a lot of work with the gym. What about you?” He tried changing the subject.

“Oh, I haven’t been to Celestic in a long while now,” Cynthia said. “I’ll have to get back soon, thank you for reminding me. Time goes by so fast that sometimes months have passed before I realize it.”

They kept talking about their lives for a while. Roark knew that it was a strange relationship to have with his boss, but Cynthia was more of a friend to every gym leader than a boss. They still had to show her respect, and everybody admired her greatly, but when she spoke to him, Roark could tell she cared. Cynthia would let him talk to her about his problems, and months later, she would ask if he had fixed them. He knew how busy she was all the time— and that she had relationships like this with hundreds of people. The scale of it boggled the mind sometimes, and yet when Roark still had the audacity to complain to her, she listened and empathized with him.

“I almost forgot, I wanted to ask you about something. Two trainers came into my office just before I called and told me about a potential criminal organization. Have you heard anything about that? We might need to look into it.” Roark asked. He described some of the event that Grace and Denzel had told him.

Cynthia stayed silent.

“Cynthia?”

“So you found out, hm,” She sighed. “I didn’t want to worry you.”

Roark frowned. “Worry me? It’s my job to know! So they were right then? They talked about a uniform with a single ‘G’ on it.”

“Correct. We’ve been tracking such individuals for a few months now. They’ve been popping up all over the region.”

“They threatened to kill two kids,” Roark hissed, raising his voice. “Were there any in Oreburgh? Have they killed anyone yet?”

“Not yet. We haven’t managed to catch them for anything illegal yet. Threatening murder is new for them, so I might be able to finally get something done now.”

The gym leader sighed. "There was something about a police report in Sandgem, can you check with them? Apparently they didn't believe the kids, I'd like to see whoever took their reports punished," He said.

"I'll have my contacts there check it out."

“You still haven’t told me why I wasn’t informed about this, Cynthia.”

“Knowledge about Team Galactic is on a need-to-know basis,” She simply said. “And you, unfortunately, did not need to know. If they ever feel cornered, there's no telling what they're capable of. I’m sorry if I’m sounding harsh here.”

“Who knows? You owe me that now, at least.” He asked.

“The Elite Four, the Directorate, Wake, Fantina, and Byron all know. The younger gym leaders were kept in the dark.”

“So my dad knows, but I don’t?!” Roark said, slamming his desk. “That is bullshit, and you know it.”

“Look at this objectively, Roark,” Cynthia calmly said. “Younger gym leaders are more vulnerable. Maylene is fourteen, and the only reason she’s a gym leader is because of her incredible talent. Candice is eighteen, and so is Gardenia. Volkner is twenty-two… you’re the eldest in a new generation. We had an entire line of leaders retire almost all at once.”

“The kids make sense,” Roark acknowledged. “But I’m twenty-four. If you don’t trust me with this, I don’t even know why I bothered to become a gym leader in the first place.”

“I did what I thought was best. Let’s move past this. Is there any more information those two trainers told you? And tell me their names and their ID, please,” Cynthia said.

Roark acquiesced, telling her the rest of Grace and Denzel had told him, including the location of this supposed new lake.

“The location’s a little fuzzy because they didn’t really have precise coordinates,”

“Alright,” She said.

“That should be everything. What do we do now? What’s the plan?” Roark asked. He wanted to take the fight to this organization and take them down before they became a threat.

“I wish I could tell you I’d fly somewhere and take them down, but they’re still quite an elusive group. We’ve seen them across the region, but there’s no information on a potential base of operation or anything. I’ll have to ask Vernon to address the Directorate to create some kind of committee to allocate more resources to the investigation.”

“That’ll take time. People could die.”

“I wish I could tell you something else, but my hands are tied, Roark. There are procedures that need to be followed.”

The gym leader clicked his tongue. “Fine, the Directorate is being a pain in the ass again. But promise me that if something happens, you’ll be there to stop it,” Roark asked.

“I will. The moment I hear anything about a problem, I’ll fly on Garchomp and deal with it.”

Roark nodded. “Just keep me informed, at least. And let me tell the others. Even Maylene deserves to know. We trust her with running a gym, so we should trust her with this information.”

“The Meowth’s out of the bag anyway, so go ahead. And Roark,” She said, before pausing. “Get some sleep. You sound tired.”

The phone call ended, and Roark collapsed against his chair. This was bigger than he had ever imagined, and he was just starting to know about it.

Was Cynthia taking the best course of action? He thought as he looked at the ceiling. She was Sinnoh’s best champion in a long time, and it wasn’t even close. Her skill as a Pokemon trainer was so far ahead of everyone else that it wasn’t even funny, and she had been promoted to Champion more than twenty years ago now as Sinnoh’s youngest Champion. But was time clouding her judgment? She was almost forty, and Roark worried that age had made her grow complacent in the system she implemented. The Directorate, the Mayors, they were all her ideas. Cynthia was beloved throughout Sinnoh because she had been responsible enough to split up her power with others, and under her, the region had undergone immense growth, but sometimes trainers just had better judgment about these things!

“And yet…” He muttered.

Roark knew troubling times were ahead. He glanced at the picture on his desk and smiled. Maylene, Candice, Volkner, Gardenia, and he stood in the frame with their arms around each other. They were his best friends. His brothers and sisters. His family.

Tomorrow he would worry about telling them about this new ‘Team Galactic’. For now, though? Roark closed the gym, headed back to his apartment, and crashed into his bed.

Chapter Text

INTERLUDE - FORUM

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

Gyms → Oreburgh → Roark

Topic: What the f*ck is wrong with Roark?

Original Poster: Francis_Fletcher (Verified Trainer)

Date: 25th September 20XX

There’s a serious problem going on in Oreburgh for this year’s circuit, and I’m tired of pretending it isn’t. This is the second time I’m challenging Roark, and I lost again. Pardon my Kalosian, but this is fucking bullshit. I had a Monferno and a Buizel and he still beat me by using his Onix. This is only my second year on the circuit, and he’s fighting me like I own a damned Garchomp. I’ve heard a lot of trainers complaining both online and in Oreburgh that the difficulty is on another level, so I think we need to get together and send some sort of complaint to the League or something, otherwise this year is screwed for all of us. The worst part is I’ve heard on other boards that the other gym leaders are doing the same thing. I’m willing to hear out any other ideas.

►Brodie_Atkinson (Verified Trainer)

You’re right, but the assholes that got off easy by fighting a Geodude and a Rhyhorn will all pretend that this is a skill issue. There’s a serious discrepancy between the better trainers that have to fight Graveler, Onix, Cranidos and the weaker ones that get easy opponents. That’s why I’ve been saying that gyms should have a standardized team for each gym badge a trainer has, and none of this wishy-washy ‘I pick who the hell I want against you’ shit. I won after my second attempt, but I live in Oreburgh, and I feel like I wasted a lot of time waiting for the two weeks here. Meanwhile, the weaker trainers get an advantage. It’s like the world’s turned upside down.

►AverageRoarkEnjoyer

Seems like the tears are flowing early this year. How about you just get good?

►Brodie_Atkinson (Verified Trainer)

Lmao guys we just found Roark’s alt.

►AverageRoarkEnjoyer

Nah, I just think you’re pathetic.

►Harpesifflet12

Looking forward to months and months of salt from these forums. Inject that shit right into my veins!

►Narita_Akira (Verified Trainer)

Can we make this thread trainer only? Get these trolls out of here.

►Nancy_Courbet (Verified Trainer)

I think our time here will be more productive if we talk strategies instead of complaining and giving these trolls attention. I’ve lost twice now, but Roark used Rhyhorn twice against me, and I found a pretty consistent strategy to use against it. It’s kind of dumb and angry all the time, and it’s really slow, so if you use something fast that can move sideways really quickly, it’ll struggle to hit you. Regarding Rock Polish, you can try to counter it with something like Quick Attack because Rhyhorn is kind of bad at turning abruptly, but if it catches you, you’re royally screwed.

►Julia_Rykard (Verified Trainer)

What about something that flies? It should be unable to reach, and you can attack it from a distance.

►Francis_Fletcher (Verified Trainer)

That’s just a bait. Have you not done any research? That Rhyhorn knows Smack Down, and if that hits your Pokemon, you’re done. Nancy’s strategy seems safe. The best strategy against Rhyhorn is evasion. Anyone got anything for Onix?

►Nikita_Doyle (Verified Trainer)

I’ve fought Onix only once and I managed to faint it. The thing with Onix is that even with the type advantage, the sheer size of that monster will just negate everything you try to set up on the field. Distance is meaningless, dodging is harder, and it can take hits for days. What I found is that it seems particularly weak to ground type moves and ground type Pokemon in general. Hit it with a Bulldoze, a Mudshot, or a Mud Bomb and it’ll go down really quick. If you don’t take it down fast enough, it’ll just Screech your team into submission.

►Francis_Fletcher (Verified Trainer)

Alright, so if I don’t have a ground type, I lose? You’re basically telling me to ‘just get a ground type, lol’. There aren’t any good ones around here, and teaching a Geodude Bulldoze will take an entire month.

►Nikita_Doyle (Verified Trainer)

I gave you advice. Take it or leave it.

►Cole_Kennedy (Verified Trainer)

Does anyone know how to beat Geodude if all I have is a Bidoof?

►Francis_Fletcher (Verified Trainer)

Man, get the hell out of here.

---------------------------------------

Trainers → Cecilia_Obel → Megathread

Topic: Everything about Cecilia Obel

Original Poster: League_Account_Official (Bot)

Date: September 1st 20XX

(Showing page 67/102)

►PlausianDol

I can’t believe that this girl had a dragon all along, and it was right in front of our eyes! I should have known her family would have pulled all the stops to get her to win. People this year might as well give up, the victor’s already obvious.

►Aintgonnacalluagain

Not only does she have a dragon, but she can fucking control it too. My dad is a breeder who’s worked with multiple dragon types over his career and he’s said that Deino are almost impossible to train unless you know exactly what you’re doing.

►Ashton_King (Verified Trainer)

Well, she has her brother to ask questions to, so that’s not a problem.

►FKJ

Hydreigons are even worse. Her brother has one, and it’s so aggressive that he can only let it fight for battles against insanely high skilled opponents, otherwise it’ll just kill whoever it's fighting.

►Aintgonnacalluagain

Yeah, I’ve looked him up after seeing her gym battle against Roark. Each head can use a different attack at the same time. Imagine fighting something that throws out a Hyper Beam, a Dragon Pulse, and a Fire Blast at you. Good luck.

►Gabriel_Webb (Verified Trainer)

Please keep the conversation in this threat related to Cecilia Obel only.

►SippinMart

Well talking about this girl without talking about her family is impossible at this point. Going up against her is like going up against all of them.

►LilChimchar

That Slowpoke was no joke either. Any speculation about what her third member might be?

►Morgan_Franscescoli (Verified Trainer)

Well, the only lead I can think of is that she didn’t use it against Roark, so maybe it doesn’t have a type advantage. Or maybe she just came so prepared that she had a grass type waiting in the back. Seems pretty foolish to speculate, it could be anything.

►LilChimchar

Fair enough, I’m just curious af. I get chills every time I watch her battle.

►Rosie_Marshall (Verified_Trainer)

I still think that she got lucky Chase Karlson took down Roark’s Onix right before her battle. It might have been a different story otherwise.

►Ariadeus

She’s insane, but that’s not all. That squad she’s traveling with? All rich kids with Pokemon with incredible potential. Emilia Lussier has a Beldum, Justin Gardner has a Sandile, Pauline King has a Charmander. And do you know what that mother fucker Louis Bianchi has, other than an incredible amount of wealth? A fucking Gible.

►SippinMart

You’re fucking with us

►Ariadeus

No, check out their other threads and the videos of their fight against Roark. Everyone’s going crazy over them.

►Gabriel_Webb (Verified Trainer)

Again, keep this thread on topic.

►Emerson_Shaw (Verified Trainer)

Fucking carpetbaggers and privileged assholes. I had no expectations for myself but I’m still disappointed.

---------------------------------------

Trainers → Grace_Pastel → Megathread

Topic: Everything about Grace Pastel

Original Poster: League_Account_Official (Bot)

Date: September 1st 20XX

(Showing page 6/6)

►MadCarr

Y’all are ignoring the fact that her Frillish is a lot stronger than you give it credit for. That Bubblebeam is no joke, and they clearly worked hard on it. Give her credit where credit is due, for Arceus’ sake.

►Sonya_Hladik (Verified Trainer)

Sorry that I don’t fawn over some trainer who just got a lucky evolution when she was about to lose. Obviously, that never happens to me, so I’m forced to wait two weeks to try again, but the most unskilled people always get rewarded with luck.

►MadCarr

Alright but I also watched your battle and you’re clearly just a worse trainer lmao cope and seethe.

►Sonya_Hladik (Verified Trainer)

Well at least I’m doing something with my life instead of sitting at home all day and simping for random trainers.

►Madcarr

I’m not even fifteen yet, you dunce. I couldn’t go if I even wanted to.

►Hakeem_Kante (Verified Trainer)

Let’s not get heated and stay on topic. Yes, her Togepi evolving at a pivotal moment probably affected the outcome of the battle, but like Madcarr said, her Frillish is good, and battles will always have a little bit of randomness to them.

►TM_INFIN1TY

At the very least I’m glad we got to see Carbink. Roark doesn’t seem to use it much, and it was valuable information for trainers to get.

►Mark_DeTore (Verified Trainer)

Yep. I honestly forgot he even had one. I’ll be looking over the footage tonight.

►Sonya_Hladik (Verified Trainer)

You’ll still lose. Enjoy this thread while it lasts. The girl was obviously a nervous wreck and she’s not going to get very far. I’m gonna leave before I get muted by the mods.

►Madcarr

No one cares.

---------------------------------------

Trainers → Denzel_Williams → Megathread

Topic: Everything about Denzel Williams

Original Poster: League_Account_Official (Bot)

Date: September 1st 20XX

(Page 13/15)

►Samuel_Panella (Verified Trainer)

Teaching Double Kick to Eevee is unorthodox, but it was pretty smart of him to do so. I don’t know what his second Pokemon is, but he probably avoided a huge headache by doing that. My Pokedex says my Nidoran can also learn it, but I wasn’t going to bother until I saw his battle. I have a Budew, but I’d rather be safe than sorry and have something I can fall back on.

►Aaron_Smith (Verified Trainer)

The endurance on that thing was no joke. It was Quick Attacking the entire time, I was in the stands and I honestly thought it was going to collapse from exhaustion, but it just kept standing.

►Micheal_Jain (Verified Trainer)

I’d love to get Denzel’s training routine. It can probably work with every Pokemon with Eevee’s body type, so @Samuel_Panella’s Nidoran could train its endurance for example. I own a Growlithe and I would have loved for her to have as much stamina as Eevee does for my fight against Gardenia in two days.

►Jonathan_McMiller (Verified Trainer)

I’ll shoot him a DM and see if he answers. He’s usually pretty active on the forums. I’ll report what I find on this thread.

►Samuel_Panella (Verified Trainer)

Ty everybody. Honestly, this thread is so much more civil than the other ones it’s like a breath of fresh air. Like, wow! Actual human decency for a change.

►Jonathan_McMiller (Verified Trainer)

Are you new to the forums? It’s always like this, and the moderators are pretty hands off for the most part. It tends to calm down a few months in, though.

►Samuel_Panella (Verified Trainer)

Honestly this is kind of embarrassing, but for the longest time I thought only trainers were allowed to browse and post, so I never did.

►Micheal_Jain (Verified Trainer)

Well, you’re here now :). Welcome to the forum, king.

---------------------------------------

Trainers → Chase_Karlson → Megathread

Topic: Everything about Chase_Karlson

Original Poster: League_Account_Official (Bot)

Date: September 1st 20XX

(Page 37/49)

►ArceusIsReal222

You guys are overhyping this man way too much. Yes, his Riolu is impressive, but his finish was a little shaky. He seems to be the kind of trainer that panics as soon as something doesn’t go according to plan, and you know the famous saying. ‘No plan survives contact with the enemy’.

►Kylian_Rouge (Verified Trainer)

How much of that is because the type disadvantages were ridiculous, though? Houndour and Grubbin are such a terrible matchup against Roark that I honestly don’t blame him for getting into that hot mic moment and panicking.

►Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer)

You’re a joke if you don’t think I didn’t wipe the floor with this gym.

►Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer)

@ArceusIsReal Go outside and touch grass, loser. I’d wipe the floor with you.

►ArceusIsReal222

Double posting much? Commenting on your own thread much?

►Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer)

Being cringe much? Ur mediocre bro. I don’t care about these stupid forum rules. Let’s get real, Roark went all in against me because he knew I was a threat. Then he went easy on that Unovan girl, and now all of a sudden everyone thinks she’s won the Circuit already. Newsflash idiots, we’re not even one month in. I predict that she’s going to get 4-5 badges in and then she’ll stall on one of the more experienced gym leaders. Come back to this message in 5 months, you’ll read it and weep.

►Kylian_Rouge (Verified Trainer)

I take back everything I said, you’re delusional. Seek help.

►Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer)

I taKE BaCk EvErYthInG I sAiD, yOU’rE dEluSiOnAl. SeEK hElP.

►Chase_Karlson (Verified Trainer)

Your profile is public man. 0/8 Badges head ass. Have some shame and come talk to me when you’ve beaten your first gym.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 20

The trip back to Jubilife city was thankfully uneventful, although I was starting to struggle to sleep due to... nightmares. Thanks to my almost healed injury, we managed to keep a good pace this time. I kept Togetic out of her ball most of the time so that she could get used to flying, and it looked like she was finally getting the hang of it. There was still a lot of progress to be made in the speed department, but she was at least able to keep her balance now, and she could fly without flapping her wings. I released Frillish less, but I still managed to get him to the lake on route 203, where we stayed for a few hours despite his incessant brooding.

I had started our training back up, and Frillish was finally starting to get the hang of Water Pulse, although it would probably take a week or two to perfect. The trick had been to switch up our approach. Instead of Frillish trying to get him to change the way he released water right away, we were slowly working our way down until the stream became a single ‘pulse’ of water. The problem had been Frillish’s muscle memory. Since he had been using Bubblebeam his entire life, undergoing such a sudden change was too difficult. I also decided that we'd work on Hex later. Togetic’s progress toward Ancient Power and Extrasensory was slower, since we had no base to start up from. Luckily, the mechanism behind both attacks was somewhat similar: she would need to use psychic energy to move things around— in this case, rocks or another Pokemon. Living beings were way harder to lift than objects, and right now, she struggled to lift even a small berry, but I hoped we’d be able to work our way up.

It took three days to get back to Jubilife. When we got back, it was already night time, so I wanted to barge home and surprise my dad. We made our way to my apartment and I sneakily opened the door, took off my dirty shoes, and tip-toed through the hallway toward dad’s bedroom. I put my head against the door and smiled after hearing his loud snoring.

I gestured to Denzel and lifted up three fingers, then two, then one. I barged into dad’s bedroom and jumped on his back.

“Surprise! We’re back!” I squealed.

“Ow, wha— Grace?” He said, beaming. “I wasn’t expecting you until late tomorrow!”

“We made it back faster than we thought we would,” I said as I hugged him. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, kid,” Dad softly said as he caressed my hair. “Hey Denzel, hope you had a good trip back?”

“It was as smooth as it could have been,” He answered.

“Oh, you kids must be hungry. Let me go make something, I have a bunch of stuff in the fridge,” Dad said. “You guys can go shower, because no offense, Grace, but you smell.”

“Why must you wound me so deeply?” I joked. “What kind of girl wants to hear that she smells…”

“The kind that’s getting dirt all over my bed. Shoo! We can catch up later along with your team.”

Dad left his room and started cooking while I went back to my room and emptied my bag.

“You wanna shower first?” I yelled out at Denzel.

“Nah, your house, you go,” He said.

“Gotcha!”

I quickly grabbed a change of clothes along with my favorite shirt, which was actually my dad’s, and showered. It felt really good being in such cozy clothes after this long. While Denzel showered, I went to see my dad and released Togetic and Frillish.

Togetic flew toward dad and hugged him.

“Prrri! Togetic!” She chirped excitedly.

“There’s my girl! All grown up!” Dad exclaimed. “And the… ghost. Hi.”

Frillish flashed a creepy smile and started slowly approaching my father with a suspicious glint in his eye. Dad screamed like a little girl and ran out of the room with Togetic still in his arms, abandoning his hotpot.

“Dad he’s just playing! Come back!” I said. “And you!” I pointed at Frillish. “Stop scaring my dad.”

Frillish sniggered silently and spun around. I rolled my eyes as dad inched his way back into the room.

“Don’t be a wimp dad, he’s going to keep scaring you if you don’t take a stand,” I explained. “He’s the nicest guy around if you get past his rough and… strange exterior.”

“Tell it to the judge!”

I rolled my eyes and eyed his hotpot. “Whatcha makin’?”

“There’s meat, potatoes, mushrooms, and spinach in it,” Dad said as he tasted it with a small spoon. “Mm, good.”

“Were you expecting people? Why’d you even have all of this?”

“Well, obviously I was expecting you and Denzel, just not today. I already had all the ingredients prepared and cut up.”

“Thank you,” I said, leaning against his shoulder. “I haven’t eaten homemade stuff in so long… I can’t wait.”

“Leave some for tomorrow. Cooking two days in a row is a drag,” Dad said as he played around with Togetic. She flew around his head and grabbed his hair whenever he was distracted.

“I’m a growing girl, I’ve got to eat.”

“I still say that sometimes when I need an excuse to eat a lot before I remember I’m forty-five,” Dad chuckled. “How long will you and Denzel be staying?”

I groaned. “We haven’t even thought about it. A few days at least. I need to restock on potions, Pokemon food, and I want to get the new Poketch. You can pull some strings, right?”

“Don’t say it like I’m being corrupt. It’s just a benefit we get from working at the company,” Dad said. “Also, don’t you want to hang out with your poor old dad?”

“That goes without saying! Let’s go somewhere this weekend!”

We kept talking until Denzel came out of the shower, and then we enjoyed a very nice dinner. That night, I called Denzel to my room to discuss our future plans.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked, closing the door. “I want to stay in Jubilife at least for the weekend so I have some time to spend with my dad, but other than that, I have nothing.”

“Well, there’s two ways we could go,” Denzel said. “We could either go to Eterna or try to catch a ferry to Canalave.”

“Thoughts on both?” I asked. I didn’t mind delegating this to Denzel, because he was clearly more knowledgeable than I was regarding gyms.

“Um, Canalave is closer, but we’d have to catch a ferry because Frillish is too small to even carry one of us across the water. It’s closer, but we’d have to pay a hefty cost— although it’s nowhere near as expensive as an airplane ticket. Their gym leader Byron is also one of the older ones, so he’s more experienced and harder to beat no matter what team he uses against you.”

“He’s the steel type leader, right?” I asked, thinking about Togetic and Frillish. “My team is terrible against those.”

Denzel nodded. “Mine isn’t great either. I’m not sure if Double Kick will do the job this time, so I’d rather wait to get more experience as a trainer and catch some new members.”

“So no Canalave then. What about Eterna?” I asked. “I know Gardenia’s the grass type gym leader. They made a whole fuss about her on T.V. when she was confirmed because she’s so young.”

“Correct. Eterna’s pretty far. We have to get through… route 204, the Ravaged Path—”

“The Ravaged Path?” I exclaimed. “What the hell kind of name is that?”

“It’s just what they call that cave because it has another path off route that apparently leads to some dangerous area. We won’t be going there.”

I nodded, and he continued. “When we get out of the cave, we’re on route 204 again and then there’s Floaroma, our first stop. Then there’s route 205, Eterna forest, and finally, we’re there.”

“You make it sound easy,” I mumbled.

“It’ll take two to three weeks of travel, depending on how long we stay at Floaroma. It’s not as bad as it sounds though, the worst part is obviously Eterna forest.”

“Alright then,” I said. “Let’s do it. Eterna it is.”

——

The next day was Friday, and while dad went to work, Denzel and I went to the Pokemon mall to restock on supplies and buy whatever else we needed. I browsed the TM store and lamented at my lack of funds. Togetic could learn so many moves through TMs, and yet I couldn’t afford any. Even the more common ones were ludicrously expensive because they were extremely difficult to make. Only one company called Silph Co. knew how, and needless to say, they weren’t going to reveal that secret. But the result was that they could set the price at whatever they wanted, and no one would be able to do anything about it.

I met Denzel outside of the mall, and he greeted me with a fishing rod in his hands.

“What’s that for?”

“Catching water types, what else?” He deadpanned. “I’m going to go to route 218 and try catching my third team member. Hopefully this time it’ll go better than with Budew…” He trailed off.

His Budew was still unusable in battles, and it looked like she was going to be that way for a long time. He couldn’t even bring her out next to me or others because he was scared that she’d attack them, although she seemed alright with Eevee for some reason.

“You’re catching a water type when we established that we were going to Eterna literally yesterday?”

“Grace, Grace, Grace,” Denzel started. “I planned it all out. Don’t worry about me.”

“I’m not worrying, I’m calling you an idiot,” I said. “But now I’m curious, so I’ll come with you after we drop all of this off. Plus, you might do something stupid like attack a group of five Tentacruel or something, so I have to be there.”

“Touché. Again, I am sorry. I won’t get us in a dangerous situation again.”

“I’m just fooling around, don’t be so apologetic all the time. I already scolded you when it happened, and you clearly took it to heart, so let’s put the Budew incident behind us.”

After getting everything we bought back to my apartment, we took a bus to the gate to route 218 and walked to the small port. Denzel walked up to the pier and sat next to the edge before setting up his fishing rod. He placed a colorful Wishiwashi-looking lure on the hook and started to wait. After twenty minutes, nothing was biting still.

“Maybe the water’s too dirty next to the city,” I said. “Plus, the boats might be scaring the Pokemon away.”

“Dirty is good, but you might be right about the boats. Let’s wait another twenty minutes, and then we’ll move.”

Dirty is good? I thought. Strange.

We ended up moving to an empty pier at the edge of the port and setting up there. After only ten minutes, something bit. Denzel leaned back and reeled in the line as fast as he could before an ugly Feebas jumped out of the water. With barely enough time to spare, he threw a Pokeball at it without even dealing any damage. The Pokeball shook three times, and then stood still.

“That was easy,” I said.

“It took a decent amount of planning,” Denzel said with a smile as he picked up his Pokeball. “First, the location. Feebas are one of the most resilient water Pokemon out there, and they can live basically in any environment, including polluted water. That meant that my odds were higher in a polluted body of water than anywhere else because other Pokemon would stay away. Next, the lure was also planned. Water type predators tend to stay away from Wishiwashi because when it’s threatened, it calls other members of its species and form a huge school of fish that will make even Gyarados think twice. Feebas is a dumb Pokemon, so it didn’t think about that at all.”

“Wow. And also harsh, but true, I guess. Can I scan it with my Pokedex?” I asked.

Denzel released his Feebas on the pier, who flopped around with a dull look in its eyes.

Feebas, the fish Pokemon. Feebas’ fins are ragged and tattered from the start of its life. Because of its shoddy appearance, this Pokémon is largely ignored. It is capable of living in virtually any body of water.

Type: Water

“Aw, even the Pokedex is just roasting it. I feel bad for the little guy,” I said as Denzel recalled Feebas.

“Well, it’ll take a lot of work to take care of, and it can barely fight better than a Magikarp, but it’ll be worth it when he evolves into a Milotic,” Denzel said as we walked back to Jubilife.

“Mhm,” I agreed as I kept looking at my Pokedex. Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks. “Wait, it evolves into a Milotic? I forgot!”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 21

I ran through the forest as fast as I could, but my legs felt sluggish. Nonresponsive. I ducked under a branch and jumped over a fallen log before slipping and tumbling down for what seemed like minutes. When I stopped, I was on the shore of Lake Verity. Sweat clung to my hands and back as I looked around, trying to decipher where this sinking feeling in my heart came from.

“Found you.”

I turned and saw a group of those same criminals standing over me, each more sinister looking than the last. Their heads were distorted, twisted, and mangled. Their eyes were sunken deep into their skulls, and their voices were echoing across the entire area.

“What should we do with her?”

A tall, blue-haired humanoid figure stepped through the crowd, and with a twisted smile, he answered her.

“Kill her.”

I scrambled backward, hoping to buy myself some time as I grabbed my Pokeballs. I clicked on the button to release them, but it was stuck. Jammed. The girl who had asked what to do with me released a monstrous Golbat with rows and rows of needle-like teeth. I tried to scream, but no sound escaped my mouth. The Golbat flew toward me and bit—

I woke up in my bed, screaming with tears in my eyes, and it took a few seconds to get my bearings. With a trembling hand, I turned on the light on my bedside table and sat up. I clasped my head with my hands and took a few deep breaths.

“It’s not real. It’s not real. You’re fine,” I muttered to myself.

I closed my eyes, and the Golbat appeared in my mind, causing me to flinch.

“Water,” I whispered, licking my dry lips.

I tip-toed through my apartment and opened the fridge, basking in the warm, comforting blue light. After a few seconds, I grabbed myself a cup of water and downed it straight away.

Luckily my scream didn’t wake anyone up, I thought as I put the cup in the dishwasher. I silently walked back to my bedroom and took off my shirt. I needed a shower, but it was too late to take one, otherwise I’d have to explain to my dad why I was awake at 4 am in the morning. I changed into a tank top and hopped back into my bed. There was no sound but my heartbeat, my breathing, and the city outside of my window.

“Why now?” I asked myself. “I was fine until recently. No, I am fine. Everything’s been taken care of. Everything…” I trailed off.

Closing my eyes, I hugged my knees and waited to fall asleep.

——

When I woke up, I felt like I hadn’t even slept at all. My eyelids were heavy, and I struggled to keep them open.

“Ugh, I need to change my bedsheets…”

I dragged my feet into the bathroom and met my dad in the hallway. He was already dressed in a suit.

“Morning, kid.”

“Hey, dad.”

“Ready to leave your poor father alone once again? I’m gonna miss you!”

“You know how hard it was to convince myself to leave. Don’t guilt trip me…” I muttered as I entered the bathroom.

It had been five days since we came back to Jubilife, and I had gotten this recurring nightmare every single night. Every time, it ended as the Golbat bit my head off, but the worst part was I could never tell it was a dream, meaning I woke up screaming every night, and always at three or four in the morning. I brushed my teeth, took a shower, and made myself some buttered toast. Denzel wouldn’t wake up for another hour or so, and we were going to leave in the afternoon anyway. The goal was to reach the halfway point to the ravaged path before it got dark and set up camp there.

“You look tired. Did you go to sleep late?” Dad asked me.

“No… no, I’m good,” I said, turning my head away.

“You know I’m here if you need to talk, right?”

“I said I’m fine,” I said, raising my tone. His face grew saddened at my sudden outburst. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright. Anyway, I’m going to work, so… hug?”

I stood on my toes and hugged dad, trying not to cry. In a way, I felt like I was failing him by not saying anything. I trusted him more than anyone, but at the same time, I felt like it was silly to make him worry for no reason. If the people that had threatened us were still a threat, the League would find out and take care of them, so there was nothing to worry about. The nightmares would stop soon, and things would be back to normal.

“Love you, Grace. Always.”

“Mhm. Me too.”

“Don’t forget to lock the door when you leave. Oh, and make sure you guys don’t forget the lunchboxes I made, otherwise I’ll have busted my ass cooking those meals for nothing. Love ya! Say bye to Denzel for me!”

I nodded, waiting for him to step into the elevator to get back inside. A feeling of loss began to take hold of me. It was the last time I was seeing my dad probably in almost a year, and yet we had said goodbye so casually. I lazily began to pack my bag while I waited for Denzel to wake up. My somber mood didn’t improve whatsoever in the two hours and a half it took him to do so.

“Are you good? You look tense,” He asked me.

“Just sad about leaving my dad,” I said in half-truth. “It’ll pass, don’t worry.”

How do you do it? I thought. How are you fine after what happened?

We locked up, grabbed dad’s homemade food, and quickly made our way onto a bus toward route 204. The ride there was quiet, and I mostly spent it enjoying the last few minutes of internet I was going to get for a while. Unlike the previous routes I’d been on, this route was more of a wide, grassy, open field without any apparent edges. Nothing much of note happened on the first half of the route, apart from a few battles with trainers or weak wild Pokemon. There was this surprising moment when a kid owning an Eevee recognized Denzel and asked for his autograph. I hadn’t realized it, but even trainers with only a single badge were somewhat famous and had fans rooting for them. Denzel was giddy the entire rest of the day.

“I still can’t believe it. He said I was his role model! Sure, his Eevee was a bit weak, but I gave him a ton of training advice. I hope he’ll get his badge,” Denzel said happily.

We were at the halfway point, and so we decided to set up camp. It was barely the start of October, but the temperature at night was already dropping below fifteen degrees celsius, a sign of what was to come during winter. Sinnohan winters were extremely brutal, with temperatures in the south of the region reaching down to negative twenty, and Snowpoint city could sometimes get to negative forty degrees Celcius. No trainers with half a brain would ever go there during winter, so Candice— one of the newer gym leaders— often ended up being challenged as a trainer’s eighth badge, even if there was no official order. And that wasn’t even starting to scratch the surface of the hell that was getting to Snowpoint. You either had to trek through the caves of mount Coronet, which was the area known as the deadliest for trainers, along with Victory Road and Eterna Forest, or you could try your luck and scale it. It was quicker, but deadlier.

Oh, and the best part? Due to how small the town was and how terrible the conditions were, there was no airport, so you had to get through mount Coronet one way or another.

I so wasn’t looking forward to that. If I even made it that far in the Circuit, that is.

“...Set him on the right path to learning Double Kick, but he needs to train her endurance up so she can use Quick Attack more.”

Luckily, I finished my thoughts right as Denzel finished his spiel. I liked him, but his need to be recognized was not something we shared.

“Can you set up the tents? I’ll heat up the food, my legs are killing me.”

“Sure, I got you,” He said. “Hey, what do you think about working out?”

“Working out? Like going to the gym?” I asked, tilting my head.

“Yeah. People tend to only train their Pokemon, but after seeing Chase, and knowing the things we’re going to have to go through in the later routes, building up some endurance and muscle should be a good idea,” He explained.

I tapped my chin. “You know, that does make sense. Aw, man, now I’m sad I didn’t do any of that in Jubilife.”

“Well, a few days wouldn’t have made a difference, but there are things you can do in the wild. A nice flat road like this? We could jog our way through tomorrow. Not only is it healthy, but we’re also getting to the Ravaged Path faster.”

My excitement immediately deflated as soon as he brought up starting our workouts so soon. Imagining it and getting pumped for it was one thing, but actually doing it? That was a whole different story.

“And you can have Togetic improve her flight time too,” He added. He had probably noticed my change in demeanor, a sign that after more than a month of traveling together, we were starting to notice our body language quirks.

“Getic!” She said happily.

“You’d agree with anything,” I joked at Togetic. “But I guess that’s what makes you special,” I continued, petting her head. “Let’s do it, then.”

We agreed, and then I heat up the food with a portable oven and a battery we had bought in Jubilife. Tasting dad’s cooking still made me feel like a part of him was still with me, but we’d run out after a few days. Then it’d be back to jerky, granola bars, and fruits. Despite not expecting it to be the case, the lack of food variety was one of the worst parts of traveling in the wild for me. Sure, I could always hunt and cook Pokemon if I was really desperate for food— and a significant amount of trainers did so, but I was vehemently against the practice. Whenever I ate meat, I only ate animals.

Animals, huh? I thought.

We had learned in school that animals used to be way more numerous until Pokemon came into being hundreds of thousands of years ago, and we still don’t know where they came from. All we know is that roughly one hundred and fifty thousand years ago, fossil records start showing Pokemon appearing all of the sudden. Animals were quickly hunted close to extinction, and today they’re all living in large industrial farms that deliver our food, or in natural reserves with rangers that protect them. Other than insects, I had never seen an animal with my own eyes. The vast majority of people ate animals, mainly because they were cheaper to raise and slaughter. Pokemon could defend themselves and could easily break out of wherever they were held, meaning that virtually every Pokemon a person ate had to be hunted in the wild, except for a few exceptions like Magikarp, which could be raised in fish farms because of how weak they were.

But the main point was that unless you were filthy rich, you weren’t going to be eating Pokemon anywhere near a regular basis. I found it to be immoral, and the government seemingly agreed with me, since they kept putting more and more restrictions on using Pokemon as food every few decades.

We finished our food as we talked about the future. Togetic fooled around with Frillish while Eevee snuggled close to Denzel. Budew stood at a distance, looking at us with angry eyes, and Feebas was… well… a Feebas, so he was in his Pokeball. I was starting to wonder if Denzel wasn’t letting this planned team of his get in the way of practicality. Tunnel vision was a problem anyone could be the victim of.

We returned our Pokemon except for Eevee and climbed into our sleeping bags. It was getting cold, and soon we’d have to start making fires. I still had that lighter I had bought at the very start of my journey, but gathering firewood would be such a pain.

I gradually fell asleep.

And the nightmares came back.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 22

I woke up our camp with an ear-piercing scream. Tears and snot were running down my face, and my arms shook like leaves in the wind. Whereas Denzel screamed in tandem with me— probably because I had startled him— Eevee rushed to my side and was ready to defend me at a moment’s notice. It was a humbling thought, that someone else’s Pokemon liked me enough to protect me.

“What the hell was that? Are we under attack?!” Denzel asked as he rushed out of his tent. He was slurring his words, clearly still half asleep.

“No, no… I had a shitty nightmare, I’m sorry,” I answered as I pet Eevee’s head. “You can go back to sleep.”

It was the crack of dawn, and the sun was peeking over the horizon. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down and exited my sleeping bag. I already knew I wasn’t going to fall back asleep, so there was no point trying.

“Oh, alright. Some nightmare that was, huh? Want some water to wash your face?”

“I’m good, I’ll just be going for a walk,” I said.

“Ok, don’t go too far.”

I nodded and left. After a few minutes of walking alone, I released Togetic and Frillish. The two floated by my side silently as we silently strolled with no direction in particular. They both knew me well enough to know that something was wrong, and I knew that I would have to come clean eventually. I trusted them, but I just couldn’t bring myself to say my problems out loud. Was it because I was scared of appearing weak?

Maybe that played a part in it, but if I was being honest, I already knew they wouldn’t care. Hell, Togetic would probably cry for not figuring it out on her own. I believe a part of me was still in denial about even having an issue. That was probably because it had taken so long to manifest itself.

No, that was a lie. The visions were always there. Whenever I closed my eyes, whenever I spaced out for even a second, the Golbat was there. It was always there. But I had been so focused on my gym battle with Roark that I kept pushing these thoughts at the back of my mind.

I crouched and watched the sunrise. Togetic leaned against me, and I felt a sudden burst of happiness. That was when I remembered her Pokedex entry. Togetic could bestow great joy upon a human. Togepi could too, but this one felt much more… fulfilling. I stroked her head and dragged Frillish into a hug.

“I love you guys, I really do. Thank you for being here for me.”

“Frillish.”

“Toge!”

“And since I love you, I gotta come clean. I’m fucked up. I am so tired, and I can’t sleep for more than four hours at a time. I keep having these nightmares—” I choked up and paused for a few seconds. “It’s about that time at Lake Verity. You weren’t there, Frillish, and I recalled Togetic before anything terrible happened, but… I think I almost died that day. I was saved by the whims of a single man. Sometimes I wonder, what if he had said nothing? What if I meet him again one day and he doesn’t spare me? How can life and death be decided by a single being?”

Frillish’s face twisted in anger while Togetic broke into a heartbroken cry.

“I don’t know how long these nightmares and visions will last, but I have to keep looking forward. I can’t let them hold me back,” I said. “We need to become stronger. Strong enough to not be threatened by a damn Golbat,” I continued, spitting out the Pokemon’s name. “I know I’ve asked this before, but let me do it again for real this time. Togetic, Frillish, will you help me win the Circuit and become Sinnoh’s champion?”

I had asked Togepi the same question back in Sandgem, but it felt different now. There was an unexplainable weight to it. It was no longer the simple promise of a naive trainer, but a pact. A mutual understanding between me and my Pokemon.

They both nodded with newfound resolve. I finally felt refreshed, and my wistful mood evaporated. There would still be problems, of course. The nightmares would not simply leave. I was still miles behind the most talented trainers out there, with only a year to catch up, but that only motivated me more. I wanted to push past these problems, and become a stronger person.

This was the first time I fully believed in myself, and I felt like the sky was the limit.

——

“You look better,” Denzel said as I approached our camp. “Breakfast?”

“Thought you were going to go back to sleep,” I said.

“Yeah, I tried, but then I realized I’d be an ass to do so. I hate mornings, but I’d rather be here for my friend in case she needs it.”

“Aw, you’re making me blush,” I said.

“You’re not blushing at all, though,” Denzel commented.

“Anyway, I’ll gladly have some breakfast, thank you for asking. Then we can go on our run.”

While we ate, our Pokemon did the same. I kind of felt bad looking at their food. They were Pokemon pellets with all the nutrients they needed, but I wanted to learn how to make high-quality food for them at some point. Of course, it would be basically impossible to make some in the wild, but it’d be good for whenever we were in cities. After eating and cleaning up camp, I recalled Frillish, and we started to run. After five minutes of jogging, I was already heaving for air and barely feeling my legs. Denzel seemed to be doing way better than I was, only slowing down to make sure I wasn’t left behind. Meanwhile, Togetic lazily floated above me, cheering me on with her chirps, and Eevee was adding a few Quick Attacks to his run. After twenty minutes, we stopped, and I collapsed to the ground.

“That… was the worst… thing… I’ve ever done,” I said, taking deep breaths in between each word.

“The bag makes it worse, but like I said, it builds up endurance,” Denzel answered as he leaned on his knees.

“I’m going… to die.”

“You’re being dramatic. Let’s do one of these twice a day, every day, what do you say?”

“I… already agreed.”

“That’s what I like to hear! By the way, good job, you two,” He said to our Pokemon.

After a short break, we continued toward the Ravaged Path, reaching the cave at the end of the day. On the way, I battled another four trainers and rolled the floor with them with Togetic’s Fairy Wind. We had come a long way with the move. The truth was that we were probably too strong for this area, so not many people would be able to pose a challenge. Most trainers here were training before setting off toward Oreburgh or simply skipping Oreburgh altogether, preferring to go to another gym first, but they all had no gym badges, which was a testament to how fast we were progressing. Denzel was taking a break from battling today, preferring to spectate our battles and keep aggressive wild Pokemon off our backs. After another night spent at the entrance of the cave, we entered bright and early in the morning after another nightmare had woken me up.

“You know, you probably have to see someone for those. Pokemon centers have therapists for trainers,” Denzel said.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll deal,” I said as I peeked my head into the cave’s entrance. “This place sure isn’t menacing whatsoever,” I continued sarcastically.

Despite having gas lights along a path just like Oreburgh gate, the Ravaged Path was nowhere as tidy. The ceiling at the entrance hung low in an oppressive manner and then spread upward until it was impossible to see. The path was also uphill and wet from the water dripping from the ceiling like slow rain, so that was a perfect recipe for slipping and breaking something.

“Well, let’s go in then. We should be out in five hours if we follow the lamps, give or take,” Denzel said.

“Arceus bless, at least it’s shorter than the other cave,” I said before releasing Frillish and taking Togetic back into her ball. Having a water type would certainly help out against any aggressive rock types, and I wasn’t going to take any chances.

Using the right wall as support, we slowly advanced through the cave. Most of the Pokemon here were the usual suspects: Geodude and Zubat, but there were occasionally Roggenrola, Aron, or even Rolycoly. I scanned the latter because it was the first Pokemon from Galar I ever saw in the wild. I even considered catching it before the rest of its group rolled up behind him and glared at us with their glowing orange eye. Needless to say, we left as fast as we could.

Three hours in, the incline really increased, and we were essentially walking up a thirty-five degree hill. Blood pumped through my legs as I heaved myself and everything I carried with me.

“How much longer is this incline? I’m dying here,” I complained.

“I don’t know, all the trainer tip map said was to follow the lights. There was nothing written about this.”

“Well, fuck. Can we take a break?” I asked.

“Sure. I think Eevee wants some water anyway.”

I sat on the ground facing downward as Denzel poured some bottled water into Eevee’s bowl. Due to the nature of the terrain, he had to hold it up with his hand to prevent it from spilling. After a few minutes, we heard a scream reverberate through the cave.

“What was that? A Pokemon?” Denzel asked with a hint of panic.

“No… no, that was a trainer!”

We quickly got up and ran. The pain in my legs seemed like much less of a problem when I thought about the possibility of a lone trainer being in danger. As we rushed through the cave, the screams got closer and closer and were starting to become decipherable. It was someone asking for help. The incline slowly became gentler and gentler, and we finally found out the origin of the scream. A trainer’s Wooper was continuously throwing out Water Guns at a swarm of Zubats surrounding the trainer. The Zubats screeched in his ears and bit into his arms, legs, through his clothes. He furiously flailed, trying to swat away the pests with his hands, but it wasn’t working.

Acting on instinct, I released Togetic.

“Togetic, help that trainer! Fairy Wind!”

Her control of the move had improved leaps and bounds, and the pink mist split right before hitting the trainer, knocking the Zubat out of the way. They all turned their collective attention to me and swooped toward us.

“Eevee, keep them off of Grace!” Denzel yelled.

“Frillish, Bubblebeam the ones you can hit. Avoid that trainer!”

The Zubat swarm rushed toward us, but Togetic kept up her Fairy Wind, preventing them from reaching us. The stronger, larger ones did, however, but they were met by Frillish’s Bubblebeam and Eevee’s jumping Quick Attacks. After a minute or so, they were all either unconscious or had fled.

“Good job, everyone,” I said as I felt the adrenaline evaporate from my body. With a trembling hand, I retrieved Togetic.

We slowly walked toward the sobbing trainer. He was crouching and bleeding from everywhere, while his Wooper was looking at him worriedly.

“Shit, man, we need to get you out of here. Can you walk?” Denzel asked.

I squatted down in front of him. “Hey, what’s your name?”

“M—my Starly! My Starly’s gone,” He sobbed.

My heart dropped. Just from his tone, I could tell what he meant. “What… what happened?”

The trainer slowly raised his hand and pointed toward a dark corner of the cave. I squinted, trying to get a better look—

I stopped breathing.

I stopped moving.

I stopped thinking.

At the edge of the cave, hung high in the ceiling, A Golbat was feasting on a mangled Starly’s corpse. Feathers and… chunks of Starly fell to the ground as the Pokemon savaged the poor bird’s body. After it was done, it licked its bloodied fangs with its snaky, purple tongue, and then flew away with a wicked laugh.

I collapsed on my knees.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 23

“ce… Grace! Grace!”

I snapped out of my stupor and stared sluggishly around the cave. I blinked, noticing that my eyes were extremely dry. Denzel was shaking my shoulder, calling out my name while Frillish and Eevee looked over with worried gazes. I swallowed.

“I’m fine, that was just… wow,” I muttered.

“Are you hurt? Did you get hit by a Zubat?” My friend asked.

“That Golbat… that Golbat isn’t supposed to be here isn’t it? It’s too strong to be in this cave,” I rambled. “What is a Golbat doing here? What are the Rangers doing…”

“Right now we need to get Jacob out of here. And ourselves too. There could be more Golbat around here,” He said, glancing behind his shoulder.

“Jacob?”

“That’s his name,” Denzel said, pointing at the trainer who had lost his Starly. He was on the ground just like me, still crying and muttering to himself.

With a weak nod, I slowly stood up and took a breath. Denzel grabbed Jacob’s arm and dragged him up.

“No, no! My Starly!”

“It’s dead… we can’t do anything about it,” Denzel said.

“I—I want to bury it. I live in Floaroma. The flower fields will be great for him to rest.”

We approached the Starly’s corpse and lurched, covering my mouth to stop myself from puking. The bird was unrecognizable. He had missing feathers, bones protruding through his bloody corpse and his body was horribly deformed. Jacob held out his Pokeball with his head hung low and returned his companion.

“Sorry. I’m so sorry.” He cried. “If o—only I hadn’t t—tried to catch that Golbat, you would still be alive.”

We stayed silent and allowed him to grieve for a few more minutes before we left. An hour later, we were back outside on route 204. In the distance, we could see Jubilife city in a blue hue because of Earth’s atmosphere. We could also see all of the first half of route 204, which was a magnificent sight. Unfortunately, the mood was somber, and we spent no time looking at the view. Jacob was opening up more and more to us now, and he was venting, cursing himself for being so stupid.

“I was just training Wooper in the caves until I saw that fucking Golbat,” He spat. “And I’m so fucking dumb, I figured I could catch it because the Pokemon here are usually weak, and then I would use it to beat Gardenia. I was fucking wrong, like always.”

Denzel and I mostly just nodded or gave him grunts of approval when he finished saying something. I personally just didn’t want to say something rude— it was hard to know what was insensitive or not around a trainer who had just lost a Pokemon. If I told him that he shouldn’t ever underestimate evolved Pokemon, would he nod and agree, or would he blow up at me? There was no way to know, and so I stayed silent. Denzel probably thought the same thing, and Jacob didn’t seem to mind at all. He probably just wanted anyone to listen.

“I always fucking slip up. Forget to buy potions before leaving to train, or get lost in the Arceus damned woods all the time. Starly was the one who would lead me out…” Jacob trailed off with a sniffle. “He… he was my first Pokemon. He loved me, trusted me, and I failed him because of my own self-confidence issues. Fuck.”

I glanced toward Denzel, wondering if this is the path he could have gone on if I hadn’t spoken to him after his loss to Chase. He had attacked that group of Budew, and he might have done more senseless things like that. I shuddered when I imagine Eevee, dead and mangled like that Starly was.

“I was shortsighted. No, I still am. I still hate how weak I am, and I thought I’d be able to get a shortcut by catching that Golbat. When I saw that people were getting their first badge already, I started doubting myself.”

“But you have months to get all the badges. Hell, even if you fail, you have years of attempts still,” Denzel finally said.

“Champion Cynthia did it in a year—”

“You can’t compare yourself to Cynthia. It’s good to strive forward and have idols or people you want to catch up to, but you have to focus on yourself,” I interrupted. Seeing someone compare himself to someone so great was hurting me. “It’s too late now, but you can take it as a lesson for the future. Never forget about Starly. Use this tragedy as a lesson.”

“I wouldn’t forget.”

“Good. And Jacob?” I asked.

“Yes?”

“It’s good to cry. To let it all out. But the fault doesn’t only rest with you. Rangers should have taken care of this, but they didn’t.”

As we got closer and closer to Floaroma, flowers began to adorn the fields around the route. They came in all colors, stretching for miles, and miles beyond the horizon like an ocean. Jacob stopped and started digging a hole with his hands until I handed him my small spade. He made a hole small enough for a Pokeball, kissed it, and apologized one last time before burying it. Denzel tapped him on the shoulder as he cried. It was another hour until we reached Floaroma, and Jacob kept getting weaker and slower. The town reminded me a lot of Twinleaf— except that there were roads for cars. The buildings were spaced out to let nature grow in between them, and the center of town had a small concentration of buildings along with the Pokecenter. Jacob was immediately taken to the human wing. The main threat was poisoning, and not the Zubat’s bites themselves. A few hours later, a nurse came back to us and said he’d have to stay for a few days, but that we could visit whenever we wanted.

Denzel and I checked in our Pokemon that had fought and booked two rooms. Floaroma still had a surprising amount of trainers who were still training— of course, that number was nowhere near Jubilife or Oreburgh. Trainers from here were often dealt with a dilemma during every Circuit: take the long trip to Oreburgh or train in Floaroma until they were confident enough to tackle Eterna Forest. I assumed most of the people who were still here were going to do the latter, and that had also been Jacob’s plan until… until his Pokemon died.

After we went to the local Ranger station and warned them about the wild Golbat, I went into my room and collapsed onto my bed. I was too tired to take a shower, but too scared to sleep. Starly’s death had been a grim reminder for me that even though Pokemon were incredibly strong, they could still be killed in the wild. It wasn’t like trainer battles. There were no rules, no limits, no means a wild Pokemon wouldn’t go through to win and feed itself.

“It had to be a Golbat…” I whispered before catching myself.

A trainer had just lost his starter, and all I could think of doing was complain about being scared of Golbat. It hadn’t even attacked me. And yet my entire body just shut down as soon as I saw it. I never understood the meaning of fight, flight, or freeze until that very moment, and apparently, I was a freezer. That would be terrible if I ever found another one, but hopefully, Denzel would be able to get me to snap out of it. It’s not like we were going to go through more caves anytime soon anyway.

Eterna Forest, though…

It was an area with no traversable roads, and full of wilderness. It was extremely easy to get lost, with very few landmarks to use. The Rangers had set up some checkpoints, which were just signs that basically said ‘you’re on the right track.’ There was an incredible amount of Pokemon living in it, and they were mostly grass or bug types. The forest was one of the most infamous places in Sinnoh because trainers would enter and never come out. Eventually, their corpses were found weeks or months later, having been gnawed to the bone by the wildlife. Honestly, I was more terrified of going through there than in any cave other than Mount Coronet. It was possible we’d spend weeks in there, with no contact with civilization.

But at least there wouldn’t be any Golbat.

I stretched on my bed and turned over, looking at the window. Even in the city, the fields of flowers never ended. They swayed in the wind like a single connected being.

“It’s beautiful out there,” I whispered. “Like a dream.”

Not wanting to fall asleep, I finally got up and took a cold shower. The frigid water woke me up, so I changed and quickly went back downstairs after calling my dad and mom to let them know I was safe and sound. Calls with mom had been a bit awkward and uncomfortable ever since she told me she loved me. It was too fast, and I was nowhere near ready to say it back, but she thankfully took the hint and followed my lead when I acted like it never happened.

Denzel was already in the lobby waiting for me when I got there.

“Yo. Want to explore town?” He asked. “Not much to do until we get our Pokemon back.”

“Sure, I could use a distraction.”

We spent the next two hours browsing different shops. Floaroma was obviously known for its flowers, but they were also famous for the quality of the berries they grew and their net export of clean energy thanks to Valley Windworks. The city wasn’t inhabited by many people, but that power plant was absolutely massive, meaning that they could sell energy at a profit to other cities. I bought a few juicy-looking berries for Togetic and Frillish, and we ate in a small casual restaurant in the town center. Soon enough, we took a break and laid down on the flowers.

“You still don’t want to talk about it?” He asked me.

“About?”

“About your problem with Golbats,” Denzel clarified as he picked a purple flower. He put it in his hair.

“Cute. But no, there’s nothing to talk about. I have a phobia of Golbat, so what? Plenty of people are scared of a Pokemon in particular.”

“That goes beyond phobia, Grace. You couldn’t even function for two minutes.”

“You and Frillish were here to protect me, and Togetic would have been too if I hadn’t put her back in her ball. It was fine.”

“You keep saying that word. Fine. It’s like you’re trying to convince yourself,” He accused me. “I told you Pokemon Centers have therapists, and you didn’t even ask about it when we were there. You have huge bags under your eyes because you can’t sleep—”

“So what’s your point?!” I said, raising my voice. “You think a meeting with a shrink will fix me?”

“—And you’re easily irritated because you’re tired. You told Jacob it was ok to cry, but have you?”

I flinched, finding his words to cut deeper than I ever thought they would. “I—I cried when we went to the police,” I said with a trembling voice.

“You did, but is that enough? You’ve been bottling up everything, haven’t you? Isn’t it hard?” He asked in a soft tone.

“I told my Pokemon—”

“But humans are different. You haven’t talked to anyone,” He continued, touching my shoulder. “Not me, not your dad, your mom, or any medical professionals.”

I could feel the dam begin to break. First, there was a single tear, and then a deluge as I cried into my hands. It felt awful, but also liberating in a way, to let myself be weak for a moment. To act with no restraints in front of my friend. I must have cried for a good twenty minutes, drawing stares from strangers, who must have been imagining a very different situation than what was actually going on. I didn’t care.

“That felt good, didn’t it?” He said, looking at me.

I let out a teary chuckle. “I’m a mess.”

“I didn’t bring any tissues for you, sorry,” Denzel said with a smile. “Are you going to get help now?”

“I will. Sorry for making you worry,” I said. “I’ll talk to Nurse Joy about it as soon as we get back. But Denzel, I have a question.”

My friend looked at me.

“What about you?” I asked worriedly. “Are you ok? Sorry for never bothering to ask.”

“I don’t know,” He breathed out after a pause. “To be honest, I think I’m just better at hiding it. I'll talk to someone too if that helps you get help.”

I nodded. “Then let’s get back. And hand me a flower, will you? The same one that’s in your hair.”

And so, a girl with a face that looked like hell and her friend walked back to the Center with matching flowers in their hair.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 24

“Alright, Ms. Pastel, that’s one therapy session with one of the Nurse Joys in two days at 6:30 pm. Is that ok with you?”

I looked at the Nurse Joy speaking to me. We were in a secluded room for privacy, but I had almost forgotten that each Pokemon Center had multiple Nurse Joys that worked in shifts to keep the place running twenty-four seven. I was a bit taken aback at how soon the meeting was going to be, but I nodded.

“Sounds good! See you then,” She said, picking up a clipboard. She led me out, and I walked back to the lobby.

Nurse Joys were probably the most underappreciated people in the world. They had to not only be proficient in healing all kinds of Pokemon, but they also had to be good at fixing up humans too, both physically and mentally. Denzel had been right, though. It felt good to be finally taking a step forward. Now I just needed to keep walking. I waited for him to come back from the appointment-making area and smiled at him as he walked toward me.

“How’d it go?” Denzel asked.

“We didn’t even do anything, it was just set up. I see her in two days, at six-thirty,” I said, nodding toward Nurse Joy at the counter, even though it wasn’t her I’d be seeing. “You?”

“In two days as well, in the morning,” He muttered. “So what now?”

“Well, our Pokemon are still in the Center, so I was thinking of going to see how Jacob’s doing,” I said.

He grunted in agreement. “I think I’ll try to spend some time with Budew and then find a stream or a lake for Feebas. He hasn’t been out of the ball in a while.”

“Stay safe around Budew,” I warned. “She still despises you.”

“Oh, I know. She probably won’t like me anytime soon, but I’m making inroads. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.”

“Still, be careful. I’m not joking around with this, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I will. I’ll drop by later.”

We went our separate ways, and I made my way to the human wing of the Pokemon Center. Regular hospitals existed too, but I found them to be cold and unsettling. It was probably all the white and bright lights making me feel nervous every time I stepped foot in one in the past. Meanwhile, Pokemon centers used bright, warm colors that made you feel right at home. I didn’t know the reason for the design choice, but I welcomed it with open arms. Stepping out of the elevator on the second floor, I made my way to Jacob’s room.

“224… 224… there it is!” I said.

I gently opened the door and saw Jacob in a hospital gown, lying on his bed. He had an IV drip injected in his arm, administering some kind of dark fluid, and his skin was covered in bandages. He turned and met my eyes.

“Jacob,” I said with a pause. “How are—” I cut myself off. Of course he was feeling terrible, I was such an idiot. “I came to see you,” I finally said.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” Jacob said. His voice was barely audible.

“Why? Can I sit down?” I asked.

“Be my guest.”

I sat down next to his bed.

“And I don’t know, we just don’t know each other at all. I really thought you’d wash your hands off me as soon as you got me to a Center,” He whispered. Now that I looked closer, he was as pale as a sheet of paper.

“I wouldn’t do that. Denzel is coming later too,” I said. A low-volume television was playing a sitcom in the corner of the room. Something about a talking Meowth going on a journey with a satirical version of Team Rocket, I had seen it a few times. “How bad were your wounds?”

“The bites were fine,” He sighed. “Zubat teeth are pretty non-threatening. The poison’s the problem. The doctors say it’ll take at least two months for me to be back on my feet.”

Two months? I thought. But—

“So yeah, no more Circuit for me, I guess. I was honestly thinking of quitting anyway, I can’t even think of going out in the wild again after what happened.”

“I see,” I said. There wasn’t much else I could say— it was hard to find the words. I honestly had wanted to help Jacob recover and maybe get him to travel with us, but he was… broken. I didn’t want him to give up— he could still try again after he got better. But I also didn’t want to disrespect his choice. “Your parents come see you yet?”

“You missed them by a hair, actually. I was going to ask if you somehow found them and told them I was hurt, but they actually got a call from the Center. They were worried sick,” Jacob clenched his hands around the bedsheets. “They didn’t even ask about Starly.”

“You’re their son. I understand that you’re pissed— I’d be pissed too, but you’re their first priority.”

Jacob just grunted and turned away from me. I took it as a sign to stop talking and just stayed with him for a while. I figured he’d feel better with someone here. Or maybe I was just annoying him? Either way, we stayed silent until Denzel came to the room. We stayed there for an hour and then left Jacob to rest.

“He’s really bad,” I said. “He feels… hollow.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Denzel lamented with a sigh. “Let’s just hope professionals help him out.”

We finally got our teams back, and I immediately released Togetic, who immediately flew to my side, brushing her head against mine. I caressed her neck and smiled.

“Prrrri!” She squealed.

“Hey princess.”

Denzel released Eevee, who climbed on his shoulder and licked his ear. They were obviously in a good mood. Walking out of the Pokemon Center, I asked Denzel about a body of water for Frillish, and he said that there was a river on route 205. I decided I’d go there at some point since Valley Windworks was on the way there anyway, and apparently, there were interesting Pokemon next to the plant.

“So how long are we staying here?” I asked Denzel. “I’m thinking a week, give or take?”

“We might want to stay for longer to prepare for Eterna. That place is seriously no joke, I want all of our bases covered.”

I nodded. “So how long?”

“Well, we can’t be too long, but I want to really try connecting with Budew here. She seems to like the place. All the flowers and the natural air must be doing wonders for her.”

“So two weeks?”

“That sounds perfect. We’ve also been slacking on trainer battles. We’re always the ones that get challenged and not the ones that do the challenging. We need to make as much money as we can to stock up on supplies before leaving. We’ll probably need bigger bags too.”

“Mhm. I’m really nervous about it. The stories that come out of that place…”

Denzel nodded somberly. “But we’ll make it.”

Just as he finished his sentence, we noticed a group of people crowding around a nondescript building. We decided to give it a look, and as we got closer, I noticed a sign at the edge of the building, obscured by the crowd.

Monthly Floaroma Tournament → Sign up here! Five hundred Pokedollar entry fee.

1st place: Ten thousand Pokedollar and a secret TM.

2nd place: Five thousand Pokedollar

3rd place: Two point five thousand Pokedollars

“Ten thousand Pokedollars for first place? That’s as much as we got when we beat Roark!” I said, feeling surprised.

“Tournaments are big money makers for the city, so it makes sense that the prize pool would be high,” Denzel said. I could feel the excitement in his voice.

“Want to sign up?” I asked.

“You read my mind,” He answered with a grin.

The reason we hadn’t seen that many trainers in Floaroma was apparently because they were all signing up for this tournament, because Arceus damn, there were a lot of people. We slowly filtered into the building when I let out a small gasp after seeing a familiar face. Cecilia Obel and her group were also signing up. I straightened my back when they passed us, but she didn’t even glimpse at me. I felt foolish for being so nervous around her. Why was I even nervous around her? After pondering for a few minutes, I deduced that it was probably because she was such a good trainer. It was intimidating to recall how she had control over a dragon. If she was in the tournament, I wanted to try my best to fight her. I walked up to the counter with renewed motivation.

I handed in the five hundred pokedollar fee and looked at the rules. They were similar to what the rules had been in Roark’s gym, except that we were only allowed to use two Pokemon and no switch-ins. I thanked the stars above for how convenient this was for me, and Denzel explained that it was probably because the Circuit had just started and everyone was so new. Of course, there was also the possibility that someone who had obtained multiple badges last year would sign up, but I assumed they wouldn’t bother with such a low-level competition. It was clearly meant for newer trainers.

The tournament was to start tomorrow and take place over a few days on the outskirts of the city, in a place the locals called the meadow, north of town. Apparently, they farmed honey there, and I wouldn’t mind trying some. After we signed up, I decided to finally make my way to Valley Windworks. On the way, I stopped by the river and let Frillish follow along while I walked on the shore until we had to change course. Togetic followed me in the air. She was getting more agile with her flying, often doing twirls and spins, and then glancing at me to see my reaction. I praised her every time. She obviously wanted to impress me, and I found that really cute.

Valley Windworks took my breath away. Wind Turbines stretched for miles and miles until they reached the power plant itself. They were honestly bigger than I thought they’d be. To the right, a large mountain range separated Floaroma from the south of the region.

“Wow,” I muttered. It was at times like this and when we exited the Ravaged Path that I was overcome with a feeling that was hard to describe. Like I was finally realizing the scale of Sinnoh. I had come a long way since my sheltered life in Jubilife.

I broke into a jog. The path was flat, and I had decided to go on runs twice per day. If I stopped after the first day, I’d be disappointed in myself. Frillish and Togetic followed close behind me. It was easier today because I wasn’t carrying my backpack. All I had were a few empty Pokeballs at my hip.

After twenty minutes, I heaved as I leaned against my knees.

“It’s easier my ass. I’m still cooked by the end of it,” I said, wiping sweat off my brow.

“Ele?”

My head whirred toward the sound behind me. Frillish and Togetic both got in front of me and cried out menacingly. A yellow Pokemon with stripes of black fur and plug-like horns on its head looked at me curiously. It wasn’t attacking, so I grabbed my Pokedex and scanned it.

Elekid, the electric pokemon. Elekid stores electricity in its body. If it touches metal and accidentally discharges all its built-up electricity, this Pokémon begins swinging its arms in circles to recharge itself.

Type: Electric

Really? I thought. The electric pokemon? Ten points for originality, Pokedex.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, crouching so I appeared less menacing. “Did you follow me here?”

“Kid! Elekid, kid!”

“Woah, you’re talkative,” I commented. It was probably peaceful because it was used to humans. Employees at the power plant probably walked or drove by here every day. “Well, unfortunately, I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

“Ele…” The Pokemon crossed his arms and closed his eyes like it was thinking.

I didn’t walk all the way up the power plant, obviously. I wouldn’t even be allowed to access the inside. There were a lot of electric types hanging about, and I scanned them all with my Pokedex. Shinx, Pichu, Pikachu, Magnemite… they were everywhere. I wondered if the plant had no problems with them stealing their energy.

“Kid!”

I jumped. “You’re still here? Man… what do you even want?”

“Elekid!” It exclaimed, pointing at my hip. I glanced down and noticed he was staring at my Pokeballs.

I frowned. “What? You want to join me?” I asked in disbelief. Pokemon willingly joining humans wasn’t unheard of, of course, but it was rare and I didn’t expect it to happen to me. I stared into Elekid’s eyes and wondered what in its life had led it to this point.

I grabbed a Pokeball and stared at it. It’s not like I hadn’t come here hoping to catch something, but this felt too easy. I captured it and waited until the confirmation ‘beep’ sound to relax. Togetic and Frillish seemed just as confused as I was. I released Elekid, who screamed with a voice way too loud for its body. I scanned it again with my Pokedex to see its moves, gender, and ability.

Moves: Thundershock, Swift, Thunder Punch, Charge, Leer (click for more information)

Ability: Static (click for more information)

“You’re a male, huh? Well, Elekid, welcome to the team, I guess?”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 25

On our way back, Elekid kept trying to pull me toward the power plant with his clumsy little hands, and I kept having to tell him that I wasn’t going to go there.

“What do you even want in there? The electricity? I don’t want to get in trouble,” I told him.

“Elekid! Ele!” He yelled.

“Man… you’re a strange one.”

Frillish looked at our new member with disdain, while Togetic was trying to make friends in her own strange way. She kept trying to play with Elekid’s plug-like horns, looking at them like she was fascinated. It was in these moments that I realized that even though she had evolved, Togetic was still just a baby.

At some point, I ended up having to recall Elekid to his ball because of how adamant he was about getting to the plant. I walked back to the Pokemon Center and gave him to Nurse Joy for a check-up since I had just caught him. Since we had been slacking on our training a little bit, I decided to make Togetic practice her Extrasensory, while Frillish continued to work on Water Pulse. Togetic was slowly working her way up in what she could lift, and I could actually notice the attack now whenever she used it. It was as if an invisible force that distorted the air around it surrounded an object, and after that, she could move it however she pleased. I was confident in her lifting light Pokemon, but heavier ones would be a no go for the tournament. Meanwhile, Frillish had completely mastered Water Pulse. I rewarded him with one of Floaroma’s famous berries, but Togetic whined, and I ended up giving her some too. There was no way I could ever resist her sad stare. Hex was trickier. The only way to practice the move was against living beings, so we weren’t able to try to learn the move very much. I decided to put it on the back burner for now.

I was getting used to spending more and more time with my team out of their Pokeballs, which was honestly a welcomed addition. Denzel already did the same with Eevee, and a lot of trainers simply never recalled their Pokemon unless they were forced to. Plus, seeing as how chill Elekid was around me, I’d probably be able to do the same thing with him. Not only would it accelerate the pace at which we bonded, but I’d be able to learn his body language— how he thought, moved, and his behavioral cues. When I picked him up from the Center, I hurried back to my room and released him there.

“Hey, it’s me again. I wanted to talk to you with my team here,” I said.

Elekid crossed his arms and stared right into my eyes.

“I caught you, but I want to make sure you know what you’re in for. I’m a trainer participating in the League Circuit. That means that I travel, battle other trainers, and we get stronger together,” I explained. I gauged his reaction, expecting him to be confused, but he seemed happy. Excited, even. “We have a little less than a year to get as strong as we can, then we’ll compete against the most powerful trainers in the region. Are you fine with joining us?”

Elekid flexed his arms and began rotating them. Sparks of electricity flew in between his horns. “Kid!”

I didn’t have to speak Pokemon to realize that was a yes. “Well, now it’s truly official. Welcome to the team!” I smiled. “Oh, and we’re also traveling with another human friend and his Pokemon, but we can get you introduced later. For now, I’ll start training with you to measure your strengths and weaknesses, and I’ll also have you observe during tomorrow’s tournament— oh, I forgot to even tell you about the tournament!”

I explained everything to Elekid. I wasn’t going to have him fight yet, obviously, but it’d still be nice to have him see how trainer battles worked. He was seemingly bummed out about not being able to fight, which surprised me. I was slowly getting a hold of his personality, and he seemed to be hyper all the time, but also a battle junkie. Maybe his life in the wild had made him this way, but it was still peculiar to look at.

Anyway, after finishing our conversation, I took a shower, and we headed outside toward the edge of town. It was annoying to be doing this back and forth between outside and the Pokemon Center all the time, but what could I do? My standards had been ruined by Jubilife’s quick public transport.

I rechecked my Pokedex to make sure I hadn’t missed any of Elekid’s moves. Thundershock and Thunder Punch meant that he’d be useful both at a distance and in close range, which was a boon. Swift was extremely useful as well, being a move that homed in toward your opponent. All in all, I needed to assess what level he was at with those moves until I even thought about teaching him anything else. I directed Togetic to practice her Extrasensory on any object she could find lying about, and I told Frillish to stick with her to make sure she didn’t get lost. Her new flying abilities had seemingly made her increasingly likely to just float off somewhere as soon as something grabbed her attention.

“Okay, Elekid, let’s do it. use Thundershock in the sky,” I started. “Keep it going for as long as you can.”

Elekid grunted and began to spin his arms around. Electricity sparked, and then gathered above his head before flying off into the clouds. He kept it going for around eight seconds before tiring out.

“Good job!” I said with a smile. Elekid grunted in between heavy breaths. “Eight seconds… y’know, I should really start taking notes about you guys’ progress. I feel like I’d be able to track your growth better with a spreadsheet.”

Elekid looked at me like I was speaking gibberish, but he yelled anyway as if he understood. I was glad his movements were so telegraphed. This was nowhere near how hard getting to know Frillish had been. Probably something about ghosts.

I pointed toward a tree. “Can you use Swift on that tree?”

The electric type nodded and aimed his arms forward as stars materialized all around him before flying toward the tree trunk. I approached it to see the damage it had done and noticed that it had created some pretty big scratches. The move was definitely usable in battle, but we’d have to work on it.

“Swift again on the same tree, but aim a bit to the left this time,” I said.

I wanted to test the limits of Swift’s homing abilities. As it turned out, the only requirement was for the target to be within Elekid’s eyesight, and it would always hit. That was truly a powerful asset to have.

“Thunder Punch that same tree,” I continued.

Elekid spun one arm, and electricity coated his fist. With a scream, he punched the tree with all of his strength, creating a huge hole in the bark.

“Stand back, I don’t want it to fall on you,” I told him. Thunder Punch was definitely his strongest attack, and ideas were already forming in my mind about how to maximize its potential. First, I needed to ascertain a few things…

“Can you do it on both fists?” I said, lifting my own fists up as an example. I mimicked a series of punches. “Like that?”

“Kid! Kid!” He said excitedly.

“Show me what you got,” I grinned. “No need to hit the tree this time.”

He spun his arms around again, and once enough electricity had gathered in his fists, he threw a series of jabs in the air until his fists ran out of energy.

“We definitely need to work on endurance, but that’s like, the easiest thing to work on, so don’t worry,” I said. As it stood, he had the power to battle, but he wouldn’t last more than two minutes in a fight— less if he had to use more moves than usual.

“Ele…” He said.

“Disappointed?” I asked. He nodded and hung his head. His body’s behavior was so human it was almost unsettling, but that was probably the way it was with bipedal, humanoid-shaped Pokemon. “Aw, don’t worry, honey. We’ll get you in shape in no time.”

Leer was pretty self-explanatory. Elekid would try to intimidate a Pokemon with a scary glare and hope to catch them off-guard, similar to Growl. Those types of moves only worked on weak Pokemon though, and the higher I’d go, the less useful they would be. Charge was just the way Elekid gathered electricity in his body, so he basically used it subconsciously with every attack. However, my mind flashed back to my very first trainer battle. Shinx combined the move Charge with Tackle to create an entirely new move, so maybe I’d be able to do so when Elekid learned something else. Or maybe I’d even be able to create an electric type Swift. For now, though, Elekid’s assessment was over.

I looked around, trying to find Togetic and Frillish. They were hanging out high in the sky, looking at something I couldn’t see. If I remembered correctly, that direction was north of Floaroma, which was… Eterna Forest.

“Guys! We’re done here, come down!” I yelled. Togetic gently floated downward while Frillish just deactivated his levitation and stopped himself with Water Sport, similarly to our battle with Roark. He seemed to enjoy that little trick. “Togetic, I thought I told you to practice your Extrasensory…” I said, putting my hands on my hips. She avoided my gaze and hid behind Frillish, who proceeded to get out of the way. “I know flying is fun, but you can’t slack off, alright?” I told her. “Don’t look at me like that, I’m not mad! Have I ever gotten mad at you?”

Togetic shook her head. She chirped, and then her eyes turned blue as she tore a branch off of a nearby tree before dropping it in front of me.

“Is that for me?” I asked as I bent down to pick it up. “You’re sweet! Let’s get back to the Center and see if we can meet Denzel. I’ll call him.”

We ended up meeting him back at the Center thirty minutes later, where he walked in followed closely by Eevee and Budew. The little plant waddled next to Eevee, and was seemingly ok with the situation, although she still had that permanent scowl on her face. I would have called her cute if she hadn’t tried to kill me.

“Wow, who’s that?” Denzel asked, looking at Elekid. The Pokemon put his arms up and yelled out his name, introducing himself.

“New member of my team. I caught him earlier today near the power plant at Valley Windworks, and he’s fitting like a glove already,” I said, patting him on the back. I felt a small shock run up my arm and jolted. “Ow, ow, ok, let’s not do that again.”

Elekid laughed loudly, eliciting some stares.

“Anyway, what about… well…” I trailed off, realizing it’d be rude to just talk about Budew like she wasn’t there.

“Oh, Budew still hates me, but she’s taken a liking to Eevee. Progress is progress, right?” Denzel said, bending down toward the big Budew. She released spores at him, making him cough and fan the air in front of his face.

I just about screamed for Nurse Joy before he stopped me. “Don’t worry, they’re nonlethal, I’ve already had this incident before, and I checked with a doctor. It’s just something that she does if I’m being annoying.”

“How extreme,” I said, side-eyeing the grass type. “How will you deal with the tournament? You still can’t battle with her, right?”

“Bud!” Budew screeched.

“What in the world does that mean?” I said in a cautious tone.

“She’s saying no, obviously. And I’ll just use Eevee. If he loses, I’ll forfeit. I know I’ll be at a disadvantage, but the majority of participants probably won’t have a badge, so I’m hoping to at least get the third place money.”

“It’d be fun if we fought again. It’s been a while,” I said.

“True, it has been. Looking forward to seeing you out there, Grace. I’ll make sure to turn our score into a 2-0.”

“Be cocky while you still can, I’ll make you eat your words,” I joked.

I recalled my Pokemon and Denzel did the same while we went to eat in a restaurant. It was an early dinner, but the food was excellent, and all plant-based.

“I’m surprised you caught an Elekid,” Denzel said before taking a sip of water.

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, because they’re one of the few Pokemon that we don’t know how to evolve, right? Well, Electabuzz, I mean. The only trainer that has an Electrivire in Sinnoh is Volkner, and I doubt he’ll ever spill.”

“Well, obviously I know that,” I said. “But when I looked into his eyes when he asked to come with me, I couldn’t refuse. We’ll make it work,” I said confidently.

Even with today’s knowledge, some Pokemon evolutions were unknown to the public. Electabuzz, Magmar, Dusclops, and Haunter were all examples I could come up with at the top of my head, but there were more. Only a few trainers owned their evolved forms, and they hogged the knowledge like gold.

After digesting dinner, we went for a run. I had Elekid with me and Denzel had Eevee. Elekid was actually surprisingly fast, which was something I hadn’t expected with his two little legs. He was faster than me and Denzel, but the problem was he tired extremely easily, which is why I had him on this run in the first place.

That night, I fidgeted in my bed until sleep finally claimed me, but of course, the nightmares came back.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 26

The next day, Denzel and I made our way north of town to the meadow, where hundreds of trainers were waiting, and more were on the way. Dozens of adults were helping with the event setup, checking in trainers, arranging food and drink, or setting up bleachers. There were six makeshift battlefields demarcated on the ground, with their edges marked by four poles, and some news crews were even interviewing a few trainers.

Denzel and I handed in our trainer IDs, and we were officially checked in. The way the tournament would work is that we would all draw numbers and be matched against random trainers until there were only sixteen trainers left. From there, the round of sixteen would take place tomorrow, and we’d go all the way up to finals. I felt butterflies in my stomach, excited at the opportunity to be experiencing this with so many trainers. I quickly went to draw my number, which ended up being 56. Denzel pulled number 92, meaning we wouldn’t be fighting each other in the first round. The matches would start at the lowest number, so we decided to grab some water and go take a seat on the bleachers while waiting for our turn, but we were accosted by a green-haired lady with a microphone and a cameraman wearing an orange cap and a tank top.

“Excuse me, Ms. Pastel and Mr. Williams? As one of the few trainers in this tournament already in possession of a badge, how confident are you going into it? Do you have any advice for any trainers struggling out there?”

I drew a sharp breath and glanced at Denzel. Trainers around us began to stare, clearly surprised about what the lady had just said.

“Um, I don’t—”

“We’re good, thank you,” Denzel said. “No interviews.”

He pushed me along toward the bleachers.

The news reporter clicked her tongue, muttering something about children nowadays before going on the prowl for another unsuspecting interviewee.

“Denzel, you didn’t have to do that,” I told him. “I know you wanted to answer. Your dream—”

“Can wait. You were a nervous wreck as soon as you saw the camera. I would rather my friend be comfortable than go on some no-name television station. The big shots won’t be covering the first day of the tournament. I’ll be fine.”

“Thanks,” I just said before taking a sip of water.

As I sat, I couldn’t help but notice Cecilia Obel and her group sitting a row in front of us, to our left. I kept staring at her until the first battles started. Maybe she would reveal her third Pokemon today? I released Elekid so he could watch. Luckily he didn’t have any electricity stored in his fur this time, so he sat on my lap. He was observing the battles very attentively, foregoing his usual energetic behavior to focus on every move. Unfortunately, since there were six battles going on at once, we were only able to watch one at a time. Most Pokemon we saw were clearly low leveled and inexperienced. I couldn’t help but micro-analyze the way each trainer fought, trying to find a weakness in case I ever came up against them. For example, an older-looking trainer kept making his Lotad use Ice Beam— a move the small Pokemon clearly didn’t master and obviously learned via TM. Even if TMs taught your Pokemon a move, it was always barebones at first, and you needed to practice with it like any other move. Case in point, the poor Lotad was incapable of aiming the move and kept being flung back by its force. It was quickly taken out by the enemy Doduo.

Eventually, the first member of Cecilia’s group had to battle. With a smug expression, Louis Bianchi flicked his blond hair back and stepped into the arena. With a coin flip, it was decided that his opponent would send his Pokemon out first. She sent out a Monferno and steadied herself. The fire type grunted and put his fists up.

“That’s Maeve Chang. She’s a frequent forum browser, we’ve interacted a few times online. I had no idea she was here,” Denzel muttered to me.

Louis Bianchi grinned and sent out a Gible. Gasps ran through the crowd of trainers, although some already knew he had one— including me. He was arguably the most famous trainer in the Circuit right now, given his status as a billionaire heir and his extremely rare Pokemon. Dragon type trainers were always seen with envy or admiration, but owning a Gible went beyond that. That line was synonymous with Cynthia. Wherever she was seen, Garchomp quietly followed behind her.

“Think she stands a chance?” I asked.

“Well, she has the Coal badge like us, but against a dragon, it’s hard to say,” Denzel said.

The referee slashed his hand across the air and blew his whistle. The battle had begun.

Maeve immediately sprung to action. “Monferno, get in close, and then Mach Punch!”

“Destroy that runt, Gible!” Louis yelled.

Gible opened its mouth at an angle that shouldn’t have been possible as blue and yellow flames accumulated in its mouth. Unfortunately, Monferno was already there and delivered a strong Mach Punch to its gut. Gible slid across the grass, releasing whatever attack that was. Monferno didn’t have to be told to dodge, and he quickly sidestepped the flames.

“Grab it and bombard it with Ember!” She continued.

Monferno grunted and ran on all fours, approaching Gible at ridiculous speeds. He seized the Gible and put him in the air before bits of flames rushed out of its mouth. Gible screeched at the burns and started thrashing around.

“What are you doing?! Get him!” Louis screamed, stomping his foot against the ground. “Use your Sand Tomb!”

I felt sand and dirt gather around us, rushing toward the battle and surrounding the two Pokemon. It slowly spun around them, until it completely obscured them from view.

“Get back, Monferno!” Maeve ordered.

Monferno dropped the Gible, who lazily left the mini-sandstorm as if nothing had happened. The attack stuck to Monferno no matter where he ran, continuously wearing it down.

“Finally! Now finish it with your Dragon Rage,” Louis said.

Gible spat out that same blue flame out of his mouth, and now that Monferno couldn’t see, this first battle was a done deal. The fire type quickly went down, as Pokemon often did against dragon type attacks. Maeve shook her head and sent out her second Pokemon, a Staryu. The star-shaped Pokemon jumped and spun around, clearly excited to battle.

“Staryu, you’re the last one! Hit ‘em with a Psybeam!” Maeve said.

“Use the same tactic, Gible.”

Gible grunted, and sand began to gather around Staryu as multicolored rings of energy hit its flank. The dragon cried out in pain, but he just wouldn’t go down.

“Use Rapid Spin to disperse his attack! Then Psybeam again!”

Staryu began to float and rotated faster than the eye could see, and the sand slowly began to disappear. Gible opened its maw again and screamed out another Dragon Rage, which clipped one of Staryu’s arms as it dodged. The star-shaped Pokemon sent out another Psybeam, which Gible didn’t even bother to dodge.

“Take Down! Get in close and finish this!”

Gible turned and snapped at his trainer as blue flames wreathed in its mouth. Louis squealed and fell backward, shielding his face with his hands. Gible turned back and threw out the Dragon Rage he was building. Maeve had been too stunned by what had just happened to issue an order, but Staryu countered with a Water Gun, meeting the move head-on. The high-pressure jet of water wasn’t enough to stop the flames, and Staryu went down after being hit a second time.

“You’re pathetic. Only winning because your daddy gave you a Gible,” The girl scoffed as she returned her Pokemon. “If you were anyone else I would have won.”

She walked off toward Floaroma, presumingly back to the Pokemon Center. Louis yelled out some obscenities at her, asking if she knew who he was and that he’d have her disqualified from the Circuit, but she just flipped him off without even turning her head.

“Yikes,” I said. “He’s a terrible trainer.”

“Yeah, he only won because of how good Gible was. That thing is a little juggernaut, I don’t think I’d win against it,” Denzel replied.

I watched Bianchi as he returned to his group with a scowl. “I think I could win, I said. No, I know I could.”

“You have a plan?”

“I have a plan and a fairy type,” I grinned. “But I can’t be sure I’ll be fighting him anyway, so it’s just a backup. I’ve been making rudimentary plans for most of the trainers I’ve seen win.”

“Scary…” Denzel whispered.

“I heard you!”

I hit his shoulder playfully, and he chuckled. “But anyway, this kind of tactic doesn’t work for that long. The further along he gets, the less battles he’ll win like this.”

“I’m surprised it even worked against Roark,” I said.

“I watched his battle, Gible just overwhelmed everything Roark threw at it. Dragon Rage is a move that bypasses a Pokemon’s defenses, so no matter how bulky his rock types were, they always went down in two or three attacks.”

I nodded as we watched the next battle, and then the next. Soon enough, it was my turn. I left Elekid with Denzel and they wished me good luck. I was fighting one of Obel’s people— Pauline King was her name if I remembered correctly. We stood at opposite sides of the arena, and I picked tails, meaning I’d have to send our my Pokemon first. I was surprisingly not nervous like I had been at Roark’s gym. I was still a tiny weeny bit nervous, but it was nowhere near debilitating. It was the kind of nervousness that kept you sharp and on your toes. I grabbed my first Pokeball and sent out Togetic. My opponent sent out a huge Charmeleon, meaning Extrasensory was out.

The referee blew his whistle.

“Keep your distance and Fairy Wind,” I called out.

“Ember!”

Togetic playfully floated upward as a pink wind gathered around her, and then swung toward the Charmeleon. The flames flying toward her dissipated or strayed out of the way, and the wind hit the fire type at full speed. Pauline King flinched when it reached her, but it dissipated right before hitting her. Charmeleon screeched and laid flat against the ground to stop itself from flying off.

“Keep. It. Going,” I slowly said.

Togetic spun around and chirped happily as storm-like winds kept battering the Charmeleon.

Pauline clicked her tongue and groaned. “This is unfair!” I could barely hear her with the wind. It seemed like the only long-distance move her Pokemon had was Ember, and it was clearly useless here. She tried everything she could, but eventually, the Charmeleon passed out and flew off before she recalled it in its Pokeball midair.

“You battle like a crook,” Pauline said.

“Huh? I’m just using strategy…” I answered, embarrassed. “Sorry.”

“Shut up!” She yelled, sending out a Gothita.

Perfect time to test out Ancient Power, I thought.

“Psybeam! Hit it out of the sky!”

“Shake her off with Extrasensory, then Ancient Power,” I ordered.

The first multicolored psychic energy beam hit Togetic, but the second never did. Togetic’s eyes turned blue as she kept making the Gothita do sudden movements, throwing off her aim. She flew downward, barely hovering above the ground. Chunks of rocks and earth were lifted off the ground and thrown toward the small Gothita. They weren’t as large as Roark’s Carbink’s, but they would do the job. Gothita tried to dodge, but she was too small, and one of the rocks crushed her small body. Pauline quickly returned her.

I let out a sigh of relief. That had gone pretty well, but Togetic still needed to work on her mid-air dodging, and she was fooling around too much while battling, making unnecessary movements. I was all for her having fun, but it’d be good to shake off the habit now so that when I was in more important battles—

“You’re a lowlife who can’t fight fair and square. I know your name, I’ll have my friends make your life a living hell,” She whispered as she passed me.

I frowned. That was an extreme reaction to a loss in a battle, but I thought nothing of it. If anything happened, I would report it to League officials. Either way, Denzel congratulated me when I came back with a high five, and Elekid looked more excited than ever to battle.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 27

Denzel’s battle went rather well, as he and Eevee made short work of a trainer’s Krabby and Poocheyena with Bite and Quick Kick. Eevee was excellent, only getting hit twice by Krabby’s Bubblebeam. Fighting Denzel would definitely be a hard battle. I would have the advantage due to my focus on long-distance battling and flight, but he was very good at conserving as much energy as he could and only spending it with quick bursts of Quick Attack. The battle would probably become a fight of attrition. If Eevee tired out first, I would win, but if my Pokemon did, the contrary would be true.

I was also quickly figuring out that this tournament wasn’t only about your battle prowess as a trainer, but also about your battle management skills. What I meant by this was that there were no healing services given out after every battle, and the Pokemon Center was twenty minutes away by foot. That meant that if your Pokemon took too many hits, you’d be screwed for the next battle, and that could start a snowball effect where you ended up only having one Pokemon to battle, or even both of them being unable to.

In that regard, I had underestimated the power of flight in Pokemon. It was truly a great advantage to have, and it would eventually be a thwarted advantage as I got further into the Circuit and my opponents got more diverse, but as it stood now, in the middle of this tournament for beginners? I was possibly among the top contenders— ignoring a few prodigies, of course. It was finally time for Cecilia Obel to take the stage. Funnily enough, she was going against one of her friends.

“That’s Justin Gardner. His father owns Pherzen, a pharmaceutical company that makes a lot of what Pokemon Centers use,” Denzel said with admiration.

“I don’t care about his dad, tell me about his skill as a trainer,” I answered, rolling my eyes.

“Don’t know much apart from the fact that he has a Sandile and a Growlithe. This should be interesting.”

“Ele! Kid!” My Pokemon added.

I leaned against my fist and observed Cecilia. I thought our eyes met again, but that must have been my imagination. She sent out a Fletchling, finally revealing her third Pokemon. It was one of the more common birds in Kalos. There weren’t too many in Sinnoh due to the cold climate, but some could still be found in the southern reaches of the region. I couldn’t contain my smile, as the fact that a trainer clearly better than me was also using a flying Pokemon confirmed my thoughts about the tournament.

Or maybe it was a coincidence and I was in over my head.

The Gardner kid sent out his Growlithe and the battle began.

“Ember! Shoot it out of the sky!” He yelled out, pointing toward the bird.

Growlithe’s mouth lit ablaze as huge globs of fire shot out toward the Fletchling. The bird effortlessly dodged with minimal movement before being recalled by its trainer.

“What?” I said, not hesitating to show Denzel my surprise.

“Hold on,” He said.

Cecilia sent out her Deino, who turned toward her trainer and let out a low growl.

She clicked her tongue. “Be good, Deino. Dragon Breath, fifty percent.”

The dragon roared in disapproval, but listened, as draconic energy built up in its mouth. It looked stronger than it had been during Roark's battle.

If that was only fifty percent, I can’t imagine what it’s like at full power.

“Growlithe, escape with Dig!” Justin panicked.

Deino roared out his Dragon Breath, but Growlithe was already underground. Denzel used the slight lull in the battle to tap my shoulder.

“Here’s what I think happened. Growlithe can have the Flash Fire ability, meaning that all fire type moves against them only make them stronger,” He explained.

“Ahh, that makes so much sense. And I’m guessing Fletchling’s only long-distance moves were fire type, and a bird that frail would get beaten by Growlithe at close range. Plus, she lost the coin flip so she had to send out her Pokemon first.”

“Correct.”

Growlithe emerged right under Deino, hitting it right in the chin. The dragon seemed rather unphased, and brought its huge jaw around the fire type’s neck, biting down hard. Growlithe whined and screamed as it squirmed on the ground, desperately trying to move out of Deino’s grasp.

“Bad! Deino, bad!” Cecilia said, before clicking her tongue multiple times.

Deino let go of Growlithe’s neck, and the poor Pokemon scrambled away. I bit the inside of my lip. This was less like a battle and more like a complete humiliation. Cecilia was just trying to keep her dragon on a leash, lest it killed somebody else’s Pokemon.

“Good boy. Now Dragon Breath, sixty percent.”

“Dig again, but don’t attack him this time!” Justin snapped.

Sixty percent now? I thought. Just like with Roark, she’s slowly going up.

Growlithe barely managed to dodge this time, since the attack was not only stronger than before but also faster.

“Get to the hole, Deino,” Cecilia ordered.

Deino growled and ambled toward the hole Growlithe had dug, angrily snapping its mouth at any noise it heard.

“Dragon Breath into the hole, at seventy percent,” She said.

Justin gasped. “Growlithe, get out of there!”

Deino hacked a few times as his throat glowed, and then expelled another Dragon Breath inside of Growlithe’s tunnel. We heard a yelp deep from inside the hole, and Growlithe was thrown out through another exit created by Deino’s attack, flying off for a few feet before hitting the ground. Justin sighed, and he recalled his Pokemon.

“I give. Your Deino is simply magnificent, Cece. You win,” He said with a small bow.

“You did well, Justin. You would have bested me with Growlithe if I hadn’t been able to switch out. You are improving at a great pace.”

“You flatter me.”

I raised my eyebrows. He seemingly didn’t even care about his extremely embarrassing loss. Personally, I would have left running and never showed my face in Floaroma again, but then again, I was extremely self-conscious, which was something I needed to work on. I stared at Cecilia as she climbed back onto the bleachers, but my eyes slowly widened when I realized she wasn’t going back to sit with her group.

She was coming straight for me.

“You, come with me,” Cecilia said. She grabbed my wrist and pulled.

“Wh—wh—what? What do you want from me?!” I asked with a shaky voice.

“What the hell?! Leave her alone, what the fuck is your deal?” Denzel shot up. Even Elekid was yelling, and we were attracting a lot of attention.

“I need to speak with her. In private,” She said.

“You need to fuck off, that’s what you need to do!” Denzel raised his voice.

“You can tell me what you want here,” I tried.

Cecilia looked at me as if she was analyzing my every move. Her group made their way to where we were sitting.

“Cece, my darling, is there a problem?” Louis Bianchi asked.

“I need to speak with this girl.”

“That girl? The one who can’t fight fair and square?” Pauline scoffed. “Bring me with you, I’d like to see what you’re planning with her,” She said, twirling her hair with a smirk.

“Do I need to call an organizer?” Denzel hissed.

“Watch your tone, you’re talking to—”

“Stop harassing my friend!” I said. “Enough of this mean girl bullcrap.” I eyed Cecilia. “I’ll come with, as long as it’s just you and not her,” I finished, pointing at Pauline with a nod.

“Fine, follow me.”

I recalled Elekid and mouthed a ‘sorry’ to Denzel as he was left all alone together with those rich snobs. Obviously, I was also with a rich snob, but his life would be harder than mine. She kept grabbing my wrist and pulling me toward one of the bathroom stalls.

“What do you want from me? Aren’t we far enough?” I asked, looking back toward the tournament.

She didn’t answer. A few gruesome images began to swim in my mind as I imagined myself eaten alive by a bloodthirsty Deino, but as soon as we reached one of the stalls, she pushed me in and slammed her hand against the wall next to my head. She was taller and stronger than me, so any hopes of escape were gone.

“Did he send you?” The dark-skinned girl yelled.

“Did what? Who are you even talking about?”

“Don’t act dumb! My father! Did he send you?!” Cecilia hissed. All the refinement she had in her way of talking was gone now.

“Why would your dad send me? And to do what? I don’t even know what you’re talking about, you’re making no sense!”

“Don’t act dumb!” She yelled, slamming her hand right next to my ear again, making me flinch. “At first I thought you were just some nice girl when you helped me out in Oreburgh,” Cecilia started. “But then you show up to Floaroma one day after us? And then you sign up for the same tournament, and you keep staring at me, Arceus!” She said with a dry, sarcastic laugh. “You couldn’t be more obvious if you tried!”

“Okay, hold on just one second. You think I’m spying on you for your dad?” I scoffed.

“I know you are! I know he wants to control me and that he can’t do it through my group, but Arceus, now this— this is going very far! Tell me one reason I shouldn’t have Deino teach you a lesson right now?!”

My heart dropped. “Okay, first of all, the world doesn’t revolve around you,” I said, jamming my finger at her. “I wasn’t spying on you, and everything was a coincidence. Second of all, if I die, my friend will know you’re the culprit, so you’ll be going to prison.”

“D—die?” She deflated. “No, I was just thinking about scaring you a little…”

“Well pick your words better! Fuck, I just want to keep my head down and live my life as a trainer, is that too much to ask?! Let me out!”

“And the stares? You didn’t deny looking at me!”

I paused as I was caught off guard “I… I was looking at you because you’re Cecilia fucking Obel, alright?! One of the top trainers of the Circuit this year! I was just intrigued, and I wanted to know more about your battling, now let me go,” I said, pushing against her.

She stepped to the side, crouching and putting her head in her hands.

“Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no!” She cried.

I stared at her in utter confusion for a few seconds before I sighed and opened the door.

“Please don’t tell this to anyone! Please.” Cecilia asked.

“Are you kidding me? You threatened me! And I have had enough of that for an entire lifetime.”

“You can’t say I threatened you… please. If it gets out and my dad finds out, I’ll be screwed. Please.”

“So what? He’ll cancel your credit card for a month, no biggie. Just get your friends to help you,” I spat. I was being vicious like Chase had been with her back in Oreburgh. I would most likely regret these words later, but right now I was pissed. I started walking out the door.

She grabbed my pant leg. “You don’t understand, this— this isn’t about money.”

I stopped and looked at her for a second, and what I saw surprised me. I expected to see a capricious girl sad that her father would ground her and yell at her for a few minutes, but instead, I saw real fear. She was terrified, clasping her hair and muttering ‘please’ over and over. Thinking about it, her even thinking her father was spying on her was suspicious in the first place, and I began to worry something sinister was taking place. I looked back at the door and then at her before exhaling loudly.

Damn it. I’m too nice. I thought.

I crouched in front of her. “Correct me if I’m wrong here, but is your father… violent with you? Or threatening you in some other way?” I probed.

She shook her head. “I can’t say. I can’t say. If he finds out…” She shuddered.

“Okay, well I promise I won’t tell anything, alright, just don’t go around threatening people. Others might not be as understanding.”

The girl nodded and sniffled. Her behavior was a far cry from the way she had been just a minute ago, and it had shattered the entire image I had of her. I had believed Cecilia Obel to be rich, infallible, and stoic, but as it turned out she was just…

She was just a girl. Like me.

“I’m leaving, alright? You should talk to someone about this… problem, whatever it is,” I said, echoing what Denzel had told me. “Anyone. Your friends, or a therapist at the center.”

Cecilia muttered something that I couldn’t catch.

“What did you say?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“Take care,” I said and left.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 28

Cecilia’s entire group of friends scowled at me as I walked back, so I instinctively kept my head down and quickly made my way back to my seat. I had handled that confrontation very well, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit it made my heart race. Denzel looked at me with a worried look in his eyes as I sat down.

“What happened? Did she fuck with you?” He asked.

I almost blurted out the truth before I paused, contemplating what to say. Denzel was my friend, and someone I absolutely trusted, but I had promised not to say anything. But at the same time, I didn’t want to lie to him.

“No, it was fine. Just a misunderstanding,” I said in half-truth. “She won’t do it again.”

“Good, because that was weird. And her buddies over there kept looking at me like I killed their entire family the whole time. Anyway, it’s time to draw our next number soon, and then we can battle again,” Denzel said, grinning.

“Sounds good. Right after two more sets of battles, right?”

“Yup. Hey, check this guy’s Shroomish out, it’s really good…”

We observed the rest of the battles, commenting on anything we found of note. Around five minutes later, Cecilia walked up to the stands, as if nothing had happened. She had her chin up, a refined air around her, and a smug smile. Gone were her tears and her hysterical behavior. She was now completely in control as if she had flipped a switch.

“Huh,” I whispered to myself.

We went for two more rounds of battling, and both Denzel and I made quick work of our opponents. I sent out Togetic against a Ralts and a Combee, keeping them at a distance with Fairy Wind and dealing heavy damage with Ancient Power. The second battle, however, had been difficult. Togetic barely managed to take out a Staravia before I had to return her against a ruthless Pidgeotto. Frillish managed to take it on with a lot of maneuvering with Water Sport. The amount of leverage I was getting out of the move boggled my mind, as Frillish somehow managed to only be slightly slower than an actual flying type. By the end of the day, though, I had made it to the round of sixteen, and so had Denzel.

We were famished, so we decided to leave for the Pokemon Center, get some cafeteria food, and then decide on what to do. Denzel went back to the river on Route 205 to spend more time with Feebas, while I took Elekid to train near the meadow. I wasn’t under any impression I’d be able to use him for the tournament, but it was good to get ahead of these things. Strangely enough, I was more nervous about my therapy session tomorrow than I was about the tournament because I knew these trainers in the round of sixteen would be no joke. They all had the Coal badge, and some had been on the Circuit before. The best I was hoping for was third place, but maybe if I got lucky with my opponents, second place would be within reach.

The next day, I woke up early and drenched in sweat as usual. With my head in my pillow, I groaned and hit my bed out of frustration, but ended up hitting the bed frame. I squealed in pain and cursed, clenching my hand as I stepped into the shower. It’d be a while until Denzel woke up, and he had his appointment anyway, so I ate breakfast with my team. Togetic seemed to get along well enough with Elekid, but Frillish didn’t seem to like our new friend. He eyed him with suspicion, always with that creepy stare I knew so well. Oh well, he’d have to get used to it.

After an early morning run with Elekid and another shower— man, I was really taking advantage of the free water here— I waited for Denzel to finish his session in the lobby. I waved at him as he walked down to the lobby.

“How was it?” I asked anxiously. “What did she ask you?”

“We just… talked. About anything really, it was really nice. I even got to vent about my mom a little,” He said, scratching his cheek. “You’ll do fine, it’s like a conversation with a friend.”

I nodded. “If you say so.”

“C’mon, don’t you trust me?”

“I don’t know, you did get me attacked by a gang of Budew that one time,” I teased.

He put his hands in the air. “Come on, how many times are you going to bring that up?!” He said, eliciting a chuckle.

“Ready for the round of sixteen?” I asked as we left the Center.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. I honestly hope I get that TM, but I doubt I can get first place.”

“I’m more interested in the money, honestly. They wouldn’t be giving out an actually good TM in a tournament for new trainers like us. It’ll probably end up being as useful as Rock Polish— which is completely useless.”

“Actually, if you had a rock type—”

“You know what I mean, Denzel,” I said, rolling my eyes.

The tournament was more packed than it had been because Floaroma inhabitants were actually there to watch now that there were only sixteen of us left. There was only one battlefield left, and a podium had been set up to its left, where two men were fiddling with a microphone and testing their audio.

“Holy shit, commentators,” Denzel choked.

“That’s kind of annoying. I feel like they’ll mess up my groove.”

“No, it means that we’re the real deal now! And I bet the news will film every match and put it on T.V. instead of just doing interviews. Crap, I think I need to go to the bathroom—”

“You won’t make it back in time,” I said, grabbing his hand. “Come on, I’m nervous too, but we have to face this head-on.”

Multiple channels were currently filming in the area. One of them was talking to Louis and Cecilia, while others were focused on commenting about the tournament setup itself, the stakes, and its history, for example. They ran this tournament every single month except during summer, although the first two months of every Circuit were always the busiest. I paid them no mind. I appeared calm, but I knew that if one of them came up to me, I’d just stumble over my words and make a fool of myself. Instead, I immediately went to draw a ticket, and my eyes widened when I pulled number one.

I’d be the first. At least potions and one of the Nurse Joys were there this time, so we’d be able to heal our teams.

There was both bad news and good news. I had observed my opponent like a hawk yesterday, and I knew exactly what his Pokemon were and how he fought. The bad news was that he had both a Plusle and a Minun, meaning that I was most likely screwed. Excellent trainers knew how to work around the type advantage, but I doubted I knew enough to work past it. My mind raced as I attempted to find the best strategy to win, and suddenly as I walked onto the pitch—

“Ah. I got you,” I muttered, holding back a grin.

“Ladies and gentlemen, trainers and civilians, welcome to the second day of the Floaroma tournament. We hold these every month, so make sure to come back! My name’s Ricky, and I’ll be your announcer today,” The commentator said before coughing. “Sorry about that. On the left, we have Grace Pastel from Jubilife City, owner of the Coal Badge. On the right, we have Gavin Barnes— also from Jubilife and also owner of the Coal Badge! I’m excited to see what these two trainers have in store for us today. Do your best! After all, who knows who might catch the attention of a gym leader? Anyone could be watching!

I rolled my eyes and picked tails, winning the coin flip. Of course, it didn’t matter. Gavin sent out his Plusle, I immediately sent out Frillish, and the referee declared the start of the match.

“Thundershock!” He yelled out.

“Okay, buddy! Get close! Water Sport to dodge!” I said, clenching my fists.

The thing about Plusle and Minun was that even though they packed a serious punch for their size, they were also extremely fragile. Unfortunately, we hadn’t mastered Hex yet, and water moves wouldn’t be very effective. We’d lose in a long-distance battle because electric attacks were simply faster than water and extremely hard to dodge, and that meant—

“...Frillish gets hit by a Thundershock! Will it go down?! Oh, ladies it gentlemen, it stopped itself from falling with Water Sport! What an innovative strategy from Grace Pastel, but will it be—”

Shut. Up. I thought, focusing entirely on the battle. Frillish was only seconds away from his opponent.

“Nuzzle when it touches you!”

There it is.

“Water Pulse,” I said coldly.

Frillish used a jet of water to stop all of his momentum, splashing the Plusle in the process, who squealed in surprise. The electric Pokemon attempted to jump toward mine as electricity began to envelop its body, but multiple rings of water hit it point blank, sending it flying toward its trainer.

“Wrap around him and absorb!”

“Plusle, get it together! You need to Nuzzle!”

Frillish let out a gleeful cry before wrapping around Plusle. He absorbed his energy, rendering it weaker and weaker.

“Spark! Thundershock! Anything!” Gavin let out in a panicked scream.

Frillish lit up and spasmed as he was hit with multiple attacks, but he didn’t let go. I winced as both Pokemon screamed in agony as they kept hitting each other, squirming on the ground. After a brutal twenty seconds, both went down, and we recalled them. The plan to hit the Plusle with our strongest attack to stagger it and then rush it with Absorb while it recovered had worked, but not as well as I had hoped.

“...what a ruthless showdown between the two and their Pokemon! We don’t see many battles like this folks, but strap in, we’re only halfway through!”

I exhaled and released Togetic, while Gavin let out his Minun. Plan B was a go, but it was less solid than my tactic with Frillish.

“Run up, and then Electro Ball!”

“Your turn, princess! Fairy Wind, and trip him up with Extrasensory!”

Wind began to coil around Togetic and then blew toward the running Minun, but it was fast. By the time Fairy Wind had made contact, it was already right under Togetic, even with Extrasensory.

It pushed through the damage and threw a ball of pure electric energy right at Togetic, who was hit and fell to the ground. My heart dropped.

“Nuzzle it!”

“Growl, then Ancient Power!”

Togetic screeched, scaring the Minun for a split second before it hit her with Nuzzle. Her body convulsed, and she struggled to move.

Paralysis, I thought. Fuck, fuck, fuck.

“Finish her off with Spark!”

I stomped my foot against the ground twice, and Togetic barely managed to get a Sweet Kiss out. Minun crashed into the ground and stopped his attack.

“Hit it with Ancient Power. Push through!” I yelled, biting my lip.

Large chunks of earth floated upward. Togetic dropped some along the way because of the Paralysis, but she managed to get a hit on Minun, who rolled away. It got up and stumbled around.

“Again,” I said.

“Wake up!” My opponent begged.

Another Ancient Power hit the electric type, causing it to faint. I swallowed and released a breath it seemed I had been holding for the entire battle. That had been close, but I had won. Just barely. Togetic couldn’t even stand when I recalled her. I was sure that with another few seconds, she would have fainted as well. The announcer cheered and yelled out platitudes, which did make me feel good about myself, but I couldn’t be complacent. I was moving on to the quarter-finals, but this was just the beginning. I gave my Pokemon to Nurse Joy, hoping the little time she had would be enough to fix them up. They had almost never been this hurt, and I scared myself at how much I had enjoyed that battle. They followed me of their own volition, but my heart broke after every battle high, realizing how much they had suffered.

I shook my head. It was too late to turn back now. Next was Denzel’s match against Louis Bianchi.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 29

“Good luck, dude,” I told Denzel as he nervously left the stands.

“Thanks, I’ll need it,” He answered with a huff.

Louis Bianchi sported that same pompous smile as he always did, even as he lost the coin flip. The blond man sent out his Gible, who announced his presence with a juvenile roar. It seemed pitiful now, but even as the first stage in its evolution line, Gible were absolutely deadly. Denzel breathed through his teeth and sent Eevee. I believed he could win, but it wasn’t looking good. Not only could he only use one Pokemon, but he’d have to win against a dragon type. I retreated deep into my mind right before the match started. What would I do if I was Denzel here? Eevee was faster, but could his attacks even hope to take the Gible down?

“Here is our second game ladies and gentlemen! On the left, we have Denzel Williams from Twinleaf town, owner of the Coal Badge. On the right, we have Louis Bianchi from Jubilife— also owner of the Coal Badge!” The commentator said. Murmurs and cheers ran through the stands when the name ‘Bianchi’ was spoken. “Yes, you heard that right, Bianchi! But on the battlefield, every trainer is equal! Here’s to a good match!”

“I am not equal with this peasant from nowhere. I haven’t forgotten how you spoke to my friends and my fiance. Time to show you who’s—”

“Quick Attack!” Denzel yelled, interrupting Louis.

With a flash and a burst of speed, Eevee blurred toward Gible, who roared out a Dragon Rage in response. Eevee skirted to the left, barely avoiding the draconic flames, and ramming into his enemy. Gibble slid back across the grassy field with a grunt.

“And Eevee gets the first hit! But it doesn’t look to have done much to that sturdy Gible!” The announcer exclaimed. “But will it be fast enough to respond?”

“Next time he does that, grab him,” Louis said.

“Again!” My friend ordered. “Around him!”

With a bark, Eevee rushed forward, and just as he reached Gible, the dragon snapped his jaw shut. Eevee sidestepped and began to run around the dragon, who hissed in a fit of rage.

“I sure do hope Louis Bianchi has that dragon under control— but it looks like Eevee’s running around him in circles! Gible still hasn’t landed a hit yet, and it’s looking like it might not be able to!”

“Dragon Rage to cut him off! It doesn’t matter where you aim!”

“Get in now! Quick Kick!”

Gible screamed out another Dragon Rage, hoping to stop Eevee dead in his tracks, but he suddenly carried all of his momentum and hit the dragon hard with his hind legs, cracking some of its scales. Gible screamed in rage, and sand started to gather around the battlefield.

“Eevee, don’t let him concentrate! Keep using Double Kick!” Denzel ordered urgently.

Eevee barked and kicked Gible in the chin, but the dragon slashed across his face. He retreated with a whimper as the Sand Tomb began surrounding him.

“And Gible has finally found a counter! Eevee seems helpless against that Sanb Tomb, and it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to escape any time soon!”

“Good, good, now finish him off,” Bianchi said with a grin.

Gible was obviously not bothering with anything his trainer said at this point. The dragon stomped his foot, and the Sand Tomb intensified, completely enveloping Eevee.

“Get out of it with Quick Attack!”

Eevee blurred through the sand and immediately rammed into the Gible, who stumbled back, and then Double Kicked it. Gible caught on this time and bit down on Eevee’s back paw. Blood dripped down his fur as he squirmed, trying to get out of Gible’s bite.

“Oh, Arceus! What a ruthless bite from that Gible! Eevee appears to be completely stuck, ladies and gentlemen, this could be it!”

“Kick it with your other foot! Don’t panic!”

“Just Dragon Rage it, you stupid dragon! Finish this!” Louis hissed.

Blue flames began to grow in Gible’s mouth, burning Eevee’s hind leg before three kicks managed to get him out.

This is bad, I thought. Eevee’s almost done.

Eevee’s hind leg was completely screwed. Bleeding, singed, and the poor thing was limping, barely able to put any weight on it. I winced as Gible let out another Dragon Rage, which he dodged with a roll to the left. Any hopes of using Quick Attack were gone now, and the situation was grim.

“Just keep using Dragon Rage, one of them is bound to hit. Stay at a distance,” Louis said.

“Dodge if you can! Get closer!”

“Dragon Rage! What a powerful move from an even more powerful Pokemon! Eevee dodges the first… he dodges the second… he— oh, he gets hit!”

Eevee cried out in pain as the Dragon Rage hit him, completely covering him in searing hot draconic flames. He collapsed onto the ground and fainted. The battle had ended. Denzel’s head hung low as he returned his Eevee. Apart from a few cracks in his scales, Gible wasn’t giving any signs that he had just been in battle. That thing was ridiculously tough, and even a bad trainer would be able to win with its help.

“Well? Send out your next Pokemon!” Louis smirked.

“Nah, I forfeit,” Denzel sighed. “You win.”

The audience clapped as he walked off the pitch, leaving a very confused announcer and a gloating Louis, and hurriedly came to me.

“You did great, that Gible is just something else—” I started.

“Hey, I’m going to run to the Pokemon Center. Eevee got really hurt… I pushed him too much. I don’t think they have enough to help him here. Sorry I won’t be able to watch your next match.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” I answered. “Let me know if he’s fine when you get any news.”

“Alright,” He said, running off.

I had honestly thought that Denzel would be more depressed about losing on television, but he had grown more than I thought. I could tell he was frustrated with himself, but he knew Eevee was the priority. Bianchi walked back up to the stands, and I could hear him gloat to his group about his victory. I clenched my fist, containing my anger. There was no need to be an asshole about a victory, and yet this man was just awful at sportsmanship. I almost hoped I’d be matched against him to beat his Gible into submission with my Fairy type, but he was on the opposite side of the bracket.

Speaking about the bracket, who will I have to fight next? I asked myself, looking at the giant screen. My jaw dropped.

I would have to fight either a trainer with no badges or Cecilia Obel. Needless to say, she was going to crush that trainer in a single minute, meaning our battle was almost guaranteed. I spent the next few battles strategizing. I knew she wouldn’t use Deino against Togetic, because dragon moves simply left fairy types unaffected, and from what I saw, its only other long-distance attacking move was Incinerate. But she also had that Fletchling. Both of my Pokemon countered hers to some extent, so it all came down to getting favorable matchups. I could switch out, but then she would do the same, and then I would be fucked. So the battle entirely depended on who won the coin flip. If I won, I’d be able to send my Pokemon last, forcing her to switch, and then I would do the same and trap her in an unfavorable matchup. If she won, I would be forced into sending out Togetic first, because I was sure Frillish would lose against Deino.

The outcome of the battle depended solely on luck.

Soon enough, it was time for the quarter-finals. I picked up my Pokemon, who were almost completely healed from their previous battle, and I made my way onto the pitch. I took a breath, picked tails, and she picked heads.

The referee flipped the coin, and time slowed as it fell back into his hand. I adjusted my collar as he caught it and slowly lifted his hand up into the air, teasing the audience.

It was heads.

“Fuck,” I whispered.

I grabbed my first Pokeball and sent out Togetic, and Cecilia released Fletchling— an unfavorable matchup not because of the type but because of the flying type’s sheer speed and maneuverability in the air. Togetic wasn’t fast at all relative to an actual bird, and she wouldn’t be until I evolved her into Togekiss.

I wiped my hands on my pants and tuned out all the noise around me. The announcer, the audience, they were all gone. There was only Cecilia and me, ready to battle it out. The referee blew his whistle.

“Quick Attack to get close, then Acrobatics,” Cecilia calmly said.

“Keep it away from you with Fairy Wind!” I ordered.

Fletchling shone and flew toward Togetic at breakneck speed. It was faster than Eevee, and it reached her before she even had time to gather her wind. Fletchling savaged her with its talons, nimbly moving around to avoid any retaliation.

“Extrasensory!” I ordered.

“Toge!”

The bird’s wing jerked, causing it to tumble down for a few seconds before it stabilized itself. It kept trying to get up close to Togetic, but she kept using Extrasensory to stop it mid-flight. This tug of war, unfortunately, wasn’t in my favor. Eventually, Togetic would slip up. I bit my lip. My only hope was to slow this thing down enough or catch it off guard to hit it with Sweet Kiss.

My worst fear came through as Fletchling pressed its wings flat against itself, dropping under Togetic and lifting itself up behind her.

“Ember,” Cecilia said.

The bird opened its beak and let out dozen of small flames, hitting Togetic in the back. She retaliated with her psychic attack, slamming the bird down. Unfortunately, it wasn’t powerful enough to get it on the ground, and it recovered easily.

“Fairy Wind before it gets back to you!”

Togetic gathered her wind faster this time and threw it against her opponent.

“Quick Attack upwards,” Cecilia said.

“Follow!” I screamed.

The pink wind followed Fletchling, twisting and turning as it did.

“Ember again to throw off its concentration,” She ordered.

“Drop down!”

Togetic levitated down as Fairy Wind rammed into the Fletchling, who had to stay still every time it used Ember. The small bird fell to the ground, and my eyes widened. This was an opportunity.

“Ancient Pow—”

“Up!”

Fletchling stood back up, and with a Quick Attack, it rammed into Togetic, who cried out in pain. The bird clawed and pecked at her, drawing blood as the two Pokemon fought themselves with no particular move.

“Don’t forget to use Extrasensory!” I added.

Fletchling was fast and hitting my Pokemon more than she was hitting it, but Togetic was a sturdy, stubborn girl. The two Pokemon fought each other in a vicious melee, but I needed a little bit more. Fletchling was slowing down, little by little. Just a bit more, and I would be able to land Sweet Kiss…

Just a little bit more…

A little more…

Now!

I stomped my foot twice against the ground, and Togetic sent out a Sweet Kiss toward Fletchling—

“Now!” Cecilia shouted.

Fletchling dodged to the side and hit her with Acrobatics. Togetic slowly levitated down as the bird kept clawing at her, and she fell to the ground. Fletchling landed and stumbled a little, but it was fine.

How? I asked myself in disbelief with wide eyes. She knew about the signal.

“And Togetic goes down! What an amazing battle in the skies between two excellently trained flying types! Grace Pastel is down to one—”

Concentrate! I thought, clenching at the fabric of my shirt. It’s not over yet.

“You did amazing, princess. I’m proud of you,” I softly said, returning Togetic.

I released Frillish and immediately sprung to action.

“Bubblebeam!” I screamed.

Bubblebeam was a faster attack than Water Pulse, and thanks to Frillish’s proficiency in the move, they dealt roughly the same amount of damage. The water type reared its head back and let out a stream of bubbles, but Cecelia returned her Fletchling right before they reached it. She grabbed another Pokeball and released Deino.

Why wouldn’t she deal as much damage as she could before switching? I asked myself. Regardless, I had no time for these thoughts. The last phase of the battle was beginning.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 30

“Deino, it’s time to behave,” Cecilia calmly said.

Not wanting to let her speak with her Pokemon, I immediately barked out a command.

“Bubblebeam it as long as you can!”

Frillish reared his head back and released a stream of bubbles that exploded on contact. Deino let out a booming roar, spitting out a huge Dragon Breath in retaliation that missed by a large margin. I swallowed nervously. That would have taken out Frillish in one hit.

“Calm down. Do it again, this time at fifty percent,” She ordered.

Deino stomped his foot and screamed, but listened, and a smaller, slower stream of draconic energy flowed toward Frillish, who dodged with Water Sport.

“Keep your distance, and keep attacking with Bubblebeam!” I yelled out.

Frillish flew even further up, and I had to cover my eyes to protect them from sunlight. The further Frillish was, the easier it’d be to avoid Deino’s attacks. He spat out another Bubblebeam toward the dragon.

“Again, longer, sixty percent,” Cecilia ordered.

Deino screamed out another Dragon Breath, exploding Frillish’s bubbles midair. He barely managed to dodge. I clenched my fists. This wasn’t working, and I don’t know for how much longer I could keep this up. Cecilia was being surgical with her strikes, and they were slowly growing more powerful. At one hundred percent, I didn’t think dodging would be possible. Frillish tried again, and this time the bubbles reached their target, but Deino seemed unscathed. Dragon pokemon were just too powerful. Too tough to faint to weak attacks like Bubblebeam.

“Get in close with Water Sport!” I yelled.

“Dragon Breath, seventy percent.”

Frillish coiled around the draconic attack, only getting grazed by its edge. I winced, but kept going.

“Water Pulse point blank!”

A ball of water appeared in front of Frillish, elongated, and then formed into a ring before ramming into Deino. The dragon grunted and was knocked back a little before biting at Frillish, who barely avoided being trapped in its maw. I knew that if Bite ever hit Frillish, he was never escaping, and the battle would most likely be over.

“Go around and keep hitting it with Water Pulse!

“Take Down, then Bite!” Cecilia said.

Two Water Pulses hit Deino before Frillish had to retreat out of fear of being bit.

“Dragon Breath, seventy percent.”

Frillish shook and squirmed as the Dragon Breath hit one of his tentacles. It was charred and had shrunk in size considerably. I cursed. The amount of damage here was considerable. What would happen to Frillish if his entire body was hit? My hand hovered over my Pokeball—

“Eighty percent.”

The attack grazed Frillish and continued into the sky, parting a large cloud. I gulped, and my shoulders slumped. The fact that Deino was barely slowed after all those hits probably meant that even Togetic wouldn’t have been able to take it down with Fairy Wind. Strategy hadn’t mattered. The coin flip probably hadn’t mattered. I would have lost no matter the circumstances.

And it stung.

“I forfeit,” I said as I recalled Frillish.

The battle had shown how big the rift between the top trainers and me was, and I was nowhere near bridging that gap. As claps rang through the audience, the announcer celebrated Cecilia’s victory, and I walked toward Nurse Joy, I couldn’t help but listen to intrusive thoughts finding their way to the forefront of my mind.

She only won because she was gifted a dragon.

If I had only fought her Slowpoke and Fletchling, I could have won.

Maybe that Chase Karlson guy had been right—

“Ms. Pastel, your Pokemon, please?” Nurse Joy asked.

“Oh— right, sorry,” I fumbled. “Here you go.”

I left my Pokemon and returned to the stands. I was angry I had lost, but these thoughts would do nothing to help me improve. It was important to focus on what I could do from now on, and not just think about the ‘what-ifs’. I walked back to the stands and opened my Poketch.

Denzel W.

Eevee is really hurt, they’re saying he has to stay in for three days. I can’t even see him, I feel like shit. I shouldn’t have made him fight that hard.

Me

You’re right in hindsight, but Eevee would have wanted to stay and fight.

Denzel W.

He would have, but it wasn’t worth it. I failed as his trainer.

Me

You’ll see when he wakes up that he’ll tell you otherwise. Stay strong, I’ll be back later.

Denzel W.

Ty for cheering me up. Isn’t your match soon?

Me

I lost already. Cecilia was too strong, but I’m staying to watch.

Denzel W.

Bummer. Lots of catching up to do!

Me

Yeah! Ttyl

I smiled as I closed my Poketch. If Denzel was keeping his chin up after his loss, I would too. The next few matches were impressive, but nobody even came close to how powerful Louis and Cecilia’s dragons were. Even their friends lost to them, and eventually, it was time for the finals. The battle I had been waiting for, dragon against dragon. I had a hunch Deino would win— it seemed to listen to its trainer more than Gible, and that Dragon Breath was more powerful than Dragon Rage, but I was still on the edge of my seat.

The commentator announced the contestants, and then the battle started. Cecilia had to send out her Pokemon first, and she sent out Deino while Louis sent out his Gible. The battle was going straight to the main event. Dragons were resistant against most types, but for some reason, they were the best at ripping each other apart. I leaned down and focused entirely on the battle, ignoring the annoying announcer.

“Let us have a fantastic battle, my love!” Louis said. “May the best dragon win!”

“Of course,” Cecilia replied with a small curtsy.

Ugh, what year is this? I thought to myself. Why would she demean herself like this for him?

“Dragon Rage, my dear!” The boy yelled.

“Intercept with Dragon Breath, fifty percent,” Cecilia said.

The two draconic attacks hit each other mid-air, but Dragon Rage overpowered the Deino’s attack and flew toward it. It attempted to dodge, but it was slow, and the attack hit. Deino roared in pain— the first sign that it actually felt pain in the entire tournament.

“Great job! Trap it with Sand Tomb and then Dragon Rage a second time!” Louis said.

The Gible forwent that order and screamed out another Dragon Rage right away.

“Intercept at six— fifty percent again,” Cecilia said.

I frowned as the same scenario played out again, with Gible’s attack burning Deino. Gible ran forward, releasing another Dragon Rage, and then another, and another. Each time, Deino used half of its power and let itself get hit. My eyes widened when I realized what was happening. Cecilia Obel was throwing the battle.

Eventually, Deino screamed out a roar of frustration and began charging a fully-powered Dragon Breath at the Gible, but Cecilia returned it.

“Good job, Gible! Again, you prove yourself to be the superior dragon!” Louis said smugly. “That was a great effort, Cece. Perhaps We should train more once this event is over, now release your Fletchling and let’s get this over with.”

For a split second, I managed to catch Cecilia’s expression changing from frustration into a beaming smile.

“Of course, Louis. Your training always does wonders for me and the others,” She said. “But I don’t think there is a need to continue this battle, you have clearly proved yourself to be the superior trainer. I hereby forfeit.”

“Arceus, what’s with the forfeits today? Well, with that somewhat underwhelming ending, Floaroma’s monthly tournament has now ended. In first place, we have Louis Bianchi, who wins 10,000 Pokedollars and the secret TM… for Return! Second place and third place will of course also get their prize money…” The announcer started.

I couldn’t help but feel bitter at the fact that the three people who would receive the money all traveling in the same group.

Whatever. Chin up, Grace, the world isn’t fair, I thought.

Anyway, Cecilia had intentionally lost, and everybody seemingly knew, from the people in the audience to the announcer to the organizers. Only Louis and his clique seemed to be in their own little world. Cecilia was making her way to Nurse Joy, and I decided to take the initiative. I would ask her why she had lost on purpose. I exited the stands and made my way to her. I tapped her shoulder.

She turned toward me. “Oh, it’s you again. What do you want?”

I was taken aback by those words. “What do you mean me again? You’re the one who dragged me into the bathroom before… but anyway, I had a question for you. Is that ok?”

“Fine.”

“Why did you throw the game?” I asked, tilting my head.

The girl’s eyes bulged, and she looked at Nurse Joy, who was applying a potion to her barely conscious Deino. She then spun around and looked behind me before putting a finger over her mouth.

“Shhhh! Never say that again! I didn’t throw the match, I lost. Deino was just too tired to use his Dragon Breath at full power.”

I raised an eyebrow. “There you go, lying again. You could have won that battle! Your Deino is obviously better trained than that Gible. Are you losing because you’re in love with him, and you don’t want to hurt his feelings?” I asked bitterly.

Cecilia scowled. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Stop it. Don’t get involved with me, you’ll only come to regret it.”

I contemplated leaving it there and just making my way back to the Pokemon Center, but I just couldn’t. This girl had utterly dominated me during our battle, and now she does this? It felt insulting, to see someone who crushed you so utterly not even try to win it all. Like what she had done to me was just a way to pass the time. She clearly hadn’t taken her battle seriously at all.

“I won’t leave until you tell me,” I said, crossing my arms.

“Or what? Going to blackmail me?” Cecilia said.

“No. I’ll just follow you around and keep asking.”

“What if I go back to my group? Then what?”

“Then they’ll know you throw games because your boyfriend’s ego is too big to take a loss,” I said with a smile.

Deep in thought, Cecilia tapped her foot against the ground. After a few seconds, she clicked her tongue, groaned, and dragged me back to the toilets. I hadn’t had years of arguments against my dad for nothing. She pushed me into one of the stalls, came in a locked the door.

“Why are you doing this to me? Do you want money?” She asked.

“No, I just want to know,” I stared into her eyes. “Genuinely. It pisses me off that you fight normally against my Pokemon but just let Bianchi win.”

Cecilia sighed. “I don’t know why I’m going to tell you this, but you win. I can’t ever win against him, you understand? I can’t humiliate him, or… uh… how do I explain… I’ll get in trouble with my family, there you go! Happy now?!” She said, throwing her hands up.

“Fine. Thank you for answering,” I said. “I really thought it was about love,” I said, feeling relief.

“I don’t even— ugh, whatever. Is that it?”

“No, hold on! What’s with the percentages? You always go up throughout the course of a battle. What does that even do?”

“Arceus, this girl,” Cecilia sighed. “It’s to train Deino’s discipline. Dragons are very aggressive, and they hate being told what to do, so by restraining what he can do, I’m reminding him of who’s in charge.”

“Won’t that make you lose battles?” I asked, before realizing that no, it would not. Deino was so strong she could afford to do this. “Nevermind, don’t answer. Anyway, thank you for your time. I’ll be going back now.”

“Wait! I realized I never apologized for what I did to you yesterday. I shouldn’t have threatened you, I’m sorry,” Cecilia apologized.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Thank you. I mean, it’s fine, you were clearly worried about your dad, so I forgive you,” I said.

Cecilia nodded. “Oh! And our battle… it was fun.”

I smiled. “It really was… and also an eye-opening experience,” I said.

When I opened the stall, a man and a woman in plain clothes were standing at the door with a Hypno. I flinched and stumbled back.

“Who the hell are you?!” Cecilia yelled out. “Were you listening in?!”

“Is that the Obel girl?” The woman asked, ignoring her.

“Yeah, there’s no mistaking it.”

“Who’s the other one?”

“I don’t know. One of her friends in high places? Let’s take her too. Hypno.”

I felt my heart beat against my ribcage as I glanced toward Cecilia. Her Pokemon were getting healed, but she still had Slowpoke, and I had Elekid with me. The Hypno approached us and climbed into the stall as its pendulum began to swing erratically.

I grabbed Elekid’s ball. “Cecilia, release your—”

I was no longer in the bathroom. The floor was entirely white, and huge, humming machines hugged the walls of the room. Dozens of people in coats and normal clothes were sitting on the floor, trembling, crying, or begging. There was even a child hugging her dad in the corner of the room. Cecilia stood next to me, just as bewildered as I was.

And all around me, the same people that had threatened me so long ago stood in their uniforms, with their Pokemon out. They had taken us, and everyone in this room hostage.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 31 - Turning Point

Teleportation wasn’t like they said it was in the movies. There was no distortion, no pain, no nausea, and no delay. One second you were somewhere, and the next, you were somewhere else before you could even blink. 

“Your Pokeballs. Give them to us,” A man said. 

I was so confused by this point that I didn’t even answer. I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened to me. The uniformed man whistled, and a Mightyena lazily approached us, baring its teeth.

“I won’t say it a second time,” He continued with a sinister glare.

Even if I had wanted to fight, there were too many of them to take on. With a trembling hand, I handed over Elekid’s Pokeball.

“And you?” He told Cecilia. 

I glanced toward her, and she was completely still, with her hand hovering over her Pokeball. Multiple Pokemon inched their way toward her. A Muk lazily glided across the floor, emitting a nauseating smell, a Zangoose sharpened its claws and got in an attacking position, and a Raticate barred its huge teeth with a hiss. I discreetly pulled on Cecilia’s skirt, hoping she’d get the message. I didn’t want her to die.

“Don’t hurt her, she’s an Obel,” The woman who had taken us here said as she put on her uniform. “She’s more useful alive than dead.”

“We should make an example out of her,” Another member said. “Show the people what happens when they fight back.”

“Shut the fuck up, you moron. Take her Pokeball yourself. She’s a child, and you’re a grown man,” The woman said. “You,” She told me. “Sit down, don’t try anything, and you’ll live.”

I nodded and collapsed on the cold, hard floor. I was completely powerless. There was nothing I could do.

“Hypno, you can get back to Commander Charon, we have enough hostages and we found the Obel kid,” The woman said.

Hypno lazily nodded and disappeared into thin air. One of the criminals grabbed Cecilia from behind, putting her in a chokehold while the girl grabbed her Pokeball and took it away somewhere. Would I ever see Elekid again? Feeling tears stream down my cheeks, I hugged my knees and buried my face in them, making as little noise as I could. I didn’t want to attract attention. I didn’t want to annoy them. I didn’t want them to kill me . Cecilia sat down next to me and observed our kidnappers silently. Every time I looked at her, I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Was she as terrified as I was?

“Daddy, I want to go home!” The child in the corner of the room sobbed. She couldn’t have been more than five. “I want to leave!”

“Shhh, we’re leaving soon. Don’t cry. Don’t cry,” Her father said, stroking her hair.

“Shut her up, or I will,” A girl leaning against the wall said. She had a Hoothoot on her shoulder. “Now.”

“I—I’m trying my best! Please, she’s just a child,” He shuddered, hugging his daughter tightly. “Shhh, quiet down, Hannah.

“Then maybe you should have raised your kid better,” The woman said. “Hoothoot—”

“Hey guys!”

My head whirled to the voice. A short woman with red, spiky hair skipped into the room. Literally skipped. All of the kidnappers turned toward her and offered a military salute.

“Come on, relax! It’s just little old Mars!” She laughed.

“Commander Mars! We have taken Cecilia Obel hostage. The plan can go as proceeded!” A grunt declared.

“Interesting! Which one is she?” Mars asked. When directed to Cecilia, she skipped toward us and crouched. “Ms. Obel! What a pleasure it is to meet you!” She said, in a clearly joking tone. She leaned in further, her face mere inches from Cecilia’s but Cecilia didn’t budge and stared the girl right in the eyes. “Hm, you’re no fun… I love making people squirm. What about you?” Mars continued, turning toward me. I jumped a little and recoiled. “Wow, you’re much better! I’d play with you for hours if I had the time… but alas, duty calls!”

The woman stood up.

“Listen up, grunts! “Charon is still busy in the control room, but he told me that he needed two more hours before we can vacate the power plant!”

So we were in Valley Windwork’s power plant, I thought with a sigh of relief. There had always been the possibility that we had been taken to a secret base in an unknown location. But Charon… My mind flashed to that fateful day at Lake Verity. It was the second time I heard that name, so he was clearly someone important in the organization.

The grunts clapped and cheered. What were they even here for? I was too scared to try to find out. There was one thing I could possibly do. When I sat, I felt my Poketch in my back pocket, meaning that if I was discreet enough, I could send a message to Denzel so he could call for help. But how? These people and their Pokemon looked at us like hawks. No, it was too dangerous. The best I could do right now was not succumb to fear and gather as much information as possible by just listening in. As long as I was focused on something, I’d be fine. Something… something…

What if they killed us all before leaving? 

I whimpered and hugged my knees tighter. Mars seemingly caught that and looked at me with a gleeful smile.

“You know what,” She said. “Come with me.”

“N—n—no, please… please, ” I cried.

Mars just laughed and forcefully pulled me up. Her partners looked at her uncomfortably before glancing away. The red-haired woman dragged me into another room full of chairs around a giant desk. It had seemingly been a meeting room. She pushed me into a chair, restrained me with some zip ties, and sat on the table, placing her feet on the armrests.

“What’s your name, darling?”

“Please…”

She grabbed my face and pressed hard . I groaned in pain. 

“Come on, tell me your name!” She laughed. “My name’s Mars! Well, I wasn’t born with the name, but I picked it myself when I joined Team Galactic. I think it’s cool, personally. I really vibe with the space theme we have going on!” All while she was talking, she still had my face in her hand, twisting and turning my neck at every wild gesture.

Team Galactic, I thought. So that’s what the G meant— I yelled out as she yanked my face to the left.

“Now, I shared something personal about myself, so come on! Don’t let me carry the conversation alone here!”

“I’m G—Grace. Please don’t hurt me, I won’t make any more noise. Just… please take me back.”

“But then all the fun’s gone. Oh, by the way, don’t tell Charon I was slacking, I’m supposed to be doing my job! He’s always grumpy— probably because he’s old. He’s going to die in like— ten years. I’d be grumpy too in that case!” She rambled.

That was when I first realized that this girl was completely unhinged. She talked to me as if I was an acquaintance or a friend, but she kept hurting me. She looked like she was having fun doing all of this.

“Man, Floaroma’s really a bummer. Flowers are nice and all, but I’d rather be with Cyrus…” Mars trailed off. There was a sense of admiration in her voice. “I miss him so much, but he’s always working. I want to see him, I want to see him, I want to see him, I want to see him, I want to see him— Oh, my bad! I bug out like that sometimes when I think about him.”

Cyrus. Another name I had heard at the Lake, I thought, before vaguely remembering his face. Thoughts were all I had. I was desperately trying not to break down.

“Now, enough about that! What should I do with you? I want to hear you scream— people screaming are just the best! Take off a fingernail or two, maybe?”

I sobbed.

“Ohh, you like that one? I personally think it’s a little cliche, and I’d have to find pliers somewhere… we can find something better. What about a thousand little cuts all across your body?”

“Please…”

“Luckily, I always have a knife on me. A girl’s gotta defend herself, y’know, and it’s not like we can get guns anywhere other than Orre,” Mars laughed. “I have to save my v-card for Cyrus. What if some creep tries to assault me?”

She grabbed a knife from somewhere inside of her uniform and threw it upward before catching it by the blade. I squirmed and pushed my face away, but she kept my head still and pressed the knife against my cheek. She pressed harder and harder—

“C—Commander Mars! A trainer has broken through the entrance!” A galactic grunt said, barging into the room.

Mars clicked her tongue. “I’m busy, ” She hissed, pressing the knife into my skin. Blood dripped down its edge. “It’s just one trainer, just capture him, kill him, I don’t care.”

“He’s currently taking us down with three Pokemon, ma’am!”

“Damn it… damn you! ” She screeched, throwing the knife at him. The grunt barely dodged, yelped, and fell to the ground. “I guess that's what we get for putting the newbies by the entrance. You interrupted my fun, fine. Dusky, go take care of it.”

I felt a sudden chill run down my spine as the temperature of the room dropped significantly. Smoke began to materialize out of nothing right behind Mars, slowly forming into a coherent shape. Color drained from the world itself , the white walls, the floor, and the blackboard turning into a sinister gray. A low ring could be heard, steadily getting louder and louder as my ears slowly filled up with pressure. The creature that formed behind her had a completely dark body, along with light gray extremities. A golden motif adorned its body, going around its abdomen, its arms, and its head, and a singular, shining red eye looked into mine. It was a Dusknoir— something I had only seen as an illustration, and Arceus, it looked different.

How was this possible? How did this woman find the secret to evolving a Dusclops? I could only stay frozen in fear as the smoke-like being exited the room and passed through a wall like it hadn’t been there. The temperature and color returned to the world, and I started to breathe again.

Mars rolled her eyes. “Arceus, this job is such a drag. Now, where were we—”

“Mars. Hypno informed me that you released that monster into the world again. Recall it,” Someone else said.

“Arceus, damn it, just let me have my fun!” She yelled. 

I glanced toward the voice, and an old balding man with rose-tinted glasses that had dyed the rest of his hair purple slowly walked into the room. He walked with a pronounced limp, and Hypno followed closely behind.

“I won’t repeat myself. Cyrus will be furious if he knows what you have done. That thing is not under your control. It will possibly kill every hostage we have to sustain itself.”

“Shut up, Charon! Dusky isn’t under my control because he’s family! I just hate to keep him in his Pokeball, since he doesn’t like it. Plus, that way, he’s always next to me!” The woman whined. 

“Let this child go. I’ve had enough of you fooling around. We are here for a reason and one reason only, do not derail the plan. I will deal with our unexpected guest myself,” Charon declared, as he walked toward the hostage room.

Mars pouted. “You’re no fun. If Cyrus wasn’t our leader, I would have left already!”

“And we might be better off for it,” Charon said.

“Juju would be depressed without me!” She yelled out. He didn’t turn back.

Mars looked at me with sad eyes and untied me. “I’ll take you back, but only because I don’t want Cyrus to be mad at me. That’d be a total disaster! Don’t worry though, we’ll meet again. I’ll have my eye on you from now on. Forever. Oh, I almost forgot!” She said, closing her eyes. She kept them closed for a few seconds, and then returned to her default, smiling face. “There you go! Dusky should be gone now.”

She took me back to the hostage room, and I sat back down at my spot. I didn’t have the energy for anything. I just stared blankly at the floor, hoping this would all be over soon. A few minutes later, I could hear yells outside of the room.

“...fuck off! You couldn’t take me in a fair fight, so you had to gang up on me! Fucking losers, can’t take down a single kid alone!”

Chase Karlson was pushed to the ground into the middle of the room, and with a groan, he rolled onto his back. He swore a couple of times before pushing himself against one of the many generators. His face was bleeding and swollen. I guessed that he was the one that had busted in. There was nothing any of us could do, and so for the next two hours, we sat in silence. My cheek was burning, and I wasn’t sure I would even be able to function after this. I was just exhausted.

After what seemed like an eternity, Charon limped into the room once more. 

“Attention! All of the relevant data has been collected. We can leave with Hypno—”

Suddenly, I heard a disturbance on the roof, and then a tear. Charon frowned, looking up, and his stern face turned to horror as a Garchomp burst through the ceiling, creating a mini earthquake as it landed on the floor. A tall, blonde woman in all black clothes slowly climbed off of its back and looked around with a calm smile.

Chase chuckled. “I called the police before breaking in here, but I never expected them to send the Arceus damned Champion. What now, you fucking Galactic goons?” He asked with a bloody grin.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 32

“Mars! Get in here now!” Charon yelled. “Grunts, kill her!”

Three red flashes appeared next to Cynthia, forming into a Lucario, a Milotic, and a Roserade. Milotic coiled around its trainer protectively, and Lucario seemed to be analyzing the room with a look of pure rage. A Roserade shook its arms, releasing a minor amount of spores, and got into a fighting pose.

A dozen attacks flew toward Cynthia before hitting a see-through green barrier. Milotic’s eyes were shining, apparently having used some sort of protective move.

“Lucario, Garchomp, take care of the Pokemon. Roserade, put these criminals to sleep,” Cynthia said, never losing her smile.

Lucario nodded and instantly blurred before ramming a glowing palm into the nearest Zangoose, while Garchomp clawed into a Glameow, sending it flying and bleeding against the wall. They were knocking every Pokemon unconscious, and all it took was a single move. The fight was a massacre. They were too fast for eyes to track or attacks to hit, too powerful to stand back up after getting hit by them. Roserade spun around, almost as if it was dancing, carefully avoiding every attack thrown at it before shoving its bouquets into the grunts’ faces. They promptly fell to the ground, unconscious. Meanwhile, Milotic kept wrapping loosely around its trainer, protecting her from any attack coming her way. All of this while Cynthia stood there, unwavering and smiling like this was just another day for her. She wasn’t the Champion for nothing. It was a magnificent display of skill and strength that only the best could hope to even come close to.

One of the grunts grabbed Cecilia and ordered his Honedge to stick its blade to her throat. Cecilia whimpered and struggled, trying to escape his grasp, but to no avail.

“Stop it! If you move, the girl dies! And we wouldn’t want that, would we? She’s too important—”

“Extreme Speed,” Cynthia ordered.

Even faster than before, Lucario disappeared as if it had teleported, knocking the Honedge away with its fists wreathed in a shadowy aura. The Honedge fell to the ground, and its trainer screamed before being put to sleep by Roserade. Garchomp finally finished taking care of the last stragglers, announcing his victory with a roar that shook the entire room. All while this was happening, Charon just watched in horror.

“What’s with all the commotion— What the hell happened here?!” Mars said as she walked into the room. “Oh, Arceus, is that Cynthia ? For real? I’m your biggest fan—”

Lucario blurred again but stopped right before reaching Mars as Dusknoir materialized in front of her. I shivered as the ghost loomed above us, fading the world itself. For the first time, Cynthia lost her smile.

“Dusknoir?” She said. “How peculiar. Garchomp, kill it.”

Garchomp strode forward, hitting its claws against its chest before dashing forward with darkness festering in its mouth. It bit into the Dusknoir’s arm, and the ghost’s mouth opened, revealing it to actually be on its abdomen. It let out an otherworldly noise that simply couldn’t be described. It was like listening to a thousand voices at once, all whispering in our ears at the same time, in different languages, at different pitches, causing all of us to get a splitting headache. I put my hands over my ears, hoping everything would be over soon.

“Dusky! No!”

Dusknoir solidified, coming into reality for a few seconds as ice surrounded its fist. It punched Garchomp in the chest, and then in the head, but the dragon simply didn’t let go, shaking its mouth, dissolving more and more of the ghost’s body.

“Lucario, Roserade, restrain those two,” Cynthia said, pointing at the Galactic leaders.

“Mars, we have to teleport out! I have the data—” Charon yelled before Hypno pushed Lucario back merely inches from his face with its psychic powers. 

Mars ran toward Charon, being closely chased by Roserade. Hypno’s pendulum began to shake.

“Dusky! Get out of here and find us later!” Mars yelled. “Bye Cynthia—”

And just like that, they were gone, having abandoned all of the galactic members left asleep. Garchomp kept fighting Dusknoir, hitting it with its claw glowing bright with blue draconic energy. Roserade sent out a stream of pink petals toward the ghost, and Milotic screamed out a powerful jet of water. The attacks clearly hurt Dusknoir, but they also passed through him, destroying more of the power plant. Dusknoir kept screaming in a thousand different voices, and soon enough, it slowly disappeared, fizzling out as if it had never been there as the world returned to normal. 

“Teleportation, hm? A shame,” Cynthia said, looking around. She grabbed a walkie-talkie and brought it next to her mouth. “Coast is clear, you can come in.”

Within the next few minutes, dozens of trainers all dressed in orange-brown uniforms streamed into the room, recovering the unconscious grunts or taking care of the hostages. One of them came to me and attempted to speak to me, but I didn’t even have to energy to respond. We were given blankets, water, and food if we wanted while they assessed the damage done to the power plant and investigated the remaining rooms. Cynthia, meanwhile, recalled all of her Pokemon except Garchomp, who stood tall next to her. 

After ten minutes or so, we were taken back outside. Barely more than two hours had passed since I had been kidnapped, but it felt like a lifetime. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for the others who had been there longer than me. The entrance to the plant was full of police officers creating a perimeter around the facility, media reporters and their bright, flashing cameras, and just curious civilians who had probably heard of the situation. I was put on a bus with a few other people, and we were driven to the Floaroma Pokemon Center. Denzel was there waiting, and he looked like he was being eaten from the inside out until he saw me. He tried to approach me, but he was pushed away by the police and doctors.

“I’ll… I’ll come visit you,” He said with his shoulders slumped. I didn’t answer.

I was placed in one of the human rooms, and one of the doctors came in to do a check-up on me. He asked me questions, but his voice seemed distant. Like a dream. Except for the cut on my cheek, I was alright, so he cleaned the wound with warm water, disinfected it, and then placed a large bandage on it. He then asked if I wanted anything else before leaving. I don’t know how much time passed until a few officers came into my room. They were nice enough, smiling and making small talk before getting to the meat of the conversation. They were trying to get me to answer questions. Questions about Team Galactic…

Team Galactic…

I had difficulty breathing, so they eased off the questioning for now and left. I felt like garbage. I had listened in, trying to gather information exactly for this moment. It was all I was able to do, and yet… and yet I just couldn’t speak . Time was a blur, and the next time I glanced outside, the sun was setting. One of the doctors came in with a plate of food and water, along with Nurse Joy with two Pokeballs. I shook my head. Just thinking about food right now was making me nauseous, and the smell…

My Pokeballs were placed on my bed before they left, taking the food back, but leaving a glass of water. My eyes glazed over the Pokeballs before I realized that there were only two. Where was Elekid? I bit my lip, but no tears came out. He’d be back… they’d bring him back to me. I held my two Pokeballs and hovered a finger over the release button, but my arms slumped. I couldn’t bear to let them see me like this. I placed them on the bedside table and lay down on the bed, watching nothing in particular. The wall, the ceiling, did it matter?

Hours later, someone else came into the room. It was night time now, and it had been for quite some time. I turned and saw Denzel sit next to me. He hung his head.

“Grace, I’m so sorry. I… I should have been there, I shouldn’t have left,” He sobbed. “I should have protected you.”

I opened my mouth. 

Say something, I thought. Anything.

No sound came out.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to speak. I’ll just stay here, alright? I sneaked in some food if you want. Some fries? I guess they’re cold by now. I have a milkshake too, if you want. Don’t force yourself, though,” He said. His sentences were always interrupted by sniffles and sobs. 

“It’s a no, huh? Well, that’s ok,” He said, glancing at my Pokeballs. “Oh, don’t worry about Elekid, the League trainers are just trying to sort through the huge pile of Pokeballs to see who owns what. He’ll be back eventually when they get to you.”

I nodded, breathing out a sigh of relief. Denzel’s face lit up a little at the slight movement.

“Oh, and— and I bet he’ll be happy to see you again! I’m sure he’ll be worried sick when he learns what happened. I don’t know him very much, but I know he liked you already… and… and…” Denzel trailed off, before clasping his hands together. He paused for a few minutes before continuing. “They have policemen and league officials all over Floaroma now. These people— Team Galactic— they’re all everyone’s talking about now. They’re calling them the worst criminal organization since Team Rocket. Luckily no one died at the power plant, thank the Legendaries,” He sighed. “I also called your dad about what happened. Sorry,” He added when he saw me flinch. “I had to tell him… he asked me to take care of you when we left, and I failed him. It wouldn’t be right to keep it a secret. He’s worried sick about you, uh, you should call him when you feel better. I already told him you were alright, don’t worry.”

Silence claimed the room once more for another ten minutes. Denzel fidgeted nervously, desperately trying to find something to talk about. 

“I can help you take that therapy appointment again, since… y’know…” He said. “It’ll obviously be a great start for your recovery. And take as much time as you want, alright? I don’t mind staying here for a few months if you want. I’ll stick around. I’ll visit you every day and… read you stories? Talk to you about what’s going on outside? I don’t know. Just know that I’ll be there, alright? There’s always next year, and we can travel together again,” Denzel said.

But your dream, I thought. I coughed, choking on the words before slamming my fist against my bed.

“Your… your dream. Don’t hold yourself back because of me,” I whispered.

Denzel’s eyes widened. “I’m staying because I want to, not because I feel obligated to. I’m still young, my dream can wait. Let’s get you back on your feet, ok?”

“Okay…” I cried. Tears streamed down my face as I sobbed quietly for what seemed like an eternity. Could I push myself forward? Was I strong enough to keep going?

 I’ll have my eye on you from now on. Forever. 

That was what Mars had said to me, and I was inclined to believe her. She was completely deranged, and a feeling in my gut told me that I’d see her again if I kept traveling. I could hang up my coat, go back to Jubilife and stay inside. She wouldn’t find me there, would she?

Would she?

“I guess you don’t want to see your Pokemon yet. Eevee’s still in bad shape, so I don’t have him, but, uh, want to see Budew? Believe it or not, she was worried about you, even though she tried her best to hide it. Hell, even Feebas seemed off, but I can’t release him here.”

“Budew… worried about me?” I muttered.

“She did, I swear. She kept glancing at the television in the lobby downstairs when we learned that you were one of… one of the hostages,” Denzel said. I could tell he was tip-toeing around me, trying to say the right words. He released the small plant-like Pokemon on his lap, and she looked at me in what I could only describe as a combination of relief and surprise. That was only for a split second, though, and she quickly returned to her default scowl.

“Thank you, Budew. For worrying about me, I never thought you would,” I slowly said.

In the next hour, I slowly regained my confidence in speaking. Tomorrow I’d have to find the police again since I had information they wanted, but I was terrified of sleeping tonight. What nightmares would come to haunt me now? I could tell Denzel was tired, he was slowly drifting off to sleep in his chair. The nurses had told him he could sleep in here as an exception because of what happened to me, but I felt terrible he would have to sleep upright in a chair. Budew was standing on the ground, already sleeping. She was next to the window in the exact position she would need to be in to catch sunlight when the sun rose.

Suddenly I heard a soft knock on the door. I flinched and recoiled before remembering that I was in a Pokemon Center. I was safe. I was safe .

“C—come in,” I said.

Cynthia opened the door with two policemen and stared at me with a smile.

“Grace Pastel, may I borrow a few minutes of your time?”

Chapter Text

INTERLUDE - Cynthia’s Burden (Part 1)

Earlier

League trainers swarmed around Cynthia, telling her about the state of the plant, the wounded, the amount of team Galactic grunts they had captured, and more. Hostages were being carried outside, and the galactic members were being arrested all around her. She answered mechanically, having already gone through the motions thousands of times throughout her career as Sinnoh’s Champion. Right now, she was deep in thought.

A Dusknoir— the first Cynthia had ever seen. She lamented not having been able to kill it. Ghost types never stayed dead for long, but it would have taken weeks for it to rematerialize into the world. She would have much to talk about with Fantina. The Champion recalled all of her Pokemon except Garchomp and returned her attention to the situation at hand.

“Champion Cynthia, we have the plant’s supervisor ready for you,” One of the League trainers told her. It took a split second before Cynthia placed a name on her face.

“Excellent, Sonya. take me to him,” She replied.

The League trainer blushed, seemingly surprised that the Champion had addressed her by name, but she led Cynthia to a conference room of some sort, with Garchomp following closely behind. Cynthia knew the plant supervisor, and they had spoken on numerous occasions whenever a problem about energy generation came up. He was a man in his late fifties on the heavier side, but he usually did good work. The League trainer bowed before quickly leaving the room.

“Karmine,” She said, sitting down on one of the chairs. There was a little bit of blood on the floor. “It is unfortunate to meet under these circumstances, but I have a few questions for you.”

Karmine looked like he had gone through hell. He was pale, his hands were visibly shaking, and he had clearly been crying.

“Cynthia,” He looked at her. “Can’t this wait? It hasn’t even been twenty minutes.”

“No.”

The man was taken aback by her quick rebuttal, but he sighed and nodded. “Ask away.”

“Thank you for understanding. First, when did team Galactic first get here?” She asked.

“It was this morning. That… that ghost suddenly appeared inside of the plant at around 9:00 am, and when we tried to run, they were already breaking in. They took us hostage, but throughout the day, they kept teleporting more and more trainers into the plant.”

Cynthia nodded. That meant that Dusknoir had possibly been hiding inside of the plant for hours, or days before the attack. Had it been gathering information for its trainer? Learning the layout of the power plant, perhaps?

“Great,” Cynthia smiled. “Now, originally, I believed this to be a terrorist attack to strike at Sinnoh’s energy infrastructure. They could have plunged half the region into darkness. I heard something interesting, however. Something about some data they were stealing?”

Karmine swallowed and began to sweat. “I have no idea what they were talking about. Maybe data about our future plan for expanding the plant? Or maybe the amount of energy we produce and send to every city— it could mean anything, we have a lot of data.”

Cynthia crossed her legs, and Garchomp began to loom over the sweating supervisor. “Come on, Karmine. We’ve known each other for what? Twenty years, now. I know you, and I know you’re lying. Don’t treat me like a fool. What is it?”

“Cynthia, I— I—”

“How’s your family doing, Karmine? I hear Emily’s doing very well at the University of Sunnyshore. She’s trying to become a Pokeball engineer, correct?” Karmine nodded as sweat dripped down to his chin. “That’s admirable. That’s what I like about your family, Karmine. You always strive to improve Sinnoh through engineering. Now, since you aren’t willing to tell me what happened, I might have to call for Lucian’s personal Alakazam.”

“Memory extraction is illegal,” Karmine shuddered.

“Well, right now, you would be correct. I could make it legal by the end of the afternoon. I will have to anyway, because of all the criminals we just captured. Vernon is just a single call away, and the Directorate is furious, Karmine. This is the first criminal organization since the fall of team Rocket. People will die, and investors are going to be reconsidering where they spend their money until the region feels safe again. That’s a loss for all of Sinnoh, isn’t it?”

“I still don’t understand what that has to do with me,” Karmine said, adjusting his collar around his neck. Garchomp growled at him, causing him to squeal.

“Well, you could keep playing hardball, Karmine,” Cynthia shrugged. “But come tonight, I’ll have an Alakazam ready to extract everything you know. And trust me, it isn’t pretty. The human brain is a fickle thing, Karmine. I wouldn’t want you to forget about your family. Memories are quickly lost, and damage to the brain might be irreversible. A shame, really.”

“Fine! Fine, I’ll tell you. The power plant… we used to have a facility deep underground where we researched things…”

“Things, such as?” She pressed, still smiling.

“We were trying to find a way to bring teleportation to the mainstream. As it stands, only the best psychic types can use the move with people, and trying to teach them to use it almost always results in death or injury. Teleporting in the sky, or inside of a wall by accident—”

“I’m the Champion, Karmine. I don’t need a lecture on Pokemon moves.”

“Sorry,” He sniffed. “We generate so much extra energy each year at the plant… we thought that we could use that energy to create and power a device for humans to teleport between locations. But a year ago, something went horribly, horribly wrong…” The supervisor trailed off.

“Keep going.”

“We activated the teleportation machine, but it… it just went wrong, okay?! It was unexplainable! Our calculations were correct—”

“I don’t care. What happened?”

“It tore a hole… a hole through reality. Six people were sucked inside of it, and they were never recovered— I just assume they died.”

“How did no one hear about this?”

“We paid off their families. A million pokedollars for each death, and we also said they died due to an accident at the plant, but we didn’t specify what it was. We destroyed everything afterward and sealed the room with cement.”

Cynthia uncrossed and crossed her legs again. “But you kept the data. Interesting. I recall your job being generating electricity for the region, not messing with forces beyond your control.”

“I’m an engineer, Cynthia, but I’m also a scientist. You knew this when you selected me. I wanted to use science for the good of Sinnoh.”

“Perhaps, but you messed up. You and your colleagues are going to prison,” Cynthia said before getting up and leaving.

She was still smiling.

Cynthia told her League trainers to take him and his colleagues to the police before she leaned against the wall and gathered her thoughts. Garchomp stood by her side, waiting, always vigilant. Team Galactic had stolen that data, so they probably wanted to master human teleportation—

Wait. What benefits would that bring? They already had a powerful Hypno that had mastered the technique, and teaching it to another psychic got exponentially easier if you already had a Pokemon that knew the move. That was why Lucian was able to churn out so many Kadabra that could teleport every year for the League to use. Then what was it that they wanted? Cynthia paused and tapped her chin.

Team Galactic wanted to trifle with reality itself.

This was going to be a long day.

Cynthia walked out of the power plant surrounded by her League trainers, and reporters immediately swarmed her to ask questions.

“Champion Cynthia, what can you tell us about team Galactic?! What do you know so far?”

“What measures will the League and the Directorate employ to make the region safe again?”

“Did you know about this organization before today? Do you know what they’re after?”

“I have no comments to make at this time,” She simply answered.

Garchomp roared, and they backed off immediately. Cynthia discreetly nodded to thank her friend. People often forgot that even though she was very well-trained, she was still a dragon. Frustrate her enough, and there was no telling what she would do.

Or at least that was what Cynthia wanted them to think. The honest truth was that Garchomp would never hurt anyone. She had had her since she was six, and she already knew she would only attack people if she commanded it. But it was nice to keep reporters off of her. A League trainer drove her back to her hotel, where she secluded herself in her room after recalling Garchomp and called Lucian. Fantina would have to wait.

And finally, she could lose the Arceus damned smile.

She sighed and sat on her bed before dialing Lucian’s number.

“Cynthia, how did your little expedition go?” Lucian immediately asked.

That was Lucian. Always straight to business, something the Champion loved about him.

“It went better than I expected. I’m sure you’ve heard already, but there were no casualties, and we captured a decent amount of them. Unfortunately, I couldn’t nab their leaders though. They had a Hypno that could teleport. One of them also had a Dusknoir.”

“A Dusknoir, you say?!” Lucian asked in surprise. “And a teleporting Hypno, too. These are some awfully powerful trainers, then. I assume you need Alakazam from me?”

“Correct. Send him my way, then I’ll call Vernon,” Cynthia said. “I’m afraid this is bigger than we thought it would ever get. These aren’t just people looking to make money.”

“Very well. Call me again if anything comes up.”

“Thank you, Lucian.”

Cynthia hung up, and when she turned around, an Alakazam was standing in the corner of her room. The psychic type carried two metallic spoons and a giant scar across his gaping eye socket.

“Always quick on the uptake, aren’t you?” Cynthia said.

You called for me, so I came. Where are the people I need to work on?

Alakazam were one of the few advanced Psychic types that could talk via telepathy. It had taken a long time and a lot of headaches to get used to, but after decades of working together, the communication was seamless.

“Hold on, I need to call Vernon. Need to change the rules first.”

Humans and their childish rules, Alakazam said with a scoff. What a waste of my time.

Cynthia called Vernon, who had already called her around ten times. As soon as he picked up the phone, he was yelling.

“Cynthia, fucking finally! Arceus, can you tell me what the hell is going on? You’re supposed to communicate with me about these things!” Vernon said. He was furious, as he often was.

Vernon was the current Prime Minister, and he had been since Cynthia had created his position. He had been an old trainer who attempted the Circuit a few times before retiring and getting into politics, and Cynthia had practically pushed him into the role because of the potential she saw in him. With her endorsement, he was elected by the Directorate by a wide margin.

“I was busy, Vernon. I will be for the next few days. I’ll tell one of my trainers to catch you up to speed, but right now, I need you to call the Directorate into session.”

“Why?”

“Because I need you to make memory extraction legal again— only for gym leaders, the elite four, and me of course.”

“Excuse me?! We agreed a decade ago that forcefully extracting memories was a barbaric practice—”

“And it still is, but this is a matter of national security. There are forces at play here that you couldn’t even begin to understand.”

“So help me understand! The last I knew, this team Galactic wasn’t a threat whatsoever, and now they’re attacking our energy infrastructure and taking hostages! The media is going to be on our asses for this! I already have Harvey Bianchi calling, complaining that I even let his son be in the same city as these galactic crooks, and the Obels are threatening to pull their new investments!” Vernon yelled.

Cynthia pinched the bridge of her nose and watched as Alakazam rolled his eye.

“Vernon,” She started. “We’ve worked together for over twenty years, have we not?” The man grunted. “Then it is simply a matter of trust. Get the Directorate together, tell them to vote on the law, and pass it.”

“I’m going to have to negotiate with a lot of people…” He sighed.

“But you’re good at your job. I trust that you will manage.”

“Ok. Ok, fine. Just call me when you can. I don’t want to hear it from some underpaid League trainer, I want to hear it from you.”

“Sounds good. Thank you, Vernon,” She said.

Pathetic. You are the strongest human on this Earth, why do you not take what is yours? The psychic type complained.

“I don’t know about the strongest. There are other Champions,” Cynthia playfully told Alakazam.

I am in no mood for jokes. Call Fantina with that primitive electric device humans are so fond of. I am curious to hear about this Dusknoir.

Cynthia was as well. She called Fantina, and the gym leader answered after three calls. No one in Sinnoh knew more about ghost types than Fantina, and few knew that she was the strongest gym leader whenever she decided to go all out. Hell, she most likely could have become a member of the elite four if she wanted— there was no doubt in Cynthia’s mind that Fantina was more powerful than Aaron and Flint. Unfortunately, her passion lay in Pokemon contests, and battling was more of a side hustle for the old Kalosian woman. She was already trying to groom a replacement for her gym.

“Fantina, please answer the phone when I call,” Cynthia sighed.

“Cynthia, my darling! I heard that you took down dozens of criminals by yourself! How grand! How magnificent!” Fantina said in a thick Kalosian accent. Even though she had lived in Sinnoh for decades, she still had never lost it.

“Correct. There’s a lot of information going around, but right now, I called you because one of the team Galactic leaders has a Dusknoir.”

“Are you certain?” Fantina said after a pause, immediately becoming more serious.

“Yes. I believed the knowledge to be lost to time, but someone actually found a way to evolve Dusclops. I was wondering if you had any information to give me?”

“Well, even I do not know much about Dusknoir— although I wish I did. From the stories of old I read, they are among the most powerful Pokemon to ever exist. Whenever they come out into the world, they affect reality itself, and they sustain themselves by eating human souls.”

“Souls?”

“They have a mouth on their abdomen. When a human passes through it, their body is fine, but they become a shell. Their soul is trapped inside, to be forever tormented by the Dusknoir. If hell had a definition, I believe that fate to be it.”

Cynthia recalled the screams when Dusknoir opened its mouth. Thousands upon thousands of souls yelled, begging to be killed so their suffering could end. It was chilling to think about.

“So there is no information on the evolution?”

“I’m afraid not. But the girl could also have befriended the Dusknoir itself after it evolved.”

“I doubt that.”

“Why, pray tell?”

“My gut.”

Fantina paused before chuckling. “Your gut, as you call it, is not often wrong, so I’m inclined to believe you.”

“Could the evolution maybe be like other rare ghost types?” Cynthia asked. “Tormenting someone for a certain amount of time, or taking a life in a certain way?”

“Well, that often is the case with ghosts. They are so beautiful, and yet so deadly.”

The Champion nodded. “Well, thank you anyway. Let me know if you find out anything.”

“Of course. I could try to contact Morty from Johto to see if he has any more information.”

“You do that,” Cynthia agreed. “Goodbye.” The Champion hung up and stretched. “So?” She asked Alakazam. “Interested in this Dusknoir, still?”

I thirst for knowledge. I know more than your little human brain could ever imagine, and yet this still eludes me. I am frustrated.

“Well, let’s have you take out your frustration on someone, shall we? Meet me at the police station.”

Alakazam nodded and disappeared, and Cynthia exited her hotel. It took an hour and a half for Vernon to gather a simple majority to pass this new law. He called it the ‘National Security Emergency Act’. She couldn’t help but smile at Vernon’s ruthlessness in the art of negotiations. An hour and a half to pass a once-in-a-generation law. Unfortunately, it seemed like he had used all of his political capital to ram the bill through. The other half of the Directorate was enraged at her and threatening to start a vote of no confidence to force Vernon to step down. The media and the public were even more so. They were calling it an encroachment on their liberty and freedom, and to be honest, they were right. Cynthia just couldn’t be bothered to give a damn, she had a region to save.

Chapter Text

INTERLUDE - Cynthia’s Burden (Part 2)

Vernon had signed the law, and so it was time for interrogations. Two policemen were in the room with her, ready to take notes of everything the galactic grunts would say.

“Let’s start this the easy way, shall we?” Cynthia said with a smile. Alakazam was right next to her, ready to use his abilities when needed. “What is your goal?”

“Go die in a ditch,” The grunt said before spitting on her shoe. She smiled at him.

“Alakazam,” She said in an icy tone.

Alakazam’s eye flashed, and his spoons bent unnaturally, and the grunt started to squirm, then scream. The policemen winced and turned away, but Cynthia kept looking. Right into his eyes. With a smile. The torture kept going for around two minutes until the grunt was left on the ground with a nosebleed, passed out, drooling all over himself.

“Verdict?” The Champion asked.

He did not know much, but he knew the names of their leaders. Their organization is led by a man called Cyrus, but he doesn’t know what he looks like. Under him, there are four commanders. Saturn, Jupiter, Charon, and Mars. The reason he didn’t talk was because he seems to fear Mars more than you. They weren’t told what the goal of their operation today was.

Cyrus, hm? Cynthia thought. That was a name those two trainers had told Roark.

“Of course, that would be too easy. What will happen to him?”

He will never speak again, and his intelligence has been reduced to one of a five-year-old.

“Should have talked,” Cynthia said.

They continued like this, going room by room. Floaroma’s police station was never meant to hold so many criminals, so sometimes they had to be packed tightly into rooms. A few of them had tried attacking her, but Alakazam stopped them in their tracks using Psychic. Out of the thirty-four people they had captured, eleven were crippled beyond function by the memory extraction process, and two had died. All of the grunt’s Pokemon would have to be sent to the League to be rehabilitated. They had all been rather new to the organization, so Cynthia had only learned what the leaders looked like except for Cyrus after Alakazam perfectly drew their faces on a piece of paper by levitating a pencil. She had also learned that Dusknoir had been lurking in the plant for a week before team Galactic had moved in, observing the schedules to know when would be the best time to strike.

“Thank you, Alakazam. You can go back to Lucian,”

I hated every minute of it, He told her before teleporting.

Cynthia walked out of the police station and ignored the reporters swarming her once again. Now that she was done with interrogations, it was time to go see some of the trainers that had been held in the plant. There were three in particular that she wanted to see, so she quickly made her way to the Pokemon Center with the two police officers that had interrogated the galactic grunts with her. She ignored the stares and immediately asked for Chase Karlson’s room.

The Champion knocked on his door.

“What’s up? Who is it?” He said.

Cynthia came into the room with the police. “Chase Karlson, I presume? I have a few questions for you.”

The young trainer’s face was swollen and purple, but his eyes widened for a second before returning to a neutral expression.

“O—oh, yeah, no problem. Ask away.”

Cynthia smiled. “I heard you took down a few of the team galactic grunts yourself. I am thankful, but you could have been hurt. What compelled you to go inside of the plant after you figured out something was wrong? Actually, how did you figure out something was wrong?”

“I was working out with my Pokemon next to the plant before my Riolu sensed that something was wrong using his aura. He usually knows better than I do, so I just immediately called the police.”

“And why did you go inside?” Cynthia asked again.

“To test myself,” He spat. “And I failed. How mediocre.”

“You did more than most would have done, and for that, I wanted to thank you personally. Is there anything you heard that could help our investigation? Go over your experience inside of the plant, please.”

Chase did, recalling every detail that happened while he was in the plant, which admittedly wasn’t much since he got there late. Still, every piece of information would help solve the greater puzzle at play.

“Thank you very much, we’ll be on our way now. I wish you a healthy recovery,” Cynthia said.

“Wait,” Chase called out. “I’m going to beat you this year. Just wait and see,” He said with a confident grin.

“Hm? Interesting. And then what?” She asked.

“What?”

“You’ll beat me, and then what? What will your goal be beyond that victory?”

Chase stammered a few words, but Cynthia ignored him and left. It wasn’t the first time she had met trainers like him, and it wouldn’t be the last. The best she could do right now was help him think. Cynthia smiled as she knocked on Cecilia Obel’s door. She was swarmed by what Cynthia assumed were her friends. She recognized all of them— all heirs to rich businesses.

“Good evening. May I have a few minutes of your time, Ms. Obel? Alone?” Cynthia asked.

“Champion Cynthia! What an honor it is to finally meet you! My father has been trying to arrange a meeting between us,” The oldest of them said. Cynthia recognized him as Louis Bianchi.

“Louis… not now,” Pauline King said quietly.

Emilia Lussier clasped her hands. “Cece’s in a really bad place right now, so please be careful with her,” She said.

“Of course. You have my word.”

Louis cleared his throat. “Cece is shaken from what happened to her, I believe it may be best for us to stay to support her—”

“Leave,” Cynthia ordered.

They timidly nodded and exited the room. Cynthia sat next to Cecilia Obel, who straightened her back and fixed up her hair.

“None of that with me,” Cynthia said. She had lived long enough to spot a girl faking her way through life from a mile away. “Be yourself.”

“C—can I? Be myself, I mean.”

“Of course,” Cynthia said, before gesturing toward the two policemen, who then promptly left. This one was delicate and needed privacy. “I see you’re shaken by what happened today. Do you need to vent? I’ll listen before asking you my questions.”

“Well, you’re the Champion of the region, aren’t you? How does it feel to be free?”

“Free? In what sense?”

“You can speak how you want, act how you want, go where you want! You can be free! There’s no one breathing down your neck, judging every little move you make!” The child snarled.

If only she knew how wrong she was, Cynthia thought. She would entertain her idea for now.

“Well, you could do all of this. Just cut the cord, leave your family— I assume you’re talking about your family here.”

“It’s not that simple,” Cecilia sobbed. “You don’t get it. No one gets it. You’re all fake.”

“Well, explain it to me, then,” Cynthia tried. From that point on, she knew that her planned questions were a no-go. She had originally wanted to ask her to tell her dad not to pull back funding from Sinnoh, but Cynthia now knew that would be horribly out of line. She still wanted to help a girl in distress.

“My father called me earlier today. He told me, ‘thank the Legendaries! You’re alive!’” She said, imitating him with a gruff voice. “For a single second, I thought that he was actually worried about me. Can you believe that? For some reason, even though he has always treated me like a thing, I still unconsciously crave his approval. But all he actually cared about was me living until I’m eighteen so this deal between the Bianchis and the Obels can go through. To be honest, I didn’t even care about being taken hostage. I was happy! Happy! That if something happened to me, father’s deal would go up in flames! It’s like two parts of me are playing tug of war! I… I can never be free.”

Cynthia paused. “That was… that was a lot. There is no easy answer here.”

“I knew it. Just go—”

“It’ll take time and effort. Little by little, you’ll have to free your mind from your father’s clutches. But you’ll also have to grow stronger. Strength is nice. It’s humanity’s simplest form of communication. ‘I am stronger than you, and therefore I take what’s mine.’ Strengthen yourself enough until you don’t have to take his orders.”

“I already considered that, but… he’ll just send people after me. Both him and the Bianchis.”

“Well, if they attack you, you can report them, but honestly, I doubt that will do any good. They can line the pockets of any policeman or judge out there.”

Cecilia’s eyes widened.

“What? Surprised I can acknowledge Sinnoh’s faults? I know it like the back of my hand. The region isn’t perfect, but I’ve worked on it for more than twenty years. Slowly. Methodically. But slow and methodical work takes time. Grow stronger and send your father’s agents packing. That is all I can give you.”

The girl clenched her fists around her bedsheets. “Can I really?”

“You don’t know until you try. I’ll be observing you, Cecilia Obel. Win the Circuit, win the conference, beat the elite four, and then let us have a grand battle at the end of the year,” Cynthia said. “I personally challenge you. Don’t disappoint me.”

Cynthia left the girl in her hospital room, and all of her friends barged back in, trying to know what had been said. The Champion didn’t really know what had pushed her to say this. It had just felt right. Obviously, even if Cecilia did make it to her, she would crush her. She didn’t expect any first-year trainer to actually win against the elite four. That hadn’t been done since… well, since she herself did so. But sometimes, all someone needed to leave the dark place they were in was a little push.

Cynthia knocked on Grace Pastel’s door. It took a few seconds for her to answer.

“C—come in,” She said.

Cynthia came in with the two officers and was surprised to see Denzel Williams in the room too. That was perfect, though, since he had also been at Lake Verity that day.

“Grace Pastel, may I borrow a few minutes of your time?” Cynthia asked.

The girl nodded. It didn’t take an expert to see that her time at the power plant had completely shaken her. She was pale, constantly shivering, and her voice was barely a whisper. Cynthia wondered if she would even be able to ask her anything, but she also couldn’t help but feel terrible for this trainer. Children were a weak spot of hers… she had always wanted some, but there was never enough time. And no one could ever hold her attention for long anyway.

“Champion Cynthia,” Denzel said. “In other circumstances, this would have been the most exciting day of my life, but I suppose it is nice to meet you. Need me to leave?”

“Don’t!” Grace panicked. “Don’t leave.”

“No one needs to leave. In fact, do you want these two officers here to leave?”

Grace shook her head. “No… I know things. Things that will be useful for them.”

“Very well. Are you alright with recounting what happened to you at the power plant? I was told by a few hostages that you were taken to another room.”

The young trainer took a deep breath. “That girl… she calls herself Mars. Do— do you need me to describe her, or—”

“Don’t worry about that. Just keep going,” Cynthia said softly.

With much difficulty, Grace Pastel told her story. That she was cut with a knife and threatened by Mars, and that she witnessed the appearance of Dusknoir firsthand. She also had a few nuggets of new information, like the apparent rift between Mars and the other commander Charon, her infatuation with Cyrus, or that the red-haired woman could seemingly command her Dusknoir without words. She would have to send that information to Fantina later.

“You’re doing very well, Grace. This information could save a lot of people,” Cynthia said. “Now, let’s get back to the month of August. I was told by Roark that you saw this individual called Cyrus. Could you and Denzel describe him for me?”

Grace nodded and told Cynthia about the blue-haired man with sunken eyes, sharp cheekbones, and no eyebrows. She couldn’t remember the exact details, like height or eye color, but Denzel did, so he was a huge help.

Cynthia was about to leave, but she could tell that the girl had something to ask of her.

“Do you need anything else?” The Champion asked. “While I’m here?”

“How can I be as strong and fearless as you?” Grace asked with a sob. “I’m useless. I freeze when I’m scared and I couldn’t even fight back. I can’t do anything. I can’t even sleep without getting terrible nightmares. I—I feel like I’m collapsing.”

“You can never outgrow fear, Grace. You learn to deal with it. Think about it, after today, experiences that may have scared you before feel like a joke, don’t they?” Cynthia asked. “Continue your journey on the League Circuit, and grow alongside your Pokemon. Learn to rely on them and others— they’re smarter and more emotionally mature than you would think. Make connections and meet people. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”

“I want to. I want to keep going, but Mars… she said she would look for me. And if she finds me again, there’s no telling what she’ll do to me,” Grace cried.

Cynthia’s eyes widened slightly at that revelation. A thousand scenarios brewed in her brain about using Grace as bait before she slowed down and realized that was the pragmatic, and not the human thing to do.

“Grace, I promise you. I will scour all of Sinnoh to take down team Galactic if I have to. You won’t have to deal with her. I will keep every trainer safe.”

“I wish I could help, but I’m terrified. I’m just a kid… I just wanted to have fun on my journey and try to become the best, but I don’t know if I have it in me,” She muttered.

“You’re still standing, aren’t you?” Cynthia said.

Grace looked into her eyes for the first time.

“You’re strong Grace, stronger than you give yourself credit for. There are others in much worse shape than you are, but you want to keep pushing. That’s what differentiates great trainers from the rest. Even after all the madness, the danger, the death, you still want to do it.”

“I do.”

“Then take as long as you want to pick yourself up. And then keep going,” Cynthia said. “That’s all the advice I can offer.”

Cynthia got up. “Oh, and Grace. I hope you won’t mind, but I read your file. You have a Togetic, don’t you?” The young trainer nodded. “Sleep with it close to you. It’ll do wonders for your nightmares. Just be careful not to get hooked on it, I recommend doing it for a month at most. I suppose it’ll be very useful for Eterna Forest if that’s where you’re going next. Good night.”

——

Cynthia finally made it back to her hotel. Thankfully that had been the last time she would be going out tonight, so she made her way to the bathroom and washed off her makeup, revealing deep bags under her eyes, and the stress lines on her face. Age was getting to her fast, but what could she do but pretend to be perfect for the public? She was only human, but the people didn’t see it that way. To them, she was their Champion. A woman without flaws. And she would keep acting that way. She touched her face, realizing that she was still smiling.

“You’re alone, you don’t have to smile,” She told herself.

The woman sighed as she sat on her desk. It was time to call the kids.

Cynthia opened her laptop and began adding all of the young gym leaders to her call. This team Galactic was bigger than she could have ever imagined. They wanted to mess with reality, but what were the implications? Cynthia felt a flash of fear, remembering stories about team Magma and Aqua. The information wasn’t known to the public— gym leaders included, who only knew of organizations with lesser goals, such as team Rocket, but Magma and Aqua had almost ended the world in a fit of folly, and right now, it looked like team Galactic was on the same path. And so, it was time to bring the kids up to speed. They all politely greeted her, except Candice, who was lagging horribly. Roark was sitting in front of the camera, waiting for her to speak. Maylene was hitting a punching bag in the background, but Cynthia assumed that she could hear her. Gardenia was singing as she spun around in her chair, and Volkner was barely awake.

“I suppose you’ve all heard about what happened today?” She started. Pandemonium erupted in the call, each gym leader trying to get their word in. “Quiet down! I’ve had a long day, so please. One at a time.”

They all quieted down, probably taken aback by the amount of weakness Cynthia inflected in her tone.

“Roark, you first.”

“I’m glad you kept your promise and dealt with the threat at hand, Cynthia. Please tell me if there’s anything I can do?”

“Keep a teleporter in your gym at all times in case you need to be called up— that goes for all of you. Your League-mandated Kadabra don’t know the move yet, so call Lucian and get them replaced,” Cynthia said.

“Sounds good. Also, I want to know anything we have about them. Their goals, the number of people they have, and their leaders, if possible.”

Cynthia explained everything she had found out today.

“Damn, what a drag,” Volkner said. “I thought my tenure as gym leader would be chill, man… turns out I have to deal with terrorists.”

“Anything productive to add, Volkner?” Cynthia asked.

“I can send a few of my people to replace the employees at Valley Windworks,” He said with a sigh. “They’re well versed in anything electrical, and I assume you don’t want an energy crisis in your laundry list of fucked up shit to deal with.”

“Thank you, that’ll be a big help,” She said.

“If they want to screw with reality, then there’s no telling how many people they could end up killing. We need to be on top of this, now,” Roark said. “Your new law today was a great step.”

“Really, Roark? Really? You want to torture people and turn them into vegetables?!” Maylene yelled.

“Maylene, they’re criminals—” Roark protested.

She cut him off. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but criminals have rights to a defense and a trial! And they got none of that!” She interrupted him, still kicking and punching the punching bag.

“It had to be done, Maylene. Don’t let your sense of justice get in the way,” Cynthia said.

“The only reason I joined this call was to know if you had really caused the law to pass,” She said. “And now I know you did. I lost a lot of respect for you today, Cynthia.”

Cynthia sighed. Maylene was the youngest gym leader, and more hot-headed than even Roark. She often let her ideals get in the way of efficiency, something Cynthia hoped she would learn to deal with as she aged.

“Calm down, Maymay. Screaming isn’t helping,” Gardenia said with her usual angelic voice. “Look at it from—”

“From her perspective, I know! I’m just pissed off because if we keep going down this path, we’ll end up being just as bad as the bad guys!”

Maylene had a lot of respect for Gardenia, and they were very close. In fact, Cynthia was sure the two girls were practically sisters.

“That judgment is flawed, Maylene,” Roark said. “We’re doing this to help people. If they don’t want their memories extracted, then they can just talk.”

“And what if they lie? How can you be sure? Wouldn’t you just have Alakazam do it anyways to be sure?”

“Alakazam can tell when people are lying,” Volkner said tiredly. “Your point is null.”

“Shut up, you lazy bum! you never visit me, but you keep being annoying! I hate you!” Maylene screamed.

“I have a city to run,” Volkner said. “You barely do any of the work, you just battle people over and over.”

“I want to help out more, but they keep saying I’m too young!”

“Let’s stay on topic,” Cynthia said. Dealing with all of these children at once was pure hell, even if she liked them. “Gardenia, anything else you want to say?”

“You know me, Cynth. I’m a pencil pusher, you tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

Ah, Gardenia. Always the reasonable one. “Good. And… uh, Candice?”

“Yeah— Trying— Fuck!”

“I thought we sent someone up to Snowpoint to fix the internet. What happened?”

Cynthia heard Candice hit her computer.

“Oh, wait! I’m getting four bars! I’m here! Can you hear me?”

“Yes,” Cynthia said, rolling her eyes. “Hurry up before you lose connection again.”

“Okay, so I had this really wild idea. What if the next time team Galactic showed themselves, we have Alakazam ready, and boom! He just scours one of their leader’s memory right then and there while we protect him.”

“That’s what you’ve been trying to say this entire time? That was a given,” Volkner yawned.

“It’s a smart idea. You’re just jealous ‘cause you don’t have my intellect.”

“Candice, that was already in the cards. The problem is that if they have a Dusknoir and a Hypno that is capable of teleporting, there is no guarantee that the combined strength of Jupiter, Mars, Charon, Saturn, and Cyrus won’t overpower you— older gym leaders and elite four included. As of now, I’d call their commander a threat to all of you— especially Mars. If you find them, do not engage and call me. I sent you all Alakazam’s portraits.”

“Sure!” Candice smiled.

“All of this fuss is unwarranted. As soon as you find their HQ, they’ll be dealt with,” Maylene said.

Cynthia shook her head. “I wouldn’t be so sure, Maylene.”

“But you’re… you,” Maylene said, having stopped her workout. “If you can’t deal with them, no one can.”

Cynthia could sense fear in her voice and in the gazes of all the others. It seemed that they were finally realizing the true threat that team Galactic posed.

“I’m not saying I can’t, I’m saying that nothing is set in stone and that these people are an actual danger, and will be for the foreseeable future. I’m going to go to sleep. Stay alert, and do not under any circumstances speak to the media. We can’t let anything else slip to the public, or there’ll be a panic. Am I clear?”

They all acquiesced. Cynthia was satisfied as she hung up. The Champion was nice, but strict. She needed to whip all of the kids into shape really quickly, or there was no telling what would happen. She released her Togekiss, who chirped happily and snuggled next to her. It was a tight fit on the bed, but it would have to do.

She couldn’t escape the nightmares without his help. The companions she had seen die, the people she had killed, her failures, her duties, they all came back to haunt her. Sleep was impossible without her Togekiss, and she hoped that Grace Pastel would not fall into the same trap.

Smile Cynthia, She thought. Everything is fine. Don’t let them see your weakness.

Cynthia Collins was Sinnoh’s Champion, but she was human too. She carried the entire region atop her shoulders, and her throne sat on a pile of lies.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 33

I sunk deeper into the soft couch and felt my body melt into the fluffy fabric. I stared at the piano in one of the corners of the room and raised an eyebrow. I really wanted to play a little before I left, but time always went by too fast. I had always wanted to try playing the instrument. I returned my attention to Nurse Joy, who sat with her legs crossed on a chair across from me.

“And these nightmares, you say they’ve finally disappeared?”

“Yeah, I’ve finally been getting full nights of sleep, and it’s making a world’s difference on my state of mind. I feel like the world is a little bit brighter,” I told her.

“But you still haven’t tried without your Togetic, have you? Have you considered doing so?”

I exhaled. “Right now, I just want to do what works. I think I’ll be using Togetic for a while… I’ve gotten advice from someone.”

“If you trust them, I suppose that’s enough. I still recommend weaning off that way of sleeping. Now, since this is your last day, let’s move on to your worries about Mars.”

I felt my heartbeat quicken, and the wound on my face flare up. I couldn’t help but imagine Mars pressing her knife against my cheek, moving my face around like I wasn’t even human. Like I was a thing for her to play with.

“I can’t help but be terrified,” I said as I exhaled. “But someone helped me find my resolve. Someone I look up to, so I’m not going to hole up and hide forever.”

“The same person that told you to sleep with your Togetic, I presume," She said perceptively, "I trust that the League will take care of her and the rest of her ilk before you have to see her again,” Nurse Joy said.

“It’s good to be vigilant. I don’t want to be caught off-guard ever again.”

I waited for Nurse Joy to respond, but an alarm rang on her phone.

“Oh my, has it been one hour already? What a shame. These seven sessions between us have been very productive, Grace. I recommend booking more whenever you get to Eterna city.”

“But it won’t be you,” I lamented. “I don’t know if I can talk to someone else and pretend she’s you, Amanda.”

Nurse Joy shook her head and smiled. “When I’m on the clock, I’m Nurse Joy, not Amanda. And don't worry, we can always arrange meetings via video chats, although I would say face-to-face meetings are more effective. You could always stay longer as I asked you to, many times.”

“I can’t stay here forever. I have to get stronger. I have a friend waiting on me, and being here forces me to think about the incident,” I said. “I have to leave.”

Nurse Joy stood up. “If that’s what you think is right, I can’t stop you. Stay safe in Eterna forest, Grace. Keep your wits about you.”

“I will. Thank you for everything, I'll call when I get to Eterna city,” I told her as I left.

It had been a week and a half since the attack on Valley Windworks, and I was slowly getting back on my feet. Honestly, it felt like what had transpired didn’t even happen to me. It was like a dream, where I had been observing myself act until Cynthia came and spoke to me. Her words shook me— and they still did. I walked into the Pokemon Center’s lobby and hugged Denzel.

“Congrats. You did it,” He said.

“I can’t believe it’s over,” I told him. “It seemed like an unsurmountable climb before, and now I’m done. It’s a little scary.”

“I know you’ll manage. You’re strong.”

Denzel and I had grown much closer after the Galactic incident. I considered him to be my best friend now, or maybe a brother? It was hard to put a term on it. He had always been there for me, visiting every day and trying to keep my mind focused on positive things, or making me laugh. I honestly didn’t think I could have made it without him.

“Ready for tomorrow?” He asked me as he let go.

“Yup. Just gotta buy a ton of antidotes and potions, right?” I asked him.

Denzel grinned. “Already did, they’re all in my bag.”

“Seriously? Man, you’re the best.”

“Duh. Although I hope it’s enough, I spent almost all of our money on that and a few Pokeballs.”

We made our way to my room, and I collapsed on my bed, while Denzel sat on its edge and released Eevee. The furry Pokemon barked happily and licked both of our faces before settling on my belly. He had been battered by that battle with Gible, and he had been seriously depressed about it for a while until Denzel finally convinced him that he had fought well. He was also now back at full strength and ready to go. We relaxed for a few hours— Denzel browsed the forums while I watched whatever was on television. We had learned to enjoy each other’s company in silence too, and neither of us felt forced to try springing up a conversation when it wasn’t necessary. I felt my Poketch vibrate in my pocket.

Probably dad or mom again, I thought.

Dad had called me multiple times every day since the kidnappings, and I had barely managed to convince him not to drop anything and book a flight to Floaroma. He had been worried sick about me the entire time, and he felt partly responsible for what happened to me because he was the one that pushed me into this journey. No matter what I told him, he still felt guilty, and it ate me up that he felt that way. Mom had called too, and surprisingly just as many times as dad. They had also been a part of my recovery, and I had never felt more grateful for my parents.

I grabbed my Poketch and felt a surge of panic when I saw the name. It was a message from Cecilia Obel.

“How in the world did she get my number?” I muttered.

“Who?” Denzel asked before slapping his forehead. “Wait, are you talking about the Obel girl? That was me.”

“What?” I demanded.

“She confronted me outside of the Center yesterday and asked for your number. Strangely enough, she was alone, and she was nice this time, so I gave it to her. Should I not have? I figured it’d be nice for you to connect with someone who went through the same thing as you did.”

I sighed. I hadn’t seen Cecilia since the attack at the plant, and I honestly thought I wouldn’t again. Hell, I kind of thought she had left Floaroma already, and for some reason, I felt sad about that.

“It’s alright, thanks,” I said as I opened my Poketch.

Cecilia O.

This is Grace Pastel, correct?

“She’s asking if it’s me,” I told Denzel with a smile. “She doesn’t even trust you enough to be sure you gave her the right number.”

Denzel raised an eyebrow. “Are you kidding me? I have that shit memorized.”

You

It’s me. What is it?

Cecilia O.

Meet me inside of room 17 right now.

You

Why? Do you need something?

Cecilia O.

I need to talk to you.

You

Are your friends going to be there? Because they’re pricks.

Cecilia O.

No, it’s just me for now. They are busy, so come quickly before they come back.

“She wants me to meet her in her room,” I told Denzel.

“In her room? Are they all about to jump you, or something?”

“I’m going,” I said as I gently pushed Eevee off of me.

“Huh?”

“See you later,” I said, leaving my room. “Bye, Eevee.”

“Vee!”

I made my way to the first floor and knocked gently on room 17’s door. I was a little bit nervous, which surprised me. I hoped I didn’t look silly. I placed my hand on my chest and took a deep breath as Cecilia told me to come in. She was ever so graceful, sitting on her bed with her legs crossed. I stood still for a few seconds, trying to figure out what to say.

“Come sit. I have a proposition for you,” Cecilia said, patting a spot next to her on the bed.

“Good morning… wait, it’s the afternoon now,” I awkwardly said as I sat. “What do you want to ask me that you couldn’t ask over text?”

“I want to form an alliance between our two groups to travel through Eterna forest,” The girl said, going straight to the point.

“W—what? That honestly sounds like a terrible idea to me. We basically hate each other. Your friend— whatsherface…” I trailed off before remembering her name. “Pauline! She threatened to make my life, and I quote, ‘a living hell’. This is not happening,” I said. “Sorry for that outburst.”

“Pauline said that?” She blinked. “How unlike her.”

I scoffed. “I don’t think you know her very well. She literally wanted to see you bully me when you dragged me off to the bathroom—” I started before terrible memories came flashing back. I took a few seconds to calm myself and swallowed. “Anyways, she isn’t the only problem. They’re all assholes.”

“Is this about your… companion? I know Louis is not fond of him, but we can mend those bridges.”

“Louis is the biggest ass of them all. Sorry, I know he’s your boyfriend. What’s the deal, anyway? You guys have two dragon types and a bunch of other powerful Pokemon, it’s not like you can’t get through it together.”

Cecilia breathed in deeply. “The truth is, they’re scared.”

“Scared of the forest?” I asked, doubting her words.

Cecilia adjusted her sitting position. “Yes. They are terrified. Everything so far has been easy, and we stayed on the routes, but Eterna forest is when the real challenge begins. The plan was to leave two days ago, but they keep putting it off. You especially impressed them during our battle, so I believe that if we combine our forces, they’ll be willing to take the plunge.”

“Why didn’t you call Denzel here? We travel together, I can’t make a decision on my own,” I said.

“But if you had to choose right now, what would you do?” Cecilia said, staring right into my eyes. I felt a surge of shyness and averted my gaze.

I bit the inside of my lip, thinking about what to do. The truth was that I had also been worried about Eterna forest, it was just I had been entirely focused on getting back on my feet. What were the pros on cons here? Okay, a big group meant higher chances of survival because of the amount of Pokemon everyone brought to the table, and we’d be able to watch each other's backs. But then again, if a big group was dysfunctional, it could be deadlier than traveling alone. But maybe…

“I would accept under a few conditions. One, I want you to show Denzel and I how you train. You specifically, because I know you’re the best trainer in your clique. Second, I want access to your resources. All that money you’ll use to buy the best potions, antidotes, and everything else? I want your group to lend those to us if we need them, we barely have enough for both of our teams as it is. Third, I want your pals on their best behavior, and I want that Pauline girl to apologize to me,” I said. “And I want your boyfriend to apologize to Denzel.”

I had blurted out that third part without thinking, but Pauline had really hit a nerve after our battle, even though I didn’t exactly show it. At the time, I had simply taken her threat to heart and figured it would be best to keep my head down in case she sicked her family on me. But if I was to travel with her? I needed this.

“That is… a tough sell, but I believe I could make that work. Now, can you convince Denzel?”

“Probably. He likes me too much to say no,” I smiled. “And if you fulfill all of my conditions, it probably won’t take too much convincing.”

“Thank you,” Cecilia smiled. “Now I can finally make some damned progress.”

I was surprised at the way she spoke. During all of this conversation, Cecilia had spoken in a prim and proper way, but she was apparently letting her mask slip again.

“So you aren’t scared?”

“Not at all. I’m eager to get going. Someone recently lit my passion for Pokemon battling ablaze, and I want to get stronger as fast as possible.”

“Wait, so you weren’t passionate before?” I asked. “And you were still so good… man.”

“I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it,” Cecilia said as she brushed her hair behind her ear. “I have a promise to fulfill now, and I plan to make good on it.”

“Who was it then?” I asked curiously. I wanted to know who had ignited Cecilia’s passion for battling, potentially unleashing a monster.

“It’s a secret,” She said with a small laugh. “Now, on you go. My group will be coming back soon, and it would be easier to explain if you weren’t in the room.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “See you later?”

“See you later.”

I felt a grin creep up on my face as I left Cecilia’s room, feeling butterflies in my stomach.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 34

“Hell no!” Denzel yelled, looking at me like I had just murdered someone in front of him. “There is no fucking way!”

“What? Come on!” I pleaded.

“Are you kidding me? Traveling with those arrogant assholes in the middle of a deadly forest? No!”

“But wait, you haven’t even listened to the conditions I added yet—”

“Grace, I would honestly rather die than spend a minute that Louis Bianchi. Did you not hear the way he spoke before and after our battle? If I hadn’t been so worried about Eevee, I would have made a scene.”

“I know, but Cecilia said she could get them to behave normally. And apparently, they’re impressed with us,” I said.

“Impressed?”

“Yeah,” I added. “Apparently, they liked the way we battle.”

“They have a really funny way of showing that, then,” Denzel said as he stopped pacing around the room.

“Think about it. We get to train with Cecilia! By the time we’re out of Eterna, we might be close to her level.”

My friend paused. “We get to train with her?”

“Yes! And just her, not her friends. Doesn’t that sound awesome?!”

Denzel avoided my eyes. “That does sound good, but—”

“You haven’t even heard the best part yet. Doesn’t forcing the Louis Bianchi to apologize to you with his head hung low sound like the sweetest revenge?” I grinned.

I saw a glint in Denzel’s eyes. “Okay, I’m in.”

“What? But I haven’t even told you about the potions and the antidotes yet.”

“Wait, we’re getting their stuff too? That’s icing on the cake! You’re like a master negotiator. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Cecilia’s taken a liking to you.”

My heart practically jumped out of my throat. “M—me? Shut up, you idiot! You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ouch. I didn’t even say anything.”

“Yeah, whatever. I’m going to the bathroom.”

I opened the bathroom door and sat down on the toilet before sending Cecilia a text telling her that I had convinced Denzel. I made sure to add that the apologies were crucial and that we were eagerly expecting them. After calming myself down, I looked at myself in the mirror and groaned.

“Ugh, is that a new pimple? Crap.”

I froze as my hand hovered over the door handle. I grabbed my wrist and shook it, forcing myself to push forward. Every time I stepped out of a bathroom now, I couldn’t stop my thoughts from racing. I couldn’t help but expect something terrible to happen to me on the other side of that door. Luckily, I was slowly getting better. When I walked out, I noticed Denzel quickly changing the channel from the news back to some random cartoon. I was thankful to him for trying to keep anything regarding team Galactic out of my reach, but it was obvious he wanted more information.

“I’m going to go out for a bit,” I told him. “Training Elekid and stuff.”

“Oh, alright. Remember, I’m one phone call away if anything goes wrong.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

I walked out of the Center and made my way to the spot where I had first trained Elekid. Another way I had found to keep myself distracted was to focus entirely on training. And I would need it, especially with danger ramping up so quickly in the region. I was still scared, but Cynthia’s words made me want to be able to fight back. If team Galactic ever came back, I at least wanted to take down a few grunts. Hell, Chase Karlson had dove into danger to do so.

I wonder what he’s doing now? I thought.

Well apparently, I was a psychic, because Chase Karlson was currently in the distance doing sit-ups along with his Riolu. Meanwhile, Houndour was practicing using a move that looked like Fire Fang, and his Grubbin had apparently evolved into a Charjabug, who was scuttling on the ground surrounded by electricity. It looked like a tough training session, and even though I wanted to thank him for trying to break us out, I also didn’t want to be anywhere near the aggressive trainer, but I felt obligated to at least thank him. I called out as I slowly jogged toward him.

“Hey! Chase!” I said.

“What?” He grunted. He glanced at me for a second before resuming his sit-ups. “You’re that girl from the power plant. I argued with you in Oreburgh, right?” He asked. I was surprised he could speak so easily while working out.

“Yeah. I just wanted to thank you for busting into the plant—”

“Thank me? I failed. I lost, and I got captured, why would you thank me?” He said. I could feel anger rise within him as his tone got more aggressive. His Riolu stopped his exercise and barked at him. “Sorry…” He said, more subdued than I had ever heard him.”

“You didn’t let me finish, but yeah, I was about to get…” I swallowed. “Tortured. I know you didn’t do it for me, but I still feel like I owe you.”

“Whatever, I guess.”

“Sorry for bothering you. Take care.”

All in all that could have gone worse. I made my way to the meadow, then released my entire team, who greeted me in their respective way. Togetic floated up to me and nuzzled against my neck. Frillish bobbed his head toward me, and Elekid screamed as he flexed and spun his arms around. I had gotten him back at the start of the week after confirming that he was mine. To do this, the League made sure that the Pokemon knew you, but apparently, every Pokeball had a serial number that the League, stores, and manufacturers could use to keep track of them. I guessed this was why Pokemon trading always had to be tracked. Some trainers even kept stickers on their Pokeballs to differentiate them. Either way, this system made sure that there were very little errors whenever an accident happened where Pokeballs were lost or mixed up. I grinned and clapped my hands together.

“Alright, everybody! Time for more training! Togetic, I want you to keep working on Extrasensory. You used the move well during the tournament, but I want you to start being able to lift Pokemon soon, so wild Pokemon aren’t off limits..”

“Prrrri!” Togetic chirped happily.

“Frillish, I want you to work on Hex if you find any wild Pokemon out here, but remember, no killing . If you can’t find any, then keep working on Poison Sting like yesterday. It’ll be a great surprise against the grass types of Eterna forest, or even Gardenia if I’m forced to use you. Plus, if we poison one of her Pokemon, Hex will deal double the damage. Keep Togetic close to you and take care of her, alright buddy? Meet me back here in two hours.”

“Lish,” He murmured as he lazily floated away with Togetic. She squealed happily and affectionately butted her head against him.

I crouched and looked at Elekid. “And you’re with me, as usual. Let’s keep working on your endurance.”

Normally, I would never have trained on wild Pokemon that didn’t attack me first, but after what happened to me, something clicked in my mind. I needed to get stronger faster to protect myself and my team if team Galactic was ever going to come knocking. I couldn’t afford to pull any punches and hold back my team’s progress. It hurt to think that Frillish or Togetic could potentially get a wild Pokemon killed by injuring them, but I couldn’t afford to feel bad. I watched with my arms crossed as Elekid kept his Thundershock going for eighteen seconds. 

“Kid!” He screamed, clearly frustrated. I could tell he desperately wanted to catch up to the others.

“You’re doing great, hon,” I comforted him. “That’s a great amount of progress in less than two weeks.”

“Elekid!”

“I’ll use you in a real battle soon. Here, why don’t we look for a wild Pokemon together.”

Elekid flexed his arms, agreeing with me. There weren’t that many wild Pokemon this far into the meadow, but we still managed to find a Buizel skulking around. It had probably come here from the river on nearby route 205. 

“Are you ready?” I whispered to Elekid. He nodded. “Hit it with Thundershock, you’ve got the element of surprise.”

Elekid made a noise akin to a scoff before loudly announcing himself to the Buizel. He spun his arms and grinned menacingly.

“Or not. You want to fight fair and square, hm?”

“Kid!”

Buizel squared itself up and let out a warning cry as its tails spun menacingly, but Elekid wasn’t intimidated. He charged at the water type, who let out a high-pressure jet of water. Staying at a safe distance, I smiled as Elekid weaved to the right. He was quickly becoming my fastest Pokemon.

“Hit it with Thunder Punch!” I ordered.

Elekid spun both of his arms and gathered electricity into his fists before hitting Buizel with a quick succession of punches. The water type cried out in pain before trying to ram Elekid with its tails, but I could tell it was already almost out for the count. Elekid didn’t even need my help. He held the Buizel and channeled a Thundershock directly into the wild Pokemon, who promptly fell to the ground as smoke emanated from its body. Elekid celebrated with a triumphant yell before making his way back toward me.

“You did great, but we did have the type advantage. Still, it looks like your electric type attacks are becoming really powerful.”

I continued watching as Elekid trained. I had gotten him back one day after the attack, and I had used the opportunity to explain everything to my team. Frillish still hadn’t recovered. I could tell that he felt like he failed me, no matter how many times I told him it wasn’t his fault. Togetic had cried and had fully embraced her role as my sleep aid, which I was grateful for. Elekid also felt down, but his reaction was a little bit more peculiar. He stopped wanting to go to the Power Plant altogether.

Come to think of it, why had Elekid wanted to go to the Power Plant? It surely wasn’t for energy, or he would have kept pestering me about it even now. Had he known something?

Something about what would happen?

No, that would be impossible.

But what if?

I called him over, and he panted as he trudged toward me.

“Good job,” I started. “You deserve a little break. I have a question to ask you.”

“Kid?” He said in a curious tone.

“Do you remember how you wanted to bring me to the Power Plant last week? And how just two days later, team Galactic attacked it? Did you know something?”

Elekid fidgeted around nervously, a far cry from his usual boisterous behavior.

“I’m not mad,” I smiled. “Let’s try going by process of elimination. Did you know team Galactic would attack soon?”

He shook his head.

I frowned. “Did you know something bad would happen soon?”

“Kid! Kid!” He nodded.

My eyes widened. “How? What gave it away?” I asked. Obviously, though, he struggled to explain. It was at times like these when I wish I could understand what my Pokemon said. I tried finding out what he knew for a few more minutes, but it was to no avail, so I sent him back to train. I needed to figure this out at some point, but right now, it was like I was speaking to a brick wall. Before finishing our training, I went on a run and practiced doing push-ups on the ground. I only managed to do six before I fell flat. Seeing Chase Karlson work out like that had kind of inspired me, but I was nowhere near his level yet. At the end of our training session, Togetic came back carrying an unconscious Pachirisu with Extrasensory, closely shadowed by Frilish.

I looked at the small electric type guiltily for a few seconds, before turning toward Togetic with a smile. She always liked to bring things she lifted with Extrasensory back to me as a ‘reward’. “You did great, Princess. You didn’t have to bring it back to me, though.”

“Toge!”

“Well, you do you. Frillish, what’s the progress on Hex?”

The ghost type eyed the Pachirisu for a few seconds, and then looked back at me. It took me a few moments to realize he was asking for permission to use the move.

I took a deep breath. “Go ahead.”

Frillish’s eye brightened as smoke began emanating from the Pachirisu’s body. Even while unconscious, the small Pokemon began to convulse violently.

“That’s enough,” I said. “Good job, you two. You brought down an electric type together despite the type disadvantage.”

Frillish nodded. I quickly grabbed a potion and used it on the little electric type. It was still unconscious, but at least it would wake up with no wounds. Plus, I was going to get access to a lot of them soon thanks to traveling with Cecilia’s group, so I felt like I could use them more freely.

“Come to think of it, I have to tell you guys about our temporary new travel companions…”

I explained everything to my team. Frillish scowled and turned away from me, and Elekid crashed his fists together, creating a spark.

“You guys are even worse than Denzel,” I sighed. “At least you’re fine with it, princess,” I said as I gently scratched her back.

“Togetic! Prrrri!”

“Well, let’s get back then.”

When I came back to my room, Denzel was gone. He had sent me a message telling me that he was off to spend some time with his team, but to call him if I needed him. I spent the rest of the day lazing around with my Pokemon. Elekid was slowly making Frillish warm up to him, even though he kept throwing water at him whenever he got too annoying. Whereas Frillish probably thought of Togetic as a little sister he needed to protect— which even though I never said anything about, I found very cute— he probably viewed Elekid as an annoying brat that was loud all the time. Ghost type Pokemon were immortal, so he was probably a jaded old man anyway. If I had to place Elekid’s age… I’d probably say he was still a kid, no pun intended.

When it was time to go to sleep, Frillish floated protectively above my bed, since he didn’t need to sleep. Elekid slept by leaning against a wall with his arms crossed— the little bugger spoke and yelled in his sleep, by the way— and Togetic snuggled under the covers with me. I felt happiness swell inside of me as I relaxed, slowly drifting off to sleep.

I would have gotten my eight hours, but I was woken up by a text from Cecilia at 5:33 am.

Cecilia O.

The deal went through. We will travel together in two days until we reach Eterna city. I am honoring my side of the bargain right away, meet me in the Pokemon Center lobby with your friend to start our training.

I fell out of my bed.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 35

It had taken almost ten minutes to wake Denzel up from his slumber. The man hated waking up early, and he kept asking me for ‘five more minutes’. We quickly made our way to the Pokemon Center’s lobby with our Pokeballs. I was shaking in anticipation. What secrets to Pokemon training did Cecilia hold? I was excited to find out. I wasn’t used to seeing the lobby so empty. It was usually crammed with trainers at all times of the day, but so early in the morning, there were only a few people here. Cecilia was leaning against a wall with a hoodie and jogging pants. I frowned and then realized that Denzel was wearing warm clothing too. Meanwhile, I just had a t-shirt on and some jeans that I had hurriedly thrown on.

“Good morning,” Cecilia told us. “I’m sorry we’re doing this so early, but my team needs to wake up at six every day.”

“No problem!” I smiled. “I’m just excited to see what you have in store for us.”

“Mornin’” Denzel yawned.

“Sorry about him, he’s not a morning person,” I said.

Cecilia nodded, and we made our way to the outskirts of the city. I hugged myself as I felt a cold gust of wind. It was still dark out, and the temperature had dropped fast. It was still October, for Arceus’ sake! Not wanting to waste time, I decided to tough the cold out and kept going, following closely behind Cecilia— but not too close. When we reached our destination, Cecilia opened her Poketch.

“Five-fifty-five,” She muttered. “My team can wait. Let’s start with the basics. Obviously, you two have won a badge, so I’ll assume you at least know a little bit about what you’re doing, but I still need to make sure. Explain to me how you train your teams.”

Denzel and I looked at each other, wondering who should start. I nodded in his direction, telling him to go ahead.

“Well, I—” He was interrupted by his yawn. “I usually just have Eevee train his body and do his moves over and over so he can improve. The other members of my team… aren’t that usable at the moment.”

“And Grace?” Cecilia asked.

“I do the same with my team, but I sometimes send them off to do their own thing to build up their teamwork. I’ve also started seeking out wild Pokemon to practice on recently.”

“You did?” Denzel asked in a surprised tone.

“Yup. Figured I needed to get past that block if I wanted to get stronger.”

Cecilia crossed her arms. “Hm, that is an effective method, but it is as I feared. You’re doing the basic minimum.”

My shoulders slumped at the unexpected criticism.

“What do you mean?” Denzel asked.

“Well, what you’re doing now is working because you’re still early in the Circuit. It’s worked for you so far, but your Pokemon lack one distinctive thing,” She said, lifting up a finger. “And that is battling experience.”

“What? We’ve battled plenty!” Denzel protested.

“Not enough. Pokemon thrive in battle, and the more fights they are in, the faster they’ll improve. But that’s not all. What about diet? Supplements? Bodily care? A regular schedule? All of these little things add up, but they do matter.” She said, looking at us. “I can see the look on your faces. I realize you are… less fortunate than I am, so let’s just stick to what you can do for now.”

Cecilia looked at the time before releasing her Slowpoke, Deino, and Fletchling. I gasped when I saw Slowpoke’s tail. A huge chunk of it was just missing.

“What the hell happened to your Slowpoke?” I asked worriedly.

“Deino bit it off during one of his fits,” Cecilia said, waving her hand nonchalantly. “It’s been slowly regrowing, and he felt no pain, so don’t worry about it.”

“Arceus…” I muttered.

Deino released a fierce roar. It was my first time seeing the dragon up close, and I instinctively backed up. Slowpoke stared off into the distance, and Fletchling perched on top of Cecilia’s shoulders. The girl clicked her tongue at the Deino, whose head angrily whirled toward her. He screamed at her, sending drool all over her pants.

“Ugh… bad Deino! Bad!” She said, clicking her tongue and snapping her fingers multiple times. Deino finally relented and became quiet. “Good. Now, he’s not used to you yet, so don’t get too close. He bites.”

“I figured,” Denzel nervously said, eyeing the Slowpoke’s missing tail.

“Now, trainers at lower levels can make do with battling whoever they find out in the wild, or in cities, but people like us? We crush anyone that we challenge, except once in a while. What I meant by battling experience was battles that actually challenge your Pokemon. When was the last time that happened aside from the tournament?” She asked.

My heart fluttered at the idea that she considered me a good trainer.

“Um… that would be Roark, I think,” Denzel said.

“Exactly! Ages ago! Now, one of the best ways to challenge yourself is to make your team fight each other.”

We looked at her like she was speaking gibberish. I had used Frillish’s Bubblebeam to help Togetic improve her Fairy Wind when she was still a Togepi, but making them fight each other seemed…

“Isn’t that kind of too much?” I asked.

“It’s necessary. Now, since Deino’s too strong, I usually have Fletchling and Slowpoke attack him together. Today, I’ll be commanding them instead of Deino. Let me demonstrate.”

We gave her team some space and observed carefully. I didn’t want to miss anything she said or showed us.

“Deino, keep your Dragon Breaths at fifty percent, and no biting,” Cecilia ordered. The dragon grunted, which was one of the few times I saw him listen to her without protest.

“Slowpoke, Water Pulse. Fletchling, keep your distance until Deino gets angry,” Cecilia said.

Slowpoke immediately snapped out of its daze and spat out five consecutive rings of water that were bigger and faster than Frillish’s, and every single one hit Deino. The Dragon hadn’t even bothered to dodge, and simply started charging up a Dragon Breath.

“Get ready to intercept with Confusion,” Cecilia said.

Deino released his Dragon Breath, but Slowpoke’s eyes shone and the attack curved to the right before hitting the ground. It was the same trick she had done with Water Gun from her battle with Roark, except now she was using it on enemy attacks. Deino let out an enraged scream, seemingly angry that his attack had been dealt with so easily. He charged ahead, and Slowpoke kept hitting him with Water Pulse.

“Now, Fletchling.”

The bird chirped and flew off of her shoulder, going so fast it was hard to keep track of.

“Ember behind him,” She said.

Fletchling spat out dozens of little flames, hitting Deino’s back. The dragon turned and let out another Dragon Breath, aiming at the flying type, but another Water Pulse interrupted his attack. The battle kept going like this for seven minutes, with Deino constantly having to juggle between two opponents and getting more and more irritated.

“Holy shit, how is it not going down?” Denzel asked.

“Well, dragon types are tougher than other types, but we’ve trained like this for months. Deino’s scales have hardened due to all the beatings he took."

The dragon roared out an Incinerate at the Fletchling, lighting up the early morning sky. He was still standing, but he was noticeably slower and panting.

“Why doesn’t he just rush the Slowpoke if he can ignore Fletchling’s ember?” I asked.

Cecilia smiled. “Because he’s stupid as a bag of rocks. You see, this training serves another hidden purpose. When I command, Deino, he wins, but when he acts out on his own, he loses. Why do you think that’s important?”

I pondered her question for a second before figuring it out. “To show him that without you, he’s weaker!”

“Exactly. He knows this, but I still have to remind him sometimes. Training a dragon type is a constant tug of war between their desire to become stronger and evolve into their final forms, and their hatred of being held on a leash. They like their independence and freedom, but you have to show them that they need you. Otherwise, you get… accidents.”

“Accidents?” Denzel probed.

“You know my brother’s the Champion of Unova, but what you probably don’t know is that he was almost killed by his Hydreigon when it first evolved. It took his entire team at once to take that monster down, and he had to stay in the hospital for months after that battle,” Cecilia said grimly. “He’s been helping me train Deino so I won’t repeat his mistakes.”

Deino collapsed on the ground after Fletchling hit him with a powerful Peck.

“That’s enough,” Cecilia told her team. “You two did great today, you weren’t hit even once.”

Fletchling flew back to her shoulder and rubbed its head against hers, and Slowpoke returned to staring toward nothing in particular. She walked up in front of Deino and crouched, looking at its face. The dragon stood back up with much difficulty, but ‘stared’ right back at her with a low growl. Cecilia smiled and rubbed his cheek before recalling her team.

“I see the benefits of training like this,” Denzel started. “But won’t this create… animosity in the team? I already have a problem with my Budew…”

“It might. There are relationship dynamics to consider. For example, Pauline’s Charmeleon gets so frustrated every time she loses to foes she sees as weaker than she is that training her is a… hassle. Louis’ Gible hates the other members of his team and simply can’t train without putting too much strength into his attacks. This means he only trains against my Deino, which is the only Pokemon it respects in our entire group,” Cecilia said.

“But you let him win every time,” I scoffed.

Cecilia eyed Denzel worriedly.

“Don’t worry about him, he won’t spill your secrets. I trust him one hundred percent,” I told her.

She placed her hand over her heart. “I do let him win, but I have to keep going until I’m strong enough to fight back against anyone my father could send. So for now, I’ll keep following my father’s plan.”

“Plan?” I asked.

She gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

“You don’t have to tell us more if you don’t want to,” Denzel said. “Don’t worry about it.”

The girl composed herself and returned to her explanation. “It's fine. So yes, it might affect how your Pokemon view each other, but it also might not. Pokemon aren’t as smart as humans, and some…” She trailed off, looking at Deino’s ball. “Some aren’t as smart as others, but you should give them more credit. They can tell the difference between training and a real fight.”

“I see,” I said.

“Now, release your Pokemon and start training!” She said with a smile.

——

Two hours later, my team was beat. It took a long time to explain to Frillish that this was just training, but he felt so bad about hitting Togetic that I could tell he held back in his attacks. Togetic, meanwhile, had been pretty doubtful, but she was now having the time of her life, even though she was bruised and battered. Elekid had fun, too, mostly training with Eevee because of Budew’s aversion to doing anything Denzel told her. Strangely enough though, she ended up joining in once Elekid delivered a vicious Thunder Punch to Eevee’s chin. She had been screeching furiously, reminding me of the time we’d first found her in that forest, and she made quick work of my tired Elekid. All in all, I felt like we were about to make a lot of progress.

I shivered as we walked back to the Pokemon Center to heal our teams.

“Why didn’t you wear anything warm?” Denzel asked me.

“I didn’t even think about it.”

“I’m used to the cold. You can have my hoodie if you’d like,” Cecilia said.

“R—really?” I stammered. “I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable…”

“Just take it,” She sighed as she wrapped her hoodie around me.

“T—t—thank you,” I stuttered— and it wasn’t because of the cold. I was so incredibly nervous, and I was trying to find out why. “I’ll make it up to you somehow!”

Holy shit, I thought. Am I crushing on this girl?

“Fuck,” I whispered to myself

Really, Grace? The girl with the Arceus damned fiance?

Cecilia quickly left back to her room right after we gave our Pokemon back. She was going to meet her friends soon, and it was probably wise to stay separate so she could smooth things over before our travels. I walked into Denzel’s room and sat on the floor.

“I thought I was going to die,” I muttered to myself. “She even left me her hoodie.”

“Okay, you obviously like her, and you’re really obvious about it,” Denzel said. “I would say I would try to be your wingman, but she’s already dating someone else.”

“How did you already figure it out when I just did?” I groaned.

“T—t—thank you,” Denzel imitated me, his eyes fluttering. He laughed and opened a window.

“Ugh, stop being such a dick,” I sighed, placing my face in my hands. “I really need her not to know.”

“I honestly had my suspicions with how much you stared at her all the time, but I figured I must have been imagining things. Today settled it.”

“Yeah… damn it.”

“I don’t want to rain on your parade, but she has a fiance. You should probably give up.”

“Yeah, I figured. Like you said, she’s dating someone else, and she’s not into girls. Plus, I’d rather focus on training my team with her instead, anyway.”

I did want to train my team with hers, but the words still felt like a lie.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 36

The day had finally come. We were finally going to leave Floaroma and make the long trek to Eterna Forest. I put on my sweater, tightened my shoelaces, and grabbed my backpack before leaving my Pokemon Center room. I glanced back at it one last time.

“It feels like I’ve stayed here a lifetime, but it hasn’t even been three weeks,” I said to myself.

I closed the door, but before leaving and handing the keys back to Nurse Joy, there was one last thing I wanted to do. I nervously stepped in front of room 224 before knocking softly. After a few seconds, I opened the door and saw Jacob staring at me. He was looking much better than he had before. Color had returned to his face, and he looked somewhat happier in general, although he was still confined to a hospital bed due to the Zubat’s poison.

“Jacob,” I said. “Sorry for never visiting you after last time. I assume you know… what happened?”

“Yeah, I know. It’s all anyone can talk about these days,” He sighed. “I heard you were in there with them.”

“I was,” I said, trying not to remember. “I’d rather not speak about it.”

“Sorry.”

Silence swallowed the room. It wasn’t the gentle silence I felt when I was hanging out with Denzel, but an oppressive force that made me want to say something to keep the conversation going.

“I just wanted to see you one last time before I left. See how you were doing,” I said.

“You’re leaving?” Jacob said, his eyes widening.

“I mean, I can’t stay here forever. I have to keep going if I want to get eight badges before the conference. Are you sad?” I asked.

“No… I mean, we barely know each other. Of course, I’ll be forever grateful for you saving me and Wooper’s life, but what I meant was… after everything that happened to you, you’re still going to travel?” Jacob asked, tightening his fist.

“I want to,” I simply said. “Being a trainer calls to me.”

I could see Jacob’s jaw tighten. “Then… then what the hell am I doing?”

“What?”

“Grace, you’re what? A 5’5’’ scrawny girl who looks like anything could break you— no offense.”

I did take offense, but I let him keep going.

“Meanwhile, I’m here, constantly self-deprecating over what happened to me. I still can’t even fathom going out there— and I hadn’t even traveled that far! I was just a few hours away from home, and yet, when I imagine going in the wild again, I can’t help but think I’ll get my Pokemon killed again. I can’t help but be scared, when I shouldn’t be, because I want to be a trainer!” Jacob said, screaming the last few words.

“I… I don’t know what to say to that.”

“It’s alright,” He sighed, calming down. “I just need to do some thinking. Where I wanted to go with this rant was that I’m jealous of you. I’m jealous that you can keep going like nothing happened.”

You know nothing about me, I thought. I almost collapsed in on myself.

“People are different. What happened to us was different,” I started. “No one will have the same experience recovering from trauma. Just… take it easy, alright? Don’t do something stupid.”

“I know… I know I still have to recover. I can’t even move my limbs properly yet. The doctors have to feed me and move them around to help my muscles not atrophy,” Jacob said. “Hey, don’t look at me with so much pity, please,” I snapped out of it and looked at him normally. “I guess what I’m trying to say… in an incredibly convoluted way, is that I think you’re inspiring me to keep being a trainer. Or at least try to. I still think this year’s a bust, but maybe the next?”

I smiled. “You definitely can. And in less than two months, you’ll be able to walk again, and maybe you can start training.”

Jacob nodded. “So… I guess this is it, huh?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I’m already late, I need to get to route 205.”

“Alright. I’ll be rooting for you, Grace Pastel!” He told me. “I finally figured out that you had one badge already.”

“Watch me, Jacob. I’ll win this whole thing,” I said with determination.

——

Running was easier now, even with my backpack. Togetic flew close by, amazing me with her progress. She had come a long way since not even being able to float correctly in Oreburgh. The plan was for everyone to meet on the bridge that intersected Floaroma town, Valley Windworks, and route 205. I stopped when I found Denzel and Eevee waiting for me at the side of the river. Togetic greeted him by chirping happily and playing with his hair, before doing the same with Eevee’s tail. Eevee protested at first before smiling and answering in kind.

“You were waiting for me?” I asked him.

“Yeah, man, I don’t want to meet the snobs without you to back me up. It’d be five on one instead of five on two.”

“Why are you counting Cecilia in the five? You already know she’s nice,” I said as we walked toward the bridge.

“That’s fair, I was just being kind of a dick. Where were you, by the way?”

“Visiting Jacob,” I said.

Denzel’s face tightened. “Jacob… oh, shit, I forgot to say goodbye.”

I looked back toward Floaroma. “Probably too late, now. I feel bad, but we don’t want to be that tardy.”

“It’s alright, I have his number. I’ll send him something while I still can.”

We walked at a brisk pace, and fifteen minutes later, we finally reached the bridge. I was surprised to see that none of them had their Pokemon out. Louis stood with his arm around Cecilia, talking to her about who knows what. Pauline was twirling with her red hair as she stared at us, while Emilia and Justin just sat on the edge. I stopped Togetic from immediately going to greet our new temporary companions. As a Togepi, she had been shy around strangers until she got used to them, but now, she had become a social butterfly.

Cecilia’s face brightened when she saw us, and she gathered her friends as we stepped onto the bridge.

“Hello,” Denzel said awkwardly. “Nice to meet you, I guess?”

Louis nodded. “Before we begin, I believe we owe you an apology?”

“Uh, yeah? I didn’t think you would already be doing it—”

All four of Cecilia’s friends lined up and apologized to us for treating us poorly during the tournament. I stared at her, and she simply grinned. I honestly had expected much more pushback, or maybe a snarky, sarcastic apology from Pauline. Hell, she had even made Emilia and Justin apologize when they hadn’t really done anything but glare at us.

“Apology accepted,” I said.

Cecilia nodded. “Let’s begin, then.”

Route 205 started as a canyon between two small mountain ranges, but we would progressively be walking more and more uphill before reaching the plateau where Eterna Forest sat. Denzel had told me he expected us to take five to six days if he accounted for the incline. Maybe a week, if traveling in a group this big slowed us down. The start of the trek was somewhat uncomfortable. Denzel and I stayed to the side, following the others and talking between ourselves while they did the same. It was like we were two separate groups just going in the same direction. Honestly, a part of me was relieved, but I also wanted to…

Nevermind.

We met many trainers on the route, as it was the main area to train in before entering Eterna Forest. None of us accepted any challenges, mostly because they’d be a waste of time. Every time a trainer offered to battle, we’d ask how many badges they had, and the answer would always be zero, although I expected that to change once we got near Eterna Forest, although I doubted any trainer was crazy enough to actually battle inside of that hellhole. A few hours in, Pauline approached me.

I instinctively went into fight or flight mode, expecting her to say some mean remark out of earshot.

“You. Listen up.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“I heard from Cece that you suffered horribly during the kidnappings,” She started, as she watched the bandage on my cheek. “One of their leaders took you into a secluded room, did they not? So I figured it would be best to bury the hatchet, especially when we’ll be going into Eterna Forest,” Pauline said. I thought I noticed her tremble slightly after mentioning the forest. “Forget everything I said about making your life a living hell.”

Hard to forget that, I thought, but I was pleasantly surprised at her maturity. The pleasant feeling was unfortunately overwritten by the mention of Mars, though, and I felt my breathing quicken. I stopped Denzel from saying anything.

“Of course, Pauline. Let’s just all get along, yeah?” I said.

“Sure. Don’t expect me to like you, though. You’re still a nobody,” She said, flicking her hair before returning back to her group.

“Arceus… bringing up what happened to you like that and then—” He started as soon as she was out of earshot.

“She was just trying to be nice, I think?” I interrupted. “She’s kind of terrible at it, though, but at least I feel like we can work together now, maybe.”

“Yeah…”

The only reason I could find for this abrupt change in behavior was the kidnappings, and she had said as much. Even though she was still a sore loser, maybe me going through the same thing as Cecilia made it easier for her to empathize with me.

“Can I change the subject?” Denzel asked.

I smiled. “Yeah.”

“I could tell you were getting depressed. Anyway, my fourth team member should be along this route, although it should be easier to find the closer we get to Eterna Forest.”

That piqued my interest. “Really? Tell me which Pokemon it is.”

“But then it’ll ruin the surprise!”

“Then why did you even tell me about it in the first place?” I groaned, playfully pushing him away. “Killjoy.”

“Fine, fine… I want to catch a Buneary.”

“Buneary? Those are super cute! I used to see a ton of ‘em in Pokemon Contests on T.V. back in Jubilife.”

“Yeah, but they’re also really good battlers. Anyway, I hope I find it sooner rather than later,” He said, looking around. “I don’t think the group would be fine with me holding them up to find a Pokemon.”

“Eh, we can make it work. Plus, I’ll help you out, since you obviously need it.”

He looked at me for a few seconds in silence.

“Wow, you didn’t go for the five Budew joke this time.”

“Yeah, that one was getting old. I need some new material.”

The rest of the day was uneventful, but I used it to release my entire team as we walked. Elekid still wasn’t that close with the others, so it’d be good for them to hang out. When the sun started to set, we settled at the bottom of a cliff. It was cold, even with my sweater, and we gathered around to plan for the night.

Louis clapped his hands. “Alright, everyone. That was an excellent first day on the road, and I hope we can keep this pace going until we reach the forest. Now, Pauline and Emilia are on tent duty, Justin, Denzel, and Grace can gather up some firewood— I assume you two have an axe?” He asked. We just nodded. I was weirded out that he had made himself the leader of the group, but I guessed that this was just how it was usually, so I didn’t want to disturb what they had going on. “Good. Cecilia and I will scout ahead to make sure there aren’t any dangerous Pokemon around.”

I looked at Denzel, and we immediately understood what we were thinking. This guy was giving himself the easiest job and using the time to hang out with his girlfriend.

“Louis, surely that’s a one man job. I could even send Fletchling to scout,” Cecilia said. “I should probably help with the firewood.”

Louis looked saddened for a second before agreeing. “Very well. I will scout ahead on my own. Is everyone alright with their tasks?”

We all agreed, and Cecilia, Denzel, Justin, and I made our way toward the nearest trees with our axes.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 37

Even though I had had this axe for months, it was my first time actually using it for its intended purpose: cutting firewood. The activity was grueling and harder than I expected. First, I had to find the appropriate tree. A fallen one or a young, thin one always worked best, but sometimes I could also easily tear some branches off. Second, swinging an axe over and over was tiring.

"Prrrri!" Togetic cheered behind me as I brought down my axe toward another log.

"Thank you, princess," I said.

I was trying to make them around thirty centimeters long if possible since that was the optimal length, according to Justin. He was apparently used to camping outside, and would frequently do so with his father as a child, where he learned a lot about living in the wild. I was honestly surprised. I had thought that he had been a sheltered kid just like I was, but he was currently helping Denzel chop down a bigger tree.

"Need any help?" Cecilia asked after coming up to me.

I wiped sweat from my forehead and gathered all the wood I had cut. "If you could help me carry this back, I'd appreciate it. Is it enough?"

"That should be enough, yes. I already brought my share back, so I wanted to see if anyone needed my assistance."

"Thanks."

I left Denzel and Justin and got back to camp, where Pauline and Emilia were setting up a huge tent. It actually looked more like a miniature circus tent than a normal tent a young trainer should have. It looked like it could fit at least ten people. How did they even carry this thing? I turned and smiled before almost telling a joke.

That was close, I thought. I unconsciously mistook Cecilia for Denzel, since he was usually always next to me. A joke in bad taste now would just be rude, especially when everyone had just apologized earlier today.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Cecilia said, breaking the silence.

"No kidding. How can you even fold this into one of your bags?"

"Well, it has a few parts…"

Cecilia began explaining the intricacies of their huge tent as we dropped off the firewood. Togetic grabbed two pieces to play with using Extrasensory and brought them with her as she followed closely.

"I haven't forgotten our training, by the way," Cecilia said, sitting down on the ground.

I sat down next to her— not too close, of course. "I sure hoped so. It was a part of our deal. I want to get as strong as possible," I said, feeling determination swell inside of me.

She grinned. "Good. We can start after dinner, if Denzel is okay with it? We won't be able to do mock battles against each other in Eterna forest."

I nodded. "Yeah, that would be too risky. Let's do that then!"

We watched as Pauline and Emilia finished bringing up the tent. I felt somewhat bad for not offering help, but I was tired from all the wood cutting I had just done. Soon enough, Denzel and Justin came back with even more firewood— probably more than we needed for one night. I figured it was a good time to release the rest of my team, so I let out Frillish and Elekid. Frillish glared at Cecilia and floated up away from everyone no matter how many times I called him, and Elekid was just screaming and being hyper, as usual.

"He sure is a little ball of energy," Cecilia said, looking at him.

"Kid!" He answered back proudly.

"He might be too much, sometimes," I smiled.

"It is good that you're so close with your team. It will definitely help in the long run."

"I mean, they're my partners. We can't work together if we don't get along."

Cecilia sighed. "I'd like to get that through their thick skulls," She said, nodding toward her group. "Oh, Louis is back. He'll want to see me. See you later?"

"Yup. See you later."

The girl stood up and left, after which Denzel immediately slipped into her spot.

"Where have you been?" I asked.

"Talking with Justin," Denzel answered as Eevee climbed down his shoulder to cuddle next to me. I pet him behind his ear. "I also didn't want to interrupt."

"You would never be interrupting. Just join the conversation if you feel like it."

"That's not what I meant, Grace."

I eyed him annoyingly. "I told you I'm giving up. Even you said so, we were just passing the time."

"If you say so. Anyway, about Justin! He's actually kind of cool if you can get past the weird way he speaks."

"Really?" I asked. "Like how?"

"Eh, he's just a really nice guy, you'll have to speak with him to figure it out. You've been hanging out in your little corner, you should try to talk to people— well, maybe not Louis," He whispered.

"I will, I'm just not used to such a big group. If it was one new person, I'd be fine, but this is somewhat different than how I imagined it."

"We can speak to them as a group if you want. That way, you don't have to initiate alone."

"How about we do that tomorrow, then?"

"Gotcha. Holy shit, did you even see that tent, by the way?"

"Hard to miss it," I joked.

He laughed. "Do you think they have a maid in there?"

My eyes widened. "I was gonna make that joke!"

We fooled around for a few more minutes until it was time for dinner. We were all gathered around a fire Charmeleon had lit with his tail. Our Pokemon ate the usual— berries and food pellets, while the few Pokemon they released ate things I had never even considered before. Louis' Gible stood in a corner as he savaged some poor wild Pokemon's corpse, eating it raw, while the rest ate some kind of paste that their trainers had brought in a bag. I would have to ask Cecilia about it after our training. Meanwhile, we ate the food we had bought in Floaroma and heated with our portable oven.

Finally, it was time to train, and we walked around five minutes away from camp to not disturb the others. I decided to focus on Togetic and Elekid today since Frillish was brooding in the sky. He hadn't even come down to eat a berry. Being in such a big group had seemingly angered him greatly, and it would take some time for him to get back to his usual self. Today, I wanted Togetic to finally master Extrasensory, while for Elekid, I simply wanted him to keep working on all of his attacks. Cecilia released her Slowpoke, whose tail had regrown slightly since the last time we saw each other, and her Fletchling. Denzel was obviously going to train with Eevee, but he released Budew to watch.

"No Deino today?" He asked Cecilia.

"No, I don't want to risk any injuries that would force us to turn back," She answered. She seemed deep in thought for a few seconds before snapping her fingers. "Here's how it's going to go. Togetic is going to be working with Slowpoke, and Elekid is going to be working with Eevee again. Fletchling, you can watch and join in if one of our Pokemon gets too tired."

Fletchling sang happily and rubbed its head against hers.

"For Elekid and Eevee, we're going to be doing the same as last time, except that you're going to be directing them," She said, pointing at us. "Togetic should just try to lift Slowpoke with Extrasensory as much as she can. He's heavier than he looks, so if she can lift him, she'll be in good shape to fight most threats."

"Toge!" Togetic said happily before flying a few feet away. Slowpoke lazily followed behind her, and I could have sworn I heard him sigh.

"Have fun, princess!" I said to her.

Denzel and I positioned ourselves opposite of each other, and our Pokemon got ready to battle. Elekid punched the air with quick consecutive jabs while Eevee simply stood slanted forward, with its hind legs ready to give a powerful burst of speed. I eyed my friend and smiled nervously. It had been so long since we last battled, and even though this was just, training, it still had some weight to it. Cecilia just observed with Fletchling still on her shoulder, and soon enough, she started the battle.

"Quick Kick!" Denzel yelled out.

Eevee blurred forward with a quick burst of speed, but Elekid was also extremely fast. He stepped to the side, but Eevee just turned incredibly fast and kicked him in the back. Elekid roared before spinning his arms as a burst of electricity sparked all around him.

"Chill out, hon," I said. "Use Swift,"

Elekid calmed down, and stars materialized above him before barrelling toward Eevee, who had retreated back to Denzel.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" He ordered.

I grinned. The stars followed Eevee around no matter how many times he zig-zagged, and it was only a matter of time until they hit. Right now, all he was doing was expending energy. I waited for a few more precious seconds, where Eevee dashed madly around the battlefield before extending my hand.

"Corner him with a short Thundershock."

Elekid spun his arms as electricity quickly shot out of his horns, blocking Eevee's path. The normal type struggled to stop, sliding across the grass before getting hit by Swift. Elekid stopped his attack right afterward.

"Get in, and Thunder Punch him as many times as you can," I said.

Elekid rushed forward, only slightly slower than Eevee, as electric energy surrounded his fists.

"Sand Attack, then Bite!" Denzel yelled.

Eevee flung dirt across Elekid's eyes, and he promptly fell to the ground. He started furiously rubbing his eyes, desperately trying to get his vision back to normal.

"Charge up! Don't let him touch you!"

Elekid ignored my order, still desperately trying to get the dirt out of his eyes. Eevee bit into his arm, and Elekid yelled before punching him in the head, forcing him to let go. The two Pokemon stared at each other, ready to go again.

I can't approach him with that Sand Attack, so better do something that worked, I thought to myself. "Swift again!"

Denzel let out a frustrated groan. "You have to take it, but get as close as you can!"

Elekid released another set of stars that homed in toward his opponent, while Eevee Quick Attacked forward, simply pushing through Swift's impact and ramming into Elekid. Elekid was grinning wildly as he released a point-blank Thundershock. Eevee yelped and retreated with smoking fur.

"That's enough," Cecilia said. "The first round is finished, let me go grab some potions."

"Wait, the first round?" I asked.

The girl smiled beautifully. "I did say I wanted to train as much as possible, didn't I? And we have enough to go around."

Elekid and Eevee did nothing but battle for the next three hours. The two Pokemon were obviously developing quite a friendly rivalry, and they were the two members of our teams that enjoyed battling the most. Toward the end, though, Elekid was clearly getting the advantage in most fights, and it wasn't because Eevee was weak. It was because I was starting to predict what Denzel and Eevee were going to do, and I was always able to respond accordingly. Plus, we had ranged attacks while Eevee did not, meaning he was forced to approach while I pestered him with Swift and Thundershock. The two Pokemon were exhausted. Potions only healed injuries, after all. Meanwhile, Togetic was lifting Slowpoke and making him do flips in the air as she joyfully chirped and clapped her tiny hands against herself. We couldn't help but laugh when we saw the oblivious Slowpoke just lying in the air, all limp and taking it with that signature blank stare.

After we returned our Pokemon to let them rest— except Togetic, of course— Cecilia wanted to tell us what she thought about the battles.

"To a degree, you two have the opposite problem. Let's start with Denzel. Here's the good, your Eevee is a machine, and it seemingly never goes down. It was moving around a lot more than Elekid, and still, it was less tired by the end. However, your attacks lack… variety? No, let's call it creativity. You do the same thing over and over and expect it to work. Why?"

Denzel scratched his head. "Well, I haven't really thought about it. Usually, Eevee just pushes through until it works, and we win."

"Not good. Find new ways to use your moves. Improvise, and surprise the enemy. Quick Attack into Double Kick works the first few times, but then the enemy learns. Always think about what the other trainer is going to do next. Which is something Grace is good at," She said. I resisted the urge to grin like an idiot. "Also, you need some variety in your team. Using only Eevee might have worked so far, but you need to either start using your Budew, or catch something new for the fight against Gardenia. Do you realize how dangerous it would have been to go into Eterna forest with only one usable Pokemon if you hadn't joined us?" She continued. Denzel nodded, but I knew he was probably angry at himself. "Now, Grace, you anticipate your enemy's movements, but that's not all. When something doesn't work, you try to change it. Keep doing that. Although… you seem to overcomplicate things sometimes. You don't need to use Swift into Thundershock all of the time. There were many times during the battle where you could have hit a simple, longer Thundershock and dealt more damage than by trapping Eevee using the two moves."

I thought back to the battle, trying to find the moments she was thinking about. "I see what you mean. I guess sometimes, a simpler move just works."

"Correct. For example, in Deino's case, a simple Dragon Breath is more powerful than setting up an elaborate trap with Incinerate to block their escape by burning the grass behind the enemy and then running up to use Bite or Take Down. There are undoubtedly moments where traps are useful in battle, but they have a time and place. Sometimes, simple is just better."

I nodded, absorbing all of the information she was telling me. Cecilia was a treasure trove full of battling advice, and I couldn't help but wonder where she had gotten all of that information. Her brother, maybe? He was the Champion, but it felt inappropriate to ask since I knew she had family problems. Either way, we were tired, and it was time to hit the sack. We made our way back to the camp, where the fire had been extinguished, and they were already sleeping inside of that huge tent. We entered the tent, and I hopped inside my sleeping bag while Togetic settled next to me, showering me with happiness. Tonight would be another full night of sleep, and I would need it, because tomorrow, I would have to socialize.

Oh, and I also needed to ask them about their Pokemon food, which I had somehow forgotten about.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 38

The problem with having a ridiculously huge tent was that it also took a long time to disassemble it. While Denzel, Justin, Emilia, and I took care of cleaning up camp, the rest of the group tirelessly worked on folding all of the tent parts back up. Denzel nodded to his right, toward Justin, which I immediately noticed and answered him by mouthing out ‘later’. He apparently didn’t care.

“So Justin, I don’t believe you’ve talked to my friend Grace here yet?” He asked.

“I have not. Would you formally introduce us?” He answered.

“Uh, well, Grace, this is Justin Gardner, and Justin, this is Grace Pastel. She’s a little shy, but don’t hesitate to pester her a little if you want to know more about her.”

I held back a sigh and met the teen’s eyes. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. And my friend Emilia here thinks the same,” Justin said, nodding toward her. She huffed before introducing herself.

I tried my best to initiate a conversation about Pokemon battling, asking if they had any Pokemon we hadn’t seen yet. Justin answered enthusiastically, showing us his team. I had only seen his Growlithe, but the boy released a Sandile, which I excitedly scanned with my Pokedex. Since they were from Unova, these were extremely rare in Sinnoh.

“My father had her imported from Unova,” Justin explained, petting the Sandile’s rough skin. “Their evolved forms are fearsome. I’ve even heard that they can learn dragon type moves.”

“Awesome!” I smiled. Sandile didn’t seem too interested though and looked like she just wanted to get back in her ball. “What about you, Emilia?” I tried. The girl wasn’t keen on talking to us, but one judgemental look from Justin made her speak.

“You saw that I used a Rockruff and an Aipom during the tournament, but I also own a Beldum.”

I gasped at the mention of Beldum. Metagross were among the most powerful Pokemon in the world, not only having psychic abilities rivaling Alakazam, but also being extremely physically lethal. Emilia didn’t release it, though, which made me question if she had something to hide. She hadn’t used a Pokemon as powerful as Beldum in the tournament, and even now, she wasn’t showing it to us.

“You guys have such good Pokemon,” Denzel said. I sensed a little bit of bitterness in his tone, but I didn’t think the others caught it. “If you train them properly, I have no doubt that you’ll make it to the conference.”

“I sure hope so,” Justin sighed. “I would bring shame upon the Gardners if I didn’t.”

I paused. “Is your family pressuring you into winning the conference?”

Justin laughed. “Me? Win? Of course not. They just want me to get in. The conference is the most watched event each year. Millions of eyes will be glued to their screens for the duration of the tournament. My family is sponsoring me, you see. That means I’m representing Pherzen and attracting potential customers.”

I thought back to what Denzel had told me. Pherzen was the pharmaceutical company that supplied most Pokemon Centers with whatever high-tech devices they used to heal Pokemon, although they also had products intended for human use.

“You do enjoy battling, though, right?” I asked.

“I do. I think it is a fun activity, but it’s not my passion. I’ll only be doing this for two years. That is the deal I had with my father: two years in the conference, and then I’m free to return to Jubilife.”

“Damn,” Denzel said. “I was forced into not participating in the Circuit last year, and I was furious. I can’t imagine what it’s like being forced to risk your life by participating in it.”

Justin sighed sadly. “It is what it is. Originally we were supposed to get a flight to skip Eterna Forest, but our families gathered together and came to the conclusion that their children being caught not going through the Circuit ‘properly’ would hurt the image of their companies.”

“And so here we are,” Emilia spat, kicking a can of food. “Stuck living like pea—” She stopped herself, eyeing us. “Like… like animals!”

“Calm yourself, Emi. You only have to do it for a year,” Justin said.

“I hate it! I hate these Arceus damned routes! I want to get back to a city already! I want to be able to go to a bathroom!” She yelled.

“Did you have the same problem with your parents?” I asked.

“We all have it. And it doesn’t bother Pauline, Louis, or Cece because they actually want to do this trainer thing, but us two? Justin says he likes it, but he’s just trying to convince himself!” She said.

“Emi—” Justin tried.

She interrupted him. “And me? I absolutely despise it, but I wouldn’t have cared if we could have actually stayed in cities! I hate living in the wild.”

“Please forgive her, that tone is unbecoming of a young woman,” Justin said.

I frowned. “What? What do you mean by that?” I asked.

“I mean that young women shouldn’t speak like this—”

“Bullshit. Let her speak how she wants to speak. I don’t care how it is at your house, or houses, or whatever, but I won’t stand for it here,” I fumed before storming off.

These people! They were nice enough, but every so often, something would slip, and it was like we were from completely different worlds. We finished clearing up camp, and the tent was finally folded back, and soon enough, we were ready to start traveling again. I looked up in the sky where Frillish still hovered. He had stayed there the entire night.

“Buddy! We’re leaving!” I called out. He glared at me, reminding me of the days when I had just caught him. “Come on, Frillish, get down here!”

There was no reaction from him.

“Please?” I begged.

Frillish turned toward me again and reluctantly floated downward.

“Come on, I know you hate large groups, but you can’t be acting like a child the entire time,” I said, holding one of his tentacles. “Right now, it’s alright because the Pokemon on this route are relatively weak and tend to stay away from us because of our numbers, but Eterna forest is going to be different. One thing goes wrong, and we could get seriously hurt or… or die.”

“Fri…” He said, bowing his head.

“Thanks for apologizing,” I said. “I’m sorry too. I should have told you about this beforehand. I just got so excited that I forgot. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

The water type bobbed his head and rubbed me with his tentacles.

I chuckled. “Alright, alright! That tickles!”

I recalled Frillish to keep him away from the group. It had been my first time seeing him like this since I had just caught him, but I was glad I had at least learned something new about him. It was kind of confusing too, because he didn’t seem to mind cities or towns, but the problem was when I actually traveled with others.

While we were on the road again, climbing the gentle incline that would lead us to Eterna forest. Denzel quietly approached me.

“Sorry about Justin,” He apologized. “He didn’t say anything about women when we talked yesterday.”

“Not your fault, don’t apologize. Next time, speak up with me instead, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Anyway, any progress on that Buneary?” I asked.

“Nope, but I haven’t looked that hard yet. Today I want to actually start actively searching. Think I can ask Cecilia’s Fletchling for help?”

“Cecilia’s nice enough, so I think she’ll say yes. I can also get Togetic to help you look.”

Denzel thanked me and made his way toward Cecilia. I wondered what was determining what Pokemon Denzel chose. At first, I thought he was copying a part of Cynthia’s team— a part because she had more than six Pokemon, while we trainers were forced into having a maximum of six of them on us at a time because the League didn’t think we were capable of taking care of them adequately. The Champion didn’t have that problem, and neither did the Elite Four or the Gym Leaders. Cynthia had ten Pokemon in total, and maybe even more that she hadn’t shown yet.

Denzel could have evolved Eevee into Glaceon, and then had a Roserade and Milotic, but Buneary broke the streak of Pokemon they’d have in common, so clearly, he was after something else. I would need to ask him soon, but he was probably going to tease me again, dangling the information in front of me. Either way, this was making me think about a potential fourth member. It was common sense for trainers that the earlier in the Circuit you obtained six Pokemon, the better it was, because you would have more time to spend with them and train. But it also wasn’t good to rush and capture the first Pokemon you saw on any route, there were a lot of factors to consider.

First, what types did I want? My mind immediately jumped to dragon after seeing how Deino and Gible performed, but I had to be realistic. If I considered the types I already had, I needed a fire type, a grass type, and the last could be anything to give the team a bit of variety, but if I could choose, I’d probably take a steel or a rock type. Something that could take a ton of hits.

Sinnoh was an extremely cold region, and winter was coming, so the fire type was out for now. We were going into Eterna forest soon, though, meaning that if I wanted a powerful grass type, the forest was the best area to get one. Plus, a grass type wouldn’t help offensively in my fight against Gardenia, but it sure would help defensively, and it would also help immensely against Wake and Volkner. I smirked. That settled it then, I would try to catch whichever grass type caught my eye in Eterna forest.

Fletchling screeched as she began flying overhead, so I released Togetic and described to her what Buneary looked like. She flew off into the sky and began to search. As soon as Louis stopped sticking to Cecilia, I walked up to her, hoping to ask about what kind of food she fed her Pokemon. She was talking with Pauline, so I found it awkward to interrupt, but once she saw me, she called me over with a gentle smile.

“Grace,” Pauline said dryly.

“Sorry,” I said. “I had a question, I hope I’m not interrupting?”

“Oh, we were just talking about Pauline’s mother and her new venture into the fashion world, so nothing too interesting,” Cecilia waved her hand. “What is it?”

“I wouldn’t call it uninteresting. More like mindless small talk,” Pauline said.

“Isn’t that what uninteresting means…?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I stopped when I saw her glare at me. “Anyway, remember how you talked to us about how diet affected your Pokemons’ effectiveness in battle?” Cecilia nodded. “I was wondering what that paste you were feeding your teams was.”

“You’re not getting any—” Pauline started.

Cecilia interrupted her softly “Pauline, you promised to be nicer.”

“Hmph. I’m going to discuss my mother’s business with Emi.”

Pauline stormed off, flaring up that temper I had learned to expect since that time at the tournament. I apologized to Cecilia for making her argue with her friend.

“Oh, don’t worry about it too much,” The girl said. “Pauline has always been like this except with Emilia. They’ve known each other since they were toddlers. Anyway, regarding our Pokemon food, it’s made by a team of hired breeders and airlifted to us every time we get to a city.”

My eyes almost fell out of their sockets. Airlifted? And it was all homemade? They didn’t even buy it at some expensive store?

Cecilia continued. “It’s a special mix that contains every vitamin a Pokemon needs to grow stronger— and all top quality, of course. This isn’t known amongst most trainers, but vitamins not only keep your Pokemon more healthy, but they also give them a boost. One or two meals are negligible, but over multiple months? It’ll stack up and result in your team being much more powerful than an average trainer’s.”

“Arceus…” I muttered. I couldn’t help but feel jealous, even though much of that jealousy was overshadowed by the happiness I felt just speaking to Cecilia. “So if I save up enough money, I should feed my team vitamins?”

Her eyes widened. “You won’t ask for some?”

“Nah,” I said flatly. “I don’t want to seem like I’m just milking you for money. I mean, you’re already lending me and Denzel your potions, right?”

Cecilia grinned and bumped her shoulder against mine as we walked. I had to stop myself from shutting down. I knew I had no chance, but by the Legendaries, just talking to her still felt amazing.

The next two days were uneventful. We trained with Cecilia at night and kept traveling toward Eterna during the day at breakneck speed. I was slowly getting closer to Justin— we weren’t close to being friends yet, but I’d say we were at least acquaintances. Emilia wouldn’t talk to Denzel or me and instead preferred hanging out with Pauline and Cecilia. On the fourth day, Louis attempted to join us during our training session.

“May I join you three tonight? Gible has been restless these last few days, and I believe Deino needs a sparring partner,” The blond man asked.

Cecilia smiled. “Of course. I was starting to worry that I was neglecting his growth. Could you wait until we’re done, though? A fight between dragons requires my full attention, and I have to watch what Denzel and Grace are doing.”

“I also have Prinplup to take care of,” He said. I had known that Louis had a Prinplup from the forums, but I had yet to see it. “Surely he can join.”

Cecilia paused, seemingly considering his offer. “You know what, it would be a good test. Why don’t you and Grace do a mock battle?”

“Excellent! I have wanted to battle Grace since I saw her fight with your team at the tournament.”

I grabbed Elekid’s Pokeball before Cecilia shook her head. “The type advantage would make the battle too one-sided. Why don’t you use Togetic for this fight?”

“Alright,” I said nervously.

Louis released his Prinplup from a Luxury Ball. The Pokemon announced himself with a weird honk. That wasn’t at all what I expected it to sound like. I grabbed Togetic’s Pokeball and sent her out. She chirped and floated a few feet in front of me. Unlike my mock battles with Denzel, where I didn’t care who won or lost, I couldn’t help but be nervous about this one. I felt like I needed to prove myself to Cecilia by winning against her fiance.

You gave up on her already, I thought to myself. Stop these silly thoughts.

Either way, the battle was about to start, and since I hadn’t expected it, I didn’t know any of Prinplup’s moves. I’d have to craft a strategy on the fly.

Which was probably why Cecilia made it happen in the first place.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 39

There were a few things to consider before I could even think about winning this battle. Louis hadn’t used Prinplup in Roark’s gym, or the tournament, so there were no videos of footage of its moves. I was going in blind, so my first condition for victory was wasting time to learn how Prinplup fought. There were a few ways of doing that, but first, I needed to lay the first trap.

Louis extended his hand in a dramatic fashion. “Prinplup, Ice Beam!”

My eyes widened, but I didn’t panic. “Fly up, princess.”

Togetic floated upward, barely avoiding the blast of ice. It collided against the facade of the mountain we were next to and froze the jagged rocks. I hadn’t considered Ice Beam, but Louis probably had his Prinplup completely decked out with TMs, which was strange because Gible only had moves it naturally learned.

“Again! Aim for her body!”

The Ice Beam clipped Togetic’s side, and she cried out in pain. It seemed Louis was going to be using the move over and over, and he seemingly had the Prinplup under control, unlike his Gible, so I wasn’t going to get any new information by waiting. 

“Togetic, land!”

She looked at me confusedly, but one look into my eyes made her understand I was serious. Togetic landed, avoiding another Ice Beam, and clumsily stood on the soft grass. 

“Get closer to her and keep Ice Beaming!”

The water type awkwardly ran toward Togetic. It wasn’t very fast, which meant that I thankfully had ample time to react for the next step of the plan.

“Protect yourself with Ancient Power,” I ordered.

Togetic’s eyes lit up as she lifted a giant chunk of earth in front of herself, blocking two Ice Beams. I had made her land because it was simply faster and easier to form a barrier with Ancient Power so close to the ground.

“Just get around and Metal Claw!”

I wanted to smirk, but I hadn’t won yet. I waited as long as I could, and when Prinplup was two steps away from Togetic until I slammed my foot twice against the ground. I was scared that because of the soft surface, Togetic wouldn’t hear, but a pink heart escaped from her mouth, hitting her opponent. Prinplup staggered and began swaying around.

“Fly up and gather a Fairy Wind,” I said. 

Princess chirped and floated up as a pink gust gathered around her. Louis complained endlessly to his Prinplup, begging him to come back to his senses.

“Make it as powerful as possible, Togetic. You’ve got time,” I told her.

After gathering up the wind for twenty seconds, I could barely see her in the middle of it all. She yelled out confidently, sending it all downward to slam against Prinplup. The water type collapsed under the weight of such a concentrated Fairy Wind, and when it cleared, he stood back up. My eyes widened. I had honestly expected that supercharged Fairy Wind to knock it out in one move, but Prinplup was still standing, albeit it was obvious that he was barely staying awa—

“Ice Beam!”

“Shit! Ancient—”

Togetic tried to dodge, but the ice hit her directly, and she fell to the ground. I had been thinking too much! Or at least I wasn’t thinking fast enough. 

“Quick, get to her and Metal Claw!” Louis yelled.

“Extrasensory!” I barked out. “Try to lift him up!”

Togetic was still on the ground, but Arceus bless her, she was still ready to fight. A strange force surrounded Prinplup, and he was slowly lifted up in the air. I stared at Togetic, and I could tell she was struggling too much to slam him against the ground, or the wall of the mountain. 

“Just get your bearings back and let him go. Stay on the ground.”

I concentrated, feeling the gears in my mind turn as the world slowed. The problem I had was that gathering up a Fairy Wind would always be slower than Prinplup’s quick Ice Beams, and if princess was busy concentrating on using the move, she wouldn’t be able to dodge. For all I disliked Louis, I had to admit he had trained his Prinplup exceptionally well, which was a heavy contrast with his Gible. I needed to somehow trap Prinplup into coming close to Togetic again, but now, Louis knew the signal, so it wouldn’t work.

Think, think, think!

“Ice Beam, again!” Louis ordered.

“Ancient Power.”

The Ice attack hit Togetic’s barrier, and Prinplup began running around it, hoping to get a good angle to attack. As the scene unfolded, Cecilia’s words resonated in my mind.

Sometimes, simple is just better, She had said.

“Raise more earth around you with Ancient Power!” I yelled out.

“Prrrri!” 

Multiple rocks and chunks of dirt rose around Togetic, surrounding her completely.

“Now, attack!”

They all shot out toward Prinplup, who had to completely stop his attacks to concentrate on dodging one rock after the other. I watched in awe, as what was inevitably Togetic’s strongest move hit Prinplup, knocking the water type out. I pumped my fist and squealed in joy. That had been so obvious, and yet in the heat of battle, I hadn’t even thought about it at all. 

“Damn it,” He said, returning his Prinplup. I could see real disappointment in his eyes, the same kind Denzel and I had when we lost a battle. It seemed that he truly enjoyed battling and always strove to win. “That was… that was a good battle, I suppose.”

“It was,” I said, surprised at his calm reaction. People that had huge egos like Louis tended to blow up whenever they lost. “It went a little bit too far as well. Sorry for knocking out your Pokemon when you might need him in the wild.”

“Well, nothing a little bit of rest and potions won’t remedy, I suppose,” He said. “Thank you for setting up that battle, Cece. It seems Prinplup still has much to learn.”

Ah, there it was, I thought. Blaming his Pokemon instead of himself, that was the Louis I had expected to come out. 

“Come find me whenever you’re done so Gible can train with Deino,” He said as he left. “I need to go heal Prinplup.”

“Very well,” Cecilia answered.

When Louis left, Denzel rushed to my side and high-fived me. 

“You did so good! I’m jealous, I don’t think I could have won against that Prinplup,” He said. I couldn’t help but smile at the praise. “As soon as I saw that Ice Beam, I thought it was over, but you managed to win anyway. It’s kind of annoying, but that just means I have to train even harder. Right Eevee?”

“Eevee!” He barked.

“Thanks,” I said. “But I think you could have won. Prinplup can’t run really well, and Eevee’s a fast little guy. You could have overwhelmed him with speed and close-range combat.”

He looked at Eevee for a few seconds, thinking about what I had said. “You might be right. I was annoyed when Louis interrupted our training, but I actually want to battle him now. Well, as long as I don’t have to battle that Gible again…”

Cecilia approached me with an amused look. “You did well, Grace. I wanted to see how you would respond to a sudden battle without the time to study your opponents, and you managed to pass, although there are many improvements you could make. For example, have you tried altering the path of a move with Extrasensory…” She started.

I swallowed and averted my eyes. I was so nervous, I could barely focus on what she was telling me. Was I blushing? Did I look weird? I was sweating so much, oh Arceus, what was I doing with my hands—

“Hey, Cecilia, Grace over here’s been wondering if she could be your friend,” Denzel said.

If looks could kill, he would have spontaneously combusted right then and there. He looked at me and shrugged, and I stepped on his foot. He rolled his eye and looked at Cecilia.

“Well,” She started, hesitantly. “Sure, we get along. I suppose we can give it a try.”

“Great!” Denzel said. “Now, let’s get back to camp.”

I wanted to drag him aside and yell at him. I was trying to get over Cecilia, not get closer! She was just my teacher, and when we were out of Eterna forest, we’d go our separate ways again! She hadn’t even been that enthusiastic about being friends, which hurt a lot more than if she had just flat-out refused. It was like she was accepting out of pity. I stomped away furiously, and instead of getting into that giant tent, I decided to hang out with my team instead to calm down and clear my head. Togetic hovered closely with her head over my shoulder as I pet her head. Frillish was observing the surroundings, scaring away any wild Pokemon that got anywhere close to us. Elekid was training a few feet away, punching the air with Thunder Punch.

“Relax, buddy,” I told Frillish. “You can chill out with us. Why don’t you play with Togetic a little?” After so many days of intense training, I wanted to spend an hour or two just relaxing with my team, although I was under no illusion that I could convince Elekid to stop until he himself determined that he was done.

“Toge!” Togetic agreed.

Frillish rolled his eyes and came down. It was cute how he had designated himself as the group’s protector, but being on edge twenty-four-seven wasn’t healthy. I grabbed one of his tentacles and started dancing with him like he was a human. The look of disappointment he shot toward me made me burst out laughing, almost to the point of tears.

“You’re… you’re something else, Frillish. Come on, let’s dance some more!” 

He spat out water at me and turned away. I wiped it off and smiled. Togetic flew toward Frillish and snuggled her head against his, and even though he looked annoyed, he stayed still and was subject to her vicious cuddles. I walked toward Elekid, who screamed enthusiastically as he shot out a Thundershock at a tree.

“Hey, honey,” I told Elekid. “Let’s get you and Frillish on good terms, yeah?”

He crossed his arms and looked at Frillish with devilish eyes. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what prank would befall my poor water type. Elekid called out with a booming cry, and Frillish stared at him for a few seconds before ignoring him. Elekid called out again.

“Come on, buddy! He just wants to speak to you!” I lied. I knew he wanted to do something, I just didn’t know what. Hopefully, the prank wouldn’t anger Frillish too much. I could stop it, but a part of me wanted to see his reaction.

“Fri…” He said quietly as he flew down, followed by Togetic.

“Kid! Elekid!” Elekid screamed, extending his arm. Did he want to shock him? Frillish’s red eyes narrowed, and he sprayed the electric type with water. Elekid simply laughed and retracted his hand.

Togetic smiled and tried touching Elekid’s horns, but he nimbly dodged her advances. It looked like even to Elekid, hurting Togetic was off-limits. Frillish turned back and looked with interest as Elekid weaved and dodged Togetic as she tried flying into him. His head slumped as he approached Elekid once again with one of his tentacles extended. Togetic watched in awe, probably because she really wanted to know what would happen.

Had Frillish finally started respecting Elekid after seeing that he wasn’t willing to hurt her with his antics? Now he was finally willing to entertain his pranks. My heart melted. He was so sweet!

Elekid sniggered and clumsily grabbed Frillish’s tentacle with his three claws. Frillish jumped a little and sent out a slightly more powerful jet of water this time. Togetic laughed and clapped her hands, seemingly satisfied by the prank. We continued hanging out deep into the night. I would be tired tomorrow, and eventually, I would need to explain the dangers that were ahead of us, but right now? 

All I could think about was how much I loved these three.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 40

On the afternoon of the seventh day, we were on the brink of reaching Eterna forest. It had taken longer than we wanted to because the closer we got, the more rough and uneven the terrain became. Over the course of the trip, I felt like my team had gotten much better, but I still wasn’t sure if it’d be enough for our venture into the maws of the forest. Frillish had mastered Poison Sting, which was weak but had a chance to poison his foes which could be deadly with Hex. Elekid was finally at a level where I’d consider him equal to the rest of the team, and I was trying to make him inject electric energy into his Swift attack, but progress was slow. Togetic, unfortunately, had learned most of her powerful moves, but she still had incredible potential. Psychic energy was like a muscle, so she kept training and improving Extrasensory and Ancient Power as much as she could while making sure to keep Fairy Wind up to par.

Denzel felt frustrated with his progress, but right now, I’d say Eevee was improving faster than Elekid was. He was starting to win more and more of their battles, and Denzel had taken Cecilia’s advice to heart since he was in the process of teaching Swift to Eevee, which would be a boon to their long-distance battling. Budew sometimes joined in training but listened to none of his commands, but Denzel was still incredibly happy with her. Meanwhile, Feebas could only come out when we were next to a pond or a river, which were sparse on this route. There was still no sign of any Buneary, but they lived in greater numbers in Eterna forest itself.

There was still awkwardness between Denzel, me, and Cecilia’s group. Justin was still the one we spoke to the most often, but being with him was sometimes irritating since he seemingly was raised in another century. Emilia was starting to be terrified, and would rarely speak, while Pauline and Louis put all of their energy into training with Cecilia and us. Tensions were high, especially when we finally reached the outpost at the forest’s entrance. There was a Ranger building, standing tall in its usual army green color palette, a Pokemon Center, albeit way smaller than the usual ones found in cities and towns. There were also a few buildings littered about, along with trainers walking about and filtering in and out of the Center.

The Center itself was bigger than it looked, but there was no specialized human wing. Nurse Joys took care of trainers and Pokemon here.

“Finally,” Emilia sighed. “Let’s get to the Center and rest.”

We all agreed. We were all exhausted, even if some showed it more than others, and finally sleeping in a soft, warm bed would do wonders. We were all assigned to different rooms, and some were on different floors, but Cecilia’s room was pretty close to mine.

“When should we meet again?” Denzel asked.

Louis tapped his chin. “How about one hour? Then we can grab lunch and talk strategy.”

Emilia sniffled. “Could we stay here for a bit? Three days at least?” She begged.

“We’ll see, Emi,” Louis said. “For now, let us rest.”

I glanced at Denzel, and we nodded at each other before making our way up the stairs. He entered my room and took off his shoes with a satisfied groan.

“Don’t sit on my bed before you shower,” I warned. “Which is what I’m going to do.”

“Fine,” He said. “I’m getting the jitters.”

“We all are, but it’s something every trainer has to go through. With our numbers and the amount of Pokemon we have, I’m sure we’ll make it,” I reassured him. We had all heard stories about the unfortunate souls that got lost in the forest, never to be seen again. I was terrified that it’d be one of us, but I had to push forward. “You should probably clean yourself up before we have to meet up, by the way.”

“Yeah, yeah, just let me relax for a second,” Denzel sighed. “Catch up with the forums and any news I might have missed on the way here.”

I nodded and stepped into the bathroom. I took off the bandage on my cheek and winced slightly at the pain. I stared at the cut. It had healed slightly, and it had formed into a crust, but it still hurt when I touched it. I took a warm shower before filling up the bath with cold water for Frillish, who thanked me by nodding his head up and down excitedly before jumping into the bath. After taking a deep breath and forcing myself to open the door, Denzel was gone. After some thinking, I decided to put on a fresh change of clothes and get to the lobby early.

“Get him to one of the Nurses, now! ” I heard someone say.

Heads turned toward the entrance as a trainer was brought in on a stretcher. Half of his body was completely purple, and he was foaming at the mouth. Sharp, purple darts were sticking out of his arm. He was quickly carried behind the counter. I stood there with a grim look, my eyes following the young trainer, wondering if that fate was what awaited us.

“Grace,” I heard.

I turned and saw Pauline with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall. It took a few seconds for me to answer. I was still shaking from what I had seen. Would that trainer even live?

“P—Pauline, you’re already here.”

“I am observing. This is the third trainer that has been brought in by the rangers in thirty minutes. The first one was missing a hand, and the second was bleeding profusely from his gut.”

I clenched my fist. “That’s… that’s horrible.”

“It seems the rangers still patrol the forest’s entrance to save straggling trainers, at the very least,” She said. “But when we’re deeper in, we’ll be on our own.”

I frowned. Pauline wasn’t sounding like a scared person, as Emilia, or even Justin was sometimes. Hell, even I could tell Louis was getting more nervous the closer we got to Eterna forest. But her? I couldn’t figure her out.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“About?”

“About what happened to them?”

“Why ask such a question?” Pauline said, rolling her eyes.

“Because I’m interested.”

The redhead paused for a few seconds before answering. “Frankly, I don’t care,” She said dryly. “I’m more concerned about the people that matter to me than random trainers I don’t know anything about.”

“So seeing this doesn’t phase you at all ?” I asked, clenching my teeth.

“No. Well, it does, but only when I imagine it happening to me, or my friends. Is that so wrong?” She asked with a slight smile.

Around us, trainers were calming down and going back to their usual routine. Some people gossiped and tried to find out more information about predators that lurked in the forest. Some tried forming groups with others that looked like they knew what they were doing and that had been on the Circuit in previous years, while others just looked dejected, and were probably considering giving up.

“You have no empathy for others,” I said. “I think that’s wrong.”

“Can we afford to care about every little thing?” Pauline asked me, twirling her hair. “There are thousands of events like these happening all over the world at all times. Do you grieve for each one?”

“No, but this is happening in front of your eyes ,” I said forcefully. “I think it’s fucked not to even care.”

“You talk a lot, for someone who— ah, Cece!” Pauline said, immediately softening her expression.

“Hello, girls. I see you’re here early.”

“There’s just twenty minutes left. I was just passing the time with Grace, discussing moral quandaries. Did you speak to Louis?”

“Yes, he’s just calling his father to let him know we’re here,” Cecilia said. “You should all do the same before we go. Call your parents.”

“I will, after lunch. Speaking off, let’s get seats together,” She smiled.

I agreed, following the two girls toward the cafeteria. I was trying to find out what Pauline’s deal was. With her friends, she behaved normally, but she seemed to completely disregard others. I supposed maybe we were just built differently, and there was nothing I could do about it. Hell, maybe I had been in the wrong, pushing my morality onto her. We sat at a large table and waited for the rest of the group. These weren’t things to worry about right now. I needed to be completely focused on our task at hand: surviving the next leg of my journey.

“There they are,” I heard Justin say.

Justin and Emilia sat at the table, and Denzel followed suit two minutes later. We all grabbed lunch and got to discussing a plan.

“First thing’s first, how long will it take to make it through the forest,” I started. “I feel like that’s among the most important things to know.”

“I’ve read online that it entirely depends. Some people take a week, others are stuck there for a month. There isn’t an official path or direction to take, but there are checkpoints and markings that were set by rangers or previous trainers passing through.”

“A month?” Emilia trembled. “A month?!”

“Calm down, Emi,” Justin said, patting her back. Pauline grabbed her hand.

“What are these markings like? Do you know?” Cecilia asked.

“Yeah. Words, arrows, or warnings carved onto trees. Some of them tell us where to go, some warn about aggressive Pokemon being ahead, and stuff like that. They’ve been left there over generations, and most of them point toward the northeast.”

“Great, so there’s at least some kind of path to follow,” I said.

“We’ll have to sleep in shifts,” Louis said. “I’ll have a schedule ready for us whenever we leave. What are the Pokemon we have to watch out for?”

“I’ve heard many stories about Scyther lurking in the forest,” Justin said.

“They are apex predators, and forests are where they thrive,” Cecilia said with a slight smirk, which I found strange.

“There are Dustox there too,” He said. “Their poison is lethal, but that’s not all. There are Arbok, Beedrill colonies, Vileplume, Parasect, Ninjask, and hell, that’s not even counting the ghosts. All of the worst Pokemon you can think of will be there, I can send you guys a list to study up.”

“That would be wise,” Louis said with a dark look. “Next up, we should find out what the best configuration is regarding our Pokemon.”

“Configuration?” I asked.

“He means what Pokemon would be best to use,” Pauline clarified, rolling her eyes at me.

“Thank you, Pauline. It would be wise not to have all of our Pokemon out at once. That would attract too many unwanted eyes and stalkers in the forest, and some of our Pokemon don’t like each other very much. Plus, it would be better to keep some in their Pokeball in case others are irreparably wounded or need to rest. I believe our best option is to each have one Pokemon out at all times.”

“I have Charmeleon,” Pauline said.

“There are rules,” Denzel interjected. “You can only use fire moves if you’re one hundred percent sure you’re about to die, and even after that, they expect you to stop its flames with water types. Don’t forget the forest is also a protected natural park. The Rangers don’t want anyone to start a forest fire.”

“How aggravating,” She quickly said. “Then I suppose Gothita will do. Charmeleon will light our fires at night.”

“I’ll just be using Eevee, I guess,” Denzel said. "He's got a good sense of hearing."

“It… it pains me to say, but I have to use Prinplup. Gible will be useful in battle, but my starter tends to be more obedient.”

“A water type?” I asked.

“Gible is without a doubt the strongest Pokemon here,” He said. I ignored his boast. "But he knows this as well, so he is more resistant, but I’m afraid he might run off to fight something and bite off more than he can chew.”

I nodded at this surprising moment of clarity. He must have been really nervous to admit such a thing, but I was happy everyone was doing their best to make it through.

“I’ll use Growlithe,” Justin said. We stared at him confusedly. “Don’t look at me like I’m a pariah . Sandile is unfit for the forest’s environment, and Growlithe has plenty of non-fire moves to use. Plus, his sense of smell is excellent.”

“Very well,” Cecilia said. “I’ll use Deino.”

That was simple enough, no justification was needed. I thought about it for a second. Frillish was out of the question for now. There were too many Pokemon with grass type moves to threaten him, and they wouldn’t pull any punches. Wild Pokemon never held back in general, but here? I didn’t want to risk it. Togetic could fly, but in the forest’s environment, that might be a disadvantage. Pokemon could leap from trees and jump on her, and she wasn’t nimble enough to dodge the kind of predators that would be coming. I couldn’t help but imagine a terrifyingly fast Scyther just flying into her and cutting her apart before I even had the chance to recall her. That meant I’d have to use Elekid.

“I’ll use Elekid,” I said. I was unsure of my choice, and nervousness began to take hold of me. I was terrified I was going to make a mistake and lose someone, but no matter how much I thought about it, Elekid was the right choice.

“What about you, Emilia?” Louis asked.

“I—I don’t know. I don’t want to do this,” The girl shook.

“It’ll be okay, Emi,” Justin reassured her.

“No! It won’t!”

Justin looked at Louis and shook his head.

“Very well. Don’t worry too much about it, Pauline. We’ll figure something out. For the rest, we’ll be using that set of Pokemon, but of course, we’ll be able to swap them out whenever they get too tired, or wounded beyond what a potion can heal.”

“When are we leaving?” I asked, wanting to rip the band-aid off. “I think we should take a day or two off,” I continued, looking at Emilia.

“Yeah, I think so too,” Denzel added. “I’ll use the time to talk to trainers coming back from the forest to gather info and see if they have any useful tips.”

“Alright. I assume that means no training tonight?” Cecilia said.

“Yeah, sorry. To be honest, I think Eevee deserves a break. The rest will do him good.”

“Alright then, that’s it for the strategy meeting,” Louis said. “Let’s eat.”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 41

After lunch, we decided to split up and go about our business. Pauline and Justin stayed in Emilia’s room to comfort her. Denzel was going around and asking people for information and making connections. Louis and Cecilia had probably gone off somewhere to train their dragon types since they hadn’t had as much time to do so since we joined the group because Cecilia’s attention was focused on us. Or maybe they were just hanging out. That left little old me. What would I do?

I stepped out of the Center and explored the makeshift town that had been built at the forest’s entrance. People that lived here were all employees associated with the League or the Rangers, and I assumed the personnel rotated every few weeks, or maybe months. I stepped toward the forest entrance and saw that Rangers were stopping trainers and asking for some kind of ticket. Wanting to know more, I stepped forward curiously.

“No entrance ticket, no entry!” One of the Rangers said.

The trainer scoffed. “What’s this about a ticket? I just got here!”

“It’s a new system we’re trying out, and it’s been approved by the League. You have to go through a four hour class in the Ranger building to have access to the forest.”

“A class? I have a badge, I don’t need any classes!”

“Trust me, kid, you’ll need it. It teaches you everything you need to watch out for in the forest and how to fight back.”

The girl groaned and left in the direction of the Ranger building. It was the first time I was hearing about this, and even Denzel supposedly didn’t know about it, since he hadn’t said anything. I entered the large, cube-like building. Ranger stations were set up like Pokemon Centers. They had a lobby the same size, with a receptionist and an employee-only zone further in the back. There was a line of trainers, who were no doubt here to sign up for this ‘class’. I didn’t want to sign up without informing everybody else, so I left. One thought was stuck in my mind, however. Even with this class, people were severely wounded. And where they were wounded, there were deaths.

When I got back to the Center, I found Denzel in the lobby, speaking to some guy that looked older than us. If I had to place his age, I’d say he was in his early twenties.

“... underestimate Morelull. If you’re lucky, you won’t be seeing any, but if provoked, they emit lights that make you fall asleep for hours. That’s a death sentence in the forest. If you see one, turn away as fast as you can.”

Denzel was typing away furiously in his Poketch, taking notes. “Damn, this place is designed to get you killed. What about Phantump and Trevenant? I’ve heard some other kid talking about seeing those during his first venture inside.”

“Leave the Phantump,” The man said in a grim voice. “And that trainer’s full of shit. Probably he wanted to embellish his story. You won’t be seeing Trevenant here.”

“Sounds good— ah, Grace!” Denzel said when he saw me. “Come here.”

I walked up to the two and introduced myself. The old trainer did the same.

“My name’s Scott. I’ve been giving information to your friend here,” He said. “It’s my fifth go through the Circuit and my fourth time going through the forest.”

I looked at Scott in awe. “Wow,” I said. “Thanks a lot. Sorry for interrupting though,”

“No problem, we were almost done anyway,” Scott said. “I enjoy giving advice to new trainers. I have to say, though, it pains me to see so much suffering. This year’s the worst one so far. There weren’t that many injured last time.”

“That must be why the Rangers are forcing us to take a class,” I said.

“A class?” Denzel asked.

“Yeah, it’s a four hour course on Eterna forest. Personally, I find it a little redundant, but if it helps the new generation, I won’t complain,” Scott said as he got up. “It was nice to meet you, Denzel. You’ve got my number if you need any more info. I’ll be hanging at the outpost for a little longer.”

“Thanks,” He said.

It wasn’t often that we saw old trainers like Scott. Most people would have given up and returned to their normal lives by now, but it looked like he was still going strong. I was sure he was an extremely powerful trainer to have survived going through the forest so many times without a scratch or a scar. I told Denzel about how to sign up for the class and then left him to gather more information. I was sure it would be crucial for traversing the forest, so I didn’t want to disturb him too much. I went back to my room to pick up Frillish, but when I stepped out, I heard a door slam. Cecilia stomped out of Louis’ room, seemingly on the verge of tears. I felt my heart ache, and I followed her. The girl took refuge in her room, and I hesitated to knock. Would I be intruding? Was I doing this out of the goodness of my heart, or was I hoping for something else?

I was a terrible person.

I knocked anyway.

“Louis… not now, please,” Cecilia sobbed. I flinched, not expecting her voice to be so close. She was right behind the door.

“Uh— it’s not Louis, it’s— it’s Grace. Should I leave?”

“Oh,” I heard. “Sorry.”

After around thirty seconds, Cecilia opened the door and let me in. She looked fine, although her eyes were red. She was clearly trying to hide the fact that she had been crying.

“Sorry, I saw you cry when you came out of Louis’ room, so I was wondering if I could help. We’re friends, right?”

The girl nodded. “I wasn’t crying,” She lied. “But thank you anyway.”

“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“It’s just something stupid,” She sniffled. “He’s been talking to my best friend in Unova behind my back. It’s… it’s like I can’t trust anyone here. I like my friends, of course, but I can’t speak freely to them. I always have to watch what I say.”

“Is it because of your dad?” I guessed.

“It’s always because of my father. I’m scared that he’s getting information about me through them, through no fault of their own. They don’t know how bad he really is. With you, I can at least say something because you’re just a normal girl,” She said. “No offense.”

I nodded. “But it’s your best friend, right? Would she say stuff to your dad?”

“I don’t know,” She said, clenching her pants. “I wish I could be sure, but recently, I’ve started doubting her— anyway, I’m okay now, so it doesn’t matter. Thank you for helping, Grace.”

“No prob,” I said, shuffling around. “How did you guys meet, anyway?”

“Me and Amy?”

I guessed that that was the name of her best friend.

“No, you and the rest of the group.”

“Oh. Well, I knew Pauline from her mother’s many business trips to Unova already, but the rest, I met recently when I first flew to Sinnoh. Our parents arranged our travels together.”

I wanted to ask about Louis too, but I decided against it. One, it would just be rude to do it right after she argued with him. Two, I wanted to prove to myself that I was better than that. I didn’t want to take advantage of the argument for…

What was I doing? She didn’t even like girls.

I deflated. “Anyway, I also wanted to tell you about a class we have to take…”

I explained the situation to Cecilia, who seemed to be better now that we were focusing on something other than relationships. We hung out for a while, something I couldn’t help but be happy about. I mostly asked her about how it was back in Unova. The region was a little bigger than Sinnoh was, and it was home to way more people. Cecilia told me about how she used to go to one of her family’s beach houses in a city called Humilau with Amy every summer. I couldn’t help but notice the sad twinge in her voice whenever she brought up her best friend, so I steered to conversation away, talking about how I first got Togetic and the antics she used to pull as a Togepi. That seemed to cheer her up.

Ultimately though, we couldn’t stay inside all day. Cecilia went to pick up her friends in their room while I was in charge of letting Louis know about the course because Cecilia was still furious at him, although she asked me to hide that fact. When I knocked on his door to let him know, he just ignored me and asked me if I knew where his girlfriend was.

“I do know, but uh, she’s picking up the others... Anyway, it doesn’t matter, since we all have to go to sign up for the class.”

“You have to help me talk to her. She misunderstood—”

“That’s not my job,” I said. Every time I talked, I felt more and more awful. I was letting my jealousy affect the way I spoke, and I knew I had to put these feelings behind me. “Talk to her yourself, man.”

He sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to. So we’re meeting at the Ranger station?”

“Mhm.”

Walking in silence with Louis felt awkward, but we just didn’t have that much in common. At least with Cecilia, I could push through listening about her insane amount of beach houses because of my stupid crush, and we could bond over our Pokemon training, but I wasn’t about to listen to Louis complain about whatever problems billionaires had. Even though Louis enjoyed battling, the passion Cecilia had for it simply wasn’t there. He didn’t put out even half of what she did.

Argh, I was just trying to find more reasons to dislike him, wasn’t I? 

Whatever. We all met at the station a few minutes later. Louis kept repeatedly apologizing until Cecilia reluctantly accepted it, and everyone else seemed fine. Even Emilia, although still clearly scared, appeared to have calmed down. Luckily we wouldn’t have to wait, so we were placed in a makeshift classroom right away. There was the beginning of a powerpoint being projected onto the wall, and we all sat in plastic chairs facing the presentation. Our ‘teacher’ was a veteran ranger with a strange decoloration on his neck and half of his face, and his right eye was permanently stuck looking to the right. 

“Listen up!” He yelled, slamming his fist against the wall. “My name is Anders Lackland, and unfortunately, I’m your professor for the day. This is the first class I’m giving, but before I begin, I know there are a lot of you in this class, and in the other classes that think that you’re too good for this. That this isn’t your first year going through this damned forest. But I want your undivided attention during these four hours. I’ve gone in Eterna forest more times than you sorry asses can count, and I will have information you’ve never heard before,” He said. “Take this class seriously, and your odds of making it out will be pretty high if you have the appropriate team, which might not even be the case, considering how many of you worms there are this year.”

I made myself small and just observed. He was being very aggressive, somewhat reminding me of a bootcamp instructor. 

“See this?” He said, pointing at himself. “See this fucked up face? Got hit by Poison Sting six years ago. That’s what can happen to you if you get hit by one of the wild Pokemon out here. But I’m one of the lucky ones. Most of the time, one hit is all it takes. One hit, and you’re done . I personally don’t know why there’s been such an increase in trainers participating in the Circuit, but I do know one thing. You’re all terrible! You keep coming back all injured, or dead, so we were forced by the League to implement these classes to stem the bleeding.”

I inhaled sharply. Why hadn’t I heard about the increase in casualties in the media? And if they were so large that the League had to step in, I could only imagine how many people had been lost. Was it just incompetence, or had there been a cover-up? 

The instructor grinned, and the right side of his face stayed unresponsive, like it was permanently under anesthesia. “Introductions are over. You know the stakes, now all I can hope for is that you listen. I’m going to make you into motherfucking professionals.”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 42

"Let's get the big three out of the way first," Instructor Anders said. The powerpoint changed to pictures of three bug type Pokemon, two of which I was familiar with. "Scyther, Dustox, and Parasect."

Louis raised his hand excitedly.

"Why the hell are you raising your hand for? This isn't fucking elementary school. I do the talking, you shut up and watch," He snarled. Louis audibly gulped and pulled his hand down. "I don't care what kind of shitty Scyther, Dustox, or Parasect you've seen in the past, Pokemon in the forest are just better, and stronger. They're fighting in life-or-death situations their entire lives. Let's start with Scyther. They'll be on your ass before you can even get your Pokedex out, that's how fast they are. Luckily, you won't have to deal with any poison with them. The moves you have to watch out for are Fury Cutter, Slash, and X-Scissor for the really tough ones. The rest is usually just icing on the cake."

Instructor Anders explained to us what each move entailed, and the effect they'd have on us if they hit.

"You want a fast Pokemon out that can counter the thing before it gets to you— and it will aim for you. Eterna forest's wildlife is the most aggressive in all of Sinnoh, save for Mount Coronet and Victory Road," He said. "If you don't have a fast Pokemon or a Psychic type that can hold them in place, turn back and don't enter the forest. Next up, we have Dustox. Unlike their counterpart Beautifly, they are vicious. Approach one of their colonies, and you get a Poison Sting or a Poison Powder to the face. Luckily their other attacks aren't that threatening— relatively speaking. Just watch out for the poison. Never approach them, and watch your fucking step. If you step on one of their Wurmple, they'll kill you. Let me play their cry."

He pressed forward in the powerpoint, and we heard an eerie, high-pitched noise that I recognized from my one encounter with the Pokemon.

"Unlike Scyther, Dustox like to be loud and announce their presence to let other Pokemon know not to approach. Usually, they usually live in groups of two or three, but they've been observed to gather in numbers as high as ten. They protect a dozen or so Cascoon, and even more Wurmple. Their only natural predator in the forest is Scyther. Lastly, we have Parasect," He said, switching to another picture. The Pokemon's eyes were dull and lifeless, and it had a huge vibrant mushroom growing on its back. I had never seen it before today. "These fools started showing up here twenty years ago as an invasive species after some dumbass trainer brought in a couple of Paras, and we still struggle to cull their population. They're too big and bulky for Scyther to aim for, and they're resistant to most poisonous attacks Pokemon use to hunt around here."

He paused, grabbing a flask from his hip to drink.

"They'll throw anything at you. Spores to poison you, to make you sleep, to paralyze you, you name it. And while you're writhing on the ground, unable to move, or sleeping, they'll cut you up. Luckily for you, they're relatively slow. You can outrun them easily, so as long as you don't get caught by surprise, you should be okay. Now, I see a few of your eyes glinting. Do not try to catch one of these if you value your life. You're better off just getting out of the forest as soon as you can. Keep your head down, travel in groups, watch each other's backs, and you will make it through. Now let's move on to the less threatening Pokemon…"

Instructor Anders kept on going for four hours, teaching us about the most common wild Pokemon we could find, the ways to fight them most effectively, and how to respond to being hit by all kinds of attacks. For Poison Sting, for example, if you were hit on the arm or the leg, you needed to make a tourniquet— which he taught us how to do— around the poisoned area to prevent the poison from spreading too fast and get back to the Pokemon Center as fast as possible. He also went over the rules of the forest, asking us not to fight the endangered Pokemon like Beautifly or Gossifleur. We all absorbed the information rigorously, not letting one bit past us. Lastly, he told us what general direction we should head toward, along with the landmarks and tree markings to follow. The exit was apparently somewhere toward the northeast. By the end of the lesson, we got our tickets, and even though I was scared of what was to come, I also felt more confident than ever.

Some were not as ready to go as I was, however.

"I can't do this," Emilia said.

I had looked at the girl during class, and she was practically crying the whole way through. She was even more terrified than before, and honestly, who could blame her? The instructor had really beaten the notion that death or a life-changing injury was a real possibility in the forest. Even Louis and Justin seemed unsettled. Denzel looked nervous but excited. Cecilia had her usual poker face on, and Pauline was playing with her hair, like usual.

"We'll get through this, Emi," Pauline said. "It's what, only three Pokemon to watch out for? The rest are all small fries that our team can easily deal with."

"Hell, with our entire team, we might be able to defeat one of the big three he warned us about," Denzel said.

"Agreed," Cecilia said. "I must tell you now, I will catch a Scyther."

We all gasped. She hadn't even said she would try to catch a Scyther, she just said she would. The amount of confidence honestly baffled the mind.

Louis perked up. "Cece, about earlier—"

"Not now, Louis. Please."

"I wasn't cheating on you—"

We ignored him.

"That's something Anders explicitly told us not to do," Justin said worriedly. "Let's not be rash."

"I will do it with you, or alone. I have wanted one since I began this journey, and I won't let the opportunity slip by."

Seeing how resolute Cecilia was, we all just let the issue go. Maybe we'd be able to convince her to change her mind when we were in the forest. I used the opportunity to bring up my own ambitions for a new team member.

"I also want to catch a grass type in the forest, I guess," I muttered. "I don't know which one, though."

Cecilia's eyes shone. "Very good! Denzel, you and I can all cooperate and catch our new Pokemon soon."

We decided to get back to the Center. In two days, we would leave bright and early into the depths of Eterna forest. I decided that it was time to warn my team about the dangers ahead. They would be the ones protecting me, so it was only right to tell them ahead of time. I released the three in my room. I sat at the foot of my bed, and Togetic settled in between my legs. Frillish hovered calmly in front of me, and Elekid announced himself with a small cheer.

"Listen up, gang," I said, clapping my hands. "In two days, we're going into Eterna forest."

I paused, waiting for their reactions. They all looked at me confusedly.

"It's an extremely dangerous place. I won't lie to you, it'll be tough. Something bad might happen to me, or the rest of the group, but I'll try to catch you up to speed."

I used my notes and recounted everything the instructor had told me during his class, making sure everyone knew how to counter and fight the Pokemon we would encounter in the forest. Even Elekid was listening intently, not letting his attention split for one second, especially since I had told him that I would be using him the majority of the time. Frillish looked more anxious than I had ever seen him. His eyes were darting all over the place, and his tentacles were trembling slightly. Togetic looked worried and chirped sadly as she sunk her head into my chest.

"Toge…"

"I know, princess," I said, petting her. "It'll be fine."

"Fri!" Frillish said.

"I know you're angry at me, buddy. I'll still use you whenever I can, I just don't want to risk you getting hit by some dangerous grass type move."

The water type huffed silently and turned his head.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me. I trust Elekid to protect me," I said with a slight smile.

"Elekid!" He screamed as he flexed his arms.

"Don't get too excited, hon. You've got the hardest job of the group."

"Kid! Kid!"

I laughed. "You can handle it, huh? How about one last day of training? You guys can have a rest day tomorrow."

Elekid clamored happily, Togetic chirped, and Frillish rolled his eyes. After thirty minutes or so, we stepped out of the Pokemon Center and walked toward a secluded area of the outpost where not many trainers were.

"You guys feeling like an Elekid versus Frillish match today?" I asked. They both nodded. "Alright. Togetic, you watch. I'll direct Frillish since Elekid has the type advantage."

Elekid got into position as Frillish lazily floated up. It was the second time Elekid was fighting on his own, and I had found that this way of training was also the perfect way to improve my team's battle instincts. Trainers didn't always have the time to yell out commands all the times. Sometimes, we froze during battle or even thought for too long, which was when our Pokemon had to take matters into their own hands and decide what moves to use for themselves.

I inhaled through my teeth. "Alrighty, let's go!"

Elekid slammed his fists together and let loose a Thundershock toward Frillish.

"Drop down and Water Sport," I ordered.

The water type dodged the electric attack and propelled himself forward as he spun.

"Don't get too close," I said. I knew Elekid would counter with Thunder Punch. He immediately stopped as the electric type's fist charged up. "Bubblebeam!"

Frillish spat out a stream of bubbles, hitting Elekid and kicking up dust from the ground. I heard Elekid yell out as a large number of stars came out of the smoke.

"Don't bother dodging, you can't avoid them," I said quickly. "Water Pulse!"

Elekid ran out of the smoke plume at terrifyingly fast speeds, dodging Water Pulse after Water Pulse before sending out another Thundershock. It hit Frillish, who fell to the ground after taking the super effective move right after Swift. Elekid let out a cackle as he rushed toward his opponent to deliver a Thunder Punch.

"Hex!" I yelled out. Elekid was impressing me, so it was time to take the gloves off.

Frillish's eyes lit up, and smoke began coming out of Elekid's body. He slipped and fell to the ground before writhing in pain. I winced, but I knew this would only make him tougher in the long term.

"Don't let him recover! Water Pulse!"

Frillish let out a smooth cry as he released another ring of water, this time hitting Elekid and sending him flying. He quickly got up and dusted himself off, eliciting a smile from me. Before all of our training through route 205, he would have gone down from those two moves, but he was still standing proud.

"Kid!" He yelled out, running toward Frillish once again, albeit slower. I frowned. If he got into Hex's range, we would just use the move again, and I knew he was smarter than that.

"He's preparing a trap," I told Frillish. "Batter him with more Water Pulses, then Hex as soon as he's in range. Let me think."

Frillish nodded and issued my orders immediately. I smiled as immensely powerful Water Pulses rushed toward Elekid. We had truly come a long way from when he first was beginning to use the move. Elekid formed another set of stars above him and then released a Thundershock immediately after. My eyes widened as electricity imbued itself into the stars. Swift sped up immensely, and each hit to Frillish was devastating.

Elekid had finally mastered our new move. An electric type Swift.

I snapped out of my stupor and saw Frillish was still floating, though barely.

"Rush forward and Hex!"

"Frillish!"

He sluggishly propelled himself with Water Sport again before using Hex, and Elekid finally went down as he convulsed and shook on the floor. Frillish stopped as soon as he saw that Elekid was unable to fight. I rushed toward Elekid and grabbed him.

"You did amazing," I told him. He smiled. "I couldn't have asked for a better fight. You did awesome too, Frillish. Sorry for being caught off-guard, I thought it'd still take a while for Elekid to master that move."

Frillish nodded and waved a tentacle absent-mindedly. Togetic clapped at the great fight she had just seen, crying out happily and flipping around in the air.

"Sorry, princess, it looks like no fight for you today," I apologized.

I placed all of them back in their balls and gave Frillish and Elekid to Nurse Joy. I wanted to do one last thing before finally resting before our trip through Eterna forest, and that was finally determining which grass type I was going to catch. Instructor Anders' lesson had shown me the most common ones I would find. Paras was out of the question. Apparently, the mushrooms on their body was a parasite, and it took control of their brain when they evolved, so their entire personality would be gone. I didn't want to have to go through that. Oddish or Shroomish were certainly in the cards, although I felt like they wouldn't serve the purpose I was looking for in the team. Oddish was a long-distance fighter that fought with spores and status effects. Shroomish was as well until it evolved and turned into a close-range fighter, but it was still weak defensively. I wanted something that could take hits. My entire team right now was made out of fragile Pokemon, although Togetic was the best one in that regard. What did that leave me with?

I flipped through my notes, looking for the perfect candidate. I smiled as my hand hovered over a name I hadn't considered yet.

Tangela.

The Pokemon was one of the bulkiest grass types, and it could fight at close range easily with its numerous vines. Exactly what I was looking for. I smiled as I closed my notes. I had made my choice. I was going to catch a Tangela no matter what.

The next two days went by quickly. I spent most of them resting or hanging out with Denzel, my team, and Cecilia, which was a pleasant and exciting development. Finally, though, we stood at the forest's entrance. The trees were tall and looming above us, forming an all-consuming dark entrance that was terrifying. Pokemon cries could be heard on the inside. I clenched my fist as I released Elekid, who stood next to me loyally. We all released our agreed-upon Pokemon, and Emilia finally released her Beldum. Its color was different than usual, however. It was completely white like marble, and its three claws were yellow like gold. The metallic alien-looking Pokemon hovered silently over her head, its singular eye looking at us one by one.

Hoping for the best, we stepped into the forest.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 43

Huge trees towered far above us, forming a canopy so dense that the sky was practically invisible, with only small slivers of sunlight bursting through the thick cover. The forest floor was soft, with a thick layer of leaves and whatever plant debris had fallen from above over the years. The occasional relative quiet of our steps was often broken by the snapping of a twig underfoot. The smell of the forest was so thick it was almost oppressive. The scent of nature and vegetation masked everything else and prickled the inside of my nose. I jumped as I felt a small branch touch my forearm, and I flapped the neck of my sweater, hoping to cool myself off. Even in the frigid cold of the forest, I was already sweating due to how nervous I was. Cries of different Pokemon could be heard all around us, and unlike in the previous routes, they weren’t scared of making themselves known.

Emilia screeched as an Ariados lowered itself from a tree ahead. It quickly scuttled forward, chasing a Venonat that desperately tried to jump out of the way. My brain quickly recalled what Instructor Anders had told us about the two. Venonat were nocturnal, but due to the thick vegetation protecting them from sunlight, they were active throughout the day. They weren’t generally a threat to trainers and mostly ate small bug types. Meanwhile, Ariados would usually never go after humans unless they were hungry enough, in which case they’d trap you in their web and drag you back to their nest. Not wanting to provoke the two, we stayed still and watched as the spider savagely bit into the Venonat before spinning it in its web and dragging it away.

I swallowed and watched my companions. We all nodded at each other and kept going. We had created a formation to maximize our chances. First was Justin in the front with his Growlithe. The fire type was the only one whose sense of smell would be able to find threats in the forest, so it was only natural that he would lead us. Next, we put Emilia and Cecilia on his flanks. Deino and Beldum were both incredibly bulky while also packing a punch, meaning that they were the perfect first line of defense to ward off an attack from the front. Behind them, we had me, Pauline, and Louis. Gothita, Elekid, and Prinplup were our long-range attackers, meant to support Beldum and Deino from the back without being at risk of suffering from a lethal attack. Finally, we had Denzel and Eevee in the rear. Whereas Growlithe could lead us with his sense of smell, Eevee’s strength was his hearing, and he’d be able to warn us if anything was stalking us.

So much planning had gone into this, and yet we were still all terrified. Louis couldn’t help but look behind his shoulder every five seconds, while Emilia kept muttering to herself that it would be okay over and over under the watchful eye of her Beldum. Denzel was distracting himself by petting Eevee and whispering something in his ear, but I knew he was scared because of a nervous tick he had where he clenched and unclenched his fists. Justin had protested many times to being put in the front due to being the obvious first target. The only ones who looked somewhat unfazed here were Cecilia and Pauline, but even I could tell they were anxious. And we hadn’t even been in here for thirty minutes.

“Emi, please stop talking. You’re driving me crazy,” Louis said quietly.

We didn’t want to make too much noise due to the amount of risk involved.

“It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay—”

“Please, Pauline, shut her up,” He hissed through his teeth. Beldum’s eye darted toward Louis and glowed slightly. He inhaled sharply and stopped talking.

Pauline broke formation slightly and offered Emilia a shoulder to cry on. Her quiet sobs turned into a cry, and the cry became louder and louder no matter what we tried to calm her down—

Growlithe started growling and barking loudly, and Eevee did the same, his ears twitching. We all stopped dead in our tracks and got ready for whatever was coming. My ears were ringing, and I was barely even breathing. It was like time had stopped completely. I braced myself as loud stomps rang through the forest, slowly getting louder. A huge Pinsir burst through the thick vegetation, but he stopped, apparently sizing us up. It probably hadn’t expected such a huge group. According to Anders, they were rather rare because of their dislike for the cold, but they were incredibly dangerous. Just our luck. After a few seconds, Pinsir yelled out as its pincers slammed together, creating a terrifying sound that the Pokemon used to intimidate its enemies. It rushed forward.

Ignoring Emilia’s screams, Cecilia gave the first order.

“Deino, don’t hold back. Dragon Breath!”

Deino roared as his mouth lit ablaze with draconic energy. The Pinsir sidestepped and dodged as it continued its way toward us. Not stopping his attack, Deino simply kept going and turned his head, hitting the Pinsir who screeched out in pain. Beldum used the opportunity to ram into the bug type without any of his trainer’s commands.

“Thundershock!” I ordered Elekid. He grunted and spun his arms, sending an arc of electricity toward Pinsir. The bug type convulsed for a few seconds before he screeched in rage and leaped at Deino, grabbing its neck with its pincers. It shook the dragon type wildly, and he attempted to fight back, but he couldn’t get out of its grip. I couldn’t use any of Elekid’s attacks without hurting Deino now, so I could only watch.

“Get in close and Bite! Distract it!” Denzel yelled.

Eevee blurred as he ran toward the bug type, who was still relentlessly assaulting Deino.

“Gothita, stop him with Confusion.”

Beldum let out a weird metallic, grinding sound and both he and Gothita's eyes turned pink as a psychic aura surrounded Pinsir, restraining him. Eevee used the opportunity to bite the bug type’s arm, tearing a bit of its plated armor off. It let go of Deino, who rammed it with its head before sending it flying with another Dragon Breath. The dragon’s scales around his neck were cracked and some were taken off completely, exposing its flesh. I ordered another Thundershock, and Elekid obliged immediately. Pinsir was never able to land another hit again. As soon as it got anywhere close, Beldum and Gothita would stop him with Confusion, and we kept battering it with our long-distance moves. After five minutes or so, it finally left, deciding not to bother.

I let that fact sink in for a moment. We had only won because we had annoyed it enough. It was still completely fine, although slower and clearly weakening by the minute. If it had wanted, it could have kept this up for at least another ten minutes. I swallowed. Our Pokemon all looked exhausted already and we weren’t even one hour in. Only Beldum seemed fine, and Deino seemed enraged more than anything. Cecilia struggled to apply a potion to his neck.

“Damn it, Emilia!” Louis said in a ragged voice. “Control yourself!”

“Oh, please ,” Pauline rolled her eyes. “You were the only one who didn’t do anything, Louis. You just watched from afar as we all risked our lives to take that Pinsir down. And we’re lucky it decided to go after our Pokemon first and not us!”

“I was just surprised!” He said in a haughty tone. “Next time, Prinplup and I won’t be caught off guard.”

“Uhuh.”

“Stop it. Now is not the time for petty disputes,” Cecilia snapped. She stood up and put the potion back in her bag. “Sort this out when we’re all outside safe and sound.”

Denzel nodded. “She’s right,” He said. His voice was shaking slightly. “Let’s just keep going.”

“Sorry…” Emilia muttered under her breath.

As for me? I still felt the adrenaline pumping through my body, but as I slowly ran out, I felt my legs begin to shake. I could barely even walk straight. The inside of my clothes was completely soaked, and I was starting to get cold . That Pinsir had been more powerful than any other wild Pokemon I had ever seen, and we weren’t even deep in the forest yet. I let out a shaky breath as I wondered what else was lurking in the shadows, waiting to attack.

——

Luckily for us, the remainder of the day had been relatively peaceful. Oh, we still got attacked seven times by wild Pokemon, but none were as threatening as that Pinsir had been. The most problematic one had been an aggressive Gloom whose territory we had apparently stepped into. It had let out a noxious smell from the gel-like substances it secreted from its mouth, but that was the least of our problems. Because of Gloom, both Deino and Eevee had been poisoned badly, and even with our antidotes, they would need to rest for an hour or two to get back to their full potential, which was why we decided to set up camp since it was getting dark anyway.

Setting up camp in a forest this dense was infuriatingly difficult. Obviously, the big tent was a no-go, but even with the smaller tents Cecilia’s group had purchased at the outpost, we still needed to do a lot of work. First, we cleared the forest floor out of vegetation, evening the ground enough to put the tents on. Just clearing out around a seventy feet area took hours , and we had to do it with our hands. Luckily, Growlithe sped up the process, and Eevee started helping as soon as he recovered from his poisoning. Next, we had to collect firewood. We had no food to cook, but the warmth would be useful to soothe our minds and dry our clothes, and while Denzel, Louis, and Justin did that, we set up everybody’s tents. They’d be able to fit two people each, meaning that some unfortunate soul would have to sleep on their own. I volunteered since I had to sleep with Togetic anyway. I wasn’t about to summon the entire Arceus damned wildlife to our location by waking up screaming.

Anyway, we had to do all of that while being constantly under attack by anything that thought it could take us on. Ekans, Weepinbell, Venipede, anything desperate enough for food. We considered building some kind of wall using more wood, but that idea quickly died when we realized how much work it would take for what would amount to not that much protection. Pokemon would be able to either fly above it, or just burst through with a move. Finally though, we had our camp set up.

Pauline’s Charmeleon quickly lit the fire with its tail before being recalled once again. We had Prinplup in case it spread by accident, and we needed to extinguish it quickly, and if that wasn’t enough, I had Frillish and Cecilia had Slowpoke. We stayed silently by the fire. Some of us ate with our Pokemon, while others like Emilia and Louis were just staring in the distance, terrified that something would leap out of the shadows and attack us. The fire would do us good, yes, but it also made us extremely easy to spot, adding to the tension.

And tension, there was. Louis seemingly thought that this was an appropriate moment to try to rekindle his romance, while Pauline was getting more and more aggressive toward him.

“Shut the fuck up! I’m tired of you, Louis! I’m fucking tired of you!”

“Mind your own business.”

“This is my business! You’re letting your silly little lovesick heart in the driver’s seat when it should be your fucking brain in there!”

“Pauline, please, your language—”

“Fuck off too! I’m going to sleep,” Pauline hissed at Justin. “Wake me up when it’s my turn to stand guard.” Her tone turned soft when she turned toward Emilia. “Come on Emi, let’s get you in bed.”

The girl just nodded weakly and followed her friend.

“I ought to get to bed too, I suppose. Louis, my friend, remind me of the watch order again?”

Louis’ head was pointed downward, and he didn’t even bother to lift it as he spoke. “Cecilia and I were supposed to be the first watch—” He was interrupted by her sigh. “Then it’s Denzel and Grace, then it was you and Pauline.”

“Oh dear,” Justin sighed. “Well, good night, everyone. May tomorrow be smoother than today.”

We all bid him goodnight. Emilia wasn’t going to stand watch because we considered her too unstable and scared to be reliable, so she’d get to sleep all night. Throughout the next few minutes, we trickled out of the camp. Denzel was first, joining Justin in their tent. I considered staying a little while longer, but I realized it was just my jealousy speaking, and that it was better if I was rested for when they’d wake me up. I released Togetic, who seemed eager to know how today had gone. I decided to release Frillish as well to update the entire team on what had gone on. We were partners, after all, so it wouldn’t be fair to keep them in the dark.

Finally, I recalled Elekid and Frillish and fell asleep to Togetic’s quiet chirps.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 44

Cecilia opened my tent two and a half hours later.

"Grace," She whispered. "It's your turn now."

I yawned and stretched, barely keeping my eyes open. Togetic was still asleep, so I discreetly recalled her so she could keep sleeping in her Pokeball. I took a deep breath and shook my head wildly to wake myself up before making my way outside. It was actually staggering how dark Eterna forest was at night. The fire was extinguished, so I could barely see anything due to the thick tree cover blocking the moonlight. We had purchased flashlights, but we were too scared to use them at night, just in case the bright light attracted some wild Pokemon we couldn't fight off if we kept it on too long. I felt at my hip and released Elekid.

"Hey, wanna spin your arms around for me for a sec?" I whispered. "Quietly, please."

Elekid grumbled at my specification, but he obliged and spun his arms, creating a light source. I knew how dangerous it was, though, so I just used it to find Denzel, after which I ordered him to stop. He was standing against a tree with Eevee at his feet. The Pokemon was lying down, but I could tell he was focused by the way his ears were pointed, listening for any danger. My friend yawned as he saw me, causing me to do the same.

"Damn you and your yawns," I said quietly. "How'd you sleep?"

"I couldn't even fall asleep. Too nervous. I just laid down in my sleeping tent and looked at the ceiling for almost three hours."

"You can sleep in my tent if you want," I said. "Togetic can—"

Eevee stood up, and our heads whirled to our left. I couldn't recognize which Pokemon cry that was, and neither could Denzel, so we just stayed perfectly still and silent, hoping it would pass without noticing our camp. Even at night, Pokemon were still active. The forest never slept, and we'd be foolish to let our guard down. Luckily for us, it passed, and nothing happened.

I finally took a breath I didn't know I had been holding. "This place is hell," I groaned.

"Tell me about it. That Pinsir was something else, and that Anders guy didn't even tell us that much about them. I just hope we don't get lost or stuck. The longer we stay here, the bigger chance there is of something going wrong."

I hoped to Arceus he hadn't just jinxed us.

The next two hours and a half went by agonizingly slowly, and we had to be constantly on edge. I never thought about how exhausting that was, and combined with the fact that I was already dead tired, I fell asleep immediately after getting back in my tent. Denzel joined me this time after waking up Justin and Pauline, and Togetic helped him relax and fall asleep. When I woke up again, it was morning. Cecilia had a really good internal clock and woke up at five-thirty on the dot every morning, so she was in charge of waking up everybody. Thank Arceus for her.

Nothing bad had happened at night. Apparently, Gothita and Growlithe had chased off a group of Caterpie looking to scavenge anything they could find in our camp, but they weren't that threatening. We all ate breakfast in relative silence, cleared our camp, and continued on our way. We were still walking north, waiting a few days before starting to turn east. We followed the same formation as before, hoping for the best. Pauline was sticking to Emilia more and more since she was the girl's biggest support. There was a bit of animosity toward her from Louis for having caused the Pinsir to find us yesterday, but Pauline shut down every complaint immediately.

Three hours later, we all paused as Growlithe let out a low growl. My heartbeat quickened as I looked down at Elekid, who stared up at me and nodded. We heard a small rustle beyond some bushes to our right. We were all in position. What horror would reveal itself this time? I wiped my hands against my pants and waited with bated breath—

A small, brown furry Pokemon slowly limped through the bushes. Its ears were rolled up, and one of them had a large gash that was bleeding massively. it was completely covered in spores.

"Neary…"

The Buneary collapsed as it reached us. After being taken out of his stupor, Denzel grabbed a Pokeball and approached—

"Wait!" Justin yelled, blocking him. "Growlithe still smells a threat."

We froze, as scuttling could slowly be heard in the distance, slowly getting louder, and louder. Suddenly, at least ten Paras burst through the vegetation and started attacking us.

Yes, us. And more were coming.

"Try not to breathe!" I yelled, before the last shred of order evaporated from the group, and the formation fell apart.

Emilia yelled and fell backward as a Paras jumped onto her leg and bit down hard. Beldum tried to wedge it off using Confusion, but the thing was completely latched on, and it began releasing spores. Cecilia ordered Deino to take care of anything that got close to him, and the dragon started roaring out Dragon Breaths, taking out each Paras in one hit, but they just kept coming. Elekid started by Thundershocking the ones he could aim at without hurting anyone else that was in the way, but soon, they were getting closer, and he switched to Thunder Punching. Seeing the writing on the wall, I swore and grabbed my axe.

"Use your axes as weapons!" I screamed.

I swatted a Paras away from me. Their shells were hard and probably too hard to break, but they were extremely protective of the parasite on their backs, so one hit to one of the two mushrooms hard enough, and they'd run. Denzel cut the Paras' mushroom on Emilia's leg, wounding the bug enough for it to let go, and Beldum threw him against a tree. Gothita was busy keeping every Paras off of Pauline, who was fighting to protect Emilia and Cecilia and covered in green blood. and Eevee was cracking their shells with Double Kicks, making them more vulnerable. Louis was crouched and trembling against a tree, and his Prinplup was using Ice Beam over and over again, freezing the Paras into submission.

I felt something crawl on my back, and I screeched.

"Grace!" Denzel yelled out.

Elekid panicked as I desperately tried to get the bug off my back. He was too short to Thunder Punch Paras, and he couldn't use Thundershock without hurting me. It bit into my back, and I collapsed, writhing in agony. Elekid Punched the bug twice, and Eevee rushed to my side, ramming into it, but it was ultimately Denzel who sliced one of the bug type's parasites, causing it to scuttle off as it screeched.

"I— I can't move," I told Denzel amidst the chaos. A Dragon Breath flew above us, hitting a Paras that was about to attack us mid-air.

"I'll protect you," He said. "Eevee, keep them off of me! You guys need to release everything you've got!" He yelled, before grabbing Budew's Pokeball. I looked into his eyes, and he seemingly understood me. "I need all the firepower I've got."

The group listened, and a flurry of red lit up and dark forest. Budew looked around confusedly before Denzel brought her up to speed.

"I'm sorry, I need you just this once, Budew. You need to keep the Paras off of us. Use Absorb, Bullet Seed, anything."

Budew stared at him for a few seconds before nodding and, started glowing and growing slightly in size before attacking the nearest Paras with Bullet Seed.

"My Pokeballs," I grunted. "Use my team."

Denzel kicked one of the Paras into Gible's huge Dragon Rage.

"Alright, but I'll stay here with them and you, alright?"

I offered a weak nod, and he released Frillish and Togetic, who kept battering our enemies with Water Pulse and Fairy Wind. Eventually, after five minutes of fighting off the horde, they were either dead, too injured to fight, or had escaped. I grunted in pain as I pushed myself against a tree. Despite having been bit once on my upper back, my entire back was hurting. Emilia couldn't walk without someone supporting her. Cecilia's right arm had been severely injured and bit multiple times by the same Paras, although she looked like she'd be able to keep going. Pauline, Denzel, and Louis were unscathed physically, but one of them hadn't even helped.

One of them hadn't even pulled out a weapon to fight and had instead hidden like a coward.

"What the hell is wrong with you!" Denzel screamed, pushing Louis against a tree. His Pokemon didn't even defend him. Gible was just eating a Paras, while Prinplup was just looking around awkwardly.

"Keep your hands off me!" Louis said, trying to push my friend away. Even though Denzel was two years younger, he was still a big guy, and the situation devolved into a fight, which Justin stopped.

Denzel wiped his bloody nose. "You're a fucking wimp," He spat. "You could have gotten someone killed. Even Emilia fought! But you? You fucking hid."

"Don't you speak to me that way—"

"Shut the fuck up and listen for once in your Arceus damned life!" He interrupted. "Being scared is fine. We're all fucking scared! But as it stands, you're dead weight."

"Please," Louis scoffed, looking around to his friend for support. His face turned ugly when he realized none was coming. "Cece?" He tried.

The girl turned away and walked up to me before crouching and assessing the damage on my back.

"Pauline—"

"I'm busy, Louis," The girl said, tending to Emilia's wounded leg.

"Justin?"

The boy shook his head. "Not now, Louis."

Louis collapsed with his back against the tree and buried his face in his knees, not saying anything else.

"The bite is right next to your spine, but it looks like it's only surface damage," Cecilia told me. I breathed a sigh of relief. "It tore off a pretty big chunk of flesh, though."

"Damn it," I said.

I winced as I felt a wet towel touch the wound. Cecilia warned me before pouring alcohol to disinfect it. I thrashed around and swore after just a few drops, but I had to endure it.

"What about spores?" Justin asked. "Anyone feeling weak, stiff, or tired?"

"I think we're all okay. Paras' spores aren't as potent as Parasect's, so as long as we didn't breathe in too much, we should be fine," Pauline stated, applying a few potions to Charmeleon and Gothita.

"Let someone know if that starts to change," Cecilia told us as she wrapped a bandage around my back. I froze as her soft hands wrapped under my clothing. In any other circumstances, I would have been ecstatic. "There you go, Grace. Can you walk?"

"I think so, yeah. I was probably just in shock before," I said.

I got up and steadied myself against the tree trunk before taking a tentative step. I was thankfully fine if I ignored the searing pain in my back, although running would probably be out of the picture because the simple motion of my arms would transfer to my back and make the pain way worse. I stared at Emilia, who was sobbing silently as Pauline wrapped her own bandage around her leg.

"Should we stay here for a few hours? I don't think Emilia can walk," I asked.

Pauline looked at me, and for the first time, I saw no animosity. Just gratefulness.

"I think that would be wise," She said. "Emi needs a break."

"I'll keep watch," Denzel said. He thanked Budew before recalling her. "I need to do something first."

He slowly approached Buneary, who squirmed on the ground. It was terrified of him, but he just crouched and started applying potions on the area where it was wounded.

"Can one of you guys give me an Antidote?" He asked. Justin handed him the yellow bottle, and he applied the concoction on the Buneary's skin. The liquid would be absorbed and cure it of its poisoning. "I'll take care of you, alright?" He said softly before carrying it in his arms "This is Eevee," Denzel continued, pointing at his friend. "I won't make the same mistake twice. I'll nurse you back to health, and if you want to join me by the end, I'll take you in."

The normal type nodded weakly. He carried it a few dozen feet away and started to watch for any danger.

We slowly started setting up camp again in the same way as yesterday. We were all alternating our team members to let them rest after that tough battle. Instructor Anders had warned that Paras usually traveled in packs, but I wasn't expecting a horde. Luckily they hadn't been led by a Parasect, or we probably would have run away and gotten lost, or… died. It was only the second day, and Eterna forest was already taking its toll on us. Paras usually didn't attack humans unless they were desperate for food or commanded by a Parasect, and that group had been way too big. First the Pinsir, now this? Anders had said trainers going through the forest were unlikely to meet the bigger threats that he had shown us, so it looked like we were extremely unlucky. I hoped I would be able to withstand what was to come, but even more than that, I hoped that no one would just completely break down.

Beforehand, I would have said Emilia was the most likely candidate. The girl was wrapped around a blanket in between Justin and Pauline, who, even though appeared a little shaken, looked to be doing alright. Denzel was the one I was putting all my trust in. I knew in my heart that he wouldn't give up if I was still here. Cecilia seemed to be the most mentally strong of us all. With a bandage wrapped around her wounded arm, she was working hard to keep all of us positive, talking about anything that came to mind, or about what we'd do when we got out.

Louis, though? The man hadn't talked since the Paras attack, and while he was sulking in a corner, his fiance was taking charge and keeping the group together. Right now, what I feared the most was still the wild Pokemon lurking around every corner. Most were weak enough for Deino to beat in one hit, but the sheer amount of attacks were going to take a toll on us. And that toll was causing the tension to rise, slowly but surely.

I could tell something was brewing.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 45

“We need to do something about Louis,” Pauline stated firmly.

Cecilia and I looked at her confusedly. It had been a few hours since we had settled down, and Louis had just kept sitting down and moping like a child. Pauline had gathered Cecilia and me to talk, and now she was saying this?

“What do you mean?” I asked. “Also, I don’t even think I should even be here, I—” I winced and hissed through my teeth as I felt a wave of pain flare up. “I’m not even a part of your group.”

“You’re here even though I dislike you because you seem to know what the hell you’re doing,” She said. “And so does Cecilia. Your friend Denzel needs to cool off and is protecting his new Pokemon like a Kangashkan protects her young, so I didn’t want to bother him.”

“Alright, but what are you implying by doing something?” I asked her, frowning.

Pauline smirked and grabbed a strand of her hair. “Nothing as horrible as you’re imagining. I just meant that we need to talk to him and set him straight. As mommy says, there’s nothing a good yelling can’t fix.”

“I think that thinking is seriously flawed—”

Cecilia spoke up for the first time. “Forget it.”

“Huh?” Pauline said, raising her tone and getting closer. She was so aggressive all of a sudden that I felt the instinctive need to make myself smaller. “Are you joking?”

“No. I won’t take any action, and you shouldn’t either. Louis will get better, just let him be,” Cecilia said.

“He’s going to get us killed!” Pauline yelled. “If anything happens to Emi, I’ll make his life a living hell! Do you believe what you’re saying, or are you too blinded by the fact that you’re fucking a hot, rich, eighteen-year-old?”

I inhaled sharply, calming the rage I felt bubble up inside of me. I couldn’t blow up, not now. I couldn’t.

“Stop it…” The dark-skinned girl said weakly.

“Why? You’re not coming to your senses, so I need to slap you a little bit with my words until you do!”

“Please—”

“Shut it!” I hissed. “Can’t you see you’re hurting her?! Let’s… let’s not fight, alright?” I said as my arms slumped. “Not now after that attack, and especially not here. We’re all on edge.”

“I know we’re all on edge, I’m not dumb,” Pauline said. “But we have a clear culprit who’s not pulling his weight, and he needs a dressing down.”

“I agree, but again, let’s let him recover a little bit first, yeah?” I told her. “If we hit Louis when he’s down—”

“Just stop!” Cecilia said. “Leave me out of this.”

She stormed away, her voice shaking. I wanted to run after her, but it seemed foolish. What would I even say? Apologize? No. It would be best to apply my own advice and let her cool off, even if it hurt me to see her like this.

“Hmph! I thought she was better than this,” Pauline said. “What do you say, then, Grace? Will you let your feelings blind you as well?”

I felt my heart jump out of my throat. Did she know?

“W—what?”

“As much as it pains me to say this, Cecilia sees you as a friend, but sometimes, even friends need to be argued with for the good of the group.”

I sighed in relief. “I agree with you,” I started, before raising my tone. “But that shit you said about Cecilia being too dumb to know something was wrong because she has… sex with him. That was too far! You’re a terrible person, Pauline. I hope you know this.”

“I thought we weren’t supposed to argue in the forest,” She smugly said. “Oh well, you’re not the first one to tell me this, and you won’t be the last.” She finished as she lazily left.

I clicked my tongue. This girl’s entire way of thinking got on my nerves, but I let it go and decided to take a break like everyone else. To distract myself from the pain in my back, I made my way to where Denzel was, and Frillish followed me since he was out while Elekid was resting. He was in a secluded part of the camp, away from everyone else, crouching next to Buneary. It was sleeping in such a serene and peaceful way, so I quietly tip-toed up to him. Eevee was standing near, listening for any threats and watching over the normal type. Surprisingly, Budew was also out of her ball, still with her usual angered expression, but softer than I had come to expect.

I crouched in turn next to my friend, who looked at me and smiled. We stayed quiet not to wake up Buneary, but one look at him was enough to understand quite a lot. I could see how much anger he still had left over from his fight with Louis, and that he was trying to calm himself down. I had seen him angry before, like when he was defending me during the tournament but not that angry, and it was honestly shocking. Denzel Williams was snarky, and big, but soft-spoken, so to see him start a physical fight like this?

Eterna forest took a toll on us all.

Buneary rustled, waking up slowly. It flinched when it saw Frillish and me, but Denzel reassured her and pet her soft head.

“Sorry,” I told Buneary. “I didn’t mean to wake you up. I’m Denzel’s friend,” I pointed at my Pokemon. “This is Frillish. He’s one of my partners. Don’t mind the creepy stare.”

“Bun…”

I grabbed my Pokedex and scanned the little rabbit, hoping to learn more about her species.

Buneary, the Rabbit Pokemon. When it senses danger, it perks up its ears. On cold nights, it sleeps with its head tucked into its fur. Its ears are always rolled up. With enough training, they can be forcefully extended to shatter even a large boulder.

“She’s still shaken, and scared of everything,” Denzel said softly. “But at least she’s healthy. I think that cut on her right ear will scar, though. Potions aren’t that effective. If it had been a Full Restore…”

“That’s League only,” I told Denzel. “Don’t beat yourself up. Even the others couldn’t procure those, and they have all the money in the entire world.”

“You’re right,” He said. “I just feel like I could be doing more, you know? I let you get wounded, and you could have inhaled too many spores, or been bitten somewhere worse. What do I get? I get nothing.”

“Denzel—”

“Think about it,” He interrupted. “Every time, you’re the one that something happens to, and I’m always fine. The attack when I first caught Budew—”

The grass type screeched and turned away.

“I already forgave you for that—”

“Then there was you getting kidnapped by team Galactic, and again, I couldn’t do a thing,” Denzel said in a hurt tone.

“Denzel, you can’t blame yourself for that—”

“How can’t I? I wasn’t there.”

“You were taking care of Eevee!” I said, raising my voice.

“Taking care of him how, Grace? He was already with the Nurses. I couldn’t do anything more, I could have come back!” He yelled. Eevee barked, and we paused and looked around the forest. Nothing was there. Denzel lowered his tone before continuing. “And now this? You get a fucking chunk of your back ripped out by a Paras, and again, I keep coming out of it fine. Why? Why?! You’re my best friend! Do you know how worried I am about you? That you’re just holding everything all in, and that one day, you’re going to go back to how you were on that hospital bed?”

“I’m… this isn’t the time, Denzel! I don’t blame you for any of this!”

“That doesn’t matter. I keep failing you, over and over. I need to be a better trainer, or one of these days, something—”

He stopped when we heard an argument back at the center of the camp. He took a breath, looking at me awkwardly.

“It’d be better if you went to check. I’m still pissed at Louis, and I feel like I’d only add to the tension,” He said.

I sniffled and left, wiping my eyes on the way back. Frillish hovered quietly above my shoulder, offering me some comfort. I was glad he hadn’t gotten angry at Denzel, at least. I wiped away more tears. Why did it hurt so much?

Ah.

It was our first argument. Our first actual argument. And the fact that it looked like there was no easy way to fix things was like pouring salt on the wound. I composed myself before stepping into camp and saw Pauline and Louis arguing. Emilia was crying again, this time on Justin’s shoulder as he watched the clash with melancholy. Cecilia was nowhere to be seen.

“Grow a fucking pair, Louis! You appointed yourself leader at the start of this journey, then act like it!” Pauline hissed.

“Quiet, you! I’ve tolerated your foul mouth and temper for months, and I’m tired of it!”

“I never fucking liked you, Louis! And I bet nobody does, but we’re all forced to suck up to you because of your shitty dad! Hell, I bet even Cece feels the same!”

I frowned. First, she said Cecilia was blinded by love, now this? Her words didn’t make any sense, she just said anything to hurt as much as possible. Pauline used her words like a weapon.

The blond man froze for a second. “Lies.”

“All I’m asking is for you to take a little bit of responsibility, Louis. Not even one Arceus damned apology out of your mouth!”

“That’s funny, for you of all people to be talking about apologizing—”

“Alright then, you have no argument, so you bring it back to me, like usual.”

I shook my head in disbelief. The entire group was collapsing before my very eyes, and it hadn’t even been my or Denzel’s fault. Their entire dynamic had been broken from the start. A facade. I started looking around for Cecilia. I feared the worst, but she was just sitting in her tent, shielding her ears, with her Fletchling worriedly looking at her. I stepped inside while Frillish stayed out, since I told him to monitor the situation outside and intervene if the fight got violent.

“Thank the Legendaries,” I sighed. “I thought you ran off. Are you okay?”

She was just muttering something that I couldn’t hear, rocking back and forth over and over. I leaned in further to listen in.

“Father, no, it wasn’t me. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me. I’ll do what you want, I’ll follow the deal. Pauline did it. She provoked him...”

“What the hell,” I muttered. I stepped closer and grabbed her shoulders. “Cecilia?”

Cecilia kept rocking her body back and forth, continuously speaking to her father even though he wasn’t there. There had to be some sort of abuse going on. I bit my lip, feeling pain in my heart. It hurt, seeing her like this.

“Cecilia! Your dad isn’t there!” I said, shaking her. “You’re with me. It’s Grace.”

The girl slowly looked up at me, and her thoughts seemed to clear, as her face turned from anguish to embarrassment.

“Grace… I’m sorry. I… my dad…”

“I understand,” I just said. I could clearly see she didn’t want to get into it. “Just know that I’m here, ok? Your friends and your Pokemon too. You’re not alone.”

“I don’t know. Are they my friends?”

“I think so. I think they like you. Even Pauline, even though I don’t like her. And hell, if they aren’t, I’m still here. And I’ll stay here. Just don’t break on me, alright Cecilia?”

She nodded. “Call me Cece.”

“Cece,” I said softly.

“Sorry Fletchling,” She said, gently petting the bird. “I must have worried you.”

“The situation is really bad,” I said. “Pauline and Louis are fighting. Emilia’s a mess. Justin is fine, but he seems like he just doesn’t want to deal with it, and I just had a fight with Denzel. You know them. I need you to help me fix things.”

“I would, but I just can’t,” Cece sighed. “I can’t bare to look at Louis right now.”

I took a deep breath. “Alright.”

“I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize. Sort yourself out. I’ll fix it,” I said as I got up.

She just stared at me in bewilderment, but I just left her tent. I ran my hands through my hair, shook my head, and slapped my cheeks to focus.

Cece had traumatic issues with her father, and something else going on with Louis.

Justin wasn’t motivated enough to do anything.

Emilia was two steps away from breaking down.

Pauline was a bitch to everyone that wasn’t Emilia.

Louis was a coward who thought he could do nothing wrong.

And Denzel had some form of survivor’s guilt developing because of me.

And it was up to me to fix it. All of it.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 46

I took a deep breath and looked at Frillish.

"Frillish, I'm recalling you," I said. "I might need Togetic for this, and you already hate the others enough. I don't want you to get mad and raise tensions."

I thought he would protest, but he just nodded. "Thank you, buddy," I smiled slightly. I recalled him and let out Togetic before bringing her up to speed. She was a last resort in case I needed to just attack everyone with her happiness. I didn't want to do it without their consent, but at this point, I was at the end of my rope.

The first priority was breaking up the argument between Louis and Pauline before they attracted some wild Pokemon, but how would I go about it? I needed to somehow let Louis down gently without offending Pauline too much. I stayed deep in thought as I made my way toward the center of the camp. The fight was still going on, and Louis had released his Gible while Pauline had released her Charmander. The fire type was growling protectively in front of her trainer, while Gible was probably just excited to fight anything. Not good.

"...dare you! I dare you to attack me, Louis, because it'll show how pathetic you are! You're willing to attack me, but when we ask for a little help against wild Pokemon, oh, suddenly, you're nowhere to be found!"

"You're wrong. This is just a precautionary measure against you and your deranged behavior!" Louis yelled.

I bit the inside of my lip as Togetic observed behind me with a sad chirp. If a fight erupted, the forest could light ablaze, and Pokemon could probably hear this for miles. I had no time to think, it was time for action. There was a chance— however slim, that they were so out of their mind that they'd attack Togetic, I was pretty confident Togetic would be able to take care of Gible thanks for her fairy type. Frillish could defeat Charmeleon and extinguish any fires.

"Guys," I said. They ignored me and continued to argue. "Guys!"

"Don't get involved!" Pauline yelled. "You were too scared to speak out, so now this is between me and—"

"Shut up," I said.

She could only offer me a bewildered look in response. She clearly wasn't used to being interrupted."Don't you—"

"Shut. Up," I said again. Togetic clenched at my shirt as she hid behind me. "You're going to get all of us killed. Stop yelling. Can you do that, at least?"

"She started it—" Louis said.

I raised my hand and glared at him. "Doesn't matter. The argument was going nowhere anyway. Louis, I need to speak to Pauline. Alone."

"What gives you the right—"

"I don't want to speak to you—"

"I don't care. Finish this argument after we get out of here! For the love of Arceus, I'm two fucking steps away from just taking Denzel and leaving you people!" I hissed, omitting Cecilia from that list. Although I doubted she'd go along with me anyway. "If this is how the group is going to be from now on, we'd have a better chance of surviving alone."

That seemed to have shut them up. I let out a satisfied sigh and continued.

"Recall your Gible, Louis," I said. The dragon type was snarling and looked like he was going to let out a Dragon Rage any minute. "Prinplup should be fine by now."

He recalled his Pokemon, clicked his tongue, and left, leaving me alone with Pauline. Charmeleon being out was fine because at least she seemed to have no problems listening to her trainer. The redhead in question glared at me with her arms crossed.

"So that's how it is then?" She said. "He gets off with no consequences?"

"Pauline. I agree with you in principle, like I said a thousand times before, but now is not the time."

"Whatever. You people are all the same. You think you know how to lead? I'd love to see you try," She said.

Pauline was about to storm off before I called out to her. She turned with an annoyed look.

I was tempted to let her go. I really was, but I couldn't. "Pauline," I started. "I actually need you here."

"Excuse me?"

"You're strange. You're the only one who seems not to be affected by almost dying to a horde of Paras. I think you're an asset."

"Don't call me an asset like I'm a thing."

"Sorry," I apologized. "I think we need to join forces to fix things, otherwise we're completely fucked, and I don't say this lightly. It's clear that we dislike each other, but in some fucked up way, I kind of respect you. Yeah, you're mean and completely unempathetic to anyone that isn't Emilia, but you've got a good head on top of your shoulders, and you're still standing," I said, echoing the words Cynthia had told me. "And so am I. We're both the only ones that are still thinking sensibly here. We need a temporary alliance to get the group back on track. Can I count on you?"

"Mere flattery won't get you anywhere—"

"Can I count on you?" I repeated. "Or do you want the group to collapse and something to happen to Emilia?" I was being manipulative, and I knew it, but I had no choice.

Pauline stared into my eyes, and I stared back, not breaking eye contact. We must have stayed completely still for at least thirty seconds. She blinked and rolled her eyes.

"What do you need me to do?" She asked.

I grinned. That was my first breakthrough.

—

Our first order of business was swinging by Justin and Emilia. The two were sitting on a half-rotten fallen log, and they both looked like they had seen better days. At least Emilia had stopped crying, although her leg was in terrible shape. Blood had already seeped through the bandage.

Pauline gasped and ran up to her friend. "Emi! Your leg! Why didn't you say anything?!"

She muttered something quietly that I couldn't catch, and Pauline seemingly couldn't either.

Her head turned toward Justin. "You didn't help her switch bandages?! What's wrong with you?!"

"Oh? I apologize," Justin said hollowly. "I must have missed it."

"You fucking nitwit—"

"Pauline, let's focus on Emilia for now, alright?" I interrupted before she could yell again. "I'll help you switch her bandages."

Pauline grabbed bandages from her bag and slowly unwrapped the old ones around her friend's legs. I grimaced at the state of her limb. It was swollen, emitting a foul smell, and the bites were full of pus.

"Shit, it's infected," I said.

"What do I do?" Pauline said, her voice trembling. "I was never good with this stuff. Cecilia was always helping us."

I started recalling instructor Anders' words. "We need to wash it with warm water— wait, don't touch it! Wash your hands first. Don't you have sanitizer?"

She nodded and cleaned her hands, and then handed me some. Emilia was turning her head away, trying not to look at the state of her leg while Pauline gently dabbed it with a warm cloth as I held the leg still. After a few minutes, we finally gave her new, fresh bandages, but we'd probably have to change them again soon enough. When we were done, Pauline pulled me to the side for a second.

"Should we turn back?" Pauline asked with a whisper.

"Hm?"

"What if it's not enough? Emi might need to get to a Center urgently."

"We can discuss it as a group after we finish bringing everybody back together," I said. "That's not a decision we can take on our own."

"But Emi—"

"I know," I said. Seeing her so hurt and worried was strange, and it was somehow making me feel bad. "We'll get her help. For now, let's stick with the plan. We need Justin on board."

She tapped her heel repeatedly against the ground. "Fine."

We approached Justin again. The thin boy was just… sitting there, staring at nothing, as if he had completely shut down, but he was still responsive and willing to speak, which was more than we could have asked for.

"Justin," Pauline said. "What's the problem?"

"There is no problem, Pauline," He said with a sad smile. "I just need time to… adjust to the reality that my father would send me to such a place willingly."

Pauline stared at me, and I nodded. "Come on, Justin! Get it together already, you already know our parents are different."

I would have liked a little more tact, but I hoped she knew what she was doing. She knew Justin much better than I, after all.

"So? Are you saying this is justified? A parent should unconditionally love their child, should they not?"

"Your father does love you."

"Would you send someone you loved here?"

"Justin, look at me!" Pauline said. The boy stared up at her with dead eyes. "Think about it. Your dad never leaves Jubilife or Sunnyshore, and he lives in the best hotels those cities can offer. Do you really think he knows anything about traveling? All he reads about this place is probably headlines once every few months."

"The headlines that say that some trainer died or was wounded beyond repair?" He laughed dryly.

"Yes," Pauline said. "Those headlines. But he probably thinks you can handle it because he got you the best Pokemon money can buy, and you're traveling with others who also have the best Pokemon money can buy. It's shitty, but that's life. There's a fundamental disconnect that can't be bridged because none of our parents have ever been trainers."

"My father… we'd go camping together. He knows—"

"Camping in some fucking bought-out land doesn't equate to… this!" Pauline yelled, gesturing all around her. "Now, you can call your father after we get out of here and tell him to fuck off because that's certainly what I'm going to do with mommy."

"Truly?"

"Yes! Now get it together. You're usually the sensible one. Let's get out of this damned forest."

Justin offered a slight smile. "Very well. I would have liked it if you could have said all of that without swearing."

"Fuck off."

I felt relief wash over me. That was the second one, but we weren't even halfway there yet.

"Thank you, Justin," I smiled. "Now I'm going to speak to Louis. Can I trust you guys to help Emilia?"

The girl hadn't said anything during Pauline's entire speech, but I would be useless here. I had only been with her for Justin in case Pauline needed backup, but now that two people would be able to help Emilia, I could finally go talk to Louis. We had decided that Pauline shouldn't be there for obvious reasons. The rift between them would need a lot more than words to be repaired.

"We know her the best," Justin said. "I believe we can help her. Right Emi?" He asked, putting his arm around her gently.

"Alright, great," I said. She was in good hands.

I left and walked around the camp, looking for Louis, still followed by Togetic. I was glad I hadn't had to use her powers on anyone yet. Having her at my back made me feel stronger, somehow. Like I was unstoppable, and I'd be able to get everyone back on their feet. I found Louis brooding with his Prinplup next to Cecilia's tent, seemingly rehearsing something he would say to her since he was speaking by himself.

"Hey," I said, making him jump. Prinplup honked at me, angrily moving his flippers.

"Grace? What is it? Has Pauline sent you to berate me some more?"

"What? No, I need to talk to you and set you straight. First, you fucked up."

"Hmph. There it is—"

"You fucked up twice. But you're human, so that's normal. People have lost faith in you, but you know what you should do?" He looked at me and shrugged. "Prove them wrong the next time."

I saw a glimmer of hope in his eyes. I knew Louis' biggest weakness was his incredible ego, but it could also be a strength. Feeding it here was also the key to our problems, even though it pained me greatly.

"Prove them wrong," I repeated. "Contribute next time we get attacked and make Pauline and Denzel eat their words. Impress… impress Cece."

"She already lets you call her Cece?" He asked.

"That's beside the point," I said. "You're our leader, so show us. And it's okay if it takes you a little bit of time to get to the action, just make sure to get there. Arceus knows what else we'll be meeting deeper in the forest."

Louis paused for a second before scratching his head. "Fine, if you need me so much, I suppose I can do what you're asking of me."

"Great! Thank you!" I smiled. "Um, were you about to go in Cece's tent?"

"Yes, to apologize—"

Cecilia's words rang in my mind. I can't bear to look at Louis right now, she had told me. I had to stop this.

"I think that's a bad idea."

"Why?"

"Let me talk to her for you. It'll be easier between girls."

After much convincing, Louis recited to me an apology he had made and asked me to tell it to Cecilia with the exact same intonations and words. It was something about not having cheated on her, and I was astonished he even thought that was her problem. How was he her fiance, and yet didn't know about her problems with her dad or her issues with her best friend? Either way, I lied, saying I would apologize for him, and entered her tent again when he finally left. I was glad to see that Cece was doing better.

"Hey," I softly said. "You okay?"

"I am. I have… recomposed myself, and I'll soon be ready to leave this tent. How goes the outside?" She asked as she fiddled nervously.

"It's going good. I've been going around, fixing things as best I can. Pauline's been a great help, and we're almost done, actually. If you're doing well, there's only… Denzel left."

I swallowed.

She nodded. "I can tell this troubles you. If you want, we can wait here until I'm ready to step out. I can help."

"No," I shook my head. "I have to do this alone. Thank you for asking, though, I really appreciate it."

We stared at each other for a few awkward seconds before I coughed.

"Well, I better get going then. See you later, Cece."

"See you later, Grace. Thank you for all the help. I'll be there soon."

I bent down and left her tent, and nervously trudged my way back to where I had fought Denzel. I felt a surge of nervousness swell within me. What was the best way to approach this? An apologetic approach? An aggressive one, maybe? Before I could come up with a plan, I was already there, and my friend called out to me.

"Grace," He said. He was still sitting by that same tree, still watching Buneary doze off with Eevee and Budew. "You're back."

"I am."

The words were short and felt stilted. Unnatural.

"I'm sorry—"

"I'm sorry—"

We had both tried apologizing at the same time, speaking over each other. We chuckled, and that seemed to have cut the tension at least in half.

"I'll go first," He said. "I'm sorry I blew up at you like that earlier. It wasn't like me. I just feel so… inadequate, you know? I feel like I don't deserve to be your friend sometimes because I'm not doing enough to help. But I should have articulated that better, and I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's not your fault."

"And I'm sorry too," I sniffled. "I'm sorry I just dismissed your worries like they were nothing. I shouldn't have. I didn't know you had all of these worries building up inside of you… and eventually, it's too much pressure, right? You've got to let it out. And you were already angry with Louis."

Eevee barked happily and climbed my shoulder, while Togetic chirped, floating up and down. Budew screeched, letting her scowl go soft for a second. I felt tears stream down my face, but they were happy tears. I choked up, approaching Denzel as he pulled me into a hug.

"Friends again?" He asked.

"Best friends, you idiot."

"Great, because I'd only let my best friend get her snot all over my clothes."

I laughed.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 47

It took a few minutes to recompose myself, but even then, I felt incredibly happy. I hadn’t really had any close friends before starting on this journey. Oh, sure, there were school friends that I hung out with, but never outside of school, and they felt more like acquaintances. None of us had much in common, and we felt more like friends of convenience. Something that we forced upon each other to not be as lonely. It was the opposite with Denzel. He was someone I felt incredibly close with even though we had only known each other for a few months, because we were together every day .

And I couldn’t stand the thought of not being on good terms with him.

“I probably need to apologize to Louis too,” Denzel said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I was too aggressive. I shouldn’t have started the fight.”

I nodded. “You do that. I can watch Buneary for you if you want?”

“It’s alright, I’ll carry her,” He said, lifting Buneary. She was startled for a second until she realized Denzel was picking her up. “I’ll return you to your ball so you can rest, Eevee. Budew, you can come with.”

I smiled at the grass type, who turned her body away from me. It looked like she had finally warmed up to Denzel enough to work with him.

“Alright, I’ll go check on how Emilia’s doing. I had Pauline and Justin comfort her,” I said.

“Sounds good.”

“Oh, and could you bring Louis back to where they are? We need a strategy meeting to figure out our next steps.”

My friend nodded, and we separated shortly after. I walked through the thick woods and made my way to the same fallen log Justin and Emilia had been sitting on and saw the three of them talking. Pauline was gently rubbing the girl’s back while she had her head on Justin’s shoulder. I leaned against a tree and silently observed the scene. These three were incredibly close, which made me wonder what Cecilia and Louis’ status in all of this was. The two were obviously nowhere as close to those three, although since Cece was from Unova, that probably made sense. 

Although for Louis… I recalled one of Pauline’s lines during their argument. She had said that they were all forced to stay with him because of his father. Had it been something she had said to wound Louis as much as possible, or was it the truth? Or maybe it was somewhere in between. I was starting to get a picture of their situation at home, at least. They all seemed to have issues with their parents. Trauma, crushing expectations, bad relationships…

I sighed and walked up to the trio.

“You’re back,” Pauline said sharply. “How’d it go with Louis?”

“You didn’t see him?” I asked.

She nodded to my left, and I saw the man with his arms crossed looking at us. I felt bad at the fact that Denzel would probably look for him for longer than was needed. He could have just come with me.

“He’s been there for a while,” Justin said. 

“I spoke with him, and it went well. Don’t expect him to apologize, or anything, but I think he’ll have no problems helping us when needed now.”

Pauline rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t expecting one of those.”

“Cut him some slack,” Emilia said quietly. “We’re all on edge.”

“Fine…” The redhead grumbled. “But I’m not apologizing either!”

“No one asked you to,” Justin said.

We continued making small talk while we waited for Cecilia and Denzel. My friend eventually showed up, and we observed his talk with Louis. The apology was out of earshot, and I trusted him enough to know that he wouldn’t screw it up and make the situation devolve into another argument. By the end of it, the two shook hands and nodded at each other, and they both walked toward us. Pauline clicked her tongue.

“Be nice,” Emilia reprimanded. “I don’t want us to fight anymore.”

“Hey guys,” I said. “Made up yet?”

“We have, and it feels damn good,” Denzel smiled. 

“That it does. It feels even better to see the group reunited once again,” Louis said, eyeing Pauline carefully. There was obviously still tension there, but as long as they were civil with each other, it would be fine. “Should I go get Cece?”

“No,” I blurted out. “She said she’d come out on her own.”

“What if she feels hurt?” Louis asked. “She might need me.”

“I trust her word.”

The minutes passed slowly as we waited. I felt anxious, but at least Pauline and Louis were slowly getting back to talking again, however small and inconsequential the topic was. Denzel was still taking care of Buneary, while I tried getting to know Emilia better to distract her from the horrible state her leg was in. I had gotten off easy compared to her. 

Around twenty minutes later, Cecilia finally reached us. She looked completely fine, and not like she had just had a mental crisis about her father and Louis, whatever it may have been about. I knew better, though, and I’d have to try to support her as best I could. Pauline was strong. Strong enough to help Justin and Emilia, but who did Cecilia have?

The answer looked to be no one.

“Cece! We were all so worried for you,” Louis said, running up to her and grabbing her hands. 

She offered him a smile. “I needed to compose myself, but I am fine now,” Cece said. “But we have much to talk about, so let’s save the pleasantries for later.”

“We need to turn back and get Emi to a Center,” Pauline said right away with fire in her eyes. 

“If the majority decides, we will,” Cece said. 

“No point in delaying the vote. Who’s for turning back?”

Pauline, Justin, and I raised our hands, and then looked at Emilia in confusion when they realized that she wasn’t raising hers.

“Emi, why?!” Pauline yelled.

The girl sighed, placing her hands over her eyes. “If I leave now,” She started. “I won’t be able to go back.”

Justin stammered. “Y—you will! And even then, if your leg—”

“I took my decision. I don’t want to turn back.”

Pauline glowered at the others who had voted no, grinding her teeth. I personally felt the need to not go back and get through this trial, but I couldn’t do it in good conscience when Emilia’s leg was like this.

“Can you even walk?” I asked her.

“I don’t know, I haven’t tried since earlier. It’s not as painful, so maybe.”

“Try,” Cecilia said.

The girl slowly got up, supported by Pauline, and managed to take a few steps. She was limping, and she would be slow, but it looked like she would be able to keep going, so at least we wouldn’t have to stay in the same spot while we waited for her to get better.

“That settles it then,” Denzel said. “What else is there? Should we change our formation?”

“I think that would be wise,” Cece quickly answered. “Emi needs to be in the middle so that she’s less exposed to threats and has more time to react to anything jumping at her.”

“Thank you, Cece,” Emilia said. “Beldum can stick around with you.” 

The dark-skinned girl nodded. “Then we have the matter with Louis—”

“Already fixed,” I interrupted. “He’ll help out from now on. Right?” I looked at him.

“I will. My performance might have been… unsatisfactory thus far, but I will be at the top of my form from now on.”

Cece nodded, eyeing me with a slight smile.

“Then I have a proposition. We rest here for the rest of the day, and then tomorrow, we start heading northeast again,” She said.

“I’m only going along with this on one condition,” Pauline muttered. “If Emi’s leg gets worse throughout the day, we head back, no questions asked.”

“I can go along with that,” Denzel said.

“Very well,” Cece also agreed. “Then the meeting is adjourned.”

We all went back to our occupations. Denzel and Justin decided to watch the opposite ends of the camp with Eevee and Growlithe, while Pauline decided to watch over Emi while she slept in her tent. Louis evidently tried to speak to his fiance, but she seemingly always had an excuse to avoid him, and apparently, I was her latest excuse. We were in a secluded part of the camp, where Denzel had been before. Water slowly dripped from the foliage, which was so dense it covered the sky and stopped the rain from falling on us.

“So Castelia’s even bigger than Jubilife?” I asked, feeling mindblown at the existence of such a city.

“Much larger— twice as large if I remember correctly. It is truly a magnificent sight, especially at night. I’d love to go back one day,” She said, looking at the sky.

“I mean, a year’s a long time, I guess, but after the Circuit’s over, you can go back, right? At least during the summer.”

Cece smiled sadly and looked to the side. “I wish it was that easy, but to be quite honest, there are also advantages to being in Sinnoh.”

“Right? I mean, it’s not as populated or as dense as the other regions, but it’s got a charm of its own.”

“I mostly meant avoiding my father.”

I felt my stomach sink. I should have known that was what she was talking about. I was so stupid!

“Sorry,” I said, suddenly finding the forest floor to be very appealing to look at. “I’m super oblivious sometimes.”

“Don’t worry, I was the one who steered the conversation toward such a dark topic. The truth was, I had an ulterior motive to bringing you here— beyond avoiding Louis, of course.”

“What is it? I’ll help you out with anything,” I blurted out.

“How about just listening to a girl vent? It may seem strange to you, and I mean no offense, but since we come from different upbringings… I feel like I can tell you anything without having to worry if my words will make their way back to my father’s ears.”

I nodded. “I’ll listen to you. We’re friends, right?”

“Right. I suppose I should start by explaining what the problem was at the outpost. I mentioned that I worried that my father was spying on me through the others, right?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Well— actually, it might be better to start with Amy. Amy… Amy is my best friend from Unova. Or maybe she was my best friend. We grew up together, and we supported each other through our struggles with our parents, but since I left for Sinnoh, she’s been different . Like she’s a completely different person, and it’s obvious that my father has her under his thumb. So I can’t help but wonder if our friendship was ever real in the first place,” Cecilia said sadly.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t . I knew nothing about their relationship, so any advice I offered right now would just look like I was pitying her.

“And suddenly, I hear that she’s been talking to Louis? That crushed me. Completely crushed me, and I know it’s only a matter of time before she starts asking about me to the others.”

“She knows all of them?” I asked.

“We all know each other, or at least our parents do. That’s how it is at our level of wealth. We all attend the same parties, the same galas, the same business conventions… everyone is connected to each other.”

“I still don’t understand one thing,” I tentatively said. “You say your dad is spying on you, and I believe it. But what does he want from you? You’re passionate about Pokemon battling, and you actually want to become the Champion, so you’re not like Justin and Emilia.”

Cece exhaled and stared at me. “I need you to promise me one more time, Grace. Promise me that father didn’t send you.”

“I promise,” I answered, looking into her light brown eyes. “I’m my own person. I have my own goals, and I know nothing about your dad.”

How much had her father done to Cecilia for her to have such a huge amount of trust issues? I bit the inside of my lip, wondering about what kind of hell she had had to live under back home growing up. And for her only support, her best friend, turning out to be some spy? It was obvious why she was so unwell.

“I choose to trust you, then,” She said. “I’m being forced to marry Louis against my will by our fathers.”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 48

It had been three days since the group almost fractured. Three days of tiresome traveling through this dense forest. Three days of relentless attacks by wild Pokemon, which grew more and more frequent as we reached the deepest parts of the forest. Every hour or two now, we were getting attacked by wild Pokemon. They were all relatively easy to deal with, but they were incredibly draining. Still, we held strong. Apart from a minor scratch Denzel suffered to his leg, tearing up his pants and breaking the skin, nothing had happened. Emilia’s leg wasn’t getting better, but it wasn’t getting worse either. I hoped we had made the right decision not to turn back, but it was too late now.

We could only march forward.

In the end, everyone in the group decided to work with each other again to get out of the forest. Louis and Pauline still didn’t talk, and a few arguments had almost started between them, but they always managed to control themselves. Louis had taken my advice to heart, and he was now helping during every battle, although he still hesitated sometimes. Denzel and I completely made up, and Emi… well, Emi was tired and in pain all the time. The bite on my back had gotten better, and I could run now, even though it still hurt like hell.

Every one of us was exhausted, mentally and physically. Being constantly on edge did that to a person, and none of us were able to sleep more than an hour at night because, again, we just kept getting attacked. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, trying to keep myself awake. Even while walking, I was barely holding onto consciousness. 

“Hold,” Louis hissed, pointing at a tree to his left. “The wood here is marked.”

I’m being forced to marry Louis against my will by our fathers, Cecilia had said.

The words echoed in my mind over and over, distracting me. Cece had explained that it wasn’t Louis’ fault. That even though he was in love with her, he had been forced to do this just as she had. Still, I was only human, and my innate jealousy of the man had turned into a deep dislike. I just couldn’t help it. He could have done the right thing and worked with Cecilia to torpedo the deal, but—

He was in love with her, and she wasn’t.

Denzel approached the tree and squinted. He had peacefully caught Buneary the day before. It had grown extremely attached to him and joined his team without a fuss. “Arceus, how old is this? Can anyone read this?” He asked, peering at the markings.

“The first part says… look out, I think,” I said, carefully reading the writings.

“S… Scy… Scyther?” Denzel continued. 

We all froze, and our Pokemon grew uneasy. The marking was saying ‘Look out, Scyther territory ahead.’ We all knew what that entailed.

“Can we go around?” Emilia asked with a shaky voice.

“Around how?” Louis asked. “We don’t know how large this ‘territory’ is. For all we know, we could be walking ‘around’ it for days and getting lost.”

Pauline crossed her arms. “We should at least consider it.”

“Agreed,” Justin nodded.

“I’m sorry, but I recall saying I would catch one of these,” Cecilia smiled, softly touching the carving. 

“Cece…” I slowly said. “I don’t know about this. This is reckless.”

The girl broke into a wicked grin. “It shall be a great battle, shall it not? If I can’t do this, I won’t be able to fulfill my promise.”

Again, like when Cecilia had asked me to join her group, she brought up some kind of promise. I bit my lip. Thinking back on our situation, Cecilia had never really been affected by any of the attacks on a psychological level, even though she was as tired as everyone else. The attacks had started to get even on Pauline’s nerves. And again, unlike everyone else, her problems in the forest had always been related to her family or her… engagement. In fact, from the way she looked now, it seemed that Cecilia was thriving. I wouldn’t go as far to say that she was enjoying it, but she sure as hell was stronger than all of us, and without a doubt the bright light that had kept us going.

And I admired her so much for that. It was just a step too far this time.

“I will follow you wherever you go, Cece,” Louis said firmly. 

“I mean, I think this is a bad idea,” Denzel added. “I don’t know.”

“Fine,” She sighed. I relaxed for a second before she uttered the next part of her sentence. “Then I shall go on my own. Wait for me here.”

The group erupted into protests. We must have spent at least twenty minutes debating fiercely in an attempt to convince Cecilia and Louis to take the long way around, even though it would probably extend our trek by multiple days. In the end, however, we just weren’t willing to split the group up. That was bound to result in catastrophe, and at least together, maybe we’d be able to fight off a Scyther if it attacked. I wasn’t about to let Cecilia die, nor Louis, no matter how much I disliked him.

“This is fucked ,” Pauline raged. “She’s holding all of us hostage.”

And I agreed with her. Cecilia seemed to have completely been consumed by this promise to whatever individual had talked to her. If I knew who it was, I’d let them know a thing or two about what her reckless promise had done to Cece, who seemed to put it above valuing her own life. 

For hours, we advanced at a brisk pace— the fastest Emilia’s leg allowed since we wanted to spend the least amount of time possible in Scyther’s territory. Elekid followed by my side. He had grown extremely protective of me since I had been wounded by that Paras, and it pained me to see his playful side erode slightly. I hoped he didn’t blame himself, and that he’d at least return to normal once we got out of Eterna forest.

If we ever got out.

I heard something snap to my right and jumped. The entire group immediately got into position, hiding behind each of their Pokemon as we grabbed our axes. Days of constant fighting had made the process automatic now. Freezing up meant injury, or worse. 

Snap .

We heard the sound again, closer this time. And then over and over. The snapping of branches and crunching of leaves. A bead of sweat dripped down to my chin as I stood still. I adjusted the sweaty grip on my axe, clenching the handle as hard as I could to stop myself from shaking. We were waiting for whatever was coming. But the truth was that we all knew. A huge group had trespassed onto its territory, so it was bound to investigate. It was coming.

Scyther slowly emerged from the shadows. Its two blades looked deadly, like they could cut me in half like a knife slicing through butter. Its armor was hardened and scarred by years of living in Eterna forest. For a brief moment, it stared at us.

And then it attacked with a deafening screech.

The bug type fanned its wings and blurred forward, going straight for Deino, who roared a Dragon Breath at it. Scyther just flew above, using the trees as cover as it slowly and methodically made its way toward us. 

“Elekid, you’re up!” I quickly yelled. 

He whirled his arms and began shooting out Thundershocks, each narrowly avoided as well. It was getting closer . 

Emilia cried out and ordered her Beldum to use confusion, and Pauline quickly did the same with Gothita. The psychic energy restrained Scyther in the air, and I breathed out a sigh of relief as a Dragon Breath, a Thundershock, and an Ice Beam all hit our assailant. 

Scyther simply brushed it off and broke out of the psychic restraint with a defiant screech. I swore as its sickle glowed and slashed across Deino’s head. The dragon type roared and bit back, but Scyther was already gone, having moved on to attacking Prinplup. Our psychic types restrained him again , giving Louis and his Pokemon time to reposition themselves behind our most sturdy members, but Scyther quickly broke out and chased him. It seemed like Louis was his target.

“Grace, with me,” Denzel screamed. “Swift!”

Eevee summoned a series of shining stars, which flew at high speeds toward Scyther. He was right. Scyther was too fast for normal attacks to hit. We needed to use Swift.

“E-Swift,” I yelled out.

Elekid grunted, and electric stars barrelled toward Scyther. Justin tackled Louis just in time for him to avoid getting cut in half by the wild Pokemon, but Prinplup wasn’t so lucky, and Scyther raked its blades across his back in the shape of an X. He retaliated quickly, sending out a stream of bubbles that hit the Scyther thanks to their close proximity, but shortly afterward, the bug type took to the air again, narrowly avoiding both of our Swifts before the stars turned abruptly and just kept going , but it was just too fast.

“Keep restraining it with the psychics so Swift can hit!” I yelled.

“What do you think we’re trying to do, dumbass!” Pauline responded as Scyther froze in the air again.

It broke out in just a few seconds, keeping its focus on Prinplup. The water type was panting heavily and bleeding profusely from its back, but it was still standing. I considered telling everyone to just release our entire teams, but that was probably a bad idea. Unlike with the Paras, we’d need to keep track of every Pokemon to ensure they wouldn’t get killed by the Scyther—

Prinplup took another hit to the chest, but not before delivering another crucial Ice Beam, freezing one of Scyther’s wings. The bug type screamed in frustration as it desperately tried to free its wing, and that was enough time for our Swifts to hit.

“Another,” I told Denzel.

He nodded, and both of our Pokemon sent out another set of homing stars. Louis recalled his collapsed Prinplup and released his Gible, whose eyes glinted as soon as he saw what we were facing. Scyther was unable to fly now, but that didn’t mean it was slow. The wild Pokemon stared at Emilia’s leg for a split second, and sensing weakness, it blurred forward. Pauline, Beldum, and Gothita stood in between them, and Scyther again was stopped by Confusion.

“Growlithe, now! ” 

The fire type barked, jumping out of the ground and hitting the Scyther with a combined Dig and Fire Fang. He shook his head violently, melting off some of Scyther’s armored plating, and it screeched in agony as it violently kicked Growlithe against a tree. Its eyes turned bloodshot, and it sprinted toward Growlithe, who still hadn’t gotten up. Justin recalled him just as it sliced across the tree in that same X shape that I now recognized as X-Scissor. The tree collapsed shortly after, just as our Swifts hit its back.

“It just got way stronger,” Denzel yelled. “Watch out—”

Scyther was faster than before. Way faster, and it was almost impossible to track with the naked eye. Justin jumped behind another tree, which went down after one X-Scissor, and another set of Confusion restrained the bug type long enough for him to rerelease his fire type. 

“Keep using Swift!” I told Elekid and Denzel as I grabbed a Pokeball. Now wasn’t the time to freeze up.

A Dragon Rage clipped the Scyther’s leg as it tore through trees like paper, and Dragon Breath followed closely behind. I released Togetic and immediately warned her.

“W—we’re fighting a Scyther. Use Ancient Power to protect Justin!” I stammered.

She nodded, and her eyes shone as she tore huge pieces of the forest floor up with her psychic energy. Scyther’s sharp blades met a chunk of earth instead of Justin’s flesh, and it desperately tried to go around. Princess kept raising more stones and earth until they completely surrounded Justin and Growlithe like a protective shell. The bug type raged and kept hitting the barrier in frustration as more attacks hit it. It kept hitting, again and again, until it slowed, and then stopped completely. We paused our attacks and stared at it confusedly until we realized what had happened.

It had fallen unconscious while standing.

“Fuck,” Pauline whispered. “Is everyone alright?!”

“What’s going on?!” Justin yelled, his voice muffled by his shell. I ordered Togetic to pull down the barrier.

Cecilia sighed, grabbing an empty Pokeball and throwing it at the Scyther. A part of me almost expected it to wake up and break out of the ball, but after three shakes, nothing happened. 

She had caught the damn thing, and we had all gotten out of it alive.

Emilia collapsed on the ground, breathing hard and erratically. Denzel’s fists were clenched around his pants. I leaned against a tree, feeling the adrenaline drain from my body, and my legs began to turn weak. Pauline kept swearing and pacing around, and Justin just stared at the ground. The terrain around us was in complete disarray. Trees torn down and fallen to the ground, Plants soaked with Prinplup’s blood, chunks of the ground missing and turned over.

Cecilia crouched and grabbed her Pokeball with a slight smile.

Personally, I wouldn’t be smiling if I were her. How was she ever going to control this thing? It had taken all of us to take it down! She wasn’t going to be able to even bring it out of its ball.

But at least we had survived. The fact that some trainers attempted to go through this forest with a small group, or even alone was complete madness to me. I shuddered to think what would have happened to Denzel and me if we had gone through Eterna forest on our own. We took a few minutes to gather our spirits before leaving again, but before that, I grabbed a small knife I carried and started carving a message against one of the few trees still standing around us.

‘Scyther defeated and caught, October 23rd, 20XX.’

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 49

Another two days had passed since Cece had caught Scyther, and she had only tried letting the monster out of his ball once. He was still heavily wounded, so he was way easier to handle, but there was still no cooperation possible between them for the foreseeable future. Scyther was a ball of pure rage concentrated into a Pokemon, like Budew on steroids, but at least I managed to scan him with my Pokedex. According to Cecilia, the reason he had suddenly gotten way stronger during our battle was that he had the ability ‘Swarm’, which boosted his power when he was on the verge of defeat. What a terrifying ability that was.

The attacks had apparently peaked already during our time spent outside of Scyther’s territory. Their frequency was lowering at a rapid pace, which meant that we were on the right track and had passed through the deepest parts of the forest. That kept our spirits up, but we were still tired, and I was still looking for a Tangela. Fighting for our lives so often had made me shift my priorities, but now that things were slowly becoming easier, I wanted to search harder, but leaving it to chance was leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

I stared at Justin, who was, as always, in front of the group with his Growlithe. Maybe…

No. Surely not.

But what if, right? I hurriedly walked up to him and called out his name.

“Justin, do you have a second?” I asked him.

“What is it?” He answered, not turning back. I paid it no mind. Our time in Eterna had made him become increasingly vigilant. He was always on the lookout for threats, even when we had Pokemon that could do the job.

“So your Growlithe,” I started. “When he smells something, would you say he’d always remember it?”

Growlithe cried out in indignation, apparently angry that I was even questioning his sense of smell.

“You heard him,” He said playfully. “Why?”

“Has he ever seen a Tangela before?” I asked, mentally crossing my fingers.

“Ah, you’ve decided on what grass type you want to catch?” Justin said. “You’re in luck. It was months ago, but I fought a trainer with one at the start of our journey in one of Jubilife’s arenas.”

Growlithe nodded and exhaled loudly.

I broke into a smile. “Thank you, thank you! Can you lead us to one?” I asked the fire type.

Growlithe looked up at his trainer, who nodded, and then he barked in agreement. I couldn’t contain my grin. The search had just gotten much easier. After informing the group about my new tactic, we continued for a few hours, and my heart trembled in anticipation. I was going to get a new member soon.

When the sun began to set, and the rays slipping through the foliage turned orange, Growlithe barked excitedly and veered toward the right with his nose stuck to the ground.

“This is it, I think,” Justin said. “He’s got a lead.”

“Yes!” I squealed.

It took Growlithe a few minutes, but he eventually led us to a clearing in the forest. I gasped as I looked up at the beautiful, orange sky. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. I felt emotions well up inside of me. It was my first time seeing the sky in… in more than a week.

“There’s your Tangela,” Justin said, pointing forward.

I wiped my eyes and squinted. It was seemingly asleep and soaking in the last remaining sunlight. Or at least it wasn’t moving, and it was facing away from us. The entire group was about to send their Pokemon to attack, but I stopped them, saying to only intervene if it attacked me directly. Denzel protested, but I quickly convinced him by saying that Tangela wasn’t a predator and wasn’t likely to attack unless I provoked it, which wasn’t how I wanted to catch the thing. I stared at Elekid, and we nodded at each other before carefully approaching the grass type. I circled around Tangela and showed myself.

“Hey,” I said hesitantly.

The grass type opened its eyes and just stared at me with its big, googly eyes. When it saw Elekid, two vines sprung out of its body, and it whipped him away further into the clearing.

“Shit! Are you okay?!” I asked worriedly. My Pokemon got up immediately and shook off the attack, and defiantly shook his arms, generating electricity.

“Calm down,” I told Elekid. “It’s just scared, I think.”

He listened and quieted down. Tangela didn’t retract its vines, but it didn’t attack further.

“Hey,” I said again, before pointing at Elekid. “That’s Elekid. He’s one of my partners. We travel together and— ah!”

I yelled as Tangela used its vines to touch me, even going under my clothes.

“Stop it!” I yelled. The grass type didn’t listen and kept touching my skin until it was satisfied. “Arceus… you can’t just go around doing stuff like that.”

It just stared at me with the same blank expression. This was probably one of its first times seeing a human, so maybe it got curious.

“Is this your spot?” I asked, looking around the clearing. “You’ve got a pretty sweet setup here. Easy to take in the sunlight. I’m surprised there aren’t any other grass types here.”

The Pokemon turned away and began touching Elekid now instead, who just laughed at the whole thing. Was it even listening to me? I slapped my forehead and grabbed an empty Pokeball.

“See this?” I said. “If you go in there, then we become partners. I tried telling you this earlier, but I’m traveling with others to try to become the strongest trainer. That means we train in battles and stuff, but we’re also one big family.”

The grass type placed a vine over the device and curiously felt at it. It flinched and retracted the appendage when it felt the metal, but it slowly brought it back and started caressing the ball and feeling its button and its crevices.

“I’m going to catch you, but if you want, you can break out, alright? You’re not wounded or anything, so it should be pretty easy.”

I was probably going to let it go if he didn’t stay in the ball. We had Growlithe, who’d be able to find other Tangela with his sense of smell, so it wouldn’t be a huge loss, even though I did kind of like how aloof this one was. I gently hit it with the ball, and he was absorbed into it. I stood back and watched as the Pokeball shook three times before letting out the familiar chime that indicated I had caught the grass type. I jumped up and down in excitement, celebrating before running back to the group. Cece was the first one to congratulate me.

“You did very well, Grace,” She said. “Many trainers would have just attacked that Tangela to catch it.”

“I don’t really like doing that,” I said. “Ever since Frillish and Denzel’s Budew, I kind of vowed never to catch a Pokemon against its will again. It just feels icky.”

She looked at me for a few seconds. “I can see what you mean, but alas, sometimes, if you want something, you need to take it.”

Denzel walked up to me and offered a high-five, which I enthusiastically took, and I also thanked Justin and Growlithe for their huge help. Before long, we were back on the road. That night, I let Tangela out of its Pokeball in an isolated part of camp and scanned it with my Pokedex. He was a male.

Tangela, the vine Pokemon. Tangela’s vines snap off easily if they are grabbed. This happens without pain, allowing it to make a quick getaway. The lost vines are replaced by newly grown vines the very next day.

Type: Grass

Moves: Vine Whip, Absorb, Mega Drain, Stun Spore, Bind, Poison Powder (click for more information)

Ability: Chlorophyll (click for more information)

“So your vines are like your hair?” I said. “I wonder what’s under there,” I smiled. He shook his entire body, making his vines move around as well. All I could see below the sea of vines was his bright, shiny eyes and some kind of darkened body. His feet were odd. They looked like shoes and felt like rubber to the touch. I tried softly pulling on one of his vines too, and saw that they seemingly extended forever. While I did this, Tangela returned the touching tenfold, feeling my clothes and my hair with multiple vines.

“Alright, alright, enough,” I said. Tangela quietly retracted his vines. “You’ve already met Elekid,” I said, pointing at my electric type.

“Kid!”

“Quiet down, hon. Oh right, I call him honey or hon too.”

“Kid!” He said, a little bit quieter.

“That’s better, I guess,” I said with a smile. “He’s pretty hyper, but he’s also kind to everyone he meets. He’ll be friends with anyone. Hell, he’s already forgiven you for attacking him earlier, I bet.”

“Ele!” He said, crossing his arms proudly.

“Yes, yes, I know, you’re great,” I told him.

I grabbed Togetic’s ball and released her. I’d better keep Frillish for last since I already knew he was going to be grumpy about this. Togetic immediately noticed our new member and chirped at him happily. Tangela responded by grabbing her with his vines and feeling her soft fur, tickling her. She laughed and squirmed around, trying to escape.

“That’s Togetic, or princess. She was my first Pokemon, and she’s still a baby, so be gentle with her,” I said. Tangela softened his grip on her, much to her chagrin. She escaped from his grasp and floated above me before grabbing my hair to protest.

“Alright, alright! You’re a big girl now, I’m sorry,” I laughed.

“Toge!”

“She loves playing around, so she’s probably going to love you and, um, your vines,” I said, before grabbing Frillish’s ball.

I released him, and he looked at me happily before noticing Tangela standing behind all of us. His stare turned sinister, and that wasn’t helped by the fact that Tangela immediately started extending his vines.

I immediately stood in between the two. “Hold on. Frillish is really sensitive about touching, so that’s not going to work,” I said. Tangela stared at me, his expression unchanging. “I know it must be weird for you since you really like it, but he’s just not like that.”

Frillish huffed, and I knew that if we weren’t in a place as dangerous as Eterna forest, he would have left and flown into the sky to brood already.

“So, yeah, that’s Frillish or buddy. He’s a little bit grumpy, but he’s a softie if you get past his rough exterior,” I said, grabbing one of his tentacles. He whipped it out of my hand in protest. “Don’t be such a child,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I hope you won’t do this every time we meet someone new.”

Frillish looked at me and lowered his head. “Fri…”

“Aw, thanks for apologizing, bud. You’ll be fine, just try to be a little bit less anti-social,” I said before looking at Tangela. “There you have it, that’s the entire family. Sorry to spring up all of that on you, but it’s good if you get acquainted as early as possible.”

He stared at me with that same unchanging expression. Hopefully, I’d be able to pick up some of his body language cues since they appeared to be much more subtle. This wasn’t going to be like Elekid, who behaved similarly to humans. Hell, he wasn’t even talking, which was something that could have helped.

“Everyone has a nickname,” I said. “Do you want one?”

He didn’t respond, but grabbed one of my hands with his vines and shook it as he blinked twice.

“That a yes?” I asked, before thinking. All of the other’s nicknames had come out pretty spontaneously, so I didn’t want to force anything.

“Tangela… hm… what’s a good nickname for a Tangela…” I trailed off. “Tangela… angel… angel! What do you think about that?” I exclaimed, waiting for a reaction. There was none. “Well, you snooze, you lose. It’s corny, but I like it. Welcome to the team, angel.”

——

Another two days later, we were walking along an elevated portion of the forest. I had Togetic out with me after Elekid had taken a couple of nasty hits from a pair of Butterfree. It wasn’t anything threatening, but he needed to rest. We were getting more optimistic by the day. Even Pauline was being nicer to me, and Emilia was happy again. Denzel and Justin had estimated that in another few hours, we would probably finally leave this hell hole. I couldn’t wait to see the sun regularly again or to actually sleep in a bed in a heated room. The other side of the forest also had an outpost with rangers, a Center, and a few inhabitants, so it would be possible to rest there for a few days before setting off toward Eterna city proper, which would be another day away.

The good mood was shattered when we saw a Wurmple climbing a tree. Then two. Then three. We slowly stepped back, but a few Cascoon hissed behind us, their spikes dripping with poison. The Wurmple started to screech, and I feared they were calling out to the Dustox that cared for them. That fear was confirmed immediately when we heard the familiar, alien-like cry echoing in the woods. There were a lot of them coming.

“Fuck,” I hissed. “Can we run?”

“They’ll catch up,” Denzel said. “I say we fight.”

Cecilia shook her head, but Pauline was the one who talked.

“One Poison Sting could mean your death, and those aren’t stoppable with our psychics,” She explained. “Too many darts to keep track of at the same time. They aren’t that good yet.”

“Then what?!” Emilia cried. “Hurry up and decide!”

“We run,” Cece said.

She didn’t have to say it twice. We bolted away, watching our every step not to slip. Emilia wasn’t going fast enough on her own, and Justin dragged her by the hand.

“Push through the pain, Emi!” He screamed.

Behind us, the screeches were getting closer. I looked back for a second and saw at least eight Dustox chasing us, their alien, compound eyes and the red markings on their wings shining in the dark. I screamed in terror as I saw poisoned darts hit the tree to my right, and I redoubled my efforts. All those runs I had gone on were paying off. I was faster than before, and I felt like I’d be able to keep this speed going for at least ten minutes.

“What in the world is that?!” Louis yelled.

I looked in the direction he was looking and saw a huge mansion just sitting in the middle of this Arceus damned forest behind a run-down fence.

“I don’t care, just get in it! We can hold them out at the doors and the windows!” Pauline said.

Unable to stop his momentum, Louis slammed against the door. He desperately tried to open it, but it was locked.

“Move!” Denzel said, before kicking down the entire door. We hurried inside of the mansion.

“Stand behind anything!” Cecilia yelled. “Furniture, couches, it doesn’t matter. We hold them here!”

I jumped behind a bar, and Togetic hovered slightly above it.

“Try to hit them with Fairy Wind or Extrasensory if they get close,” I said before releasing Frillish. “Hey, we’re under attack by Dustox. Hit ‘em with all you’ve got.”

A shower of Poison Sting flew through the door and the windows, breaking the glass. The first two Dustox flew inside the building and were immediately battered with every move we had. Togetic slammed another one against the floor, and Growlithe finished it off with Fire Fang. Gothita and Beldum were our best match against the poison types, and soon enough, the rest fled. Inside of a building where we had cover, they weren’t as threatening.

“Holy shit,” Pauline said, kicking one of the Dustox we had knocked unconscious away. “I fucking hate this forest.”

“My leg…” Emilia groaned. She tried walking and whimpered. “I think I need to rest, I can’t put any weight on it.”

"Sorry," Justin apologized. "I pushed you too much, but there was no choice."

“That’s fine,” Louis said. “This place will work wonderfully as a shelter. I wonder who would build such a wonderful mansion inside of a forest as deadly as this one. And such marvelous architecture… it’s a shame it’s all run down.”

He was right. The entire mansion looked like a dozen battles had gone on inside of it, and that was before we had come in. Furniture was littered about, there were holes in the walls, and a part of the ceiling had a gaping hole in it. After checking ourselves for any potential wounds that we hadn’t noticed, we settled down and waited in the empty mansion for Emilia to recover.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 50

“This place gives me the creeps,” Pauline said, hugging herself tightly. “Is it colder in here?”

“Don’t be so paranoid,” Louis answered, as he looked at a defunct painting of what looked to be the Prism Tower in Kalos. “We’ll be out in a few hours.”

It had been a few minutes since the fight with the Dustox, and Louis, Pauline, and I were exploring the foyer of the mansion. Looking past all the destruction, the room was absolutely massive and completely symmetrical. Two large sets of staircases opposite each other led to an upper floor, and past those stairs was another huge double door. We didn’t want to go too far, however, so we decided against going past the foyer and into other rooms. Who knew what kind of wild Pokemon found refuge here?

“The man who owned this place had an excellent taste in art, I must say,” Louis said, looking at a beautiful, unlit chandelier hanging overhead. “A shame what happened to the place. I wonder why it was abandoned.”

“Well, maybe they realized that living here was suicidal, and they left,” Pauline said. She was clearly more unsettled by the place than we were and was probably only with us to talk and think about something else. “Good decision if you ask me.”

Louis traced his fingers across the dusty walls before wiping his hand on his pants. “Why take nothing, though? The number of things in this foyer alone must be worth millions, and that’s not even counting the other rooms.

“Trying to carry all of that out of this forest might have been more trouble than they could afford,” I muttered. 

We finally reached the massive doors behind the stairs and stopped dead in our tracks. 

“We should turn back,” I said. 

“You’ve been getting better at having good ideas,” Pauline jabbed. 

“ Sheesh, thanks,” I said irritatedly.

We turned away, but Elekid held my leg and began to stir. He was extremely agitated, yelling and pulling me toward the room.

I crouched and looked at him. “What is it? What’s the problem?”

“Elekid!” He yelled with his face full of anguish.

I frowned. This was unlike him. Pauline and Louis were already leaving toward where the others were. The only time Elekid had ever been like this was… before the attack on the power plant in Floaroma, and he had explicitly told me that he had known there was a problem. I gulped as sweat began to accumulate on my palms.

“Kid! Kid! ”

I took a breath. Team Galactic couldn’t be there, it was impossible.

“A—are there bad guys in there?” I whispered with a shaky voice. “Like the ones you see on T.V. sometimes?”

He shook his head. I sighed in relief as the feeling of utter terror that had started enveloping me evaporated from my body.

“Ele!”

“Alright big guy, let’s see what your problem is.”

I sneaked up to the doors and slowly opened them, and a slew of Zubat flew out of the damp, dark room, causing me to scream. 

“Fuck…” I sighed. In front of me stood a giant dining room with a table so long and so many fancy, cushioned chairs it was almost comical. Elekid strode into the room. “Wait up!” I told him after he reluctantly stopped.

Pauline and Louis rushed back toward me after hearing me scream, followed by the others— even Emilia.

“What’s going on?” Denzel said, worryingly tapping my shoulder.

“Nothing… just some Zubat living in here, and some problem with Elekid. He’s obsessed with this room.”

Elekid carefully walked into the dining room, making sure not to make any noise. I carefully followed, wanting to see where he would bring us. He stopped when reaching one of the chairs at the edge of the table.

“What… what is it?” Cece asked.

“Alright, I think we need to leave, something— something is wrong .” Pauline panicked.

“Fine,” I said. I had wanted to find out more about what Elekid’s problem was, but—

Suddenly, we heard a voice throughout the room, but it wasn’t in a specific area. It was speaking to us from everywhere at once, and it was… it was undiscernible. It bordered on our language, but it was also impossible to understand, like a word on the tip of my tongue. Old lights, whether they were electric or candles, lit up all at once and started to flicker. The old cutlery and the plates on the table started to rattle and shake. I slowly edged back, bumping into Denzel and Cecilia, who were watching the spectacle with terrifying awe. 

“Let’s leave!” Emilia screamed.  

That broke us out of our spell, and we rushed toward the doors, but they slammed shut right as we were about to exit. The voice was getting louder.

“Fuck!” Denzel swore. “Louis, help me pull!”

Louis nodded, and they each got on one side of the doors and pulled as hard as they could. They wouldn’t budge. We were stuck in here.

“Beldum, ram into it!” Emilia screeched.

The steel type let out an alien-like grinding sound and flew at the door, but it wasn’t breaking . 

“What kind of fucked up shit is this?!” Pauline screamed. “I’m not about to die hours away from the Arceus damned exit!”

I turned back toward the dining room with trembling legs and watched as one of the lights stopped flickering, grew larger and larger, and began to take shape. But as it morphed into something else, it, along with the other lights, also became darker, more sinister, basking the room in a cold, purple light. I leaned against the wall and then collapsed, covering my ears as I could only watch helplessly. The light finally took form as the voice reached its crescendo. It was made out of different shades of ragged, purple cloth that became more transparent the longer I looked. Three shiny red gems adorned its ‘clothing’ shining bright along with its yellow and red eyes. Its head didn’t end, instead forming into a witch’s hat. The Pokemon floated up and stared at us.

I heard someone’s Pokedex speak with a familiar robotic voice. Mismagius, the magic Pokemon. Its cries sound like incantations. Those hearing it are tormented by— by— by—

 I heard Emilia yell as the Pokedex screen glitched out, flickering on and off for a few seconds before finally turning off.

 “We have to fight,” Denzel said, recalling Eevee and releasing Budew. “Normal type attacks won’t work against this one,”

“What did you say?!” Justin yelled. The voice was too loud, he hadn’t heard him.

“We fight!” Denzel yelled out, louder this time. “Budew, we’re fighting a ghost. Bullet Seed it!”

A series of seeds flew toward the ghost type, who screeched out, either in pain or outrage. We all ordered our Pokemon to attack, but suddenly, the Mismagius disappeared into thin air, as if it had never been there. The voice— or the incantation, according to the Pokedex— was also gone, and the lights had gone back to normal.

I took a few breaths to calm myself, but I struggled to. Seeing this reminded me too much of Mars’ Dusknoir, and I just couldn’t keep myself from freaking out. Cecilia was also unusually shaken, but she helped me up and held my hand gently. 

That’s right, I thought. I have my friends with me this time . 

“Let’s not spend another second in here,” Pauline said. “It can come back at any time.”

We all agreed and hurried back to the entrance. Emilia would have to struggle, but we were only a few hours away, or maybe a day away at worse, so it hopefully wouldn’t be too bad. 

“Uh… what in the world?” Justin said.

“No… this can’t be happening ,” Pauline cried out, bringing her hands to her face.

I frowned and walked in front of the group, and my eyes widened at what I saw. The windows and the exit door no longer led to Eterna forest. They instead led to another mansion, and then another, and another. It kept going… forever. The sight of it was utterly disturbing, forcing me to look away. It was like two mirrors facing each other, bouncing the light off of each other forever.

Louis ran to the kicked-in door and hesitantly walked through. I winced, expecting something to happen, but he was completely fine.

“We’re stuck. That ghost fucked us,” Denzel said in a defeated tone.

“When you say stuck, you don’t mean forever , do you?” Justin cautioned.

“I don’t know. We don’t know anything,” He replied.

“Why the fuck did you open that door,” Pauline yelled, aggressively jamming her finger at me. I grimaced, expecting the dressing down of a lifetime, and I couldn’t even blame her. It was my fault. I had been too focused on figuring out what was wrong with Elekid and underestimated the danger this mansion could have posed.

“Ugh,” She groaned. “I don’t even have the energy to be mad at you anymore, I’m just… I just want to get out. All this time, I’ve been strong. Strong like mommy would tell me to be, but I just can’t. We were so close, Grace.”

“I’m sorry,” I said weakly, staring at the ground. 

I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder. “We’ve all fucked up in different ways during our trip through the forest,” Denzel said. “We’ll make it out, I promise you.”

Cecilia nodded. “I certainly am no better, making you lot fight a Scyther.”

“It’s kind of my fault, too,” Emilia muttered. “I mean, my leg was the entire reason we had to rest here.”

“No, don’t blame yourself,” I hurriedly said.

“And my performance during the first few days left a lot to be desired,” Louis chimed in. “And you brought back the group together when we needed it the most. Let’s let bygones be bygones and focus on getting out of here,” He continued.

I wanted to cry. I had judged these people so harshly before, but now here they were, supporting me. I sniffled and wiped my eyes before standing straighter. 

“Alright, let’s make a plan.”

The first thing we tried was breaking out through the side of the mansion. Beldum could easily ram through the half-rotten walls with Take Down. Unfortunately, we quickly learned that the ‘mirroring’ of the mansion not only applied to the doors and windows but to the walls as well. The hole in the roof seemed to still be there, but above it was what looked to be some kind of floor, meaning it also lead to another version of the mansion, but Cecilia sent her Fletchling to check it out anyway and confirmed it. Lastly, we considered digging our way out with Growlithe’s Dig. Beldum again rammed through the floor, expecting to find dirt, but he opened a gaping hole that was at least a fifty feet drop, and we quickly realized that there was no getting out through conventional means. After hastily covering the hole with a wooden we tore off the floor, we went back to strategizing.

“If I had to guess,” I said. “I’d say we have to defeat the ghost or kill it for it to release us. It’d only be dead for a few weeks, but that would be enough for us to escape.”

“So we have to find it then,” Cecilia said, before looking toward the entrance. “But it could be in… any of these mansions.”

“It could be,” I said grimly.

“Come on, that wouldn’t make any sense,” Denzel interjected. “It didn’t attack us, it trapped us in here. A powerful ghost type like Mismagius could have done a number on us. I think this is a test of some sort.”

“A test?” Emilia frowned. “When Justin scanned it with his Pokedex, we couldn’t hear the full description, but I looked at the screen and read it. I— I didn’t think it was important, but… it said it creates hallucinations because— because it loves to torment people.”

“So this is just a hallucination, then?” Cece said. “Can we wake ourselves up somehow?”

“Wouldn’t count on it, but it doesn’t hurt to try anything,” I said. “But if it’s tormenting us, at least we can agree that it won’t kill us like Denzel said. Still… there must be a way to beat it.”

Pauline lifted her head. She was still in low spirits, but we all understood. She had stayed strong the entire time and was finally at her limit. “How about we start looking for that fucking ghost, then? Search this mansion first, and then the next.”

“And then the next…” Justin sighed. “We’ll starve. How much food do we have left?”

“Enough for a few weeks, but time could be meaningless in here,” Cecilia said. “This is an illusion, and It’s been… two hours since we’ve been trapped here, give or take. I feel the exact same as I was. I’d normally be getting hungry around this time, and as you know, I live a very scheduled life.”

“That’d be great,” Denzel said. “But we can’t guarantee it until more time has passed.”

Pauline frowned for a few seconds and then perked up. “Guys, think about it. There’s no way there are actually an infinite amount of mansions, right? I mean, the amount of power that would require would be insane… like, only Legendaries from old stories you’d read could do something like that.”

“I agree,” Cece nodded. “But still, it probably could create enough to strand us in here for days or weeks.”

“Then what?” Emilia asked with fear in her eyes.

“Grace and Pauline are right,” Cece sighed. “We need to look for Mismagius, and then we need to defeat it in battle.”

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 51

"Nothing in there?!" I yelled out.

"I'm afraid not, it's just another bedroom," Cecilia answered.

We split into groups to fasten the search. The mansion didn't really have a lot of depth to it, but it was very large, horizontally speaking. That meant that it would be better to split the group into two and reconvene in the foyer every time we were done searching. If a group found the ghost, we were supposed to not engage and run to get the others as fast as possible. It wasn't the best plan, but we needed to cover as much ground as possible.

"I think that's every room on this side," Denzel sighed. "Let's head back."

"What number does that make? Is that our fourth or our fifth?" I asked as we walked through the mansion's huge hallway.

"Fifth," Cece said. "How mind-numbingly boring."

I looked down at Elekid worryingly. I hadn't gotten mad at him, of course. It was my fault for not stopping him and opening that door, but I couldn't help but wonder. Why? Why had he freaked out like that? What was the common denominator between the power plant at Valley Windworks and this busted mansion? No matter how much I racked my brain over it, I just couldn't figure it out. Cece, Denzel, and I walked down the giant staircase into the foyer and saw that Justin, Pauline, Louis, and Emilia were already waiting for us. Emi wasn't a part of the search because of her wounded leg, so she just stayed in the lobby waiting for us every time we moved on to another mansion. She had protested, mostly because being alone terrified her, but she knew it was for the good of the group, and at least it didn't look like Mismagius had brought any wild Pokemon into this made-up world.

"Nothing?" Louis asked with a grimace.

"Nope," Denzel said. "Let's move on?"

I sighed. "Yeah, let's."

I bit my tongue. Were we just wasting time here? For all we knew, maybe Mismagius would simply leave us here forever. The good news was that Cecilia's theory appeared to be correct. We weren't getting tired, or hungry after hours of searching, so it appeared we could theoretically stay here forever. Unfortunately, we didn't know what that entailed for our real-world selves. Had we passed out in that dining room, or were we whisked away to Mismagius' world? So many questions with so few answers. I brought it up to the group since I felt like it was an important discussion to have before we split up again.

"I mean, I definitely think we were transported somewhere," Denzel said. "Our Pokeballs still work, right? And so do our Pokedexes, save for Justin's."

"If this was a dream of some sort, there was no way for Mismagius to know what the rest of our teams looked like, and yet they are still intact," Pauline added.

I nodded. That made sense, and I should have figured it out on my own, but right now, I just wasn't myself. The issue with Elekid, and the guilt over dragging everyone into this mess was eating me up inside.

"Alright, we take the right, you guys take the left again," Denzel said.

Think, Grace, think! I internally screamed. Elekid had dragged me to the Power Plant, but when he did, team Galactic hadn't been in the building yet. At first I thought he just wanted to steal some of their electricity, but then he told me that he knew something bad was there. Something bad…

"Elekid," I said, my eyes widening. "You also knew something bad was in the dining room before we went inside?" I asked him.

Denzel and Cece looked at me confusedly, but I raised my hand at them before they said anything.

"Kid…" He said timidly.

"I'm not mad, honey, but I need to know."

The electric type nodded.

"Alright. Does it have something to do with ghosts? Like, actual ghosts, not Pokemon like Frillish."

Elekid nodded again, more confidently this time. I exhaled in relief, jubilant I had finally figured it out. He must have… felt, or sensed the Dusknoir in the power plant at first, and then the Mismagius. But that still didn't answer the how. People often said that when ghosts were near, they sometimes felt wrong, like Pauline had before Mismagius attacked us, but Elekid's ability was something else.

"So if I understand this correctly, Elekid can find ghost types?" Cecilia asked.

"Ghosts, not ghost types. There's a difference," I said. I stared into Elekid's eyes. "Could you help us find the Mismagius again? You could tell Dusknoir was in the plant from pretty far back in Floaroma."

"Wait, it knew that Dusknoir was in the plant?!" Denzel asked incredulously.

I ignored him and kept looking into Elekid's eyes. He shook his head and sagged his arms. I frowned, trying to figure out what the issue was. Thinking back, he had only started feeling Mismagius when we started getting near the dining room door, which was a far cry from the range he had shown at Floaroma.

Cece caught on to what I was thinking. "Perhaps it has something to do with the ghost's power," She theorized. "That Mismagius may be capable of powerful illusions, but when we attacked it all at once, we did real damage. It's defeatable."

I hit my palm with a fist. "That's it!" I exclaimed. "But it still doesn't help us track the Arceus damned thing down that much. We still have to search."

"But at least we won't have to search the rooms anymore," Cece smiled.

"That's certainly an improvement. Some of these are way too big," Denzel said.

"Can you do that for me, Elekid? Try to feel the ghost through doors like you did last time?"

The electric type yelled out, finally regaining his usual energetic behavior. It wasn't much, but it was something.

——

Eight hours. Eight dull, mind-numbing hours had passed, and there was still no progress. We searched through twenty-two mansions, by our count. Our speed was greatly improved. Thanks to Elekid's help, by the time we were done searching our side of the mansion, the others still weren't even halfway done with their side, and we would always go and help out. Unfortunately, there was still no sign of Mismagius. We were starting to lose hope.

"What if it's in one of the ones toward the bottom? Or the top?" Pauline lamented. "How do we even get down there?"

We were currently taking a small break just to refresh our ideas and brainstorm another tactic, because this clearly still wasn't working.

"I could have Beldum drop you guys down with Confusion. Or bring you up," Pauline said in her usual quiet voice. "He can levitate with you, so you'll never be out of range."

Louis slouched into the defunct couch he sat on. "We can do that after we clear all the mansions on this floor, I suppose."

"This is going to take weeks," I sighed, looking toward the 'exit'. After a few seconds, I blinked and averted my eyes. Staring at what looked to be infinity gave me a headache. However, something on the ground caught my eye. I gasped when I saw a specific piece of wood we had placed hours ago to avoid falling to our deaths.

"Guys," I started. "Isn't that what we put to plug that hole Beldum made?" I said, pointing at the piece of wood.

Cece stared at it intently. "That… that is!"

Denzel rushed toward the wooden plank, removed it, and smiled. "Holy shit, I can't believe our luck. If you hadn't seen that, we would have kept going and searched the same thing over and over again. Wait, have we been going in loops this entire time and not noticing?"

"That's a possibility," Justin said, resting his head in the palm of his hand. "How about we test it out? I'll run through the mansions and count how many I go through before returning here again."

"Alright," I said. "But if you count above twenty-two, turn back. It could be some ghost fuckery again."

The teen nodded, got up, and ran toward the exit. We watched intently until eventually blurred and disappeared.

"That was five mansions," He said, panting.

We jumped, hearing his voice behind us.

"Arceus, can't you run a little less silently?" Denzel complained.

"Five?!" Pauline yelled. "We already looped for no reason, then!"

"If there are five mansions, then we should be able to see… ourselves by looking toward the exits, no?" I asked.

"Mismagius might be using its powers to trick us," Cece said.

"What's done is done," Louis said. "Is it safe to assume that there's five in all directions then? Up and down? Toward the sides as well?"

"It's not safe to assume anything," Cece shook her head, grabbing a Pokeball. "I'll send Fletchling." She released the flying type, who landed on her shoulder. "Darling, please fly up through the ceiling and keep going. If there are more than five instances of this mansion, come back down right away."

The bird chirped and blurred upward impressively fast, and vanished as it created a hole through the upper floor. After around two minutes, she flew through our floor with Quick Attack, landing on her owner's shoulder and singing in her ear happily.

"Five upward, then it must be five downward as well," She said. "Fletchling, please go check the sides too."

The fire type nodded and flew up the stairs toward one of two hallways. It took longer this time, but she looped back, and Cece recalled her.

"Five times five times five is…" I started, trying to do the math in my head. "Any of you guys got the calculator app on your Poketch?"

"It's one hundred and twenty-five," Emilia said. "That's such an easy calculation."

I shrunk down in embarrassment. "I've never been much of a math girl."

"But that means that there are one hundred and twenty-five mansions in total," Justin said. "We've already looked through all of them on this row."

"Then we keep going," Cece declared in a determined tone. "First, we check the rest of them on this floor, and then we'll do the same on other floors."

——

Being lifted by Confusion felt funny. That was the only world I could describe it with. I felt a thousand different palpitations on my skin as Beldum hovered in front of me with its shining eye. My body was completely stiff, and I couldn't move whatsoever. I was at the steel type's complete mercy, and that was certainly a sobering feeling. A few inches above the floor, it finally let me go, and I messed up the landing, falling to the side and onto my back. I cried out in pain.

"Fucking… fuck!" I hissed through my teeth. "Gotta stick the landing next time."

Denzel and Cecilia helped me up. I was the last one to go down, so we were finally all there, on another level of Mismagius' fucked up world. Another twenty-five mansions to look through. It would take time. It would take effort, but we would make it.

"Well, let's get looking," Denzel said, clapping his hands.

——

"Still nothing?" I asked Elekid. The electric type shook his head.

"Let's head to the next one, then," Justin said.

We were currently helping them search since we had finished looking through our side a while ago. We were currently on our fourth floor. Nobody knew how much time it had been anymore, but we were starting to consider the possibility that Mismagius was moving to avoid us.

We made our way back to the foyer, but right before we were about to head toward the entrance, Elekid's eyes widened. He started spinning his arms, making my hair stand up.

"Feel something?!" I asked urgently.

"Kid!"

"Holy shit, this might be it," Denzel said. "Get ready."

All of our Pokemon that knew long-range attacks got into position, and Growlithe and Eevee were still out in case they ever managed to Bite the Arceus damned thing. We hadn't come up with a plan of action aside from throwing everything we had at Mismagius, so we weren't going to hold anything back. We edged our way through the door and into the kitchen, where Mismagius stood completely still, hovering over the dinner table as if it had been waiting for us.

"Gothita, Psybeam! Charmeleon, Dragon Rage!" Pauline ordered, breaking the silence.

The attacks passed through the ghost type, but it screeched out in pain anyway, and it began its incantation again.

"It's trying to trap us again!" I yelled. "Elekid, Thundershock! Frillish, Hex! Togetic, Fairy Wind!"

Mismagius screamed as a dozen attacks kept passing through it. It was behaving strangely, not dodging or attacking back. The singing was getting louder. I covered my ears and kept ordering my Pokemon, but I wasn't sure if they were even hearing me. My jaw trembled as contemplated the fact that we might get transported deeper into another one of Mismagius' worlds. An illusion within an illusion.

A Dragon Rage from Gible hit the ghost, and it disintegrated into purple smoke. A deafening silence settled into the room, but a few seconds later, the world around us started to do the same. It was all coming apart.

"Did we do it?" I asked in a worried tone.

"Well, either we did it, or we're all about to disappear," Denzel said, laughing nervously. "I hope it's the former."

The world was unraveling, and soon, only darkness was left.

And then I blinked.

We were back in the dining room. The original one, where Mismagius had first trapped us, and it was still there. Everyone was in the same positions they had been, along with the Pokemon we had out when we first got transported. It was as if no time had passed at all.

"Magius!" The ghost type yelled a shadowy force began to swirl into a ball around its mouth.

"Deino!" Cecilia yelled.

The dragon type roared and let out a Dragon Breath, hitting the ball and causing it to explode into a thousand shadows.

"Elekid, hit it," I simply said as orders thundered around me.

He hollered in approval as his arms began to spin. Beldum let out a Flash Canon that completely ripped apart Mismagius' form, but it coalesced again, and the steel type's body started to smoke. I recognized Hex immediately. Mismagius darted left and right as it tried to avoid the numerous moves we threw at it, but it was too much. It couldn't focus on dodging and attacking at the same time. Cecilia released her Fletchling and ordered it to harass the ghost type with Peck and Ember.

"We've got it on the ropes! Can we run?!" I yelled out.

"Hell yes, we can!" Pauline answered.

Eevee used Quick Attack to jump on the table, and then at Mismagius before Biting at it, pulling out some of the cloth it used as its body. Gothita tried restraining the ghost type with Confusion, but psychic type attacks weren't great against ghosts, so its abilities were limited there. Mismagius screeched and sunk into the ground, its form becoming nothing but a shadow on it ground. In a flash, it was behind Gothita, and it hit it across the floor. The psychic type struggled to get up, but after a few seconds, it fainted.

"On the count of three, we all rush out!" Denzel said. "One, two—"

The door slammed again, and it was impenetrable. Mismagius was forcing us to stay here and fight.

"Arceus, damn it!" Denzel screamed, slamming the door with his fist.

Mismagius sniggered and it used Hex on Fletchling, who crashed onto the table. It grinned as it sunk into the shadows again and swatted the bird at the wall.

"Fletchling!" Cecilia cried. "Deino, go Bite!"

The dragon let out a gleeful roar as it rushed across the room, paying no mind to the table or the chairs. Mismagius shrieked as another Thundershock and Dragon Rage hit, and its form collapsed again. It took a few seconds for it to come back together, and it was still focused on Fletchling, but Deino was there. I could almost see the darkness fester in his mouth as he bit into Mismagius and shook his head, trying to dissolve it once more. Fletchling tried to fly away, but it was too weak. Cecilia grabbed her Pokeball to—

I covered my eyes as the bird started to shine. She was evolving. Mismagius screeched even louder, no doubt angry at the light, but it was busy getting completely destroyed by Cece's enraged Deino.

Fletchinder rose and struggled as she flew toward Cecilia. Her talons clawed into her trainer's shoulder, causing her to wince. Cece gently recalled her flying type and released her Slowpoke.

"Keep Water Pulsing when you have an opening," She ordered.

I snapped out of my daze and released Frillish as well. The water type was enraged as he flew toward Mismagius before hitting it with Hex. Deino let go right before another Flash Canon utterly dissolved the ghost once again. We waited… and waited, but it didn't reappear this time. The doors gently creaked behind us as they opened. We didn't need to speak another word.

We ran.

——

If someone had told me a day ago that I would have been glad to be back in Eterna forest, I would have called them insane. We were finally free, and according to the dates on our Poketches, no time had passed at all. In fact, it looked like not even one second had passed in the real world during our stay in Mismagius' world, as if the experience had been instant. We made sure to warn future trainers passing there about how dangerous this place was by carving a message into one of the nearby trees, and then onto the mansion's door for good measure. Who knew what kind of ghosts would move in now that Mismagius was gone for a few weeks?

Oh well, we had done all we could, and we would tell the Rangers about this mansion. I could only hope it would serve someone in the future.

I grinned as I saw the Eterna forest's exit in the distance. We had made it through more trials than most trainers would face in their careers. And we had gone so relatively unscathed. Everyone was alive. I stepped into the sunlight and exhaled shakily as tears welled up in my eyes. The Pokemon Center was right there. In the distance, I could see Mount Coronet, covered in snow and striking through the clouds. Emilia let out a small laugh mixed with a cry, and we all started giggling. We were free.

And damn, did it feel good.

Chapter Text

INTERLUDE - Goals

Chase couldn’t stop himself from repeatedly tapping his foot against the ground as the ranger explained the ins and outs of Eterna forest. He groaned and pulled his cap over his eyes. When the teenager had arrived at the outpost, he had originally wanted to go straight into the forest after a one hour lunch break, but lo and behold, the rangers implemented a damn course, and now he was being treated like he was in kindergarten. Chase didn’t need a damn class to make it through the damn forest, but he had no choice but to suffer through it to get that damn ticket.

Not that he was listening anyway. Right now, he was thinking about how he’d reorganize his workouts in the forest. It’d probably be smart to lower the intensity a little so he could save his energy in case anything happened. It was frustrating to think about, but Chase wasn’t stupid. He knew how far his workouts pushed him and his team, and he wasn’t about to make them take a risk if he didn’t need to. Especially not Ri.

“I think you should listen, kid,” Someone whispered next to him.

Chase considered getting up right then and there, but then he’d be kicked out, and he’d have to sit in a class all over again. He glanced at the clock above the projected screen. There was only one hour and twenty-two minutes left, and then he’d be out of here.

“Seriously,” The man said again. “I’m saying this to help.”

“What the fuck do you want?” Chase snapped, turning toward the man. A few heads turned toward him, but the Ranger hadn’t heard. He looked to be in his early twenties and had a patchy beard.

The man sighed. “Look, I don’t like it either,” He muttered under his breath. “I’ve been through this forest four times, but you don’t see me not paying attention. I’ve learned things I didn’t even know before.”

“You’re talking to me, not paying attention,” Chase replied. “I don’t care about your story, fuck off.”

That seemed to have convinced him to leave him alone. Chase smiled and retreated into his thoughts once more. The trainer was a bit tight on money, even after battling and crushing as many trainers as he could. He lamented missing that Floaroma tournament. That would have given him a big boost, but oh well, what was done was done. Chase had no doubt he’d be able to power through the forest with Riolu. Time passed slowly, but finally, the class was over.

“Time’s up!” The ranger said. “I’ve got your tickets here, make sure to grab one before exiting the class.” She continued.

Chase hopped out of his chair and grinned as he lazily picked up his ticket. He readjusted his cap and strode out of the Ranger building, going straight toward the entrance of the forest. Suddenly though, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes bulged, and he immediately swatted it away before getting into a sparring position. Chase felt his throat clog up before realizing he wasn’t home. There was no need to be on edge. This was a long way from the Iron Islands.

“I thought I told you to fuck off,” Chase said before putting his hands in his pocket. The same man who had talked to him in class stared at him with a smile. Chase didn’t like that smile. It exuded pity, and no one had the right to pity him. “Why’re you looking at me like that? Think you’re funny?”

The man raised his hands. “Listen, I just want to warn you. I’ve seen plenty of kids like you come and go, and it usually doesn’t end well.”

“I’m not a usual trainer,” Chase said. “Don’t you know who I am?”

Chase’s popularity on the forums and throughout Sinnoh had exploded since he busted in the power plant at Valley Windworks and took on team Galactic. Hell, he’d even given some interviews a few times. He reckoned that he was more popular than Cecilia Obel now, although she had also gotten another bump due to her being one of the hostages.

“Chase Karlson, right?” He smiled. “I’m Scott Montante. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Are we done? Do you want to battle or something? An autograph?” Chase asked.

“No, I just want to save you from killing yourself, kid,” Scott said. “Why don’t we head to the Center and talk? I got someone else waiting for me.”

“No,” Chase shook his head and started walking away.

“I’ve read about you, you know?” Scott said. “I’ve seen a video of your scuffle with Cecilia Obel in Oreburgh. Seemed like some shitty teen drama to me, but still. I’ve met a few kids from her group, and from what I’ve seen, they’re doing much better than you.”

Chase’s eye twitched. “Easy to do good when her dad pays for everything,” Chase confidently said. “I’m better than her. I’ve got more talent and dedication. Is she here right now?”

“Sure,” Scott smiled. “Come with me to the Center, and I’ll help you find her. You wanted to battle, right?”

“Well, if you put it that way, fine.”

——

Chase watched as Scott sat next to a girl at one of the tables in the Pokemon Center’s lobby. He frowned.

“Where’s Obel? That’s not her,” He said.

  “Obel?” The girl said. Chase could feel a certain amount of disdain from the way she spoke. “Why would you think I was her?” She turned to Scott.

 “What have you been telling this guy?”

“Sorry kid, I tricked ya,” Scott said. “Sit.”

“What the hell—”

“Sit,” Scott said more forcefully this time. Chase considered just storming out, but at this point, he was too interested in what this guy had to say. Maybe he still knew where Obel was. Chase dragged the chair and sat down. “Good!” Scott continued. “Now, let me introduce you kids. This is Maeve Chang,” He said, pointing at the girl. “This is Chase Karlson.”

“ That’s Chase Karlson?” She said. “You look different than in the pictures and videos.”

“I think you’ve just got a fucked up sense of sight,” Chase snarked. “You should get that checked out.”

“Stop bickering,” Scott groaned. “Now, you two got a lot in common. You both hate Obel. Well, in Maeve’s case, she more specifically hates Louis Bianchi, but the principle still applies. And just like you, Chase, this girl was about to storm into the Arceus damned forest alone.”

“So?” She said. “I’m kind of bad with people, so I just didn’t want to bother. I thought I could handle it.”

Chase felt the corner of his lips rise. He liked the confidence.

“No, you can’t. Something’s going on in the forest this year,” Scott said grimly. “The Rangers theorize that there are too many trainers trying to get through, and that’s making the wild Pokemon more agitated than usual. This is you guys’ first year, so you wouldn’t know, but I’d say that there are at least… thirty to forty percent more people than usual signing up for the Circuit.”

“Why?” Maeve asked.

“I don’t know, but either way, the forest is deadly, and I unfortunately don’t want two dead kids on my conscience, so I want you to join up with me.”

“Absolutely not,” Chase said. “If you want to play guardian angel, you can pick up someone else and go in with them.”

“I mean, I might be willing to accept that,” Maeve replied after a few seconds. “But only if I get access to your items.”

“Alright, Maeve, you’re in,” Scott smiled. “And Chase, you two are the only people I’ve come across that were thinking about going through Eterna alone. The only ones. The others are at least smart about forming a group, so I’m focusing on you.”

Chase mused. “Find me Obel, and I’ll consider it.”

The man groaned. “She left yesterday. You arrived too late.”

“Then I’m out—”

“Wait. I know my way through the forest. Like I’ve said, I’ve been through it four times. You didn’t even listen to the course, do you know what way to head toward?” Scott asked.

“Pretty sure the Ranger said north.”

“Northeast, you moron,” Maeve said, waving her hand. 

Chase was about to retort, but Scott interjected. “Look, what I’m saying is that if you want, I can lead you to the other end, and we’ll probably be fast enough to meet her at the outpost on the other side of the forest. The advantage of being a group of three is that we’ll be quick on our feet.”

The teen thought about the man’s offer. What was his goal? To be perfect. And to be perfect, he needed to become the Champion. Obel stood in the way of that. Sure, he had gained in popularity, and he had intensified his training since that… humiliating near loss to Roark, but he wanted to crush her. To prove that he was better once and for all.

You’ll beat me, and then what? What will your goal be beyond that victory?

Cynthia’s words cut through his train of thought, causing Chase to grind his teeth. In many showers or long nights, he had fantasized about what he would answer to that question if he was given to chance again, however unlikely that was. Meeting the Champion was unlikely, and even though he knew himself to be special, he was under no delusion that Cynthia paid any attention to him. Still, he had no answer to that question. But why did he even need one? Plenty of trainers were only driven by their goal to obtain the position of Champion, and he went a step beyond that.

He relaxed with a sigh. Perfection was the goal. He couldn’t hold Riolu back.

“Alright. I’m in if we leave immediately.”

Scott smiled. “Sounds good, let’s get started!”

——

The forest was more oppressive than Chase had thought. Even after the first day, the constant attacks were one thing, but the darkness reminded him too much of the mines back home. He hated traveling through caves for that reason, and the forest was having a similar effect on him. Riolu placed a paw on his leg as they sat by the fire Maeve’s Monferno had lit, and he looked at Chase with worry.

“I’m fine, Ri,” Chase softly said. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Rio!”

Scott was lying on some tarp he had laid on the forest floor, and Maeve was sitting dangerously close to the fire. She hated the cold. Scott’s Kricketune— who he called Lute— laid back against a tree as he finished playing another one of his songs. It was certainly a unique Pokemon to use, but the teen had to admit the music was soothing.

“Damn, I’ve never heard that one before. That was great, Lute. I know you like playing for an audience, but you shouldn’t have hidden it from me.”

“T—thanks, Lute,” Maeve trembled. Her Monferno hugged her back and let his warmth spread to her. “Thank you, Monferno. Watch the tail, though.”

Kricketune let out a smooth, beautiful cry that it combined with its violin bow-like arms to create a melody. Every Arceus damned noise that came out of that Pokemon’s mouth was a blessing. 

“Was Lute your first Pokemon?” Maeve asked. “You don’t often see trainers use them.”

“He was, and I’m damn proud of him,” Scott smiled as his friend started playing another song. “He’s taken me far, but I also have a Granbull, a Magneton, a Quagsire, and a Carkol.”

Even Chase’s eyes widened at that. Scott looked to be a hell of a trainer. It pissed him off.

“Come on, don’t look at me like that,” He said. “I’ve been at this for years. You’ll catch up in no time,” He said. “I’m not that great. The best I’ve reached was four badges, and that was last year.”

Chase felt the urge to go out and train, but it wouldn’t be wise in the forest. Plus, he was sure he would catch up soon enough. Like Scott had said, he had been at it for years.

“Any tips for new trainers like us?” Maeve asked.

“Well, I’m not great, but I’d say try to catch a team of six as soon as you can. I’ve been trying to look for my sixth member, but the amount of training I’d have to do to bring it up to par with the rest of the team seems exhausting. Maeve, you’ve got four Pokemon, you said?”

“Yeah. Monferno, Staryu, Staravia and Skorupi.”

“Good. Well balanced, too,” Scott nodded before chuckling. “You’ve got a thing for the letter S, though.”

“You’re like the fiftieth person to make that joke. Stop.”

“Alright, alright, sorry,” Scott said, waving his hand. “What about you, Chase?”

“Hmph. Riolu, Charjabug and Houndour.”

“Great. You guys are on the right track. It’s always good to have three members before the second gym.”

“Why?” Maeve asked.

“Because after your first badge, every gym leader expects you to have at least three Pokemon. If you have less, tough luck. You’re fighting a two versus three, or a one versus three.”

“I could handle that with Ri,” Chase grinned. “We’ve trained hard after Oreburgh. I think I’ll wipe the floor with Gardenia.”

The conversation continued for another hour, accompanied by the warm crackling of the fire and Lute’s songs. 

——

Chase, Scott, and Maeve were all crouched behind a fallen log, observing a Pinsir quietly feed on some Seedot that it had knocked off a tree with its powerful pincers. Chase almost shot up, starving at the opportunity to challenge himself by fighting the Pokemon, but Scott held him back by pulling on his shirt.

“What the he—”

Scott placed his hand over his mouth. Chase tried to punch and kick his way out, but even though he was slowly making progress, Scott was a twenty-one year old man. There was no getting out of this.

Riolu was looking, Chase thought as a pit full of dread formed in his stomach. A few minutes later, Pinsir left, and Scott finally let him go. Riolu was looking carefully with his arms crossed.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Chase yelled.

“Quiet, or it’ll come back,” Maeve hissed. 

“You were stupid for trying to challenge a Pokemon way out of your league,” Scott said. “That Pinsir’s bad news. I thought it never came around here.”

“I don’t give a fuck,” Chase said. “Never do that again.”

Scott sighed. “Alright, I’m sorry. But hear me out. That Pinsir belonged to a trainer who died here— I don’t remember his name. But he’s wild again, and he’s tough . I could probably take him on because he looked wounded, but I didn’t want to risk it.”

Chase wiped the dirt and leaves from his clothes. “Fine, but you do that again and I’m out,” He said, clicking his tongue. He wanted to scream. To get in his face and fight, but Riolu was already disappointed as it was. 

“So you’ve seen that Pinsir before?” Maeve asked. "If it belonged to someone, why is it dangerous? Shouldn't it be friendly?"

“Yes, but way deeper in the forest. I reckon it’s the most powerful Pokemon in this Arceus damned forest. I wonder what kind of crazy motherfuckers fought him. I hope they didn’t die,” Scott sighed. “I’ll have to tell the rangers about this when we get to the other side.”

“Alright,” Maeve breathed out. “Let’s keep going.”

——

Another two days had passed, and they were making good ground. Truth be told, Scott was right when he told Chase he knew what he was doing. He knew how to avoid the most dangerous Pokemon using prints, cries, and markings on trees. It was impressive, to say the least. Obviously though, Chase was catching on quickly, as always.

“See that on the ground?” Scott said before turning to the two teenagers. “Guess what Pokemon that is.”

Chase crouched and observed the shape of the print. “That’s a Shroomish,” He said right away. “Those are perfect circles.”

“Correct,” Scott smiled. “Maeve, try to be faster next time.”

“It was on the tip of the tongue,” She complained. “Come on!”

Scott frowned before raising a finger. “Feel that temperature drop?” He asked.

Maeve held out her hands. “Yeah?”

“Ghost incoming,” He warned.

They all got in position and got ready to fight. Chase quickly released Houndour, and Maeve released Staravia. Scott left his Kricketune out. A series of eerie screams resonated through the forest, and Scott relaxed.

“We’re good,” He said. “Stand down.”

The two trainers acquiesced and watched as five Phantump floated through the forest as if they were being gently carried by the wind. Each one carried a unique mask made out of wood. Chase couldn’t help but feel uneasy when staring into their red eyes. A few minutes later, they were gone without having attacked.

“Why aren’t they aggressive?” Maeve asked. “Ghosts usually are.”

“Not Phantump,” Scott said with his eyes downcast. “They’re… the spirit of kids that died in the forest. They never attack other trainers unless they’re attacked first.”

Chase scratched his neck uncomfortably. “Let’s keep going. No time to waste.”

The words felt hollow when they came out.

——

The very next day, a Pokemon caught Chase’s eye. A Zangoose was dashing in between trees and clawing at them with a move that seemed to be Slash. It was doing so with a level of dexterity that rivaled Riolu’s, and it kept alternating between running on all fours and on its hind legs. Scott wanted the group to avoid it, but Chase felt something inside of him. The same thing he had felt when he had caught Houndour and Charjabug. An unexplainable feeling that tugged at his heart, screaming at him, ordering him to catch the Pokemon in front of his eyes. 

“Why is it taking so long,” Maeve whispered.

“Zangoose’s claws grow forever, so it often needs to use them on something before they get too long. I guess this one figured out a way to train while doing so. Talk about taking out two birds with one stone,” Scott answered.

Chase smirked. Zangoose had the drive to be on his team. A dedication to the craft of training. “I’m catching it,” He simply said. “Stand back.”

“What?” Scott shook his head. “If you want to catch it, fine, but let us help you.”

“Have some Arceus damned respect,” Chase said. “I could never ambush this Zangoose. Ready Riolu?”

“Ri!”

He stepped out of his hiding spot and announced himself. “Zangoose!”

The normal type immediately stood on his hind legs and hissed as the hair on its back stood up. 

“You are like me. You work to perfect yourself through training, slowly but surely,” Chase smiled. Zangoose was still ready to fight, but it was listening. “Riolu and I challenge you to a fight. Both of us, so don’t hesitate to come after me,”

“Are you crazy—” Scott yelled.

“Goose!”

“Ah, you'll have to excuse them. Those are my traveling companions. We’re helping each other get through the forest, but they won’t join the battle. If I win, I want you to join my team,” Chase continued with a wild grin.

Zangoose hesitated, but it nodded after some deliberation.

“On the count of three,” Chase started. “One, two, three ,”

Zangoose rushed forward with a blur, but Chase could see it. Now it was about his body not falling behind. He ducked as Zangoose raked its claws where his neck had just been.

“Riolu, on me! Force Palm!” Chase ordered.

His Pokemon blurred with Quick Attack and jumped on Chase’s back, using his trainer to propel himself to hit the Zangoose with Force Palm at incredible speeds. The normal type clawed back, but Riolu was already back at Chase’s side.

Zangoose hissed and raked its claws together before dashing toward Chase once again. Riolu jumped and hit it away with Bone Rush, but Zangoose blocked with its arm and Slashed Riolu away. Chase scrambled and grabbed his backpack, moving it to the front to block the attack, but he was still knocked away by the sheer force . Riolu barked, and his palms glowed once more as he shone with Quick Attack. 

The normal type hissed before clawing at Riolu, but he quickly stepped back with a feint and stepped in after Zangoose’s Slash, hitting it right in the abdomen over and over. 

“Wait!” Chase ordered. Riolu stopped his onslaught. “I’m giving you a chance to surrender and come with me.”

Zangoose hissed and jumped at Riolu.

“Circle Throw!” Chase said.

The fighting type awkwardly pushed Zangoose’s right leg away before grabbing its arm and lifting it over his body, and ramming its face straight into a tree.

“Force Palm,” He calmly said.

Before Zangoose could even recover, he came under assault from Riolu’s Force Palm. It was hit over and over, and it tried to claw back, but it was too weak now. Too slow.

Chase grabbed one of the Pokeballs that had fallen from his now torn-up backpack. “We defeated you,” He told Zangoose. “It was a good fight. I… I tasted defeat back home, but I left and vowed never to lose again. Join me.”

Zangoose let out a trembling nod. Chase touched it with his Pokeball and smiled.

——

Zangoose, the cat ferret Pokemon. Memories of battling its archrival Seviper are etched into every cell of Zangoose’s body. This Pokémon adroitly dodges attacks with incredible agility. When it battles, it stands on its hind legs and attacks with its sharply clawed forelegs. 

Moves: Quick Attack, Slash, Hone Claws, Fury Swipes, Scratch, Leer, Fury Cutter (click for more information)

Ability: Toxic Boost (click for more information)

Chase grinned. “You’ve got a lot of moves, and an outstanding ability,” He said. He immediately started imagining scenarios where he poisoned his Zangoose with Houndoor’s Smog before a big battle. 

Zangoose hissed and bowed her head. It seemed like she had gained a great deal of respect for him thanks to their battle. 

“She looks angry all the time,” Maeve said as she nestled closer to the fire. 

“I still can’t believe you asked her to come after you,” Scott said. “You’ve got a death wish.”

“Why would I make my Pokemon fight if I never join in? That’s how you gain their respect and show that you're worth a damn,” Chase said. 

“That’s some unhealthy mindset,” Scott said. “But congrats on the new member, I guess.”

“I don’t need congratulations. If I couldn't catch her, I wouldn’t deserve to be a trainer.”

——

Another two days passed, and according to Scott, they were close to the exit. Even though the trip through Eterna forest had been relatively easy, Chase was glad it’d be over soon.

It was exhausting and reminiscent of home. 

“Well, I think this is going to be my last time going through this damned forest,” Scott chuckled as he lazily chewed on some canned beans. 

“Why? You retiring after this year?” Maeve asked curiously.

“Yeah,” He replied. “I’m going to try to become a Ranger.”

Chase’s eyes widened. “Why? Why settle for such a mediocre goal?” He asked dryly.

Scott frowned. “Don’t call it mediocre. It’s been my dream since I was a kid,” He said, raising his tone slightly. 

“Then why’d you try to Circuit so many times,” Maeve asked. “If you don’t mind me asking?”

“To get better as a trainer,” Scott said. “It was never about becoming the Champion for me, I just wanted to get experience. I’ve always wanted to use my skills to help others, and I feel like I’m good enough to join next year.”

“Wow…” Maeve said.

“I don’t get it,” Chase scoffed. “I really don’t. I’ve seen you battle. You’re good. Better than you act. You could easily get more than four badges if you pushed yourself harder. You could try to reach the top—”

“Stop it, Chase,” He growled. “Stop. I know you’ve got issues, but don’t project them onto me.”

Chase shook his head and blinked. It was as if he had been slapped. “The fuck do you mean?”

“I said what I said,” Scott added. “Good night.” 

He turned away from the teenager. Chase tapped his foot against the soft ground repeatedly. He didn’t have issues. It wasn’t his fault people seemed content with mediocrity in their lives. It just baffled him to see someone with the potential to reach the Conference just… give up. And for what? To become some shitty ranger?

“Well, this is awkward,” Maeve said, clapping her hands. “I’m just going to sleep too. Nighty night.”

Chase huffed. They were all blind. Every last one of them, and he would prove them all wrong. All of them .

——

When they reached the outpost on the other side of Eterna forest, the group immediately split. There weren’t really any hard feelings. They knew that their group had been just a temporary arrangement. Scott got his wish and got them through the forest, and he left for the ranger building to warn them about the Pinsir. Maeve was more of a solitary trainer, as he was, and she quickly left for the Center, since she wanted to get to Eterna as fast as possible.

The sun felt gentle on his skin, unlike the harsh weather of the Iron Islands. Chase walked to a secluded area of the outpost and released his team. Charjabug screeched happily since he hadn’t released it during the entirety of the forest trip except once to keep watch at night. Riolu, Zangoose, and Houndour were tired and had suffered some wounds due to fights with wild Pokemon.

Perfect.

“We’re all tired right now,” Chase grinned. “Let’s work out and push ourselves to the limit.”

He needed to catch up for all that slacking off he had done in Eterna forest first. Then, it was time to find Obel.

Chapter Text

CHAPTER 52  

I ran through the power plant as fast as I could. How had I even gotten here? My legs felt sluggish. Slow, and unresponsive, like I was wading through water, but I kept going. Every corner I turned, she was there, waiting with a gleeful smile.

Mars.

She was everywhere, her knife in hand and Dusknoir at her side. She slashed her blade at me, cutting across my face despite me not being near her. I screamed and felt at my face. The pain was unbearable. My hand was slick with warm blood. Mars lazily approached me, skipping across the floor like a little girl.

“I told you, didn’t I? That I would find you again,” She said, before laughing wildly.

I spoke, but no words came out of my mouth. She gripped her knife tighter and stabbed me, over and over and over and over and over—

I jolted awake with a shriek, clutching at my abdomen. Frillish was floating above, watching me with intense worry. I groaned and sat at the edge of the bed, wiping sweat off my body. 

“Fuck… that was… Arceus .”

The pain had felt so real . Even now, my body throbbed where I had been stabbed in the nightmare. It was our first night at the outpost’s Pokemon Center, and I had decided enough was enough. Cynthia told me that I needed to not get too dependent on Togetic’s power, and when the Champion gave you advice about something, you listened . That didn’t mean that she wasn’t sleeping with me, though. 

“Prrri…” Togetic cried out with a sad look on her face. I grimaced. Seeing her sad was like someone was crushing my heart. Elekid got off from the wall he leaned on to sleep, and called out reassuringly, while Tangela looked up at me with his vast googly eyes.

“Sorry guys, I must have woken you all up,” I said. “I… I need a shower.”

I closed the bathroom door and stared at myself in the mirror, taking deep breaths to calm my beating heart. This was incredibly discouraging. It was as if I had made no progress at all, and I was back to step one, except the nightmares about Golbat were now replaced with Mars and Dusknoir. I shivered when the image of the ghost flashed in my mind. 

“No point thinking about it, I’ll just scare myself some more,” I told myself, gripping the counter until my knuckles turned white. “Mars is gone… I’ll never see her again. I’ll never see her.”

I swallowed. 

“Let’s shower.”

I took a while to wash myself. The warmth of the water just felt too comforting on my skin after spending so long in Eterna forest. Getting out, I realized I had forgotten to grab a change of clothes. I groaned and placed a hand on my heart as I left the bathroom. Still needed to work on that. I felt the door hit something, after which I quickly heard Elekid bark out an order. When I opened the door again, my Pokemon were back in their original positions, acting as if nothing happened.

“Were you guys trying to spy on me?” I asked. Elekid laughed and let out a noise I had learned to recognize as no. Togetic hid behind Frillish, who turned awkwardly, avoiding my eyes. “Hey, angel,” I smiled at Tangela. “Were they trying to spy on me?” I asked again.

The grass type extended his vines and touched my ankles. He was a bit odd, but then again, so was every member of my team, and I liked that about them. I still was nowhere near understanding how he communicated, though. He seemed to be non-verbal, instead preferring to use his vines to talk, or at least I had never heard him speak. Not a single sound.

“Thanks for worrying about me,” I said softly to my team.

I grabbed a set of clothes and spent the rest of the early morning browsing the internet. There was a lot I had missed, and I desperately wanted to catch up on anything trainer related. Apparently, some people had four badges already, but they were all people that had been trainers for years, like Craig Goodwill, the guy with the Salamence I had seen on television the day dad talked to me about leaving for Littleroot. Experienced trainers like him already had their flying licenses, so they could just fly around on their Pokemon and zip through the region like it was nothing. The most badges first-year trainers like us had were two. I felt a pang of worry at the notion that I was falling behind before remembering that the vast majority of trainers still had zero badges. Plus, the Circuit wasn’t a race. As long as I had the eight badges by the end, I’d be fine.

Apparently, my megathread had picked up a little bit of steam too. I really didn’t like reading it because of the toxicity it tended to garner, but the most recent messages since it had come out that I was one of team Galactic’s victims had been mostly supportive. Then, people discovered I was traveling with Cece and her group, which put even more attention on me. My performance at the Floaroma tournament was making rounds too. I blew a raspberry before turning my Poketch off. My name was starting to get big, and it’d get bigger if I kept doing good in the Circuit. People were starting to look me up and theorize about how an apparent nobody like me managed to be friends with billionaires.

How annoying. 

Elekid touched my leg.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Kid!”

“Sorry, hon, no run today. My shoulder still hurts,” I told him. He looked down sadly.

Elekid missed our runs, and I did too. The doctor I saw yesterday told me to take it easy and not move around too much though, because it caused too much friction on the wound. Cece’s arm was in okay shape, and she would just have to keep an eye on it as the Paras’ bites healed. Emilia’s leg would be fine, but right now, she needed a lot of rest, painkillers, and antibiotics, which meant that we would stay here for a little bit.

“Well, I can’t move too much, but there’s no use staying in my room all day,” I told my team. I fed all of them some berries I had bought the day before— except for Tangela.

“Alright, guys, I’ll get you out of the ball later,” I said as I recalled them. Soon enough, we’d have to start our regular training back, but they deserved a break after everything we had gone through. I stared at angel. “You’re with me this morning,” I told him. He tilted his body and stared. “Don’t worry, I’m not making you fight yet or anything,” I continued, trying to guess what he was thinking. “I just want to hang out, just you and me.”

It was still early morning, meaning only Cece would be up. My heartbeat quickened when I thought of her. Would it be fine to just go find her? It was 6:23 am, so knowing her, she’d be training her team somewhere. I felt Tangela’s vines caress my back as another one tapped the door handle.

“Oh, sorry,” I said, snapping out of my crush-induced freeze. “Let’s go.”

Tangela followed me as I walked through the Center’s empty halls. I was probably luckier than the average trainer when it came to building my team. Aside from Frillish, no one had given me any difficulties yet, and Elekid sought me out. I placed my hand over his ball. I still didn’t know how he could sense ghosts so well , but I sure wanted to find out. I walked out of the Center and looked into Tangela’s eyes. He squinted slightly and shook himself.

I tapped my chin, looking at the sky. It was an overcast morning, and the sun was just starting to rise, peaking over Mount Coronet to the east. “Are you sad that there’s no sun?” I asked. The grass type blinked twice.

“Does that mean yes?” I asked again.

Tangela blinked twice. Again.

“I’m just going to assume that means yes, then.”

I kept walking through the outpost, looking for nothing in particular, and certainly not for Cece. I totally didn’t want to run into her or anything, but it wouldn’t bother me if I did. I spent the next hour trying to learn Tangela’s quirks. I had neglected him in the forest, and I wanted to remedy that. Right now, I was crouched, and he was feeling the individual creases in my palms.

“Angel, that tickles,” I chuckled. The species was fascinating to me. He did everything through vines and touching and was engrossed with human skin. I had to stop him from touching others a few times on our walk.

“Hey, look, the sun is out,” I told him as rays peeked through two huge clouds. The grass type shivered in excitement and closed his eyes as he soaked in the sun’s energy. After he finished, he tapped my back softly to signal that he was done.

“Well, let’s head back in then,” I told him. No Cece this morning, huh? It would have been too convenient to get some time alone. “I need to eat breakfast and meet the others.”

I recalled him and went to the Pokemon Center cafeteria. Denzel wasn’t there— and he wouldn’t be up for another few hours. He had earned his right to sleep in after having to wake up so early every morning in Eterna forest. Pauline was eating alone. I bit my tongue. On one hand, I wouldn’t say I disliked her anymore. After our experience in the forest, I couldn’t bring myself to. On the other hand… she was definitely still not my cup of tea. 

“Ah,” I let out, as she saw me. “Well, can’t eat alone now, that’d be impolite.”

I grabbed some sausages and hashbrowns and sat in front of her. She chewed on her food slowly as she stared into my eyes.

“Morning,” I tried. “Sleep well?”

She swallowed her food. “Not really,” She said, fiddling with her hair. “I was with Emi all night.”

“That’s sweet,” I smiled. “So, I hope you don’t mind if I ask this, but are you guys best friends?”

“Well, obviously,” She rolled her eyes. “Emi’s the person I care about the most. We’ve been together for a while,” Pauline said as her face softened. “She was always so meek. I had to be there to protect her.”

“I see…” I muttered. “Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing a great job.”

“No need to flatter me,” She huffed. 

“I’m just telling the truth. You’ve been great to her.”

Pauline wiped her mouth with a napkin. “What’s your angle?”

“There’s no angle, I just want to try to get along,” I sighed. She was more amenable in the forest, but it looked like getting back to safety had made her get back to her ruder self. “Wouldn’t that be nice?”

“I recall you saying that you disliked me multiple times, Grace.”