<Calem rose with the sun while Dorothy attempted to sleep in like a pampered princess, at least until he lamented her sleeping through breakfast. Completing his morning meditation, Claude began to stir alongside Serena. After a quick shower, both prepared themselves for the day, regrouping with a busy Chef Chad in the canteen. Aromatic onslaughts of frying potatoes and the cackle of sizzling eggs had grabbed the attention of a few other trainers staying at the center. Though the show ended with a flourish as six filled plates landed on the table the group laid claim to.>


    “Thanks!” / “Thanks big bro!” / “Thank you.” / “Finally some real food!” / “You didn’t have to…” they each responded, as the meal vanished in a coordinated magic act. Chad, eating his portion slower than the others, glanced at the clock on the wall towards the entrance. The younger three, having finished eating, immediately scattered from the table to go socialize around the room. Calem and Serena, donning the mantle of ‘responsible adults’ in the situation, took the dirty flatware and cutlery to the automated washing station.


    “What time is our slot?” Calem asked, as Chad continued eating while pointing a singular white claw at Calem’s Holo caster. With a few clicks, Calem was able to locate the notification of his challenge slot. “Woah, I thought it’d be too busy to get a challenge this quick.”


    “But why are we rushing? I just got my second pokemon, and Calem still only has Dorothy. Isn’t this going-” Serena began, questioning the reservation times.


    <Serena had an epiphany mid-sentence, as she realized that they were still ahead of the main wave of trainers. Their quick run through Santalune Forest had put them almost a day or more ahead of the rest of the pack. “Oh, I get it! We’re trying to get past the first gym before it gets too mobbed, then we can slow down a bit and prepare more for the second gym.”>


    Chad nodded slowly, finishing his breakfast and placing the utensils in the designated receptacle. After thoroughly washing his claws, he pulled up his keypad, and asked [TRAIN, OR, WAIT]. The two humans paused as they shared a long look, occasionally making minute facial expressions or short gestures.


    “No point training,” Calem said first, “Dorothy and the others will go too hard and not be ready for the battle.” Serena, glancing at where her duo were chattering amidst a group of other pokemon, nodded.


    “Yea, but maybe we can strategize? Like, I still need to learn what moves my Pikachu knows,” she suggested, as the aforementioned mouse received a light smack to the back of his head by Claude. Two accompanying nods later, the rampant pokemon regrouped, and a quick change of scenery to the gardens out back, the group split into three smaller areas.


    <Calem and Dorothy began to practice different movements and strategies for their coming gym battle, focusing on a mixture of fire and agility as they planned to lean on her speed to avoid incoming attacks. Serena and Claude worked with her new Pikachu to learn what special moves he knew, while trying to come up with some basic battle plans for the bug types.>


    Chad, seated on the ground in the butterfly position with his back facing a rose bush, cupped his hands together and shut his eyes in meditation. Slowly the air around him began to ripple and sizzle, forming an invisible aura of radiating heat. Flickers of an orb tried to stabilize in his hands, as he attempted to condense raw fire power into an existence.


    After a few minutes, it began to coalesce, as the orb held its shape, bathing him in the warmth of a miniature sun. Sneaking a peek with his left eye, Chad opened both in shock and awe at the power floating in his hands.


    <And he managed to enjoy his brief success for all of a second before his loss of focus doused the attempt like a candle in a hurricane. Left with naught but a wisp of the energy, Chad could only tally the failure as another of many.>


    “Can’t just let me have a minor victory, huh?” Chad asked, standing with a grunt and exhale, stretching his legs with a minor massage.


    <You said yourself the other night, you only have four moves for this challenge: Ember, Dragon Rage, Scratch, and Growl.>


    “Yea, I did,” Chad admitted, glancing at his empty right hand and claws. “I had a dream last night that I used a fire move from my hands to fly like Iron Man,” he started, straining as a miniscule ember floated above his palm.


    <With sufficient power, that would not be outside the realm of possibility. But first, how about we cheer on your companions?>


    <Getting absorbed in their planning, Calem’s alarm is their only saving grace as the group races towards the gym. Upon arrival, the receptionist informs the group that they may watch each other’s battles, invigorating Chad and Serena as they wish Calem well for the first challenge. From the spectator stands, the two cheer as Calem faces the gym trainer Zachary and his Spewpa. Their opponent uses a barrage of String Shot attacks to try and trap Dorothy, but thanks to their earlier strategizing she manages to ignite every sticky string, turning the field into one of fire. Unable to easily move through the flames, Dorothy corners the scatterdust pokemon and takes home a clean win, earning Calem his Bug Badge.>


    <Hyped up, Serena heads to the field, facing down her opponent, gym trainer Charlotte. Opening with Claude, her first opponent is revealed to be a Kakuna. This battle ends up being a race, between the cocoon’s Harden ability, and the grass otter’s Vine Whips. Claude, having practiced the move often, was able to thrash the bug into a clean victory, before facing down the buzzing Combee that was Charlotte’s second pokemon. He did his best, but the Gust attacks overcame his stamina and forced him out of the fight.>


    Sensing his turn, Chad left his bag with Calem, heading to the field with only his white scarf securely around his neck. “Alright, I guess we’re lucky today, seems like we aren’t facing the gym leader-” he began, cut off as he noticed who was striding towards the other end of the field. Her blonde bob cut was burned into his memory from the recordings.


    <Viola, with a flourish and wave, riled up the audience as she took to the home team box. Her white blouse and aqua leggings were the picture of springtime, and the blonde bob cut hair framed her joyous smile. “Good morning everyone! Sorry I’m late, there were too many cute bug pokemon to photograph in the forest today.” Her apology got a supporting laugh from the crowd. “But, I’m here now, and ready to welcome our new challenger!”>


    “Shit,” was all Chad could think to say, his hopes for a reasonable battle curb-stomped into the gutters. “You do realize I’ll need several tries to beat her, right?” he asked under his breath, slowly moving towards the challenger’s box.


    <Unlike the lesser trainers, I expect you to battle and beat each gym leader for a badge. No hand-outs. But yes, I suspect we’ll be at this for some time.>


    <With both trainers taking their places, Viola unclipped a teal and white pokeball with a black criss-cross pattern overlaid atop the blue. “I heard the story from the receptionist; I am sorry to hear about your trainer, but I admire your drive to achieve his dream. But don’t think I’ll go easy on you for it, I hope you’re ready! My lens is always focused on victory, whether my opponent’s tears of frustration or blossoming joy, nothing will ruin this shot!” her smile was infectious, as a murmur went over the crowd at her announcement. Spectators doubting they heard her properly, while Calem and Serena could only watch on.>


    <Chad stepped forward onto the field, as Viola lobbed the ball onto her half, releasing a surge of light that revealed a small blue squish on four spindle legs, with blushing pink cheeks, a pair of wide black eyes, and a cute natural golden hat. The referee raised his arms, each aimed towards the trainers. “This will be a two on two battle with no switches, between Santalune Gym Leader Viola and the challenger Chad. Trainers, are you ready?” Chad nodded, and Viola affirmed, both attempting to intimidate the other. “Then on the count of three; one, two, three, begin!”>


    Immediately, Chad began charging the Surskit, determined to close the distance. “Show me what you got, blueberry!” he shouted.


    <Viola frowned in disappointment, lowering the camera from her eye, “Bubble.”>


    The reaction was immediate, as the barrage of colorful bubbles hit Chad straight in the face, before he twirled off to the left and fell to the ground unconscious. The world froze, the colors receded, and the cheers of the audience fell to silence.


    <Really abusing my powers, aren’t you?>


    Chad stood up, dusting himself off before walking back to the starting point, as the world began to rewind from the past few seconds. “I needed to know for sure. A single hit means I’m down for the count, so now I need to focus on dodging,” he explained, doing a few last-minute stretches before taking his position.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    <The referee raised his arms, each aimed towards the trainers. “This will be a two on two battle with no switches, between Santalune Gym Leader Viola and the challenger Chad. Trainers, are you ready?” Chad nodded, and Viola affirmed, both attempting to intimidate the other. “Then on the count of three; one, two, three, begin!”>


    Immediately, Chad began charging the Surskit, closing the distance while keeping an eye on the blue bug.


    <Viola frowned in disappointment, lowering the camera from her eye, “Bubble.”>


    With no lag time, a barrage of colorful bubbles flew from the Surskit, impacting the ground just behind Chad as he leapt to his right. He began to circle his opponent, focusing more on lateral movement than closing the gap.


    <”Don’t let up, if it can’t get close it can’t win!” Viola commanded, unamused by the battle.>


    Surskit spun and launched a volley towards where Chad had been heading to, as the Charmeleon spat a quick ember to pop the barrage and immediately charge inwards.


    <”Cute,” Viola admitted, now appearing outright bored, “but clearly you aren’t ready for this. Bubble Blitz.”>


    As Chad launched his close-range Ember blast, the blue strider vanished, and a blast of Bubbles struck him from behind. Fully unconscious, the ref declared Viola the winner as the world began to slow, and rewind. Rubbing the back of his head as he stood, Chad once again walked back to his starting point.


    <Better, but clearly not a winning strategy.>


    “Yea,” Chad agreed, watching as his body was reversing the damage, “time to try plan B.”


    <The referee raised his arms, each aimed towards the trainers. “This will be a two on two battle with no switches, between Santalune Gym Leader Viola and the challenger Chad. Trainers, are you ready?” Chad nodded, and Viola affirmed, both attempting to intimidate the other. “Then on the count of three; one, two, three, begin!”>


    Chad inhaled, his cheeks puffing up as wicks of fire flashed in the corners of his mouth, before he unleashed a ball of fire upon the distant Surskit.


    <Viola looked to the ground in disappointment, letting her camera slip from her hands and hang from the strap, “Fire types are all the same, huh? Bubble.”>


    After crossing half the distance, the blue bug unleashed a barrage of bubbles, which consumed the ember and kept going, before freezing in mid-air along with the world around them. “Not even going to let that play out?” Chad asked, as the battlefield rewound again.


    <We both know the outcome. I can’t even justify having the ref speak again, this one was just embarrassing.>


    The world resumed, and once more Chad sprinted towards his target. Frustration, anger, and determination blended on his face as the air around his shoulders began to waver.


    <Viola shifted from excited to calm, keeping her camera aimed at the orange lizard as he approached, “Bubble, keep your distance.”>


    A flurry of bubbles spewed towards him, but a juke to the left barely shifted Chad out of the line of fire as he kept closing in. Whatever sparked it, whatever emotion flowed through him, caused Chad’s shoulders to erupt in a facsimile of flaming wings, causing him to rocket towards the Surskit. With a lunging swipe, his right claws barely scratched the blue bean as it vanished from sight.


    <”Not bad, Bubble Blitz,” Viola commanded, a soft amused smile on her lips as the shutter clicked once.>


    Chad whipped around, crossing his left arm up to block as the bug appeared behind him and let loose the bubbles. Surprisingly, half of them popped on contact with his fiery wings, the others assaulting his guard. Still standing, Chad dug deep and tried to call upon a Dragon rage, but the Surskit immediately charged into him with a Quick Attack, knocking the wind out of his lungs and splaying the lizard unconscious on his back.


    As the world froze once more, Chad lay still, simply breathing in and out while staring at the ceiling of the gym. “Not sure what that was, but coating myself in fire seems to be helpful. And that confirms Dragon Rage is the way to beat them,” he recited, pulling himself upright and walking back to the starting point.


    <I will give credit, you did manage to unlock Flame Charge that time. But yes, I suspect the key to your victory will be in using Dragon Rage as a finisher.>


    <The referee raised his arms, each aimed towards the trainers. “This will be a two on two battle with no switches, between Santalune Gym Leader Viola and the challenger Chad. Trainers, are you ready?” Chad nodded, and Viola affirmed, both attempting to intimidate the other. “Then on the count of three; one, two, three, begin!”>


    Chad took a defensive stance, as he shut his eyes and began to focus, the air around his entire body shimmering in response. Tilting its head, the Surskit called out to their opponent, “Hey vieil homme, this isn’t the best time or place to poop, ok?”


    Oh shit, Narrator, this is the one; cue the music!


    This is an experiment where I wrote the remainder of the story to the tune of Catch Us by T. Stebbins Spotify Link</a>


    You absolutely do NOT need to attempt this, as the required reading speed is over 300 words per minute to keep pace.


    But if so inclined to try, I suggest reading to the end first, then doubling back to this point to try and follow the song.


    Please let me know if this worked for you, or your feedback on incorporating such ideas for future chapters.


    <Viola looked at her challenger with a sympathetic smile, “Sorry buddy, but even for your first badge I can’t just stand back and let you set up. Hit ‘em with a Bubble, Surskit!”>


    “No hard feelings, Oji-chan,” the bug declared, their facsimile of a mouth buzzing as dozens of little soapy orbs rapidly expanded; the barrage steadily crossed the field. Chad’s eyes flew open, pupils contracted to small dots, as his whole body burst into a fiery orange and yellow blaze. Several nearby spectators recoiled from the heat, as a minor wave of air burst from the ignition. The swarm of spheres collided with Chad, surrounding the lizard in an obscuring cloud of steam, before he leapt forward with a pair of fiery wings blasting him towards his target.


    <”Holy- Bubble Blitz! Keep your distance!” Viola reacted, leaning back in shock as her expression betrayed one of bemusement. Her shutter went wild as she attempted to capture the blazing charge on film.>


    The blue bug alternated between Bubble blasts, and Quick Attacks to jump backwards. With each jump, Chad began to accelerate even more, blasting through the assault and steam clouds to the point where Surskit didn’t even have time to launch any more. From the stands, Calem stood and shouted his support for the gym to hear, “GO CHAD!”


    <Viola shifted her camera, focusing the lens instead on her Surskit while calling out, “Use Water Sport, then point-blank Bubble!”>


    During its jump, the blue bug floated across the battlefield, spinning and dousing the dirt ground like a sprinkler, creating a muddy stretch between itself and the speeding fireball. Chad closed in, undaunted as the flames seemingly shrunk once he set foot on the wet corridor. Determined, Surskit held its Bubble attack, waiting for the right moment, just before Chad spat a quick Ember at them. Reflexively, the blueberry released the attack, letting the plume be consumed by a wall of spheres, forcing Chad to expend another Ember to his left, literally throwing it to juke right and around the onslaught.


    <”No way,” Viole commented, as the camera shutter began to flicker several times during the exchange. “Water sport-”>


    Faster than the spread of a wildfire, Chad was right on top of the bug, as repeated Scratch attempts forced Surskit on the defensive. The water strider seemingly sweating, either from the earlier move or the oppressive heat literally clawing at its face. But one bad dodge was all it took, as the Charmeleon sent it flying with a swift uppercut. Charging up with a deep inhale, Chad unleashed a torrent of purple fire at his opponent. The fire let loose all his feelings; his insecurities, his sadness, and his rage. The crispy oval fell to the field in a heap, unmoving as Chad waited for the call, his lungs heaving from the exhaustive effort.


    <”Surskit is unable to battle, Gym Leader Viola please send out your next pokemon.” The ref announced with a chop of his arm. The feinted water bug vanished in a red beam back into its ball.>


    The challenger immediately fell to one knee, coughing and hacking before a splatter of blood painted the floor. His aura immediately faded, leaving his scaly skin sizzling, with some parts appearing blackened or outright burnt. “Chad!” Serena called, shocked and concerned with what she saw, held back by Calem’s hand on her shoulder. The ref and gym leader eyed the lizard, as he rubbed his snout clean with the back of an arm, standing up and gesturing he was good to continue.


    <Viola nodded, palming an enlarged red pokeball. “Not sure what you’re up to, but clearly you’ll put it all on the line to win. That determined expression, the glint in your eye; that’s the drive it takes to become stronger. Now let me capture it, the moment that becomes your victory or defeat!”>


    From the surge of light, a butterfly with vibrant pink wings took to the skies. Charmeleon adjusted his stance, using the moment to catch his breath.


    <”Begin!” shouted the ref, bringing his left arm down in another chop between the two challengers. Viola focused her camera on the challenger as she gave her command, “Go in and hit ‘em with Infestation!”>


    Vivillon circled above before tucking their wings into a dive straight for Chad, who once again had ignited himself in a blazing aura, sliding his left foot backwards and locking back his left arm, building a swirling blaze of raw fire energy around it.


    <”Abort! Pull up and try to stall out that aura!” Viola called, as she snapped a shot of Chad fully posed.>


    The flying bug, at the very last minute, pulled to the side, barely avoiding Chad and the empowered Ember he threw forward, causing the tips of their wings to singe and leave a smoky trail during the climb back above the field. Cognizant of the race against the clock, and his opponent’s plan, Chad began to cover the sky with flak shots of haphazard embers. The semi-random fireworks display forced the flier to dip, dive, duck, and dodge through increasingly narrow gaps. Unfortunately for the challenger, the butterfly was simply too agile, and managed to avoid every blast he launched.


    <Viola was nervous, a single hit would ground her Vivillon and cost her the match. At the same time, not having any ranged attacks meant her pokemon would need to get in close to win. Even the audience had quieted down, all on the edge of their seats as the situation quickly devolved into a war of attrition.>


    Chad’s barrage was interrupted, as mid-Ember he was once again brought to his knees, struggling for breath as he tried to clear the blood from his airway. Struggling to keep himself off the ground, the aura faded and the gym’s medical team began to shift nervously on the sidelines. Each violent cough continued to paint the ground below him, mixing with the left-over mud from the previous match.


    <”Now!” Viola shouted, framing the shot of her victory. The camera aimed at her challenger’s collapsed form, slightly off-center on the left with room for when her Vivillon would smash into the shot.>


    The pink wings tucked as once again the butterfly dive-bombed the lizard, who now was seemingly unable to fight back or counter attack. Just a few meters away from impact, the bug’s body began to glow with bright green energy. Chad raised his head, grinning like a madman with dribbles of blood still decorating his chin, as his cheeks puffed up with flickers of purple energy at the edges. There was no pulling away, as the Vivillon took the Dragon Rage straight-on, consumed by the blast of purple fire before crash-landing just past him, creating a crater on the battlefield.


    <There was a pause, a silence, as the referee waited for any movement from the downed flier. ”Vivillon is unable to battle. The winner is the challenger Chad from Vaniville Town!” The ref announced, as the stands broke into wild applause. Viola lowered her camera, scrolling through the shots he had captured of the draconic plume.>


    Chad smiled, his eyes half closed and wavering on his feet. He basked in the victory, the shouts and cheering, until his eyes shut and he fell face-first to the ground. Calem, Serena, and the medical team immediately closed in, as for him the world once again went silent and dark. Calem, thinking quickly, recalled Chad into his pokeball once the medics gave the OK. The duo rushed out of the gym and towards the pokecenter.


    <Well done; albeit brutal and extremely concerning, but a win is a win.>


    We can’t let him do this again for the Ice gym.


    <On that I agree; Chad will simply have to follow the standard path. But zero chance he listens to either of us on the matter.>


    No, but She may be able to set him straight.


    <I just felt every instance of myself shudder at the revelation I’ll be requesting Her assistance.>


    I’ll do the talking, and if it comforts you, She won’t be involved longer than a single scene.


    <I suppose that is comforting, a good step down from walking with shoes full of lego bricks, now just merely swallowing a live cockroach. What form did She choose this time?>


    Oh, believe me it''s super subtle; you won’t even notice unless She flexes her powers.