ã€ŠInto the Dark - A Pokemon Isekaiã€‹


 Chapter One

    The sky was a brilliant blue as I stared up at it, with picturesque white, fluffy clouds slowly drifting overhead. A cool, refreshing autumn breeze blew across me carrying a promise of rain in its soft touch, but unfortunately I was not in the proper mood to enjoy it.

    ¡°Ow.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t exactly the wittiest thing I could have said, but it was definitely the most applicable right now. My entire body hurt like I had run a marathon before getting into a fight with Mike Tyson, and even that pain was light next to my headache that was pounding behind my eyes.

    I wasn¡¯t exactly sure where I was or how I had gotten here, things were a little hazy and trying to remember what had happened only made my headache worse. I had been coming home after work, excited that the week was finally over and I could relax and then¡­ a bright light, a thunderous noise, then nothing. I had been falling for ages in an inky void, before another light had appeared, and the next thing I knew I was laying on the ground.

    ¡°Am I¡­ dead?¡± I asked the sky, receiving only a faint whisper of the wind across my face as an answer. ¡°I really hope I¡¯m not dead.¡±

    Something about my voice sounded off, but a twig snapped nearby, and I focused on trying to see what was nearby instead of focusing on whatever was going on with my voice.

    An angel perhaps, come to welcome me to the pearly gates?

    It was not an angel. It was, in fact, a small animal, a grey cat of all things, with white furred paws and white ear tips. It also had an incredibly long tail that coiled like a spring with a fluffy tip, and an expression that was somehow extremely smug. Half-lidded blue irises and pupils set in a yellow sclera stared at me, and it¡¯s whiskers twitched as it sniffed at me. I recognized it immediately, despite the fact that it should have been impossible for it to exist.

    ¡°If you¡¯re here, that means I am dead, but this must be heaven.¡±

    The Glameow, for that¡¯s what the animal ¨C no, the Pok¨¦mon ¨C was, somehow seemed even more smug at my words as if it actually understood them. Which was impossible for my world, but completely normal for the Pok¨¦mon world.

    ¡°Hi little one!¡± I said, smiling at the cat-like Pok¨¦mon.

    My head still hurt, but seeing an actual Pok¨¦mon standing before me made my day. Hell, it made my whole life, and I was already dead!

    The Pok¨¦mon yawned, revealing rows of sharp little teeth in a mouth that seemed to open a little bit too big for my liking.

    ¡°You, uh, you¡¯re a nice Glameow, right?¡±

    It stared disdainfully at me, licking it¡¯s paw and using it to rub at its nose. One of the Pokedex entries from the games started to come back to me as the Glameow kept staring at me. Glameow wasn¡¯t one of my favorite Pok¨¦mon, but I remembered that they were typically very fickle Pok¨¦mon ¨C especially when they were hungry.

    Reaching slowly into one of my pockets, I tried to find anything that resembled food. I came up with nothing, and the Glameow¡¯s eyes flashed as if it understood that it wouldn¡¯t get a meal out of me.

    If Pok¨¦mon were as smart as the games and anime made them out to be, it probably did understand everything that was going on.

    ¡°Nice Glameow?¡±

    The Pok¨¦mon hissed in annoyance, and faster than I could blink a paw lashed out, claws digging into my nose.

    ¡°Ow!¡±

    It jumped away from me as I sat up quickly, feeling at my nose. Blood started to trickle through my fingers, thankfully it was only a small cut. The Glameow hissed again, then turned and stalked away, head held high as it disappeared into the underbrush around me.

    ¡°Stupid cat.¡± I grumbled.

    The blood was already starting to stop, but the cut still stung.

    Of course, I quickly forgot the pain in my nose as I got my first real look at the area around me, my jaw dropping open in wonder.

    Beautiful, massive trees stretched into the air around the small clearing I was in, the wind softly stirring their branches. Thick grass covered the ground, and in the distance a massive mountain towered. Clouds covered most of the upper half of the mountain so I couldn¡¯t tell how big it properly was, but no matter how I craned my head I couldn¡¯t see the top of it.

    Of course, I recognized the mountain instantly, despite how impossible everything was seeming, and I knew where I was.

    ¡°I¡¯m in Sinnoh.¡± My words seemed to echo around the empty clearing as I kept looking around, amazed. ¡°That¡¯s Mount Coronet, and I¡¯m in the Sinnoh Region.¡±

    It really should have been impossible. There was just no way I could actually be here, in the world of Pok¨¦mon. For one, it was a game. That should have been the end of it, full stop, but everything I was experiencing was telling me the opposite. The autumn wind on my skin, the crisp air in my lungs, the small stinging pain where the Glameow had cut my nose, it was all¡­ real. But most importantly, it was certainly not Massachusetts, where I had just been before I had woken up here.

    "Okay." I breathed, trying to wrap my head around what was going on. ¡°Okay, don¡¯t panic. This is what you¡¯ve dreamed of. This is what you wished for years could happen, so don¡¯t lose your mind now.¡±

    It was true after all. Pok¨¦mon had been my escape since I was a little kid, and I¡¯d replayed the scenarios countless times in my head on what I¡¯d do if I ever found myself in the world of the games. Of course those had just been dreams and I¡¯d never really imagined I¡¯d be here, but it was the principle of the thing.

    Then something else caught my attention. My clothes, initially meant for a cold Massachusetts winter day, were all far too big. The shirt and coat were hanging off of my slim frame like a tent, and my pants weren¡¯t much better, even with a belt they were slipping off of my hips. And my boots were practically enormous on my feet.

    ¡°What?¡± I said, and realized my voice was an octave or two higher than normal, and with my shock I had forgotten to pitch it up like I usually did.

    A shadow passing over head distracted me, and I looked up to see a small flock of birds. Or at least I thought they were birds at first, but as they flew overhead I could see the tell-tale round body and pointed beak, as well as the extremely long and narrow wings.

    Wingull!

    They called out to each other again but to my intense displeasure they seemed just like the seagulls they were based on as one of them looked down at me, then released a white stream of¡­ droppings.

    It splattered on my pants, and the Wingull¡¯s caws almost seemed to be laughter as they winged away from me, disappearing over the treetops. I sighed, and reached down to grab a handful of grass to try and wipe the droppings away.

    The hands that appeared in my vision were thin and delicate, nothing at all like how my hands had used to be.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I said to myself, taking a deep breath. ¡°Something¡¯s weird here.¡±

    I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. There was no signal and it was at half-battery, but it still worked, and I swapped to the front facing camera to see what was going on with me.

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    There was a woman in the frame. Short, so much shorter than I had been before. Long black hair, naturally black not dyed, hung down half-way to her waist. Piercing blue eyes stared back at me, wide with shock.

    Hesitantly I looked around, made sure I was alone, then took off my clothes, almost afraid to see what lay underneath, but I couldn¡¯t resist.

    There were no surgery scars. The lithe body was solely a result of nature, having obviously been made this way from birth instead of the result of hormones and scalpels. I hadn¡¯t hated the way I had been before, but even with all of modern medicine I hadn¡¯t quite felt like I should have.

    But this body¡­ this body was mine. This was the way my body was supposed to be, how I had imagined my body should look after all of these years being trapped in the wrong one.

    Medicine and surgery had helped me feel more like how I should have, but this was if a wish had been granted, making my body a woman¡¯s like it should have been since I was born.

    I broke down. Tears poured down my face and I sobbed openly, hugging myself.

    Time passed. I don¡¯t know how long exactly, but eventually the wind proved to be too cold, and I shrugged back into my too-large clothes. I had previously been about six feet tall, which I had hated, but now I must have been a foot shorter. It made for an awkward time as I had to roll up my pant legs several times, but honestly I didn¡¯t mind at all right then.

    I hoped this wasn¡¯t a dream. The pain in my nose from the Glameow, and the faint stench from where the Wingull had hit my pants seemed to prove that it wasn¡¯t. But if it was a dream, then I never wanted to wake up.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I said to myself, delighting in how my voice sounded. ¡°So let¡¯s go with the idea for now that I actually am in another world. I can worry about the metaphysics and the philosophical ramifications of this later. Right now I got to find other some food, some water, and hopefully some other people.¡±

    As I tried to get a better image of where I was, I quickly discovered I only had two real directions I could go, ¡°away from Mount Coronet,¡± and ¡°towards Mount Coronet.¡± Of the two, I decided that ¡°away from Mount Coronet¡± would probably be the better option, considering that even though most of the mountain was hidden by the clouds, I could still see a lot of snow on the slopes. There was no way I would try to get anywhere close to that mountain without winter clothing that actually fit me and a lot of supplies.

    The only other things in my pockets besides my phone were my wallet, keys, and a pair of earbuds. Not a whole lot to work with, but I¡¯d watched the Science Channel when I was younger, I could do something with this.

    I hoped.

    Setting my shoulders, I turned my back to the massive mountain behind me, and started walking. A large part of me was terrified to do this. The games had made it very clear ¨C if you didn¡¯t have a Pok¨¦mon of your own, you shouldn¡¯t be wandering around in the wilds of the world. At the same time, a greater part of me was shaking off the fear and the confusion, realizing that this was it. This was the Pok¨¦mon world, and I was finally going to be able to live out my dreams here.

    In a very strange but real way, it felt like I had just come home.

    /^\

    In retrospect, choosing a direction and just starting out walking that way was perhaps not the smartest idea I¡¯d ever had. Mount Coronet, being one of the largest mountains in the Pok¨¦mon world, was a perfect landmark that I kept right at my back. Despite that, before I knew it I was completely lost in the forest, having spent a couple of hours walking around in what I was becoming increasingly convinced was a big circle.

    ¡°That¡¯s the third time I¡¯ve passed by that tree.¡± I muttered to myself while glaring at the offending plant, which I wasn¡¯t entirely sure wasn¡¯t a Sudowoodo that decided to play tricks on me.

    There was a river around here somewhere judging by the sound of burbling water, but I hadn¡¯t managed to find it yet. At some point in my wanderings I had decided that finding the river was going to be my number one priority, considering that I needed water more than I needed food. After all, I had just had some food on a late lunch break at work, so I still had some energy to keep me going, but water was a much more important resource.

    I hadn¡¯t spent much time as a Boy Scout when my parents had forced me to join because it was ¡°something that boys should do¡±, really I had tried it out for a month or two then got sick of it, but I did remember that people could only go three days without water, whereas they could go for more than a week without food.

    I wasn¡¯t planning on going that long without eating, but it was something to keep in my back pocket if I needed to. If nothing else, I could try and find a Berry to eat, since they were edible by both humans and Pok¨¦mon if I remembered correctly.

    By the time I finally managed to find the small river I was almost delirious with thirst after walking around for half the day, and I didn¡¯t even bother to check to see what was around me as I dunked my head in the river. The cold water was a refreshing shock, and I eagerly pulled my head out of the water and began scooping handfuls to my mouth to drink. It was the most pure water I¡¯ve ever had the pleasure of drinking, and almost immediately I began to feel refreshed.

    A flash of orange caught my eye, and I looked over in astonishment to see a large fish swimming gently down the stream. The blank expression on its face and long yellow whiskers weren¡¯t even necessary for me to identify it, considering it was a series staple since the very first games. Magikarp were normally depicted as awkward or stupid Pok¨¦mon, but that was when they were out of the water. When they were actually swimming in the water they were as graceful as any fish I had ever seen, and certainly more fantastic than any of the fish I had ever seen back home.

    More movement distracted me and my mouth fell open at the most magical sight I had ever seen. The Glameow hadn¡¯t really given me the time to really appreciate it, and the Magikarp was amazing, but the variety of Pok¨¦mon in front of me took my breath away. Azurills and Marills splashed along the edge of the river while a Barboach slid its way through the rocks at the bottom of the crystal clear water. A couple of Buizels gently floated down the stream, half-asleep, while a Starly flock sang in a tree and three Combee buzzed on the other side of the river, stopping every now and again to collect nectar from flowers.

    I had been so focused on getting to the water that I hadn¡¯t even noticed the wildlife around me. Tears stung my eyes as I stared out at the amazing scene before me.

    ¡°If I¡¯m dead,¡± I whispered to myself. ¡°Then I think I¡¯ll be happier dead than I ever was alive.¡±

    Time passed me by as I just sat there and stared, looking in awe at the Pok¨¦mon around me. They seemed to be a little skeptical at first, but as long as I didn¡¯t make any sudden movements most of the Pok¨¦mon were content to let me be.

    It was the closest I had ever come to a truly perfect moment.

    Even perfect moments had to end however, and I very reluctantly got up from where I had been sitting. I¡¯d been camping a few times before now, I wasn¡¯t an expert by any means but I knew that I should try and find shelter before it got dark, not afterwards.

    Eventually by poking around the area by the river I found a small divot in the ground, and the grass was soft enough to be comfortable to lie down in. Once I had found a place to stay for the night I went hunting for some food. Hunting wasn¡¯t probably the right word for it, considering I had never actually gone hunting in my life and didn¡¯t have the first idea on what to do.

    Plus, I wasn¡¯t exactly sure if I would be comfortable with hunting and killing a Pok¨¦mon. I wasn¡¯t vegetarian, I liked meat as much as the next person, but from everything that I had seen about Pok¨¦mon they were really rather quite smart. Some were even smarter than humans were, so where exactly was the line between the smart ones and the dumb ones? They could all battle and be companions, couldn¡¯t they?

    So instead of returning to the hunting traditions of my caveman ancestors, I instead decided to pick up gathering instead. It took another hour or so and by that time it was starting to get dark, but luckily enough I didn¡¯t run into any trouble and I found myself standing under a tree, trying to figure out what kind of Berry I was looking at. It looked vaguely like a pink strawberry, with light pink dots speckling the surface of the Berry.

    The tree itself had already mostly been stripped of Berries, with only a few of the strange fruits left, and staring at the plant I honestly had a hard time distinguishing the difference between a Berry and a normal fruit. Was there a difference at all, or was that an industry term, for lack of a better word? For instance, these pink Berries were almost the size of my palm, so much bigger than any other berry I had ever seen back home.

    ¡°Pecha!¡± I said after a minute of staring. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a Pecha Berry! Almost a shame I¡¯m not poisoned, cause this would take care of that in a heartbeat.¡±

    Happy that my first Berry found in the world was something actually useful, I grabbed all of the Berries I could, eagerly stuffing them in my pockets. Hurrying back to my little divot in the ground, I spread my haul out on the ground, checking to make sure there weren¡¯t any worms or anything in the Berries. There wasn¡¯t, so I happily grabbed one, taking a big bite out of it.

    ¡°Mm! Sweet!¡±

    The tree had yielded four berries, and I reluctantly set one aside for tomorrow before gorging myself on the others. The river made a convenient place to wash the sticky juices off of my hands and face, and I got another couple of handfuls of the delicious water before I settled down into my little divot. My jacket made a blanket, and I quickly fell asleep listening to the soft burbling of the river and the faint cries of Pok¨¦mon.

    /^\

    A thousand miles away, in a small dark cave, Jirachi fell asleep, happy at being able to have granted a few last wishes before it¡¯s week was up. It had certainly been a difficult week, and it was sad that its new friend Max wouldn¡¯t be around for the next time it woke up.

    Still, it had managed to sneak in a couple of wishes there at the end. Normally it wouldn¡¯t answer wishes from another reality, but this one was so full of pain and desire that Jirachi couldn¡¯t help itself. Besides Jirachi was the wish granter here, it could do whatever it wanted.

    Jirachi finally settled in for the long sleep, wondering what the world would look like a thousand years from now.

 Chapter Two

    Waking up the morning was not nearly as pleasant as falling asleep had been. I hadn¡¯t even realized how tired I¡¯d been, and I¡¯d passed out pretty much as soon as I¡¯d laid down. Waking up however? I found myself in a strange contorted position, uncomfortably pressed up against something big and warm.

    Blinking sleepily, I stared at the brown¡­ thing next to me. It was big, with soft brown fur that stirred as I started to back away from it. A Bidoof of all things raised its head and stared at me before yawing, it¡¯s mouth opening wide to show off massive front teeth. It dropped its head back down to the ground, and within a few seconds was already back asleep.

    I swallowed nervously, then continued extracting myself from the Bidoof. It grumbled a little in its sleep, but I managed to get myself out without waking it up again. Carefully walking over to the river, I took a deep drink of water before staring at my reflection.

    ¡°At least I¡¯m not ten years old again.¡± I muttered. ¡°Thank God for small miracles. Or would it be Arceus here?¡±

    Typically the protagonist of the Pok¨¦mon games was pretty young, which always seemed like a horrible idea to me as soon as I was old enough to realize what an idiot I had been when I was ten. I mean, I was almost twenty-three years old and my brain still wasn¡¯t fully formed yet, but kids started going on journeys alone in the wilds of the world before they even had gone through puberty! I shuddered to think about having to go through puberty again, what a nightmare that would have been.

    Now that I had some sleep, some food, and some water in me, it was time to really figure out what I was doing. I probably should have been more worried about the whole ¡°disappearing from my home and reappearing in the Pok¨¦mon world¡± thing, but really? I was fine with it. Sure I would probably get a little homesick, but when I thought about trying to find a way back home, the thought just didn¡¯t appeal to me.

    Really, what did I have to look forward to if I did return? A family that I hadn¡¯t spoken to in five years after they had disowned me for being trans? A dead-end job that barely paid the bills, and was provided just enough healthcare benefits to make me feel like myself?

    Why would I ever want to return to that?

    No. There was nothing for me to go back to on Earth, and nobody would really care if I went missing. That hurt a little bit to think about, but sadly it was true.

    My job wouldn¡¯t care, they would just find somebody else they could pay minimum wage to in order to fill my spot. My landlord wouldn¡¯t care, he probably had a list of people as long as my arm looking for a place to stay. And my family? They would probably rejoice that they wouldn''t have to think about of the black sheep of the family any longer. Back there I was a nobody. Here?

    Well, here I was still a nobody.

    I mean, I hadn¡¯t existed in this world until yesterday, and there was no paperwork at all in my name. But the difference was that I could make something of myself here. Was I a great Pok¨¦mon battler? Not at all. I had tried some competitive matches online, but I was much more of a recreational player. Even if I didn¡¯t become a champion or anything, I figured I would be much happier with a basic job here in this world if I could have a companion Pok¨¦mon or two with me.

    This was my new life, and I was going to make it the best life that I could.

    With the existential questions figured out, or at least put on hold for the time being, it was time for the practical part of figuring out what I was going to do now. The goal was still to find people and actual civilization ¨C as nice as being in the forest was, I wanted to have my creature comforts back.

    Coffee for example would be ideal, and a nice meal. And a real bed, my back was killing me from sleeping on the ground.

    But wandering through the woods wasn¡¯t exactly the smartest idea for trying to get to actually find said civilization. I needed a plan, some way to actually find where I wanted to go, and after a minute I realized the obvious.

    ¡°Just follow the river, duh.¡±

    A lot of towns and cities had been built along the banks of rivers, and if this particular river was relatively small, well it would probably meet up with a larger one soon enough. Turns out my medieval studies degree wasn¡¯t entirely useless.

    Nodding decisively, I finished eating my last Pecha Berry, and began to head down the path of the river.

    One interesting thing that I learned during my trek was that there was in fact regular bugs in the Pok¨¦mon world, an entirely unfortunate discovery that I discovered when a mosquito had bite me. After a couple of hours I was completely covered in bites and it took all of my willpower not to constantly scratch the bumps on my skin. Other insects also existed beyond the infernal mosquito, like flies, ants, and even regular bees, which actually made a certain kind of sense.

    Bug Pok¨¦mon were relatively big, all things considering, and couldn¡¯t really fulfill the role of regular insects. Sure I had seen some Combee gathering nectar, but they had been going around to only the biggest flowers that could support them. Naturally smaller insects like ants and flies had to exist so life could carry on, as well as arachnids like spiders ¨C which was also quite the upsetting discovery when I had walked into a web. Although I supposed regular small spiders were preferable when compared to something like Spinarak, or especially Ariados.

    I shuddered to think what it would be like to come across a three-foot tall spider.

    All-in-all, the day passed by relatively quietly as I walked along the banks of the river, although I got plenty of chances to admire the local wildlife. I didn¡¯t think I would ever get tired of walking down the path, staring at real, live Pok¨¦mon.

    Well, I did get tired of the walking bit pretty quickly since back home I wasn¡¯t exactly fond of walking everywhere. I guessed that I would have to change my views on that pretty quickly, since it seemed walking was one of the most common means of getting from place to place here.

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    At least the constant stops to catch my breath or rub my feet just meant that I had more time to stare at the Pok¨¦mon around me.

    I had managed to travel for most of the day without seeing a single person before I decided to bed down for the night, finding another small patch of soft grass to lay down in. Some more Pecha Berries found in a nearby tree continued to go well with river water, and I decided life was good as I laid down for the night.

    So it was a complete and utter surprise when I woke up in the middle of the night sweating and staring around in confusion, looking for whomever had just called for help.

    /^\

    The night was deathly quiet as I stared around in a near panic, trying to find where the call for help came from. Something rustled in the trees and I froze before carefully tilting my head to try and see what was moving.

    A pair of bright red eyes stared unblinking at me from a tree branch, and I wavered under its gaze. I wanted to run but the eyes seemed to pin me in place against the ground.

    Is this how I die?

    I didn¡¯t know what kind of Pok¨¦mon it could be, and that terrified the hell out of me. It could be anything; worst-case scenario those eyes belonged to something like a Gengar. They were rare in the wild, but they could be actively malicious if they were in a bad mood.

    A malicious Gengar would be incredibly worrying, if not terrifying, to most trainers, but to me? A squishy human without any Pok¨¦mon to defend herself? It would be lethal.

    What seemed like an eternity stretched out in the space of a few seconds as those red eyes stared into my soul, before the tension was finally released. They eyes disappeared for a second as the Pok¨¦mon blinked, then a soft hooting came from the tree. I slumped like a puppet with its strings cut, the terror draining out of me as I realized my mistake.

    ¡°A Hoothoot.¡± I laughed at myself, trying to ignore the trembling in my legs. ¡°It was just a Hoothoot.¡±

    The forest around me started to get some sense of normalcy again, Pok¨¦mon and bugs staring to move and talk to one another again. They didn¡¯t just repeat their names over and over again like they did in the anime though, instead their cries were much more¡­ natural. And terrifying.

    I started to relax again, trying to get back to sleep, until I remembered something. I had been woken up by a call for help before I had seen the Hoothoot, not after.

    My natural desire to just ignore the weird call for help warred with the other part of me, the one that said if somebody needed help you help them. Eventually the helping part of me won out, and I got up from the bed of grass, intent on trying to find whomever has asked for help.

    My phone was at half-battery, but I hadn¡¯t gotten a signal all day and I figured that if somebody really did need help then using the rest of the battery as a flashlight would be a good trade off. Besides, if it did run out of battery I could maybe try and get a Rotom to power it up, or enhance it like it did with the smartphones in the games and anime.

    The light somehow made the surrounding forest feel even more dark and oppressive as only brief patches of it were illuminated at a time. Leaves rustled in the darkness as nocturnal Pok¨¦mon fled the bright light, and I was starting to wonder if this had been a bad idea.

    Nighttime was when the more dangerous Pok¨¦mon tended to come out after all, and I still didn¡¯t have a companion to help protect myself. As well, the more I thought about the call that had woken me up, the stranger it actually felt.

    I couldn¡¯t be entirely sure, but I was almost certain that I hadn¡¯t woken up because I had heard somebody calling out for help. No, somehow that cry for help had been more¡­ personal? That wasn¡¯t the right word, but I struggled to find the correct way of putting it. It was almost as if I had felt the need for help, and my brain had interpreted that as somebody calling for me. My doubts weren¡¯t helped by the fact that I hadn¡¯t found anything yet, nobody struggling or in need of assistance.

    Did I just have a bad nightmare and imagine it?

    I hadn¡¯t had a nightmare that bad in years, but I supposed I couldn¡¯t rule the possibility out. It was as if the call for help had just been imagined, something not real something¡­

    I smacked my head in frustration at how stupid I was being.

    ¡°This is the Pok¨¦mon world.¡± I whispered in irritation. ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t have to hear it! They have psychics here!¡±

    The topic of psychic powers in Pok¨¦mon was something that had always puzzled me when I had been a kid. Sure there had been magical animals that could alter the very fabric of reality, but somehow the idea that people could communicate telepathically or move things with their mind seemed to strain my imagination. Regardless of how I had felt about it at the time though, it was a known fact that people could be psychic, and that changed the entire situation here and now.

    The person who had called for help could have done so psychically, and that would explain why I hadn¡¯t actually heard anything! It had just been something that had been telepathically beamed into my mind.

    With a fresh sense of urgency I began looking even harder, trying to find who had sent the message while running through a list of possible trainers in my mind. Sinnoh didn¡¯t have a lot of Psychic specialists that I remembered, mostly it was just Lucian in the Elite Four although maybe Fantina counted, though she specialized in Ghost Pok¨¦mon, not Psychic. Even then, I didn¡¯t know if Lucian or Fantina were actually psychic or not, or if they just used Psychic Pok¨¦mon.

    There were the real psychics like Sabrina, if I remembered correctly in the anime she had been able to turn people into dolls. I didn¡¯t know if that was actually possible or not, but I wouldn¡¯t want to run into her on a bad day regardless.

    I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn¡¯t even notice when I walked into another clearing, at least not until much too late.

    Two men spun around at the sight of my light as I entered the barren patch of forest, although one of the men was so big I honestly thought he was a Hariyama at first. He was carrying some kind of bulky contraption in his arms that looked vaguely a gun of all things. The other man was much shorter and skinnier, and was holding a tablet-like device.

    ¡°Oh.¡± I said, nervously. ¡°Uh, hi there. Sorry I didn¡¯t mean to intrude on whatever¡­ this is.¡±

    I made a vague gesture at the clearing, although something about it seemed off. Looking a little closer there was a shape on the ground, dark against the grass. Shining my light on it, I frowned as it revealed the yellow fur of what looked to be an Elekid of all things.

    The two men shared a look, and the big one took a step closer to me, forcing me to bring my light off of the Pok¨¦mon on the ground.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± The big man said, his voice sounding like he was chewing on gravel.

    ¡°I uh, don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± The other man said skeptically, his voice thin and reedy.

    ¡°Yeah I just kind of¡­ woke up here? Is that Elekid okay?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the Elekid.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I just thought I heard¡­¡± The big man took a step closer, forcing me to take a step back.

    ¡°I said, don¡¯t worry about the Elekid. If fact if I was you, I would just turn away from here and go back to wherever you came from.¡±

    I was about to do just that when the memory of the cry for help came back to me. ¡°Listen, I thought I heard somebody asking for help. I don¡¯t know if you all heard it or not, but somebody out there is in trouble.¡±

    They exchanged another look, and the reedy voice man sighed and nodded.

    ¡°Alright.¡± The big man said before switching his attention back to me. ¡°Somebody is in trouble here, but right now it¡¯s going to be you.¡±

    He took another massive step closer, putting him within arm¡¯s reach of me. This time my feet felt like they were rooted in place as I stared up at him, easily seven feet tall if I was an inch. He cracked his knuckles, and I had a very bad feeling.

    ¡°This is going to hurt isn¡¯t it?¡± I asked, and a grin spread across his face.

    ¡°Oh yes.¡±

    The last thing before I blacked out was his fist, blurring towards me impossibly quickly.

 Chapter Three

    Waking up was a lot more painful than I had imagined it would be. It seemed to be an unfortunate trend in this world so far, and I wasn¡¯t a big fan of it. The entire left side of my face practically radiated pain, and it was a struggle to open that eye to look and see where I was.

    Which apparently was a cage. I had to admit, of all the places I was expecting to wake up, it certainly hadn¡¯t been in a cage. My head must have been hit harder than I thought it had, because it took me a minute before I jolted upright, realizing what was happening.

    I was in a cage!

    ¡°Boss!¡± The reedy man¡¯s voice called. ¡°She¡¯s up.¡±

    ¡°Is she now?¡± A basso rumble replied.

    Frantically I looked around, trying to figure out just exactly where I was. We weren¡¯t in the clearing anymore, instead I had been brought to a small camp somewhere in the forest. There was a faint bit of salt on the air as the wind blew, which made me think we might have been somewhere close to the ocean. I didn¡¯t know how long I had been out, but it must have been a while considering the night was already starting to fade into daytime, the faint glow of the sun starting to color the horizon orange.

    The camp itself wasn¡¯t very pleasant to look at. Three tents, one more than twice the size of the others, were set up in a line to my right, a campfire was in the middle, and a row of cages similar to the one I was in extended off to the left. The cages themselves were pretty simple things, almost looking like dog crates with thick metal bars and a black box that hung where there would normally be a handle for the door. I could make out vague shapes moving in the cages, but my attention was grabbed my the three figures coming into view from around the tents.

    Sure enough it was the two goons I had run across before, along with a third man who was clearly in charge judging by the way the other two scurried after him. He was surprisingly average looking, wearing green cargo pants, thick hiking boots, an entirely too-tight black t-shirt that showed off his muscular chest, and a worn leather jacket that completed the outfit. Around his neck hung a necklace with different kinds of teeth strung on the leather cord, the center one was nearly as long as my hand.

    His face looked like it had been chiseled out of granite despite his white hair, and I hoped I would be in as good shape as he was when I was his age. He must have been pushing sixty years old, but his age didn¡¯t seem to wear him down any, instead his pale grey eyes seemed to take in everything around him. When those eyes were turned on me however, a shudder ran down my back at the sheer inhumanity in them.

    Back in my senior year of high school we had been forced to have a discussion on whether or not people were evil, or if bad situations forced them to do bad things. My teacher had been of the opinion that some people were just evil, and whatever situation they had found themselves in wasn¡¯t important. I had strenuously disagreed, and we¡¯d had a big argument in which I had been sent to the principal¡¯s office because I had thought that just because somebody did a bad thing didn¡¯t mean they were a bad person.

    I still believed that, but looking into those grey eyes I knew that the man before me was evil. I don¡¯t know how, but as soon as we made eye contact I knew that the man had killed somebody before.

    Gone was the sense of wonder and peace that I¡¯d had in the forest, heartlessly ripped away by a man who stared at me without a single trace of pity or guilt in his eyes.

    ¡°So this is the one who stumbled on you two.¡± He said, emotionless.

    ¡°Yeah Kane, just came out of the woods in the middle of the night. The Pok¨¦ Radar picked her up right as she was coming into the clearing.¡±

    The leader, Kane apparently, grunted an acknowledgment and pulled out a leather wallet, and I instantly recognized it as my own. ¡°Interesting things you had on you, friend.¡±

    I had no illusions at all that this man considered himself my friend as he opened my wallet, looking through my cards.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of any of these things. ¡°Massachusetts,¡± for example.¡± He held up my driver¡¯s license, comparing it to my face. ¡°Where is that? Also, I would recommend you get a better photographer next time, this photo barely looks like you. Obviously you aren¡¯t a local, if no other reason than I haven¡¯t seen this kind of money before.¡±

    Without giving me a chance to respond, he put the license back and showed off the small handful of bills he had found.

    ¡°Even back in Orre we still used the Dollar, but I don¡¯t recognize anything in here. So tell me ¡°Alina Knighton,¡± who are you and what are you doing here?¡±

    I shuddered under Kane¡¯s gaze and couldn¡¯t help but look away. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    He squatted down in front of the cage to get down on my eye level. ¡°That¡¯s not a good enough answer. Now I like to think of myself as a reasonable man, but I¡¯m running a business here and that business relies on a certain amount of privacy. Who sent you?¡±

    ¡°Nobody sent me! I just¡­ woke up here.¡±

    ¡°Right, right. You just woke up in the middle of Sinnoh, right by our camp? You¡¯ll forgive me if I find that hard to believe. Are you part of InterPol?¡±

    ¡°InterPol?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t look like a Ranger, and you¡¯re not wearing that obnoxious outfit the Aether Foundation wears. I¡¯m honestly impressed you can move with how big those clothes are. Boys, what Pok¨¦mon did she have on her?¡±

    ¡°She didn¡¯t have any Pok¨¦mon on her, boss. Just some weird phone that broke when she dropped it, some keys, and some kind of headphones.¡±

    He handed over the phone and my other items, which Kane looked at skeptically. Despite everything else that was going on, a pang of pain shot through me when I saw the phone¡¯s shattered glass. My phone wasn¡¯t good by any means, I hadn¡¯t been able to afford a new one for a while, but it was mine and seeing that it was broken hurt more than I thought it would.

    ¡°No Pok¨¦mon, huh.¡±

    Kane scratched his stubbled chin, considering.

    ¡°Like I said,¡± I took a chance, speaking up. ¡°I just woke up in the middle of the woods. I didn¡¯t know where I was or what had happened to me.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a mighty interesting story you got there friend. One that I don¡¯t believe for a second. Hawg, Greer!¡±

    The two men jumped when their leader called their names, and stepped forwards. ¡°Yeah boss?¡±

    ¡°Go back to where you found her. Look for any signs of a campsite or base, she probably stashed her Pok¨¦ Balls there.¡±

    ¡°But what about you, boss?¡± The big goon, Hawg if I wasn¡¯t mistaken, said.

    ¡°Ha, I can take care of myself. Besides, I won¡¯t be alone.¡±

    The man reached into a pocket and pulled out a familiar looking red and white ball. It was about the size of a ping pong ball, but as I watched he did something to it, making it expand to the size of a tennis ball. Pressing the button on the front, he held it out in front of him and a red beam extended from the Pok¨¦ Ball. A shape emerged from the beam, one that I recognized instantly.

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    The Houndoom howled as it came into the world, looking around curiously. The dog-like Pok¨¦mon was massive, probably about five feet tall, and it¡¯s red eyes glittered as it eyed me. I shoved myself away towards the back of the cage from the Pok¨¦mon as it snarled, but even as I did so I noticed that it didn¡¯t look very healthy. It¡¯s claws were long and jagged looking, and while they were incredibly frightening to look at, they obviously hadn¡¯t been trimmed in a long while. The Houndoom¡¯s ribs were also clearly visible through its black fur, which itself seemed patchy and dull almost as if the Pok¨¦mon had mange or something. That didn¡¯t seem to stop it from being entirely too threatening however, and I felt none of the wonder that I had experienced with the wild Pok¨¦mon I had seen.

    ¡°Havoc here will look after her, make sure she doesn¡¯t get into any trouble.¡±

    Kane eyed me again. ¡°Although, I don¡¯t think she would cause any trouble, would you Alina?¡±

    I shook my head, never taking my focus off of the Houndoom.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good lass. Now get going you two, I still have some calls to make. Havoc, guard!¡±

    The Houndoom sat down on its haunches, but still seemed ready to leap at me at any time.

    ¡°Now you just sit there and relax Alina. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll all be over soon enough.¡±

    With a chuckle, Kane disappeared into the largest tent while the two goons disappeared back into the woods, leaving me feeling cold and alone.

    /^\

    As it turns out, I did not manage to relax like Kane had commanded I should. Instead I sat and I stewed about the crazy series of events that had led to me being imprisoned by a bunch of¡­ what? Pok¨¦mon hunters? I didn¡¯t really get a good chance to see what Kane, Hawg, and Greer were up to until the sun fully came up, it¡¯s light illuminating the clearing. When it did, I almost wished that it hadn¡¯t, as it showed off the worst sight I had seen since coming to this strange new world.

    The cage I found myself trapped in wasn¡¯t originally meant for people, it was meant for Pok¨¦mon, and Kane and his goons had managed to trap quite a few of them. All manner of Pok¨¦mon were stuffed into cages, each of them looking more hopeless than the last. In the cage next to me was the Elekid I had seen Hawg and Greer trap, along with a small brown lump that I couldn¡¯t quite make out. In the next cage over was a sad, grey skinned Croagunk and a purple and blue skinned Mime Jr.. The third cage held a Skorupi, with what seemed to be rubber bands holding the claw on its tail and it¡¯s two stingers up and out of the way, and a Riolu of all things, the poor Pok¨¦mon looking like it had its arms and legs hogtied so it couldn¡¯t move.

    It was the most horrible sight I ever could have seen and I could feel the tears starting to well up at the corners of my eyes.

    ¡°Hello?¡± I whispered to the Pok¨¦mon in the cages next to me.

    Havoc growled at me, and I glared at it. ¡°I¡¯m not making trouble!¡± I snapped, still whispering as to not draw the attention of Kane.

    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to talk to these poor Pok¨¦mon. Look at them, they¡¯re clearly miserable! How can you not feel bad about this?¡±

    The Houndoom reared its head back in surprise and looked, for a brief moment, ashamed. Much had been speculated online about Pok¨¦mon intelligence, but looking at that expression of shame and regret on the Houndoom¡¯s face, I knew it understood what I was saying.

    Havoc whuffed quietly, then laid its head back down, carefully not looking at me.

    Taking that for tacit approval, or at least allowance, of what I was doing, I turned back to the other Pok¨¦mon in the cages.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I whispered again. ¡°Hey, are any of you awake?¡±

    The Elekid seemed out of it, but the little brown lump seemed to stir.

    ¡°Little one, can you hear me?¡±

    The small furry Pok¨¦mon eventually managed to totter to its feet, and my heart melted a little bit at the Eevee that cocked it¡¯s head at the sound of my voice. It was only about a foot tall, with its brown fur dirty and stained with mud, brown eyes staring hopelessly at me, and I don¡¯t think I had ever seen a sadder sight.

    The Mime Jr. in the next cage over also raised its head, and a vague feeling echoed in my head. It wasn¡¯t words so much as an emotion, strangely foreign, and carried with it a sense of fear and desperation. My heart broke at the feelings sweeping through me, and I knew somehow that this little Pok¨¦mon was the source of the cry for help that had woken me up in the first place.

    ¡°Hey little ones, don¡¯t worry.¡± I said without thinking. ¡°I¡¯ll get you out of this.¡±

    The Eevee made a soft purring noise and tried to move closer, only being thwarted by the tightly packed bars of the cages. Havoc, the Houndoom, growled slightly which startled the little Pok¨¦mon, but didn¡¯t do anything more than bare it¡¯s teeth slightly.

    I still glared at the Houndoom, which didn¡¯t do anything worthwhile. Returning my attention back to the Eevee, I wormed my hand through the bars and the small space separating our cages, and let the Eevee inspect it. Havoc growled a little bit louder, but I ignored it in favor of trying to reassure the Pok¨¦mon in front of me. An Eevee wasn¡¯t a dog, like how a Houndoom wasn¡¯t really a dog either despite how much it looked like one, but I figured it would be better to let the Eevee decide to come to me instead of trying to force my sympathy onto the Pok¨¦mon.

    It flinched and stepped away from my hand, but after a minute where I didn¡¯t do anything, it slowly came back and reached out with its nose, gently sniffing at it. A moment later it pressed it¡¯s head into the palm of my hand, and I gently scratched it at its ears.

    How anybody could treat a Pok¨¦mon like this¡­ Kane would have a reckoning, I would make sure of it.

    The Eevee and I stayed together for a long time, until it suddenly withdrew and curled up against the far side of the cage.

    I stared in confusion, but it was only when Havoc perked up that I realized something was up, and hastily drew my hand from in-between the bars of the two cages. A few seconds later Greer and Hawg returned, looking significantly more tired and angry than before.

    ¡°We¡¯re back boss.¡± Greer called, and after a moment Kane stepped out of the tent.

    ¡°Well boys? You find anything?¡±

    ¡°Not a thing.¡± Greer said. ¡°We went all the way to the river and didn¡¯t see a thing. If she did have any Pok¨¦mon, she hid them well.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m starting to believe she doesn¡¯t.¡± Kane said, eyeing me thoughtfully. ¡°I rang up some of the boys from the old Snagem days, and they haven¡¯t heard of her at all. The Rangers don¡¯t list her as a member, and if she is an InterPol agent, she must be some kind of spy or something. There¡¯s not even a trainer profile or birth date attached to the name. So where are you from kid?¡±

    I debated not answering, but the glare that the Houndoom was giving me told me that wasn¡¯t a good idea.

    ¡°Like you saw, I¡¯m from Massachusetts.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but where is that? That¡¯s no place I¡¯ve ever heard of before.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know, as I¡¯ve already said I¡¯m lost. Just woke up here.¡±

    Kane¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he hummed in thought. ¡°Of all the times when I wish I had a Psychic type with us. Your accent sounds Unovan, you know where that is?¡±

    A million thoughts raced through my mind in a heartbeat, and I eventually settled on a plan. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was a good plan or not, but hopefully it wouldn¡¯t end badly for me.

    ¡°Unova? You mean the mainland to the north?¡±

    Kane froze, then a small smile spread across his face. It wasn¡¯t a pleasant smile, reminding me more of a shark than a human.

    ¡°Well now, that¡¯s interesting. It looks like we might be getting somewhere. I didn¡¯t think Unova had any islands nearby, but I could be mistaken.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s nearby.¡± I said, lying through my teeth. ¡°It¡¯s a couple days by boat. Or uh, Pok¨¦mon if you have one big enough.¡±

    ¡°Still, that¡¯s a long way from Unova to Sinnoh. What did you do, piss off a Psychic trainer enough for them to get one of their Pok¨¦mon to Teleport you away?¡±

    ¡°Would I remember if I did?¡± I sniped back, and if anything his smile grew a little wider.

    ¡°I suppose not. Despite myself, I think I might be starting to like you kid. You¡¯ve got attitude, I like that.¡±

    It was hard to hide my shudder of disgust.

    ¡°Well it looks like I have some more calls to make. This little diversion aside, I think that last catch was enough for this outing, that Riolu and the Eevee will fetch a high price. What do you think boys?¡±

    Hawg and Greer, who had been silent for the exchange so far, exchanged a look before Greer spoke up.

    ¡°Whatever you say boss. We do have a lot.¡±

    Kane tsked at the non-answer, and looked at the smaller man with ill-disguised contempt. ¡°Well congratulations, for your wonderful contribution to the conversation you get to be the one to get the boat ready.¡±

    Greer slumped, and opened his mouth before Kane cut him off.

    ¡°No complaints! Hawg will stay here and get the cages ready for the truck once you come back. Or would you rather be the one doing that?¡±

    The other man¡¯s face twisted in annoyance and frustration, but he shook his head. ¡°Alright boss, whatever you say.¡±

    Greer spun on his heel and stalked off deeper into the woods. A few seconds later I heard a truck¡¯s engine start up, before driving away. Kane stared after the disappearing sound for a long minute, then turned back to me.

    ¡°Who knows kid, maybe if you still come back clean after I check you out again and if you prove to be reasonable, I might have a place for you in my crew. You like making money? Of course you do, who doesn¡¯t. Hawg, make sure the catches are taken care of, I don¡¯t want any bouncing loose like they did last time, you understand?¡±

    The big man paled, and nodded his head.

    ¡°Excellent. Since you weren¡¯t an idiot like Greer, take thirty minutes, get yourself some food.¡±

    Hawg visibly perked up, and Kane stalked back into his big tent. When he opened the flap I could just make out the sight of an computer on a rickety camp table and a big chest, before it dropped closed again.

    I was alone, all over again. Except this time, I had a plan started to form in my head, and I hoped that I wouldn¡¯t get myself killed trying to get free. To get all of us free.

 Chapter Four

    With the boss out of the picture for now, Havoc the Houndoom laid back down and continued to keep an eye on me and the other cages. Hawg, for his part, went into one of the tents before coming back with a metal tin. Ineffectually stroke the smoldering campfire to try and get it going again, he turned a pleading look towards the Houndoom.

    ¡°Havoc, would you mind?¡±

    The dog-like Pok¨¦mon pretended not to notice, though from my position I could see a flash of irritation in its eyes.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Havoc, please? I¡¯ll give you some of this food.¡±

    The Houndoom huffed, then got up and turned towards the fire. Opening its mouth, Havoc took a deep breath and exhaled fire.

    My eyes went wide at the sight and I instinctively scootched away from the flames coming out of the Pok¨¦mon¡¯s mouth. It wasn¡¯t a big flame, but it still set the logs alight.

    ¡°Finally.¡±

    Havoc huffed again, and settled back down as Hawg put the tin next to the fire to heat up.

    ¡°That was¡­ amazing.¡± I said despite myself.

    ¡°What, that? That was just Ember.¡± Hawg said. ¡°Do you not have Ember on whatever little island you come from?¡±

    ¡°Er, no we do, but I¡¯ve just never seen a Pok¨¦mon like this before.¡± The lies were coming a bit easier now that I didn¡¯t have to convince Kane. ¡°What is Havoc?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a Houndoom, idiot. Jeez, you must really not have any normal Pok¨¦mon where you come from if you can¡¯t recognize even a Houndoom. Wonder what the boss sees in you.¡±

    The Houndoom in question looked irritated at Hawg¡¯s words, though it didn¡¯t do anything but blow out a little smoke from its nose.

    ¡°What do you do anyways?¡± I asked leadingly. ¡°I mean, if you wanted to catch Pok¨¦mon, why not use Pok¨¦ Balls?¡±

    Hawg rolled his eyes theatrically. ¡°Jeez, now I¡¯m really wondering if you¡¯re fit for our crew. We¡¯re poachers, you idiot. If we use a Pok¨¦ Ball, then it¡¯d be harder to sell them now wouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    We were quiet for a few minutes while I digested that bit of info, until the other man decided that his meal was ready. Carefully he reached over and picked up the tin, yelping a little as his fingers touched the hot metal. Hawg blew on his fingers and cursed at how hot it was, while I was merely impressed at how quickly it had gotten warm. Ember must really be something if it could make a campfire that hot. From where I was sitting the inside of the tin looked almost like a bento box, with some rice, some kind of fish, and some vegetables.

    Havoc perked up at the smell of the food, and Hawg grimaced.

    ¡°I guess I did say you could have some.¡± He muttered, and scooped out a handful of rice and tossed it to the ground in front of Havoc.

    The Houndoom glared at him, but got up and prowled over to the rice, gracefully eating it despite the insult. I wasn¡¯t a dog expert by any means, but I¡¯d had a golden retriever as a kid and knew that while dogs could eat rice, it wasn¡¯t particularly nutritious for them. We only fed it to our dog when she was feeling sick for instance, and couldn¡¯t eat normal food. If Havoc was being fed rice regularly, well it could explain why it wasn¡¯t looking very good.

    ¡°Can I have some?¡± I asked, and the big man looked at me as if I had just insulted his family or something.

    ¡°Can- can you have some? Why on Arceus¡¯ green earth would I give you some of my food?¡±

    I gestured at Havoc, who was still eating some of the rice. ¡°Havoc got some.¡±

    ¡°Havoc got some rice because he got the fire going. You on the other hand, have done nothing but sit in a cage. Now shut up before I get angry.¡±

    ¡°Hawg.¡± Kane¡¯s voice called out from the tent, and the big man jumped as if he had been stung.

    ¡°Yes boss?¡±

    ¡°Give the kid some food.¡±

    ¡°But-¡°

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be your food, idiot. Just give her some bread.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ fine.¡±

    ¡°Fine?¡±

    ¡°I mean, yes boss.¡±

    The big man got up with a frustrated frown and went into the smaller tent again, emerging a moment later with a half-loaf of crusty bread. He tossed it into my cage with a grimace before sitting down and continuing to angrily eat his bento box. The fact that Kane could hear our conversation was a little worrying to me, but I didn¡¯t think I had given away any important information during my chat with Hawg.

    Grabbing the bread, I was about to take a big bite of it when I saw the Eevee looking at me. Giving it a small smile, I tore about half of the bread off and put it in the cage next to me. The Eevee eagerly grabbed the bread and started to eat it, and I was about to eat the other piece when I saw Havoc staring at me with half-lidded eyes. The Houndoom had finished it¡¯s small meal of rice already, and with a small sigh I tossed the rest of the bread towards it.

    The Houndoom¡¯s eyes lit up, and it eagerly tore into the bread. Despite the fact that my stomach was rumbling, I couldn¡¯t help but smile sadly. The poor thing had been obviously mistreated if it was so excited about some free bread, and if I had to go a little bit without food in exchange for Havoc to have some? I supposed that was a good enough trade.

    ¡°So you¡¯re one of them.¡± Hawg said with a sneer, quickly erasing my good mood.

    ¡°One of who?¡±

    ¡°Pok¨¦mon lovers. Fools who think that a Pok¨¦mon is as good as a regular person.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Ha! Why would I? If Pok¨¦mon are supposed to be so smart, why aren¡¯t they in charge instead of us?¡±

    I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from snapping at the man and getting myself in more trouble than I was already in. Then again, I was already in a cage¡­

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not so sure about that.¡± I said, casually. ¡°I hear that a lot of Pok¨¦mon are very smart. I mean, aren¡¯t Alakazam supposed to be super-geniuses?¡±

    ¡°Yeah right, and what do they do with all those smarts? They sit around and bend spoons all day. That takes a lot of brainpower I¡¯m sure. No, most Pok¨¦mon are like Havoc here, all they¡¯re good for is following their master¡¯s orders.¡±

    Said Houndoom was still facing away from the man, but I could see the anger in its eyes. I met it¡¯s gaze, although I was still projecting my voice towards Hawg.

    ¡°At least Havoc here can get a fire going.¡±

    The big man exploded from his seat, tossing his tin aside. ¡°Why you little-!¡±

    ¡°Hawg!¡±

    Kane was standing at the entrance to his tent, face furious.

    ¡°Boss! Did you hear what she was-¡°

    ¡°I heard. And she has a point, you brainless moron, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can beat her up over it. At least not until we¡¯re sure who she is.¡±

    Hawg continued to glower at me. ¡°She¡¯s too lippy, I should at least punch her again to shut her up.¡±

    The boss sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do that. Just¡­ sit back down and cool off for a minute. And you, Alina, Hawg does have a point. I thought I liked you because of your attitude, most trainers don¡¯t have a spine anymore, but I¡¯m starting to rethink that. Now both of you, keep it down out here before I actually get angry.¡±

    Kane turned and headed back into his tent, and Hawg began to sit back down.

    ¡°Yeah Hawg.¡± I said, mustering up all of my courage.

    Even if this would go according to plan, it was still really going to hurt. ¡°Follow your master¡¯s orders. Sit.¡±

    Hawg¡¯s face screwed up in fury, and he let out a bellow of rage. Stomping over to my cell, he pulled out what looked like a hotel key card and pressed it against the side of the box on the cage door. It beeped green and he shoved the key card into his pocket before yanking the door open.

    ¡°Hawg!¡± Kane called, but the big man wasn¡¯t listening anymore.

    He grabbed my overly-large shirt with both hands and hauled me out of the cage, bringing me up to eye level with the man. My arms flailed around, ineffectually batting at the bigger man.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to regret saying that.¡± He growled.

    ¡°I think I already am.¡± I said honestly, earning a vicious smile from him.

    ¡°Well tough break ¨C it¡¯s just going to get worse.¡±

    His muscles flexed and he threw me to the ground, driving all of the breath from my lungs. As I laid there and tried to get my breath back, the big man slammed a foot into my stomach, making it even harder for me to breath. I finally got a gulp of air in, before I was kicked again, this time in the head. Stars spun in front of my eyes, and the next minute seemed to pass by without me realizing it.

    By the time Kane had hauled Hawg off of me I was in so much pain I could barely feel my body. He must have really laid into me, but I couldn¡¯t even focus on anything in particular, the world just swam in and out of focus.

    ¡°You¡¯re a fool Hawg!¡± Kane was shouting. ¡°Go take a walk and cool off! I don¡¯t need you going crazy on me when we¡¯re this close to a pay day!¡±

    Hawg growled something unintelligible, but stalked off into the woods. Kane turned angry eyes on me, but the effect was somewhat diminished by the fact that there were four of him. Although there were four of everything at the moment, so maybe it wasn¡¯t his fault.

    ¡°You really are an idiot.¡± Kane said. ¡°Come on, back in the cage.¡±

    He grabbed my shirt and hauled me to my feet, before shoving me back into the cage and locking it with a key card he had pulled out from around his neck.

    ¡°Maybe I was wrong about you.¡± Kane said before he turned away. ¡°Maybe it would be better for everybody if you just¡­ disappeared.¡±

    He vanished back into the tent and I was left alone, except for Havoc looking stunned, and the small Eevee staring at me.

    ¡°Hey little one.¡± I said before slumping to the ground with a pained grunt. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I¡¯m okay.¡±

    The Eevee looked scared and confused, and I tried to give it my best reassuring smile. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    I closed my eyes and leaned my head back until it hit the metal bars. That was a mistake, and pain flashed through my head again.

    ¡°We¡¯ll all be fine.¡±

    In my hand, I clutched the key card I had grabbed from Hawg¡¯s pocket.

    Soon. I thought. Soon.

    /^\

    Hawg stomped back to camp a few minutes later, obviously still furious judging by the glare he shot me as he collected the remnants of his food tin. As soon as he had left and Kane had gone back inside Havoc had gobbled up the food that had spilled on the ground, and my heart broke a little at how hungry the poor Pok¨¦mon must be. Havoc, of course, was also on the receiving end of Hawg¡¯s glare, although the Pok¨¦mon didn¡¯t seem to mind that much.

    If looks could kill. I thought. Although, I guess they might actually be able to kill somebody if you used the right move.

    I was still a little dazed after the beating I had received, but the world had eventually stopped spinning so much and the number of double images settled down into one cohesive picture. Credit where credit was due ¨C Hawg was good at beating people up. Probably why Kane kept him around.

    After putting the remnants of the bento box away, Hawg went around to all of the crates to check them out, starting at the far end away from me and working his way down. It wasn¡¯t until he came to the cage with the Eevee and the still-unconscious Elekid that I could finally see what he was doing. Hawg was pulling on all of the doors to the cages, making sure they were secured, then flipped up some tabs with a hole in the middle on the top of the cage. It took me a second to realize what they were ¨C the tabs would be meant for looping straps through to secure the cage from moving around too much.

    When he got to my crate he angrily checked on the door, and when it was still locked the smile evilly and kicked the cage. It was petty and didn¡¯t do much to actually rattle me, but I knew that he was going to be a problem when I eventually broke out of here. Maybe I had angered him too much, but I had to get the key if I wanted to escape.

    ¡°Boss.¡± He called when he was done. ¡°The cages are ready to go.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Kane said, emerging from the tent. ¡°Well, I just got off the line with those Plasma weirdos in Unova. They haven¡¯t heard of any nearby islands, but after some pushing they admitted that there could be some distant ones that could match this ¡°Massachusetts¡± place. Otherwise, this girl is still a complete mystery.¡±

    ¡°So what are we going to do with her?¡±

    Kane sighed and looked at me. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, I¡¯m of two minds about it. On one hand you¡¯ve got some spunk Alina, I like that kind of attitude. On the other, you seem like a problem waiting to happen, and the fewer problems I have the better I sleep. So what¡¯s it going to be kid, are you going to be a problem, or do you want to make some money?¡±

    I looked between Kane, Havoc, and the rest of the caged Pok¨¦mon, and shook my head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to work with anybody who treats Pok¨¦mon as poorly as you do. I think I¡¯d rather be a problem.¡±

    Kane shook his head. ¡°Ah well, it¡¯s your loss I suppose.¡±

    He took out my wallet, phone, keys, and headphones, tossing the lot onto the remnants of the fire.

    ¡°Havoc, burn.¡±

    The Houndoom slowly got up, shooting me an uncertain look before turning and using Ember again. A thick, noxious cloud of smoke billowed up from the campsite, and a moment later the entirety of my possessions besides the clothes on my back were reduced to little more than a slagged lump of molten plastic and metal.

    ¡°So what are we going to do with her?¡± Hawg asked, a malicious gleam in his eyes as he stared daggers at me.

    ¡°Well, I figure that if she likes Pok¨¦mon so much, we should leave her alone with them. Once Greer gets back, and we load up the rest of the cages, we¡¯ll tie her up and leave her for the beasts. She¡¯ll get to see how she really appreciates Pok¨¦mon when a hungry Luxray comes across her.¡±

    Hawg¡¯s face split into a wicked smile, and he chuckled. ¡°Good one boss.¡±

    ¡°I know. Now start packing up the rest of the campsite, I want to get out of Sinnoh as quickly as I can, I hate how cold this place is.¡±

    The big man nodded and started going around and pulling out boxes from the tents, packing various bits of camping materials into them. After a few minutes the sound of the truck¡¯s engine returned, and a big flat-bed truck backed into the clearing. I was impressed that they were able to maneuver the big truck through the woods as well as they had, but I guessed when you hunt Pok¨¦mon illegally they would get good at driving in bad locations.

    Greer hopped out of the truck and met with Kane. ¡°Boat¡¯s all good to go boss.¡±

    ¡°Good. There was a bit of a delay, help out Hawg pack up the rest of the campsite while I finish up on the computer.¡±

    ¡°Delay? What about the new girl?¡±

    Kane snorted. ¡°She decided she would rather play with the wild Pok¨¦mon than us.¡±

    ¡°Ahh, gotcha.¡± Greer chuckled, then moved away to help Hawg take down one of the tents.

    Kane, for his part, disappeared back into his big tent to do¡­ whatever it was he did in there. After a minute of waiting to make sure the two goons were fully invested in taking down the tent, I made my move.

 Chapter Five

    Moving slowly to avoid drawing the poacher¡¯s attention, I took out the key card I had swiped from Hawg and wormed it through the bars of the door, pressing it against the black box. The lock beeped quietly and a green light flashed. Risking a look to make sure that Hawg and Greer were still busy with the tent I pushed the door open. I was just about to leave the cage when I froze, noticing that a pair of eyes hadn¡¯t been distracted and were fully focused on me.

    Havoc stared at me for what seemed like an eternity, but could only have been a second or two. I was entirely sure that the Pok¨¦mon would bark to get the poachers attention, or simply just burn me to a crisp right there. Instead, the Houndoom simply whuffed quietly, and laid back down.

    Good dog!

    Stealing out of the cage, I made my way down the line of the cages until I got to the last one where the Riolu and the Skorupi were trapped. The little Riolu was staring at me with a mixture of fear, anger, and confusion, and I quickly opened the gate with my stolen key card before kneeling down to untie the Fighting type Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°This is a jailbreak!¡± I hissed at it. ¡°I think the Houndoom is okay, but don¡¯t hesitate to knock it out if it makes a move against you, got it?¡±

    The Riolu nodded fiercely as I undid the ropes around its feet.

    ¡°Do you think you can take care of the goons while I help get the rest of you free?¡±

    It hesitated at that, then nodded a bit more slowly. I understood it¡¯s hesitation, considering that there was a big difference between an ill-looking Houndoom and the massive Hawg.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I heard from behind me, and I hurried even faster, fumbling for a moment before pulling the last rope off of the Riolu¡¯s arms.

    A heavy hand grabbed my shoulder and I thought that would be it for me, but the little Pok¨¦mon reacted faster than I had thought possible, springing to its feet before jumping onto my head. From there it jumped again, and I heard Hawg curse and the hand fall away as the Fighting-type did what it did best, and took it¡¯s revenge on the people who had imprisoned it.

    I grabbed the Skorupi and ripped off the rubber band around its tail-claw.

    ¡°Sorry for the rough treatment!¡± I said but it didn¡¯t seem to mind, instead it¡¯s gaze was directed behind me and there was a fire in its beady eyes.

    The other two restraining bands around it¡¯s front stingers came off a bit easier and it rushed away, just as eager to pay back its treatment. I didn¡¯t stop to watch the revenge however, instead rushing to the next cage and unlocking it. The Mime Jr. didn¡¯t seem eager to stick around for a fight, and scampered into the undergrowth around the camp. The Croagunk on the other hand jumped into the fray as well, despite how sick it looked.

    I risked a look back, and was horrified at what I saw. Greer was on the ground, clutching a bloody nose, while the Skorupi was sitting on this chest, claw and stingers waving wildly.

    ¡°Don¡¯t kill them!¡± I called, and while the Skorupi glared at me it thankfully didn¡¯t do anything more.

    Hawg, on the other hand, was busy fending off the Riolu and the Croagunk. While I¡¯m sure that the two Pok¨¦mon would have been able to take him down if they were feeling better, the fact remained that they had been kept in a cage for god knows how long. Hawg was able to keep them at bay with massive swings of his arms, and I wasn¡¯t sure how much energy the two Pok¨¦mon had left.

    It was a relief to see Havoc still laying down, although he was looking intensely at the battle, his spade-like tail wagging back and forth behind him. Obviously he wanted to fight, but for now it seemed like he was content to sit it out.

    ¡°What is going on out here?¡± Kane bellowed as he burst through the flaps of the tent, his face quickly paling as he took in the situation.

    ¡°You!¡± He said, staring at me by the last cage. ¡°What have you done? Havoc, get her!¡±

    Havoc looked between me and his owner, and huffed. Kane¡¯s face did a remarkable turn, switching from pale and worried to flushed with rage in a heartbeat.

    ¡°Stupid Pok¨¦mon! You¡¯ll get what¡¯s coming to you after this I swear! Terror, get out here!¡±

    Kane pulled out another Pok¨¦ Ball, and with a howl of rage a Mightyena appeared in a flash of light. I had a moment to stare incredulously at the animal, shaking my head.

    What is it with bad guys and dog Pok¨¦mon? I thought.

    Havoc, having heard the Mightyena¡¯s howl, jumped to its feet for the first time since the battle begun, and let out a vicious cry of its own. The two dog-like Pok¨¦mon stared at each other in clear hatred, before jumping into a vicious frenzy.

    With the Mightyena tied up for a second, I quickly turned and unlocked the last cage door. The Elekid was still unconscious, which was a little worrying, but I didn¡¯t have the time to worry about that. Instead the little Eevee came running out of the cage to hide behind my legs.

    The Croagunk let out a pained croak and collapsed to the ground as Hawg finally got a hit in. The Riolu wasn¡¯t looking much better, and I frantically tried to remember the small Pok¨¦mon¡¯s move pool.

    ¡°Riolu!¡± I called, feeling a bit ridiculous as I did so. ¡°Use Metal Claw!¡±

    The Pok¨¦mon gave me a confused look, and returned its attention just in time to avoid a swing from the much larger Hawg.

    ¡°Uh okay, you don¡¯t know that one yet, that¡¯s fine. Use¡­ Quick Attack?¡±

    The Riolu¡¯s eyes lit up in comprehension at what I was trying to do, and it¡¯s entire form glowed white briefly, then the Pok¨¦mon blurred forwards and slipped underneath the massive arms of its opponent.

    The small fist was moving so fast I barely saw it, but it connected solidly against the thick barrel chest of its opponent. Hawg¡¯s breath left him in an explosive cough, and the big man stumbled backwards. He tried to bring his arms up in a boxer¡¯s defensive pose, but I was starting to remember the moves a Riolu had at low levels.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him recover! Feint!¡±

    The Riolu started to move forwards like it had just done with the Quick Attack, and Hawg frantically tried to move his arms down to protect his chest again. Riolu checked it¡¯s movement and instead used its powerful legs to propel it into a jump. It soared over the blocking fists, and landed a solid hit across Hawg¡¯s face. I opened my mouth to give the Riolu more orders but it was clearly going off on its own, using the opening I had given it. Several more lightning fast blows streaked out towards it¡¯s opponent, and Hawg didn¡¯t manage to catch himself in time to block any of them.

    After a moment the big man stood like a swaying tree, eyes unfocused and staring off into the distance. Riolu smirked, jumped up one last time, and spun it¡¯s body around in a dazzling roundhouse kick. Hawg didn¡¯t stand a chance and collapsed to the ground, clearly unconscious. The Riolu stood triumphant on the body of its foe, before it too slumped down, exhausted from its victory.

    A yelp of pain drew me away from the battle, and I turned to see Havoc edging away from the Mightyena, favoring one leg. Kane wasn¡¯t anywhere to be seen, but I didn¡¯t let that stop me from trying to help the Houndoom.

    ¡°Havoc, use Ember!¡±

    The Houndoom hesitated, looking back at me, before nodding it¡¯s head slightly and turning back around. The momentary distraction proved to be a mistake however, and the Mightyena batted at the ground with its forepaw. A clump of dirt came flying at Havoc, getting in the poor pup¡¯s eyes. He whimpered in pain and tried to use one of its feet to wipe off its face, but Terror used the opportunity to leap forwards.

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    It''s jaws closed around Havoc¡¯s leg with a sickening crunch, and the Houndoom yelped again, dropping to the ground.

    Terror continued the attack, and a wave of guilt crashed over me. Havoc was only in this situation because of me, and I wouldn¡¯t let it get hurt more.

    With a yell, I charged forwards, slamming into the Mightyena¡¯s flank. It was smaller than it had seemed at first, perhaps only three feet at the shoulder, and weighing only eighty pounds or so. It was just small enough that the force of my charge shoved it off of Havoc, and Terror whipped it¡¯s head around in surprise at the new attacker. While it may have helped save Havoc, I hadn¡¯t exactly thought through my attack, and I realized pretty much right after I had knocked Terror over that I may have made a mistake.

    Quick as a flash, Terror was out from underneath me, and already striking back. Thin lines of fire etched their way across my face, and I threw myself backwards from the attack. Very quickly I realized I was outclassed, but thankfully my distraction had given Havoc just enough time to bounce back.

    A veritable wave of flame washed over the Mightyena, and the dog howled in pain as the smell of burning hair and flesh filled the campsite. Havoc was looking incredibly hurt, but stood with his head held high as the remnants of his fire attack flicked out around his mouth. Terror, for his part, rolled around in the dirt, desperately trying to put out the flames that still licked at his body.

    Even though the Pok¨¦mon had just been trying to kill me, I still felt a pang of horror and guilt, and I stepped forwards, ignoring Havoc¡¯s warning growl. Taking off my filthy shirt, I used it like a fire blanket, smothering the fire and leaving the poor Pok¨¦mon panting on the ground.

    It was battered and burnt, and I was honestly surprised that it was still conscious at all, and I backed away from it just in case, which was a good idea.

    ¡°Terror!¡± I heard, and spun to see Kane poking his head out of the door of the truck. ¡°Use Crunch on Alina!¡±

    The Mightyena howled again, a mixture of rage and pain in its voice, and somehow scrambled to its feet before charging forwards towards me, eyes alight with hatred. Time seemed to slow as the Pok¨¦mon closed the distance, and I knew that this was going to be the end. The Mightyena¡¯s teeth were massive in its jaws, and I had no doubt in my mind that they would be able to simply rip my throat out.

    My last thoughts as the Pok¨¦mon closed were filled with regret that I wouldn¡¯t get to see more of this world, but also pride.

    At least the other Pok¨¦mon should be able to escape.

    I was at peace with the decision, knowing that if I had the chance to do it all over again, I wouldn¡¯t have done anything different.

    Which made it all the more surprising when a tiny fox-like creature stepped around my legs, placing it squarely in the path of the onrushing Mightyena.

    The Eevee, which I was ashamed to say I had completely forgotten all about in the chaos of the fight, planted it¡¯s feet and glared at Terror, and let out the tiniest Growl I had ever heard. The Mightyena hesitated at the growl, unsure of what to do with the tiny Pok¨¦mon, which was a mistake. Right as Terror was about to barrel into us, the Eevee moved, launching itself forwards and Tackling Terror.

    Against all of my expectations, it seemed to actually have an effect against the much bigger Pok¨¦mon. Its charge faltered as it whimpered in pain, and after another step it collapsed to the ground as the Eevee Tackled it again. After another couple of seconds, it seemed to just surrender to the pain, and fell unconscious.

    A red beam of light enveloped the Mightyena, and it disappeared a second later. I could hear Kane cursing from his truck, before the engine revved and he shot into the forest, leaving us behind.

    I looked around in dazed amazement at the ruined camp. Hawg and Greer were both on the ground, the former unconscious and the latter guarded by a very angry Skorupi. The Riolu was unconscious on top of Hawg, the Croagunk was passed out on the ground, and Havoc was laying on his side, panting in pain and exhaustion. Last but not least, the little Eevee was looking up at me and with an expression of worry and triumph.

    My face burned, and the right half of the world was starting to take on a red tint, but I couldn¡¯t be bothered about that right now. I was exhausted, but that didn¡¯t stop the smile from spreading across my face.

    We had won, and now we were free.

    /^\

    Of course, just because we had won didn¡¯t mean all of our troubles were over however. I had to find some rope to tie up Hawg and Greer, which was something I had never done before. The end result was a bit messy and I had to use a lot more rope than was probably necessary, but after a few minutes the two goons were secured.

    Once the humans were sorted out and wouldn¡¯t be causing any immediate trouble, I made sure the Pok¨¦mon were okay.

    The Eevee had barely left my side after the fight, and eventually it was looking so exhausted from trying to follow me around that I simply picked it up, carrying it in my arms and only putting it down when I needed the full use of both my hands.

    The Riolu and the Croagunk seemed okay for now, even though they had been knocked unconscious during the fight. I didn¡¯t know how to check to see if they were really hurt or not, but everything that I had read and seen indicated that Pok¨¦mon were pretty resilient. Of course those were games and TV shows, not real life, so I couldn¡¯t be sure.

    Regardless I picked up the two small Pok¨¦mon and carried them into one of the still-standing tents, placing them on the camping cot that was set up in the corner. I tried to make them as comfortable as possible, but they would likely need more advanced help than what I could give them right now.

    The Skorupi on the other hand seemed fine, if extremely angry at the two tied up humans. I decided it would be best to let the scorpion-like Pok¨¦mon be the two goons¡¯ guard and it seemed happy enough in that role.

    Havoc was in a bad way though, and judging by the way it was favoring it¡¯s leg I was pretty sure that it was broken. Like the Riolu and the Croagunk I couldn¡¯t help Havoc out more than just making him comfortable, giving him a couple pillows to rest his head and his leg on.

    ¡°Good boy.¡± I said as I finished propping him up on the pillow, scratching him behind the ears.

    His tail wagged a little, and he gave me a little doggy grin that melted my heart.

    ¡°Yes, you were a good boy. I¡¯ll get you some food soon, okay? I just want to get some help first.¡±

    Havoc cocked his head and seemed to accept my words as I stepped away.

    Kane¡¯s big tent was much nicer on the inside than the other tent I had seen, with a larger cot and the table with the computer I had seen earlier. The computer itself was big and bulky, but despite its size seemed to work like a laptop considering there was no power supply for it.

    I tapped on the keyboard and the screen lit up, and a big smile spread over my face.

    ¡°Oh this is good.¡± I told the Eevee in my arms.

    It cocked it¡¯s head, confused, and let out a tired mewl of a question.

    ¡°You see Kane apparently didn¡¯t have enough time to log out of his profile. The fight must have happened so quickly that he just turned off the screen, not the computer itself.¡±

    The look of confusion didn¡¯t end, so I sighed. ¡°We can use the computer to call for help.¡±

    Eevee perked up as I shook my head. Of course it didn¡¯t understand what I was saying, if it¡¯s a wild Pok¨¦mon this is probably the first time it¡¯s actually seen a computer.

    Putting the thoughts aside, I pulled out the camp chair and sat down. The Eevee clambered out of my arms to sit in my lap, staring in awe at the glowing screen in front of it.

    ¡°Okay let¡¯s see here, I seem to remember these kinds of computers being able to make video calls¡­ at least they could in the show.¡±

    The user interface on the computer wasn¡¯t good. It really reminded me of something like the old Windows ¡¯95 system, which was fair considering the age of the computer. It was a confusing couple of minutes as I clicked through various folders, trying to find the program that could make calls. Eventually I was rewarded with a black screen and a number pad, a blinking icon telling me that I could put in a phone number.

    I stared at the icon for a long moment before sighing, picking up the Eevee and stepping out of the tent.

    ¡°Greer.¡± I said, getting the man¡¯s attention. ¡°What¡¯s the phone number for the police?¡±

    ¡°And why should I tell you that?¡± He sneered.

    ¡°Well, considering I¡¯m the one who¡¯s able to walk around and you¡¯re the one who is tied up, I think you can figure it out. If you don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± I paused, trying to think of a punishment. ¡°I¡¯ll have the Skorupi here sting you.¡±

    Said Skorupi perked up at the mention of attacking something, and Greer swallowed loudly.

    ¡°Alright, alright fine. It¡¯s 110.¡±

    I turned to the Skorupi. ¡°If it turns out that he¡¯s lying, I¡¯ll give you permission to sting him.¡±

    The little Bug Pok¨¦mon vibrated with excitement, and I shivered as I went back to the computer.

    ¡°Remind me never to annoy a Skorupi.¡±

    Eevee nodded seriously, and I punched in the number into the computer. There was a ringing tone for a couple seconds, then a somewhat bored looking woman in a blue uniform appeared on the screen.

    ¡°Canalave City Emergency Department, what¡¯s your- Oh Arceus!¡±

    I must have been a sight, but I gave the woman a tired smile.

    ¡°Hello, I have a crime I¡¯d like to report.¡±

    She stammered for a second before finding her voice again. ¡°Yes of course, what¡¯s your emergency?¡±

    ¡°I was captured by some Pok¨¦mon Poachers, along with a number of Pok¨¦mon. We managed to break out, but there are two poachers tied up outside, and I need some medical attention for the Pok¨¦mon who were hurt.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Yes. Okay. Of course, we can certainly help you with that.¡± The poor woman seemed a little lost. ¡°Poachers?¡±

    ¡°Yes, a small gang led by a man named Kane.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Right. I¡¯ll contact the Rangers, they¡¯ll know what to do. I¡¯ll also have a fast response unit at your position as quickly as I can to help you until they get there. Where are you?¡±

    I opened my mouth, then closed it again as I realized that I didn¡¯t actually know where I was. ¡°One second."

    Stepping outside again, I looked at Greer. ¡°Where are we?¡±

    ¡°You mean you don¡¯t know?¡±

    ¡°Skorupi?¡±

    ¡°Wait wait wait! Don¡¯t be hasty! We¡¯re by the intersection of Route 218 and 234! North, we¡¯re at the small peninsula to the north!¡±

    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t sting him just yet.¡±

    The Skorupi drooped in disappointment as I returned to the tent, relaying the information to the dispatcher.

    "Thank you." She said. ¡°But please stay on the line until the responders get there!¡±

    ¡°I will.¡± I said, leaning back in the camp chair and starting to relax for the first time in hours.

    My hand made its way to the Eevee, and I carefully brushed at its fur, trying to get some of the dirt out. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure whether I was talking to the dispatcher or the Eevee, but I decided it didn¡¯t really matter.

 Chapter Six

    The response to the situation ended up being a lot bigger than I thought it would have. I was personally expecting a couple of police officers, maybe a Ranger, and perhaps one of those armored vans to take Greer and Hawg away.

    I was not expecting for dozens of police, Rangers, medics, and Aether Foundation personnel to descend on the campsite over the next hour or so.

    ¡°Of all the calls I was planning for today.¡± A tall woman with dark green hair in a sharp blue pantsuit approached where I was sitting with the Eevee in my lap. ¡°A lone trainer managing to take out a gang of poachers was certainly not it.¡±

    It was hard to close my mouth as I stared at the woman, recognizing who she was even if she did seem quite a bit older than the anime had shown. ¡°Officer Jenny?¡±

    She smiled, and pulled out a leather wallet, flipping it open to reveal a fancy gold badge. ¡°Commissioner Jenny actually. Officer Jenny is my daughter.¡±

    At my confused look she laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just a bad joke. I was called in from Jubilife City once the situation was fully revealed.¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t Commissioners supposed to be in charge of the entire police force?¡±

    ¡°Usually, yes.¡±

    ¡°No offense then, but what are you doing here then?¡±

    Thankfully she seemed amused at my question, not insulted. ¡°I suppose normally you would be right, but this is a bit of a special situation. I¡¯ve been trying to hunt down Kane for decades, and took some time out of my schedule to take a look around.¡±

    I blinked at that. ¡°You¡¯ve had problems with him before?¡±

    ¡°With Kane? Oh yes, you could say that there¡¯s a long history there. There¡¯s been times when we¡¯ve almost had him, but he seems to specialize in getting away just in the nick of time. Unfortunately while we did find the truck you reported by a makeshift dock, the boat that was moored there had left by the time we arrived.¡±

    I grimaced. ¡°So Kane¡¯s in the wind then?¡±

    ¡°So far. But I wouldn¡¯t worry about that, we¡¯ll find him again.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay. What about the Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re doing well, for now.¡±

    When the first police officer had appeared on the back of a Staraptor I had been shocked at the swiftness of the response. Only fifteen minutes had gone by after telling the dispatcher my position, and there was already somebody there to help out. He had quickly looked at the situation and decided almost immediately that it was too big for just him. So he called more police, who called the Rangers, who called the Aether Foundation.

    Soon there was a hubbub of activity going on at the campsite while the police checked out the computer and the supplies for any information and the Rangers and Aether Foundation collaborated in trying to figure out what to do with the captured Pok¨¦mon.

    I wasn¡¯t expecting there to be the white-clothed Aether Foundation members, since they were based out of Alola, but a couple of careful questions revealed that they actually had branches in most of the main regions. While I wondered when in the timeline I was, and whether or not the leader of organization Lusamine was crazy or not, I did remember from the games that most of the average employees of the foundation were actually good people.

    They just wanted to help Pok¨¦mon and worked with the Rangers in conservation efforts, and most of them didn¡¯t know that their boss wanted to summon a bunch of Ultra Beasts. Right now they were trying to work with the Rangers to figure out how to return the captured Pok¨¦mon to their natural habitats without causing any more trauma.

    I had been seen to myself since when the Mightyena had clawed at my face it had apparently done more damage than I had realized. Three long cuts now crossed the right side of my face, only just missing my eye. The only reason why I hadn¡¯t noticed was that I was so hopped up on adrenaline that my mind had simply skipped over the pain to focus on making sure all the Pok¨¦mon were okay. Now that I was resting though my face was throbbing with pain, and it was only the presence of the pain meds the medics had given me and the cute Eevee in my lap that was keeping me upright. The Rangers and Aether Foundation workers had broken out Potions and other healing items to take care of the wounded Pok¨¦mon, and had also helped treat me.

    They had sprayed some of the stuff on my face, and while it had burned like crazy, I was told that I would make a full recovery, and the scars wouldn¡¯t even be visible after a week or two. Pok¨¦mon medical technology was way more impressive than back home. Thankfully they also managed to get some clothes that would fit me better than my old, massively oversized outfit, although I wasn¡¯t too keen on how white the Aether Foundation uniform looked on my already pale skin.

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± I said to Commissioner Jenny, realizing that I had been quiet for a little too long. ¡°I would be a little careful with that Houndoom though, he belonged to Kane but he wasn¡¯t treated well.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what the Rangers said you told them.¡± Commissioner Jenny nodded. ¡°Impressive that you managed to get him to turn against his owner though.¡±

    I shrugged awkwardly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t really my doing, they had done most of the work for me by treating him so badly. I just gave him the last little push to realize that life didn¡¯t have to be that way.¡±

    ¡°Still, you should be happy. You did well.¡±

    Smiling, I dipped my head in thanks. ¡°What will happen to him?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be taken to a reserve where they specialize in mistreated Pok¨¦mon. Without his Pok¨¦ Ball we can¡¯t release him immediately, but they¡¯ll work with him and make sure he¡¯s both healthy and can function in society again. If he can¡¯t make that last step towards recovery, he¡¯ll be kept at the reserve where he can live out his days in comfort.¡±

    A weight felt like it had been taken off my shoulders with her words. ¡°That¡¯s great, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Your compassion speaks volumes, although I would be careful in the future. Not every mistreated Pok¨¦mon is so willing to come around to those who would help them.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I will be.¡±

    Commissioner Jenny pursed her lips, looking me up and down critically. ¡°Although I did a little digging, and I must say your story has some interesting holes in it.¡±

    That got a wince from me, even though I knew this conversation had been coming. ¡°Let me guess, you couldn¡¯t find me in the system?¡±

    ¡°Not at all.¡±

    I sighed, looking up at the clear sky. ¡°This is going to be a complicated explanation. I know it¡¯s unusual, but do you think you could convince Professor Rowan to come here?¡±

    She raised an eyebrow at the request. ¡°Professor Rowan? The Pok¨¦mon Professor?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡±

    ¡°The one in Sandgem Town?¡±

    ¡°Is there another Professor Rowan somewhere else?¡±

    Commissioner Jenny shook her head. ¡°No, but you¡¯re right, this is certainly an unusual request.¡±

    ¡°Trust me, it¡¯s about to get a lot stranger.¡±

    /^\

    It took a couple of hours to get Professor Rowan on the phone, explain to him the situation, and manage to convince him that it really was worth him dropping everything he was doing to come and talk to me. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t have to do any of that.

    No, I instead left that to Commissioner Jenny, who actually knew the man. For my part I managed to get some food out of the Aether Foundation medics, split it with the Eevee who refused to leave my side, and was finally able to get some sleep. It had been a long, long day, and I hadn¡¯t even realized how tired I was until I woke up and the sun was starting to set. Eevee had been curled up against me while we both slept, but now stretched and let out a tiny little yawn. I smiled at the display and ruffled it¡¯s fur while thanking the Ranger who had stopped by to wake me up.

    By the time I got the Eevee settled in my arms and made my way to Kane¡¯s tent, which had been appropriated by Commissioner Jenny after the computer had been moved out of it, Professor Rowan had already landed and gotten off his Staraptor.

    He was an intimidating man, I had to admit. Tall, with severe features that were only enhanced by the white mustache and mutton chops, he seemed the very picture of a perpetually tired and annoyed college professor. Which I guess he basically was, when it really came down to it.

    ¡°Jenny.¡± He said with a professional nod as he entered the tent, then eyed me. ¡°Who¡¯s this?¡±

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°That is what we¡¯re about to find out.¡± Jenny said, and the professor turned his full attention on me.

    It was a lot more unnerving than I expected it to be, and I found myself at a loss for words as it felt like he was systematically dissecting me.

    The Eevee butted it¡¯s head against my hand and I idly scratched it¡¯s head, using the action as a distraction from my thoughts, and soon I was able to take a deep breath in.

    ¡°My name is Alina Knighton. You won¡¯t find me in any of the databases, no matter where you look. This is going to be really strange to hear, and trust me I¡¯m still wrapping my head around it myself. The truth is that I¡¯m not originally from this world. A couple days ago, before I met these poachers, I was coming back from my job in my home, then I was here in the forest.¡±

    Commissioner Jenny reacted pretty much the way I expected her to, incredulity, suspicion, concern, doubt, all flickered across her face during my explanation until she seemed to finally settle on a bemused tolerance of the situation.

    Professor Rowan on the other hand, didn¡¯t react at all in the same way. Instead his brow just furrowed slightly, and he leaned in a little closer.

    ¡°Did you see any Pok¨¦mon before you arrived?¡± He asked to my surprise.

    ¡°Uh, no, not that I can remember.¡±

    ¡°Hm. Fascinating.¡±

    I was thrown a little off-kilter by the simple acceptance he was showing.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking Rowan, you seem to be taking this rather well.¡± Commissioner Jenny asked, apparently feeling the same way. ¡°Do you know something that might be relevant here?¡±

    ¡°In a manner of speaking, yes. Two things, actually. The first is a record from centuries ago, back when Sinnoh was still called Hisui. I was looking into Pok¨¦mon evolutions and records of certain kinds of Pok¨¦mon having different forms in the past, like they do now in Galar and Alola. One of my predecessors, one Professor Laventon, wrote in a private journal of how a strange visitor appeared one day, wearing clothes and carrying a device unfamiliar to them.¡±

    I started. That was the plot of Pok¨¦mon Legends: Arceus!

    People online had joked about the ¡°Pok¨¦mon Isekai Game,¡± but I wasn¡¯t expecting anybody to actually know about it here.

    Wait, is that what happened to me?

    ¡°The other thing,¡± Professor Rowan said, interrupting my thoughts. ¡°Is that my colleague Professor Birch in Hoenn called me up a day ago, and had the most remarkable story to share. Apparently some of the Trainers he was looking after told him the most remarkable story of a Pok¨¦mon that has the ability to grant wishes. There was apparently quite a to-do, but it has resolved itself well enough.¡±

    And that¡¯s the plot of Jirachi: Wish Maker!

    ¡°Now normally I would have chalked that up to childish flights of fancy, blowing events out of proportion, except for the fact that there are also records of a Pok¨¦mon from a thousand years ago that was able to grant wishes. And the Millennium Comet appeared in the sky a week ago, for the first time in a thousand years.¡±

    I breathed out, amazed. ¡°So you think that Jirachi brought me here? That it somehow heard a wish that I had made?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. As ridiculous as it may sound on the surface, while these kinds of events are very rare they¡¯re not unheard of. As well, when you live in a world as full of mystery as the one we do, well it¡¯s better to keep an open mind to these kinds of things.¡±

    Commissioner Jenny seemed to take a little bit longer to get used to the idea, but she eventually nodded as well. For my part, I was finding hard to understand why they were so willing to accept it. I mean, these things just didn¡¯t happen! There are no strange phenomena that can only be explained by literal legends warping reality!

    My head started to hurt at the thoughts, and I pushed them away to deal with for another time.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I said. ¡°Accepting that all that is true, and I really don¡¯t know how to feel about that, what is going to happen to me now?¡±

    Commissioner Jenny and Professor Rowan shared a look. ¡°Well,¡± the Commissioner said. ¡°What do you want to do now?¡±

    My mouth flopped open and closed like a fish as I stared at her. ¡°What do you mean what do I want to do? What are you going to do with me?¡±

    ¡°I was originally worried because I couldn¡¯t find anything on you.¡± Commissioner Jenny explained. ¡°I thought that was because you were a criminal of some kind, or an InterPol agent working undercover. That was worrying to me, but now¡­¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°Do you plan on breaking the law?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s not really my place to figure this out, I guess. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be having nightmares about the concept that people can just appear out of nowhere and the very idea of gods coming to life to change the world by granting wishes, but that¡¯s for me to deal with.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ I¡­¡±

    ¡°I must admit it¡¯s not exactly my area of expertise either.¡± Professor Rowan said. ¡°My focus is on Pok¨¦mon evolutions, not the possibility of different dimensions. You¡¯d want Professor Burnet in Alola for that. I would have said Professor Mohn, but he unfortunately disappeared several years ago.¡±

    I spluttered some more. ¡°You¡¯re taking this entirely too calmly!¡±

    ¡°And what are we supposed to do?¡± The professor said. ¡°Gnash our teeth and pull out our hair? I¡¯m sorry if you think we aren¡¯t taking this seriously, but I assure you we are. However the thing you have to know is that this isn¡¯t an entirely unknown situation to us. Just several years ago the weather was completely disturbed when the Legendary Birds became imbalanced, and Lugia had to restore order. I have a research assistant who is investigating Elgeym and Beheeyem, and she¡¯s insistent that they are tied to the reports of UFO crashes in Unova fifty years ago. Seemingly impossible things happen every day.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ what am I supposed to do?¡± I said weakly.

    Commissioner Jenny gave me a reassuring smile, and laid her hand on my other shoulder. ¡°Whatever you¡¯d like to do, Alina. If you want I can pull some strings, get you registered as a resident of Sinnoh. If not, we can work out a way to get you anywhere you want to go. Maybe Alola, if you want to try and make your way back home with Professor¡­?¡±

    ¡°Professor Burnet.¡±

    ¡°Professor Burnet. The fact of the matter is that you¡¯re an adult, we can¡¯t make any decisions for you. If you were a child then I¡¯m sure we would be having a different conversation right now.¡±

    I wavered, trying to think of what I should do. In all of my thoughts about what would happen if I told somebody that I wasn¡¯t from this world, I didn¡¯t expect them to be so blas¨¦ about it. On the one hand, getting recommended to somebody who was more capable of dealing with this was greatly appealing. I could let them figure out what to do, let them decide what I would be doing with the rest of my life.

    But on the other¡­ people always talked about moving somewhere new to reinvent themselves. I had taken hormones and had surgeries to try and show the true me, but you could never really escape your past. I knew that from experience. But now I had the body I should have been born in and the opportunity to really make decisions for myself in a way that I had never had before.

    It felt¡­ liberating. Terrifying in a way, but the thought of exploring a new world lit a fire in me.

    Nervous energy seemed to well up inside by chest, but I shook my head. ¡°No, I think I¡¯ll be good. I want to do this myself.¡±

    It was the scariest sentence I had ever spoken, but Professor Rowan and Commissioner Jenny seemed to take it in stride.

    ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll talk to my people, get some documents sorted out.¡± Commissioner Jenny said with a smile.

    ¡°You¡¯ll need a place to stay for a little bit.¡± The professor said. ¡°I have a spare place at my lab since one of my assistants is out in the field. While the Commissioner here gets you your papers, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re actually okay. I don¡¯t have a lot of equipment for measuring these kinds of things, but I¡¯ll do my best.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I said, nearly choking back a sob as the enormity of what these people who didn¡¯t know who I was were doing for me sunk in.

    ¡°Come now,¡± Commissioner Jenny said with a smile. ¡°We look out for both people and Pok¨¦mon here. Want to know how I know you¡¯re not a real troublemaker?¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    She pointed to the Eevee in my arms. ¡°Pok¨¦mon are generally good judges of character. If you really did mean to cause any trouble, it wouldn¡¯t be nearly so attached to you.¡±

    The tears did start to fall then.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go get the accommodations sorted.¡± Professor Rowan said gruffly, and stepped out of the tent.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Commissioner Jenny said, guiding me to the bed where I sat down heavily.

    The Eevee in my arms nuzzled it¡¯s head closer into my chest, and I held it tightly as I started to cry.

    ¡°I can¡¯t imagine what it¡¯s been like these past few days.¡± Jenny continued. ¡°I mean, getting transported to another world, only to end up being captured by poachers and kept in a cage?¡±

    ¡°I was terrified.¡± I sobbed. ¡°Not of the poachers, but I just didn¡¯t want this to be fake. I didn¡¯t want it to be taken away from me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you were.¡± She said gently. ¡°But it¡¯s okay now, this is real. What you¡¯re feeling right now is shock. You¡¯ve been through a traumatic experience, several really, and your mind is trying to make sense of it all. Just let it out, it¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    Commissioner Jenny must have had a lot of things to do, but she sat there and let me cry into her shoulder and murmured words of encouragement the entire time. Eevee also licked my hands as I petted it.

    I don¡¯t know how long I sat there and tried to cope with what had happened over the past two days, but by the time my tears stopped, I was exhausted, and quickly slipped into a peaceful slumber.

    /^\

    ¡°She¡¯s had a rough go of it.¡± Rowan said, looking at the girl fast asleep on the cot.

    Alina wasn¡¯t really that young, but the older Rowan got the younger, the new generations seemed to become.

    ¡°That she has.¡± Jenny said from beside him. ¡°Still, it¡¯s remarkable that within a day of being captured, she managed to convince a Houndoom to turn it¡¯s coat and captured two of the poachers.¡±

    ¡°Indeed it is. I¡¯m going to have to keep an eye on her.¡±

    ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll be okay?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡± Rowan said after a minute. ¡°Especially if she has that Eevee with her. You and I both know the benefits that having a Pok¨¦mon as a partner can provide. Not just in a physical way, but as somebody who will listen to you and support you.¡±

    ¡°Coming from another world¡­ I can¡¯t imagine it.¡±

    ¡°Neither can I. But like I said, it¡¯s not entirely unheard of. There¡¯s a phenomenon in Alola that I¡¯ve heard rumors of, a similar kind of experience.¡±

    He eyed the Aether Foundation workers around them with a critical eye. Rowan had never fully trusted the white-clad conservationists, it always seemed like they had an ulterior motive, although he hadn¡¯t managed to figure it out yet.

    ¡°Do you really think that she could live a normal life? I mean if she did go on a Journey, she would be nearly a decade older than any of the other new trainers. And even if she could¡­ do you really think we should let her?¡±

    Rowan mulled over her words, so similar to the same thoughts that he had been having. But when it came down to it¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s not our place to decide.¡± He said firmly. ¡°We let children go out into the world when they¡¯re young because it helps teach them the way of the world and to form their connection with Pok¨¦mon. If we were to keep her locked away, wouldn¡¯t we be setting a standard for the rest of Sinnoh?¡±

    ¡°You can hardly compare the two!¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I?¡± He turned a thoughtful eye to the police commissioner. ¡°Many Trainers of them have left their homes with much less experience than Alina and have done magnificent things. Professor Oak told me tales of quite the amazing young man who was only fourteen when he set out on his Journey. In the end no matter how you look at it, Alina is an adult, and we can¡¯t make any decisions for her."

    "But-¡°

    ¡°Has she broken any laws?¡±

    Chief Jenny chewed her lip. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Then we must treat her like any other adult, regardless of where she came from. If she had come from Johto, or Orre, or even Ransei, and not some foreign world, would you have the same hesitations?¡±

    She sighed. ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Then we must let her make her own path. I¡¯ll have some time with her and I¡¯ll make sure she¡¯s prepared to take her own Journey, like you and I both did.¡±

    Jenny gave him a sidelong look. ¡°That was a long time ago, and you know it.¡±

    ¡°Nearly fifty years.¡± He confirmed. ¡°We¡¯ve both come a long way in that time.¡±

    ¡°Things were different then, less complicated.¡±

    ¡°Were they? Or have times always been complicated and we were just too young to understand?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve always hated it when you made sense.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you¡¯re always upset with me?¡±

    The two laughed softly at the old joke as the night grew deeper, and the strange young woman in the tent continued to sleep peacefully.

 Chapter Seven

    For the first time since coming to this world, I didn¡¯t wake up confused or in pain. It was quite the nice change, and was made even better when I learned that one of the Rangers had brewed coffee.

    Coffee!

    Of all the things that I was glad to have exist in the Pok¨¦mon world, coffee had jumped to the top of the list as soon as I saw the mug of the precious black liquid offered by a Ranger. It wasn¡¯t a vanilla frappe, which I wasn¡¯t ashamed to admit was my preferred way to take coffee, and there was no milk or sugar to make the drink less bitter, but I was honestly just happy to have it at all.

    The Eevee even tried a little and while it spit the drink out almost immediately, it seemed much happier than it had yesterday. As far as I was concerned, that was the only thing that really mattered at the moment, considering how sad and miserable it had been yesterday in the cage.

    I shuddered at the memory, and the Eevee leaned over and bumped it¡¯s head against my head, and I smiled.

    ¡°Thanks little one.¡± I told it, scratching it¡¯s head. ¡°Which reminds, I don¡¯t actually know much about you. Are you a guy? A girl? Neither? Cause that¡¯s cool too.¡±

    The Eevee tapped my arm with its paw twice.

    ¡°Uh, what does that mean?¡±

    I could feel it¡¯s exasperation, and it tapped once, then two more times, then three more times. After sitting for a moment, it tapped my arm twice again. I was pretty sure that it was tapping a bit harder than necessary, but decided not to complain about it.

    ¡°I¡­ oh! You¡¯re trying to tell me that you¡¯re a girl?¡±

    The Eevee nodded.

    ¡°Well, I wanted to make sure I didn¡¯t misgender you since I haven¡¯t really worked with a lot of Pok¨¦mon before. And by that, I mean I haven¡¯t worked with any Pok¨¦mon at all.¡±

    She cocked her head. ¡°Yeah, Pok¨¦mon weren¡¯t really a thing where I¡¯m from. They¡¯re more like stories.¡±

    My heart sank a little bit at the thought of my old home. ¡°Would you mind if we talked about that later? It¡¯s¡­ not exactly the most pleasant of tales.¡±

    Eevee nodded, and batted at my arm until I gave in and started petting her again.

    Forcing a smile, I tried to put the memories behind me. ¡°Right, let¡¯s go find Professor Rowan, okay?¡±

    /^\

    The professor was in with the other recently-freed Pok¨¦mon, who had been relocated to a pop-up tent that had been erected the night before.

    ¡°And that should do it.¡± He said to the Riolu, letting it¡¯s paw go and giving it a stern-face bow. ¡°I thank you for letting me examine you, it¡¯s a rare pleasure that one such as me is allowed to see such an honored guardian so closely.¡±

    The Riolu looked embarrassed of all things as it gave a bow back to Professor Rowan, awkwardly smoothing it¡¯s fur down. The professor saw me looking, bowed again to the Riolu, and made his way over.

    ¡°The Riolu and Lucario line can be prideful.¡± He said in a quiet tone. ¡°It¡¯s always easier to get things done when you appeal to that pride, make them think they are doing you a service. That one in particular is going to be a handful, now that it thinks it can take out much bigger enemies in a fight.¡±

    ¡°To be fair,¡± I said as we started to move away from the Pok¨¦mon enclosure. ¡°It did take out Hawg.¡±

    Rowan chuckled. ¡°Ah yes, a grown man is an impressive enemy for one so small. But humans can¡¯t use moves like Pok¨¦mon can, so what do you think will happen if it tries to challenge something like a Golem, or a Machamp?"

    "Oh." I said, looking back at the Riolu in worry. ¡°Is it going to be okay?¡±

    ¡°Most likely.¡± The older man shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sure it will have a chip on its shoulder when it eventually manages to return to its pack, but a Lucario will most likely knock some sense into it.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s¡­ fine?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. It happens to most Riolu eventually, but this one will most likely learn a little quicker than the others."

    "You seem to know a lot about the line."

    "That''s true. Lucario packs tend to be very reclusive, but as a younger man I helped save a Lucario from a rock slide. They were appreciative enough to let me stay with them for a week, it¡¯s one of my most cherished memories.¡±

    It didn¡¯t look like he was recalling a cherished memory considering his stern face didn¡¯t show any emotion at all, but I decided it was better to let sleeping dogs lie. Sleeping Pok¨¦mon? Did regular dogs exist in this world?

    ¡°That actually brings up a question that I had professor.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I always have time for questions.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about Eevee here.¡± I gestured at the Pok¨¦mon in my arms, and it made a soft noise of interest at my words.

    ¡°From what I¡¯m aware of, Eevee aren¡¯t often found in Sinnoh. Not that I¡¯m complaining mind you, but I wonder how this little one got here.¡±

    ¡°Ah, a good question.¡± Rowan nodded seriously. ¡°While you are correct that the Eevee line originates from Kanto, there has long been a record of Pok¨¦mon of various species coming to live in Sinnoh. While Eevee and its many evolutionary lines do maintain a presence here, the population is mostly kept in check by the low rate of eggs being laid, as well as the native Pok¨¦mon resisting any expansions.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± I said. ¡°But if they¡¯re so rare, then how did these poachers manage to find her?¡±

    At this, Rowan¡¯s face twitched, and I was amazed to see a slight frown crease his brows. ¡°Yes, another good question but unfortunately this one does not have a pleasant answer. Kane had managed to get his hands on what we call a Pok¨¦ Radar.¡±

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    ¡°That¡¯s what it was!¡± I exclaimed, thinking back to the tablet that I had seen the goons using.

    ¡°You¡¯re familiar with it?¡±

    ¡°Er, in a manner of speaking.¡±

    Professor Rowan eyed me for a long moment, and I wondered how he would take the fact that in my world he was nothing more than a video game character. That wasn¡¯t a conversation I was looking forward to.

    ¡°Hm. Something for another time I suppose.¡±

    Oh thank god.

    ¡°Regardless, the Pok¨¦ Radar is normally used by elite Rangers or trainers who are work as conservationists, tracking rare Pok¨¦mon so we can get a better sense of their distribution. What concerns me however is how Kane managed to get his hands on one, considering we haven¡¯t seen reports of any going missing."

    ¡°What were they planning to do with the Pok¨¦mon they did catch?¡±

    ¡°Sell them to the highest bidder, most likely. As much as I hate to admit it, there is a certain population who desire to have the rarest Pok¨¦mon as status symbols, or perhaps in an attempt to breed them. The Pok¨¦mon League cracks down on this kind of business when we can, but many times these individuals have too much money and influence for us to really do anything about them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s horrible!¡±

    ¡°Indeed it is. They completely twist the loving and supportive relationship that Pok¨¦mon have with humans, all in an attempt to make themselves look better. Of this particular batch of Pok¨¦mon that Kane had caught, I would have to admit that the most valuable would be the Riolu and the Eevee. They are both famously reclusive species, and would likely go for a high price on the black market.¡±

    Eevee shuddered in my arms, and I scratched at the skin under its ruff of tan fur to try and calm her down. The fur itself was incredibly thick, and I frowned at the thought of her being used as a trophy piece for some rich man.

    ¡°This does actually bring me to my next issue that I wanted to bring up with you.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°It has to deal with Eevee here.¡±

    ¡°What about her?¡± I asked, perhaps a little more defensively than I should have.

    ¡°Her future. Do you want to take her on as your partner?¡±

    In retrospect the question shouldn¡¯t have thrown me as much as it did, but I just stared blankly at him. ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°The Aether Foundation and the Pok¨¦mon Rangers are going to be working to return all the captured Pok¨¦mon to their original habitats, or as close as we can. But the Eevee seems to have taken a shine to you, and I believe that the feeling is mutual.¡±

    I eyed the little Eevee, who was staring intensely at the professor.

    ¡°It¡¯s something that both of you should work out though. If one party isn¡¯t fully on-board with the idea of working together, of living together, it can cause serious problems down the line.¡±

    My eyes had never left the Eevee, and now she turned her head to look at me.

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know what to say. I mean, don¡¯t get me wrong, I would love for you to travel and live with me, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be the best Trainer. While I have a lot of¡­ theoretical knowledge about Pok¨¦mon, my practical knowledge is really quite lacking. You might be better off going back to your home.¡±

    Eevee stared at me, then leaned forwards and bopped her head into my chest.

    I was stunned at the movement, but I got the message and started to cry again.

    Professor Rowan coughed quietly, and I turned watery eyes to see him hold out a Pok¨¦ Ball.

    Taking it, I held it up to the Eevee. ¡°Will you be my partner?¡±

    Eevee reached her nose out and touched the center of the Pok¨¦ Ball, disappearing in a flash of light. The Ball didn¡¯t feel any heavier in my hands, and I turned anxious eyes to the professor.

    ¡°Press the button twice.¡±

    I did so, and with another flash of white light, the Eevee appeared on the ground in front of me, tilting it¡¯s head up and blinking rapidly.

    ¡°Hey there.¡± I said, a wide smile on my face despite the tears.

    Eevee waddled over to me and promptly rubbed herself against my leg like a cat.

    ¡°Congratulations.¡± Professor Rowan said. ¡°Jenny had to leave to take care of her other obligations, but she left me a note saying she¡¯ll have the paperwork for you ready soon. It may not be official yet, but in the eyes of most, you¡¯re a Pok¨¦mon Trainer. Contrary to popular belief, it¡¯s not something to take lightly, and you¡¯ll discover many things about not only the world around you, but also yourself. Are you ready?¡±

    I nodded solemnly.

    ¡°Good, because you still have a lot to learn. Come now, we¡¯re going to my home and out of this forest.¡±

    He pulled out a Pok¨¦ Ball of his own, and with a flash his Staraptor I had seen the other day emerged, cawing loudly.

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Rowan said, pulling out a treat and letting the Pok¨¦mon eat it, ruffling the feather¡¯s on the side of its head at the same time. ¡°Of course, sometimes while your Pok¨¦mon may lead you to victory, and some may challenge you, there are always those that are nothing but lazy gluttons.¡±

    The Staraptor glared at the professor and pecked at his hand, but I could tell there was no real malice in it and the skin wasn¡¯t broken. Rowan¡¯s face, normally so passive, cracked into a slight smile.

    ¡°Come on then, let¡¯s get you to Sandgem Town.¡±

    /^\

    As it turns out, flying on a Pok¨¦mon was a lot more terrifying than the games had ever made it to be.

    Because the Staraptor wasn¡¯t big enough, it had to make two trips, one for the Professor, and then one for me. Of course, it didn¡¯t have any kind of saddle, or harness, or really anything that could be considered as a safety feature. According to the professor, most people didn¡¯t bother with them, which seemed highly inadvisable to me.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡± The professor had said. ¡°Because you¡¯re not used to flying on Pok¨¦mon, I¡¯ll advise you not to ride Star like I do.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Star?¡±

    Rowan grumbled. ¡°I was just fifteen when I caught him. Believe it or not, most fifteen year-olds aren¡¯t very imaginative when it comes to names. But don¡¯t panic, just let Star do his business. He¡¯s done this before so he knows the drill, you just need to trust him.¡±

    More than a little nervous I nodded that I understood, and Professor Rowan climbed on the back of Star with ease that could only be gained by long years of practice.

    ¡°Home.¡± He said, and with a powerful leap and flap of his wings, the Staraptor disappeared over the trees.

    The next hour and a half was quite the stressful wait as I paced back and forth, trying not to watch the horizon for the shape of the bird Pok¨¦mon. Eventually Eevee got so fed up with my pacing that she came over and grabbed a hold of my pant leg with her mouth, forcing me to stop walking or drag her across the ground. A few of the Rangers who were still working at the poacher¡¯s campsite chuckled at the sight, and I had a hard time hiding my flush of embarrassment.

    After what seemed like an eternity, Star finally returned, settling down with a massive yawn that made my jaw hurt just looking at it.

    ¡°Uh, hey Star.¡±

    The Staraptor stared at me, and I coughed nervously.

    ¡°So, uh, how do we do this?¡±

    Star jerked his head towards Eevee, who had finally stopped nibbling on my pant leg.

    ¡°What about her? Oh, do you want me to put here in her Ball?¡±

    Star nodded.

    ¡°Yeah, I can do that. Come on Eevee.¡± She disappeared into the Pok¨¦ Ball, and I was left staring at the tennis-ball sized machine.

    ¡°Is there somewhere I can put this?¡±

    The Staraptor sighed, then took a couple steps forwards and pressed the center button with its beak. The Pok¨¦ Ball immediately shrunk down to the size of a ping-pong ball, and I blinked at it in surprise.

    ¡°Oh, right. I¡¯ve never actually used one of these before.¡±

    Star rolled his eyes while I slipped the Pok¨¦ Ball into my pocket.

    ¡°So what now?¡±

    Without giving me a response, Star turned and leaped into the air again, taking off in a rush of wind. He disappeared over the tree line again, leaving me blinking in the dust of his wake.

    ¡°First time?¡± One of the Rangers said, nudging his partner.

    ¡°Uh, yeah?¡±

    They both chuckled, and his partner pulled out her phone. It was one of the Rotom Phones introduced in the anime, and the smiling face on the back winked at me as the Ranger held it up in a familiar fashion.

    ¡°Hey, why are you filming me- augh!¡±

    Star didn¡¯t let me finish my sentence, having turned around and grabbing me by the shoulders with his talons and hauling me into the air.

    ¡°Help!¡± I cried as I flailed around in the clutches of the crazy Pok¨¦mon, but my only response was the laughter of the Rangers from behind me.

    My crazed flailing must have annoyed Star, since he reached down and very solidly pecked the top of my head.

    ¡°Ow!¡± I screamed over the rush of the air, trying to rub the top of my head.

    Star, for his part, simply reached down and pecked at my hands and head again until I got the message, and did my best to remain limp in his talons as the ground sped along below us.

    It was perhaps one of the most terrifying experiences in my life, and I had just been imprisoned in a cage for a day by poachers who were going to leave me for dead.

 Chapter Eight

    The terror only lasted for about ten minutes. Then I realized what was going on, and all of the fear fled my body, to be replaced with wonder and awe.

    I was flying.

    Not just in a plane, but actually flying! The wind whipped through my hair, and it was all I could do to not start laughing or crying in the absolute sheer joy of the flight. The tension started to drain out of my body, and I simply gaped in ecstatic pleasure at seeing the ground flash by me.

    Forty-five minutes after I had first been terrified for my life, we winged over a small town, and landed in a clearing where Professor Rowan waited.

    ¡°Welcome back.¡± Professor Rowan said with a slight smile. ¡°While Star can be very lazy, he also has a bit of a sense of humor. I do apologize if the ride was too unpleasant.¡±

    The Pok¨¦mon in question huffed, and promptly laid down on the ground. The professor, for his part, sighed and pulled out a bag of treats, dropping several down in front of Star and the Pok¨¦mon eagerly started to gobble them up.

    ¡°That was amazing!¡±

    ¡°It is, isn¡¯t it? The people who tend to fly more often have harnesses, but Star and I don¡¯t get out often enough to bother with one. I must say I am glad you enjoyed the flight, I was worried there for a minute. It was perhaps a little rude of me to do that to you without warning, but I had hoped that the experience would show you there was still wonder in this world, and not just terror from being locked up.¡±

    I stood there for a minute thinking, before eventually looking him in the eye. ¡°Yeah, that was kind of an awful thing to do to somebody. It worked out this time, but what if it didn¡¯t?¡±

    A spasm of guilt ran across his face.

    ¡°I took a chance, and given the opportunity, I¡¯d probably do it again. This world has wonders and terrors in equal measure, and I wanted to make sure you were strong enough to deal with them.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t like I couldn¡¯t see where he was coming from, but it was still an awful idea in my mind, and I wasn¡¯t sure how I felt about it. I did enjoy flying, but if I hadn''t...

    ¡°If you didn¡¯t like it, I would have said that you can always catch a Psychic type.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Why yes, so it can learn Teleport so you don¡¯t have to fly.¡±

    It took a couple seconds for his words to sink in, but when they did I blinked. ¡°They can?¡±

    In the games it was just to the last Pok¨¦mon Center visited, but that was a gameplay limitation.

    ¡°Oh yes. Most Psychic-type Pok¨¦mon can, although often only their first stages of evolution can only use Teleport on themselves. Most notably is the Abra line, with Abra themselves knowing Teleport instinctually, as soon as they are hatched from their egg. In fact, I wrote a paper on the subject several years ago with the assistance of Lucian¡¯s Alakazam, who is now on Sinnoh¡¯s Elite Four as a matter of fact. It¡¯s quite a fascinating subject when you drill down into it, because-¡±

    Professor Rowan apparently realized he was lecturing, and cut himself off with a cough. ¡°Of course that can wait for later. Let¡¯s get you settled in, shall we?¡±

    It was only then that I really got my first good look at the professor¡¯s lab, and the town of Sandgem as a whole. It was, like just about every other landscape that I had seen since coming to this world, absolutely beautiful. Professor Rowan¡¯s lab was an interesting affair, with an almost medieval windmill joined to a high-tech facility that didn¡¯t resemble the one from the game at all. Then again, this seemed to be more of the world from the anime and not the games, so I was cautiously setting aside my meta-knowledge for now.

    Sandgem itself was a quaint town, spread out in the near distance from where the lab was situated on the hill. It was quite a bit bigger than the four or five buildings from the games as well, which made sense to me. Can¡¯t exactly have a town with like twenty or so people in it.

    We were close to the sea though, and I could smell the salt air on the wind as it rustled the grass around us. I hadn¡¯t realized how much I had missed not being in a forest, and I took a long moment to just take in the sights.

    ¡°Come on out.¡± I said, releasing Eevee from her Pok¨¦ Ball.

    It wouldn¡¯t be fair for me to revel in this experience all by myself, after all.

    Eevee appeared with a happy cry, and eagerly jumped at me, and I just barely caught her. I smiled and picked her up, giving her a hug and rejoicing in the warmth that seemed to radiate from her. After a second I pulled away and she pouted at me, only to gasp as she took in the sights around us.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad to see you two have formed such a strong bond so quickly.¡± Professor Rowan said, watching us with a small smile.

    ¡°She saved me.¡± I said, remembering the charge of the Mightyena.

    For her part, Eevee just poked at me with her nose.

    ¡°And I think she¡¯s trying to say that you saved her.¡± Professor Rowan commented. ¡°Come on you two, it¡¯s not much but let me show you to your room.¡±

    The room really wasn¡¯t all that big, consisting of a bed that looked a little too short for me, a closest that was far too big considering I was wearing everything that I owned, a desk and chair, and what looked like a small dog bed. A door to the side revealed a small bathroom, complete with a small shower stall. Eevee hopped off my shoulder and turned her nose up at the animal bed, but seemed to be quite taken with the human bed, poking around it curiously.

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t have to use that small bed, does she?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Hm? Oh, no of course not. My previous assistant who was living here, she¡¯s the one investigating the Elgeym I mentioned earlier, she had a Shinx for her companion.¡±

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    I frowned. ¡°Why would that be a problem?¡±

    ¡°Shinx generate electricity when their muscles extend and contract. Coincidentally, they tend to have very vivid dreams where they tend to be chasing smaller Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± I said, starting to see the issue.

    ¡°Yes, most Shinx owners tend to have their Pok¨¦mon sleep on another bed until they¡¯re trained to master their electricity generation. Otherwise, well you can receive quite the unfortunate wakeup alarm.¡±

    ¡°I can imagine.¡±

    ¡°Commissioner Jenny is going to want to speak with you, to get some of your info for your paperwork. That can wait for a bit however, you look terrible.¡±

    I was mildly offended at the comment, but I couldn¡¯t really get too upset. I had seen my face in the bathroom¡¯s mirror, and it was true ¨C I did look awful. Thanks to the medicine the Pok¨¦mon Rangers had given me most of the smaller cuts and bruises that Hawg had given me had mostly healed, but it wasn¡¯t perfect. Most of my face was covered in an ugly yellow bruise, my lip was split, and part of my eye was still red from where a blood vessel had burst. As well there were still three angry red lines where I had been clawed, and while they should heal over completely in a couple days, right now they looked terrible.

    In addition to all of that loveliness, I hadn¡¯t had a shower in a few days and I had spent most of that time in the woods. I was still wearing the spare white uniform of an Aether employee, but it didn¡¯t fit right and was somehow already dirty.

    ¡°Like you saw, there¡¯s the shower inside the bathroom, and I¡¯ll have some loaner clothes brought out for you. Get cleaned up and I¡¯ll get your reward money ready.¡±

    ¡°My what?¡±

    ¡°Hm? Oh, yes, you were asleep when Jenny left so you didn¡¯t hear our conversation. Since you were responsible for assisting in apprehending several suspects wanted for crimes by the Sinnoh Pok¨¦mon League, and InterPol as well, it was decided that you should get some recompense for your actions. Helping the Pok¨¦mon in the way you did certainly helped in making that decision, by the way. The Riolu in particular gave you high praise, which is not something that should be taken lightly.¡±

    ¡°You mean you can get paid for catching criminals like a bounty hunter?¡±

    ¡°In essence ¨C yes. There are rules and regulations regarding winning money for Pok¨¦mon matches, but that¡¯s only for certain competition matches. Catching criminals however, well that¡¯s something the Pok¨¦mon League decided should be rewarded. It helps deter Trainers from breaking the law, knowing that they might be put on a wanted list, as well as encouraging people not to tolerate criminals.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to feel about that, but I guess it made some sense. Didn¡¯t the FBI offer reward money for information about their most-wanted list? This was essentially the same thing, except a little more hands-on, which made sense considering the seemingly less regulated world I was now in.

    Of course Professor Rowan didn¡¯t notice my internal discomfort over the idea of people hunting down criminals for money.

    ¡°Now most of the money won¡¯t be available for access until your identification gets actually created and entered into the system, and until you are certified as an actual Trainer. Until then however, I can certainly give you an advance, to help get you on your feet.¡±

    ¡°How much money are we talking about anyways?¡±

    ¡°Oh, about one hundred thousand dollars.¡±

    It was all I could do to not pass out right then and there.

    /^\

    As it turns out, one hundred thousand dollars in the Pok¨¦mon world was not the same as one hundred thousand dollars in America. Which, after what felt like a small heart attack on my part, certainly made sense.

    The Pok¨¦mon world was essentially fantasy Japan, or at least had been at first before they started adding in other regions. As such their money was more like the yen and not the dollar, and one hundred thousand dollars was about the equivalent to a month¡¯s wages for a full time job.

    It wasn¡¯t a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but for somebody who had no money to their name at all? I was ecstatic.

    The first thing I did was shower, which was an incredible relief. I hadn¡¯t even fully realized how dirty I had been until I had stepped into the hot water streaming from the showerhead and clumps of dirt, dried blood, and god knows what else started flaking off me. I shuddered, and eagerly scrubbed at my skin until I was red.

    Of course Eevee decided that she wanted to be clean too, and as I was finishing up she hopped into the shower as well. Her thick fur made it harder for the water to soak in, and after a long, piteous look I gave in and knelt down to help her wash.

    She purred as I worked the shampoo into her fur and pulled out twigs from where they had gotten stuck. There were also more than a few twisted clumps of fur, and I silently resolved that I would set aside some money to buy a proper grooming kit for her.

    ¡°You really like the water don¡¯t you?¡± She nodded vigorously as I used the detachable shower head to rinse the lather off. ¡°Maybe you¡¯d like to be a Vaporeon?¡±

    Eevee looked up at me quizzically.

    ¡°You know, when you evolve?¡±

    Her head cocked to one side.

    ¡°You did you know can evolve into another form, right?¡±

    The two ears flopped around as she shook her head, heavy with water-soaked fur.

    ¡°Oh boy. Well, Professor Rowan specializes in Pok¨¦mon evolutions, and I wanted to talk to him about it more later, so I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re there. But in essence, Eevee¡¯s like yourself are famous for being very adaptable, evolving to different kinds of elemental stones. Vaporeon for water, Flareon for fire, Jolteon for electric, Glaceon for ice, and Leafeon for grass. Oh, but then there¡¯s also Espeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon, who evolve with friendship and love.¡±

    She looked up at me with her wide, brown eyes full of wonder at the massive list.

    ¡°But don¡¯t you worry about that for now, okay? Just focus on being yourself, and everything else will come later.¡±

    Once again I was reminded of the sheer intelligence that Pok¨¦mon had, as Eevee was obviously mulling my advice over while I finished washing her off. Of course, as soon as we finished the shower she shook herself dry, splattering me with even more water.

    ¡°You did that on purpose.¡± I accused, and she simply turned her nose up and walked out of the bathroom.

    Well I¡¯m glad to see she¡¯s doing better.

    I had been a little worried at first about Eevee, she had been in a cage for a lot longer than I had been, and I was afraid that she would be withdrawn and nervous, like when I had first met her. Now that she was feeling safer though, she was starting to come out of her shell a little bit.

    Professor Rowan was good to his word though, and when I came back into the bedroom there were some clothes laid out for me on the bed. They were too big for me, again, but I cinched in the belt and decided that I would definitely be going to the store today if I could.

    ¡°Say, Eevee?¡±

    The Pok¨¦mon looked up at me from where she had parked herself on the foot of the bed.

    ¡°Would you want another name?¡±

    She cocked her head, a little confused.

    ¡°Like a nickname. Eevee is your species, like how human is mine. But my actual name is Alina, not ¡°human.¡± Do you want a name?¡±

    Eevee seemed to think about it while I finished dressing, before eventually nodding.

    ¡°Do you want to pick the name, or have me do it for you?¡±

    Her ears dipped down, then back up in what I assumed was a shrug.

    ¡°You don¡¯t care?¡±

    The same kind of shrug.

    ¡°Okay, well, let me think about some good ideas then. Until now, do you want to go shopping?¡±

    I got a skeptical side-eye as a response, and a little belatedly I realized that as a wild Pok¨¦mon she probably didn¡¯t know what ¡°shopping¡± was.

    ¡°I need new clothes.¡± I explained. ¡°And I was thinking about picking up some other stuff too. Like say, I don¡¯t know, a grooming kit?¡±

    She cocked her head to the side in confusion.

    "Uh, something to comb your fur and make you look better."

    Her ears perked up at that, and her tail started wagging.

    ¡°So, you interested?¡±

    After another moment, she jumped from the bed into my arms, catching me off guard.

    ¡°Oof! I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t think I can carry you and go shopping at the same time. I need both my hands!¡±

    Eevee thought about that for a moment, then like a cat she squirmed in my arms and used the small claws on her feet to pull herself up my shirt until she was sitting on my left shoulder, her tail curling around my neck like a scarf.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I said smiling. ¡°That works too. Come on, let¡¯s try and get some money.¡±

 Chapter Nine

    Sandgem Town had a number of luxuries that I remembered from the games, including its own Pok¨¦Mart and Pok¨¦mon Center, but like everything else so far there was quite a bit more than just that.

    After I had been given Professor Rowan¡¯s debit card, with gruff instructions not to spend more than twenty thousand dollars, Eevee and I took to the town. The thought of spending not more than twenty thousand dollars still seemed crazy to me, even though I knew it wasn¡¯t the same currency base. Of course by the time we managed to find the general store in town, I realized that the money really wouldn''t be going that far.

    ¡°How is a shirt 980 dollars?¡± I exclaimed, looking at the price tag.

    As it turns out, clothes were either more expensive than I thought they should be, or the money just didn¡¯t go nearly as far as I had been expecting.

    ¡°And hiking shoes are almost five thousand!¡±

    Of course, the problem was that this was the only gig in town, and I didn¡¯t exactly have the luxury of not buying clothes. Mine were too big, and I did have to admit that these clothes seemed to be a lot higher quality than the ones from back home. The nicest sweaters even had a tag that said Made in Galar With 100% Pure Wooloo Wool on them, although the price tag made me sweat.

    Eventually I grumbled and gave in, taking a couple blue t-shirts from the rack.

    Eevee on my shoulder whuffed at my choice, and I turned a scandalized eye on her.

    ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    She turned and pointed with her nose at the black shirts.

    ¡°What, you think I look better in black than blue?¡±

    Her brown eyes stared into mine until I eventually sighed, putting the shirts back and grabbing the black ones.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m taking fashion advice from a Pok¨¦mon.¡± I grumbled again when I realized that she was right and the black shirts did look better.

    She mewled happily, and helped me pick out the rest of my clothes. A couple of blue jeans, some socks and underwear, a pair of the hiking shoes, a toiletry kit, and the cheapest hiking pack I could find all made their way into the basket.

    ¡°Well, what do you think?¡± I asked Eevee while standing in front of the hoodie rack.

    Pondering the selection of hoodies, she turned her head one way, than the other. Eventually she settled on a dark purple hoodie, and into the basket it went.

    I grimaced at the cost, which came perilously close to the twenty-thousand limit. Still, all of the clothes went into the bag, and we were out of the store. It wasn¡¯t all of the money that I had available, but it was close enough, and I still had the real store that I wanted to go to. The general store was just for clothes and the necessities, but now we were going to the store that I was really excited about.

    The Pok¨¦ Mart.

    There was where I could buy Pok¨¦ Balls, Potions, and all kinds of wonderful items that spat in the face of physics. With eager steps I walked towards the blue roofed building, and the doors opened with a soft hiss.

    Which was right when a small form came hurrying out of the building, crashing into me.

    If it had been pretty much any other time I would have been fine, but I was carrying around a bag full of clothes, an Eevee my shoulders, and had been imprisoned for most of a day only yesterday. To say that I was unstable would have been putting it lightly, and the person who knocked into me sent me sprawling to the ground.

    I wasn¡¯t worried about myself, instead focusing on the surprised yelp coming from Eevee as she was thrown from my shoulder.

    ¡°Watch it!¡± A reedy voice called from behind me, but I didn¡¯t pay it any mind as I scrambled over to Eevee.

    Really I shouldn¡¯t have been so worried, Pok¨¦mon were built tough after all. Just yesterday after I had asked about Havoc the Houndoom and I was told that he would probably be completely healed after a week of rest, even though I had clearly seen and heard his leg break from the Mightyena.

    Eevee didn¡¯t look hurt, but I still picked her up and held her in my arms, carefully poking at her to see if she reacted in any way. She didn¡¯t, thankfully, and instead reached up to lick my face in reassurance.

    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m talking to you!¡±

    A hand dropped onto my shoulder, and for a moment the entire world froze.

    When I had been younger, back in high school, I had been an angry kid. I had ranted and raved at the world, furious for the injustices done to me, and it was only through time and Pok¨¦mon that I had mellowed out. The world of Pok¨¦mon had been an escape, a place separated from all the trials and tribulations of the real world, where things could be fair.

    As I had gotten older, learned that I was angry with the world because I hadn¡¯t understood or been able to accept that I didn¡¯t feel like I had been born in the right body, things had gotten better. I learned that I couldn¡¯t solve all my problems with a fist, but there had been plenty of times as a teenager when I would have taken a swing at somebody for grabbing me like that.

    But instead of getting angry like I would have as a kid, or brushing it off like I would have as an adult, today I flinched.

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    For a moment it was a different hand grabbing my shoulder. It was the grip of Hawg, his rough fingers grabbing me in preparation of hauling me away for a beating. After a second the feeling passed, but I was curled around Eevee to protect her from the blows that I had known would be coming.

    ¡°What¡¯s your deal lady?¡±

    I looked at Eevee, only to find her staring back at me with worry clear in her brown eyes. Reassuring myself that she was okay, that I was okay, I finally turned back around to see the person who had slammed into me.

    ¡°Jeez, what happened to your face?¡±

    He was a scrawny kid, probably about sixteen years old, with vivid green hair and a sneer on his face. His clothes, a mixture of bleached denim jeans, a red t-shirt, and a grey coat were all ripped or worn, but they had obviously been purchased that way instead of natural wear. There were whisps of hair on his chin, but they few and far between and he really should have just shaved.

    Any sense of anger or anxiety simply melted away as I looked up at the boy, and instead all I felt was exhaustion. It had been a long couple of days, and I hadn¡¯t had much sleep.

    Just a kid who¡¯s angry at the world.

    ¡°Sorry for bumping into you kid. C¡¯mon Eevee.¡± I said, placing her on my shoulder and reaching for my bag. ¡°Let¡¯s finish our shopping and go home.¡±

    ¡°Woah! Where you do think you¡¯re going, old lady?¡± The kid said, stepping forwards to block my way.

    ¡°Old lady?¡±

    I¡¯m only twenty-three¡­ although if kids leave home so young I can see how that could be considered old.

    ¡°What, would you prefer ¡°Scars¡±?¡±

    They aren¡¯t that noticeable, right? The doctor did say they would go away soon¡­

    I sighed. ¡°Listen, I¡¯ve had a rough couple of days and all I want to do is finish my shopping.¡±

    ¡°No no, you don¡¯t run into me and just leave like that. I don¡¯t know who you think you are, but I¡¯m the best Trainer in this town!¡±

    The kid boasted proudly, sticking his chest out and raising his chin defiantly. A ten year-old might have been impressed, but all I saw was the acne and the gangly limbs.

    ¡°¡­Congratulations. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me.¡±

    He stopped me again, holding out his hand. ¡°What part of ¡°best Trainer¡± do you not understand? You¡¯ve already bumped into me today, and now you¡¯re just going to blow me off like that? C¡¯mon, I¡¯m challenging you to a battle!¡±

    The kid grabbed a Pok¨¦ Ball off of a black leather belt that had silver spikes studded in it, holding it out to his side. I was somewhat surprised that he didn¡¯t poke himself with the spikes, he must have practiced the draw since it looked natural and far too flamboyant to be off-the-cuff.

    For my part, I just looked around in tired confusion. There¡¯s nobody around to show off for, is his self-esteem really that fragile?

    ¡°Sorry, no thanks.¡±

    The polite refusal more than anything seemed to shatter the tough-guy persona.

    ¡°Wh- What? You can¡¯t do that!¡±

    ¡°Sure I can. You¡¯re challenging me, and I don¡¯t want to battle.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not interested.¡± I pushed past him, picking up my bag and opening the doors to the Pok¨¦ Mart.

    ¡°You¡¯ll regret this!¡± The boy shouted from behind me, although he didn¡¯t actually push the issue. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you think you are, but I¡¯ll make you pay for this insult!¡±

    The doors closed behind me and I let out an exhausted sigh and slumped against the door frame, thankful for the frosted glass so the kid outside couldn¡¯t see me.

    ¡°Ah, I see you¡¯ve met Kevin.¡± A sympathetic voice called, and I looked up to find a girl wearing a blue uniform smiling at me from behind the counter. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Kevin? Is he always like that?¡±

    ¡°Ever since he came back from his Journey, yeah. Sorry, I¡¯m Courtney.¡±

    I got up from the door frame and walked over to the counter.

    ¡°Alina. What happened?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°He lost. It happens to every Trainer sooner or later, but Kevin took it more personally than most. When he returned, he was different. Angrier, easier to set off.¡±

    ¡°Kids.¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°I was like him too though, so I guess I can¡¯t take it too personally.¡±

    A real smile spread across her face, not a customer service smile like I myself had worn so many times. ¡°What changed for you then? Maybe it could work for Kevin.¡±

    ¡°I grew up, did a lot of self-reflecting and realized that I was angry because I was trying to convince myself that I was something I wasn¡¯t. And later I met this little one.¡± Reaching up, I scratched Eevee behind the ears and she purred.

    ¡°Ooh!¡± Courtney said. ¡°How precious!¡±

    I looked at Eevee and raised an eyebrow. In response, she hopped down onto the counter and Courtney squealed a little.

    ¡°Can I pet you?¡± She said, and Eevee nodded graciously.

    ¡°Ohhh, you¡¯re so fluffy!¡±

    Eevee looked up at me smugly, and flicked an ear towards the rest of the store. I rolled my eyes, not for the first time wondering just how smart Pok¨¦mon actually were. Apparently smart enough to be better with people than I was.

    If I had been shocked at the prices of the general store, the prices at the Pok¨¦ Mart absolutely astounded me. For some reason I had still been expecting the items to be sold at the same amount in the games, like a Pok¨¦ Ball for only two hundred dollars, or a Potion for three hundred. Much to my great displeasure though, they were almost twenty times that much.

    Okay. I thought weakly. That¡¯s¡­ something that can wait for the rest of my money to come in.

    How ten year-olds were supposed to afford that I didn¡¯t know, but I hastily moved away from the more expensive displays and towards the back wall where there were simple basic items. It didn¡¯t take me long to find a grooming kit that would be good for Eevee, and it was just within my price range too. I had wanted to maybe grab a Pok¨¦ Ball or two but with how much they cost...

    ¡°Just this please.¡± I said, putting the grooming kit on the counter next to Eevee.

    ¡°Oh!¡± Courtney said, from where she was still petting my Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Of course!¡±

    She quickly rung me up, then looked me over.

    ¡°Here.¡± She said, reaching below the counter and pulling out a Potion, adding it to the pile. ¡°On the house.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t take that.¡± I argued, despite desperately wanting one just in case. ¡°It¡¯s too much!¡±

    ¡°Please.¡± Courtney flashed me another smile. ¡°We¡¯re authorized to give them out to Trainers as promotional items. If nothing else, consider it thanks for treating Kevin more kindly than he deserves.¡±

    I waffled for another couple of moments, but eventually gave in, thanking her profusely. It really would come in handy if something went wrong while I was waiting for the rest of my money to come in.

    Handing over the debit card, her eyes widened at the name on it. ¡°Professor Rowan? You didn¡¯t steal this did you?¡±

    I laughed. ¡°No, not at all. My last card was destroyed in, uh, unfortunate circumstances. Professor Rowan is just giving me a hand until I get the paperwork sorted out.¡±

    ¡°Ahh.¡± She said knowingly, and finished the transaction. ¡°That explains it.¡±

    ¡°Explains what?¡±

    ¡°The Eevee of course!¡± She reached down and continued scratching Eevee behind her ears. ¡°They¡¯re very rare around here, but they¡¯re a bit more common in Unova aren¡¯t they? Knowing the Professor, of course he would take on another assistant who has a Pok¨¦mon who is famous for their evolutions.¡±

    My mouth opened and closed several times as I processed that. I wanted to argue at first that I wasn¡¯t his assistant, but it for now it made a lot of sense and the fewer questions that I had to answer, the better.

    ¡°You got me.¡± I said weakly. ¡°But if you¡¯ll excuse us, I do think we need to get going.¡±

    ¡°Oh of course! Thank you for your patronage, be sure to visit us again!¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I replied as Eevee scrambled her way back up to my shoulder as I put the grooming kit and Potion into my bag. ¡°I¡¯m sure I will.¡±

    Stepping out of the Pok¨¦ Mart, I looked around for the kid, Kevin. Thankfully he wasn¡¯t lurking outside, waiting to ambush me, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

    ¡°C¡¯mon Eevee, lets head back. I think I need a nap.¡±

 Chapter Ten

    A nap, as it turns out, was not quite what I needed, since I ended up sleeping through the entire afternoon and the night, waking up in with the morning as the sun beat through the small window of my room. Eevee stretched on the bed next to me, where she had crawled up sometime during the night. I scratched her head while she yawned, and I figured that this was probably the best morning I had ever had.

    ¡°We still need to figure out a name for you.¡± I said sleepily, and Eevee purred into my hand as I pet her.

    ¡°Eevee. Ee-vee. Vee. Something starting with ¡°v¡±? What do you think of Victoria?¡±

    She thought for a moment, then shook her head.

    ¡°Vivian? Vera? Valorie?¡±

    More shakes of her head.

    ¡°Eve?¡±

    Now she just glared at me, and I laughed. ¡°Okay, not Eve.¡±

    For the next thirty minutes we laid there and I spouted off every name I could, each meeting with Eevee¡¯s dissatisfaction.

    ¡°Well you¡¯re just a picky one aren¡¯t you?¡±

    She purred happily, earning a sigh from me.

    ¡°V¡­v¡­ Verity? That¡¯s a lake you know. Verizon? Ok I¡¯m glad it¡¯s not Verizon. Venus?¡±

    Eevee¡¯s ears perked up for the first time in the conversation, and she stared at me with shining eyes.

    ¡°What, you liked Venus?¡±

    She bounced on the bed, nodding eagerly and I couldn¡¯t help but laugh.

    ¡°Alright then, Venus it is.¡±

    Venus mewled happily, and jumped onto my chest, nuzzling into me and I couldn¡¯t help but laugh.

    It was a good morning.

    After another half-hour or so of lazing around in bed we eventually got up, and I finally got dressed in my new, clean clothes before making our way to the small kitchen that was in the back of Professor Rowan¡¯s lab. Interestingly enough I wasn¡¯t the only person to be staying at the lab, and when I entered the room I felt a jolt of anxiety as six pairs of eyes turned to stare at me.

    Professor Rowan was at the head of the table, looking as inscrutable as ever. Besides him was an older man who looked remarkably like Lucas from the games and anime, and then three more men and a woman. All were wearing lab coats, except for Professor Rowan who just had his brown jacket on.

    ¡°Ah, good morning Alina.¡± Professor Rowan said. ¡°Excellent timing, come eat and we¡¯ll do introductions."

    I awkwardly collected a bowl of rice, some miso soup, and an omelet before sitting at the open space at the table. Venus curled around my feet, and I separated half of both the rice and the omelet onto another plate and put it for her to eat.

    The tension at the table seemed to lessen at that, and a small smile even moved Professor Rowan¡¯s mustache a little.

    ¡°Alina, I¡¯d like to introduce you to a few people, my assistants. First of all we have George.¡± The man who looked an awful lot like Lucas nodded, and I gave a tentative smile. ¡°Then we have Yuzo, Hikaru, Alto, and Sheryl.¡±

    The rest of the group all smiled and murmured their greetings.

    ¡°Alina will be staying with us for a little while until some paperwork and things are sorted out. She¡¯s a new Trainer, so please be gentle with her.¡±

    I blinked at the actual humor in his voice. In fact, he seemed positively friendly and relaxed, which was a stark difference to how he had been at the old campsite.

    ¡°Uh, nice to meet you all.¡± I said, already forgetting most of their names in the anxiety of meeting so many people at once. ¡°Oh, and this here is Venus.¡±

    The Pok¨¦mon in question raised her head at hearing her name spoken, and chirped cheerfully.

    With the introductions done, the assistants turned back to their food or conversations, and I breathed a silent sigh of relief and started digging into the food. Despite not being my normal breakfast fare, it was a lot better than Pecha Berries, and I eagerly gobbled it down as quickly as was polite. Mostly I just kept my head down while the others were talking, and soon enough they started drifting away from the table to go do¡­ whatever it was Pok¨¦mon researchers did.

    Soon it was just me and Professor Rowan left, as well as George the assistant.

    ¡°So, uh, what should I be doing professor?¡± I asked a bit awkwardly.

    ¡°Like I said the other day, Jenny has some questions for you and I¡¯ve arranged a phone call for today to get the details sorted out. Besides that? Try not to stress yourself or Venus out too much, relax if you can.¡±

    At my frown he continued.

    ¡°You¡¯ve been through a very difficult experience, you need time to just rest and process. Get to know Venus better. I have a book on Eevee that you might be interested in. Well, several books and academic papers, the Eevee line is of particular interest to me.¡±

    ¡°That would be great.¡± I said honestly. ¡°While I know a bit about Venus here, I have a lot of background knowledge that wasn¡¯t exactly covered. I mean, grooming, feeding, biology, I¡¯m pretty much a stranger to all of this.¡±

    ¡°Alina here was born on a small island off of Unova.¡± Professor Rowan said to the quite perplexed looking George. ¡°They had very few Pok¨¦mon, and she¡¯s still getting used to being a trainer.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± George said, his confusion fading. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not particularly familiar with the Eevee line myself, but if you have any questions I¡¯ll be happy to help you. Should I show her to the library?¡±

    The last bit was directed at the professor, and he nodded. ¡°That would be a good idea. Oh, and Alina I would also recommend talking with Nurse Joy at the Pok¨¦mon Center, she should be able to help you figure out an optimal diet plan for Venus there as well as give her a more thorough check up than what we gave her at the campsite.¡±

    ¡°Is¡­ is that going to be a problem?¡± I asked carefully. ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t have my documents yet¡­¡±

    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be. Pok¨¦mon Centers are famously neutral after all, and the Joy Clan is dedicated to staying out of politics and focusing on healing. If it is a problem have her call here, she¡¯ll know the number, and I¡¯ll explain the situation.¡±

    I looked down at Venus happily gobbling up the rice and omelet on the plate, and couldn¡¯t help but think of another Pok¨¦mon who was so happy to eat just rice.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go to the Pok¨¦mon Center first.¡± I said softly. ¡°I want to make sure she¡¯ll be okay from now on.¡±

    Professor Rowan smiled, and it felt like I had passed a test of some kind.

    /^\

    ¡°Hello, and welcome to the Pok¨¦mon Center!¡±

    I tried not to stare at the pink haired woman in front of me, I really did. Commissioner Jenny had enough of an age difference that she was obviously related to the Officer Jenny¡¯s from the shows, but not the same. Even Professor Rowan seemed different somehow. But Nurse Joy¡­

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    It seemed like she had just stepped out of the anime, and that was really messing with my head for some reason. It might have been the bright pink hair that obviously couldn¡¯t exist in real life, but just as obviously wasn¡¯t dyed.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re hurt!¡± She said, thankfully oblivious to my momentary disassociation from reality.

    ¡°What? Oh, no, this has already been looked at.¡± I pointed at my face, and she relaxed a little bit. ¡°No, I¡¯m actually here about my Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    ¡°Of course! We offer all kinds of aid and support to Pok¨¦mon, what can we do for you today?¡±

    ¡°Well, this one here needs just a general check-up, and I¡¯d like some advice on care.¡±

    Venus on my shoulder growled unhappily, she hadn¡¯t been as thrilled about the idea of going to the Pok¨¦mon Center as I had - even though she had never actually been to one. I had tried to explain what it would be like, and in hindsight I could definitely have worded it better. ¡°Poking and prodding to make sure you¡¯re healthy¡± wasn¡¯t the best way to convince her to go.

    ¡°Oh why you¡¯re just the most precious thing!¡± Nurse Joy gushed at Venus. ¡°Look at how fluffy you are! Of course we can make sure you¡¯re doing okay, please come with me.¡±

    Venus preened at the compliment, and I could tell that Nurse Joy was a natural when it came to Pok¨¦mon. Which made a lot of sense, honestly.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have to make an appointment?¡±

    The nurse laughed. ¡°Oh no, of course not. I¡¯m sure in some of the larger cities like Jubilife you would, but with how small Sandgem is we can easily take walk-ins. Of course if there¡¯s an emergency I¡¯ll have to step out, but I think we should be fine.¡±

    Sharing a look with Venus, I shrugged and followed Nurse Joy around the counter and through a door, walking down a short corridor before we came to an exam room. The nurse had a clipboard, and was asking me questions and writing as we walked.

    ¡°And what¡¯s this one¡¯s name?¡±

    ¡°Venus.¡± I said.

    ¡°Venus, how interesting. I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever heard it before. Like Venusaur?¡±

    ¡°Er, not quite.¡±

    ¡°And what Venus¡¯ gender?¡±

    ¡°Female.¡±

    ¡°How old is she?¡±

    ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t actually know.¡±

    Nurse Joy gave me an inquisitive look.

    ¡°She¡¯s a recent rescue.¡± I explained. ¡°Some poachers had caught her, and I helped save her.¡±

    ¡°Oh no, how terrible.¡± She said. ¡°Well, that¡¯s alright then. I can try and help you with that as much as I can. Miss Venus, would you mind stepping on this scale for me?¡±

    Venus gave her a skeptical look, and Nurse Joy returned an incredibly polite smile. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what, if you be polite and work with me, I¡¯ll give you some Poffins, how does that sound?¡±

    The little Eevee¡¯s head quirked to the side.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right I¡¯m so sorry. If you were just wild until just recently, you wouldn¡¯t know what a Poffin is! Here, have one now, see if you like it.¡±

    Nurse Joy reached into a jar on the counter and pulled out a small pink pastry, and Venus¡¯ ears immediately perked up. Cautiously she hopped down off of my shoulder, coming forwards and sniffing at the food. She reached to bite it, then stopped and looked back to me, a worried expression on her face.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I nodded for her to go ahead. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that Nurse Joy would never do anything to hurt a Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The woman in question chirped, and Venus eagerly snatched the food, devouring the pastry in a couple quick bites. ¡°So, do we have a deal?¡±

    Venus thought about it for a few seconds, then eagerly nodded.

    ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s start the examination!¡±

    /^\

    It took a little longer than I thought it would to go through everything, but eventually Nurse Joy was satisfied with how Venus was doing. The Pok¨¦mon in question was also quite satisfied, and was currently dozing in my arms after stuffing herself with Poffins.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest Ms. Knighton, I¡¯m glad you came to see me.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yes, while Venus here is relatively healthy, there are several things I¡¯m worried about. First of all, she¡¯s thinner than I would like.¡±

    ¡°She is?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Do you know how long those evil poachers had her imprisoned?¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°That¡¯s could have made things a bit easier, but no matter. They obviously weren¡¯t feeding her enough, and based on the condition of her coat and her gums I would also say they weren¡¯t giving her the right foods either. She¡¯s definitely malnourished.¡±

    Frowning, I kept petting Venus, making sure she was happy and asleep instead of listening to the uncomfortable news.

    "Is it that bad?"

    "Yes and no. It¡¯s a little hard to tell because of the malnourishment, but I would say she¡¯s on the small size of the scale for Eevee of her age. Which is probably around eight months old, if I had to guess.¡±

    ¡°That young?¡±

    Nurse Joy smiled. ¡°Like I said, that¡¯s just an estimate. But she¡¯s definitely not a year old yet as far as I can tell.¡±

    I frowned, thinking of my old dog. ¡°Just¡­ how long does an Eevee live anyways? If she only has a few years left¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry yourself about that, Pok¨¦mon can have quite the long lifespan after all. In the wild things are different, but Trainer-bonded Pok¨¦mon tend to live as long as their Trainers do. There are several exceptions, such as Ninetales, but Venus here will be your companion for a long time yet.¡±

    Some part of me that I didn¡¯t realize was tensed relaxed, and I smiled down at the little Pok¨¦mon in my arms.

    ¡°And I must say, the care you show to her is very reassuring.¡±

    ¡°She saved me.¡± I said simply. ¡°In more ways than one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how you know the bond you have is real. Pok¨¦mon save you, and you save them.¡±

    ¡°So she¡¯s malnourished, is there anything else wrong with her?¡±

    ¡°No, not that I can tell. No parasites or diseases thankfully, and she seems fit enough. Some exercise and training will do her well I think, but mostly the food issue is what I¡¯m worried about.¡±

    ¡°What should I be feeding her?¡±

    At this Nurse Joy pursed her lips. ¡°There are two main routes that Trainers go about this, and I¡¯m going to have to ask what you plan to do with her.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Are you planning on being a Coordinator, or a battle Trainer? Or are you simply planning on keeping her as a companion?¡±

    The question caught me off guard, since it so closely mirrored my own worries about the future. Just what was I going to do from now on? Did I want to try all of the gyms, and shoot for being the Champion? That was a possibility, however slim it really seemed. I didn¡¯t even know if the Championship worked the same way here as it did in the games, and even if it did I didn¡¯t want to go up against Cynthia¡¯s Garchomp. That thing was a monster.

    ¡°I think¡­ I would like to at least try some gyms.¡± I said eventually. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I really want to do and I¡¯d have to check with Venus first, but while I don¡¯t think I want to make my career out of battling I¡¯ve been at the mercy of people with Pok¨¦mon before. I don¡¯t want that to happen to me or Venus ever again.¡±

    Nurse Joy nodded seriously. ¡°In that case I¡¯d recommend doing cooking for her. The two options I mentioned are pre-made Pok¨¦ Chow and handmade food. The Pok¨¦ Chow is fine for companions who don¡¯t do much battling or competitions, but when it comes to general health and especially for battling Pok¨¦mon? Handmade is the preferred option. It does tend to cost more, and take longer of course, but it¡¯s what I would recommend.¡±

    Mulling the words over, I nodded. ¡°I want what¡¯s best for her.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. I can appreciate a Trainer who listens.¡± Nurse Joy flashed a dazzling smile. ¡°It makes my life so much easier!¡±

    ¡°So what would you recommend?¡±

    At this she hummed in thought. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of different options for Pok¨¦mon, since none are what you can consider standard. Eevee is a Normal type Pok¨¦mon, and is in the Field egg group, but there¡¯s quite the diversity in both groups.¡±

    ¡°If it helps, I am working with Professor Rowan.¡±

    ¡°As a matter of fact, it does! While the Pok¨¦mon Center does it¡¯s best to maintain a good library, since we can see so many different kinds of Pok¨¦mon we can¡¯t have a lot of specialist texts. I can write down the names of some books to get you started, the professor should have them.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯d be great, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Of course, recommendations are but one of the many services we offer here at the Pok¨¦mon Center. I can also write up an exercise plan to help you get started. But what I¡¯ve heard however, I would recommend that you take it easy for some time to recover.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what Professor Rowan suggested.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not a Pok¨¦mon Professor for nothing! He knows what he¡¯s talking about, even if he never did get a degree in Pok¨¦mon Health Sciences like all of us in the Joy Clan. But eventually if you are going to travel, exercise is important. Especially if you are serious about battling, although if you want to battle competitively you¡¯ll probably have to come up with your own personalized training regime, although there certainly are plenty of resources out there to help you in that.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll look into that. Is there anything else for now?¡±

    She thought for a moment, then shook her head. ¡°Let me write down those books, the exercise plan, and some recipes, just to get you started.

    Nurse Joy got out some paper and started writing while I continued to pet Venus.

    ¡°By the way,¡± she said, a strange edge to her voice. ¡°Just an idle curiosity, but have you thought about what evolutionary path you¡¯re going to have Venus take?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I said honestly. ¡°She seems to like the water, but she might have just been really dirty when I washed her. I figure I¡¯ll just let her decide what she wants.¡±

    ¡°Oh good, that¡¯s what I was hoping you¡¯d say." The edge faded into a genuine smile, tinged with sadness. "A lot of Eevee owners tend to force evolutions onto their Pok¨¦mon. One of the most heartbreaking examples I remember was when a Trainer released their Sylveon because they wanted a Flareon, and just hadn¡¯t saved up enough to buy a Fire Stone yet.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s terrible! Don¡¯t Sylveon only evolve when they love their trainers?¡±

    Nurse Joy nodded seriously. ¡°Legally we couldn¡¯t do anything, considering he was technically within his legal rights to do so, but unofficially he found a lot of Trainers who refused to battle with him and he was effectively blacklisted within the region. Of course, his Pok¨¦mon were all given the best of care, The Joy Clan has to remain neutral, after all.¡±

    I shuddered at the sheer venom in her tone. I was sure that those Pok¨¦mon were well looked after, but I equally as sure that the Trainer had come across a lot of red tape. Mentally I made a note to never anger a Nurse Joy.

    ¡°But I¡¯m sure you would never do something like that, considering how well you treat Venus now. Here¡¯s your lists, and thank you for visiting the Pok¨¦mon Center! Please be sure to think of us for all of your Pok¨¦mon related needs!¡±

    I put the note into my back pocket, and Venus grumbled as I had to move her to do so.

    ¡°And for you little one, since you were so good!¡± Nurse Joy pulled out another Poffin, and Venus immediately perked up, scarfing down the pastry. ¡°I wrote down the recipe on there.¡±

    She said with a wink, and I smiled back thankfully at her. Looking at how much Venus seemed to love the treat, I felt like there was a lot of baking in my future.

 Chapter Eleven

    The book landed on the table with a heavy thump, and I rubbed my eyes.

    ¡°You know, I think every time I finish one book, somebody¡¯s put two more into my ¡°to-do¡± pile.¡± I told Venus, who was dozing on the chair next to me.

    In response she yawned, revealing tiny, sharp teeth, and blinking up at me questioningly.

    ¡°I mean, who knew there were so many books written about Eevee?¡±

    Venus whuffed happily from besides me, as if all of the books I had been reading in the past few days had been written about her specifically.

    Basic Biology of Eevee and their Evolutions: Sixth Edition With Added Notes on Sylveon and the Reclassification of Fairy-Type Pok¨¦mon had been an incredibly dry read, if informative. It joined Dietary Needs of Small Mammalian Pok¨¦mon of the Field Group, Basic Battling Guide: Ninth Edition, A People¡¯s History of Sinnoh, and Ancient Myths and Legends of the Hisui Region, along with a variety of more smaller books and pamphlets focused on how to raise and train Pok¨¦mon in general, and Eevee in particular.

    Some of it had been fascinating, but most of it had been exhausting to try and get through. Two weeks had passed since I had gotten to Professor Rowan¡¯s lab, and I¡¯d spent most the time catching up on all of the information that people would normally know in this world. When I wasn¡¯t reading or sleeping, I was normally watching the TV, trying to catch up on the more recent history.

    As it turned out I entered into the Pok¨¦mon world on June 1<sup>st</sup>, having just missed the Sinnoh Grand Festival and Lily of the Valley Conference, and the Sinnoh Pok¨¦mon League was now in the off-season.

    Apparently things ran a little differently than they did in the games or the anime, and the league season was technically nine months long. The last month was dedicated to the region¡¯s Pok¨¦mon League Conference, so really it was more like eight months long except for those few who had been skilled or lucky enough to gather all the necessary badges to compete in the conference.

    The other three or four months were used for rest, training, and catching more Pok¨¦mon to compete in the next year¡¯s conference.

    More importantly for me however, I found out that Ash Ketchum was a real person. Like, an actual figure, somebody who wasn¡¯t just an anime icon. That had been a bit of a shock, and after a little bit I had finally managed to wrap my head around the fact that one of my childhood heroes was an actual person.

    Also as it turns out, he was seventeen years old. Now that was a surprise, and challenged a lot of things I had thought I knew about Pok¨¦mon. After a flurry of research, it turned out that the starting age for Pok¨¦mon trainers was not ten years old like the anime said, instead it was fifteen, or fourteen with parental consent.

    That made so much more sense. Pok¨¦mon was primarily a Japanese property after all, and students were allowed to quit school and join the work force at fifteen there. If they could join the work force in our boring world, they could become a Trainer here. Also, it removed a lot of my concerns about kids going out into the world at ten years old. Regardless of anime and young kids¡¯ media, ten really was too young to risk life and limb. Even fifteen was pushing it, but it was more acceptable.

    Another thing I learned was that most people didn¡¯t really go on a Journey, or if they did, it was only to gather three or so badges. Going for the full eight badges and the Pok¨¦mon League Conference was something only serious trainers did, and they normally had sponsors or somebody to pay the training bills. Like I had seen myself, training a Pok¨¦mon was expensive, and if you weren¡¯t working full time the costs would add up fast. Adding a full roster of six Pok¨¦mon, many of whom would have to be fully evolved in order to be competitive? It was a lot of money that most people didn¡¯t have access to.

    No, when most people turned fifteen they would spend a few months traveling the local area, maybe racking up a few gym badges, then went back to school. Their Pok¨¦mon would normally be a family pet, one of the region¡¯s three starters if they had scored well enough on the qualifying exams, or if they were lucky a Pok¨¦mon they had caught themselves.

    I was in a bit of a unique spot though. I had no school or life to keep me from going the distance, really it was the money that was holding me back. I was also significantly older than most people who went on Journeys, although there was a few who went on one as a mid-life crisis.

    Regardless of whether or not I was going to try for the Championship, or just get a few badges then settle down, there was no way I was going to try and meet Ash. No way. Even if most of the things that surrounded him were exaggerated anime wackiness, there was simply way too many crazy events and coincidences to count, and I was going to stay away for my own health and safety.

    Regardless, Ash and the rest of his merry band were nowhere to be seen in the Sinnoh conference season so far. After some subtle researching online, I found that he was currently in Hoenn, which to my embarrassment seemed obvious in hindsight. Jirachi, the Pok¨¦mon that had most likely brought me here, was native to that region after all, and from what I could remember of Pok¨¦mon: Jirachi, Wish Maker, that¡¯s where Ash and the gang had saved it from being forced to create a Groudon knock-off.

    Which was another thing I would have to deal with sooner rather than later. I was still trying to figure out how to broaching the fact that I had knowledge that nobody else had. So far it hadn¡¯t come up yet, but it was starting to nag at me.

    Of course I didn¡¯t spend all of my time reading and watching TV, and Venus and I got out a lot more than I ever had back in my old world. We dedicated at least two hours each day to just walking around Sandgem Town, or exploring some of the local forest trails. We had been warned about wild Pok¨¦mon, but while I had seen plenty they didn¡¯t want to seem to bother with us. Mostly because we left them alone instead of trying to attack them.

    As well, we had figured out Venus¡¯ move pool for when we would eventually begin battling. Much to my pleasant surprise, it turned out that only having four moves was something that was only in the video games. Of course there was a lot of debate in the battling community on whether it was better to have a lot of moves that weren¡¯t perfect, or only a few moves that had been completely mastered by the Pok¨¦mon. I didn¡¯t have an opinion since I had only been here for less than a month, but I was leaning towards the idea of fewer, but better moves.

    So far Venus knew Covet, Tackle, Growl, Tail Whip, and Sand Attack. We hadn¡¯t done much training yet, still listening to Professor Rowan¡¯s and Nurse Joy¡¯s orders, but I could tell that Eevee was starting to feel better as she ate more, and we had been going on longer and longer walks to try and burn off some of her playful energy.

    ¡°Professor!¡± A new voice called, and both Venus and I looked up from the stack of books towards the commotion. ¡°Dad! Where are you guys?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s more interesting than,¡± I peered at the next book on my list to read. ¡°Comparative Evolutionary Strategies of Normal Type Pok¨¦mon with Special Emphasis on Evolutionary Stones.¡±

    Venus nodded in agreement, and hopped off of her chair, and I eagerly followed her. Professor Rowan¡¯s library in his lab didn¡¯t have any actual librarians, so it was fine to just leave the books out for a little bit.

    Making our way to the front of the lab, I was struck by yet another familiar sight. A young boy, perhaps fifteen years old, was standing next to younger girl. They were also both the player characters of the Diamond and Pearl games, Lucas and Dawn. There was an incredibly strange feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu as I stared at them, considering I had been both of them, or at least played them in their games. Sure I had known that they existed, George constantly talked up his son¡¯s achievements, but seeing them was another thing.

    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!

    ¡°Oh!¡± Lucas said as he noticed me. ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°Er, hi.¡±

    ¡°Who are you? Are you one of the professor¡¯s new assistants?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly. I¡¯m just living with the professor until some bureaucratic things get taken care of. You¡¯re Lucas, right? George¡¯s son?¡±

    The young man blushed, scratching the back of his head. ¡°Ah ha yeah, that¡¯s me. I hope he hasn¡¯t been spreading too many stories about me. But that means you must be Alina!¡±

    I blinked. ¡°Yeah, how did you know?¡±

    ¡°This must be for you then!¡± Lucas pulled off his bag and rooted around in it for a second before pulling out a thick envelope, handing it to me. ¡°On my way back through Jubilife I was picked up by the police! I thought I was in a lot of trouble, and that was before I was taken to see Commissioner Jenny! Luckily she just wanted to know if I was heading back home, and if I was she asked if I could deliver this to you.¡±

    The boy shivered. ¡°Boy, she can be scary!¡±

    I took the envelope, turning it over in my hands. There was really only one thing it could be, my paperwork to help me actually exist in this world, but I wasn¡¯t expecting it nearly so quickly. Judging by how long it took to get a replacement social security card, I had thought that I would be waiting for months, not weeks.

    ¡°Oh, and this is Dawn!¡± Lucas said, gesturing at the girl. ¡±We know each other, so she decided to tag along too since she was heading in the same direction.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± I said, inclining my head towards her.

    ¡°Nice to meet you too Ms. Alina.¡±

    ¡°Knighton is my last name, so please just call me Alina.¡±

    ¡°I gotta say, your Eevee is gorgeous!¡± Dawn said, looking at Venus, who preened under the compliment.

    ¡°Well thank you. Her name is Venus, she¡¯s still pretty young.¡±

    ¡°So what¡¯s in there?¡± Lucas cut in, pointing at the envelope.

    ¡°Lucas!¡± Dawn chided. ¡°You can¡¯t just go around asking people that kind of private information! We talked about this.¡±

    ¡°Well I didn¡¯t open it! That should count for something shouldn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I said, appeasing the young woman, I had to get used to my cover story anyways and Professor Rowan and I had worked on it over the past couple of weeks. ¡°It¡¯s just some paperwork. I¡¯m originally from a small island off of Unova, but I got teleported here somehow.¡±

    Two pairs of wide eyes stared up at me in amazement.

    ¡°That¡¯s totally Alakazam!¡± Lucas said, and I blinked at him.

    ¡°I actually don¡¯t think it was an Alakazam, but I don¡¯t remember.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mind him.¡± Dawn sighed. ¡°Alakazam is just slang for ¡°really cool.¡± Personally, I think it¡¯s terrifying to be teleported like that, I don¡¯t know how Psychic type trainers do it.¡±

    She shuddered, but I was suddenly feeling very old, and very out of place. I hadn¡¯t been anywhere near caught up with the slang back home, and I realized that now I had absolutely no idea what any of the kids would be saying.

    ¡°So Alina, do you have any stories to tell? How many badges do you have? Is that Eevee your only Pok¨¦mon? And do you want to battle?¡±

    The barrage of questions from Lucas took me by surprise, and I almost took a literal step back at how many there were.

    ¡°Uh, in reverse order, no thanks, yes she¡¯s my only Pok¨¦mon, I don¡¯t have any badges, and no stories really.¡±

    Both Dawn and Lucas looked at me skeptically.

    ¡°But you¡¯re old.¡± Lucas said, stabbing me in the heart with his words.

    ¡°Lucas!¡± George called, and the boy visibly recoiled as his father and Professor Rowan came striding into view. ¡°What did I tell you about bothering innocent people? Keep this up and I¡¯m going to think you¡¯re one of those Team Rocket grunts from Kanto!¡±

    ¡°Dad!¡±

    Lucas broke out into a massive smile and threw himself at his father, who caught him easily and lifted him up into the air, laughing the entire time. Dawn for her part smiled up at Professor Rowan, and he extended his hand for her to shake.

    ¡°Dawn, it¡¯s nice to see you again.¡±

    ¡°Professor.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s your father?¡±

    ¡°Good, thank you for asking.¡±

    I blinked, surprised at the mention of Dawn¡¯s father. He had never been mentioned in the games or anime as far as I could recall. At my confused expression, Professor Rowan coughed while Dawn looked down, face red with clear embarrassment.

    ¡°My mom lives here.¡± She explained quietly. ¡°But my dad helps tell the weather for Jubilife TV.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± I said, a bit embarrassed now myself, but I recovered quickly enough. ¡°I get it. My own parents were¡­ separated too.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± She perked up a little bit, and I remembered that the more traditional elements of Japan tended to frown on divorce.

    I guess a lot of things transferred over to this world.

    ¡°Yeah, it was hard, but if you want I can tell you about it some more later.¡±

    A shy smile worked its way onto her face. ¡°I would like that, thank you.¡±

    ¡°And you Lucas!¡± Professor Rowan called as the boy was put back on the ground. ¡°Did you do any of what I told you, or did you laze about the entire time?¡±

    ¡°What, me? Never!¡±

    Lucas dug into his bag and pulled out a very worn looking notebook, as well as a Pok¨¦Dex. ¡°Here are all of the notes I¡¯ve taken over the past nine months! There¡¯s a bunch of good stuff in there, especially regarding Eevee!"

    ¡°Oh?¡± The professor looked amused while he was took the offerings. ¡°And what did you find?¡±

    ¡°I went around collecting the stories and legends like you told me to! I did a lot of interviews, but it seems like Eevee tend to evolve into Leafeon in the Eterna Forest, while Glaceon are most commonly found just south of Snowpoint City!¡±

    ¡°And did you find out what caused them to evolve so?¡±

    ¡°In Eterna Forest there was this very interesting rock that seemed to exude the same kind of Type Radiation found in Leaf Stones. I think that before Leaf Stones became more available, this rock was used as a pilgrimage of sorts for people who wanted Leafeon.¡±

    ¡°And the Glaceon?¡±

    Lucas coughed, seeming embarrassed. ¡°Well, uh, I thought I saw a similar rock but it was in somebody¡¯s yard and they wouldn¡¯t let me take a closer look.¡±

    ¡°You can get the same effect with an Ice Stone.¡± I said without thinking, remembering the Sun and Moon games. ¡°They normally use them in Alola for Sandshrew, or more rarely for Vulpix.¡±

    That drew considerable attention from the researchers.

    ¡°You know about that?¡± Lucas asked, stunned. ¡°I mean, I had heard stories from an Alolan who moved here so I wrote them down, but I couldn¡¯t be sure.¡±

    ¡°I thought you said you were Unovan?¡± Dawn asked curiously. ¡°Not Alolan?¡±

    I froze, trying to think of an answer that wouldn¡¯t immediately contradict anything I had said before. That was made considerably harder because I didn¡¯t remember what I had said earlier in the conversation.

    ¡°Alina here, despite what she may say, has traveled quite a bit.¡± Professor Rowan said, riding to my rescue. ¡°As such she has a¡­ varied array of knowledge. It is true though, Ice Stones can be used to evolve an Eevee into a Glaceon. People just don''t know about it as much since Ice Stones are one of the more expensive evolutionary stones, and harder to find in the wild."

    Lucas seemed to take that at face value, although Dawn gave me a speculative look that made shivers run down my back. Who could have thought that eleven year-old¡¯s could be so scary?

    ¡°Dawn, are you going to stay for lunch?¡± Professor Rowan asked, and the girl hesitated, obviously torn.

    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head. ¡°I should probably get going. I told my mom I was going to be home as soon as possible, and I¡¯ve already delayed enough.¡±

    She glared at Lucas, who shrugged.

    ¡°Hey, you didn¡¯t have to look for that shiny Bidoof with me if you didn¡¯t want to.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t even shiny!¡± She said, stamping one foot on the ground. ¡°It had just gotten into a Combee nest and was covered with honey! We nearly got stung to death because you insisted on checking to be sure!¡±

    ¡°But we didn¡¯t.¡± Lucas said with the sing-song tone of a teenage boy who didn¡¯t really understand his own mortality.

    ¡°Why you- Argh!¡± Dawn took a deep breath, then turned back to Professor Rowan who was clearly struggling to withhold a grin. ¡°Thank you professor, but I¡¯m going to have to refuse for now.¡±

    ¡°Alright Dawn, I hope you have a safe journey back. Be so kind as to let me know when you do get to your mother¡¯s?¡±

    ¡°I can do that professor!¡± She gave a polite bow, then turned to me and smiled. ¡°It was nice to meet you Alina! Can we exchange Pok¨¦tch numbers?¡±

    She held up her arm, with a fancy pink watch on it. I coughed and showed my own wrist, completely bare.

    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t have one. But maybe you can come and visit again soon so we can talk.¡±

    ¡°Of course! I¡¯d like that a lot! Well, see you later then!¡±

    ¡°Professor?¡± George asked, looking at Rowan.

    ¡°Go on,¡± the older man said. ¡°Coming home is just as important as leaving for a young Trainer like Lucas here, he deserves to be with his family.¡±

    ¡°C¡¯mon kid.¡± George said, ruffling his son¡¯s hair. ¡°Let¡¯s go home, your mom is eager to see you!¡±

    ¡°Okay! It was nice meeting you Alina!¡±

    The two of them departed just as quickly as Dawn had, leaving me and Professor Rowan standing outside the lab and watching the forms disappear into the distance.

    ¡°They¡¯re so young.¡± I said quietly, staring after them.

    ¡°And you¡¯re not?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m twenty-three! I¡¯m at least eight years older than they are.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m nearly forty years older than you are. To me, you¡¯re all children. Are things that different where you come from?¡±

    I was silent for a long moment, thinking about home. ¡°Yeah. Most kids don¡¯t leave the house until they¡¯re eighteen. Some of us leave a little bit sooner than that, but the Journey¡¯s like you have here? It¡¯s very rare to see a kid go out on their own so young.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure whether that¡¯s better or not. There¡¯s a certain¡­ independent spirit that¡¯s fostered at that age. As well, it¡¯s a good time in a person¡¯s life to explore the world, to figure out who they are, and who they want to be. Being with Pok¨¦mon tends to help them in that regard. At the same time however, I do sometimes wonder if it¡¯s too young. It can be a dangerous world out there, as you yourself know.¡±

    We stood there in silence, until he gestured at the door back inside. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get some food, and go over that paperwork.¡±

 Chapter Twelve

    To: Alina Knighton,

    The Pok¨¦mon League of Sinnoh is pleased to accept you into our ranks as an official Pok¨¦mon Trainer. It is a badge of honor that many share, and we hope you shall wear it with pride. As of this date (9 June 2004) you are hereby entitled to participate in all Pok¨¦mon League sponsored events, providing you meet the relevant prerequisites.

    The enclosed Trainer Identification Card (ID Card) is the only valid form of identification accepted at official Pok¨¦mon League events, and also functions as an official government ID Card for the region of Sinnoh. If you wish to travel to other regions, you will still have to apply for a government issued passport (excepting the Four Badge Rule, see Pok¨¦mon League Guidelines Volume 2, Chapter 8, Section 2 for more relevant details.)

    As a Trainer you have various responsibilities, including but not limited to: Assisting local Pok¨¦mon Rangers if requested, assisting local Police Officers if requested, assisting local Emergency Services if requested, assisting Ace Trainers if requested, and assisting Gym Leaders if requested. Further details can be found in the Pok¨¦mon League Guidelines Volume 1, Chapter 9, Section 7, Subsection A.

    If this ID Card is lost, stolen, or otherwise damaged, please visit your nearest Pok¨¦mon Center for an explanation and replacement. If you suspect this ID Card has been stolen, please contact the authorities immediately and report the theft.

    Congratulations on becoming a Trainer. This is an exciting period in any Trainer¡¯s life, and we here at the Pok¨¦mon League wish you all the best in your travels. With trust in yourself and your Pok¨¦mon, I¡¯m sure that you can overcome any challenge.

    Best of luck,

    Cynthia (Sinnoh Pok¨¦mon Champion)

    I re-read the letter for the third time, before putting it down and examining the ID card that had been included in the envelope. It was probably the worst photo I¡¯d ever had taken of me, considering that it had been taken shortly after I had gotten to Rowan¡¯s lab, so the bruise on my face was still an ugly shade of green-yellow, and my scars stood out as angry red lines. It honestly looked more like a prison photo instead of an official ID.

    Thankfully Rowan said that I could have the photo changed for a small fee, but I also wanted to be very careful with my money. The rest of my reward money had come in, minus the twenty-thousand that I had been given by Professor Rowan, and I had made a quick trip down to the Bank of Sinnoh to establish an account and get a debit card. I now had eighty-thousand dollars in a bank account, but no actual income so as soon as I spent that money it was gone. At least, until I managed to find a job or something to pay me.

    ¡°Say professor?¡± I asked as I idly stroked Venus¡¯ fur as she lay on my lap. ¡°What¡¯s the Four Badge Rule?¡±

    ¡°Ah, an excellent question. Most people who go on their journey usually get three badges to their name before they return home. That¡¯s mostly due to the fact that Gym Leaders go easy on newer Trainers until their third badge, when things start getting more difficult. Where the rule comes in is that for the most part the Pok¨¦mon League tries to ensure that Pok¨¦mon don¡¯t spread too far outside of their natural habitat, lest they become an invasive species.¡±

    ¡°Oh, so if a Trainer has four badges, then it¡¯s assumed that they¡¯re at least capable enough to control their Pok¨¦mon to stop it from, uh, laying some more eggs?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s exactly right. With proof of four badges, then a Trainer¡¯s ID Card can double as a passport, allowing them access to other regions.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± I said, looking at my card again. ¡°That¡¯s good to know.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, I remember you stating that you might want to try some gym challenges. I would recommend it personally, since many places of work tend to look at badges as an indicator of worth. To actually ask the question, do you think you¡¯ll attempt the gym challenges when they reopen in September?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think I will. I don¡¯t know if I want to go for the full eight badges though.¡±

    The Hoenn region hadn¡¯t had their own conference yet, that was held in November. After that Ash Ketchum should be going to the Battle Frontier for a while, then if everything went according to plan, he should be arriving in Sinnoh sometime next year. The timing should work out to where I hopefully wouldn¡¯t be in the same region as him.

    ¡°How does the season opening work anyways?¡±

    ¡°They have a big ceremony. A day of festivities, fireworks, it¡¯s an event. After the ceremony I¡¯ll hand out Starter Pok¨¦mon to the new crop of challengers, and there will be eight months for people to get the eight badges necessary to take place in the Lily of the Valley Conference.¡±

    ¡°Say, about those Starter Pok¨¦mon,¡± I said, trying to sound casual.

    ¡°Unfortunately you already have a Pok¨¦mon.¡± He said. ¡°They¡¯re reserved for those who don¡¯t have their own, and need the extra help if they so choose. Or those who have scored high enough on the exams that were offered last year.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine! I don¡¯t need one!¡± I said hastily, although Venus was already giving me a bit of a stink-eye. ¡°I was just wondering.¡±

    ¡°But I think I do have an idea of what I want to do.¡± I continued, thinking about some of the plans that had been percolating in my head over the past couple of weeks.

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Say, do you have a map?¡±

    /^\

    Professor Rowan, as it turned out, had several maps, and he was gracious enough to let me have one and a marker so I could plan my trip.

    I had played Pok¨¦mon Platinum almost religiously as a kid, having saved up enough money from doing odd jobs around town to buy a DS Lite and the game from a used game store. I knew almost all of the tips and tricks, and was hoping that the bit of information I was currently remembering remained true.

    ¡°What¡¯s so special about Oreburgh City?¡± Lucas asked as he leaned over my map.

    The kid had been spending more time in the lab over the past couple of days, which made sense considering he was technically a research assistant for Professor Rowan. Unfortunately for me, it mostly meant that he followed me around, asking a bunch of questions.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to be my base of operations for a little while, at least until I find what I¡¯m looking for.¡±

    ¡°And what are you looking for?¡±

    I tapped the side of my nose. ¡°That¡¯s for me to know, and you to find out.¡±

    He pouted at me, which wasn¡¯t nearly so cute as when Venus did it.

    ¡°Oh come on Alina, you can tell me!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t actually think I can. At least, I don¡¯t want to get in trouble if the word gets out about it.¡±

    ¡°Gets out about what?¡±

    ¡°Nice try kid.¡±

    ¡°You suck!¡± He stuck his tongue out at me, and I had to remind myself again that he was only a kid.

    ¡°Yeah I do.¡±

    The truth of the matter was that Oreburgh City was only the first step in my plans. It was a couple day journey from Sandgem to Oreburgh, but my real goal was the route just above the city, Route 206. Or rather, what was underneath it.

    I had looked on Pok¨¦Battles, the major forum on the nascent internet that could be found here, and a lot of Trainers knew about the Wayward Cave, and the rare Pok¨¦mon like Bronzor that could be found there. But from my extensive research into the matter over the past couple of days, I hadn¡¯t seen one single reference to the lower levels of the cave accessible by a hidden entrance under the Cycling Road. It made sense that the information would be kept quiet by those who knew about it, since it was the only place in Sinnoh that you could find Gible in the wild.

    I loved Venus, I really did, and the Eeveelutions were some of my favorite Pok¨¦mon in the game. But at the same time, who didn¡¯t want a dragon on their team? Garchomp were beasts, no matter how you looked at it, and if I could add one to my team¡­ Well I wasn¡¯t looking to beat Cynthia or anything, but it would certainly be a good start if I was.

    Besides, Gible were cute. They were basically a big mouth and some stumpy legs, and who didn¡¯t want that?

    ¡°Will you battle me now Alina?¡± Lucas whined. ¡°You¡¯ve been saying that you would for days now.¡±

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    I frowned, but the kid was telling the truth. I had mostly told him that I would battle him to keep him off my back, but it had backfired and now he was endlessly pleading with me to fight his Pok¨¦mon.

    The truth of the matter was that I didn¡¯t want to battle, not really. Sure I had done it before with the Riolu against Hawg, and with Havoc against Terror, Kane¡¯s Mightyena, but those weren¡¯t good memories. And I didn¡¯t want to see Venus get hurt, but a conversation I had had with Professor Rowan a week ago came back to me.

    ¡°Pok¨¦mon want to battle.¡± He had said when I had brought up the topic. ¡°Not just for their Trainers, but for themselves, especially wild-caught Pok¨¦mon. In the wild, they battle for play, for food, for position, or just for exercise. You might not have to battle all the time, but training for them is important to keep them happy and healthy.¡±

    I sighed, and folded up the map before eying the pleading teenager. ¡°If Venus wants to, we¡¯ll battle.¡±

    Looking down at the napping Eevee, ignoring the fist-pumping Lucas besides me, I reached down and gently woke her.

    She mewled as she looked up at me curiously, and my heart ached a little bit at the thought of seeing her hurt.

    ¡°Hey girl, Lucas here wants to battle against you. I know we¡¯ve talked about this a little bit, but do you want to battle?¡±

    Venus barely thought about it, and I could practically see the fire ignite in her eyes as she jumped to her feet. The feeling that this was going to be a terrible idea just grew in my heart. There was a difference between the games and real life as I had come to find out.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I sighed, and tried to hide how much my stomach fluttered. ¡°I accept your challenge.¡±

    /^\

    ¡°This will be a non-official match.¡± George called to the field behind the Pok¨¦mon lab. ¡°The rules will be held in accordance with Pok¨¦mon League regulations. It is a one-on-one match, with no substitutions or items. Do both of you understand?¡±

    I gulped, and nodded. The small battle that I had reluctantly promised Lucas had quickly ballooned into a much bigger affair than I had anticipated, with all of the lab assistants gathering out back to watch. George had appointed himself as a referee, and I was beginning to regret ever saying yes to Lucas.

    ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡± The kid in question shouted eagerly. ¡°Go, Hardy!¡±

    A flash of light briefly illuminated the field as Lucas threw his Pok¨¦ Ball, and a blue and grey skinned dinosaur emerged, roaring it¡¯s defiance to the world.

    ¡°How do you have a Cranidos?¡± I called to Lucas, my eyes trying not to bug completely out of their sockets.

    ¡°Haha! I found a Skull Fossil while exploring the Underground, and had him resurrected! Don¡¯t worry though, he¡¯s still very young!¡±

    This¡­ wasn¡¯t good. Cranidos was a Rock-type, while Venus was only a Normal-Type, so her attacks wouldn¡¯t do nearly as much damage as his would. Venus herself was looking suddenly much more worried than she had been before, but she still came forward from my side, facing down Hardy.

    I took a deep breath. I had done this before. In fact, I had done this a lot, probably more than any other Trainer. Sure all of my experience was in a videogame, but I still knew what I was doing.

    ¡°Ready?¡± George asked, and both Lucas and I nodded. ¡°Begin!¡±

    ¡°Headbutt!¡±

    ¡°Venus, evade and Sand Attack!¡±

    One thing that I did appreciate about being in this world instead of the actual games was that the orders weren¡¯t limited to one move at a time, or even limited to moves at all. Watching how the professionals did it on TV while watching the Lily of the Valley Conference had been an eye opener for me.

    Hardy sped forwards like a bullet, his head lowered in a charge towards Venus, but despite his speed she was just that much faster than he was. Venus twirled out of the way of his charge in the nick of time, and with her hind legs she dug at the ground, kicking up a spray of dirt that flew into Hardy¡¯s eyes.

    The Cranidos roared in frustration, and frantically scratched at his eyes with his tiny arms to try and clear them.

    ¡°Hardy! Use Leer!¡±

    Red rimmed eyes glared at Venus, and she took a step back, clearly intimidated by the furious Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°Don¡¯t let him rattle you!¡± I called, dragging her attention back to me. ¡°Covet!¡±

    Venus shook her head and jumped forwards, slamming into Hardy and swiping at him with her paws. The Cranidos didn¡¯t have any items on him, it wasn¡¯t that serious of a battle, but Covet could still do damage if there were no items to steal.

    ¡°Headbutt again!¡±

    There was no chance for Venus to escape this time, she wasn¡¯t nearly far enough away when the order was called and the stone-like skull of Hardy crashed into her, sending her flying through the air until she crashed onto the ground.

    ¡°Venus!¡± I called, taking several steps forwards as my heart stopped in my chest.

    Remarkably, she hopped up after only a second on the ground, looking hurt but still determined to keep on fighting. I ached to call off the battle, but the look in Venus¡¯ eyes held me back.

    Pok¨¦mon like to battle. They¡¯re hardier than humans are. You can do this. She can do this.

    ¡°Tail Whip!¡±

    Venus¡¯ tail started wagging, and Hardy slowed, sniffing victoriously. She was the very image of a submissive animal, and the dinosaur part of Hardy¡¯s brain must have recognized that, and he started to relax.

    Now! ¡°Tackle!¡±

    Hardy was just starting to realize that something wasn¡¯t right and Venus wasn¡¯t submitting when she crashed into him, forcing him to take a couple steps back.

    ¡°Headbutt!¡±

    ¡°Evade and Sand Attack!¡±

    Once again Venus was able to dodge out of the way and spray more earth into Hardy¡¯s eyes. I frowned as the Cranidos once again tried to wipe away the dirt.

    Why wasn¡¯t Lucas using any other moves besides Headbutt and Leer? Unless¡­

    ¡°Stay to his side Venus!¡±

    She looked curiously at me but nodded, and kept dodging to the side every time Lucas called for Hardy to Headbutt.

    Whenever Hardy used his Headbutt, it was only ever in a straight line. He put his head down and charged forwards, but due to his very thick head and prominent brow he couldn¡¯t actually see where he was going. It was a small thing, but Venus was just a little bit faster than he was, and was able to squeak out of the way just in time.

    Of course whenever Venus did get a hit in it didn¡¯t do nearly enough damage to end the fight. Hardy was getting increasingly angry over not being able to hit Venus, and his attacks were getting more and more reckless. If any of them were to hit¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± George called after five minutes of continual dodging. ¡°This match is a draw! Trainers, recall your Pok¨¦mon!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Lucas shouted. ¡°We can keep going dad!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t argue with the ref! Both your Pok¨¦mon are exhausted!¡±

    It was true, both Venus and Hardy were swaying on their feet, and Lucas sighed.

    ¡°Okay, come on back Hardy!¡±

    ¡°You too Venus, come on girl.¡±

    Venus exhaustedly trudged back to me, practically collapsing at my feet and I hurriedly scooped her up.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked, and she gave me a wide grin.

    ¡°You¡­ you enjoyed that?¡± Venus nodded. ¡°But you got hurt?¡±

    She nodded again, and I sighed. ¡°Just¡­ be careful okay?¡±

    ¡°That was a good match!¡± Lucas said, coming across the field to shake my hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your Eevee to be so fast!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s full of surprises isn¡¯t she? Still, Hardy lives up to his name.¡±

    The kid laughed, scratching the back of his head. ¡°It was a bad matchup, and I¡¯m sorry about that. Unfortunately he¡¯s my weakest Pok¨¦mon, and I knew that you and Venus didn¡¯t have a lot of experience. It wouldn¡¯t have been fair to send out Sunny or Maggy?¡±

    ¡°Maggy? Sunny?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, my Magby and Monferno! Wanna see?¡±

    I blinked, looking down at Venus in my arms. ¡°Thanks, but I think I¡¯ll pass for now. I want to get her to the Pok¨¦mon Center and checked out.¡±

    ¡°Oh it¡¯s no problem, I¡¯m heading that way too! Come on out guys, let¡¯s go for a walk!¡±

    Before I really had a chance to object Lucas was throwing two Pok¨¦ Balls, and with twin flashes of light an Monferno and Magby stood before me, a wave of heat washing over the field. I could immediately feel the air start to grow drier and I had to work some saliva into my mouth just to be able to talk.

    ¡°They¡¯re, uh, very impressive.¡±

    It was no lie, they looked like magnificent specimens of their respective species, with the Monferno being impressively muscled despite its size and the Magby breathing out small amounts of smoke and embers every time it exhaled. The Monferno, Sunny, seemed to revel in my praise, and started flexing and showing off as we began to walk towards the Pok¨¦mon center.

    They were also both quite a bit shorter than I had been expecting.

    Sunny was the larger of the two, but couldn¡¯t have been more than three feet tall, and Maggy must only have been about two feet. It didn¡¯t do anything to lessen how completely frightening they were, since Monferno¡¯s tail was literally on fire, but it certainly re-contextualized the games a little bit for me.

    Lucas chattered away as we made our way down to the Pok¨¦mon Center, and continued talking when Nurse Joy took our Pok¨¦mon for us, but I wasn¡¯t really listening. Despite what Venus had tried to tell me, I still wasn¡¯t sure if I was comfortable with battling or not.

    It just seemed a little too much like the animal fights back home, even though I knew that they were completely different. Those weren¡¯t ¨C couldn¡¯t ¨C be done with consent of the animals, and I was sure that if a Pok¨¦mon didn¡¯t want to fight there wasn¡¯t much you could do to force it. I, for one, wouldn¡¯t want to try telling that Monferno to stop trying to show off if I wanted my skin to remain uncharred.

    ¡°Alina, Lucas?¡± Nurse Joy called, and both of us looked up. ¡°Your Pok¨¦mon are ready.¡±

    I eagerly hurried over to get Venus¡¯ Pok¨¦ Ball, while Lucas was a little more casual.

    ¡°Was she okay?¡±

    ¡°She was fine Ms. Knighton. A little banged up to be sure, but overall she¡¯s fine. Honestly she would have been fine with just some sleep and food, but I¡¯m glad you stopped by regardless.¡±

    ¡°Really? She caught a Headbutt right to her side.¡±

    Nurse Joy had a small smile on her face that I couldn¡¯t quite place. ¡°You are a new Trainer, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    I flushed. ¡°Is it that obvious?¡±

    ¡°Well, yes. But it¡¯s not a bad thing! More often than not newer Trainers tend to be more cautious with their Pok¨¦mon, they don¡¯t know their limits yet. Pok¨¦mon are tough creatures, even some of the weakest Pok¨¦mon are tougher than most humans. As you and your companions grow you¡¯ll start to learn to recognize their limits better, it just takes time.¡±

    I was silent, mulling over the information.

    ¡°Do Pok¨¦mon really like to battle?¡± I asked. ¡°Professor Rowan told me they did, and even Venus seemed to enjoy the fight, but do they really like it? Or do they just do it because they think we want them to?¡±

    Nurse Joy shrugged. ¡°I imagine it¡¯s like people, for the most part. Some don¡¯t enjoy fighting at all. Others enjoy it perhaps too much. But on the whole¡­ yes. From everything that I¡¯ve seen, and I¡¯ve seen quite a lot mind you, Pok¨¦mon do enjoy battling. Or rather, they enjoy the feeling of growth that comes with a good fight. Being able to meet your limits and overcome them is a heady rush, for Pok¨¦mon and Trainers both. May I offer you some advice?¡±

    ¡°Of course, please.¡±

    ¡°It speaks highly of you that you¡¯re worried about your Pok¨¦mon. But try and think about their wants and desires too. They are your companions, your partners, and in many ways can be more intimately connected with you than another human.¡±

    She laughed at the expression on my face, I had been on the internet too long to not know that some people were more¡­ appreciative of Pok¨¦mon than I was. Or was healthy.

    ¡°Not in that way! But in the way that there are certain bonds formed by shared struggle that can¡¯t be easily described or replicated. They have their own opinions and wishes, and it can hurt them if you¡¯re not being receptive to their desires. Like all relationships, communication is key. Please think on that when you decide what you want to do with Venus or any other Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    I nodded again, thankful at her words. Was I being too cautious, treating them as nothing more than animals? Venus was far above any animal I had ever seen back home, and while she had agreed to be with me, that didn¡¯t mean she didn¡¯t have her own wishes for her life.

    Sighing, I let Venus out of her Pok¨¦ Ball, and scooped her up in my arms. She wriggled happily against me, settling into a comfortable position. I pet her for a few seconds while Lucas got his Pok¨¦mon back and talked to Nurse Joy, before deciding to get to the conversation I knew we needed to have.

    ¡°Do you like battling?¡± I asked her, and she nodded.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m still completely comfortable with it, but if it¡¯s what you want¡­ I¡¯ll do my best okay? You let me know if you need anything more.¡±

    She wriggled happily again.

    ¡°I love you girl.¡±

    She reached up and licked my face, and I couldn¡¯t stop the smile that formed. The message wasn¡¯t in any spoken language, but I understood it just the same.

    I love you too.

 Chapter Thirteen

    Now that I actually had some money beyond what Professor Rowan was lending me, I went back to the Pok¨¦ Mart to pick up some more supplies. A sleeping pad and bag, some cooking supplies, a tent, and all manner of other useful items made their way into the my shopping cart

    I did grimace a little bit every time I looked at the price tags and mentally subtracted them from how much money I had remaining, especially considering that at the moment this was all the money I had in the world. Somehow I would have to figure out how to get a job or something, although I didn¡¯t exactly have a whole lot of marketable skills. A degree in medieval studies doesn¡¯t exactly help when there wasn¡¯t a single speck of shared history between the two worlds.

    Venus stopped at one particular display, tail swishing eagerly before looking up at me with wide eyes.

    ¡°Poffins?¡± I asked incredulously, and her tail picked up speed.

    Looking a little closer at the price tag, my eyebrows nearly disappeared into my hairline ¡°Woah! Talk about being proud of their product! I don¡¯t know if-¡°

    The expression on Venus¡¯ face nearly broke my heart, and I sighed. ¡°Okay, don¡¯t give me that look. Don¡¯t get me wrong though, these aren¡¯t going to be a daily treat okay?¡±

    I had a feeling that that particular promise wouldn¡¯t be kept.

    She purred happily and wound her way through my legs like a cat, and I sighed again before reaching down and scratching her behind the ears.

    The rest of the shopping went fairly well, until we got up to the main counter and I noticed a few things I hadn¡¯t seen before on the back wall.

    ¡°Why are those bags different than the ones at the clothing store?¡± I asked curiously, pointing at a selection of rather normal looking backpacks and purses.

    ¡°Hm?¡± The clerk, somebody other than Courtney, looked over with a bored expression. ¡°Oh, those are the Silph Bags.¡±

    ¡°Silph Bags? What makes them special?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±

    I sighed, getting a little tired of not knowing apparently basic information in this world. ¡°I¡¯m from a little island, we don¡¯t get a lot of modern inventions there.¡±

    ¡°Huh. Well it¡¯s about eight years old or so, but they¡¯re made using the same kind of technology in Pok¨¦ Balls. Don¡¯t ask me how it works, but you can stuff a ton of stuff in there. Like their advertisement ¡°For the Trainer who wants it all,¡± y¡¯know?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know, but I was definitely interested. I mean it broke the laws of physics, but that seemed like a good reason to actually buy one. Was this how the game and anime characters always managed to carry so much?

    ¡°And how much are they?¡±

    ¡°The standard models are one hundred thousand dollars. The bigger ones with more storage go up in price from there.¡±

    I nearly choked at the price. It would be a long, long time before I was able to afford one of those.

    Deciding that my current hiking pack would do just fine, even if it didn¡¯t break physics, I instead turned my attention towards the small collection of electronics locked behind a glass counter.

    ¡°Is that one of the new Rotom Phones?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve heard of Rotom Phones but not a Silph Bag?¡±

    I glared at the man, and he held up his hands in defense. ¡°Alright, yeah, they are.¡±

    ¡°How much are they?¡±

    The man said a number, and I numbly rubbed a finger in one ear, trying to make sure I didn¡¯t have any wax that was blocking my hearing.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I must not have heard you right, what was it again?¡±

    The number didn¡¯t change, and I swallowed thickly before pointing at an old, battered, obviously pre-owned Pok¨¦ Gear.

    ¡°And how much for that one?¡±

    I left the Pok¨¦ Mart almost fifty-five thousand dollars poorer, but at least I had some supplies to last us for a while, and I had even bought the Pok¨¦ Gear. It couldn¡¯t access what passed for the internet here, but I could still make phone and video calls, as well as listen to the radio and some music. The clerk had even been kind enough to throw in some cheap headphones for free, which was nice considering how much money I was spending.

    There wasn¡¯t a Map Card installed on the Pok¨¦ Gear, but that was fine considering I still had the map that Professor Rowan had given me, as well as the fact that I probably could have navigated around the major routes on Sinnoh just from my memories of the games.

    I stopped by Dawn¡¯s house and had a good conversation with her about living with divorced parents, then got her phone number and plugged it into my Pok¨¦ Gear, promising to call her every now and again.

    Despite not having practically any money left, I couldn¡¯t really complain about any of my purchases, especially considering how happy Venus was once she got a Poffin.

    /^\

    ¡°Are you sure about this?¡±

    Professor Rowan asked as I double checked to make sure all of my possessions were ready to go.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡± I said, stuffing some socks to the bottom of my bag. ¡°I¡¯ve imposed on your hospitality long enough and besides, it¡¯s time for Venus and I to get out and start exploring this brave new world.¡±

    ¡°Then in that case, I suppose I have a going-away present from all of us here at the lab.¡±

    Stopping from my packing, I turned to the doorway of my room where the professor was standing.

    ¡°A present? That¡¯s awfully kind of you professor, but like I said, I¡¯ve already taken too much.¡±

    ¡°Then consider it a gift for Venus.¡±

    That¡­ was a bit harder to turn down. It had been a long time since I had gotten a present, I wasn''t fond of most surprises, but if it was for Venus¡­

    Professor Rowan was certainly crafty.

    ¡°Come on.¡± With a cryptic half-smile he turned and left, heading towards the common room.

    Sharing a mystified look with Venus, who was currently splayed out on my bed, I started following Rowan. Venus hurriedly got to her feet and jumped down off the bed, catching up to my side in a flurry of motion.

    My eyes narrowed at the selection of boxes laid out on the table, with the grinning faces of the research assistants gathered around them.

    ¡°I thought you said it was just one present.¡±

    ¡°I did. But this is a gift with options, you understand.¡±

    I didn¡¯t, but for some reason Venus was getting awfully excited and curious over the presents, sniffing at the air.

    ¡°Do you mind?¡±

    The research assistants, George, Lucas, and the others, all reached down and opened the five cases up, revealing glittering stones the size of my palm. My eyes practically bugged out of my skull at the sight, and I gaped at Professor Rowan.

    ¡°Are those¡­¡±

    ¡°Evolution stones? Why yes, they are.¡±

    ¡°Professor!¡± I cried. ¡°You can¡¯t just give me one of those!¡±

    That half-smile tugged at the edges of his mustache again. ¡°Ah, but I¡¯m not giving you one. I¡¯m giving Venus one.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re still worth a lot of money! Tens of thousands of dollars! More!¡±

    I had looked up evolution stones of course, practically as soon as Professor Rowan had allowed me to use a computer. My first Pok¨¦mon was an Eevee, naturally I would want to see how available the stones to evolve her would be. As it turned out, not easily available at all.

    Different regions had different supplies of the stones, but even the cheapest options still costed at least fifty thousand dollars. The most expensive was well over five hundred thousand, which was over twice the amount of the reward money I had gotten for defeating some poachers. It would have been out of the realm of any normal person unless they did some saving for a while. To be just given one like this¡­

    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°Alina, what is my specific area of research?¡±

    ¡°Pok¨¦mon evolution¡­ oh.¡±

    ¡°Indeed.¡± His smile got bigger. ¡°And while we have seen Eevee evolutions before, it never hurts to get more data. If it¡¯s okay with you two, we would love to record the entire affair.¡±

    I opened my mouth to try and object again, but he held up a hand. ¡°And before you try and tell me again that the stones are too rare, Leader Roark in Oreburgh City specifically sends me a collection of evolutionary stones that he digs up in the Underground. We have several just laying around, waiting for us to find a Pok¨¦mon willing to evolve for us.¡±

    My mouth opened and closed like a Magikarp, until I sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t really have a choice to refuse this, do I?¡±

    ¡°You do not.¡±

    ¡°¡­Thank you.¡±

    ¡°The both of you have been a pleasure to have around. It¡¯s an honor to help such a new and interesting Trainer such as yourself in the beginning of her journey, especially with such an obviously loved Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    Professor Rowan stepped back to join the rest of the researchers, and I knelt down in front of Venus. She had barely paid attention to the conversation, the entirety of her focus being dedicated to the collection of stones on the table.

    ¡°Hey, Venus.¡± She looked at me quizzically. ¡°You can sense those stones, can¡¯t you?¡±

    Venus nodded eagerly.

    ¡°Well, they¡¯re evolution stones. You remember how I was telling you about how you could evolve into different forms?¡±

    Her brown eyes were wide as she swapped between staring at me or the stones.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, these stones will let you evolve. You can only choose one though, or you can choose not to evolve at all! Or there are other evolutions you can go through that don¡¯t require any stones, but¡­ well I mean that requires evolving at different times of day or with a certain kind of move you can know. It¡¯s complicated.¡±

    I floundered a little bit, hearing some snickering coming from the researchers.

    ¡°Regardless, I don¡¯t want you to feel like I¡¯m trying to force anything on you, okay? It¡¯s your choice, not mine. Think about it carefully, but just know that no matter what you choose, you¡¯ll always be my partner. If you don¡¯t want to evolve right now, or at all, that¡¯s totally fine, and I¡¯ll always be happy with you just the way you are."

    Venus placed both her paws on my knee and stretched up to lick my face. Then she dropped down, and padded towards the table with the stones. I picked her up, placing her on the table, and she stared with wide eyes at the boxes.

    Off to the side Professor Rowan made a small gesture with his hand, and I only just then noticed some machinery in the corner of the room. I didn¡¯t recognize most of it, but I could make out some cameras and other lenses and figured they were probably a way of recording what evolution Venus would ultimately choose.

    She stayed a respectable distance back from the stones, sniffing each one intently. Pretty much instantly though she had disregarded the Leaf and Ice Stone, and the lab assistants drew them back with quiet grumbles of discontent. I thought I might have seen some money change hands in the back, but I wasn¡¯t sure.

    ¡°Just¡­ do whatever feels right.¡± I called, and Venus shot me a thankful look.

    Turning back to the stones, she shook her head at the Thunder Stone, leaving just the Water and Fire Stones left. She stared at them for a long moment, then stepped back entirely, turning and bounding over to me.

    ¡°Is everything okay?¡± I asked, and she leaned in to nuzzle my hand. ¡°You don¡¯t want to evolve right now?¡±

    Venus looked up at me and blinked, then hopped up into my arms.

    A wave of disappointed sighs quietly echoed around the room, and the researchers began moving to turn off and pack away the cameras and equipment. More money changed hands, and I could have sworn I saw Professor Rowan take a twenty dollar note with a satisfied smile.

    Looking at the happy expression on Venus¡¯ face however, I couldn¡¯t be disappointed.

    /^\

    I hesitated at the door of Professor Rowan¡¯s office. It was late at night and while everybody else had gone to bed, I knew that he would still be up.

    The going away celebration had lasted a bit longer than any of us had intended, and eventually I had decided that we would spend one more night, then leave in the morning. Before we did though, there was something I had to do.

    I knocked on the door, and received muffled ¡°Come in.¡±

    The door swung open quietly, revealing Professor Rowan sitting at his desk, reading an old leather bound book.

    ¡°Ah, Alina.¡± He said, looking over in surprise. ¡°I thought you would be asleep in preparation for tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s something I have to do first.¡±

    His eyebrow quirked up, but he put the book away and gestured towards a chair, and I nervously sat.

    ¡°Well, what can I do for you?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ve tried to be as honest as I can.¡± I licked my lips. ¡°But there¡¯s things that I haven¡¯t told you.¡±

    Rowan¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    ¡°Nothing bad! I mean, nothing¡­ it¡¯s hard to explain. I didn¡¯t want to tell anybody at first because I was scared of what would happen to me, or that nobody would take me seriously, and I need to be taken seriously.¡±

    ¡°So what¡¯s changed?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve gotten to know you. I think you¡¯re a good person, who wants that best for the world, for Sinnoh, and for Pok¨¦mon and people in general.¡±

    He nodded. ¡°I would like to think the same.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just, I don¡¯t know where to start.¡±

    ¡°Start at the beginning.¡±

    I let out a deep breath. ¡°Okay. In the world I come from, there are no Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    He frowned. ¡°Then how do you know so much about them? You were able to identify many different species, and use your Eevee in a battle quite adequately. Do you mean that there used to be Pok¨¦mon, but not anymore?¡±

    ¡°Not exactly.¡± I licked my lips again. ¡°It began in the year 1989, with a man named Satoshi Tajiri¡­¡±

    /^\

    Professor Rowan leaned back, staring at me with unreadable eyes.

    I was completely exhausted, the explanation had taken several hours, much longer than I had anticipated. Rowan had been silent for most of the confused ramblings, except every now and again when he asked a clarifying question.

    Now that I was done though, having covered everything up to the most recent Pok¨¦mon release of Scarlet and Violet, he stood up.

    Still not speaking, he moved over to a globe of the Pok¨¦mon world he had in the corner, then opened it up. Inside was a collection of bottles and glasses, and he poured out two servings of amber liquid into the glasses.

    ¡°Whiskey.¡± He said, striding over and giving me one of the glasses. ¡°Imported from Galar. I acquired a taste for it when I was researching Farfetch¡¯d and how they evolve into Sirfetch¡¯d.¡±

    I hesitantly took the glass and sipped at it. To my surprise, it was incredibly smooth, and didn¡¯t burn at all like any other whiskey I had tried back home.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Rowan was quiet a long time after he sat down, but didn¡¯t touch his own drink.

    ¡°I hope you know.¡± He said slowly. ¡°That this is quite¡­ difficult for me to believe.¡±

    I ducked my head, feeling my face heat.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just that if I didn¡¯t tell somebody¡­¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that I don¡¯t believe you. It¡¯s just difficult for me.¡±

    My head rose, and my heart started beating faster in my chest as I began to hope.

    ¡°You¡­ believe me?¡±

    ¡°I do. Some of the things you know have been kept secret, for fear that if the knowledge got into the wrong hands people could do great amounts of damage to the world. I must admit that I don¡¯t know about a lot of the things you said, but I¡¯ve had a number of suspicions for a while, and your information has confirmed many of my theories.¡±

    I let out a shuddering breath as relief swept through my body.

    He doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m crazy!

    ¡°So, what are we going to do?¡± I asked hesitantly.

    Rowan didn¡¯t answer at first, instead staring off into the distance with a pensive look on his face as he took a sip of whiskey.

    ¡°Right now? You¡¯re going to go to bed.¡±

    I blinked. ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s well past midnight Alina. It¡¯s far too late to be making any kind of serious decisions. We¡¯ll both get some sleep, and come back in the morning when we¡¯re more refreshed.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ I mean¡­¡±

    He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Will any of these things destroy the world in the next day or two?¡±

    I bit my lip. ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Will they destroy the world in the next five years?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ possibly?¡±

    ¡°Yet you yourself admitted that most of these catastrophic events will be stopped by a number of people, including our very own Dawn.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°So right now, if we do nothing at all, things will still work out in the end?¡±

    I gaped at him. ¡°You can¡¯t be serious!¡±

    ¡°I am very serious.¡±

    ¡°But, all of these disasters, they¡¯ll kill hundreds, maybe thousands of people and Pok¨¦mon!¡±

    Rowan sighed, and a small smile touched his lips. ¡°That¡¯s if we do nothing at all. I am not suggesting we do nothing, merely that we wait until tomorrow to discuss it more. Besides, even if I wanted to do something now, I could not act on everything you told me at the moment. I believe your stories because I¡¯ve gotten to know you, and know that you wouldn¡¯t lie about something so serious. However, other people may not be so understanding.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to make them believe!¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯ll try my best to do that. But these things take time, Alina. I have to reach out to my fellow Professors, to get in contact with the Champions and the Pok¨¦mon Leagues of their respective regions. There will be a lot of convincing that will have to be done in order to get people to listen. But I promise you this, I will try to get people to listen, to get them to act before these events come to pass.¡±

    My shoulders slumped as a weight I didn¡¯t realize had been on them lifted. ¡°So, what do I do? Nothing?¡±

    ¡°Not at all. Tomorrow I¡¯d like to go over this with you again, preferably with a recording device present so I can refer back to it later. Then once we¡¯re done, you¡¯re going to go on your Journey.¡±

    ¡°After all that, you still want me to be a regular Trainer?¡±

    His smile widened by a fraction. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to be a ¡°regular Trainer¡±?¡±

    I froze. Damnit.

    Rowan had a point. I did just want to be a regular Trainer. All my life I had wanted to live in the Pok¨¦mon world, to just be happy, and now this chance was in front of me.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡± He said. ¡°I¡¯m not saying that you¡¯re done with this. Not by a long shot, and in fact I¡¯ll probably have to ask you to help out with things in the future. But right now, no offense, you aren¡¯t strong enough to take care of any of these problems.¡±

    It stung, but he had a point.

    The enemy teams like Rocket, Aqua, Magma, Galactic, Flare, Plasma, all of them were incredibly dangerous in their own way. These evil teams didn¡¯t just have the desire to change or destroy the world, they had the power to do so, or were actively working on getting that power. Their lowliest members, the Grunts, had Pok¨¦mon that could take me out with a single move right now, and their leaders could probably threaten some of the most powerful Trainers in existence.

    As much as I loved Venus, she wasn¡¯t anywhere near strong enough to deal with them.

    ¡°So for now, rest.¡± He said. ¡°And then tomorrow? Start training. Start getting stronger. Soon enough I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get more involved, but for now you should focus on the little things. Those are what really matter.¡±

    I wanted to argue. I wanted to say that there was more I could do, more I should do. But he had a point.

    Maybe I had done the best thing I could anyways. I had told somebody the truth about what was going to happen. Even if I disappeared back to my old world tomorrow, I still might have changed the world for the better.

    I felt very, very tired, and I tossed the rest of the whiskey back.

    ¡°Sleep sounds like a very good idea professor. Goodnight."

    /^\

    ¡°We¡¯ll be back!¡± I called as Venus and I started on the dirt path out of Sandgem Town.

    ¡°You better!¡± Lucas called, waving excitedly.

    Like we had agreed the night before, Rowan and I ended up going over what I remembered about the world of Pok¨¦mon and the events of the games and anime, and how to stop a lot of the disasters that were coming. He also gave me his own personal phone number, in case I needed remembered something and needed to get in contact with him.

    Then he had slipped me five Pok¨¦ Balls, which I had tried to refuse. He had made a very persuasive argument about the price of Pok¨¦ Balls and how it was his job to prepare young trainers to start their journey, which often included handing out Pok¨¦ Balls. I had grumbled, but ultimately accepted them and put them into my backpack, thanking him all the while.

    The air was crisp and clean, and the breeze was cool and relaxing. Everyone from the lab had come out to see us off, and my steps were light and filled with excitement as the future seemed truly bright for one of the first times that I could remember. I didn¡¯t know how long it would take for Rowan to get people to listen, but with Venus by my side I knew that no matter what, everything would be okay.

    As Sandgem Town and the laboratory slowly disappeared behind us, a tune came to me, and I started singing softly as we walked along.

    ¡°I wanna be the very best¡­¡±

 Chapter Fourteen

    The first couple of days after leaving Sandgem Town were thankfully very quiet, which was ideal for my still somewhat tense nerves.

    We were taking Route 237 from Sandgem to Oreburgh, which wasn¡¯t an actual route in the game. After some questioning of Professor Rowan, I learned that there were a number of both ¡°Natural Routes,¡± such as most of the ones found in the games, and the ¡°Paved Routes.¡± The Paved Routes were much more common than shown in the games, and connected most of the major cities and towns of the Sinnoh Region. They were also a lot safer, with fewer wild Pok¨¦mon that wandered around on them.

    The route I was on actually reminded me a lot of a highway from my old world, big enough for trucks to move in-between the cities with plenty of room for walking on the side of the road. I didn¡¯t actually see all that many trucks, or cars at all, and for the longest time it was just me and Venus.

    I had been torn between taking Route 237 direct to Oreburgh, or going along Route 202 to Jubilife City, then cutting across to Oreburgh along Route 203. The former option hadn¡¯t been present in the games, being on of the Paved Routes, but there was a part of me that wanted just to follow the path set in the games. That part was quickly overruled when I learned that the Oreburgh Gate, which was just a small cave in the game back home, was actually an entire cave system here.

    I quickly decided that taking the nice, paved road would be much simpler, faster, and better for my health.

    ¡°At least this is a nicer experience than when I first got here.¡± I commented to Venus one afternoon as I was setting up camp, and got a questioning look in response.

    ¡°You see, back before we found each other I was just wandering around in the woods. I didn¡¯t have a tent, or a campfire and stove, or even a sleeping bag.¡±

    She cocked her head in the other direction, and I got the feeling that she didn¡¯t see what was wrong with that.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a Pok¨¦mon, I¡¯m not used to living like that. Waking up with a Bidoof sleeping next to you and a rock under your back isn¡¯t very comfortable, let me assure you. Plus I didn¡¯t have hiking boots and my feet hurt.¡±

    She rolled her eyes at me, then turned back to staring at the food cooking on the campfire. One of the things that I had been the most worried about was the peculiarities of meat in the Pok¨¦mon world. As it turns out, while there wasn¡¯t a lot of actual meat that was eaten, the small bits that were did in fact come from Pok¨¦mon. The thing was, many Pok¨¦mon had parts of their body that could regenerate, such as the famous Slowpoke tails.

    Instead of eating a lot of meat however, it turns out that most people just ate seafood instead.

    I had been concerned about the ethics of eating fish Pok¨¦mon like Magikarp, but apparently there were just¡­ normal fish that lived in the lakes, rivers, and oceans.

    While Pok¨¦mon did eat other Pok¨¦mon, humans had avoided doing the same for a long time; it would be like eating your dog, but your dog was nearly as smart as you were. While regular animals had mostly been driven extinct by Pok¨¦mon on land, fish and other aquatic creatures had mostly avoided that same fate. I wasn¡¯t exactly sure why, but the best explanations I had gotten argued that there was a lot more space for non-Pok¨¦mon could exist in the oceans and rivers as opposed to the limited land-area, where more powerful Pok¨¦mon took over the food chain.

    Wait, did that mean that Team Magma had a point?

    Thankfully, with the widespread reliance on fishing for meat, fishing rods weren¡¯t particularly expensive, and I had dropped some of my rapidly dwindling funds on a cheap rod. The really fancy rods were way too expensive, but the regular fishing rods you¡¯d find at a hardware store? It turns out that the price of them in the games was just another mechanic and a balancing issue, not something to be taken literally. Regular old earthworms served as bait, and while I did catch more than my fair share of Magikarp and other fish-like Pok¨¦mon, those were quickly released until I could find regular, non-intelligent fish.

    ¡°All I¡¯m saying is that it was a lot tougher before you got here.¡±

    Venus snorted in response, and apparently decided that her fish was done cooking, pulling the stick it was mounted on off of the fire and starting to nibble on the half-cooked meal.

    I was honestly pretty happy, all things considered. The tent and sleeping bag had made camping much more comfortable, even if I wasn¡¯t traveling quite as fast as I had originally thought I would be. My optimistic estimates had placed me arriving at Oreburgh City in about five days, but considering how slowly I was going it looked like it would actually be closer to seven or eight. Which was fine with me, I was just enjoying the time spent with Venus in the outdoors.

    There wasn¡¯t a perfect term to describe what I was feeling while I walked along the road, at least none that I was aware of. Instead it was more of a general sense of being connected to nature in a way that I hadn¡¯t thought possible. The longer I spent in the Pok¨¦mon world, the more convinced I became that Earth had been too developed. There wasn¡¯t the same sense of wonder or exploration, or even just an understanding of humanity''s role in nature. We had paved over everything and called it progress, but here?

    The world felt alive in a way that I had never experienced before.

    Even the main road I was traveling on seemed to be built with nature, instead of over it. It wound its way around hills and next to rivers, not infringing on the landscape, but somehow managing to coexist alongside it.

    Living off of the land, gathering Berries while Venus napped or ran around became some of the happiest memories of my life so far. As I eventually decided that my own fish were done cooking, I took them off the fire and put them on a plate next to some Pecha Berries I had found. Venus didn¡¯t quite like them as much as I did, she preferred the more sour berries. For me though, the Pecha Berries tasted all the better, now that I was actually in a place to appreciate them for what they were.

    Life, I considered as I ate my food thoughtfully, was good.

    /^\

    ¡°Do you smell smoke?¡± I asked miserably from the quick tarp I had set up. ¡°I think I smell smoke.¡±

    The storm had swept down upon us quickly on the seventh day of traveling, and I had noticed the dark clouds coming up on the horizon just in time to set up the fly of my tent. It had honestly been very annoying since we were only about a couple hours out from the entrance to Oreburgh City, but I didn¡¯t want to risk traveling in such bad weather. And I just didn¡¯t like being rained on in general.

    Of course with my luck the rain had been followed by thunder, and then lightning, and I was currently huddled underneath the tarp trying to remain as dry as possible. Some of the lightning strikes had gotten concerningly close, with one particular example having struck less than a mile away.

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    I was not, to put it lightly, having a good time.

    Then the smell that I had noticed grew stronger, and even Venus cocked her head in recognition.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s definitely smoke.¡±

    Another flash of lightning and a peal of thunder nearly blinded me, but that only made the scent of smoke worse. It would be so simple to just stay huddled underneath the tarp and let the storm pass.

    ¡°Oh I hate this.¡± I groaned as I put my bag in the driest place I could find, which wasn¡¯t easy. ¡°Come on Venus! Somebody could be hurt.¡±

    I sincerely doubted that there would be any humans out in the forests in this kind of weather, but this wasn¡¯t Earth. If I had a chance to help a Pok¨¦mon and had let it go because I didn¡¯t want to get wet¡­ well I wouldn¡¯t be able to look at myself in the mirror.

    On a purely physical level however I immediately regretted leaving the tarp, since I was just about immediately soaked by the downpour.

    ¡°Venus!¡± I called, having to shout to be heard over the rain. ¡°Can you figure out where it¡¯s coming from?¡±

    She stopped, immediately sitting down and putting her head up in the air, sniffing like a hunting dog. After what seemed like an eternity but could only have been a minute, her head snapped to her left and she jumped to her feet.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go!¡±

    We set off deeper into the woods, and I began feeling very out of my depth. Trees that had once seemed so kind and inviting during the day loomed threateningly, and with every step I began to regret my decision a little more. The woods were dark without any sunlight streaming through the canopy, and intimidating, made even worse by the fact that I didn¡¯t know what was out there.

    I fished the Pok¨¦ Gear out of my pocket and turned on its flashlight feature, which only illuminated the ground barely a foot or two in front of me.

    So that¡¯s why they have Pok¨¦mon use Flash in the games instead of anything else, their bulbs are awful.

    Instead of trying to focus on the awful feeling of the rain on my skin and soaking my clothes, I tried to focus on what Pok¨¦mon I could catch that could learn Flash. I didn¡¯t think Venus could learn it, but maybe if I caught another Pok¨¦mon? Or maybe a Fire-type would be nice, that way I could have a way to easily start campfires?

    My mind wandered while I tried to avoid thinking about the sheer stupidity of wandering around in the woods in the middle of a thunderstorm, but the smell of smoke kept getting stronger and stronger as Venus led us deeper into the forest. After an incredibly tense few minutes, I could make out a light flickering in front of us, and gasped as the source of the smell became apparent.

    A massive tree that could have rivaled redwoods in size had been struck by lightning, and was split down the middle to almost the ground. One half of the tree was on the ground from where the weight of the branches had pulled it down, while the other half was on fire. Smoke billowed out from the tree, and with horror I saw that there were Pok¨¦mon on the ground, obviously knocked out.

    ¡°Oh my god, it was a Combee hive.¡± I said, taking in the terrible sight.

    There were still a few Combee left buzzing around, obviously disoriented and lashing out with their stingers at random. The reason for their confused aggression was lying on the ground in the middle of a bunch of other knocked out Combee ¨C the hive¡¯s Vespiquen was unconscious and unable to direct the swarm.

    Of course most of them are unconscious! I realized in a flash of insight. Smoke knocks out bees!

    At least that had been how it was back on Earth, but I was willing to bet that was what had happened to the majority of the hive.

    I stared at the sight for a long moment, before being jolted out of my reverie by the groaning of the tree. There wasn¡¯t much wood keeping the other half of the tree standing, and the passed-out Vespiquen and Combee were right in the way.

    ¡°It¡¯s going to fall!¡± I called out to Venus, who was also looking on in horror. ¡°Quick, help me try and get the Pok¨¦mon out of the way!¡±

    Venus and I jumped into action and sprinted towards the unconscious Pok¨¦mon. Unfortunately that action drew the attention of the Combee who were still flying around, and they began to move towards me as the obvious threat to their queen.

    That was at least, until Venus Growled, the sound catching the attention of most of the Combee and redirecting their flight paths.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me!¡± I called, and she looked stricken. ¡°Don¡¯t get stung! They¡¯ll do more to you than to me, so focus on dodging right now!¡±

    Reluctantly she turned her attention away from me and started dodging the angry Combee that were beginning to descend on her. She had bought me some time though, which I was incredibly grateful for.

    I had just enough time to grab the Vespiquen underneath her arms and start dragging her out of the line of the falling tree, before the Combee started swarming again.

    For being only about four feet tall, the Vespiquen was a lot heavier than I was expecting, and I wasn¡¯t going as fast as I wanted to. The tree kept groaning and cracking under the heat of the fire and the looming Combee nearby didn¡¯t make anything easier. While Venus was doing her best to keep them occupied, a few of them decided they would take on an easier target. One of them dive-bombed me, landing a hit with its stinger on my shoulder before darting away.

    I swore as my back felt like it was on fire, but didn¡¯t stop dragging the Vespiquen away from the tree. Another one dived down, and I just barely managed to twitch out of the way in time.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you see I¡¯m trying to help!¡± I shouted at the Combee. ¡°If I don¡¯t get her away from here, the tree will fall on her!¡±

    Most of the Combee who were still awake didn¡¯t seem to understand what I was saying, and another tried to sting me again. Incredibly though, another Combee smacked into it, sending it veering off course and buzzing angrily.

    My savior turned to me, and bobbed up and down in the air.

    ¡°Thanks!¡± I called, though I didn¡¯t really have the time to pay attention to what it was trying to tell me.

    The Combee served as a guard of sorts, knocking away any of its fellows that tried to sting me, but I was under no illusions that it was doing it solely for my benefit. For some reason it hadn¡¯t been affected as much by the smoke as the other Pok¨¦mon, and obviously realized that I was trying to help its queen instead of kidnapping.

    Once I got the Vespiquen to a safe distance, which took a lot longer than I had wanted to, I dashed back towards the pile of unconscious Combee. As much as I wanted to take a break and relieve my back, burning with the exertion of hauling the Vespiquen and the stinger wound, there just simply wasn¡¯t enough time.

    ¡°Good job Venus!¡± I shouted. ¡°Keep it up!¡±

    The Eevee was beginning to look more than a little ragged, her brown fur matted thanks to the rain and she was panting hard from running around so much. Her drooping tail did pick up a little bit, and her steps became a little lighter as I dashed by. Then she dodged a Combee¡¯s stinger, and Tackled it into unconsciousness.

    The rest of the Combee were much lighter and easier to carry, and I eventually figured out a way to carry three at a time by holding one under each arm, and a third in my hands. It was awkward, and I felt there was a risk of hurting them, but I figured that it would be better for them to get a little squished by my arms instead of a several ton tree.

    When I was done, Venus staggered away from the still-burning tree, exhausted. She had managed to knock out all of the Combee that were still confused and enraged, and had helped me move the last few of the wild Pok¨¦mon, dragging them carefully with her mouth. Her ears and tail were completely limp, and I recalled her into her Pok¨¦ Ball. She didn¡¯t like being in there, but I figured she needed the rest for now.

    It was just in time too, as once all of the Pok¨¦mon were out of the danger zone the tree let out a mighty groan, then cracked like a shot out of a cannon. With a dull rumble, the heavy wood finally gave in to the fire and the rest of the tree fell down, shaking the entire ground as it landed. A warm feeling spread through my chest as I realized I had made the right choice by coming to investigate. If Venus and I hadn¡¯t dragged the Pok¨¦mon out of the way they would have been crushed by the branches. Even then the collapse was actually a lot closer than I would have liked since we were only about ten feet away from a particularly long branch turning us into goop.

    With a sigh and a groan I laid down in the mud, uncaring of what it was doing to my clothes. My body ached, and for a minute I just stayed there, letting the rain fall on my face. Eventually I got up again, knowing that my work wasn¡¯t done yet.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I said, prodding the Vespiquen. ¡°Wake up?¡±

    She was completely unconscious, and I didn¡¯t have anything that could help her. Revives were far more expensive than my budget allowed, and I doubted that just a Potion would be able to wake her up. The only thing I could think of was¡­

    ¡°This is going to suck.¡±

 Chapter Fifteen

    We got into Oreburgh City just as the dawn light was beginning to light up the landscape, and my breath would have been taken away by the impressive sight of the city before me if I had any left. Unfortunately for me, I was hauling a tarp covered with unconscious Combee and the Vespiquen.

    The idea to haul the Vespiquen and the Combee to the Pok¨¦mon Center hadn¡¯t exactly been the best one I had ever had, especially considering how much my arms and back were now screaming in pain, but it was the best option out of a long list of bad ones.

    I couldn¡¯t have just left them there, unconscious for any wild Pok¨¦mon to come and attack, but I didn¡¯t have enough items to heal them all either. Nor did I have enough Pok¨¦ Balls to capture them all, and I wouldn¡¯t want to do that in the first place.

    There was no way I would ever capture a Pok¨¦mon against its will, even if I would release it back into the wild later.

    So faced with a variety of bad options, I had chosen the least worst one, and returned to the camp to pick up my bag and the tarp. The Combee that had saved me from the others followed me, apparently worried about what I was doing. I couldn¡¯t fault the little thing, and with its help as a guide I managed to find my way back through the forest to the pile of unconscious Pok¨¦mon.

    Carefully transferring them on top of the tarp, I grabbed a hold of the ropes attached to my makeshift sled, and began to walk.

    It had been an excruciating experience, but it was finally over and I slumped to the ground at the entrance to the city. The rain had ended a little bit ago and although I was completely soaked and covered in mud, I couldn¡¯t muster up enough energy to worry about getting a little bit dirtier. To my complete lack of surprise a police car quickly pulled up in front of me, and a familiar looking woman in a uniform jumped out of the car, one hand on a Pok¨¦ Ball.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡± She called, and I weakly raised up a hand in greeting. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±

    ¡°Hi.¡± I said tiredly. ¡°Do you think you can help me get these Combee to the Pok¨¦mon Center?¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    I waved a shaking hand lazily towards the forest, the adrenaline finally starting to wear off. ¡°Fire. Tree. Smoke knocked the Combee unconscious, I had to help them.¡±

    Officer Jenny, and she really did look like her older sibling Commissioner Jenny, stared in confusion, then alarm.

    ¡°You mean you dragged all of these Combee from the forest?¡±

    I nodded. It was really something how similar the two Jenny¡¯s looked, but were they sisters or cousins? It would be a really, really big family if they were sisters. Nurse Joy had talked about being part of the ¡°Joy Clan,¡± so was there a Jenny Clan that worked in law enforcement? Wouldn¡¯t that be nepotism?

    Jenny reached up to her shoulder and started talking into a radio, and I closed my eyes.

    ¡°Are you okay ma¡¯am?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m really tired.¡± I said, unable to open my eyes to look at her. ¡°I think I¡¯m just going to take a little nap.¡±

    ¡°Wait, ma¡¯am, please-¡°

    It didn¡¯t matter what she was saying, and a moment later I was already asleep.

    /^\

    ¡°You¡¯re very lucky things turned out the way they did.¡± A figure in a white Aether Foundation uniform lectured. ¡°Combee hives can be very temperamental and protective of their Vespiquen at the best of times, and their home being on fire is certainly not the best of times.¡±

    I tried my best not to cringe at the rebuke, which was the third one of its kind that I had received today.

    After I had passed out, the Pok¨¦mon Rangers of Oreburgh City had been called in by Officer Jenny to help deal with the situation. That mostly involved taking the wounded Pok¨¦mon, carefully and with the presence of the awake Combee, to the Pok¨¦mon Center. Apparently once there a very nervous Nurse Joy had to heal up the Vespiquen first, with several Combee hovering literally over her shoulder the entire time.

    Once the Vespiquen had woken up and been calmed down, with the help of a passing trainer and his Pok¨¦mon who had been able to talk to the Vespiquen, the Combee swarm had also settled down and were allowed to be treated for their own wounds.

    For my part I was asleep for this entire process, exhausted from having to haul several hundred pounds of Combee to the city. Nurse Joy had apparently given me a check-up, pumped some drugs and saline into an IV, then stuck me on a gurney in the corner while she took care of the Pok¨¦mon. About ten hours after I had collapsed I had finally opened my eyes, only to find a very annoyed collection of people around me. I quickly explained what had happened the previous day, and then the criticisms had begun.

    The Police Captain of Oreburgh, who was interestingly not a Jenny, chewed me out over the fact that I had brought several potentially dangerous Pok¨¦mon right to the city without letting anybody know that I was coming. My arguments that my phone didn¡¯t have service in the storm had fallen on deaf ears.

    Once the Captain had gotten a piece of me, it was time for Nurse Joy. She had been kinder about it at least, but she had warned me against trying anything like that again for a while. Apparently I had severely strained several muscles in my back, arms, and legs, and would have to be very careful about any physical activities beyond just walking for the next week or two. Thankfully that was all, Pok¨¦mon medicine was truly wonderful, but I decided not to tell her that I would be looking for Gible as soon as I was sure that the situation with the Combee was sorted.

    Then came the latest of the group; Maximillian, an Aether Foundation employee who had set up a branch office in Oreburgh. He had gone on for longer than both of the previous tirades combined, and was just about finishing up.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°As it stands, you¡¯re also lucky the queen has decided not to take umbrage with you.¡± He continued. ¡°With some help from my fellow Foundation members we should be able to find them a new home, but they¡¯ve lost a lot of their resources. If things had gone slightly differently, the Vespiquen would be entitled to try and seek restitution.¡±

    ¡°She could do that?¡± I asked, astonished.

    ¡°There¡¯s a law firm run by a Slowking in Jubilife City that helps Pok¨¦mon who have been negatively affected by human activities. If you hadn¡¯t managed to save all of the Combee, I would be sorely tempted to recommend them to the Vespiquen.¡±

    ¡°Sheesh.¡± Said a new voice, and all eyes in the room turned to look at the newcomer who was lounging against the door frame. ¡°Talk about missing the forest for the Trevenants. I have to say, I¡¯m quite disappointed in all of you.¡±

    ¡°Ranger Kimura!¡± Nurse Joy said. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±

    Another figure stepped up behind the man, and waved his hand. ¡°I brought him.¡±

    Gym Leader Roark was dressed much as I remembered from the games, wearing a heavy gray miners outfit while carrying his red hard-hat underneath one arm. The other man who was still slouching against the door, Ranger Kimura, was wearing the standard Ranger outfit, black jeans and a black t-shirt underneath a blaze orange vest.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be a very good Gym Leader if I didn¡¯t know what was going on in my own city, now would I?¡±

    ¡°So, why are you disappointed in us Kimura?¡± The police captain asked tartly.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this exactly the kind of behavior that we want to encourage in our Trainers?¡± He replied.

    ¡°She nearly set a swarm of Combee loose on the city!¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, Combee, the most threatening Pok¨¦mon in the local area.¡± The Ranger rolled his eyes. ¡°Regardless of the fact that we have a Trainer here who willingly put herself in danger to rescue a hive of Pok¨¦mon that, by all accounts, she didn¡¯t have a stake in. You walked into the forest upon smelling smoke, yes?¡±

    I nodded mutely, surprised that I wasn¡¯t being chewed out again.

    ¡°On your own volition?¡±

    ¡°I wanted to be sure that nobody, humans or Pok¨¦mon, were in danger.¡±

    ¡°Remarkable!¡± Kimura said, nodding. ¡°And why, upon finding the Combee in danger, did you not use a Pok¨¦ Ball?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to capture any Pok¨¦mon if they don¡¯t want to.¡± I explained. ¡°I saw somebody doing that, and I didn¡¯t want to be like him.¡±

    ¡°Yes, the poacher Kane.¡± Roark said with a grimace. ¡°I read the report by Commissioner Jenny that he was back in Sinnoh.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Kimura took up the conversation again. ¡°After willingly wandering into the forest to make sure no Pok¨¦mon were hurt, and upon saving the Pok¨¦mon that were directly affected by the fire, you took it upon yourself to drag all of the afflicted Combee and their Vespiquen to the city over the course of a night, at great risk to yourself.¡±

    He turned to the rest of the people in the room. ¡°And this is the kind of behavior we are criticizing? These are the actions we should all be aspiring to. I would expect somebody like an Ace Trainer or a Pok¨¦mon Ranger to do these kinds of things, not a Trainer without a single badge to her name.¡±

    ¡°But Ranger Kimura, the risk-¡° The police captain began.

    ¡°Did not outweigh the reward. Or would you rather have the death of an entire hive on your conscience?¡±

    The room was silent, but I thought I saw Roark¡¯s face tighten at the words.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. We should be thanking you Ms. Knighton, not criticizing you.¡±

    With that announcement there were some more grumbles from the police captain and the Aether Foundation employee, but they eventually stepped out without any more criticisms. Nurse Joy was also called out by one of her assistants, leaving me alone with Roark and Kimura.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± I said eventually. ¡°I appreciate you stepping in for me.¡±

    Kimura waved his hand dismissively. ¡°They meant well, but they forget that sometimes doing the right thing doesn¡¯t always mean doing the safe or smart thing.¡±

    He shot a glance over at Oreburgh City¡¯s Gym Leader, who still had the sour expression on his face. ¡°Something I think that some people should learn. Although I would ask that next time you do try and get in touch with somebody before showing up on our doorstep.¡±

    I thought about trying to tell him that my old Pok¨¦ Gear hadn¡¯t been able to get a solid signal in the rain, but decided against it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± I said.

    "That''s all we ask."

    ¡°So now that that''s done," Roark said, with a particular gleam in his eyes that unnerved me. "Will you be doing the Gym Challenge when it opens back up?"

    ¡°I was thinking about it, but I¡¯m not sure that competitive battling is for me.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to make a career out of it, but having some badges under your belt does help.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve heard that.¡±

    Roark¡¯s happy expression faded somewhat as he stared at me. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, it¡¯s pretty unusual that you don¡¯t have any badges at all. Suspicious at your age, some might say. Now judging by the way you worked to save those Combee I¡¯m not one of them, but¡­¡±

    Kimura coughed. ¡°That¡¯s my cue! I just wanted to say thank you, there¡¯s only two of us here in Oreburgh and we were both busy yesterday trying to stop a flash flood from wiping out a Ponyta herd that wandered into the area. If you have some time you should come by the Ranger office, we¡¯d love to talk to you more!¡±

    With a slightly awkward smile and a wave, he disappeared into the hall, leaving me alone with a serious looking Gym Leader.

    I sighed, wishing that Venus wasn¡¯t being healed by the Pok¨¦mon Center employees so she could be here with me. ¡°I¡¯m from a small island just off of Unova. We didn¡¯t have a Pok¨¦mon League or even any gyms.¡±

    ¡°So what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°It was a weird situation with a Teleport.¡± I said simply, and Roark¡¯s eyebrows tried to climb into his hairline.

    ¡°And you couldn¡¯t manage to get a way back?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m not really sure I want to. My home wasn¡¯t very¡­ kind. And here I have a companion.¡±

    ¡°Your Eevee.¡±

    ¡°Hm.¡± Roark was silent for a long minute, digesting the news. ¡°Well, I guess that explains some things. Not everything mind you, but I don¡¯t need to know everything. I just wanted to make sure I wasn¡¯t letting some criminal or something into my city.¡±

    ¡°Will this be a problem if I go anywhere else?¡±

    Things would get very complicated if every time I walked into a new city I would be questioned.

    ¡°No, I¡¯ll make sure the news gets out.¡±

    At my raised eyebrows, his smile returned in full force. ¡°What, you didn¡¯t think Gym Leaders talk to each other? Oh, we chat all the time about new and interesting things. I¡¯ll drop your name next time we talk, make sure that you won¡¯t face too much trouble.¡±

    ¡°That seems like a lot! You don¡¯t have to do that!¡± I said, panicking slightly.

    ¡°Nonsense! It¡¯s nothing more than what I would do for a promising gym challenger, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Roark¡¯s face fell into a more serious expression, and I wondered at how openly he wore his heart on his sleeve. ¡°However, despite my companion, I have to admit the stunt you pulled was quite risky. I would recommend against taking those kinds of chances in the future.¡±

    Just then Nurse Joy came back into the room, looking a little harried.

    ¡°Ms. Knighton?¡± She asked, and I sat up a little from the bed, wincing a little at the pain in my back.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    ¡°The Vespiquen would like to see you.¡±

 Chapter Sixteen

    Thankfully, hobbling down the hall to the Vespiquen¡¯s room wasn¡¯t nearly as painful as I had been expecting it to be. As it turns out, even though Berries weren¡¯t as effective on Humans as they were for Pok¨¦mon, some Oran Berries and a couple of muscle relaxants went a long way to making me be able to walk again.

    Although I still had some doubts about this world letting fifteen year-olds go out on their own, I couldn¡¯t complain about their healthcare.

    Roark had tagged along with Nurse Joy and I, stating that he wanted to see what was going to happen. Considering he was the Gym Leader and probably had the strongest Pok¨¦mon in the city, I wasn¡¯t going to ask him to stay back.

    The Pok¨¦mon Center in Oreburgh City was a lot larger than the one in Sandgem Town, closer to a small hospital rather than a walk-in clinic, and the room in which the Vespiquen and the Combee were resting resembled a greenhouse more than it did a hospital room. It made sense too; if the Pok¨¦mon Center was used to helping wild Pok¨¦mon you wouldn¡¯t want to keep them in an aesthetically sterile place which would stress them out even more.

    Now that the Vespiquen was awake it was amazing how much she actually looked like a queen. She was lounging on a thick tree branch while Combee buzzed around her, and her vivid red eyes danced brightly with intelligence.

    A police officer was standing nervously a few yards away from the tree, and two other people were standing nearby. One was obviously an anxious Pok¨¦mon Trainer, and the other was¡­ well something felt wrong to me when I looked at them. It was almost a case of the uncanny valley, where they looked human but something wasn¡¯t quite right.

    I didn¡¯t really have a chance to examine them further, as the Vespiquen started a strange dance of all things as we entered the room, and the rest of the Combee followed suit, wiggling their bodies in mid-air.

    ¡°Her Majesty bids you welcome.¡± The strange person said.

    ¡°Er, hello.¡± I said, and awkwardly bowed.

    The Vespiquen buzzed her wings, and made some clicking noises with her mandible, and shook her abdomen while the strange man listened with a cocked head.

    ¡°Her Majesty has heard the tales of your bravery and how you have saved her and her hive. Her Majesty would like to extend her sincere thanks for your actions.¡±

    The voice was strange, with emphasis placed on the wrong words and coming off almost stilted.

    ¡°I¡­ thank you? It was what anybody would do, I¡¯m sure.¡±

    ¡°Her Majesty says that you are too humble, but she will grant you a boon for your service regardless. Make your request, and if it is within her power to fulfill, she shall do so.¡±

    ¡°I thank you, uh, your majesty, but I don¡¯t think there is anything that I want or need.¡±

    She buzzed and danced for a long while, until the strange person finally spoke.

    ¡°That may be so, but she still insists on granting you a boon. As you have not decided upon a favor, she will grant you one of her own volition.¡±

    The Vespiquen lazily waved one insectoid arm and one of the Combee, the one I recognized as the helpful one from the day before, buzzed down to eye level.

    ¡°This Combee has requested that Her Majesty grant her a leave of absence, despite the great deal of work that needs to be done with the reconstruction of the hive. Normally Her Majesty would be reluctant to send away a worker in such a dire time, but there are a number of circumstances that have rendered this request acceptable.¡±

    I blinked several times, trying to make sense of what was happening.

    ¡°So you¡¯re just¡­ giving her up?¡±

    The Vespiquen danced angrily.

    ¡°No, Her Majesty would never just ¡°give up¡± one of her brood. However, she has deemed you worthy of assisting one of her daughters in gaining experience in more practical affairs rather than the theoretical. It is the wish of all mothers that their children succeed them, and Her Majesty hopes that with your aid, this Combee shall become a Vespiquen unlike all others.¡±

    I looked around at the other people for aid, only to find Roark winking at me and nodding.

    ¡°Er, thank you, Your Majesty. I¡­ accept this duty entrusted to me?¡±

    ¡°Very well. You are dismissed. Chirurgeon Joy and the translators will remain to ensure that my brood is fully healthy before we depart again.¡±

    Feeling a bit stunned, I bowed again with the rest of the people, and stepped out of the room with Roark on one side and a Combee on the other.

    /^\

    ¡°Vespiquen.¡± Roark scoffed when the door closed behind us.

    ¡°Is that kind of behavior normal?¡± I asked, a little confused.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never known one that didn¡¯t act like they ruled the world.¡±

    The Combee buzzed angrily at Roark, all three faces frowning.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I offended you, but it¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡°So, Combee.¡± I said, looking over at the flying Pok¨¦mon and trying to ignore the Gym Leader unintentionally antagonizing my Pok¨¦mon. ¡°You want to travel with me?¡±

    Two of the faces lit up with excitement, while the third continued to glare at Roark.

    ¡°Okay, well, if you do want to come with me, you¡¯ll have to have a Pok¨¦ Ball. You won¡¯t need to be in it all the time!¡± I said hurriedly as another face frowned. ¡°But it¡¯s for your safety.¡±

    I tried to think of something that was suitably¡­ royal.

    ¡°Think of it as your very own palanquin!¡±

    Roark screwed up his face in thought. ¡°Is that a Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    ¡°No, back when there were still queens and kings they used to have these boxes in which they would be carried around in. Like a car, except people would literally lift them up to move them.¡±

    ¡°Oh, is that one of those Galar or Ransei things?¡±

    I blanked, before realizing that Galar was probably one of the only regions where they actually had a somewhat similar kind of royalty to Earth, and Ransei was still a feudal society.

    ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡±

    The Combee buzzed in thought, before bobbing up and down in a pseudo-nod.

    ¡°Great.¡± I fished out one of my Pok¨¦ Balls, and held it up. ¡°If you¡¯re really sure about this, just touch the button on the front there.¡±

    She flew closer and pressed her bottom face, the one with the red mark on its forehead, against the button.

    With a flash of light she disappeared into the Pok¨¦ Ball, and after a second it chimed as she was successfully captured. I let her out of the Ball a moment later, and she happily buzzed around me.

    ¡°I guess you need a name now.¡± I said, trying to think of one.

    ¡°That¡¯s on you.¡± Roark said with a smile. ¡°I suppose I¡¯ll let you go though, now that this crisis has ended. Hopefully we¡¯ll see each other again later, during the Gym Challenge.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t normally interrogate Trainers coming into the city, but if you don¡¯t mind me asking, why are you in Oreburgh?¡±

    I waffled back and forth for a second while I decided what to say. ¡°I¡¯ve heard rumors that there are some Pok¨¦mon around here that I was interested in catching.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s not a Combee.¡±

    ¡°No, not at all.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    He narrowed his eyes and waited for a moment, but I wasn¡¯t going to tell him that I was looking for a Gible. Roark, the Gym Leader who was famous for mining and caving, would probably know exactly where I could find one, but at the same time he might try and tell me that I couldn¡¯t look for one.

    ¡°Well, I wish you the best of luck.¡± Roark said eventually. ¡°Although I would beg you not to bring any more complications to my city or do anything too risky. We¡¯ve had enough upsets in the past couple months, and I¡¯d like to have at least a couple weeks of peace and quiet.¡±

    ¡°I can certainly try to do that.¡±

    Something chimed, and Roark looked at his wrist where a severely beat-up Pok¨¦tch was beeping. He pressed a couple buttons, then frowned.

    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing really. One of the air exchangers is on the fritz, and we¡¯re going to have to stop mining operations in that area until we get it fixed.¡±

    Frowning, I remembered the blue vents that allowed people and Pok¨¦mon to breathe clean air in the tunnels underneath the city. ¡°Do you need any help? I don¡¯t know much about, well anything, but I can offer a pair of hands.¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± I frowned at the man¡¯s laughter, but he just patted me on the shoulder. ¡°I appreciate the offer, but we have plenty of technicians and mechanics. The most annoying thing is that it¡¯ll put a delay into the schedule. In fact, I might as well just give the entire mining crew a day off or two.¡±

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°But won¡¯t that cause problems?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°There might be some complaints, but the health of my workers is my foremost concern. It¡¯s too risky to keep them working with a malfunctioning vent. They¡¯ll still get paid for the days off, it¡¯s not their fault that the machinery isn¡¯t working right.¡±

    That was¡­ generous. Extremely generous, especially when compared to the corporations back on Earth. They probably would have forced the workers to keep going even in the bad conditions, or if they did give the miners a day or two off the miners it certainly wouldn¡¯t have been a paid break.

    Roark sighed and continued. ¡°No, it¡¯s not really a problem, but it does mean I¡¯ll have to fill out some more forms. The paperwork never ends. Have a good day, Ms. Knighton.¡±

    ¡°You as well.¡±

    Roark hurried off, leaving me alone in the hallway. For my part, I simply sighed and leaned against the wall, feeling the exhaustion of the past day deep in my bones.

    Then the door opened, and Nurse Joy, the Trainer, and the strange person all left the room, looking harried.

    ¡°Where is Leader Roark?¡± Nurse Joy asked.

    ¡°He had some paperwork he had to get to, something about the ventilator fans.¡± I explained. ¡°He just left.¡±

    ¡°Paperwork? Ah, that explains it.¡± Nurse Joy shook her head, then dug out a miniaturized Pok¨¦ Ball from a pocket in her apron. ¡°With all the excitement regarding the Vespiquen, I nearly forgot, your Eevee is all rested up.¡±

    Eagerly I grabbed the Ball and opened it, and Venus appeared in a flash of light. With a happy purr she rubbed her head against my leg.

    ¡°Your Pok¨¦mon¡¯s love does you credit.¡± The strange person said with a strange cadence, and I gave them a side-eye.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t mean to offend, but how do you know?¡±

    They offered a strange, inhuman kind of smile, and shimmered.

    Like a heat haze lifting off of the ground, the person dissolved, and in their place was standing a hunched, strangely vulpine black form with a long flowing red mane.

    The Zoroark¡¯s grin sent shivers down my spine, and it was all I could do to not jump away in surprise and terror.

    The trainer, off to one side, sighed.

    ¡°Please forgive Sombra.¡± He said with an accent that almost seemed Spanish. ¡°He can be quite annoying when he feels like it.¡±

    The Zoroark turned to his trainer with a frown, and smacked him on the arm.

    ¡°Or just do what I do, and ignore him.¡± The man continued, before sticking out his hand to shake. ¡°Pleased to meet you, my name is Alejandro.¡±

    For the first time I actually looked at him, and was surprised at how normal he looked compared to some of the more¡­ anime-esque figures that I had seen so far. The Nurse Joy¡¯s and Officer Jenny¡¯s stood out in particular, with their naturally pink and green hair respectively. Alejandro on the other hand had dark skin and nearly black hair, and was wearing simple dark brown trousers, a tan button-down shirt, and a worn leather jacket.

    ¡°Alina.¡± I said, taking his hand. ¡°Pleased to meet you as well, Sombra. This is Venus.¡±

    Venus, who had jumped behind my legs upon seeing the transformation of the Zoroark, stepped forwards curiously, sniffing at the much larger Pok¨¦mon. Sombra, for his part, crouched down and began to purr and snarl at Venus, who responded with her own purrs.

    Alejandro rolled his eyes. ¡°And now he will be gossiping for ages, I swear. As soon as he gets a chance he¡¯ll talk anybody¡¯s ears off.¡±

    I smiled, then gestured towards the room we had all just come from. ¡°Do you do this kind of thing often?¡±

    ¡°What, arbitrate meetings between Pok¨¦mon and humans?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s one of the services we provide. I¡¯m not from around here as you can probably guess by my accent; we¡¯re actually from Paldea. Sombra and I travel the world in search of artifacts, but we often end up taking these kinds of jobs to help pay our way.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an archaeologist?¡±

    ¡°I am! Specializing in historical Pok¨¦mon/human relations.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s why you¡¯re here in Sinnoh then.¡±

    ¡°That would be correct.¡± Alejandro nodded seriously. ¡°Sinnoh has a long and storied history with humans and Pok¨¦mon coexisting together. Sombra and I both have an interest in these kinds of studies, and his ability to talk to both humans and Pok¨¦mon opens a lot more doors that would normally be closed.¡±

    That¡­ was actually really interesting, and I said as much.

    ¡°Well thank you!¡± Alejandro beamed at the praise. ¡°Most people don¡¯t see the value in such research. A lot of times, especially in places like Unova, there¡¯s a focus on looking forwards to the future, and not enough people pay attention to our past.¡±

    His phone beeped, and Alejandro frowned as he pulled out his Rotom Phone and checked the screen.

    ¡°Unfortunately I think Sombra and I have to go, we have another meeting soon. Do you have anything to keep in touch? I do appreciate knowing that there are other Trainers who are interested in my kind of research.¡±

    ¡°I have a Pok¨¦ Gear.¡± I said, fishing the old device out of my pocket.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s practically in my field of study!¡±

    I suppressed a grimace that, yet again, I was far behind the curve when it came to technology, but we were able to exchange phone numbers. For Alejandro it was much simpler, all he had to do was press his phone against mine and the Rotom in his phone automatically downloaded my number and added it to his contact list. I, on the other hand, had to negotiate through several sub-menus just to be able to add a new number to my contacts.

    After an embarrassing minute of dealing with the phones, Alejandro and Sombra waved their goodbyes.

    ¡°Well.¡± I said to Venus and the Combee after the two left. ¡°I think it¡¯s time for us to have a talk.¡±

    /^\

    Oreburgh City was a beautiful town in a very strange way, mixing nature and industry together to create one cohesive aesthetic. The mountain towered overhead, like a miniature version of Mount Coronet, and thick streams of smoke emerged from countless smoke stacks spread out across the city.

    I had recalled Combee after a minute of leaving the Pok¨¦mon Center once she had started getting overwhelmed with the sights and sounds of the city.

    The roads were obviously sized up to support bulldozers and other mining equipment, but there were trees and healthy patches of grass lining the roads, and bird Pok¨¦mon like Starly chirped happily in the branches. Everywhere I looked it was obviously a mining town that should have looked depressing, like so many back in my world, but instead it was as if the industry of Oreburgh City had nestled comfortably alongside the natural beauty of the landscape, instead of imposing itself on it.

    Once again, I marveled at this world¡¯s beauty and connection to nature.

    As we walked down the sidewalks of the city, people and Pok¨¦mon went about their daily lives, as happy as they could be. We passed a tall brick and stone building that had a very art-deco feel to it, with a massive bronze plaque mounted above the doors declaring it to be the Oreburgh City Gym. Empty patches of ground were cleared out around it, where a number of low-intensity battles were taking place. Most of the Trainers were local miners with a scattering of Rock- and Ground-types, but I did see a few people who looked like they were from out of town, like one battling with a Scyther of all things.

    A city-wide horn blared, startling everybody including myself, but all of the miners began cheering so Venus and I exchanged a look and kept walking. A few minutes later, streams of miners left the massive opening in the side of the mountain, laughing and singing Roark¡¯s praises for giving them the day off.

    Eventually Venus and I settled down in a small park near the outskirts of town, where it was relatively quiet enough to have a talk.

    ¡°Okay, well this is a little different than how I was expecting this to go.¡± I said to Venus, who cocked her head, obviously confused.

    I held out the other Pok¨¦ Ball, and released Combee.

    ¡°First, introductions. Venus, this is Combee, she doesn¡¯t have a name yet but she¡¯ll be traveling with us. Combee, this is Venus, she helped me in saving your queen. Hopefully you two should already be a little familiar with each other.¡±

    Venus yipped a greeting, and Combee did a mid-air dance in response.

    ¡°Please try and get along, because hopefully there will be more Pok¨¦mon joining us in the future.¡±

    Combee¡¯s three faces merely looked inquisitive, but Venus had a hurt expression so I hurriedly explained.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that you¡¯re not good enough! You¡¯ll always be my first Pok¨¦mon, and I¡¯ll always love you. But sometimes we might get into situations like last night where we don¡¯t have the skills. A Water-type could have stopped that fire from getting any worse, or a Fire-type could have made some smoke to knock out the rest of the Combee.¡±

    She frowned, but nodded slowly.

    ¡°Combee will help us with some of those skills, but I was thinking about trying to find a Gible, have either of you ever heard of one?¡±

    Venus shook her head, and Combee wiggled her whole body in what I guessed was a negative.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay, they¡¯re very rare after all and they¡¯re mostly found underground. Gible are Dragon-type Pok¨¦mon, and are very strong.¡±

    The two Pok¨¦mon nodded seriously.

    ¡°I think I¡¯ve been lax in my responsibility as a Trainer recently, and I¡¯m sorry about that. So what we¡¯re going to do is some actual training for battles, and we might even try battling some of the local trainers. I¡¯m not sure exactly what we¡¯re going to do, but I think we should work on both of your speeds. Venus, hopefully you¡¯ll soon be able to learn a move called Quick Attack, which should prove handy.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how levels worked in this world. Obviously they were a game mechanic back where I was from, but after some careful questioning and online research back in Sandgem Town I had learned that they weren¡¯t a thing here. If you wanted your Pok¨¦mon to learn a new move you either used a TM, or you practiced and trained a lot to learn it the old fashioned way. The rest of training to build up strength and HP was daily practice, working out, and eating healthy.

    ¡°In general, I think the faster you can be, the better. Sounds good?¡±

    Venus nodded, apparently happy with the idea, and Combee just looked happy to get stronger.

    I thought for a minute about what I knew of Combee as I turned to the waiting Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure about what we¡¯ll do for you, but I think speed work is also going to be important. If I¡¯m being honest, you weren¡¯t exactly part of the plan when I set out, but I¡¯m happy to have you here.¡±

    Combee danced, and thankfully she didn¡¯t seem too upset.

    ¡°Would you like a name for yourself though?¡±

    She stilled in mid-air except for her wings beating in a mesmerizing pattern, until all three of her faces lit up in excitement.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s see here. Combee, bees, Vespiquen, queens? How does Elizabeth sound?¡±

    She shook her body violently.

    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s a no then. Catherine? Mary? Boudicca? Cleopatra?¡±

    I struggled as each name got a negative response, and tried to pull out every last bit of memory from my old social studies class. Not for the first time I cursed the inadequacies of the US school system.

    ¡°The only other famous queen I can think of is Wu Zetian, but I think she was technically an empress?¡±

    Three faces lit up in eager anticipation, but it was the look in the lower face¡¯s eyes that had me a little worried. That pair of eyes was excited, but also hungry in a way that I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on.

    ¡°Okay, well Wu is a family name and I don¡¯t know if you already have one, so how about just Zetian?¡±

    Zetian buzzed around me ecstatically, and I smiled.

    ¡°Great, Zetian it is. Despite what I just said, it¡¯s been a busy day so we¡¯re not going to do any training today. Instead I think we¡¯re going to scout out the cave.¡±

    Venus and Zetian nodded again, and we started our way out of the city and towards the Wayward Cave. In the games, the cave had been located in a hidden underpass beneath the cycling road. I wasn¡¯t sure that would still be the same here, but it was the best idea that I had.

    Of course, the games were much more condensed than the world actually was. It took over an hour to leave the city in order to just to reach the official cycling road itself, and as I looked at the scope of the task before me I suddenly felt a lot less sure of my plan.

    The thing about a hidden entrance to the Wayward Cave was that it was hidden. I knew where it was in the games, but not where it was in reality. And as I learned over and over again, this world was most certainly not the same as the games.

    The cycling road was a massive construction of concrete and metal that loomed overhead, leaving plenty of room for nature and hiking trails underneath. It could have honestly rivaled some of the larger highways from my old world, and stretched far into the distance until it curved around some hills and mountains. And unfortunately for me, there was a lot of ground to cover underneath the cycling road where a cave could be hidden.

    It could take days, or even weeks to find the entrance, and then I had to actually get into the cave, find where the Gible were living, and convince one to come with me.

    ¡°On second thought.¡± I said, feeling a little light-headed. ¡°I think we should start searching tomorrow.¡±

 Chapter Seventeen

    ¡°This will be an unofficial match. The rules will be held in accordance with Pok¨¦mon League regulations. It is a one-on-one match, with no substitutions or items. Do both of you understand?¡±

    Alejandro, the Trainer who had helped broker the deal with the Vespiquen that Venus and I had rescued, looked between me and my opponent.

    I nodded, and Rei nodded back. She was a cyclist who had stopped by and chatted with me a couple of times. Then she asked Venus and I to battle, and roped Alejandro into it. He had been in the area and had stopped by to visit, but was looking excited to be a judge for a battle.

    What was making me nervous however, was the Tyrogue who was currently staring down Venus, shifting its weight back and forth in a loose fighting stance.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    ¡°Quick Attack!¡±

    ¡°Push back and sweep!¡±

    Venus'' form blurred as she sped into a Quick Attack, something we had just gotten down a couple of days ago after a bunch of training. I was proud of her for finally getting the move, but I was afraid that it wasn''t going to do much good in this fight.

    She slammed into the Tyrogue, which grunted and was pushed back a step, but little else happened. The Tyrogue, for its part, leaned its own head down and slammed a shoulder into her chest.

    My poor Eevee was shoved back by a couple of feet, but the Tyrogue was already moving. It bounded forth, closing the distance, and before Venus could react the Tyrogue dropped to its hands and swept with its feet, looking almost like a breakdancer for a second. Venus didn''t have a chance, and the Tyrogue¡¯s strong legs knocked hers out from under her, toppling her to the ground.

    ¡°Recover!¡± Rei called, and the Tyrogue hopped backwards, falling into its fighting stance again.

    ¡°Come on, get up!¡±

    Venus struggled to her feet, although I could tell she was favoring her front left paw, the one that had taken the brunt of the last attack.

    Still, there was a fire in her eye, and I knew she still had some fight left in her.

    ¡°Sand Attack!¡±

    Venus slapped at the ground with her paw, throwing a cloud of sand at her opponent, who cried out and scrubbed at its eyes.

    ¡°Go on Venus, you got this! Quick Attack again!¡±

    While the Tyrogue was busy, Venus blurred forwards and threw her entire body into the blow. The Tyrogue grunted in pain and was forced back, but finally got its vision back and glared at Venus with red-rimmed eyes.

    ¡°Razzle Dazzle!¡±

    The Tyrogue stepped forwards, and began throwing punches. None of them were meant to actually hit, but Venus hesitated for a split second, and the Tyrogue''s fist caught her square on the nose, right as she was about to attack.

    She flinched, stumbling backwards in surprise from the blow, and it took me a second to realize that the Tyrogue had used Fake Out.

    ¡°Exploit!¡±

    The Tyrogue stepped forwards with a satisfied grin, and slammed another shoulder in a Tackle to Venus¡¯ chest.

    I grimaced, but pulled out her Pok¨¦ball, and withdrew Venus.

    ¡°I forfeit.¡± I said, tasting the bitter pill of failure.

    ¡°Come on back Yoshio.¡±

    The Tyrogue bowed towards me, then looked back to his trainer, who examined him for a few seconds, then recalled him to his own Pok¨¦ball.

    ¡°Good fight.¡± It was a little hard to say that, but it was the polite thing to do.

    ¡°Sorry about it being one-sided.¡± Rei said, obviously a little ashamed at the beat-down.

    I waved her off. ¡°It was a bad match up on my part. Normal-types have it hard against Fighting-types at the best of times, but your Tyrogue, wow. You¡¯ve been training a lot haven''t you?¡±

    She smiled with a set of perfect teeth. ¡°For the past year and change, yeah.¡±

    I whistled. ¡°Well, it shows.¡±

    Their coordination was disgustingly good, and I envied her ability to tell her Pok¨¦mon what to do without actually stating the names of the attacks. Normally that was only done at the highest levels of battling since it required a lot of training and mutual understanding, so it was impressive that they were able to do it here. The fact was that Venus and I had only been together for less than two months, and I had never grown up with the experience needed to command real live Pok¨¦mon. I knew the mechanics of the games, but translating that to real life was more difficult than I had expected.

    Rei had the good grace to look apologetic. ¡°Yeah, sorry about that. I knew you were a new Trainer, but I didn''t realize how new.¡±

    It still stung, but it was getting better.

    ¡°Let me guess,¡± Alejandro said, joining us. ¡°Training for the Quadrathlon?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you got it.¡±

    ¡°Quadrathlon?¡± I asked, confused. ¡°Is that like the Pok¨¦athalon?¡±

    Rei laughed, but Alejandro rolled his eyes.

    ¡°It''s more like a triathlon, except so much better!¡± Rei gushed. ¡°It''s all done with your Pok¨¦mon by your side, so they have to swim, bike, and run with you! Then at the end, the top scoring challengers have to go through a Pok¨¦mon battle tournament to determine the winner!¡±

    ¡°It''s like a Contest for fitness buffs.¡± Alejandro explained, stage whispering to me. ¡°Where they show off to each other about how strong and muscular they are.¡±

    ¡°That sounds¡­ exhausting.¡± I said, shaking my head.

    ¡°It is! Yoshio and I didn''t even manage to get into the tournament round last time, but we''ve been training all year for it!¡±

    ¡°Well, I hope it goes well this time. Congratulations on your win.¡±

    It was a little hard not to be bitter, considering how outmatched we had been, but Rei was a nice person.

    ¡°I think Venus and I should get back to camp though.¡±

    ¡°Do you want some company?¡± Alejandro asked, with Rei nodding in the background.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    I hesitated, but shook my head. ¡°Thanks you two, but I think we''re good for now. Meet up again soon?¡±

    Rei was obviously disappointed, and while I felt bad, I was exhausted from a long day of spelunking, and then the match. Besides, Venus had to rest and heal up as well.

    ¡°Okay, well we''ll catch up with you later then. Send me a message whenever you want to hang out again.¡± Alejandro said, and nearly dragged Rei away, leaving me alone again.

    I trudged back to my camp and released Venus, who looked around before crawling into my lap to get her wounds tended to and her ears scratched.

    There was still a small worry in my chest that she was badly hurt by the beating she had taken, but besides a few bruises, she seemed fine enough. I still fed her a couple of healing Berries to be sure, and after a couple hours of rest Venus was walking around as if nothing had happened.

    Despite the fact that Venus had just been in a battle she came up to me and started batting at my leg, and Zetian¡¯s ball wriggled in my pocket, demanding to be let out.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked. ¡°We don¡¯t have to train right now, you already did a lot today.¡±

    There was a fire in Venus¡¯ brown eyes, and I sighed at the determination I saw there.

    ¡°Alright then.¡±

    With a flash of light, Zetian was released, and the two Pok¨¦mon squared up for their now habitual sparring session.

    ¡°Venus, work on dodging and trying to use the environment to your advantage. Zetian, I want you to work on Gust, it¡¯s a good move, but I think it needs a little more control. Sounds good?¡±

    The two Pok¨¦mon nodded, and I sighed again.

    ¡°Alright then, begin!¡±

    /^\

    After my two companions had thoroughly worn themselves out, I found myself sitting in front of a crackling fire pit at the new camp site, cleaning some of the dirt off of Zetian with a cloth that I had bought from the Oreburgh City Pok¨¦ Mart, while Venus lay curled up near the flames, soaking in their warmth.

    The past couple of weeks had passed in a blur. I hadn¡¯t meant to spend so long just looking for the cave itself, but apparently it was a lot more hidden than I had thought. By the time I finally uncovered the entrance to the cave, I was beginning to think that we would never actually find it and I would have to give up on my goal.

    The weeks themselves weren¡¯t bad. In fact, for the most part I was having a good time. Sure, the constant fruitless searching was frustrating, but the rest of the time was actually enjoyable. I had set up a small semi-permanent camp by the river, living off of the Berries, fruit, and fish of the local area.

    As it turns out, there was a lot more Berry variety here than back near Sandgem Town, and Venus was relishing in how many sour Berries there were. She would have loved some of the sour candies back home, considering how she practically inhaled some Grepa Berries that I had found in a tree nearby. Zetian, on the other hand, preferred the spicier berries, and it was lucky there were so many Razz Berries to be found.

    When we weren¡¯t futilely searching the area for a cave, or relaxing at the campsite and looking for food, we had been training.

    The Vespiquen hive incident had been a bit of a wakeup call, and reminded me that I was a Pok¨¦mon Trainer, and despite how amazing it was, it could also be dangerous as well.

    If I wanted to make sure nothing bad happened to me or my Pok¨¦mon, we had to be stronger, and that meant training and battling. The difference between my old world and this one that I was still coming to terms with was that Pok¨¦mon were much, much tougher than any animal back home. What would have been a lethal blow there was just a bruise here.

    On top of all of that, they just simply liked the training and the battles. I would have been a poor Trainer if I disregarded what my companions wanted.

    For Venus it began with sprints. Pok¨¦mon battles didn¡¯t usually involve running long distances, so I figured that being faster across a small area was probably going to be best. Then with some creative thinking, I set up a small obstacle course to help her train her agility, getting her used to turning on a dime.

    After she built up some speed and agility, we started working on her attacks. By the end of the first week Venus had finally managed to figure out Quick Attack, but it was clear that despite her speed, being fast wasn¡¯t her forte.

    Of course when she wasn¡¯t training, she was as lazy as could be, often curling up to sleep whenever she could. Most of the time it was on my lap, which was fine with me.

    Zetian, on the other hand, was starting to get a little scary.

    As I¡¯d found out from browsing the forums on the free computers in the Pok¨¦mon Center and the local library, Combee weren¡¯t all that great as battling Pok¨¦mon. They just didn¡¯t learn all that many moves, and were mostly a threat as wild Pok¨¦mon because of how many there were in a swarm. But Zetian? Zetian was fast.

    It tickled something in the back of my mind about the statistics of the Pok¨¦mon games, and I once again regretted the fact that I couldn¡¯t just look these things up on Bulbapedia like I used to be able to. Zetian wasn¡¯t the fastest Pok¨¦mon out there, but for an unevolved form she was scary at how fast she could dish out attacks.

    If, or more realistically when, she evolved into a Vespiquen I was sure she would lose most of that speed, but she would make up for it with a better movepool.

    I had plans for that, but right now I couldn¡¯t out-run her if I tried, and she consistently struck first when she and Venus sparred.

    Of course I wasn¡¯t exempt from working out. Thanks to Jirachi I was in a brand new body without any dysphoria, but that didn¡¯t excuse me from taking care of myself. Thankfully, almost all of the food here was incredibly healthy, and I took it a step further by only eating berries, fish, and some vegetables that I scrounged from the woods. Sure that was mostly because I had no income so I couldn¡¯t buy a lot of food without running out of money, but I made sure everything was safe to eat by asking some of the local hikers. With some running and calisthenics every day, I was in the best shape of my life.

    I really could have gone for a burger though.

    /^\

    The most frustrating part during the search wasn¡¯t that the Wayward Cave itself was hard to find. In fact, I managed to reach the main cave on the second day after leaving Oreburgh.

    While it wasn¡¯t a tourist trap or anything, the cave was popular with the local campers and hikers, as well as anybody who was interested in Rock-type Pok¨¦mon. I even spent an entire day just walking around and gawking at the sights inside the cave. I even almost got decked in the face by accidentally stepping on a Geodude that had blended in with the stones on the ground. It was only thanks to Venus intercepting it that I ended up with a bruise instead of a broken nose.

    I made friends with some of the local hikers and cyclists like Rei, and while they were curious about why I was camping for so long in one spot, I never told them about the secret cave system underneath the Wayward Cave. Mostly they just wanted to battle, and every few days Venus, Zetian, and I would try out a fight or two.

    However, while the main cavern was a local fixture, the hidden part of the cave where Gible lived was, well, hidden.

    My meta-knowledge of the games wasn¡¯t very helpful in this instance, and I was beginning to think that I should seriously consider just ignoring most of what I had learned back on Earth. What was hidden on a Nintendo DS screen was thanks to the engine limitations and a fixed viewpoint, and the developers had literally just blocked the entrance from view. Here, in the real world though? There were no sprites to cover up the entrance or a convenient guidebook to show me the way.

    I had finally found the hidden entrance about two days ago, but it was little more than a narrow crack in a rock wall, nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding stone thanks to the shadows of the cycling road overhead. It was barely big enough for me to squeeze through, and I thanked god or Arceus or whomever that I wasn¡¯t claustrophobic.

    In the games, the Wayward cave used the bog-standard cave textures, which was fine. Engine limitations of the DS and all. As such, I didn¡¯t have any real expectations of the cave when I first went in, but what I saw blew me away.

    After maybe ten or fifteen feet of a cramped rock surface the hidden section of the Wayward Cave opened up into an almost smooth and perfectly round tunnel. The one notable feature was at the top of the tunnel, where a channel was cut out of the rock. I had scratched my head, trying to figure out what it was and trying to ignore the fact that I couldn¡¯t touch both sides of the wall if I spread my arms out to my side.

    Heading deeper into the cave had been a lot stranger than I had expected, and the path wound around itself in ways that didn¡¯t seem like they made any kind of sense. Sometimes there would be other paths that intersected with the one I had found myself in, and they all shared that same round shape with the strange cut-out on top.

    Eventually, I had reached what seemed to be a conjunction of sorts, a massive chamber with dozens of similar tunnels that had been bored into the rocks. You could have put an entire castle into the center of the chamber and still have had plenty of room to move around. Large boulders, almost the size of small hills, were scattered across the floor and off in the distance I could have sworn that I heard deep grinding noises like the world¡¯s largest mortar and pestle. Slightly glowing rocks set into the ceiling and walls dimly illuminated the cavern, giving the entire place a strange, ethereal quality.

    This had most certainly not been in the games, and I had stared around in wonder and a little bit of trepidation.

    Then I realized that we had even more searching to do, and it took everything I had to not put my head in my hands and scream in frustration.

 Chapter Eighteen

    It did, in fact, take much longer to explore the caves than I had thought it would. Besides the massive cavern, the initial layout of the cave could best be described as ¡°labyrinthian,¡± with paths looping back into themselves or spiraling into dead ends. I had thought that finding the cave was going to be the most difficult part of this entire journey, not finding the Gible itself.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if this is worth it.¡± I told Venus miserably from my spot by our fire, two weeks after finding the cave and the battle with Rei.

    We had relocated the camp closer to the hidden cave soon after finding it, so we only had a short walk to the entrance. I was a little afraid of drawing more attention to the opening, but I had barely seen anyone at all in the past few days, thanks to it being so far away from the major hiking trails.

    After the dismal defeat of Venus by Rei¡¯s Tyrogue, the other woman had continually pushed for more battles, and I ended up caving. We were battling almost every other day for these past two weeks, but she had to head to Eterna City. She mentioned needing to pick up some more supplies and a new bike as the date of her quadrathlon grew closer.

    Rei had also been kind enough to extend an invitation for me to come and watch, and I was seriously considering going if I had the time. After her departure, I had been surprised to actually find myself missing the battles with Rei, and my Pok¨¦mon seemed to be feeling the same.

    Venus looked up at me from her meal of Berries and fish, purring a question in response to what I said and pulling me out of my thoughts.

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯ve been having the time of my life camping here,¡± I continued, shaking off my thoughts. ¡°But I¡¯m starting to wonder if we should go somewhere else. It¡¯s been a month after all, and if we haven¡¯t found a Gible yet¡­ maybe it¡¯s not in the cards for us.¡±

    She purred thoughtfully around a mouthful of fish. Zetian was off gathering some Berries like she normally did for dinner. She insisted on delivering what she found to me before she ate, probably a hold-over from when she still had a hive to gather food for.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like Gible are even my favorite Pok¨¦mon! I just know they¡¯re incredibly powerful, and I was thinking that a Dragon would be useful against a lot of other Trainers or wild Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    Venus butted her head against my leg, and I chuckled, scratching her behind the ears.

    ¡°Yes, you are my favorite Pok¨¦mon. Don¡¯t worry, you could never be replaced.¡±

    With that, she happily returned to her meal.

    ¡°It¡¯s just, I want to see the world, you know? Maybe we¡¯ve been spending too much time here when we could have been out, meeting new people and Pok¨¦mon. I mean, we¡¯ve spent almost more time looking for a Gible than we have anything else. Dragons aren¡¯t even my favorite type of Pok¨¦mon!¡±

    I sighed, and stared into the flickering flames of the campfire as dusk began to creep over the horizon.

    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± I decided. ¡°The league season starts on the first of September, but it¡¯s already August and there¡¯s a lot we should do before it starts. We¡¯ll do one more day of searching tomorrow, and if we don¡¯t find anything, we¡¯ll leave.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know where we¡¯ll go afterwards,¡± I continued. ¡°We should probably at least check in with Professor Rowan before we start tackling Gyms. Maybe talk to Roark a little bit too? He¡¯s a Gym Leader, hopefully he can give us some tips.¡±

    From what I¡¯d read while doing research back at the laboratory, it didn¡¯t matter which order you challenged the Gyms. All the Gym Leaders had different strength teams that they would use depending on how strong a challenger was and how many badges they had earned, so it wasn¡¯t like the games at all.

    Regardless of where I started though, I certainly wasn¡¯t going to be facing Maylene in Veilstone City any time soon. Maylene ran a Fighting-type Gym, and while type matchups weren¡¯t as crucial for victory as they were in the games, they were still important.

    Venus, being a Normal-type Pok¨¦mon, was particularly weak to Fighting-types, and I wanted to shore up that weakness before challenging Maylene. Zetian did know Gust, and although she was fast compared to Venus, she couldn¡¯t take a lot of hits. If there¡¯s one thing Fighting-types did well, it was dish out hits fast and hard.

    ¡°Augh.¡± I said eloquently, shoveling some dirt onto the fire to put it out. ¡°My head hurts from all this thinking, once Zetian gets back I¡¯m going to bed.¡±

    /^\

    The ground shivered.

    I looked at Venus, her brown eyes looking back up at me quizzically.

    ¡°You felt that, right?¡±

    She nodded, and I looked up and down the tunnel, trying to figure out what was going on.

    We had decided for the last day to check out one of the tunnels in the farthest corner of the massive cavern we had found. It was one of the strange tunnels, which had a triangular cut out in the roof.

    It had taken me a while to figure out what they were, and I had only realized it once I had seen a veritable freight train of stone moving off in the distance one day. There had to be an Onix nest nearby, and they had carved out these tunnels. The cut-out section of rock helped to guide their head-fins, serving as rails for the massive creatures.

    I had been much more careful about wandering the caves once I had figured that out.

    Of course, because it was our last time in the tunnels, we had gotten hopelessly lost, and I had no idea where we currently were.

    There were none of the glowing crystals that had illuminated the big cavern and the other naturally formed tunnels that we had explored, which was a little odd. Up until now in all of the other caverns and tunnels they had been set into the walls and ceiling. In fact, there had been some times where there had been so many of the crystals that I hadn¡¯t even needed to use my flashlight.

    This tunnel was even stranger however, being much wider than the rest of the Onix tunnels we¡¯d seen, with strange silvery streaks on the walls.

    The ground shivered again, this time with the faint sound of rocks grinding in the distance.

    I shined the light down the tunnel in the direction of the sound. It only illuminated about twenty feet, everything beyond that was darkness, except for two pinpricks of red light.

    ¡°Are those getting bigger?¡± I asked, frowning and straining my eyes to get a better view.

    The lights bobbed up and down slightly, and sure enough they did seem to be getting a little bit bigger every second.

    ¡°Hey Venus,¡± I called, and the Eevee bounded up to my side. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but be on your guard, okay?¡±

    She yipped a response, and I took a step forward, trying to see what was going on.

    A grinding sound began to echo from the same direction, and I frowned. It sounded different than the noises an Onix made, and I struggled to put a name to why that was. As the red lights got closer, ice water ran down my spine as the source of the noise became visible.

    I realized why this tunnel was broader than the others, and what that silvery substance on the walls had been - metal.

    There was one pokemon that lived near Onix, that was broader than the big rock worms, and was coated in metal.

    The Steelix howled as it got close enough to see us clearly and sped up, rage, hatred, and pain in its eyes.

    Venus and I looked at each other and did the only sensible thing.

    We turned and sprinted down the tunnel.

    Of course our flight didn¡¯t last long. The tunnel hadn¡¯t been a straight shot to the main cavern, of course, and twisted and turned in all sorts of directions. It was a tangled Rattatas nest, and running didn¡¯t help us out for very long.

    Somehow we didn¡¯t end up in the massive main cavern. I didn¡¯t know how, we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere in the dark, but one wrong turn led to another and we ended up in the middle of a much smaller cave, with no other tunnels or exits.

    A dead end.

    The rumbling of stone announced the end of the line, and Venus and I turned to face the freight train of steel and anger that had followed us this far.

    The speed training that we had done in order to learn Quick Attack was the only thing that saved us from getting completely splattered.

    We both dived to the side as the Steelix burst into the cavern, slamming into the wall on the far side. Stones clattered to my feet from the ceiling, and I nearly tripped over them.

    Once we were to the side and had a clear view of the massive Pok¨¦mon, I could see what had gotten it so upset. There, on the end of its tail, was a Gible. The young Dragon-type Pok¨¦mon was basically a massive mouth on a pair of stubby legs, but that mouth was currently clenched tightly onto the tip of the Steelix¡¯s tail. What was worse for the Steelix however, was that the dragon¡¯s teeth were apparently winning the fight against the metal skin of the larger Pok¨¦mon, and cracks were spiderwebbed across the last segment of the tail.

    With some space to move around out of the smaller tunnels, the Steelix was able to swing its tail back and forth, building up speed and momentum to crack its tail like a whip, smashing the Gible into the wall with a gut-wrenching impact.

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    The Gible didn¡¯t stand a chance and let go, dropping to the ground, clearly dazed.

    Even with the pest removed from its tail, the Steelix was still enraged, and roared as it caught sight of Venus and I. Despite the fact that we hadn¡¯t done anything to it, the massive Pok¨¦mon began coiling itself up for another strike.

    My mind raced. There was no way out. Even if we could get by the Steelix, we were still lost in the maze. The pissed off Steelix most definitely knew the labyrinth of tunnels better than we did, and it was faster in this environment than we were. It was only because we had a head start that we had even made it this far.

    Besides, we had finally found our quarry, and we might never see one again if we didn¡¯t take this opportunity.

    We had to fight.

    I pulled out my other Pok¨¦ball, and released Zetian in a flash of light.

    She had been kept away for the vast majority of time exploring the caves as she was deeply uncomfortable being so far underground, but when she saw the situation we were in, Zetian immediately buzzed in anger and moved to protect me.

    ¡°Venus!¡± I called. ¡°Quick Attack! Zetian, use Gust!¡±

    The pitifully small Eevee glowed with a faint light as she dashed forwards, smashing into the Steelix¡¯s side.

    I winced at the sound of the impact but the Steelix bellowed again, this time the anger was laced with pain.

    The attack had done damage, but obviously wasn¡¯t enough.

    The blast of wind that emerged from Zetian¡¯s small wings wasn¡¯t much better. Steelix was a dual Steel- and Ground-type, and was naturally resistant to Bug- and Flying-types like Zetian. Her attacks would be like a papercut to the massive Pok¨¦mon. The only saving grace was that comparing the speeds of the two Pok¨¦mon was like comparing night and day, as Zetian was easily able to dodge most of her slower enemy¡¯s attacks.

    The Steelix roared and its tail whipped around again, and while it wasn¡¯t able to catch Zetian thanks to her speed, Venus wasn¡¯t quite so lucky.

    Her whimper of pain sent daggers into my heart, and I bit back a cry of sympathy.

    I started to run over to her, but Venus was already up on her feet, looking battered but determined.

    Pride warred with concern, and at the expression on her face, I came to a stop.

    Pok¨¦mon were so much stronger than any animal from my world. That blow would have turned any animal Venus¡¯ size into roadkill, but she was clearly still able to battle. This was part of the world I was in now.

    I had to trust her.

    ¡°Growl!¡±

    Ears pinned back, Venus snarled, and the Steelix actually hesitated. When it next attacked, using its tail again, it was moving just a fraction slower, and its blow was that much lighter.

    Another stone clattered to the ground, and I realized that I could see without the flashlight in my hand. I spared a quick glance towards the ceiling of the cave, noticing it was covered in stalactites and the glowing gems. One of which was a particularly large green stone, nearly the size of a pool table and glowing bright enough to light up the room on its own.

    An idea started to form in my head, but I was forced to redirect my attention towards the fight still ongoing.

    Venus had continued to use her Quick Attack while I had been distracted, and Zetian was still chipping away with Gust, but apparently the Steelix was reaching the end of its patience. During the scuffle it had managed to maneuver itself between Venus and myself, putting the bulk of its metallic body between us. The massive Pok¨¦mon roared, and smashed its tail into the ground. More stones clattered from the roof, including several of the crystals, and the Steelix¡¯s tail slapped one of them right at Venus.

    The Rock Throw hit Venus square on, and there was a sickening sound of breaking bone. Venus howled in pain, and the sound nearly broke my heart.

    I looked around frantically for anything that I could do, but the Steelix was between me and her, and it loomed over the still form of my beloved partner. A flash of blue caught my eye, and I noticed the hunched form of the forgotten Gible, who was back to full consciousness but simply staring at the fight.

    ¡°Please!¡± I called, and the Pok¨¦mon jolted. ¡°Please! Just¡­ let me help her! If you can do anything¡­¡±

    The Gible hesitated, and my heart dropped as it scampered away behind a boulder.

    ¡°No, no, no!¡± I cried as the Steelix began to drop its entire mass down on my best friend in the entire world.

    Then the Gible popped back up as if it were launched from a trebuchet, and smashed both of its feet into the ground.

    The entire cave shook, enough to throw the Steelix off-balance. It knocked me over too, but the Gible had bought me a precious few seconds with its attack, and I desperately crawled over to Venus, pulling out the Potion that I had gotten from Courtney at the Pok¨¦ Mart, which seemed like a lifetime ago.

    ¡°Zetian!¡± I called, and one of the faces turned to look at me while the other two were focused on her enemy. ¡°Keep it off of us for a second! I need to heal Venus!¡±

    All three faces were set in grim determination, and she redoubled her attacks as I switched my attention to Venus. I wished I could have helped Zetian out more, but I had to put my faith in her ability to handle herself.

    I knelt down in front of Venus, shielding her from the Steelix even though it meant turning my back on the Pok¨¦mon. The Gible huffed, seemingly satisfied, and sat back on its haunches to watch the battle continue to unfold, not bothering to continue the fight.

    That didn¡¯t stop me from twisting the nozzle of the Potion and pulling the small mass of brown fur into my lap.

    ¡°Oh little one.¡± I sobbed, tears welling up as she valiantly tried to struggle to her feet, favoring one obviously broken leg.

    I sprayed the entire bottle of Potion onto her skin, and even though she whimpered from the sting of the medicine, there was an almost immediate reaction.

    Venus¡¯ leg didn¡¯t magically set itself, but her breathing evened out, and she stopped trembling, managing to stand up straighter with a determined look in her eye.

    A cry from the Steelix reminded me that there was still an incredibly angry Pok¨¦mon behind me, and I twisted to see Zetian going absolutely crazy, biting the massive beast and slashing at it with her Gusts, only just barely staying out of reach of her enemy¡¯s attacks.

    Risking another glance at the ceiling, a faint fire of hope kindled in my chest.

    ¡°Venus,¡± I said softly, and the Eevee, feeling far, far too small in my arms, looked up. ¡°I think there¡¯s a way to knock this thing out, but you gotta act fast, okay? You see that rock up there?¡±

    I pointed to the glowing green crystal I had noticed earlier,  now sticking a fraction of the way out of the ceiling, and Venus nodded.

    ¡°You gotta knock it down.¡±

    Venus gave me an incredulous look.

    ¡°Trust me on this! You have to use Quick Attack, it¡¯s the only way to do it in time. You gotta¡­ you¡¯ve got to run up the Steelix.¡±

    Venus¡¯ ears drooped for a second as she stared in horror at the other Pok¨¦mon as it thrashed around, trying to catch the wily Combee that was striking at it from the air.

    ¡°You can do it! Just think of it like the obstacle course! It¡¯s body is rough, there¡¯s plenty of footholds and if you go fast enough, you can jump right off of it! I believe in you Venus, this is the only way, okay?¡±

    The Eevee paused, staring up at the Steelix with terrified eyes, then they gleamed with a mixture of anger and resolve. She reached up and licked my face, then quickly hopped out of my arms and began to run towards the Steelix.

    ¡°Zetian! Use Sweet Scent!¡±

    The Combee didn¡¯t bother to respond, but a glittering halo of powder started to drift out of the incredibly small hairs on her body. I could see the powder swirling into the Steelix¡¯s mouth, and its red eyes started to dilate. After a tense few seconds and the it¡¯s best efforts, the Sweet Scent started to take effect and its wild thrashing started to slow down.

    Tracking Venus¡¯ progress, I could tell it was incredibly painful for her to run with the broken leg, but she pushed through the pain.

    The strategy wouldn¡¯t have been possible without Zetian slowing down the Steelix and chipping away at its health, and I resolved to pamper the bee-like Pok¨¦mon at the first opportunity.

    I had never seen such a beautiful sight as Venus began to shimmer with light as she climbed the writhing body of the snake-like Steel Pok¨¦mon.

    She reached the top of the Steelix¡¯s head and launched herself up at the ceiling, smashing into the crystal.

    While she had been running I hadn¡¯t been idle either; having gotten to my feet and hurdling over the Steelix¡¯s tail, arms outstretched and ready to catch my falling Eevee.

    Venus dropped into my waiting arms and I immediately threw us back down to the ground, covering her with my body. Zetian¡¯s Pok¨¦ Ball was fished out of my pocket, and I clicked the main button several times.

    ¡°Zetian, return!¡±

    For an agonizingly long second, nothing happened as a beam of light brought Zetian back to safety. Then with a groan, the crystal, already loose from the Steelix¡¯s repeated attacks against the walls of the cavern and Gible¡¯s attack, finally broke free of its stone enclosure.

    I didn¡¯t see what happened, but the Steelix roaring in pain blended with the shattering crystal into a deafening cacophony of sound that echoed throughout the entire cave system.

    When I finally worked up the courage to look up from my position covering Venus, the Steelix was laying on its side. It was clearly dazed, stirring every now and again, until with a final groan it closed its eyes and went limp.

    Zetian¡¯s ball rocked in my hand and I released her again, and she rocketed off to buzz around the Steelix¡¯s head, all three faces furious. Thankfully she didn¡¯t attack, doing nothing more than making sure that it was actually unconscious.

    I sagged, exhausted, and looked down at the tiny form in my arms. Venus looked up at me, mewled quietly and licked my hand, then her eyes fluttered shut.

    For a brief moment I panicked, worrying that the worst had just happened, but the steady rise and fall of her chest told me she was still alive, albeit unconscious from the battle.

    Whispering words of love and encouragement to her, I recalled Venus to her Pok¨¦ Ball as Zetian flew over to me, all three faces looking concerned.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I said, reaching up to pet the side of her vaguely triangular body. ¡°You did so well, I¡¯m so proud of you.¡±

    I got to my feet, legs shaking a little bit as I started to come down off of the adrenaline high. A nervous laugh escaped me as I carefully edged away from the slumbering giant steel snake laying a few feet from me.

    Shuddering one more time, my attention moved to the last figure in the cavern.

    The Gible was looking highly unimpressed as it stared at the two of us, but I could see its eyes flicking over to the Steelix every few seconds. Whether it was scared or hungry, I couldn¡¯t tell.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I said, and its black, shark-like eyes shot over to me with an intensity that was frightening.

    ¡°Thank you for helping out back there, I appreciate it.¡±

    The Gible kept staring.

    ¡°I, uh, actually came down here to try and find one of your species.¡±

    That actually got a reaction, and the small dragon shifted slightly.

    ¡°Would you like to come with us? To travel, become stronger, and see the world?¡±

    Those flat black eyes stared at me, judging me. It looked at Zetian and made a strange growl-chip noise, which Zetian responded to by dancing a little drunkenly in mid-air.

    The Gible regarded me again, looked back at the Steelix, and snorted. I couldn¡¯t claim to be an expert in Pok¨¦mon language, not even close, but even I could hear the scorn in that sound.

    It puffed out its chest and snarled, and I shook my head tiredly.

    ¡°We¡¯re exhausted, and my Pok¨¦mon are hurt. We¡¯re not going to fight you right now.¡±

    The Gible eyed the two of us, then chittered a mocking laugh.

    At that moment, I understood it completely. It had attacked the Steelix because it wanted a fight. It had watched us fight because we were entertaining. But if we weren¡¯t going to battle the Gible ourselves, it didn¡¯t want any part of us.

    It thought we were weak, and despised that.

    Turning on its heels, the Gible strode back into the darkness, disappearing from sight.

    I fell to my knees. Weeks of searching, with so much time and energy put into trying to find a new party member. A life or death battle against a Steelix, something that we should not have gone up against with its strength and type advantages. We had survived, but our goal¡­ the Gible¡­ it had just walked out on us.

    We weren¡¯t strong enough for it.

    We had failed.

    No.

    I had failed.

 Chapter Nineteen

    ¡°¡­ighton? Ms. Knighton?¡±

    I woke with a start from where I had been dozing in one of the comfy chairs of the Oreburgh City Pok¨¦mon Center to find one of the nurses standing over me.

    She wasn¡¯t one of the Joy Clan, instead just being a regular Pok¨¦mon veterinarian clad in a pink and white nurses¡¯ outfit.

    ¡°Ms. Knighton, your Pok¨¦mon are ready.¡±

    I blinked a couple times, then scrambled out of my seat.

    ¡°Are they okay?¡±

    The nurse smiled gently. ¡°Your Pok¨¦mon are just fine. Your Eevee is doing well, her leg has been set and is healing up perfectly. It might be sore for a couple of days, and I suggest that she avoid strenuous activity for a week. One thing that did come up in her tests was that her zinc levels were a little low.¡±

    ¡°Zinc?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not worryingly low, but I¡¯d recommend she eat some more shellfish, or maybe some more vegetables like mushrooms or spinach. If nothing else, the Pok¨¦ Mart in town sells zinc supplements for a reasonable price, so that would work too, but I¡¯d recommend dietary changes first.¡±

    I winced. We had only been eating fish and Berries for a while. I didn¡¯t even want to know what my own health screen would say. I¡¯d have to start diversifying our meals in the future.

    ¡°Well thanks. What about Zetian?¡±

    ¡°Your Combee? She¡¯s doing just fine as well. Exhausted, but she didn¡¯t take as many hits as your Eevee did. You said a Steelix was responsible?¡±

    I nodded again. ¡°Yeah, inside the Wayward Cave.¡±

    The nurse frowned. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard of a wild Steelix being seen around here, so that¡¯s very concerning. I¡¯ll make sure Leader Roark knows about it so he can put out a warning to the other Trainers.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± The burst of energy from hearing the good news was already starting to wear off, and I hoped that the nurse would let me go back to sleep soon.

    It had taken us an embarrassingly long time to get back to safety. Despite how it felt, the entire encounter with Steelix had been less than five minutes. Adrenaline did weird things to your body, especially your sense of time. Even after the fight was over, we had still been lost in the tunnels, and Zetian wasn¡¯t comfortable with scouting ahead to try and find us a path back. It was unfortunate but understandable considering how weak she was to Rock-type Pok¨¦mon, and how much she disliked being underground in general.

    When we finally managed to find our way back to the surface it was already night time, and we still had to walk all the way to Oreburgh City. My camp was closer, but both Venus and Zetian were hurt and I wanted to get them treated as soon as possible.

    The walk back to Oreburgh had been even more exhausting and a little terrifying in the dark. Thankfully, Zetian had scared off a couple of the local Zubat population, even though she had barely been awake herself. We stumbled into the Pok¨¦mon Center a little after midnight, and after the Nurse had taken Zetian and Venus I passed out in the chair.

    ¡°Is there anything else I can help you with?¡± The nurse asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

    ¡°Are my Pok¨¦mon going to need to be kept overnight?¡±

    With a smile and a flourish, she pulled two Pok¨¦ Balls out of her apron, handing them over to me. Despite the fact that they looked identical to every other standard Pok¨¦ Ball out there, I instinctively knew that they were mine.

    I clutched them to my chest like they were the most precious things in the world, and thanked her profusely.

    But there was only one thing that I really, really wanted right now, and I looked up at the nurse with desperation in my eyes.

    ¡°Do you have a room where I can sleep?¡±

    /^\

    Thankfully, Pok¨¦mon Centers did in fact have rooms available for Trainers.

    Normally you had to make a reservation, but because it was the middle of the night and a quiet day for the Center, I was allowed to crash there.

    I was astounded to learn that all Pok¨¦mon Centers, including the reservable rooms, were subsidized by the government, and thus a stay in the equivalent of a hotel room was completely free. The wonders of a kind government. Sure, you had to be a registered Trainer to reserve a room and you could only stay a maximum of three days unless your Pok¨¦mon was in long-term care, but still.

    Sleeping in an actual bed was perhaps one of the best experiences I¡¯d had in the past couple of months. For once, I didn¡¯t wake up with my back hurting from where I had slept on a tree root or a rock.

    It was almost eleven o¡¯clock in the morning by the time I managed to sit up in bed,hair sticking in every direction. I was in desperate need of a proper shower and some conditioner, as well as a laundromat. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to change out of my rubble-covered hiking gear in exchange for a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt before I had passed out, so at least I wasn¡¯t totally uncomfortable.

    Then the reality of what had happened pierced through the haze of the morning exhaustion, and I scrambled for my Pok¨¦ Balls.

    In a flash of light Venus appeared on my bed, blinking and yawning as she looked around in confusion.

    She was fine. A weight that I hadn¡¯t realized was there lifted off of my shoulders, and I let out a shuddering breath.

    Venus, for her part, mewled happily and jumped into my arms, nuzzling her face against mine.

    ¡°Yes girl, I love you too.¡±

    She started purring, and I laid back down with her in my arms, just enjoying the moment. After a good ten minutes of cuddling, she finally let me get up to use the restroom.

    Zetian was released from her Ball when I got back to the bed, and although I had been reassured she was physically healthy, she looked exhausted.

    She still buzzed and danced happily however, and I laughed at her mid-air antics.

    ¡°Yes, we¡¯re alive!¡± I said, voice shaking a little. ¡°Thanks for helping me back home.¡±

    Zetian danced, dipping her body in a bow as she did so.

    Venus mewled at Zetian, and she stopped mid-air before dancing even harder.

    I smiled as my two Pok¨¦mon began talking to each other, and slipped off the bed while the two were busy.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go take a shower, so don¡¯t break anything, okay?¡±

    They barely spared me a glance, and I shuffled over to the small bathroom in the corner of the room.

    It was barely big enough to fit a toilet, sink, and the shower itself, but that didn¡¯t matter to me as long as the water was hot. I eagerly stripped and turned on the water, luxuriating in how quickly it was able to get up to temperature. The boiler for the Pok¨¦mon Center must have been incredibly impressive, considering I must have been in there for a good twenty minutes without it going cold.

    Compared to the river baths I had been taking the last month while camping, the shower made me realize that hot water was another luxury I was never going to take for granted again.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    At some point during my shower Venus wandered in, and I fumbled for some of the generic shampoo left by the Pok¨¦mon Center to give her coat a good wash. Thankfully the Center had foreseen that Trainers would end up doing this, and the shampoo was safe for most Pok¨¦mon and humans.

    Venus preened under my fingers as I clumsily lathered the soap into her fur, and clumps of dirt and stones quickly collected by the drain of the shower. The Pok¨¦mon Center had done their best to clean her up, but they had prioritized treating her wounds, not making her look Contest ready.

    Once we were done, Venus shook her fur out and let me dry it out with another towel, before she made her way over to a section of the floor and curled up into a little ball, asleep in seconds.

    ¡°Just like a cat.¡± I whispered, as that was the only part of the entire room that had sunlight streaming in through the small window on the wall.

    Zetian was slightly more complicated to groom. Unlike Venus, she did not like to get soaked, so instead I wetted a cloth with some water and gently rubbed her down, dislodging the pebbles and small rock shards that had gotten into the short hairs and the nooks and crannies of her exoskeleton. I made sure to leave her wings alone, though I did pay special attention to cleaning off her three faces, which she seemed to enjoy.

    After Zetian was clean, she too decided to go back to sleep, although she went back into her Pok¨¦ Ball. She liked spending time in there more than Venus did, and I wasn¡¯t going to begrudge her for doing what made her feel most comfortable.

    Once both of my Pok¨¦mon were asleep, I looked down at my hands. The grooming had helped keep them busy but now they were shaking again.

    That Steelix could have killed us. Not just knocked us unconscious, not just injured us, killed us.

    I felt like I should have been more distraught at that fact, but while the situation had been frightening, and I had been desperately afraid for my Pok¨¦mon, I hadn¡¯t been terrified of the Steelix itself. It was just trying to protect its territory, and to fight off potential threats.

    I had seen less humanity in the flat, shark-like eyes of Kane than I had in the Steelix¡¯s.

    At the same time¡­

    ¡°Okay.¡± I mumbled and wrapped my arms around myself. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m not that okay.¡±

    /^\

    Unfortunately, I could only stay at the Pok¨¦mon Center for so long and the nurse politely, but firmly, told us that we had to leave that afternoon since they had a Trainer with a reservation coming in.

    It took longer than I would have liked to get back to my camp, and the sun was completely set by then. When I got closer to the camp there was a light flickering from just beyond the trees, and I could have sworn it was a campfire from the way the shadows danced. Venus cocked her head in confusion at the light, and I released Zetian as quietly as I could.

    ¡°Hey everybody,¡± I said softly. ¡°Somebody¡¯s at the camp, so let''s keep an eye out just in case, okay?¡±

    Zetian buzzed and took up position over my right shoulder, while Venus inched closer to my legs.

    Taking a deep breath, I stepped out from behind the trees, only to find a figure sitting on a log behind a lit campfire in the firepit I had made. What¡¯s more, I recognized them, even though it took me a minute to recall their name.

    ¡°Ranger Kimura?¡±

    The man looked up, shadows playing across his face from the flickering fire, and smiled.

    ¡°Ah, just the woman I was looking for. I hope you don¡¯t mind if I made myself comfortable.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ no, of course not.¡±

    I had never really expected to see the man again, and having him start a fire at my campsite was something that had certainly never crossed my mind.

    ¡°Mind if we talk?¡±

    Despite myself I groaned slightly as I sat down on one of the logs, much to my embarrassment. Venus curled into a ball between my feet, and Zetian flew up into the trees to perch on a branch.

    ¡°Long day yesterday?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Like you wouldn¡¯t believe.¡±

    Kimura chuckled. ¡°Trust me, I¡¯ve had some like you can¡¯t even imagine. Don¡¯t worry though, I¡¯m not here to criticize you about what you did.¡±

    I eyed him cautiously. ¡°You heard about it?¡±

    ¡°Roark called me into his office and we had a long and heated conversation about the dangerous areas around his city and what he can do to ensure that nobody else gets hurt. He was¡­ not happy that a rookie Trainer risked their lives and their Pok¨¦mon to try and find a rare ¡®mon.¡±

    I winced. I had been afraid of that. Roark had seemed a bit intense during our last meeting, especially about the whole ¡°safety¡± thing.

    ¡°I had to talk him down so he wouldn¡¯t come here himself.¡±

    ¡°That bad?¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t pretty.¡± Kimura sighed, leaning back and staring up at the stars while the fire snapped and popped, throwing a small cloud of sparks into the air.

    ¡°Roark is a good man, and a good Trainer, even if he is still young. But his life truly revolves around mining, where even the slightest mistake can have devastating consequences. Because of that, he tends to be much more cautious than most Gym Leaders, and especially most Trainers. It¡¯s not a bad thing per se but¡­ you know who his father is?¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Byron, the Gym Leader of Canalave City.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. With a man like that for a father, and having grown up in the mines, Roark never really took many risks. If something was too dangerous, he would rather retreat and attempt it again later, when he was more prepared.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily a bad thing.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not. And he¡¯s seen first-hand the dangers of Trainers wandering where they weren¡¯t ready. No offense, but you were an outlier, the other results weren¡¯t so pretty.¡±

    ¡°So you¡¯re here to tell me that I did something wrong?¡± I asked with a sinking heart.

    It wouldn¡¯t be anything more than what I was telling myself anyways.

    ¡°Oh I think what you did was stupid.¡±

    Venus growled, her ears folding back as she stared at the man.

    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that.¡± He said nonplussed, poking the fire with a stick. ¡°You were nowhere near strong enough to go down into those caves with Pok¨¦mon that were heavily disadvantaged to go up against the native Onix, let alone a Steelix.¡±

    Kimura looked up, the fire dancing in his eyes as he smiled at me.

    ¡°But I would be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t a little impressed. Not many people decide to try and catch a Gible with just an Eevee and a Combee by their side. Don¡¯t look so surprised, I would be a poor Ranger if I didn¡¯t know what Pok¨¦mon are living around my city. All I¡¯ll say on the subject is this; you lived to tell the tale this time, but the next time might not end so well. When you do decide to chase a rare Pok¨¦mon, make sure you¡¯re ready to handle whatever comes your way.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Thank you.¡± I said. ¡°I think.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    ¡°But, and I mean no offense here, is that the only reason you¡¯re here today?¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Kimura smiled somewhat sadly. ¡°Not quite. You see, I¡¯ve been getting concerned about the Pok¨¦mon that have been showing up nearby, and your encounter has me even more worried.¡±

    I furrowed my brow, trying to think of what could be so problematic. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡±

    Kimura turned to look in the general direction of the Wayward Cave.

    ¡°Do you know where Steelix are found?¡±

    ¡°Well, they have to evolve from an Onix with a Metal Coat, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s how it works with trained Onix. But evolution can happen in nature when they¡¯re in a location with a lot of nearby iron ore, along with a high concentration of carbon in the environment. In Sinnoh that means either Victory Road or Iron Island.¡±

    My frown deepened. ¡°But isn¡¯t that first option what Oreburgh is famous for? Iron ore with a lot of carbon?¡±

    ¡°Carbon? Yes, certainly. Oreburgh¡¯s main export is coal, after all. But believe it or not, there¡¯s barely any iron in the ground.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    He cracked a small smile at my surprise. ¡°Really. The last time we have records of an Onix naturally evolving into a Steelix in the area immediately around Oreburgh is over fifty years ago.¡±

    ¡°So, could it just be possible that it was one of those natural evolutions?¡±

    Kimura shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s possible, but there are other complications that make that possibility¡­ unlikely. I would like to get any more information you can give me about your encounter to try and figure out what is going on.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much help I can give but¡­¡± I wracked my brain, trying to think of anything unusual the night before. ¡°We were deeper than we¡¯d ever gone before, one of the deepest tunnels I¡¯ve seen. I thought that if Gible weren¡¯t to be found anywhere above us, then maybe they would be further down. There were also barely any of the glowing gemstones to be found, it was a lot darker than normal.¡±

    Kimura frowned, but jotted down what I could recall in a notebook he had pulled out from a jacket pocket.

    ¡°Okay, thank you.¡±

    ¡°Does any of that help?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure; it¡¯s too early to tell yet. But I think it certainly helps point us in the right direction. Are you going to be in town long?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t think so though, I need to make some phone calls, plan a few things out. Besides, based on what you¡¯re saying about Roark I don¡¯t think we¡¯re exactly welcome right now.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry too much about it, he¡¯s young and you¡¯re all still alive; he¡¯ll get over it.¡±

    ¡°You keep saying that, how old is he anyways?¡±

    ¡°Twenty-one.¡±

    My jaw dropped. ¡°He¡¯s younger than I am?¡±

    Kimura laughed. ¡°Get used to it. It seems like these days all of the young kids are becoming the powerhouses, us old folks are going to start losing our relevance pretty soon. Unfortunately I need to get back to the office, and you look like you need some sleep. If you think of anything else let me know, and the next time you¡¯re in Oreburgh why don¡¯t you stop by the Ranger office and I¡¯ll catch you up on what we find? You never stopped in after we met last time.¡±

    I winced. He had invited me to visit them, hadn''t he? I had totally forgotten in my quest to find a Gible.

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll do that.¡±

    ¡°Great. Have a good night then.¡±

    Kimura disappeared into the woods, and I stared after him for a long moment before deciding that the past couple of days had been entirely too long. I threw some water onto the fire, recalled both Zetian and Venus  to get some more rest, and climbed into my tent to curl up in my sleeping bag.

    I was asleep the second my head hit the pillow.

 Chapter Twenty - Interlude 1

    Steven Stone drummed his fingers on the arm of his office chair, frowning at the black screen of his computer.

    It wasn¡¯t often that the Champion of another region called to inform him of what was going on in his own backyard.

    Cynthia certainly had been cagey about exactly where she had learned the information about Teams Aqua and Magma, only stating that it had been ¡°vouched for by a trusted source.¡±

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    The nearly two meter tall colossus of metal next to him hummed in thought.

    ¡°Answer: I cannot ascertain whether or not Champion Cynthia¡¯s words are truthful, there are too many variables to be certain. However, there is a strong likelihood that she is, at least to some extent, correct. Moreover, I am certain that at the very least she believes her words to be true.¡±

    ¡°Oh? How can you be sure?¡±

    ¡°Answer: Champion Cynthia¡¯s left eye twitches when she¡¯s lying.¡±

    Steven furrowed his brow. ¡°Pray tell how you know that.¡±

    ¡°Answer: I have determined this by reviewing camera footage of your ¡°game nights¡± while playing cards.¡±

    His mouth opened and closed like a Magikarp¡¯s as he stared at his partner.

    ¡°And you never told me?? I¡¯ve lost hundreds to her!¡±

    ¡°Correction: You have lost 1021 Dollars to Champion Cynthia.¡±

    ¡°Hagane!¡±

    His friend¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly in satisfaction.

    ¡°Statement: You never asked.¡±

    Steven stewed quietly in his chair. It wasn¡¯t much money at all, the lowest paid worker made more than that every hour, but the highest bet the Champions were allowed to make during their monthly card nights was five Dollars.

    He was good at a lot of things, but gambling wasn¡¯t one of them.

    Steven¡¯s only consolation was that Leon owed Cynthia at least twice as much as he did. If Steven was a bad gambler, Leon was terrible.

    He sighed. ¡°So she¡¯s telling the truth?

    ¡°Correction: She believes she is telling the truth. However, due to recent events I am inclined to believe her.¡±

    ¡°Shit.¡±

    ¡°Statement: Indeed.¡±

    Hoenn had been having troubles for the past year or so. At first they were minor, a slight uptick in low-grade earthquakes, or the ocean currents being slightly rougher than usual. Nothing that was particularly worrying, and they had been waved away by most of the scientists as unremarkable and within the tolerances of what was normal or not.

    What was more concerning at the time was the uptick in crime across the region, especially those targeting weather and geological survey stations. That was when reports about Teams Aqua and Magma had first crossed his desk, supposedly being gangs that had formed out of environmentalist groups.

    ¡°Mostly harmless.¡± Had been the words to describe them.

    If only he knew then what he knew now.

    Just yesterday they had been upgraded from street gangs to fully fledged terrorist organizations after their attempt to make Mt. Chimney erupt. If not for those kids, they might have succeeded.

    And now Cynthia was telling him that they were planning on resurrecting two legends to destroy the world.

    Steven had access to the most restricted information in Hoenn, and knew full well that Kyogre and Groudon were certainly not myths like most people believed. He also knew about the Dracanoid Tribe and their relationship to Rayquaza, and had tried to keep that information as quiet as possible as well.

    It was almost ironic in a way that the people most concerned about Rayquaza were not actually the Draconids, but rather the scientists at the Mossdeep Space Center. After all, they were the ones who had to worry about legendary Dragons possibly attacking one of their rockets.

    What Steven was not expecting was that Cynthia knew all of this information, and he was concerned as to how she had gotten it.

    ¡°Query: Does it matter at this moment how Champion Cynthia acquired this information?¡±

    Hagane¡¯s telepathic voice cut through Steven¡¯s thoughts, and he jumped slightly at the question. He had been brooding again.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you even have to ask that question. How did you know what I was thinking anyways? I told you not to read my mind.¡±

    ¡°Answer: I did not read your mind, and I am insulted that you would assume that.¡± At Steven¡¯s glare, Hagane had the decency to look embarrassed. ¡°Clarification: Despite historical examples of mind reading, I have not engaged in such activity in¡­ some time.¡±

    Steven resolved to ask his Metagross what ¡°some time¡± meant later.

    ¡°Rather, this correct assumption was created after gathering data from decades of observation and simulations run on your behaviors and noted thoughts.¡±

    Despite what popular belief held, Metagross as a whole were not supercomputers. They were smart, smarter than many people Steven had known, but they were living creatures as well, and had a personality.

    ¡°So you knew what I was thinking because you¡¯ve been around me for so long you can tell what I¡¯m thinking?¡±

    ¡°Answer: Correct.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re full of it today, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Answer: I cannot be ¡°full of it¡± because I am a solid object with no interior receptacle for ¡°it.¡± However, I am feeling comparatively well today.¡±

    Steven sighed. Another misconception was that Metagross could not understand humor or sarcasm, as they were supposedly robots with no emotions. Sometimes he wished that were the case.

    ¡°So, pray tell why it shouldn¡¯t matter how she got this information.¡±

    ¡°Explanation: There are much more important matters to attend to. This information was most likely obtained from a deserter from either Team Magma or Team Aqua, but the specifics are not as important as the data provided. During the course of this conversation I have been coordinating with my Porygon 2 peers in the Security Division, and according to our analysis, the events of the past year have lined up with Champion Cynthia¡¯s information. Extrapolation of the data indicates that Team Magma and Team Aqua will attempt to resurrect Groudon and Kyogre in the near future. This must be stopped, and if at all possible Rayquaza should not be summoned. The predictions of events if any of these three Pok¨¦mon were to be unleashed on Hoenn without proper precautions is¡­ catastrophic.¡±

    A frown crossed Steven¡¯s face as he considered the facts.

    ¡°With the information she provided, can you pin down the base of operations for the Teams?¡±

    ¡°Answer: I have compiled a list of the most likely locations.¡±

    Steven fingered his lapel pin, and sighed. He hated this part, he¡¯d much rather be looking for some interesting stones. But somehow Steven had ended up in this chair, and he¡¯d have to make the most of it.

    ¡°Okay. Reach out to the Elite Four, the Ace Trainers not assigned to other critical operations, and our most skilled Rangers. I want to hit them hard and fast, and at the same time.¡±

    ¡°Statement: Understood. Shall I contact Leaders Tate and Liza to help organize the raids?¡±

    He really didn¡¯t want to get them involved, they were still just kids. At the same time¡­ They were some of the most powerful psychics in the region. They¡¯d be able to help coordinate everybody psychically and ensure that it would all go off better.

    ¡°Yes.¡± He said through gritted teeth.

    ¡°Statement: Done. They have agreed, and are waiting on the order.¡±

    Steven sighed again.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°And the Elite Four?¡±

    ¡°Answer: They are currently preparing. In addition, I have reached out to the local constabulary to ensure they are not overly surprised and overwhelmed by our operation.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. Let me know when they¡¯re ready, I want this to be over.¡±

    /^\

    Steven frowned from his position on top of Hagane, staring down at the entrance to the Team Aqua base on the outskirts of Lilycove City.

    There were a lot of things that weren¡¯t adding up to him, and he was becoming increasingly concerned at how deep the terrorists had entrenched themselves. To have been able to dig an entire complex on the outskirts of a major city without any flags having been raised¡­ either the mayor and his staff were being lax to the point of incompetence, or they were being paid to turn a blind eye to what was going on.

    Neither boded well for the Lilycove City civil government, and Steven had Hagane make a mental note to have them thoroughly investigated after this fiasco was over.

    Sidney and Phoebe had already entered the base, along with a small host of Ace Trainers and Rangers as backup. The two Elite Four members could probably have dealt with the terrorists by themselves, but Steven was taking no chances with this operation.

    Apparently, the team of kids who had countered Team Magma at Mt. Chimney hadn¡¯t managed to root them all out of the mountain, and Glacia and Drake were currently trying to dig them out of the foothills there.

    Steven and his personal team of Pok¨¦mon were currently waiting as backup, ready to Teleport in if needed.

    Hopefully that wouldn¡¯t be necessary, but Steven was done playing games with these people.

    The radio attached to his earpiece crackled to life.

    ¡°Steven! We¡¯ve reached¡­ owest leve¡­ resistance is¡­ gher than expected. Aqua¡¯s¡­ submari¡­ own here! I¡¯... holding them off but Sidn¡­ ent ahead to sto¡­ Arch¡­ trying to escap¡­ eed your help!¡±

    He frowned at Phoebe¡¯s garbled report, but grabbed a Pok¨¦ Ball from his waist, releasing his Claydol, Kaolin.

    ¡°Do you have a lock on Phoebe¡¯s position?¡±

    Kaolin hummed quietly, before a burst of positive psychic energy emanated off of its form.

    ¡°Good. Teleport us there, if you would.¡±

    Some Pok¨¦mon required a couple seconds to charge their Teleport. Many weren¡¯t able to take other Pok¨¦mon or their Trainers with them.

    Many Pok¨¦mon weren¡¯t on a Champion¡¯s team.

    Kaolin Teleported Steven and Hagane to Sidney¡¯s side before Steven had finished his sentence. Between one heartbeat and the next, Steven¡¯s surroundings changed from the salty air above Lilycove City to a chaotic battlefield the likes of which hadn''t been seen since the Kanto-Johto War. He remembered seeing the videos of that war when he was a child and the brutality had been beyond disturbing.

    Thankfully, there were no dead or dying Pok¨¦mon or Trainers like in that bloody conflict, but the sheer scope of the fight almost took his breath away. Elemental attacks of all kinds were being thrown across the room, punctuated by explosions and cries of defeat or victory. Scores of Pok¨¦mon were present, fighting in small clumps across the cavernous room. Most were commanded by Team Aqua grunts, but they were being driven back by the few skilled Trainers and Rangers of Steven¡¯s task force.

    The most eye catching battle was between the diminutive form of Phoebe in her flowing skirt and a massive, brick house of a man. Steven¡¯s mind flipped through the different descriptions offered by his sources, until he settled on one.

    Matt, one of the administrators of Team Aqua.

    His Mightyena and Muk were up against one of Phoebe¡¯s Banette and her Dusknoir, but Phoebe¡¯s face was drawn with concentration. It wasn¡¯t the best matchup for her, especially with that Mightyena against her Ghosts.

    Kaolin hummed again, and a nearly invisible purple plane of force interposed itself between Steven and an Ice Beam.

    The assailant, a startled Sealeo, let out a surprised arf at the Protect, then was abruptly silenced. Kaolin had lifted it up with a Telekinesis, then with a hammerblow the Psychic knocked it to the ground, unconscious. The entire exchange had only taken a second.

    The Sealeo¡¯s Trainer, a grunt who looked far too young to be involved in this, rushed over and held his Sealeo. He almost looked ready to fight, but gave up after a single look at Steven, surrendering himself to one of the nearby Ace Trainers.

    Steven took in the entire battlefield, and felt a thrill of excitement run through his veins as he grabbed the Pok¨¦ Balls at his waist.

    In four flashes of light the rest of his team arrived on the field.

    ¡°Lilium, Caris, go help the Ace Trainers with the grunts.¡± Cradlily and Armaldo nodded in agreement, before moving to offer their support.

    ¡°Tsuru, Ferrum, I¡¯m seconding you to Phoebe, understood? Help take care of those Pok¨¦mon, then neutralize any remaining Aqua members. Once you¡¯re done, meet up with Lilum and Caris to support Phoebe in any way she needs.¡±

    Ferrum, his Aggron, roared his acceptance and stomped towards the battle between Phoebe and Matt, making several weaker Pok¨¦mon flinch away in fright. Tsuru, Steven¡¯s Skarmory, took off in silent flight with a wicked gleam in his eyes, and Steven almost felt sorry for the Aqua members.

    ¡°Kaolin, can you find Sidney?¡±

    The Claydol pulsed a negative stream of frustration at him, and Steven frowned. It was annoying, but not unexpected. Sidney had a particular association with Dark-type Pok¨¦mon, and it made him hard to detect with psychic powers at the best of times.

    ¡°Steven!¡± Phoebe called, drawing his attention back to the fight.

    Ferrum was currently grappling with the Mightyena, while Tsuru was dancing in the sky around the Muk, striking with vengeful talons. The Dusknoir and Banette looked relieved at the reinforcements, but Phoebe was pointing down a side corridor.

    ¡°Down there!¡± She called, and Steven nodded.

    ¡°Hagane, Kaolin, let¡¯s go.¡±

    /^\

    Shelly was not having a good day.

    It had started out with a hangover after their party celebrating their victory over the pompous fools of Team Magma the day before. Sure, Aqua¡¯s forces had also been driven off by the snot-nosed brats who interfered at Mt. Chimney, but at least they had stopped Magma from messing with the volcano.

    Then the government goons had busted in just when everybody was finally sober, and everything had gone sideways.

    She still didn¡¯t know how they had found the base so quickly after the battle on Mt. Chimney; the only thing Shelly could think of was that somebody had gotten cold feet and leaked the information to the League. In the grand scheme of things she supposed that didn¡¯t really matter right now; they were here, and it was up to her to stop them from ruining everything.

    That muscle-head Matt had led the main line of defense with the regular grunts while she and Archie had fled to the basement to get the submarine ready. Archie was currently onboard the sub, making sure everything was ship-shape so they would be able to leave as soon as possible. He had asked her to keep guard until the submarine was ready, and it was a good thing too, considering the nearly-bald freak she was up against.

    Shelly, of course, recognized Sidney of the Elite Four, and if there was anybody around except her captain she would have laughed at the man¡¯s sense of style, or lack thereof. It was important to show the grunts that their leaders weren¡¯t scared of anything.

    Because the only Team Aqua members around were her and Archie, Shelly didn¡¯t feel bad about being as scared as she was.

    Sidney was, despite his appearance, a monster in human form, and his Pok¨¦mon were worse. It was only through luck and a sneak attack that she had taken out his Cacturne and Shiftry.

    His Mightyena and that damned Absol¡­ they were making mincemeat out of her team.

    ¡°Walrein!¡± She called, and her massive Pok¨¦mon stiffened. ¡°Blizzard! Crawdaunt, get in close!¡±

    Sidney grimaced as a wall of ice and sleet came pouring off of her Walrein, covering the movements of the Crawdaunt as it responded to their secret code.

    The massive lobster-like Pok¨¦mon practically danced through the sleet, swinging its claws at the opposing Dark-types with Close Combat. The Absol cocked its head and jumped back, its eyes glowing with Detect as it just barely dodged the blow.

    Shelly cursed under her breath, that damned Absol had been abusing that move for most of the battle, staying one step ahead of her Pok¨¦mon¡¯s attacks despite their best efforts.

    The Mightyena, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t quite so lucky, and her Crawdaunt¡¯s claw caught its side, sending the Pok¨¦mon flying with a canine whimper.

    Smiling, Shelly was about to tell Walrein to follow up when she stopped.

    It wasn¡¯t on purpose. Her entire body just¡­ froze in place. Shelly couldn¡¯t move her legs or arms, couldn¡¯t open her mouth, she couldn¡¯t even look to see what was going on with her own Pok¨¦mon.

    She could only stare forwards in horror as a presence entered the submarine bay, floating into view.

    If Sidney was a monster, then the figure that had just arrived was a nightmare. A floating bastion of steel and psychic power gently drifted down the passageway as a man stood on top of it, arms crossed as he glared at the situation.

    His finely tailored suit didn¡¯t so much as twitch as the icy wind from the Blizzard continued to rage, and not a single blue hair was out of place. He could have been on a magazine cover, if not for the anger radiating off him in waves.

    The Keystone on his lapel glittered with malevolent light, promising the end if they didn¡¯t surrender.

    ¡°Kaolin.¡± The Champion said, voice as cold and harsh as the Blizzard still raging. ¡°Stop the weather.¡±

    The Blizzard stopped. Sweat beaded on Shelly¡¯s brow as a Claydol she hadn¡¯t seen flashed its eyes with psychic power.

    She didn¡¯t see what had happened to her Walrein, she couldn¡¯t pull her eyes away from the doom of Team Aqua.

    Champion Stone¡¯s eyes met hers, and electricity ran down her spine at their depths.

    ¡°Shelly, aliases include Izumi, Isabel, and Angie. Administrator to Team Aqua.¡±

    Her mouth went dry. He knew her.

    ¡°Surrender.¡± It was not a request.

    She tried to swallow, but her body was still locked up.

    ¡°Hagane, let her talk.¡±

    Her limbs were still locked tight, but some of the pressure eased up around her chest.

    ¡°I surrender!¡± She called.

    What else could she do? Hold back the Champion? Matt would have tried, but she was smarter than that.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Archie?¡±

    Before she could respond, Sidney¡¯s eyes widened, and he pointed behind her.

    ¡°Steven! The submarine!¡±

    Shelly couldn¡¯t see what was happening, but she could hear the engines of the submarine spool up.

    ¡°Dammit, he¡¯s leaving. Hagane, Kaolin, can either of you stop it?¡±

    There was a rumble from the Champion¡¯s Pok¨¦mon, and he swore again, but Shelly didn¡¯t care. She felt like she was in a rip tide, and everything she knew was being thrown upside down.

    Archie was leaving her. He had said he was going to start up the submarine so they could leave together, then come and help her.

    So why was he leaving her? Why was he running away?

    Didn¡¯t she mean anything to him?

    Steven Stone sighed, and stepped gently off his Metagross before leisurely crossing the distance and staring her in the eyes.

    ¡°Where is he going?¡±

    Shelly choked back a sob, then told him everything.

 Chapter Twenty-One

    Our arrival at Jubilife City was thankfully much quieter than it had been for Oreburgh, and the lack of any kind of fanfare or excitement was a refreshing change of pace.

    We had taken the Oreburgh Gate and Route 203 to reach Jubilife, which had been a relaxing journey after the excitement of the Wayward Cave. I had been pretty anxious about going into another cave system in the form of the Oreburgh Gate, but thankfully some of the local hikers had pointed out a longer path that went around the outside of the tunnel.

    Despite that initial bit of reluctance, it had been a thrill to wander down Route 203 and explore what I had seen in the games. Of course it was much, much larger than it had been in the DS, taking five days instead of five minutes. I even took some time to go scrounging for the items that I could remember were placed on the map: an extra Pok¨¦ Ball, a Repel, and an X Defend. Countless playthroughs of Platinum had burned their locations into my mind, but unfortunately there were no handy items just lying about for us to pick up.

    Reality had struck again.

    Besides, I didn¡¯t have one of those fancy Silph Co. bags of holding that would have let me carry an entire pharmacy¡¯s worth of items. I really did need to find a way to make some money so I could pick one of those up.

    Venus and Zetian hadn¡¯t done much during the journey from Oreburgh City, much to their discontent. I had enforced the nurse¡¯s ¡°no strenuous activity¡± rule, which meant no training. That hadn¡¯t been received well, but I had been planning for that. My Pok¨¦mon were obviously fired up after recovering from the battle, and I could tell that they wanted to get stronger so that nothing like the encounter with the Steelix could happen again.

    Thankfully I had managed to head most of that off by reminding them that if they didn¡¯t rest, they couldn¡¯t heal and feel better enough to train in the first place.

    It still hadn¡¯t been popular, but my companions were smart enough to know that pushing the envelope while injured wasn¡¯t the best way to get stronger.

    Even more of my anxieties regarding battling had been burned off by their attitudes during the trip and their recovery. If they could walk off the injuries they had gotten from the battle with the Steelix, albeit with a little bit of help, a normal Pok¨¦mon battle with another Trainer wasn¡¯t something to really be worried about. Pok¨¦mon weren¡¯t fragile pieces of glass, even if sometimes I had to remind myself of that fact.

    So we had a nice, relaxing week to get to the largest city in Sinnoh, but the sight of it had taken my breath away as we had crested the last hill off of Route 203.

    Sandgem had been a quaint, semi-rural town that was really only notable because Professor Rowan had his lab there. I didn¡¯t exactly have a place to call home on this world, but if anywhere came close, it would be Sandgem.

    Oreburgh had been an impressive display of the integration between industry and nature, but had also been rather focused on its coal mine, with most of the city revolving around the mine and shipping the coal out to the rest of Sinnoh.

    But Jubilife? Jubilife was the first city that I had seen in over two months since dropping into the world of Pok¨¦mon.

    It was nowhere near the size of the largest cities back on Earth, certainly not a New York City, Tokyo, or a Paris, and definitely not the massive urban sprawl of someplace like Mexico City, Delhi, or Shanghai. But it was still impressively large, with an impressive city center and plenty of outlying suburbs that took up a fairly decent footprint on the land. There were also several skyscrapers in the city, and even from a distance I could see bird Pok¨¦mon flying around their gleaming steel and glass surfaces.

    Despite its size and urbanization, Jubilife still adhered to the respect for nature that I had seen in Oreburgh and Sandgem. There were parks on seemingly every block, and instead of bulldozing the hills in the suburbs, all of the houses instead had adapted to the landscape. The suburbs themselves were also uniquely Japanese, looking more like connected, overgrown villages rather than the soulless copy-paste American suburbs I had grown up with.

    Venus and Zetian were absolutely gobsmacked by the sheer size and scope of Jubilife City, despite having been somewhat accustomed to cities back in Oreburgh. The two locations were simply incomparable in terms of scale.

    What was the most surprising to me as we began walking through the city itself however was the traffic, or rather, the lack of it.

    I had grown up near Boston, and had been to New York enough times to be accustomed to the traffic in both cities. Endless lines, continual honking, and too many frustrated and annoyed people. Every city tried to combat the problem in one way or another, and Jubilife¡¯s was probably the best solution I had seen. They simply didn¡¯t have traffic.

    That wasn¡¯t to say there were no vehicles on the roads, there were. No city could live without a constant stream of supplies and people coming in and out of it. There were plenty of trucks on the roads, both large and small, but there were barely any actual cars. Instead all of Jubilife seemed to be served by a massive public transport system, and I could see buses and street trolleys stopping regularly. And those were the ground-based transport systems, every so often there were taxi stands with bored looking Staraptors or other bird-like Pok¨¦mon wearing hi-vis vests, standing next to a small metal box with windows and doors.

    I saw a man walk up to one of them, talk quietly to the Pok¨¦mon, then get in the box and strap himself in. Two of the Staraptors cawed, flew up into the air, then grabbed onto the box - no, the cab - and hauled it into the air, flying off into the distance.

    We neared one of the taxi stands, and my mind ran wild with justifications. Jubilife City was a massive place, and while I knew theoretically where to go, I was also tired and in an unfamiliar city. I didn¡¯t have a lot of money to spare, but I had enough.

    One of the Staraptors looked over at me as I approached the next taxi cab in line, and chirped out a question.

    There was nothing I could have done to keep the smile off of my face, so I didn¡¯t even bother.

    I loved this world.

    /^\

    ¡°Thank you!¡± I called to the Staraptors who had carried me to the Pok¨¦mon Center.

    One of the two cabbie Pok¨¦mon huffed, while the other preened its feathers. Then a man in a suit and talking into a floating Rotom Phone barged past me, walking up to the taxi and barking out a location while climbing in the cab.

    The Staraptors rolled their eyes in unison, but then grabbed the cab and flew off, heading to their next destination. I guess rude fares were the same in every universe.

    My flight had been brief but enjoyable, all things considered. A little bit bumpy, considering the updrafts of the city, but that wasn¡¯t a big deal. It wasn¡¯t every day where you got to ride in a flying cab, after all. Unless you lived in Jubilife I supposed, but that was besides the point.

    Before we had set out from Oreburgh I had sat down and called Professor Rowan, who had told me to meet him in Jubilife City at Pok¨¦mon Center 3. I had been impressed that there were three Pok¨¦mon Centers in the city, until Rowan had laughed and told me that there were twenty-one in the city itself, with several more serving the outlying suburbs.

    I guessed that made a lot of sense, considering how many people and Pok¨¦mon were living in the city together. Pok¨¦mon Center 3 itself was the size of a large hospital, and there was a steady stream of people and Pok¨¦mon coming in and out of the building.

    Venus and Zetian had been put in their Pok¨¦ Balls during the flight according to the taxi¡¯s rules, but despite how much I wanted to bring them back out it was simply too busy, and I was afraid of losing track of them in the mass of people.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    The initial awe at Jubilife was starting to fade away, and this was a frustrating reminder of why I didn¡¯t like big cities.

    I made my way through the awkward rotating door that every hospital seemed to insist on having and was met with a wall of sound. Dozens of people were milling around, many with their Pok¨¦mon out which made the place even more congested. A Tropius emerged in the center of the room with a bellow, only for a veritable herd of security guards to descend on its Trainer, audibly lambasting him for letting such a big Pok¨¦mon out without warning.

    My head started to pulse as a voice blared over the intercom, drowning out the rest of the hubbub as a doctor was called to the emergency room.

    Nurses and doctors hurried back and forth across the tile floor, and while most were regular looking people there were some with the pink hair of the Joy clan, and I even saw a couple of Chansey and Blissey in little nurse aprons.

    The sheer amount of people and volume of noise was incredibly overwhelming, and I almost stepped right back out into the street to get some air when I heard my name being called.

    It took me a long moment to find who was shouting my name, until I saw a young man jumping up and down, waving his arm in my direction.

    ¡°Lucas? What are you doing here?¡±

    The kid smiled and jabbed a thumb into his chest. ¡°I¡¯m sixteen now!¡±

    I blinked. ¡°Congratulations? That¡¯s not really an explanation though.¡±

    ¡°Of course it is! I¡¯m sixteen, so I¡¯m going on my Journey!¡±

    That earned him a confused look. ¡°But¡­ didn¡¯t you already go on a Journey? Wasn¡¯t that what you were doing when we met back at the lab?¡±

    ¡°No, but I can see how that can be confusing!¡± He threw his head back and laughed, and it was then that I realized how tall he had grown.

    Lucas had been fairly tall already when we had met, but he had somehow put on an inch or two in the few months that I had been traveling. The kid must have topped out at nearly five foot eight, and still probably had a couple more inches that he would put on in the coming years.

    He would likely have been about my height in my old body, but now he was a good head taller than I was. Which was a little bit frustrating, but I wasn¡¯t going to complain; I was much happier being in this body than the old one anyways, and it was a little refreshing being short.

    At least I didn¡¯t have anybody asking how the weather was like.

    ¡°Those nine months that I spent traveling were for my research license!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s different from a Trainer¡¯s License?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah! There¡¯s a lot that goes into it, but basically now I¡¯m a certified Lab Trainer working for Professor Rowan. Last year I did the research for the lab, but this year I¡¯m going to challenge the gyms!¡±

    After spending the better part of a month in the woods pretty much by myself Lucas was very¡­ loud.

    ¡°Well, congratulations. But what are you doing here?¡±

    ¡°Oh right! I¡¯m here with Professor Rowan! He had some business he had to get to, but he asked me to wait here for you. He should be done with his meeting here soon, and said we should meet at this restaurant that¡¯s nearby. Ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Judging by the way Lucas blinked at my response I was probably being a little over-eager, but I was starting to get seriously overwhelmed by the number of people and Pok¨¦mon in the Center.

    Even though I had only been inside for less than five minutes, it was a blessed relief to step out onto the street and into the relative quiet. It was still pretty noisy with the sounds of the city, but the fresh air went a long way to easing the headache that had been building up.

    Thankfully for my nerves it was a short walk to the restaurant that Professor Rowan had recommended. Lucas continued to ramble on about his life these past couple of months, and how he had spent most of them helping Rowan write a research paper.

    I was impressed, I had written research papers before and had found them fun, but difficult. Doing so at sixteen years old was a different story however - I had been in college when I had done mine.

    Despite that, I felt a little bad that I couldn¡¯t pay as much attention as Lucas deserved. The city was overwhelming with its sights and sounds, and there was the background buzzing of confusion over what Professor Rowan wanted with me.

    The restaurant itself was nice, but not fancy, and I didn¡¯t feel too out of place as we walked in wearing my somewhat tattered purple hoodie and jeans. I definitely needed to get some more clothes soon.

    Apparently my timing was good today, as Professor Rowan was just standing up to shake hands with the man he was meeting with.

    If I had felt dwarfed by Lucas, the man made me feel like an ant. He was easily six feet tall, with a shock of blonde hair and three Pok¨¦ Balls on his belt. The man nodded at Lucas and I as we passed, but didn¡¯t stop to exchange any pleasantries.

    Then Rowan spotted us and gave us one of his typical severe smiles.

    ¡°Ah, Alina, it¡¯s good to see you¡¯re doing well. My apologies for making you wait, how¡¯s Venus?¡±

    ¡°Hi Professor, it¡¯s been rough at points but we¡¯re doing well, thanks for asking. Important meeting?¡±

    Rowan nodded, as if he had been expecting the answer.

    ¡°A Lab Trainer working for Professor Birch over in Hoenn. He¡¯s here to investigate some strange rumors of Pok¨¦mon, and wanted to get my advice. Nothing you need to worry about so please, sit down and relax. Feel free to order what you¡¯d like, it¡¯s on the lab as a business expense so don¡¯t feel shy. I personally recommend the Klawf Claw Soup. I know the owners of the restaurant, and all of their ingredients are humanely and sustainably farmed.¡±

    We made small talk for a couple minutes as the waiter came to take our order, and I filled Rowan and Lucas in on our adventures in the past month.

    By the lack of reaction at some points and the knowing gleam in his eye I got the feeling that Rowan had already heard about some things, like the Combee hive and the battle with the Steelix. Lucas was fascinated however, and asked so many questions that the food had arrived before I had finished with the story.

    The soup was incredibly delicious, tasting almost like a New England clam chowder. It was a nice, unintentional reminder of Earth.

    ¡°So if you don¡¯t mind me asking,¡± I said as the waiter finished taking away the dishes. ¡°What did you want to talk about?¡±

    ¡°Ah yes, to business.¡±

    Rowan leaned back and folded his hands over his stomach.

    ¡°The main order of business is that, due to extenuating circumstances, I have been given the authority to extend to you an offer of sponsorship.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Sponsorship?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. While I am free to hire as many laboratory assistants as my budget allows, I am beholden to the Regional Pok¨¦mon League of Sinnoh to only sponsor up to three Lab Trainers each League season. Young Lucas here is the first I have extended the offer to, thanks to his previous work in helping me with my research.¡±

    ¡°But what have I done?¡±

    Professor Rowan¡¯s eyes cut over to Lucas, who was poorly hiding his interest in the conversation by looking at the dessert menu. It would have been more convincing if the menu hadn¡¯t been upside down.

    ¡°It pertains to our last conversation before you left.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Let¡¯s just say that the information you provided proved to be accurate and actionable, and things have developed in our favor.¡±

    Now I was really interested in what had happened while I had been camping and out of touch with the news cycle.

    ¡°For that and other reasons we can get into later, I¡¯m offering you this sponsorship. It¡¯s basically a method for you to conduct research for the lab while traveling. You will provide regular updates and notes regarding your research, and you will also receive a stipend. You also can, but are not required to, challenge the gyms on your Journey.¡±

    I frowned, trying to simplify the explanation. ¡°So basically I get paid to travel the region and challenge the gyms?¡±

    ¡°Think of it as a reward for providing research information, much of which you have already helped with.¡±

    The emphasis caught me off guard, and it took me a second to catch his meaning. I hadn¡¯t been expecting to be rewarded for telling them about all of the dangers of the world. Honestly I had just wanted to avoid people getting hurt, but I supposed getting paid was pretty nice, all things considered.

    ¡°Is it¡­ a lot?¡±

    Rowan smiled sadly. ¡°Unfortunately not. It works out to about three and a half million dollars a year.¡±

    At my dumbfounded expression he continued. ¡°It sounds more impressive than it is. That¡¯s a little less than the average income, but there are some benefits; mainly in that since Lab Trainers are technically government employees, you get taxed at a lesser rate. There¡¯s some other factors too, responsibilities that come with being a Lab Trainer, but they¡¯re all covered in the paperwork which I have around here somewhere¡­¡±

    Professor Rowan frowned as he looked around the table, as Lucas sighed.

    ¡°Professor, your briefcase is on the other chair.¡±

    ¡°What? Oh, so it is. Thank you Lucas, I don¡¯t know how it keeps getting away from me. Here you go.¡±

    He pulled a thick manila folder out of the briefcase and offered it to me.

    ¡°It¡¯s a lot to go through, so I don¡¯t expect an answer right away. I would be thrilled to sponsor you, but I understand that sometimes Trainers need to make their own way in the world.¡±

    I didn¡¯t really have to think about it. There was really only one answer I could give right now anyways.

    ¡°I accept.¡±

    A silver haired eyebrow rose. ¡°So quickly?¡±

    Shrugging, I opened the folder and started to peruse the papers within. ¡°I don¡¯t really have anything else going on right now, and I was already thinking about challenging the gyms. If I can keep helping you and other people, that¡¯s enough for me.¡±

    I smiled, a bit embarrassed. ¡°Plus I really need the money.¡±

 Chapter Twenty-Two

    CHAMPION: ECO-TERRORISTS WILL NOT HOLD HOENN HOSTAGE

    Hoenn Shinbun, 26 July, 2004

    Champion Steven Stone, heir to the Rustboro City based Devon Corporation, addressed a crowd of reporters on the steps of the Pok¨¦mon League in Ever Grande City earlier today regarding the recent raids conducted by members of the Elite Four.

    ¡°I will not allow these eco-terrorists to devastate our beautiful region. They had twisted understandings of the delicate balance of land and sea that makes Hoenn so unique, and were working to destroy the region we all love. The Pok¨¦mon League will not allow them to harm that balance, nor will we let anyone else threaten Hoenn. Our brave Trainers and Rangers have already thwarted many of their schemes, but we beg the public to remain vigilant.¡±

    This statement came on the heels of a rapid escalation of the threat posed by Teams Aqua and Magma, once thought to be common street gangs but whose threat level was raised to that of terrorist organizations after their assault on Mt. Chimney late last week. Proponents of the League have praised Champion Stone and the Elite Four¡¯s rapid response to the situation, while critics have argued that the terrorists should never have been allowed to grow this large in the first place and that Team Aqua¡¯s founder Archie has not been apprehended yet.

    Archie has been raised to number one on Hoenn¡¯s most wanted list, and authorities have listed a reward for any information regarding his location¡­

    I whistled as I put down the paper. It was already almost two weeks out of date, but Professor Rowan had included it in the back of the manilla folder he had given me.

    My mind was in a fog as I stared at the article. A big red ¡°Special Edition¡± covered most of the top section of the front page, as well as a somewhat blurry photo of a handcuffed Maxie being led into a police van.

    Maxie, as in the leader of Team Magma.

    Up until now, things had been different from the games and the anime. This was a real world after all, and I had mostly come to terms with what that meant, that my knowledge wasn¡¯t always going to be right or accurate.

    But this? This changed everything.

    As far as I knew, nothing like this had ever happened in the games, anime, or even the manga. If they had just tried to make Mt. Chimney erupt then that was about half-way through the games, and the anime too if I remembered correctly. There was still a lot more that was supposed to happen if I hadn¡¯t gotten involved.

    I couldn¡¯t bring myself to be upset, however.

    Maxie and Archie were madmen, and their actions would have caused incalculable harm to people and Pok¨¦mon across the region. By stopping them now, ensuring that Groudon and Kyogre weren¡¯t roused from their sleep, lives had been saved.

    A warm feeling spread in my chest as I stared at the newspaper. I hadn¡¯t been the one to arrest Maxie and the others, but I had been responsible for helping to make the world a safer place.

    Archie going missing was concerning, but I wasn¡¯t  as worried about that. His plans had been ruined, and his plot to get the Blue Orb to wake Kyogre up would be a lot more difficult without any of his grunts or his admins to back him up.

    Ash and friends had even gotten a shoutout in the paper for helping to stop the situation on Mt. Chimney.

    As far as I could tell, everything in Hoenn was working out wonderfully.

    After Rowan had given me the paperwork we chatted for a little while before he and Lucas needed to go and take care of another meeting. After they left, I retired back to the Pok¨¦mon Center, braving the crowds again to get a room.

    The free rooms were even smaller than the ones in Oreburgh City, and the receptionist had triple checked my Trainer License to make sure that I could even get one for free.

    Apparently, a lot of people tried to take advantage of the Pok¨¦mon Centers here if they weren¡¯t official Trainers.

    It was still a distinction that I was getting used to, and I bemoaned my lack of formal education in this world that would have helped with the legalese involved. From my brief looks into the government of this world, I had found an overwhelming amount of information on the tangled rat¡¯s nest that was the legal system.

    Just because you had a Pok¨¦mon registered to you didn¡¯t mean you were a Trainer, with a capital ¡°T.¡± That was a legal term used to define somebody who trained and battled Pok¨¦mon as a profession, and had a host of other responsibilities and privileges. I vaguely remembered reading about this when I was still getting settled in and filling out the paperwork to be put into the system.

    It hadn¡¯t made sense to me back then, and it barely made sense to me now.

    All it really meant was that most people who weren¡¯t a professional Trainer or on their Journey weren¡¯t able to get a room at a Pok¨¦mon Center, which wasn¡¯t even all that comfortable in the first place.

    I had gone over the sponsorship paperwork in the room while Venus and Zetian slept in a small pile at the foot of the bed.

    The sponsorship was basically what Rowan had said it was, I would help the lab out with some research and would be paid to go on my Journey and challenge the Gyms. I would have to represent the lab in a good light as well, showing good sportsmanship in my battles and such. In case of emergencies, I could even be deputized by any government official, like a Gym Leader, a police officer, or a Ranger.

    It was a little intimidating to be put in a position of authority like that, but I did a little research on the Pok¨¦mon Center¡¯s free computers and the people on the forums said that kind of stuff didn¡¯t really happen all that often. Overall it seemed like a good deal.

    Then I had spent an hour or so lost in a daze as I re-read the newspaper and realized what a big change I had made to the world.

    The next day I got the paperwork back to Professor Rowan, who presented me with a surprise.

    /^\

    ¡°Professor,¡± I said with a strangled voice as I stared at the check in front of me. ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°That, dear Alina, is a check.¡±

    He had a very infuriating smirk on his normally impassive face.

    ¡°Would you please tell me why there¡¯s thirty million dollars on it??¡±

    His smirk deepened and he chuckled.

    ¡°That¡¯s because the money transfer from Hoenn successfully came through last night.¡±

    ¡°Money transfer? Hoenn? What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Alina my dear, you were directly responsible for providing the information that led to the capture of five of the six most wanted criminals and terrorists in Hoenn, and it was just bad luck that Archie managed to escape. The Hoenn Pok¨¦mon League and Civil Government had rewards listed for any information that led to their capture, and it totaled up to the amount you see before you.¡±

    His smile thinned. ¡°After taxes, of course.¡±

    I was glad I was sitting down, because I was feeling a little lightheaded.

    ¡°I thought the sponsorship from your lab was my reward, not¡­ this.¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°You have provided us as a whole with so much information it¡¯s almost hard to manage. Should your rewards not be equally impressive?¡±

    That caused me to frown as I thought of something that had been bothering me ever since I had read the newspaper article in the first place.

    ¡°If it¡¯s not too rude to ask, I¡¯m happy that the Team Aqua and Magma people were arrested, but why did it take so long in the first place? I gave you that information almost a month ago.¡±

    Rowan sighed. ¡°That¡¯s a good question, and one I wish I had a better answer to. The unfortunate truth of the reality is that it took me a much longer time to get even this much information out in the first place.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°While all of the Regional Pok¨¦mon Leagues are united under the Pok¨¦mon League Association, each of the regions also has their own civil government, with their own laws and regulations. I have a long-standing friendship with Cynthia- sorry, Champion Cynthia.¡±

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    He smiled fondly, a distant look in his eyes. ¡°I remember when she was just an awkward, gangly teenager setting off on her Journey for the first time, all knees and elbows.¡±

    I eagerly leaned forwards. Cynthia had always been my favorite Champion in the games, and I still felt fear whenever I heard the infamous piano notes of her approaching theme.

    Unfortunately Rowan realized what he was saying, and cut himself off with a cough. ¡°Anyways, I was able to convince Cynthia easily enough. She has a fascination with history and archaeology, and was familiar with the stories of the mysterious traveler in Hisui. It was easy enough to convince her of the veracity of your tale.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you mean Cynthia knows the truth about me?¡± I whispered, looking around cautiously despite the fact we were in a private room. ¡°About where I come from?¡±

    ¡°I trust Cynthia with my life. I have trusted her with my life, and I am still here to tell the tale. She is not only a close friend, but she is also the most powerful Trainer in all of Sinnoh, and one of the top ten Trainers in the entire world. If she cannot keep your secret, who can?¡±

    I flushed, feeling a bit silly.

    ¡°Right, of course. Sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s understandable why you would be worried, but fear not ¨C your secret is safe. As I was saying however, while Cynthia was easy enough to convince based on our past interactions, the rest of the world is more difficult. There are official channels to go through, policies and regulations, and information that must be gathered before any action can be taken. If I¡¯m being honest, it¡¯s almost a blessing that the Mt. Chimney attack happened when it did.¡±

    I cocked my head to one side as I tried to figure out what he meant.

    ¡°You¡¯re trying to say that the only reason the information was taken seriously was because of the attack.¡±

    ¡°Yes. It took longer than I would have liked to verify everything and make it presentable, but if we had contacted Champion Steven before the attack, who knows how long your tips would have languished in the quagmire that is government bureaucracy. Aqua and Magma were seen as street gangs that were unusually concerned about the planet, not full-blown eco-terrorists. As much as I hate to admit it, the rest of your information will take even longer to verify and make presentable. It¡¯s just the cost of doing business when dealing with such large organizations.¡±

    I sighed.

    ¡°You have done much more than you think Alina, so please be happy. If nothing else, you have saved countless lives by helping stop Aqua and Magma now, and you have saved us an unimaginable amount of time when it comes to this ¡°Team Galactic.¡±¡±

    My heart started racing. ¡°You mean you¡¯re investigating Cyrus?¡±

    ¡°We are. The investigation is still in its early stages, but he is unofficially a Person of Interest, and we are working with the International Police. Team Galactic is still relatively small, with few actual crimes to their name, but they¡¯ve already started to gather some attention. It will be a while before we are able to officially tie Cyrus to Galactic, and to level charges against them, but it will happen. Before you, we were only barely aware of the organization at all, so this is a massive help.¡±

    He smiled, and pointed at the check in my hands. ¡°Unfortunately, that¡¯s likely going to be the largest reward check you¡¯ll see, and that¡¯s only because of the Mt. Chimney attack.¡±

    I shook my head, still feeling a bit numb that things were going so well. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t do this for a reward.¡±

    ¡°I know that, and so does Cynthia. But it would shame us if we didn¡¯t reward you. So please, take the money and spend it knowing that you¡¯ve done an incredibly good thing.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t much I could do to argue against that.

    /^\

    I was well onto my second vanilla frappe when a shout rang out from across the street.

    I had spent the afternoon at a delightful little streetside cafe in downtown Jubilife, enjoying a relaxing afternoon with some coffee and sweets. The caf¨¦ owners had a vanilla Alcremie, and every cup of coffee had a dollop of delicious cream on top. There was even a Fidough in the back who helped provide the yeast for their baked goods.

    It almost made me want to get an Alcremie to make all of my food taste better, but I wasn¡¯t sure if that would be fair to the Pok¨¦mon to be used for just that.

    I was being a little more free with my spending now that I was going to have an actual income stream, but buying a Pok¨¦mon egg seemed a bit much.

    ¡°Hey!¡± The shouting continued, and I looked up to see who was shouting.

    After a quick glance, I didn¡¯t see anyone I knew so I returned to writing in the small journal I had bought to document all the Pok¨¦mon evolutions I could remember.

    ¡°Black haired old lady!¡±

    I chuckled at the shout. Somebody was barking up the wrong tree; despite all of the different and normally unnatural hair colors like green or pink, the most common hair colors of Sinnoh were a lot like that of Japan: black or brown.

    ¡°Hey! You in the purple sweatshirt! Yeah I see you laughing!¡±

    I blinked, and looked up again. Surely they didn¡¯t mean me?

    A young man was striding across the street, fury clouding his features. He looked¡­ vaguely familiar, and I tried to place where I had seen him in the anime or in the games.

    He was definitely looking for me though, as he stepped right up to my table, a thin rope line was the only thing that separated us.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you!¡±

    I looked around, but while most of the other cafe goers were trying to subtly watch the confrontation, nobody seemed willing to step up.

    Also, what? I was twenty-three, which definitely wasn¡¯t old.

    ¡°Uh, sorry? Do I know you?¡±

    The kid, who must have only been sixteen, deflated slightly, before puffing himself up again.

    ¡°You dare? It¡¯s me, your rival!¡±

    Who was this kid? He was so familiar yet I was becoming increasingly sure that he wasn¡¯t actually from any of the games or the show. His bright green hair screamed that he was at least a side character, but while his clothes were weathered I could tell they had been bought that way. A minor antagonist on Ash¡¯s journey?

    Then I spotted the studded black leather belt that held his Pok¨¦ Balls, and finally recognized where I knew him from.

    ¡°Wait, Keith? From Sandgem Town?¡±

    The kid flushed red, and I swear a vein started to bulge in his temple.

    ¡°It¡¯s Kevin!¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry, I¡¯d had a really intense couple of days back then and I wasn¡¯t on the top of my game-¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear your excuses!¡±

    My eye twitched as he cut me off, and with a flourish he whipped out a Pok¨¦ Ball.

    ¡°I want to challenge you to a battle!¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    The kid spluttered at my refusal.

    ¡°Why? Do you really think I¡¯m so weak that I¡¯m not even worth your time? I¡¯ll show you!¡±

    With a wholly unnecessary flurry of arm movements, Kevin held out his Pok¨¦ Ball and with a flash of light a Golbat appeared, looking slightly confused and squinting at the bright daylight.

    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m not trying to look down on you, I¡¯m just trying to enjoy my coffee.¡±

    Kevin seemed to wilt as he looked around, finally seeing that he had interrupted an entire cafe¡¯s worth of people trying to enjoy their meals.

    ¡°I¡­ oh.¡±

    A furious looking waiter was starting to come our way, and I sighed.

    ¡°Listen, why don¡¯t you put your Golbat away, sit down, and we can talk this over, okay?¡±

    The kid practically shriveled up under all the attention, and meekly returned his Pok¨¦mon and dipped underneath the rope, sitting down as I closed my journal.

    The waiter stormed over, but I smiled as I looked up at him, making the man hesitate.

    ¡°Hi, listen I¡¯m really sorry about my¡­ uh, acquaintance, here. You know how kids are these days. Could he get a¡­¡±

    I looked at Kevin.

    ¡°Can I get an orange juice?¡± He mumbled.

    ¡°An orange juice? And I¡¯d like a cinnamon roll please, I heard they¡¯re great here.¡±

    Kevin¡¯s stomach rumbled, and his face flushed an even deeper shade of red.

    ¡°Two cinnamon rolls, please.¡±

    The waiter still seemed like he wanted to say something, but eventually nodded, jotting down the order and stepping away.

    It was a long and very awkward wait as Kevin fidgeted under the less-than-inconspicuous glances of the other patrons, at least until the food arrived and he began to tear into the cinnamon roll.

    ¡°They apparently have an Alcremie here,¡± I said, trying to make conversation. ¡°And a Fidough.¡±

    Kevin snorted from around a massive mouthful of food. ¡°Them and every other cafe. They¡¯re rare Pok¨¦mon in the battling scene, but most food places have a Pok¨¦mon like that on staff.¡±

    He rolled his eyes. ¡°Soooo original.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°Listen Kevin, what¡¯s your deal?¡±

    The kid looked over the top of his glass of orange juice at me. ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    I gestured at him with my frappe. ¡°You¡¯re the one who stomped up to me, declared me your rival, and challenged me to a battle.¡±

    He hurriedly swallowed. ¡°That¡¯s because we are rivals!¡±

    I blinked slowly. ¡°Since when?¡±

    ¡°Ever since we locked eyes back in Sandgem Town! From that moment on, we were bound by fate, destined to challenge each other at every opportunity!¡±

    A plane could have flown into my mouth as I gaped at the kid, and I even took the chance to look around at the other patrons, trying to see if this was normal or not. Judging by their incredulous stares, I figured it wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°Uh, okay? First of all I¡¯m an adult and you¡¯re still pretty young, so I¡¯m definitely uncomfortable with this dynamic you¡¯ve created for yourself. Second of all, I think you¡¯re the one who approached me in the first place back in Sandgem, I was just trying to do my shopping.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m 16!¡± He said, voice cracking on the last word. ¡°I¡¯m an adult!¡±

    ¡°Uh huh,¡± I said flatly. ¡°Sure. Listen, I¡¯m not really sure what you want out of this whole thing, but I¡¯m not really into it.¡±

    ¡°What I want out of- we¡¯re rivals!¡± His voice kept cracking.

    ¡°You can¡¯t just go around declaring that people are your rival.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ why not?¡±

    The poor kid almost looked crestfallen, until he remembered that he needed to be angry.

    ¡°You can¡¯t tell me what I can¡¯t do!¡± He declared, and stood up, toppling the chair to the ground. ¡°That¡¯s it! Meet me behind the Pok¨¦mon Center for a battle once you¡¯re done with your drink!¡±

    With that he turned and began to storm off, then hesitated and turned back, sheepishly putting the chair back up.

    ¡°I can pay for the cinnamon roll and the orange juice-¡±

    I sighed and waved the kid off. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I got it.¡±

    ¡°Then I look forward to our battle!¡±

    Kevin stomped away, head held high. He didn¡¯t seem to realize that I actually never agreed to battling with him, and even if I had, he hadn¡¯t specified which Pok¨¦mon Center to meet at.

    I sighed again, and sipped on my frappe.

    When I eventually made my way back to the Pok¨¦mon Center I even looked at the battling courts in the back, and couldn¡¯t see him. Either he had meant a different Center, or had gotten tired of waiting and had left.

    Rolling my eyes, I went back to my room to take a nap with Zetian and Venus.

 Chapter Twenty-Three

    ¡°Excuse me, do you need any help?¡±

    I looked up to find a young girl standing expectantly nearby, dressed in the black polo and slacks that apparently all retail workers wore, regardless of which world you were on. A small name tag was clipped to the front of her shirt, reading ¡°Ai.¡±

    ¡°Yes, actually, I¡¯ve been trying to figure out what¡¯s different between these two pairs of hose.¡±

    I held up the items in question, two different sets of black pantyhose.

    ¡°They both look and feel the same, but this one says that it¡¯s ¡°Journey Safe¡± and costs almost four times as much as the other. Why is that?¡±

    ¡°Oh! I can actually answer that one! You see this brand is made from the normal nylon material, but this one is made from Spinarak silk. Please come on up to the counter, we actually have a station set up for demonstrations!¡±

    Bemused, I dropped both sets of hose into my shopping cart and followed Ai up to one of the customer service counters. Sure enough, there were two mannequins mounted near the counter, each one wearing a set of the hose.

    One was ripped and torn, looking like a rabid Poochyena had attacked it, while the other one was nearly pristine with only a few pills and stretched areas.

    ¡°The one on the left is the regular brand.¡± Ai pulled out a safety knife, the kind used to open cardboard boxes, and extended the blade. ¡°See how easily it tears?¡±

    Sure enough as Ai slashed at the hose it ripped open.

    ¡°You can also use your hands!¡±

    I nodded as the girl picked at the hose. Even the nicest tights back home were more fragile than I liked, and I had gone through more pairs than I liked to admit.

    ¡°But this is the Spinarak silk pair!¡±

    With an eagerness that was almost scary Ai turned and slashed at the other pair of hose. She put all of her force into it but the blade skittered across the fabric, leaving not a single sign of it¡¯s passing.

    ¡°Oh,¡± I blinked. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s impressive.¡±

    ¡°It sure is! It¡¯s called ¡°Journey Safe¡± because it¡¯s made for Trainers who are going on their Journey but still want to look their best! This way no plants, rocks, or even Pok¨¦mon can ruin your style!¡±

    She frowned, and leaned in conspiratorially. ¡°Just between me and you though, they¡¯re not perfect. Pok¨¦mon with really sharp teeth or claws can still tear them.¡±

    I nodded seriously. ¡°I understand.¡±

    ¡°But they¡¯re also really warm!¡± Ai said, perking up. ¡°Since they¡¯re made from Spinarak silk they¡¯re also insulated, meaning that despite being the same thickness as regular nylon and just as sheer, they keep your legs warm. If you go all the way north to Lake Acuity in winter you¡¯ll still need to wear some kind of snow boots and pants, but for most other situations these will be perfect!¡±

    I considered the pair of tights in my cart, then looked down at Venus. She had insisted on coming along for the shopping trip, while Zetian was enjoying the Pok¨¦mon Center. Apparently they had a public garden in a nearby park with some very nice smelling flowers. Since he was staying at the same Center, Lucas had volunteered to watch her while I went shopping.

    Zetian¡¯s fascination with the city had quickly died out, and I could tell that she wasn¡¯t comfortable here. There were too many people, the buildings were too tall, and despite a park on almost every block, there weren''t enough trees and plant life for her. It was better than the caves, but not by much.

    Which was totally fair in my opinion, and I was starting to think she had the right idea. There were too many people, especially after spending weeks living by myself in the woods.

    Although, there was also good coffee and plenty of shopping, so I considered it a toss-up.

    Venus was more than happy to help me shop though, and she had carefully considered each and every item before either giving me a nod, or a shake of her head.

    Annoyingly, she was right almost every time.

    Her head cocked from one side to the other as she considered the two pairs of hose, and Ai cooed quietly off to the side.

    ¡°So cute!¡± I heard her whisper, and Venus¡¯ tail twitched.

    Eventually, the Eevee settled on her pick, placing a paw over the special Spinarak silk pair.

    I was going to protest, but remembered that I now had more than enough money to buy what I wanted to.

    ¡°Alright, I guess I¡¯m getting these ones.¡±

    ¡°Great, do you need any other help?¡±

    Venus shot me a look, and I sighed. She had already proven her worth back in Sandgem with fashion, but somebody who was more knowledgeable about the trends of this world would probably help a lot.

    ¡°Yeah actually, do you think you can help me pick out some outfits? I¡¯ve been out in the woods for a little bit and don¡¯t really know what¡¯s in right now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to!¡±

    Ai hesitated, looking down at Venus.

    ¡°Would it be okay if I¡­¡±

    Venus sat up and moved under the girl¡¯s outstretched hand, placing it on her own head.

    Ai practically melted as she scratched Venus, and the Eevee shot me a triumphant look that was entirely too smug.

    /^\

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    I left the massive department store with a lot less money than I had entered it with, but I didn¡¯t feel disappointed.

    After depositing the check into my account, and making a number of phone calls to ensure that I really was who I said I was and that the Pok¨¦mon League was truly trying to deposit so much money, I had made my way down to the shopping district of Jubilife City.

    There were some stores with prices that made even the massive check Rowan had given me seem small, and I couldn¡¯t help but wonder who had that kind of cash to be throwing around. Eventually, I had settled on doing the bulk of my shopping at the Jubilife Department Store, which was really a massive mall with dozens of shops.

    My old clothes had been bought because they had been sturdy and cheap, but now that I actually had some money, I was willing to pay for something that would last and look good. The knees of my old jeans were already starting to wear out, and the purple hoodie had a number of small rips and stains that I had failed at trying to fix.

    Living at a campsite for about a month didn¡¯t really allow me to properly launder my clothes.

    I had picked up several pairs of the Spinarak silk tights, as well as a pair of insulated hiking pants of the same fabric. I was planning on heading north anyways, so I figured I would be prepared for whenever that happened.

    A couple of skirts were also picked up, as well as a pair of sturdy leather hiking boots that came most of the way up my calves.

    Ai had assured me that all of the leather was ethically sourced from Pok¨¦mon who had knowingly signed a contract allowing their skin and other materials to be used after they died a natural death. I guess it was a lot like organ donation in that way, except in the service of fashion.

    Apparently their actual organs were also used for important surgeries on other Pok¨¦mon, so that helped alleviate some of my worries.

    T-shirts, halter tops, and a number of sweaters and jackets were all added to my quickly growing wardrobe, along with some exercise leggings, some sports tops, and some running shoes.

    Much to my dismay, running shoes didn¡¯t actually make you run faster than normal, they were just regular exercise shoes.

    I was getting awfully close to copying Serena¡¯s look from the games and anime, but I figured she was still a young kid and a couple of years away from being a protagonist, so if anything she would be copying me.

    The only reason I was able to carry even a fraction of all of my new purchases was because of the bag slung over one shoulder.

    The Silph Co. Extradimensional Storage Bag was a marvel of technology that seemed to break both the laws of physics and my own understanding of the world around me. Thanks to my recent windfall, courtesy of the Hoenn Pok¨¦mon League, I finally had enough money to buy one of the impossible bags.

    They were made with the same technology that made Pok¨¦ Balls able to function. Which made sense, until I realized that they were able to make Pok¨¦ Balls work hundreds of years ago back in Hisui, and they were made with apricorns of all things.

    I had even tried looking at some of the math behind it, over a month ago back in Rowan¡¯s lab. The exact science behind it was unfortunately locked behind patents and secret formulas held by Silph Co. and the Devon Corporation, along with the companies that licensed the technology to manufacture third party variants. But what was publicly accessible was such high level math that at one point there were not even any numbers, just symbols that I didn¡¯t recognize. The entire experience had left me with a headache, and I had to just accept that it was the next best thing to magic, and leave it at that.

    They had created a pocket dimension for living creatures before they had figured out the flip phone, which said a lot about this world¡¯s priorities.

    Still, I couldn¡¯t complain, since it allowed me to carry an entire small wardrobe¡¯s amount of clothes, my previous hiking and camping gear, an actual sleeping cot, food other than berries and fish, a specialized Bug-type grooming kit for Zetian, and more.

    I had sprung for one of the larger options, which had cost so much money that I actually felt nauseous, but it wasn¡¯t even the largest storage bag they had. There were smaller, cheaper options as well, but I wanted to make sure that I had the space to store anything I needed.

    After everything was bought, I was left with about a half of my reward money, which was then put into a bank Professor Rowan had recommended. After all, I wasn¡¯t going to be a Lab Trainer forever, and it would be good to have a nest egg to fall back on.

    /^\

    ¡°Aw Alina! Do you really have to leave so soon?¡±

    Lucas whined from where he was slumped over the edge of the couch, staring at me, as I finished putting my camping gear into the bag. There was something endlessly amusing to taking an entire tent and sliding it into a small backpack, and to also be able to reach your hand into the bag and somehow know everything that was stored inside, and pull it out with a thought.

    It really was the next best thing to magic.

    ¡°Yeah Lucas, I gotta go.¡±

    ¡°But what¡¯s the rush? The League season doesn¡¯t start for another couple of weeks, and you¡¯ve barely explored Jubilife at all!¡±

    He flopped his arm around dramatically, and I smiled at the kid¡¯s antics.

    ¡°I¡¯m heading up to Eterna City early, I know somebody who went up there for the Quadrathlon and I figured it would be nice to support them. Besides, the city¡¯s a bit too much for me and my Pok¨¦mon right now. You¡¯ve seen how anxious Zetian has been lately.¡±

    Lucas grumbled, but didn¡¯t push it. Zetian had been getting stressed out by how many people there were, spending almost all of her time inside her ball, and Venus hadn¡¯t been much better. I was pretty sure it was only her dislike of being in the Pok¨¦ Ball that stopped her from staying in there.

    And, truth be told, I was also getting sick of the city as well. I had never really liked cities, but I was able to tolerate them back on Earth. The cities in this world were like night and day of course, being so much better, but even then it was still too much for me. Too many people, too many sounds, too many things going on.

    I frowned at the thought as I slid my new cooking pot into my bag. What I was really concerned about was my newfound reluctance to be around so many people.

    It wasn¡¯t entirely a new thing, as a kid I had been anxious a lot, either due to my then-unknown gender dysphoria or the bad living situation I¡¯d grown up in. Back then, I had reacted to everything with fear, which had turned to anger as I tried to lash out at things that I thought could hurt me.

    A lot of therapy had been needed to start to break down those gut instincts, and my transition had helped a lot as well. But now I was having those same flashes of anxiety whenever I was in a crowd and people came too close to me. I wasn¡¯t feeling the same kind of anger I had when I was a kid, but there was something else¡­

    The feeling of a cage¡¯s bars started to press into my back, and I felt myself struggling to breathe.

    ¡°Alina?¡±

    Lucas¡¯ voice cut into my budding panic attack, concern clear in his tone.

    I looked up to see him sitting properly on the edge of the couch and looking like he was seconds away from jumping to my side.

    Taking a shaky breath, I smiled at him.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just some bad thoughts.¡±

    ¡°Uh huh.¡±

    Lucas said in a tone that sounded entirely unconvinced. He was a smart kid.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay. Or rather, I will be okay. Were you saying something?¡±

    He hesitated, looking as if he wanted to keep prying, but sighed instead.

    ¡°Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to have a battle before you left, but I¡¯m not sure anymore.¡±

    I bit the inside of my cheek in thought. I didn¡¯t really want to battle, but at the same time it might actually do me some good.

    Fresh air and something to take my mind off of things would probably help a lot, and it would be good exercise for Venus and Zetian.

    ¡°Yeah. Yeah, okay.¡±

    Luas blinked. ¡°Wait, really? Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be good for us I think.¡±

    ¡°Alright¡­ if you¡¯re sure you¡¯re feeling okay?¡±

    ¡°Lucas, I¡¯m fine.¡± I smiled, and was only partially lying. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go.¡±

 Chapter Twenty-Four

    I eyed Lucas from across the battle court as Samantha, another trainer who had offered to be the referee, listed out the standard rules for the match.

    After a quick discussion, we had settled on a 1v1 Pok¨¦mon match, since it was the closest thing to fair that Lucas could offer me. Despite feeling a little patronized, I realized that it was just the reality of the situation. While Venus, Zetian, and I had definitely gotten stronger, Lucas had been with his Pok¨¦mon for far longer than I had.

    Much like in our first match back at Professor Rowan¡¯s lab, which felt like a lifetime ago, he was going to use Hardy, his Cranidos.

    I, however, wasn¡¯t going to go for a straight repeat of our match.

    ¡°Are the battlers ready?¡± Samantha asked.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Lucas shouted and punched the air.

    My response was a lot more measured, with a simple ¡°Ready.¡±

    ¡°On three release your Pok¨¦mon, and begin. One.¡±

    The world seemed to tighten down to just the battling court, blocking out the small crowd of onlookers that hung out to watch the Trainer battles.

    ¡°Two.¡±

    Zetian¡¯s Pok¨¦ Ball was cool to the touch as I rubbed my fingers over its surface.

    ¡°You got this.¡± I whispered to her, and the Ball wiggled slightly in response.

    ¡°Three!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go Hardy!¡±

    ¡°Zetian!¡±

    Our two Pok¨¦mon appeared in flashes of light on the field, and there was a brief moment of stillness as everybody sized each other up.

    Hardy had grown since the last time I had seen him. It wasn¡¯t a lot, but he was noticeably bigger, and the thick cap of bone on his head was much more scuffed up than it had been. He snorted and let out a reedy roar as he laid eyes on his opponent, while Zetian merely buzzed quietly.

    ¡°Begin!¡± The referee called, and we burst into action.

    ¡°Zetian! Sweet Scent!¡±

    ¡°Hardy, counter with Leer!¡±

    The little dinosaur glowered at Zetian, causing her to falter for a second, but that didn¡¯t stop her from releasing the small cloud of powder.

    Right away I noticed a difference between this battle and the earlier one with the Steelix, when Zetian had used this same move. Back then it had taken effect almost immediately, while now the mildly narcotic effect was working much slower.

    The reason why was as obvious as it was frustrating: the wind.

    Back in the cave there had been no strong airflow, and the confined space meant that the powder was more concentrated. It was honestly a miracle that Venus or I hadn¡¯t gotten a face full of it back then.

    But here in the wide open space of the battle courts, the powder was taking a lot longer to affect Hardy.

    ¡°Come on Hardy! Let''s end this quickly! Take Down!¡±

    I blinked at the aggressive move. Apparently Lucas didn¡¯t want this match to end in a draw like the last one.

    The small dinosaur-like Pok¨¦mon huffed, lowered his head, and charged forwards with a mighty bellow, feet digging into the ground and kicking up dirt behind him.

    Unfortunately for the Cranidos however, Zetian had one notable advantage.

    The little Combee zipped up into the air, letting the Cranidos stomp on by underneath her, completely missing.

    ¡°Follow up! Bug Bite!¡±

    Zetian spun in place, and her three faces were pinched in anger and determination as she dive bombed Hardy. Right as she was about to slam into the other Pok¨¦mon, her wings abruptly changed direction, beating backwards as fast as they could.

    She hovered to a stop and lashed out with her abdomen¡¯s small stinger. At first I was afraid that it wouldn¡¯t penetrate the thick skin of the Cranidos, but Hardy¡¯s bellow of pain and rage reassured me that that wasn¡¯t the case.

    In fact, Hardy seemed to go mad, thrashing about like a Pok¨¦mon possessed, forcing Zetian to back off or be hit with his flailing tail.

    ¡°Hardy! Listen to me!¡±

    The Cranidos either didn¡¯t hear Lucas, or didn¡¯t bother paying attention to his Trainer, continuing to lash out at the air around him.

    ¡°Hardy!¡±

    Zetian looked almost concerned as she hovered well out of range of Hardy, and I couldn¡¯t blame her.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± The referee called, and Lucas¡¯ shoulders slumped. ¡°You can¡¯t control your Pok¨¦mon, recall it! This match goes to the defender, Alina!¡±

    Dejectedly Lucas pulled out his Pok¨¦ Ball and recalled the rampaging Cranidos, who was still spinning in circles.

    Zetian danced in mid-air, and it took me a second to understand her movements. She was disappointed and a little concerned, and I couldn¡¯t blame her. She soon returned to hover over my shoulder, and I crossed the court to Lucas.

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± He said, not looking up from the slightly rocking Pok¨¦ Ball in his hand.

    ¡°I would say it¡¯s fine, but I honestly don¡¯t know if it is. What happened?¡±

    Lucas sighed, then minimized the Ball and returned it to its place on his belt next to his other two.

    ¡°Can we head back into the Pok¨¦mon Center? I¡¯ll tell you about it on the way.¡±

    I shrugged and we started heading towards the large double doors, leaving a group of muttering watchers behind us.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure exactly what¡¯s gotten into Hardy.¡± Lucas admitted once we were out of earshot. ¡°Everything was fine up until we took a trip into the woods one day. I mean, he was always hard to control, but I figured that was normal for Cranidos, right? Anyways, he somehow managed to stumble his way into a Wurmple nest.¡±

    I blinked. ¡°Wurmple have nests?¡±

    Lucas gave me a strange look. ¡°Yeah, they all gather together in a tree to do their mating, the whole area is covered with their webs, then the Wurmple who have stored up enough energy to evolve use those webs to evolve into Cascoon or Silcoon. You didn¡¯t know that?¡±

    ¡°They don¡¯t have Wurmple in Unova. I think it¡¯s classified as an invasive species.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Huh, you learn something new every day.¡±

    There was still so much I didn¡¯t know about Pok¨¦mon biology, but thankfully Unova¡¯s unique roster of native Pok¨¦mon species, distance from the other regions, and strict requirements on invasive species coming in from other regions was a useful way to cover my ignorance.

    ¡°Anyways, the Wurmple took exception to Hardy running around their space, and strung him up with their webs and bit him a lot. I barely managed to get him recalled to his Ball before they managed to do anything worse, but ever since then he hasn¡¯t been the same around Bug-types. Whenever he gets stung or bit by one he just goes crazy, and I don¡¯t know how to help him.¡±

    I frowned as we walked into the Pok¨¦mon Center. If I didn¡¯t know a lot about Pok¨¦mon biology, I knew even less about Pok¨¦mon psychology. It could be a trauma response, the bite of a Bug-type acting as a trigger, but I couldn¡¯t be sure.

    ¡°What does your dad or Professor Rowan say about it?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°They say to just give it time and to not get upset with him when it happens. If that doesn¡¯t help, then dad knows a good therapist team who should be able to help.¡±

    ¡°Therapist team?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, some people find and train Pok¨¦mon who want to help others, like the Joy Clan. The therapist dad knows has a couple Psychic-types, as well as a Blissey on their team. They¡¯re apparently all really good at making sure Pok¨¦mon feel comfortable.¡±

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± I had a small smile on my face as we walked through the door of the Pok¨¦mon Center.

    Pok¨¦mon therapists. I loved this world.

    ¡°Yeah. Anyways, I should probably get Hardy checked out by the nurses, what are you going to do?¡±

    I looked at the time.

    ¡°It¡¯s a little too late in the day for me to set off now I think, we¡¯d only get so far outside of town before having to stop for the night.¡±

    Lucas flushed, looking down and scuffing his foot against the ground. ¡°Uh, I didn¡¯t cause you to be late did I?¡±

    He was a good kid.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We still have plenty of time to get to Eterna City for the Quadrathlon. I think I¡¯m just going to go look around one last time, then get some rest and leave in the morning.¡±

    ¡°Will we see each other before you go?¡±

    I hesitated, thinking about the schedule. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You¡¯re all staying in a hotel in the southern part of Jubilife, yeah?¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    Biting my lip, I shook my head. ¡°I don¡¯t think so then. We¡¯re going to be going in the other direction to get to Eterna.¡±

    He sighed, then straightened his shoulders. ¡°In that case!¡±

    A surge of panic ran through me.

    What is he doing?

    ¡°Alina! We¡¯re both sponsored by Professor Rowan, but that¡¯s not going to get you out of this! In fact, it just made me more determined! Let¡¯s be rivals! Let¡¯s see who goes all the way to the top of the gym circuit, and into this year¡¯s conference!¡±

    I blinked as he shouted the challenge, then turned and ran away, disappearing into the crowd around the desk for the Pok¨¦mon Center.

    ¡°What?¡±

    There was no answer, besides a couple of chuckling bystanders.

    ¡°No wait, really, what?¡±

    /^\

    I was still confused as I strolled around the shopping district of Jubilife city, a cute little Rattata¡¯s nest of side streets and alleys dotted with small stores located around a few larger shopping centers.

    Was there something in the water here that made teenagers just randomly declare people their rivals? First Kevin, now Lucas, was Dawn going to show up somehow and shout at me next?

    No. I shook my head as I walked. She¡¯s smarter than that.

    Still, it was absurd, rivals were a thing in anime, not real life. Of all the things that had caught me off-guard in this world, this was somehow the most bizarre.

    What did being rivals even mean? Just battling each other every now and again? If Lucas wanted to battle that would be fine, there was no need to declare a rivalry over it.

    And for Kevin¡­ well he needed to just chill out a little bit, get that chip off of his shoulder. I was even willing to battle with him too if he would calm down.

    I sighed. All I wanted was a nice, quiet Journey while I figured out what I was going to do with my life. I still hadn¡¯t figured that out entirely, besides ¡°live with Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    That was a good goal, but I needed something a little bit more. My medieval studies degree was next to useless here, unless I wanted to write some books that would be considered fantasy novels. That was a decent back-up plan, but I needed something more. Maybe once I got through this year and my Journey I could go back to school? Find a degree program that appealed to me and get whatever this world¡¯s equivalent to a bachelor¡¯s or master''s degree?

    Being sponsored by Professor Rowan was nice, but I didn¡¯t think I wanted to be a lab assistant for my whole life.

    My thoughts stutter-stepped to a halt in time with my feet as I stopped in front of a display that had caught my eye.

    There, in the window of a tiny store, was a guitar. There were a number of other stringed instruments that looked vaguely familiar, but that was definitely a classical guitar.

    I immediately changed directions, and a small bell chimed as I stepped through the door into the shop.

    Then I had to blink, because it wasn¡¯t a bell, and instead there was a Chimecho that had attached itself to the ceiling of the shop, and was happily chirping.

    A quiet hum responded to the Chimecho, like a bow being softly dragged across a violin¡¯s strings, and I looked over to see a Kricketune standing on top of the shop¡¯s counter and rubbing its arms together.

    ¡°Uh,¡± I said eloquently. ¡°Hello? Is this¡­ your shop?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure if Pok¨¦mon could even have their own store, but at this point it wouldn¡¯t surprise me.

    In response, the Kricketune rubbed its arms together again, creating a louder tone that carried throughout the small store.

    ¡°Yes, yes, I¡¯m coming.¡± An elderly woman¡¯s voice called out. ¡°You silly little noise makers, what¡¯s it this time? I know for sure that you¡¯ve been fed so- oh! A customer!¡±

    A woman stepped around a back corner in the shop, and was the image of a kind old grandma; a slightly hunched back, gray hair, and a plethora of wrinkles and laugh lines.

    ¡°Hi?¡±

    ¡°Well hello dear! Please, please, come in! Ignore the Pok¨¦mon, they¡¯re just happy to see another face besides this old hag. Are you interested in anything specific, or just looking around?¡±

    ¡°Something specific, actually.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    I pointed at the guitar in the window. ¡°That guitar, is it for sale?¡±

    ¡°Oh hoh, yes it is dearie! I¡¯m somewhat surprised, I¡¯ll let you know. We don¡¯t get a lot of musicians looking to buy new instruments here, and the ones who do visit are mostly interested in the biwa or our tonkori.¡±

    ¡°Really? What do most people do here then?¡±

    ¡°Oh, mostly repairs to their instruments. Would you like to try the guitar out?¡±

    ¡°Yes please!¡±

    She extended one gnarled hand. ¡°Be my guest.¡±

    I eagerly hopped on over to the guitar and oh-so-carefully pulled it from its stand.

    It wasn¡¯t as big as my guitar back on Earth, which was actually a blessing. I was a lot smaller now, and my hands wouldn¡¯t have been able to fit if it had been a full-sized guitar. The wood was a dark brown, almost a walnut color, and it felt like it was made for me.

    The owner found a stool from somewhere, and as I sat down the guitar just fell right into position, and my hands carefully stroked its body.

    ¡°That¡¯s native Sinnoh Apricorn wood.¡± The woman said approvingly. ¡°Harvested from the Eterna Forest.¡±

    ¡°Really? Like the trees whose fruit used to make Pok¨¦ Balls?¡±

    Her already wrinkled brow grew even more furrowed, but a smile spread across her face. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you know that. Most people don¡¯t know that they used to make Pok¨¦ Balls from Apricorns, only that old geezer in Johto still keeps up with the old traditions. My husband used to make a few every now and again back when he was still alive, but the art of making them passed away when he did. I¡¯ve tried, but I just can¡¯t seem to make it work like he did.¡±

    She sighed, and shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s a shame, but the wood is also just right for instruments.¡±

    I blinked, then took in her clothing. She was wearing a simple blue outfit with a white cloth tied around her forehead, and there were a few slivers of wood stuck in the fabric of her trousers.

    ¡°Wait, did you make this?¡±

    The old woman smiled proudly, and her back straightened unconsciously as she looked around the shop.

    ¡°I made that guitar, and every instrument in here.¡±

    You could have flown a Dragonite into my open mouth as I stared at her. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! This is a masterpiece! They¡¯re all masterpieces!¡±

    ¡°Oh hoh! What a flatterer!¡± She fanned her face with one hand, while the other poorly hid her smile. ¡°Calling this old woman a master.¡±

    I noticed she didn¡¯t actually contradict me though.

    ¡°Well go on then girl, play me a song.¡±

    I hesitated, my fingers pausing on the strings for just a minute. There were any number of songs I could play but none of them felt quite right, except¡­

    Slowly, carefully, I started to pluck at the strings, hands moving almost instinctively. A soft, quiet tune, one that I had memorized a long time ago. Almost a lullaby, and one of Go Ichinose¡¯s greatest songs. It spoke of moving forward, of never being able to go back, but was soft and comforting nonetheless.

    The soft sounds of Pok¨¦mon League (Night) echoed throughout the store, and the world fell still for just a few minutes.

    It wasn¡¯t perfect. I hadn¡¯t played a guitar in months, and I hadn¡¯t played that song in years. But it was right.

    ¡°Huh.¡± The old woman said gently when the last note had finally faded into silence. ¡°And here I thought I had heard it all, but that was something special.¡±

    Her smile was a warm thing, her eyes filled with emotion.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    I blushed, and ducked my head.

    ¡°It just felt right.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s how you know it came from the heart. My dear beloved used to say that every Pok¨¦ Ball had its owner. I never understood what he meant until now. I daresay that guitar belongs to you more than it ever did to me.¡±

    I looked up through the hair that had fallen in front of my face. ¡°Are you sure? This is¡­ this is a beautiful guitar, I¡¯m not sure if I deserve something this nice.¡±

    ¡°Girl, after that performance, I wouldn¡¯t let you walk away without it.¡± Her smile turned shark-like, but only for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m still going to charge you for it, mind you.¡±

    The old woman disappeared into the backroom for a moment, then came back with a black hard-case for the guitar.

    ¡°Consider this on the house for the song.¡± She said, letting me put the guitar inside of it.

    ¡°Thank you.¡± I hesitated. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t think I got your name.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s quite okay dear, you can just call me Granny Sayori.¡±

    ¡°Thank you again, Granny Sayori.¡±

    ¡°Feh!¡± She snorted. ¡°Making sure your money goes through is enough thanks for this old woman!¡±

    Granny Sayori paused, before continuing softly. ¡°Although, if you truly want to pay me back, play a song for me again the next time you¡¯re in town. It¡¯s been awfully quiet around here lately, and it was nice to hear somebody else¡¯s music again.¡±

    I tried not to tear up, and clutched the guitar case a little tighter.

    ¡°For you Granny Sayori, I¡¯d play a whole concert.¡±

    ¡°Bah! Come on, let¡¯s see if your money is even good enough for the guitar.¡±

    She grumbled and made her way behind the counter to start ringing me up. The Kricketune and Chimecho both looked at me, content and gratitude in their eyes.

    Once I finished paying I was about to leave the store, when I paused in the doorway.

    ¡°In or out girl, don¡¯t stand there blocking the entrance!¡± Sayori called.

    I looked at the sky, it was still plenty light out.

    ¡°Say, Granny Sayori?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything going on this afternoon. Would you mind if I stayed here for a little bit longer to practice?¡±

    The old woman sniffed, and turned away to walk into the backroom.

    ¡°Feh! Do what you want, but I have work to get to!¡±

    I sat down on the stool and got the guitar out, and began to play again. If she wanted to pretend like she hadn¡¯t teared up when I came back in, I would as well.

 Chapter Twenty-Five

    The ringing of my phone was what woke me up.

    ¡°Buh.¡± I mumbled into my pillow. ¡°Muh. Five more minutes.¡±

    Unfortunately, the phone kept chirping annoyingly until I fumbled at my side, pulling it out and jabbing at it with my fingers.

    It didn¡¯t stop ringing, and I groaned into my pillow. Of all the things I hadn¡¯t sprung for, I had decided that a Rotom Phone was too much for me to spend.

    Struggling more than I liked to admit, I flipped open the top of the phone and stared blankly at the message.

    LEAGUE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM: GHOST-TYPE OUTBREAK REPORTED ON ROUTE 204. RANGERS, LAB TRAINERS, ACE TRAINERS, AND ANY TRAINERS EXPERIENCED WITH GHOST-TYPES ARE TO REPORT TO RANGER O¡¯ROURKE AT RANGER STATION 204b.

    ALL OTHER TRAINERS ARE TO AVOID ROUTE 204. IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY ON ROUTE 204, MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE NEAREST INHABITED LOCATION AND SHELTER THERE UNTIL THE ALL-CLEAR. IF YOU CANNOT MAKE YOUR WAY TO AN INHABITED LOCATION, SHELTER IN PLACE UNTIL THE ALL-CLEAR.

    I groaned again and tossed the phone back down. It was just a Ranger Alert. I had gotten one or two of them while I was camping, and they¡¯d never applied to me before.

    Closing my eyes, I relaxed into the pillow again, sinking back into sleep as the soft purrs of Venus sleeping filled the tent.

    Then I shot upright, causing Venus to yowl in surprise.

    ¡°Wait! I¡¯m on Route 204!¡±

    My backpack was opened in a hurry, and everything that was in arm¡¯s reach was thrown into the nearly-endless void. Despite living in this world for almost three months, I¡¯d never actually even seen a Ghost-type before. They were rare, and there was a lot of superstition around them. The Pok¨¦Dex entries in the games also tended to emphasize just how creepy they were.

    Even if those were games and most of the superstitions were just folk tales, I didn¡¯t want to figure out if they were true in the middle of the night.

    I stopped shoving my sleeping bag into my pack, and picked up my phone again, reading the message much more closely.

    In the midst of my sleepy panic, I had forgotten a very important fact - I had a job now, a job with very real responsibilities.

    I just hadn¡¯t thought that they would show up this early.

    Sighing, I took a little bit more time in getting ready, making sure that I looked as presentable as I could at three in the morning.

    With the rest of the camp packed up, Venus pawed at my leg sleepily and I picked her up.

    ¡°Do you want to ride on my shoulder, or in your Ball?¡±

    She considered the options, then huffed and batted at my hand twice.

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Venus looked up at the still-dark sky and sighed.

    ¡°Okay, I didn¡¯t know you were that tired.¡±

    She vanished back into the ball, and I looked at it with concern for a second before putting it back on my belt. Venus didn¡¯t seem to like the night, always preferring to curl up with me when possible. I hoped she was feeling okay.

    There was a link attached to the emergency message with a location. If I had a Rotom Phone, I could have opened it directly in the map app with a single click. Instead, it took me nearly five minutes to access the map card function and find the ranger station.

    In the end I managed to pull up a location that was only a few miles away and started walking.

    It took almost an hour to reach the spot, and I was thoroughly miserable by the end of it. My flashlight still wasn¡¯t very good, and I¡¯d tripped over a root or a rock more times than I could count.

    The meeting place was a small cabin with a hand painted sign reading ¡°Ranger Station 204b,¡± and a small crowd of people were gathered outside. Two exhausted looking Rangers in their black and orange clothes stood at the front, with three other people standing before them.

    One was a vaguely familiar blond man, another was a tall black woman wearing a massive witch¡¯s hat and a dark purple dress, while the third was another Ranger who looked as exhausted as I felt.

    They all looked up as I approached, their eyes carefully evaluating me.

    One of the Rangers at the front of the crowd, an older looking man with hard eyes, stepped forward.

    ¡°Name, occupation, specialty, and number of badges.¡±

    I was taken aback at his clipped words, but judging by the bags under his eyes he¡¯d had a long night.

    ¡°Alina, Lab Trainer, no speciality, and uh, no badges. Yet.¡±

    The Ranger grimaced, then gestured for me to get in the crowd of people.

    ¡°Alright, there¡¯s less of us than I would like, but we can¡¯t really wait around any longer. I¡¯m Ranger O¡¯Rourke, the Ranger in charge of this little operation. The situation is this: about a week ago a particularly strong Gallade passed away in this part of the woods. We¡¯ve been monitoring the area just in case, and it¡¯s a good thing we did since a large outbreak of Duskull has broken out. They¡¯re on their way to the site of the Gallade¡¯s death to absorb as much of the psychic residue as they can.¡±

    All of the other Trainers were nodding, but I was completely lost. What was psychic residue?

    ¡°Now we,¡± O¡¯Rourke gestured to the other Ranger, a woman with vibrant red hair, beside him. ¡°Were hoping that the outbreak would disperse yesterday morning, but they didn¡¯t. Instead, even more Duskull arrived. That means that there¡¯s a Dusclops leading them, or if we¡¯re very unlucky, a Dusknoir.

    ¡°Since things have escalated to this point, we¡¯ve been authorized to deal with the outbreak directly instead of letting it disperse naturally. This should be a simple operation, so Ranger Vicky and I-¡±

    Once again he gestured at the Ranger next to him. ¡°Will take care of the Dusclops leading the swarm. Ranger Crespin and Trainer Grace will help disperse the Duskull. Grace, your specialty is Ghost-types, correct?¡±

    The woman in the witch¡¯s hat shrugged. ¡°Ghost- and Psychic-types.¡±

    ¡°Use your best judgment then.¡±

    She nodded, and her eyes briefly flashed purple.

    Oh, she was a Hex Maniac. I really wanted to sit down with her and ask her about what it was like to have psychic powers.

    ¡°And you two, the Lab Trainers.¡± O¡¯Rourke pointed at the blond man and myself. ¡°You don¡¯t have the best Pok¨¦mon to go up against a Dusclops, so you¡¯ll be in the back, making sure nobody wanders in, okay?¡±

    I hesitated, then nodded. It wasn¡¯t like I knew anything about what was going on, so being in the back was probably the best option.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    ¡°Great. Everybody has their supplies?¡±

    All of the other Trainers nodded, and I hurriedly joined in.

    ¡°Let''s go.¡±

    /^\

    It was a quiet walk through the woods by design. O¡¯Rourke had warned us that the Duskull might be able to sense us coming, but it was better to be as silent as possible anyways.

    Once we reached a small clearing along the small game trail, O¡¯Rourke pointed at the blond man and myself. ¡°Here¡¯s where you two stop. Remember; make sure no Trainers come through here. I¡¯m deputizing you as law enforcement officials just in case. If any Duskull flee down the trail don¡¯t bother trying to stop them, just let them go. Understand?¡±

    I nodded, and the blond man flashed a toothy smile.

    ¡°The rest of you, let¡¯s go.¡±

    The other four Trainers disappeared deeper into the woods, leaving me alone with the strangely familiar man.

    My impromptu companion pulled out a flashlight and flicked it on, and I followed soon after. The lights weren¡¯t really bright enough to see much of anything, but it was better than standing there in the pitch blackness of the clearing.

    After an awkward minute of silence he looked down at me, which wasn¡¯t particularly hard for him considering he must have been at least six feet tall.

    ¡°So, you work for Professor Rowan?¡± He asked, in an unfamiliar accent.

    I jumped a little at the sudden break in atmosphere, but nervously chuckled and looked up at him.

    ¡°Yeah, just started actually. Um, no offense, but how did you know that?¡±

    ¡°Well you said that you were a Lab Trainer, and considering I saw you with Professor Rowan back in Jubilife City it wasn¡¯t a hard conclusion to reach.¡±

    I stared blankly at him for a long moment as my sleep-deprived brain tried to catch up with what was going on, then I finally realized where I recognized him from.

    ¡°Oh! You¡¯re the Trainer that Rowan was meeting with! The one from, uh, Hoenn, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    He got a strange, faraway look in his eyes as I said that, but shook it off a second later.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s me.Theodore Sering, but you can call Ted.¡±

    ¡°Alina.¡±

    We shook hands, his almost completely enveloping mine.

    ¡°So, what do you study?¡±

    Ted hummed quietly. ¡°A bit of this, and a bit of that. Professor Birch is mostly focused on different Pok¨¦mon habitats and environments. Recently he¡¯s been really focused on different regional forms of Pok¨¦mon, and how Pok¨¦mon change and adapt to their environment.¡±

    ¡°Oh, like the different Alolan forms, or Galarian Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    ¡°Yes, exactly. What about you?¡±

    ¡°Rowan focuses on evolution, so I guess I¡¯m kinda in the same boat?¡± I chuckled. ¡°If I¡¯m being honest I accepted the job about a week ago, so I¡¯m still trying to figure out what I¡¯m doing.¡±

    He nodded. ¡°Trust me, I get that. It took me, well, it took me a long time to get accustomed to everything.¡±

    That was¡­ not really reassuring.

    ¡°Anyways, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, what are you doing in Sinnoh?¡±

    ¡°Hm? Oh, right. There¡¯s been some interesting reports of different Pok¨¦mon forms coming from Sinnoh recently, and Professor Birch managed to secure a grant to send me here to investigate. Unfortunately he wasn¡¯t able to come himself, responsibilities of the job and everything, so I came in his place.¡±

    ¡°What, like the Hisuian forms?¡±

    He blinked slowly as he stared at me.

    ¡°Hisuian forms?¡±

    ¡°Yeah you know, from like, two hundred years ago? Anyways they used to have a bunch of different regional forms of Pok¨¦mon, but I don¡¯t actually know if any of them are still around.¡± I frowned. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anything about them, but I also wasn¡¯t looking that hard, I should really fix that¡­¡±

    ¡°Professor Rowan mentioned having notes and sketches of Pok¨¦mon from back then, but a lot of them were damaged over the years.¡±

    Ted rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

    ¡°He even gave me some copies. At first I thought that they were just stylized drawings, but now if what you¡¯re saying is true they might not be.¡±

    ¡°Oh I can identify them!¡± I said.

    He hesitated, looking in the direction of the Rangers. ¡°Maybe after this is all over with?¡±

    ¡°Ah, right.¡±

    I chastised myself. Pok¨¦mon Legends: Arceus was one of my favorite Pok¨¦mon games, mostly because of the change-up to the formula and being able to see Sinnoh in the past. In all the excitement to see the actual pages of that game¡¯s Pok¨¦Dex, or at least copies of it, I had forgotten that we still had a job to do.

    ¡°Yeah, definitely after this is all done then.¡±

    It was an awkward couple of minutes as we stood there in the dark with only our flashlights, waiting for something to happen.

    ¡°So do you know anything about a Sne-¡±

    An explosion ripped through the night, a warm wind blowing down the path just a moment later.

    ¡°Arceus!¡±

    ¡°Jesus!¡±

    Ted and I both swore as lights danced in the sky.

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°I guess they found the Dusclops.¡± Ted pulled out an incredibly battered looking Pok¨¦ Ball from his belt.

    ¡°Rakkyo!¡±

    In a flash of light, a massive Pok¨¦mon, easily ten feet tall, stretched and cried out into the night.

    I took a step back as a Flygon appeared in front of me, its pale green scales almost iridescent in the dark night. The red coverings on its eyes seemed to glow as it looked around, obviously confused at what was going on.

    ¡°Hey there pal.¡± Ted smiled, warmth clear in his voice. ¡°There¡¯s some Rangers down that path, they¡¯re fighting a Dusclops and probably need some help. Go and support them, okay?¡±

    The Flygon trilled, and set itself in a strange stance, tail out straight while its head was parallel with the ground.

    For a brief moment I wondered what it was doing, until its wings started to beat. They were slow at first, carefully feeling the air as its antennae twitched. Then the wings sped up, faster and faster until they were only a blur, and the Flygon was jittering in place, only remaining on the ground thanks to his feet digging into the earth beneath him.

    Striding up to the side, where the Flygon could see him, Ted pointed forwards.

    ¡°Rakkyo! Launch!¡±

    Like a jet fighter roaring off of an aircraft carrier, the Flygon, Rakkyo, kicked off of the ground, and disappeared into the night sky with a roar. Its wings beat at the air, and like a dragonfly I swore I could hear a strange humming noise coming off of them, almost like a song.

    No, exactly like a song, and in the quickly disappearing vibrations I could hear what sounded like the soul of the desert, wind rushing over soft sand, at once both joyous and lonely.

    Shortly afterwards, a second, slightly quieter roar from Flygon echoed out from beyond the trees, along with some more muted explosions as it joined in the battle.

    ¡°Rakkyo isn¡¯t the best Pok¨¦mon to go up against Ghost-types,¡± Ted said offhandedly. ¡°But he¡¯s strong enough that it should swing any fight in our direction.¡±

    I gave him a suspicious side eye. A Vibrava evolved into Flygon at level 45, at least they did in the games. If that was any indication of strength, even if highly abstracted¡­

    ¡°Just how strong of a Trainer are you?¡±

    He smiled. ¡°Oh, I have a few badges under my belt.¡±

    A flurry of movement interrupted my next statement, and Ted and I both tensed as a group of Duskull emerged from the woods, their red eyes glowing in the dark.

    Fortunately for us, they didn¡¯t seem all that interested in hanging around and fighting, instead scattering deeper into the trees, disappearing from view just as quickly as they had arrived.

    ¡°Well, it looks like the outbreak is starting to disperse.¡±

    ¡°Hm,¡± Ted hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Hopefully the leader doesn¡¯t pose too many problems. Despite their reputation as not being aggressive battlers, Dusclops still shouldn¡¯t be taken lightly.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry.¡± I said, and pulled Venus¡¯ Pok¨¦ Ball off my new belt.

    She appeared in a flash of light and a yawn, looking around in confusion.

    ¡°Hey girl, there¡¯s a bunch of Duskull around, do you mind keeping an eye out for anything dangerous?¡±

    Her ears stood up at attention, and she nodded, looking serious as she stared out into the darkness.

    ¡°Oh you have an Eevee, how rare¡­ although, do you have any other Pok¨¦mon who are better suited to fighting Ghosts?¡±

    ¡°She won¡¯t be affected by any of the Ghost-type moves.¡± I said, and he nodded. ¡°Besides, if everything goes according to plan, we¡¯re not supposed to be fighting at all.¡±

    ¡°Very true.¡±

    As he said that, Ted pulled off another Pok¨¦ Ball, and released a surprising form.

    It was a Sneasel, but it didn¡¯t have the same black fur that most did. Instead it was almost a light gray, with purple paws and tufts of fur.

    ¡°Wait.¡± I said, staring at the Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Where did you find that?¡±

    ¡°Who, Switchback? I got him as an egg. He¡¯s a Dark-type, so they¡¯ll be able to do some damage if you¡¯re willing to take a hit or two.¡±

    I eyed Ted incredulously. ¡°What? No, that¡¯s a Hisuian Sneasel, they¡¯re not-¡±

    Cold washed over the clearing, cutting me off mid-sentence. Frost formed over a couple of the leaves as a presence made itself known to us.

    A thickly-set form emerged from the darkness, standing taller than I did, with a baleful red eye burning bright with fury. Large white hands clutched a strange cloth, while faint wisps of some kind of smoke or haze drifted slowly around it.

    The darkness seemed more oppressive as the Dusclops stomped to a halt in front of us, glaring with alien rage as we stood in its way, and I realized that it wouldn¡¯t turn and run like the Duskull had.

    We would either have to flee and leave the other Rangers to their fate, or fight.

 Chapter Twenty-Six

    A cold wind blew through the clearing as the Dusclops glared at us.

    The chill running down my spine only got worse when I realized that none of the leaves on the trees were stirring at all.

    ¡°Hey, Ted,¡± I said nervously as the Dusclops just stood there, menacingly. ¡°You¡¯re from Hoenn, right? Are Dusclops, uh, friendly?¡±

    ¡°It really depends.¡± He replied slowly, not shifting his gaze from the Pok¨¦mon. ¡°Kokei was, but I¡¯d traveled with him since he was just a Duskull. Dusclops found in the wild tend to be¡­ less friendly.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay. Because that doesn¡¯t look like a friendly Pok¨¦mon at all.¡±

    ¡°No, it really doesn¡¯t.¡±

    Dusclops were strong, I knew that much. Maybe not the strongest Pok¨¦mon there ever was, but I¡¯d played Emerald enough times to know that they evolved somewhere in the late 30¡¯s in terms of levels. Ted¡¯s Flygon, Rakkyo, was stronger than that, but I didn¡¯t know about the rest of his Pok¨¦mon, and Venus or Zetian certainly weren¡¯t that strong.

    The two of us together, however, might be able to defeat it.

    I looked again at the cloth in its hands, and felt as if ice water was poured down my back.

    It was a purple so dark it was almost black, and if not for our flashlights I was sure that it would have been completely invisible against the night. Even with the meager light it was hard to make out, but it seemed ragged, like it had been worn out and was starting to rip and tear.

    ¡°Is that a Reaper Cloth?¡± I said, pointing with a trembling hand.

    Ted swallowed thickly. ¡°Yeah, it is.¡±

    The Dusclops continued to glare at us, but didn¡¯t move at all or do anything else.

    ¡°Is¡­ it is normally supposed to be doing something?¡± I asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± He said, confusion clear in his voice. ¡°But I think we interrupted its evolution.¡±

    ¡°Wait, if there¡¯s a Dusclops that was going to evolve here with us, what are the others fighting?¡±

    He froze, brow furrowed in thought, but didn¡¯t respond.

    A screech echoed from deeper in the woods and I cringed, the sound like nails on a chalkboard.

    Without thinking, I looked in that direction, seeing Ted do the same in the corner of my vision. I couldn¡¯t see where the sound was coming from but-

    Venus yowled, jumping in the air as a presence was suddenly in front of me.

    An over-sized fist swung at my head, covered in a dark purplish mist.

    It was only thanks to Venus¡¯ intervention that it didn¡¯t take my head right off, and I stumbled backwards, realizing that the Dusclops had somehow crossed the distance in a heartbeat.

    ¡°Venus!¡± I cried as the fist slammed into her¡­ only to have the energy disperse into nothingness.

    Venus landed back on all fours, glaring at the Dusclops with rage in her eyes, but was otherwise unharmed.

    Shadow Punch! I realized. It hadn¡¯t affected her because it was a Ghost-type move.

    A loud, piercing whistle slashed through the night, and I spared a quick look over to see Ted holding a strange wooden whistle to his lips, before lowering it and pointing forwards.

    ¡°Switchback! Night Slash!¡±

    The Hisuian Sneasel, which had gone unnoticed, jumped onto the Dusclops¡¯ back with a cackling laugh, its claws almost invisible as they slashed into the other Pok¨¦mon.

    The Dusclops didn¡¯t make a sound, but its single red eye flashed with rage.

    It threw a shoulder back, dislodging the Sneasel - Switchback - and throwing it to the ground.

    Pulling its fist back, the Dusclops spun and launched another Shadow Punch directly for Ted¡¯s Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°Venus!¡±

    She was already moving before I had even called her name, and dashed forwards, interposing herself between the two Pok¨¦mon.

    Again the fist slammed against Venus, and once more the energy fizzled out into nothing, leaving her completely unharmed.

    The red eye flashed again, this time with a sickening light that made my head spin, and took all of my focus to turn away from.

    Venus, of course, was unphased, and counterattacked with her own Quick Attack.

    The Dusclops took on a slightly hazy quality as Venus attacked, her blurred form passing right through the center of its chest.

    She landed adroitly, but cocked her head in confusion at why she was on the other side of her enemy.

    ¡°Venus! Remember what I taught you!¡± I said, drawing her attention. ¡°Ghost-types like Dusclops are unaffected by Normal-type moves!¡±

    Recognition flashed in her brown eyes, and she snarled in frustration.

    Venus¡¯ only moves were Normal-types, except for her Sand Attack. I had been trying to teach her Bite, but she hadn¡¯t managed to get it working yet.

    ¡°Taunt!¡±

    Switchback got back to his feet and ran a clawed hand through his fur, rearranging the tuft of feather-like hair on his head. I could have sworn that he had a smirk on his face as he did so, but regardless it worked.

    The Dusclops rushed forwards, fists glowing with umbral energy as it launched Shadow Punch after Shadow Punch towards Switchback.

    ¡°Stay ahead of it!¡± Ted called.

    I followed with a quick: ¡°Venus, you know what to do!¡±

    The little Eevee rushed back around the Dusclops, to Switchback¡¯s front, and the two started a small dance as the punches came in.

    Where possible, Switchback would jump to the side, or duck underneath the blows, making sure that the Dusclops would direct its attack towards Venus.

    When it was too close to dodge however, or Switchback chose the wrong direction, Venus would move to take the blow, the energy only managing to ruffle her fur.

    It wasn¡¯t perfect however. This was the first time the two Pok¨¦mon had ever met, let alone fought together, and they weren¡¯t in sync.

    Once or twice Switchback had to drop to all fours or scramble away in panic as a fist came from where it wasn¡¯t expecting, or when Venus wasn¡¯t where he was expecting her to be.

    It all came to a head, unfortunately, when Venus dashed left while Switchback dodged right, the two Pok¨¦mon crashing into each other in a jumble of limbs.

    The Dusclops seemed to disappear for a second, vanishing into the shadows cast by our flashlights.

    ¡°Where did it go?¡± I said, casting my light around in a near panic.

    ¡°I don¡¯t- there!¡±

    The Dusclops emerged from the shadows behind Switchback with rage in its eye, and swiped at the Sneasel with a vengeance.

    The little Pok¨¦mon cried out in pain as the blow connected, and was tossed forwards, traces of blood in its fur.

    Then with a roar and the beating of wings, salvation arrived.

    Rakkyo looked a lot worse now than he had before, with fresh bruises and ragged red cuts slowly oozing blood. One forelimb was being held up against his chest, and a crack was running through one of the translucent red eye shields.

    But for all of that, the Dragon was still bellowing with anger as it swooped in, claws glowing with a dark blue light as it swung at the Dusclops.

    Wind buffeted all of us as Rakkyo¡¯s wings stirred up the dirt and detritus on the ground as he hovered in the air like a helicopter, trading blows with the Dusclops.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    At first it was somewhat easy to tell what moves each Pok¨¦mon was using, the Dusclops mainly sticking to Shadow Punches, while Rakkyo was flying through a complicated series of attacks. As the battle dragged on, it became harder and harder to track their motions, and the fight soon became mobile.

    The Dusclops would vanish into the shadows, only to reappear behind Rakkyo and strike out with its hands. Rakkyo could likewise counter by flying higher into the air, or darting around the clearing like a dragonfly.

    Occasionally the Dusclops¡¯ eye would glow, and Rakkyo would cry out as an invisible attack lashed out.

    Rakkyo was hurt from his earlier battle, but even I could tell that as time was going on, the Dusclops was starting to slow down, its attacks losing some of their energy.

    ¡°Dammit I didn¡¯t want to do this.¡± Ted muttered. ¡°Rakkyo! Draco Meteor!¡±

    ¡°Wait, what?¡± I asked, but the Flygon was already leaning back, blueish-purple energy gathering around its mouth.

    For the first time the Dusclops made a noise, a grating sound like nails on a chalkboard, and then it disappeared into the shadows on the ground.

    Rakkyo¡¯s Draco Meteor petered out as the Flygon spun around, ready to counter the attack from behind.

    But nothing happened.

    All of us; Ted, Switchback, Rakkyo, Venus, and I, we all looked around the clearing cautiously, but the Dusclops never re-emerged.

    A minute turned into two, then three, all without any sign of the Ghost.

    After five minutes of tense waiting had passed, Ted¡¯s shoulders slumped, and he let out a shaky breath.

    ¡°Well,¡± He said. ¡°That was something, huh?¡±

    ¡°Was that normal?¡± I asked, feeling like I had just run a marathon.

    ¡°Not in the slightest. The only Dusclops I¡¯ve ever seen that was that strong was my Kokei, and that was after we¡¯d trained together. That Dusclops¡­ it was a lot stronger than I had thought.¡±

    ¡°No kidding.¡± I leaned down, scooping Venus up into my arms. ¡°Good girl.¡±

    She preened under the attention, at least until I fixed her with a glare.

    ¡°But don¡¯t be that reckless again, okay? We got lucky because it was a Ghost and couldn¡¯t hurt you, but the next time we might not be so fortunate.¡±

    Her ears drooped, and I sighed and scratched at her head. ¡°Thank you girl. I love you.¡±

    Venus¡¯ tail started wagging, and she wormed her way deeper into my embrace.

    ¡°Come on Switchback, it¡¯s just a little Potion.¡±

    I looked over to see Ted crouched down in front of his Sneasel, who had its tiny arms crossed and was looking away from the white and purple bottle that Ted was holding out.

    ¡°Problem?¡± I asked, and the man gave me a sheepish smile.

    ¡°He doesn¡¯t like Potions.¡± He said, and the Sneasel huffed. ¡°They sting when they go on.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡±

    There was another minute of pleading between the two, until Rakkyo huffed, and stared down at Switchback.

    The little Sneasel¡¯s eyes went wide as it stared back up at the much taller Pok¨¦mon, and I was sure that underneath its gray fur Switchback had gone pale.

    Switchback reluctantly uncrossed its arms, and allowed Ted to apply the Potion.

    ¡°That¡¯s it boy.¡± Ted said. ¡°I just don¡¯t know why that attack did so much damage.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because Switchback is a Hisuian Sneasel.¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a Poison/Fighting dual-type, not a Dark/Ice.¡±

    Ted blinked slowly up at me. ¡°What? Switchback¡¯s shown no signs of being a Poison-type. I knew it was probably a Fighting-type, he likes to get into scrapes often enough that he has to be, but Poison?¡±

    I nodded, and tried to remember as much about Hisuian Sneasel and Sneasler as I could.

    ¡°It learns its first Poison move at leve- er, I mean around the time it would be strong enough to challenge a third or fourth gym. That move, Night Slash? It¡¯s an Egg Move, Switchback must have had a Weavile for a parent.¡±

    ¡°Well then.¡± Ted looked down at his Pok¨¦mon and smiled. ¡°That explains a lot I guess. Who knew?¡±

    Rakkyo huffed from beside his Trainer and Ted stood up, running his hands along his Pok¨¦mon¡¯s flanks.

    ¡°Oh come now, you¡¯re barely hurt at all!¡±

    Rakkyo snorted, the force of it blowing Ted¡¯s hair back.

    ¡°You were hurting more when you tripped going down the Jagged Pass. But fine, I suppose you can get a Potion too.¡±

    The giant Flygon managed to look embarrassed as Ted rooted around in his bag, and I noted that his arm was disappearing into the opening far more than it should have. I guess I wasn¡¯t the only one with a dimensional bag then.

    After another minute the giant Dragon had its wounds sprayed down with a Potion, and Ted was patting its side fondly, before he looked back up past the trees.

    He cursed under his breath, then shot an apologetic glance over at me.

    ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll be okay here for a minute?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be fine, go check on the others.¡±

    Ted hesitated still, and I rolled my eyes, pulling off the other Pok¨¦ Ball from my belt and releasing Zetian. She buzzed and danced in the air upon seeing me and Venus, but then froze abruptly as one of her faces caught sight of the Flygon standing nearby.

    ¡°Go, as long as another Dusclops doesn¡¯t show up I should be fine.¡±

    Finally he nodded, and Switchback reached up with little grasping hands, until Ted sighed and picked him up with a grunt, placing the Pok¨¦mon on his back with its arms wrapped around his neck. Then Rakkyo picked Ted up in both arms like a princess carry, and with a jaunty wave and a blast of wind as the Flygon took off, they were gone.

    I let out a long, shuddering breath, and sat down against the base of a tree, staring blankly at the clearing around me.

    ¡°Well,¡± I said to my Pok¨¦mon. ¡°That was exciting.¡±

    /^\

    A good fifteen or so minutes went by without any more Pok¨¦mon showing up, and I was thankful for the chance to breathe and go over the fight.

    That Dusclops was probably the strongest Pok¨¦mon I had ever gone up against. Even the Steelix hadn¡¯t been that tough.

    If not for Ted and Rakkyo, the battle would have gone a lot differently, and not for the better. Although if it had just been Venus, Zetian, and myself, I probably would have tried to run and let the Dusclops go on its own way.

    Discretion was the better part of valor after all, and I wanted to see the rest of the world still.

    Venus had hopped up onto my shoulder, her tail curling around my neck like a scarf, while Zetian buzzed around the clearing like a soldier on watch, cautiously keeping an eye out despite how much I told her it was okay.

    Eventually, my little break came to an end as the increasingly familiar humming sound of a Flygon¡¯s wings came closer, and Rakkyo came back into view.

    He and Ted weren¡¯t alone however, and a balloon-like object came into sight just behind them. I blinked several times to try and make it out, until two red eyes blinked at me.

    ¡°Oh!¡±

    The Drifblim floated into the clearing as Rakkyo landed, and I could see that the Hex Maniac, Grace, was standing on some kind of platform underneath her Pok¨¦mon. It was just a small wooden plank, big enough for her to stand or sit comfortably on, and was being held up by a couple ropes tied around the Drifblim like a hot air balloon.

    She elegantly stepped off of the platform and with a practiced series of motions pulled off the rope harness before petting the side of her Drifblim, speaking to it quietly enough that I couldn¡¯t make out any of the words.

    The other members of our impromptu party appeared shortly after, walking out of the trees. Ranger O¡¯Rourke was last, and I raised an eyebrow at his chosen method of transport.

    An Arcanine of all things came out of the woods, O¡¯Rourke perched on top of it as if he was riding side-saddle.

    The big dog-like Pok¨¦mon was an absolute beast, my head only coming up to its shoulder as it padded into the clearing. Faint scar lines were visible through its orange and black fur, but it looked content as its Trainer hopped off the side.

    ¡°Well that was exciting,¡± O¡¯Rourke said, unintentionally mirroring my own thoughts. ¡°And a much bigger outbreak than I had been expecting.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t able to pull my eyes off of the giant Arcanine as he spoke, and to my greatest pleasure the Pok¨¦mon seemed to feel my gaze and padded over to me, panting lightly. I could feel the heat emanating off of the Fire-type, but it thankfully wasn¡¯t too overwhelming.

    Carefully holding a hand out, I let the Arcanine sniff me a couple times. Then it leaned over and licked my face, leaving a long trail of drool and saliva.

    I laughed and played it up like I was gagging, earning a happy whuff from the Arcanine, which allowed me to pet its fur.

    It was surprisingly soft, although there was a fair amount of dirt and twigs stuck in its coat.

    Venus took one look at the Arcanine and meowed a question up at the larger Pok¨¦mon, who responded with another whuff.

    My Eevee jumped from my shoulder to land on the back of the Arcanine, and spun around a couple times before curling up into a small ball. A few moments later, I heard Venus¡¯ quiet snores, and smiled before turning away to the rest of the Trainers.

    O¡¯Rourke had a small, tired smile on his face as he watched the scene, then turned to everybody else.

    ¡°Good job everybody. That was nothing like how I had expected it to go, but the outbreak has been dispersed.¡±

    ¡°What happened over there?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Honestly? We were wrong about the makeup of the outbreak.¡± O¡¯Rourke said with a shake of his head. ¡°We had assumed it to be a single group of Duskull led by a Dusclops. It actually was three or four groups, each led by a Dusclops, and they were all under the control of a Dusknoir.¡±

    I blinked, and felt like the odd one out as the other Trainers all nodded.

    ¡°That can happen?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rare, but not unheard of. An exceptionally rare Dusknoir can sometimes convince weaker Dusclops to follow them, usually if there¡¯s a promise of some kind of reward. In this case, the remaining Psychic energy from that Gallade¡¯s death.¡±

    ¡°I recognized that Dusknoir.¡± Grace, the Hex Maniac, said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen him once before.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re sure it¡¯s the same one?¡± One of the other Rangers asked, earning a scoff from the woman.

    ¡°I¡¯d recognize that Dusknoir anywhere. That was the same one, I¡¯d swear on it with my life. It was a vicious, cruel Pok¨¦mon in life, and it¡¯s an even crueler one in death. It''s for the best that we laid it to rest tonight.¡±

    O¡¯Rourke nodded and picked back up the conversation, even though I had so many more questions.

    ¡°The other Duskull and the few Dusclops have all fled, hopefully back to their home territories. I¡¯ll keep an eye on the area, make sure that they don¡¯t reform as a group, but it¡¯s unlikely. Without that Dusknoir to force them to stay together, they¡¯ll go their separate ways. Thank you everybody, if we hadn¡¯t stopped this tonight, things could have gotten really ugly for any travelers.¡±

    ¡°So what now?¡± Grace asked.

    ¡°Now? You¡¯re all done. The travel restrictions will be lifted in the morning when all the Duskull are resting, but you¡¯re no longer deputized. I¡¯m planning on heading back to the Ranger cabin to get some sleep and write my reports, you can either come and camp out nearby, or head out on your own. Just let me get your Trainer ID numbers, and the reward money will be allocated soon. Thank you again everybody.¡±

    O¡¯Rourke bowed, and that seemed to be a signal to everybody. Grace pulled out a Pok¨¦ Ball and resummoned her Drifblim, putting the harness back on and flying over the trees towards Jubilife City.

    The rest of us trudged through the forest back to the Ranger cabin, and O¡¯Rourke was kind enough to keep his Arcanine out so that Venus could sleep on its back. In fact Switchback even scurried off of Ted¡¯s back to climb up the side of the larger Pok¨¦mon, and promptly settled into a small nest of fur near Venus.

    It was a rather unceremonious end to the night, but one I was comfortable with.

 Chapter Twenty-Seven

    I blinked up at the wooden planks a couple feet above my head.

    ¡°An unfamiliar ceiling.¡± I muttered to myself, trying to figure out where I was.

    After all, I was pretty sure that I had gone to sleep in my tent, not¡­ in a cabin?

    The events of the night before came flooding back. The emergency Ranger call, meeting all the other Trainers, the fight with the Dusclops, and the long walk back. It almost felt like a dream, except for the obviously very real Ranger¡¯s cabin.

    I groaned and sat up on the small cot that had been my bed for the night. Venus opened one eye and growled cutely at me for disturbing her, before going back to sleep. Zetian¡¯s three mouths yawned in unison, then she began flying around, curious at her new surroundings in the daylight.

    ¡°Oh, hey.¡± A vaguely familiar voice called, and I looked over to see Ted sitting at a rough wooden table glancing up from a Rotom phone. ¡°You¡¯re finally awake.¡±

    ¡°Wazzat?¡± I said around a yawn.

    ¡°You are awake.¡± He enunciated. ¡°We were wondering when you were going to get up today.¡±

    I blinked owlishly at him, then looked around the otherwise empty cabin.

    ¡°Ah, they had to go, unlike us, they actually have jobs they have to do.¡± Ted explained, closing a thin book of some kind and pocketing his phone.

    ¡°I have a job.¡± I said, still a bit asleep. ¡°So do you if I remember right.¡±

    Ted shrugged. ¡°Yeah, but we get to travel and challenge the gyms, most Rangers have routes that they patrol.¡±

    I stared for a long minute at nothing in particular, then shook my head.

    ¡°It¡¯s too early in the morning for this.¡±

    A gesture from my fellow Lab Trainer drew my eyes towards a glass pot full of black gold.

    ¡°We do have some coffee left, if you drink it.¡±

    I groaned, and shuffled like a zombie over to the pot, pouring the wonderful elixir into a small enamel mug. Unfortunately, the cabin didn¡¯t have any of the liquid creamer that I liked, just having some sugar and some powdered flavoring.

    An unhealthy amount of the flavor powder and the sugar went into the mug, and while it wasn¡¯t tasty by any definition of the word, after a couple minutes of sipping the drink I was starting to feel more human again.

    Zetian even buzzed down to smell the sickeningly sweet brew, although she turned away after a single sip, all three faces twisted with disgust.

    I finished the one mug, and considered the pot of coffee again. There was still just a little bit left, and my sleep had been very disturbed last night.

    Venus eventually came over and hopped up on my lap as I sat down with my second mug before falling asleep again, obviously annoyed about the fact that her favorite pillow had abandoned her.

    ¡°So,¡± I said, stroking the sleeping Eevee in my lap. ¡°Everybody else left?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡± Ted said after taking a sip of his own drink.

    It wasn¡¯t coffee, but tea of some kind. ¡°Ranger O¡¯Rourke went back to check out the clearing where they fought the Dusknoir, along with Ranger Vicky.¡±

    I furrowed my brows.

    ¡°The one with the red hair.¡±

    ¡°Ah, right.¡±

    ¡°Apparently something weird was going on with the Duskull, but it''s none of our business anymore, the Rangers are looking into it. Ranger Crespin, he was the tired looking one, left to go back on his normal Route patrol. Apparently he¡¯s based out of Floaroma and was just finishing up responding to another call when O¡¯Rourke asked for help.¡±

    I winced. ¡°Ouch, long night then.¡±

    ¡°No kidding. Anyways, we¡¯re all free to go, there¡¯s nothing that the Rangers have for us right now. I was just waiting around until either you woke up, or Ranger O¡¯Rourke came back. Didn¡¯t want you waking up all alone in a strange place.¡±

    I narrowed my eyes, but he seemed genuine enough.

    ¡°Well, thank you, I appreciate that, but I¡¯m sure it would have been fine.¡±

    He shrugged and took another sip of his tea. ¡°Us Lab Trainers have to stick together, so it¡¯s not a big deal.¡±

    ¡°Hm.¡± I said noncommittally, and sipped at my coffee.

    It was a little too sweet, maybe Zetian had been right about that.

    The cabin was silent for another few minutes as the both of us finished our respective drinks.

    ¡°Say,¡± Ted said after setting down his empty mug. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, which way were you traveling?¡±

    I hesitated. Ted seemed like a nice enough person, but I didn¡¯t really know him all that well. Professor Rowan seemed friendly towards him, and I hadn¡¯t gotten any obvious vibes that this guy was bad news.

    My eyes cut up towards Zetian, who was buzzing around behind the other Trainer. The bottom face, the one that seemed a bit more mature than the other two, eyed Ted¡¯s back speculatively.

    After a moment¡¯s consideration, she turned back to me and bounced up and down in her approximation of a nod.

    ¡°I was heading towards Floaroma.¡± I said.

    Ted either didn¡¯t pick up on my silent conversation with my Pok¨¦mon, or was politely ignoring it as he smiled.

    ¡°Same here, as a matter of fact. I¡¯m making my way up towards Eterna City, apparently there¡¯s an entrance into the Underground there and I was looking to access it.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡± This was the second time the Underground had come up since I had arrived in this world.

    Lucas had apparently gotten the fossil for his Cranidos there, on an assignment for Professor Rowan. I wondered if Ted was looking to do something similar.

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    ¡°If it¡¯s alright with you, I¡¯d like to travel together.¡± Ted continued, holding up his hands. ¡°You don¡¯t have to, but I was hoping you¡¯d let me be a little selfish.¡±

    My eyes narrowed again, and were mirrored three times over by Zetian as she stilled in mid-air. ¡°And how is that?¡±

    ¡°Well you obviously know about Switchback, and I¡¯d like to go over anything you can remember about the other Hisuian Pok¨¦mon. Like I said last night, Professor Rowan gave me a copy of what looks like an old Pok¨¦Dex, but the book was old and some pages are missing.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± That was much better than I had been imagining. ¡°I suppose we could travel together for a little bit if that¡¯s what you¡¯re interested in.¡±

    He smiled. ¡°Anything you can tell me would be a huge help. Let me just finish getting my stuff together, and we can set out!¡±

    I took a look at my watch, and nearly groaned. It wasn¡¯t even nine o¡¯clock yet, and we still had a long day of travel ahead of us.

    /^\

    ¡°Sneasler, huh?¡± Ted said with a smile as he looked down at Switchback, who was sitting in his lap.

    ¡°Mmhm.¡± I agreed, around a mouthful of sandwich.

    We had stopped for a bit of a late lunch on our way to Floaroma, and I finally had a chance to give my voice a break.

    Ted was a nice enough guy, but his appetite for knowledge about the Hisuian forms was insatiable, and it had been a non-stop barrage of questions all day long. He had even pulled out a notebook and a pen at one point, jotting down notes as we walked.

    ¡°A Razor Claw is going to be a little tough to find, but it¡¯s good to know that the evolution method is the same between Johtonian and Hisuian Sneasel.¡±

    ¡°Not quite.¡± I said after swallowing my bite of food. ¡°Hisuian Sneasel evolves in the day, not at night.¡±

    ¡°Ah, right.¡±

    Ted peered down at his Pok¨¦mon, who was currently messily devouring a plate of mostly-cooked meat that Switchback had cut into small cubes with his claws.

    ¡°So that¡¯s why you¡¯re always so tired at night.¡± Ted said. ¡°You¡¯re not a Dark-type like we thought.¡±

    ¡°Why did you and Birch think that?¡± I asked.

    He shrugged. ¡°We didn¡¯t really have a reason not to. He picked up Taunt fast enough, and he instinctively knew Night Slash when he hatched. I figured out he was a Fighting-type early on, since I don¡¯t know of any other Sneasel that can learn Rock Smash, but we always thought he was a Dark-type.¡±

    Huh. So that¡¯s one way they figure out Pok¨¦mon typing.

    The other way I could think of checking was to throw a bunch of attacks at a Pok¨¦mon, and see which ones were more effective than the others. That way didn¡¯t seem very humane to me.

    Ted brightened, then stood up, causing Switchback to yelp in concern and scramble to hold its plate.

    ¡°Just a second.¡± He told our small group, then disappeared into the woods.

    I blinked and shared a look with Zetian, who was my traveling partner for the day. Both of our gazes then turned to Switchback, who looked just as startled as we felt.

    A few minutes later, Ted emerged from the bushes, a cloth carefully held in both hands. When he got back, he laid it down on the ground in front of Switchback, and opened it up to reveal a bunch of berries.

    Not Berries like the game items, which were really closer to actual fruits like an apple. Then again, I also vaguely remembered that some fruits were a kind of berry, like bananas.

    I frowned in confusion as Ted started placing the berries in two small piles, one for himself, and one for Switchback.

    Had I learned that in high school? I had a vivid memory of our science teacher, a very strange man who drank too much coffee and wore those weird shoes with the toes, ranting about it at length once. Despite the memory, I couldn¡¯t actually remember what was a berry, and what was a fruit.

    Regardless, these were small, white and red berries that looked¡­ kinda unhealthy.

    ¡°Wait.¡± I said, pulling out a small handbook that I had purchased in Jubilife, flipping through the glossy pages until I landed on a familiar looking berry.

    Fruit. Whatever.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t those Pok¨¦weed berries?¡±

    They had gotten their name from the fact that there were two different kinds of bushes, one that produced red berries, and one that produced white berries.

    The connection wasn¡¯t hard to make.

    ¡°Yup, they sure are!¡± Ted said with a grin, and showed Switchback that he should eat the berries by popping one into his mouth and chewing with gusto.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t they poisonous?¡±

    ¡°Yup!¡± Ted popped another one into his mouth.

    Switchback gingerly picked up one of the berries, sniffed it a couple of times, then daintily bite into it. His pupils dilated, and a second later the little Sneasel was shoveling great handfuls of the berries into his mouth.

    ¡°I figured he would like them.¡± Ted said, casually eating a couple more berries. ¡°Most Poison-types do like plants and berries that are poisonous in nature, so I thought that it would be a good supplement to his diet.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean-¡± I resisted the urge to facepalm. ¡°Yes, Switchback¡¯s a Poison-type, but you¡¯re not.¡±

    Ted stopped chewing, looking down at his fingers which were stained red with berry juice.

    ¡°Ah.¡± He said, and swallowed. ¡°Oops.¡±

    /^\

    We didn¡¯t end up traveling for the rest of the day, and instead set up our camp off the road.

    It was weird, camping with another person. Ted had a much larger tent than I did, and it took me a couple of tries to figure out what was making it look weird to me.

    The cloth was made out of some kind of fabric that subtly shifted colors every time you looked at it. It wasn¡¯t bright and colorful, instead it neatly blended into the background. If I hadn¡¯t known that it was there, it would have taken me a while to find the tent at all.

    ¡°It¡¯s derived from a Kecleon¡¯s color changing.¡± Ted said, when I asked him about it.

    ¡°Devon Corp. likes to do things like that, using Pok¨¦mon traits in their products.¡±

    It would have been a lot cooler if I didn¡¯t have to help set up his tent. The Pok¨¦berries were only somewhat poisonous to humans, so Ted had some severe stomach cramps after eating a Pecha Berry instead of dying or something equally dramatic.

    Ted still wasn¡¯t happy about it, but even he recognized that it was better than the alternative.

    Eventually as night started to fall, he was feeling well enough to get down some soup.

    Venus was chowing down on a mixture of Berries, fish, and some grains that I had picked up in Jubilife, while Zetian was thoroughly demolishing a bowl of simple syrup that I had put some protein powder into. I thought it smelled disgusting, but she couldn¡¯t get enough of the stuff.

    For his own team, Ted had managed to produce a gigantic bowl of meat and Berries for his Flygon Rakkyo, while Switchback was having another plate of the Pok¨¦berries that had caused this whole mess to begin with.

    Interestingly enough, Ted¡¯s third Pok¨¦mon was a Scyther who had been introduced as ¡°Mayfly,¡± which was currently messily gnawing on a Berry the size of my head.

    ¡°So,¡± He said, blowing gently on his hot bowl. ¡°Why are you going to Eterna?¡±

    I shrugged as I took a sip of my own soup. ¡°I told a friend I would watch them do the Quadrathlon.¡±

    ¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s impressive. The Quadrathlon isn¡¯t something that you take lightly.¡±

    ¡°Have you ever seen one?¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°Once, in Hoenn. A long, long time ago though.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s it like there?¡± I asked leaning forwards, soup forgotten.

    I¡¯d played the Hoenn games, of course. Both the originals and the remakes. Platinum had been my favorite, of course, but Emerald was a close second.

    ¡°It¡¯s hot.¡± Ted said with a chuckle. ¡°And humid! You can¡¯t even imagine how humid it gets in the summer.¡±

    He gestured towards his glasses. ¡°There were days when I¡¯d walk outside, out of the air-conditioned parts of the lab, and my glasses would instantly fog up. Couldn¡¯t see anything for minutes!¡±

    I shuddered. ¡°I¡¯m glad I¡¯m in Sinnoh then.¡±

    ¡°Oh you get used to it. For the most part, anyways. If it¡¯s too hot of a day, your boss will often just call everybody off of work, and we¡¯d all go down to the beach. That¡¯s what Sinnoh is missing, good beaches. All of the ones here are rocky and cold, there¡¯s no warm sand. And in the forests, really they¡¯re closer to jungles, but you can feel how alive they are. Pok¨¦mon are everywhere, you can¡¯t swing a Meowth without hitting a Seedot, or a Wurmple! And in the late spring and early summer, all the Nincada will come out and sing.¡±

    His smile turned sad, and his eyes glazed over as he stared out into his memories.

    ¡°And the people! Oh you¡¯ll never meet kinder or more friendly people in the world. One time I was hiking¡­¡±

    The soup and the stomach pains were forgotten as we talked and laughed, sharing stories long into the night.

 Notice of Break

    Hey everybody, just as a head''s up Into The Dark is going to be going on a small break. I''m trying to avoid getting burnt out between my new job and writing, and I need some time to build back up a backlog so I don''t get too overwhelmed with everything.

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    This is not going to be going on hiatus, the break will only be for a couple of weeks so Into The Dark will be returning on the 17th of March with Chapter 28.

    Thank you for your understanding and your support for the story so far.

 Chapter Twenty-Eight

    Floaroma Town was a majestic, beautiful location that utterly defied anything I had ever seen before in how utterly peaceful and charming it was.

    The only thing that came close to the sight of sprawling fields of flowers of every color from my old world was the Dutch tulip fields, but I had never seen them in person.

    Countless hours must have gone into carefully arranging the fields to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible, and I made it a priority to pick up a camera of some kind at the next chance I could get.

    Canals had been dug into the earth, carrying crystal clear water to the fields, and occasionally we could see a spray of water coming out of the canals. At first I had thought it was a sprinkler system of some kind to keep the flowers watered, but I quickly learned how wrong I was when at one point a Buizel stood up.

    It looked at us curiously, stopping its spray of water into the fields. I raised a hand in greeting, and it lifted a paw in response before turning back to its chores.

    The more I looked, the more Pok¨¦mon I could see helping to tend the fields. Grass-types like Roserade would move in between the rows of flowers, stopping every so often to tend to a particular plant, and Combee were buzzing around, pollinating as many flowers as they could.

    In one particular field that didn¡¯t have any flowers at all, I could see the soil start to till itself in long strips. I was about to ask Ted what was going on when a Diglett popped its head out of the ground at the end of the row, smiling happily at its work.

    Mount Coronet loomed in the near-distance, its peak shielded by a layer of clouds that proved how high the mountain truly was. To my surprise however, most of the trip to Floaroma had been surprisingly flat.

    The end of Route 204 and Floaroma Town itself were all set in the bottom of a massive valley. I hadn¡¯t even considered that it was a valley at all until I had seen the peaks of the tall hills to the west. There was a constant light breeze coming off of Mount Coronet, and I realized that it truly was the perfect place for the windmills and wind turbines of the Valley Windworks.

    Of course, despite how beautiful the fields outside of Floaroma Town were, I couldn¡¯t fully appreciate it due to basic biology.

    I scrunched up my face as I tried to hold it back, but the urge was too great, and my entire body jerked as the sneeze burst out.

    ¡°That¡¯s twenty!¡± Ted roared with laughter.

    Venus, the traitor, was practically falling off my shoulders as she laughed as well.

    ¡°I hate you all.¡± I grumbled as I wiped futilely at my eyes and nose.

    The Eevee leaned over and licked my face in apology.

    It would have been a lot more meaningful if she still hadn¡¯t been snickering the entire time.

    I hadn¡¯t even known that an Eevee could laugh like that, it sounded like she was chittering or something.

    Flowers had never been something I¡¯d liked. It wasn¡¯t even a matter of being told as a kid that flowers were only for women, although that had played a role in my early life. No, the issue was that I absolutely could not stand the smell of flowers.

    It didn¡¯t matter what kind of flower it was, it could be the sweetest smelling flower on the planet, but it would still completely overpower my sense of smell and give me a headache.

    The aesthetics of flowers were nice, and some of them could be incredibly beautiful, but they still inevitably caused the next best thing to a migraine.

    I didn¡¯t even know if migraine medicine existed in this world or not, and I had made it a priority to check out the next pharmacy we came across.

    The trip to Floaroma Town had been, thankfully, completely uneventful. It had only been a full day''s worth of travel after the Route 204 incident, and the closest we got to an encounter with a wild Pok¨¦mon was a particularly irate Combee.

    Zetian had taken a perverse delight in proving her dominance over it with a quick battle, and after that it had meekly followed her and pointed out the best flowers for her to gather pollen for the better part of an hour, until it had finally turned away.

    But the most exciting thing to happen was the battle between myself and Ted.

    It had been a rather one-sided affair, even though Rakkyo had stayed out of it. Instead Ted¡¯s team consisted of Switchback the Hisuian Sneasel and Mayfly, the Scyther. Even though they were probably around the same ¡°level¡± as my team, the difference in training was astounding.

    /^\

    ¡°You¡¯re not bad.¡± Ted said around a mouthful of trail mix after the battle.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not good either.¡± I finished, and Ted looked conflicted.

    ¡°No! I mean, yes, but it¡¯s complicated.¡±

    He swallowed, and looked at my team, who were mournfully eating their lunch after their resounding defeat.

    ¡°Listen, I have a decent amount of experience in training Pok¨¦mon. Specifically finding and training rare Pok¨¦mon, they¡¯re my speciality.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°I thought your specialty was Pok¨¦mon environments, like Professor Birch?¡±

    He waggled his hand back and forth. ¡°Finding and studying rare Pok¨¦mon environments tend to lead to finding rare Pok¨¦mon. It¡¯s a whole thing that would take too long to go into right now. Regardless, I¡¯m not trying to brag right now, but I¡¯ve been at this for a couple of years and I know a few things.

    First, you¡¯re a new Trainer. Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s not a bad thing, but it¡¯s painfully obvious right now. You¡¯re better than some of the other new Trainers I¡¯ve seen, but you still have a long way to go.¡±

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    ¡°How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Well, your Pok¨¦mon listen to you.¡±

    I blinked. ¡°Isn¡¯t that supposed to be how it works?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d think so, but like all things, the reality is a little more complicated. It often takes a while for Pok¨¦mon and Trainers to build that bond where they listen to each other. A lot of times you¡¯ll see hesitation and miscommunications with new Trainers. Venus and¡­ Zetian?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t heard that kind of name before, it¡¯s interesting. Regardless, they listen to you and trust you enough to follow your orders; that¡¯s very good.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s always a ¡°but¡± though.¡±

    It was Ted¡¯s turn to nod.

    ¡°But you¡¯re still issuing orders when you should be giving strategies. If you tell Venus to use Quick Attack, she¡¯ll use Quick Attack. But now your opponent knows that you¡¯re going to use Quick Attack, and if they¡¯re smart, they¡¯ll already have a plan to deal with that.¡±

    I remembered Rei and her Tyrogue, and how they had rarely used actual attack names in our battles together.

    ¡°I think I see what you¡¯re saying.¡± I said slowly, turning the problem over in my head.

    ¡°Unfortunately it just takes time and experience.¡± He said, shrugging. ¡°I can give you pointers if you want, but ultimately it¡¯s up to you in order to figure out the kind of style you¡¯ll use. A lot of Trainers will have code words, or they¡¯ll create strategies and tell their Pok¨¦mon which ones to use. At the highest levels of competitive battling, it¡¯s not unusual to see the Trainers give no commands at all unless it¡¯s a completely unexpected situation.¡±

    ¡°Like Cynthia.¡± I said, remembering one time I had seen her battle on the TV at Roark¡¯s lab.

    ¡°Like Cynthia.¡± Ted shuddered. ¡°Steven Stone would be bad enough as an opponent, but he at least has a theme, something to plan around. Cynthia? I wouldn¡¯t want to challenge her even on our best day.¡±

    /^\

    I had spent the rest of the trip to Floaroma in relative silence, thinking over Ted¡¯s words.

    He was obviously a lot more skilled at battling than I was, if he had a fully evolved Flygon he would have to be.

    Did I want to be a full-time battler? No.

    I¡¯d already decided that a while ago. Battling could be fun at times, but it wasn¡¯t what I wanted to do with my life.

    At the same time, we¡¯d been in a few scraps already, and I had a feeling that before everything was over we¡¯d go through a few more. I really should make strategies for the future, and not just make sure we were fit enough in the present.

    Venus was still a blank slate until she evolved, or if she even evolved at all.

    An Umbreon would have a vastly different battling style when compared to something like a Flareon or a Leafeon after all.

    But Zetian¡­

    I frowned in thought as I looked at the Combee happily flitting through the fields, stopping when she found a particularly good flower.

    Right now we were training Zetian¡¯s speed, which was always something to have plenty of. The thing was, while Combee could be a fast Pok¨¦mon, a Vespiquen wasn¡¯t.

    Zetian would eventually evolve, I was sure of it. But a Vespiquen¡¯s fighting style was a lot different than what she had now. Zetian would be bigger, stronger, and bulkier. But at the same time, she would also be slower as well, less agile.

    Vespiquen weren¡¯t the best defensive walls in the game, as they had few resistances that they could come out unscathed from. Then again, this wasn¡¯t a game now, was it?

    I nodded to myself as we kept walking. For now, Venus would practice what she could, but I would start training Zetian for the future.

    A memory sparked to life as I looked at Zetian happily flying around the fields of flowers, and a smile spread across my face.

    I think I know exactly who could help.

    My plans for training came to an end as we crested a small hill, and caught our first glimpse of Floaroma town proper.

    In the games, it had always been a little lackluster. A Pok¨¦mon Center, Pok¨¦ Mart, two houses, and a flower shop where you could trade in berries. The anime had gone a step further if I recalled correctly, featuring a Contest Hall.

    ¡°It looks like the Netherlands.¡± I muttered, starting at the quaint town before us.

    Floaroma Town looked like a place that belonged on a postcard. The buildings in the town center were all made of stately brick and sloping tiled roofs that were faced with blocky facades that covered the smooth lines. There were a large number of open squares in the town¡¯s layout, and I could see people flocking around various market stalls like Combee around their hive.

    Like Jubilife, there were only a few trucks on the roads, which seemed to be either bricks or cobblestones of some kind and bordered by more canals. There were absolutely no cars that I could see. Instead everybody seemed to be traveling around on bicycles, which were slightly different than the ones I had seen before.

    While some people like Rei had very fancy racing bikes, these seemed to be a bit more heavily built, and the vast majority of them I could see had baskets installed on the handlebars.

    On the outskirts of town the buildings changed from brick and tile townhouses to half-timbered cottages, the wooden beams peeking out from pristine white walls. To my eternal delight, there were even a few cottages that had straw roofs.

    In the near distance there were a number of windmills, their wooden and cloth blades moving slowly but steadily with the breeze. A bit further away I could make out the tall white forms of actual wind turbines, their giant blades providing energy to the valley and beyond.

    I really wish I had a camera now.

    /^\

    ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± Ted asked dubiously as we stepped out of the store.

    Floaroma Town wasn¡¯t quite big enough to support a dedicated store just for cameras, and most of the interior of the building had actually been a print shop.

    ¡°I mean, they had digital cameras for sale.¡± He continued. ¡°Or even a normal film camera.¡±

    I rolled my eyes as I fiddled with my new toy.

    ¡°Yeah but those are boring. This is cool!¡±

    Ted looked very nonplussed. ¡°It¡¯s an instant camera. It¡¯s about the farthest thing from cool.¡±

    I gasped, holding the blocky camera close. ¡°You take that back!¡±

    ¡°Those film squares are more expensive for a pack of ten than a regular reel of thirty shots! Besides, the camera itself is bigger than any of the more modern ones in the shop.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful!¡± I argued back. ¡°It¡¯s great to be able to take a photo and see it right away.¡±

    Ted paused to root around in his backpack for a second before pulling out a somewhat battered digital camera. ¡°That¡¯s what this one does. And I don¡¯t have to waste film to do it.¡±

    I muttered as I looked over my new camera. The Silverfilm 151 was basically a brick of black plastic that screamed ¡°early 2000¡¯s,¡± but I loved it regardless.

    With my healthy amount of reward money left over, I had purchased enough film to keep me going for a good long while, and even picked up an album book with plastic sleeves to keep them all safe in.

    ¡°So now that that¡¯s over with.¡± Ted said, stuffing the camera back into his bag. ¡°Is there anything else we need here? Don¡¯t get me wrong this is a beautiful town but¡­¡±

    But there¡¯s not much to actually do. I finished mentally.

    Floaroma Town was gorgeous, but it hadn¡¯t taken us long to realize that besides the flower fields, there wasn¡¯t much to do in the town.

    It might be fun to visit later when I wasn¡¯t on a schedule to get to Eterna City for Rei¡¯s competition, but for now¡­

    ¡°There¡¯s only one place I¡¯d like to stop at.¡± I said. ¡°But they¡¯re not located in the town itself, and hopefully it shouldn¡¯t take too long.¡±

    Ted shrugged and adjusted his pack, before gesturing for me to lead.

    It¡¯s time to see a man about some honey.

 Chapter Twenty-Nine

    I had made a mistake.

    It wasn¡¯t a big, life altering mistake, but it was still incredibly embarrassing.

    In Pok¨¦mon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, there was a man in the Floaroma flower meadows that gave you a bunch of honey when you talked to him, and showed how you could use it to catch Pok¨¦mon by slathering it onto special trees.

    He was really nothing more than a glorified tutorial screen, but I was always a little curious about him. Where did he get so much honey? Why did he have a big tree right next to his house, specifically for catching Pok¨¦mon with honey?

    My assumption had been that he must have a Vespiquen, or at least a bunch of Combee. The only way to get honey in the game was from beating wild Combee, or from using Combee¡¯s Honey Gather ability.

    I had obviously assumed that there was a Trainer near Floaroma Town, where I currently was, who had experience in training Combee.

    My mistake was not in making this assumption, no, my error was in overestimating how easy it would be to find the man.

    The sun was already beginning to set as we walked down the path towards the farmhouse a couple hundred yards away.

    ¡°Are you sure that this is the place?¡± Ted asked, obviously exhausted with the so-far fruitless search.

    ¡°I''m sure!¡± I said, with more enthusiasm than I actually felt.

    We¡¯d been to four different flower farms so far, and had struck out at each one. Nothing had quite lined up with what I remembered from the games, but I had a good feeling about this one.

    The last farmer we had spoken to, a very confused older man, had told me that one of his neighbors had a few Combee as his companions, and had pointed us in the direction of the farm we were walking up to.

    I hadn¡¯t been hopeful on the walk over, but my spirits had lifted slightly when I saw the tree next to the farmhouse.

    Calling it a tree didn¡¯t manage to fully capture the grandeur of the sight, however.

    The thing must have been at least a hundred feet tall, if not more, and was wide. Very wide. With a single look I knew it would have been impossible for me to wrap my arms around the trunk of the tree.

    It resembled a redwood tree more than anything else, and there was probably enough lumber that could be extracted from it to make a small house.

    With four failures under my belt, I had been getting fairly morose about the entire experience, and if this farmhouse hadn¡¯t panned out, I had been planning on forgetting about the whole thing.

    Luckily for me, my prayers were answered with the buzzing of wings as we approached the house.

    In the dimming light of the evening, the yellow body of an unknown Combee was almost glowing against the dark sky.

    Thankfully, Zetian was in her Ball, resting after a busy day of flying and gathering pollen from the local flowers, otherwise she would have very likely challenged the Combee to a fight for dominance or something.

    This Combee didn¡¯t have the little red marking on its bottom face - it was male.

    It danced a little jig as it saw us, three faces looking curiously at us.

    ¡°Hi!¡± I said, waving my hand. ¡°We¡¯re here to talk to, uh, the Honey Man!¡±

    I winced as Ted slowly looked over at me.

    The Combee paused, all three faces scrunched up in thought, before it dipped up and down into something that was reminiscent of a nod.

    It then turned and led us towards the door, which was nice, but not necessarily needed considering it was only a hundred or so feet away and easily within sight.

    ¡°The Honey Man?¡± Ted asked in an extremely unimpressed tone.

    ¡°I don¡¯t actually know his name!¡± I hissed back.

    He had never actually been given a name in the games, and the farmer whom we had talked to before hadn¡¯t actually said the name of the Honey Man. He¡¯d just said that ¡°The farm up the way sells a lot of honey¡±.

    ¡°I can handle this.¡± I said with more confidence than I felt, and Ted shrugged.

    We walked up to the door, and the Combee knocked for us.

    Or knocked as best as a Combee can, which involved ramming its face into the wooden paneling a couple of times.

    Ted and I both winced, and I reached out for the Combee.

    ¡°Oh, uh, I can knock for you?¡±

    The Combee turned back to me, all three faces a little dazed, and did another midair nod. This one was notably more wobbly.

    I reached out and knocked on the door myself.

    ¡°Yeah! I¡¯m coming!¡± A voice called out, and a few moments later the door opened outwards, very nearly running into the Combee.

    The man standing before us was absolutely average. Medium build, medium height, short dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a little bit of stubble but not enough for a full beard. He was wearing a blue and white plaid shirt and a pair of jeans, and was squinting at us all suspiciously until he saw the Combee staggering in mid-air.

    ¡°Oh, Hachi.¡± He said, shaking his head. ¡°Did you try knocking on the door again?¡±

    The Combee tried to nod.

    ¡°Do you remember what I told you about that?¡±

    Hachi hesitated, all three faces confused.

    ¡°Not to. I asked you not to try knocking.¡±

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    The Honey Man looked over at Ted and I with an apologetic expression. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, this will be just a second.¡±

    Turning back to the Combee, he gently picked the Pok¨¦mon out of the air, and turned Hachi over, checking for any wounds. Hachi seemed to almost fall asleep during the process, all six eyes fluttering.

    ¡°You got lucky this time.¡± He said. ¡°Just don¡¯t try and do that again, okay? You¡¯ll seriously hurt yourself one of these days.¡±

    Hachi gave a weak nod dance, and the Honey Man let him go.

    ¡°Now go back to your hive, it¡¯s getting late.¡±

    The Combee buzzed back up into the air, and was soon a disappearing speck in the distance.

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± The man said, shaking his head again. ¡°Hachi means well but¡­ well he¡¯s not the brightest Tadbulb in the pond, if you get my meaning.¡±

    ¡°Will he be alright?¡± I asked.

    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine, just a little knock on the head. With some sleep he¡¯ll be all better, and will probably forget this conversation happened in the first place. Again. Anyways, what can I do you for?¡±

    ¡°Uh, well,¡± I stumbled a bit over my words, not exactly sure what to say now. ¡°I heard you have a lot of honey for sale, and I figured that meant you probably have a lot of Combee or Vespiquen-¡±

    He held up his hand and frowned.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, while I¡¯m happy to sell some honey, it¡¯d have to be tomorrow during regular business hours. And if you¡¯re looking to buy a Combee or Vespiquen, I¡¯m not selling.¡±

    His eyes narrowed, and his expression turned markedly hostile.

    ¡°If you¡¯re from Honey Farms, you can tell your bosses that I¡¯m never going to sell my land to them. I don¡¯t care what they offer, it¡¯s not going to happen.¡±

    ¡°Woah, no not at all!¡± I said, holding my hands up. ¡°It¡¯s just, we¡¯re both Lab Trainers and I have a Combee, and I was wondering if you had any tips on how to train her?¡±

    His frown deepened, but this time it was clearly in confusion.

    ¡°Trainers?¡± He asked. ¡°And¡­ you have a Combee? I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m not quite sure I understand. I¡¯m not a Trainer, I¡¯m just a Combee keeper.¡±

    I wilted a little bit.

    ¡°But, surely you must have at least some advice? Even if it¡¯s just feeding tips, or ways to keep them healthy? Or, how did you get your Combee to evolve into Vespiquen? Really any help at all would be super appreciated.¡±

    The Honey Man stared at me blankly, then looked at Ted, who shrugged.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need any help, I¡¯ve already consulted a Bug-type expert for help with my Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    He turned back to look at me, and I gave the Honey Man my best smile.

    ¡°Alright.¡± The man said, rubbing his forehead like he was warding off a headache. ¡°I guess I can try to give you some tips?¡±

    It was more of a question than I would like, but I¡¯d take it!

    ¡°Great! What would you say-¡±

    He cut me off again with a hand, and a small spark of annoyance lit inside me.

    ¡°Tomorrow. It¡¯s getting late, and I need to think about this. Come back tomorrow and I¡¯ll give you a few pointers.¡±

    ¡°Thank you again! We¡¯ll be back!¡±

    He nodded with the look of a man who wasn¡¯t sure what he had just agreed to, and closed the door.

    I smiled to myself as we walked back down the road.

    We could probably get some rooms at the Pok¨¦mon Center in town, it didn¡¯t seem too busy.

    ¡°So, Alina?¡± Ted asked about half-way to Floaroma Town.

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°I just wanted to point out that you never actually got the man¡¯s name.¡±

    /^\

    Floaroma Town wasn¡¯t like Oreburgh and Jubilife, since it was mostly focused on agriculture, and apparently someone along the way had decided that it wasn¡¯t worth a full Pok¨¦mon Center. Without a Gym in the town, and a second-rate Contest Hall that only hosted a few Contests each season, the Center didn¡¯t have enough funding to support any rooms for traveling Trainers.

    Instead, the Pok¨¦mon Center had made a deal with a local motel, and we had been offered reduced rates on the rooms there.

    It hadn¡¯t been a particularly nice or fancy place to stay; really, it reminded me more of a Motel 6 than anything else, but it had been clean and the sheets freshly washed, which was good enough for me.

    I didn¡¯t tend to be a morning person, unlike Ted, but that morning I was practically buzzing like Zetian.

    She had been incredibly eager once I had explained the fact that she would get some specialized training and wouldn¡¯t stay in her ball while we were getting ready.

    All three faces were lit up with anticipation for the entire walk back to the farm.

    ¡°Well, I guess I was wrong.¡± The Honey Man said as he squinted at Zetian and I. ¡°You did come back, and you do have a Combee. I thought it was a dream.¡±

    ¡°Nope!¡± I chirped, as Zetian did a dance.

    ¡°Where¡¯s the other one?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s running some errands.¡±

    Apparently there were rumors of some rare Pok¨¦mon over by the Valley Windworks, drawn there by the wind turbines. Ted had made sure I had his number for when I was done with training, then took off.

    ¡°Hm.¡± The Honey Man grunted, staring at me for another minute.

    Then he switched his gaze to Zetian, and a calculating look entered his eye.

    ¡°Mmhm.¡± He grunted again. ¡°Let me think here.¡±

    He closed his eyes and was silent for a while, long enough where I started to fidget a little uncomfortably.

    ¡°So do you have any tips?¡± I eventually blurted.

    ¡°Huh?¡± The Honey Man opened his eyes and blinked, looking around. ¡°Oh, right. Sorry, I¡¯m a little tired in the mornings. Do you drink coffee?¡±

    I stared at him in disbelief.

    Did he just fall asleep while standing up?

    ¡°Uh, yes, I do.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± He stepped to the side. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come on in, there¡¯s a pot brewing.¡±

    He turned and walked into the house, leaving the door open behind him.

    Zetian and I shared a look, but she was obviously too excited to be as skeptical as I was, and followed the man in. I shrugged, and stepped into the farmhouse.

    It was actually very cute. The walls and all the furniture were all wooden and hadn¡¯t been stained or painted, making it feel nice and cozy. Plenty of plants had been scattered around the room, ranging from flower pots to boxes with familiar looking herbs like thyme and basil mixed in with unfamiliar plants.

    There was even a large succulent in the middle of the room, easily bigger than a basketball. It had two large pods growing out of it, along with a number of dark green spikes, and a yellow group of flowers growing out of the top.

    It looked vaguely familiar, and I spent a long moment trying to figure out what kind of succulent it was.

    I hadn¡¯t been much of a plant person back on Earth, despite how much I liked how they looked. My most successful endeavor had been growing a lavender plant, but it had only lasted a single season before it died.

    It was to my complete surprise when the dark spots that I had figured were just discolorations opened up, and a pair of eyes stared tiredly at me.

    ¡°Ah!¡±

    I stumbled back, nearly falling down as I scrambled away from the Cacnea.

    Zetian and the Honey Man both turned at the noise, and the little Combee buzzed over to put herself between me and the other Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± The Honey Man said, and stepped forwards to place a hand on the Cacnea¡¯s head. ¡°This is just Sarracia, she¡¯s harmless.¡±

    The Cacnea yawned, which seemed strange given that she was a plant, then closed her eyes, and within a few seconds was asleep again.

    ¡°She¡¯s a silly one.¡± He said with a fond smile. ¡°Sinnoh is a lot colder than Hoenn, so she sleeps most of the day. She¡¯s happy though, and we still get out to exercise every now and again.¡±

    I blinked at him. ¡°Wait, are you from Hoenn?¡±

    ¡°Hm? Oh, heavens no. I was born and raised here in Floaroma Town, but I went to Hoenn for a year to study while in university. I met Sarracia there, and she wanted to come home with me, despite Dea and I telling her how cold it was and that she might be happier in Hoenn.¡±

    He scratched the flower crown on his Cacnea¡¯s head, and she let out a sound that was almost a purr.

    ¡°Dea?¡±

    He held up a finger, and walked into the kitchen.

    ¡°Coffee first, then backstory.¡±

    I paused, then shrugged.

    Fair enough.

 Chapter Thirty

    ¡°I can give you some tips,¡± He said. ¡°But keep in mind that I¡¯m not a Trainer. I can teach you about Combee and Vespiquen, but not much more than that.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine!¡±

    The man took a sip of his coffee. ¡°Your Combee is going to evolve soon.¡±

    ¡°Wait, really?¡±

    ¡°Well. Not soon-soon, but soon enough. See how the small hairs on her body are starting to turn a darker orange in some places? There, by her wings.¡±

    He pointed at a spot on her body, and if I squinted I could make out a little bit of a darker spot.

    ¡°Okay?¡±

    ¡°Plus, her abdomen is starting to lengthen. How long have you been traveling with her?¡±

    I paused with the mug to my mouth, running through the events of the recent past.

    ¡°Wow, I met Zetian over a month ago.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Can you tell me anything about her living situation before then?¡±

    ¡°Not much. There was a nest living in a big tree, but it got hit with lightning and almost burned down. I saved the hive and Zetian decided to come with me.¡±

    ¡°Fairly standard then.¡±

    For the first time I took a sip of the coffee the man had prepared. It was¡­ interesting.

    He didn¡¯t apparently care much for milk or creamer, and since the man ran a honey business the only sweetener he had was honey.

    I wasn¡¯t the biggest fan of it, but coffee was coffee and the honey was very good.

    ¡°Anyways, Dea is my, for lack of a better term, Starter. We grew up together, and I inherited the farm from my father, so I¡¯ve been around Combee and Vespiquen for my entire life.¡±

    I nodded. It made sense that there would be people like him, who specialized not just in one Type of Pok¨¦mon, but one specific evolutionary line.

    ¡°It¡¯s honestly a bit impressive that your Combee- Zetian you said? It''s impressive that she¡¯s stuck around this long.¡±

    He held up a hand to forestall any arguments.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t intended to be a slight against you, sorry if it came out that way. What I was trying to say is that Combee aren¡¯t Pok¨¦mon that are generally well suited for travel. They, on average, like to stay in one place with their hives and take care of their Vespiquen.¡±

    The man hesitated a moment before continuing. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s mostly the case for the male drones.¡±

    I cocked an eyebrow. ¡°Drones?¡±

    He shrugged, a somewhat rueful expression on his face. ¡°It¡¯s an industry term that was picked up by the biologists. Male Combee can¡¯t evolve, so they mostly do the dirty work of the hives. Female Combee¡­ that¡¯s a tougher issue.¡±

    Zetian danced up and down in the air in her approximation of a nod, and the Honey Man smiled.

    ¡°She¡¯s from around Oreburgh, isn¡¯t she?¡±

    ¡°What? How¡¯d you know?¡±

    ¡°Each hive of Combee have slightly different dances. Not so different that they can¡¯t understand each other, it¡¯s more like regional accents. A Kantonian will speak differently than a Johtonian, or a Sinnohan, but we can all understand what the other people are saying.¡±

    ¡°Oh, huh.¡±

    I looked at Zetian, and a complicated feeling washed over me. It wasn¡¯t exactly shame or guilt, but I realized that I hadn¡¯t exactly been giving her as much attention as I did for Venus.

    That was natural in some ways, Venus and I had been together for longer and we¡¯d gone through a shared traumatic experience, but it still sent an uncomfortable feeling through my gut.

    I would have to fix that going forward.

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy for humans to pick up on the regional differences, but it is possible.¡± The Honey Man continued, oblivious to my internal struggles. ¡°You have to spend a lot of time with Combee from other locations, of course, but that¡¯s my entire job, so¡­¡±

    He shrugged, then coughed into his hand.

    ¡°Right! I forgot to introduce myself! I¡¯m Takeo.¡±

    ¡°Ah, haha.¡± I scratched the back of my head as I felt the warmth of a flush spread across my face. ¡°Right. I¡¯m Alina.¡±

    ¡°We still have one more introduction to make though, Dea should be out back.¡±

    A low growl pierced through our conversation, and I jerked in surprise, nearly jumping out of my chair as I noticed for the first time a small figure by my knee.

    It was¡­ a teddy bear?

    I blinked, and shook the confusion out of my eyes.

    Not a teddy bear, a Teddiursa, although it was easy to see why I had made the mistake in the first place.

    It was short, brown, and fluffy. My heart beat a little quicker as it looked up at me with narrowed eyes, and growled again.

    Takeo sighed. ¡°Two more introductions. That¡¯s Kuma. He talks a big game, but he¡¯s harmless.¡±

    The little bear lifted his stubby arms up at me.

    ¡°He wants you to pick him up.¡±

    I reached down and picked him up. He was a lot lighter than I was expecting him to be, and my heart switched from beating quicker in fear to melting a little bit.

    Takeo stood up and disappeared into the kitchen for a minute, then came back with a bowl of honey.

    Kuma¡¯s eyes opened fully, and I realized that he hadn¡¯t been glaring at me, but was still mostly asleep.

    He quickly clambered off of my lap to crawl onto the table, where he plopped down and began messily eating the honey.

    ¡°That¡¯ll keep him busy for a while.¡± Takeo said fondly, shaking his head. ¡°Come on, we¡¯ll head out back to meet Dea.¡±

    /^\

    If I had thought that the tree in front of Takeo¡¯s house had been impressive, the ones in the small forest behind the farm absolutely blew it out of the water.

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    His property was built on a series of small hills, and the strange perspective had confused my mind so much that I thought that the trees were smaller than they actually were. The smallest ones were only a few feet shorter than the hundred-foot tall monster out in front of the farmhouse, and the largest tree was half again as tall.

    ¡°You¡¯ll find that Vespiquen build their nests in the biggest, sturdiest trees they can.¡± He explained as we walked down a well-kept forest path.

    I wracked my brain, trying to remember as much about bees from my old world as I could.

    ¡°I thought regular bees liked to keep close to meadows where there¡¯s a lot of flowers?¡±

    ¡°Ah, well, here¡¯s your first lesson then.¡±

    Takeo held up a finger like a teacher.

    ¡°Combee and Vespiquen are not regular bees.¡±

    I shot him a flat look.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m serious. Bees, Combee, and Vespiquen all have a very complicated relationship that most people don¡¯t fully understand. You sound Unovan, have you ever heard of the old Galarian nobility system?¡±

    Blinking, I nodded, even if I didn¡¯t fully know what he was talking about. If Galar truly was this world¡¯s equivalent of the United Kingdom, it was probably the same as the historical nobility, and a number of classes for my degree had involved the subject.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a lot like that. Or vaguely similar to the feudal system practiced by ancient Kanto and Johto, like with samurai. The basics go that you should think of the Vespiquen as the queens or kings, the ones in charge. Or the Daimyo, if you want to frame it that way.¡±

    ¡°Okay?¡± I said, thinking about it. ¡°So does that make the Combee the peasants?¡±

    ¡°Not quite. The regular bees are the peasants. The Combee are like the samurai, or the knights.¡±

    Connections started to light up in my mind. ¡°Wait, so the honey that the Combee collect is actually made by the regular bees?¡±

    ¡°Correct! Each hive of regular bees has a breeding queen, but it also has a female Combee to help keep an eye on it. That¡¯s the knight looking over the fields of the peasants, and the Combee will fight off any challengers. They take their ¡°taxes¡± in the form of honey, and provide it to their Vespiquen. The honey gets refined, of course, into higher grades by the Combee, which is where I make my money, but that¡¯s besides the point.¡±

    Another light bulb went off.

    ¡°Wait! Attack Order, Heal Order, Defense Order, those are the regular bees helping the Vespiquen?¡±

    ¡°Correct again. Vespiquen have small sections of their abdomen which actually work as a portable hive for bees dedicated solely for their protection.¡±

    ¡°What about male Combee then?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re more like a standing army combined with an engineering team. They handle the grunt work of getting things built and maintained, refine the honey, and help keep other wild Pok¨¦mon away. Have you ever seen a picture or a clip of a Combee wall on the internet or TV? Those are mostly male Combee, with a female guiding them.¡±

    Zetian bobbed up and down in the air like this was all self-evident, and I was astonished by the depth and complexity of just this one evolutionary line.

    Who knew what other societies had built themselves up with other Pok¨¦mon?

    ¡°So wait, if a Vespiquen is a Daimyo, what about Trainers or Combee keepers like yourself?¡±

    ¡°Ah, things get a little murkier there. We tend to be seen as something like an Emperor or a Shogun, leading the Vespiquen.¡±

    ¡°Weren¡¯t the Daimyo of ancient Jap-, er, Johto actually the ones in charge and the Shogun were like figureheads?¡±

    Takeo shrugged. ¡°Maybe? I¡¯m not very good at history. Some Vespiquen certainly tend to think they¡¯re the ones in charge, however, pulling the strings from behind a curtain.¡±

    I glanced over at Zetian, who had three entirely too-innocent expressions on her faces. I didn¡¯t think that I had been manipulated by her, but would I recognize it if I had?

    I¡¯m going to have to be more careful from now on.

    ¡°Anyways, we¡¯re here. Dea! We¡¯ve got visitors!¡±

    When I had heard that Takeo had a Vespiquen, I had expected her to be like the wild Pok¨¦mon I had helped rescue back near Oreburgh. I was completely wrong.

    Pok¨¦mon weren¡¯t all the same size. They were presented that way in the games, but it was an average height and weight in the real world. Venus, for example, was smaller than the average Eevee, although I personally thought that was likely due to poor nutrition as a kit. In addition, Pok¨¦mon Legends: Arceus had introduced the concept of the Alphas; Pok¨¦mon who were much larger and stronger than the average, who were the pinnacles of their species.

    When Dea buzzed down from the branches of the tree, my first thought was that she was tiny.

    She was easily about half the height as the wild Vespiquen I had met over a month ago, and her abdomen looked thinner than the other one.

    But the moment she fixed her ruby red compound eyes on Zetian and I, I could feel the major difference between the two Vespiquen.

    The wild Pok¨¦mon had possessed an air of authority around her, a regal feeling that was hard to put into words.

    Dea, on the other hand, made the wild Vespiquen seem like a child playing princess with her dolls.

    Every movement the Vespiquen made was exacting, precise in a way that would make military drill teams green with envy. The chitinous sections of her exoskeleton gleamed without a single scratch on them, and the parts covered with the fine hairs were perfectly clean and trimmed. Her eyes shone bright with intelligence, and there was a palpable Pressure about her that commanded respect and dedication.

    I was gobsmacked, impressed that a Pok¨¦mon could feel so majestic.

    Zetian was obviously just as affected, albeit in different ways.

    On our way into Floaroma she had delighted in proving her dominance over a wild Combee, and I was just now starting to realize that was probably a result of the complicated social dynamics of the evolutionary line.

    It would be like beating an enemy knight in battle, and having them recognize you as stronger than them.

    Back when Zetian first started traveling with me, her mother had said that her goal was to grow strong and become a powerful queen of her own hive one day. At the same time, the strange, quasi-feudal society of the evolutionary line made it so that despite wanting to set out on her own, she was still incredibly loyal to her mother.

    Then there was me, who had saved her mother and her family, then taken her on a journey to grow stronger.

    In her mind, I was likely on the same level as her mother, if not slightly above it considering what Takeo had said.

    Yet, the sheer authority of Dea was obviously making Zetian question her loyalties to her mother.

    The poor Combee was practically vibrating in place, the top two faces staring enraptured at Dea, while the bottom face was flickering between me and the Vespiquen.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I said with a smile. ¡°It''s not a betrayal if you learn from her. Your mother wanted you to grow stronger, after all.¡±

    If nothing else came of the trip to Takeo¡¯s farm, it would have been worth it just to learn more about the social dynamics of Combee and Vespiquen. Now that I knew where I stood from her perspective, I could more easily figure out ways to help her grow.

    Zetian sagged in the air, and all three eyes looked hopefully at the Vespiquen in front of her.

    Dea seemed to smile, and reached out to pat Zetian on the top of her heads, which caused the little Combee to almost purr with excitement.

    ¡°Dea.¡± Takeo said, drawing the small Vespiquen¡¯s attention. ¡°Do you think you could show Zetian here some of the basics of being a Vespiquen, and a leader? She¡¯s looking to evolve some day soon and hopefully start her own hive in the future, so if there¡¯s anything you can teach¡­¡±

    He trailed off as Dea bowed in recognition, and led Zetian away, higher into the tree.

    ¡°That was some quick thinking.¡± He said, looking back at me with approval. ¡°A word from her Shogun letting her off the hook for any possible feelings of betrayal to her Daimyo.¡±

    I shrugged, feeling a bit awkward at the compliment. ¡°It made sense. I studied this kind of thing in school after all.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Interesting.¡±

    He waited for a second, but when he realized that I wasn¡¯t going to continue, he gestured to a couple of lawn chairs.

    ¡°Well, it¡¯ll probably be a couple hours while they chat. I have some tips and tricks about taking care of a Vespiquen, and things I wish I had known back when Dea first evolved. I can go over them with you if you want.¡±

    I did want to, a lot actually, but I hesitated.

    ¡°Thank you, I really appreciate all of this, but¡­ is there anything you need? This has been a lot of help already, but I¡¯m taking time out of yours and Dea¡¯s day, do you want me to pay you or something?¡±

    He started laughing.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s very kind of you, but we¡¯re good. Honestly Dea manages most of the honey gathering and refining anyways, I¡¯m just the one who bottles it and sells it. She has some daughters who are looking to learn a little bit more of the business, so Dea will likely pass the duties off to them while she teaches Zetian. As for payment?¡±

    He shrugged.

    ¡°It¡¯s no bother, really. I¡¯m just happy that more people are looking to learn more about Combee, and you seem like a good sort.¡±

    Takeo¡¯s smile grew a little more shark-like. ¡°If anything, I¡¯d just ask that if you and Zetian decide to settle down and start selling any of her honey, you come to me first. I work with a couple other local Combeekeepers in Sinnoh, and we¡¯ve banded together to keep the big corporations away.¡±

    I thought for a moment, then smiled. ¡°I think that sounds good to me.¡±

 Chapter Thirty-One

    ¡°That has to be one of the most ridiculous things I¡¯ve ever seen.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s ridiculous and it works, is it still ridiculous?¡±

    Ted gave me a side-eye from where we were camped for the night.

    ¡°Yes. Yes it is.¡±

    Objectively speaking, Ted was right. The sight was ridiculous, but it was also one of the better methods Takeo and I had devised to help get Zetian accustomed to moving with the large weight of a Vespiquen¡¯s abdomen.

    Zetian was currently attempting to flit about the clearing we had decided to camp in with a heavy bag of rocks tied underneath her.

    It was still relatively light right now, but Takeo had recommended that I gradually increase the weight as Zetian grew stronger, eventually getting up to a full Vespiquen¡¯s weight of eighty pounds.

    Ted sighed, shaking his head. ¡°As ridiculous as it is¡­ I can¡¯t say I disapprove. One of the things that I had to learn starting out was that while evolution is generally good for Pok¨¦mon, it can take them a bit to actually get used to their new forms.¡±

    He laid a hand on Rakkyo¡¯s sleeping head, the giant Flygon curled up around him like a big bean bag chair.

    ¡°This one for instance had a Giratina of a time trying to actually fly when he evolved into a Vibrava. He was so bad at it that I thought he was never going to get it down.¡±

    ¡°Really? How¡¯d you help him?¡±

    ¡°It took an old timer who had one of his own to help me figure out that Rakkyo was better suited to short hops than full flight, and that the more prey he dissolved with the juices, the faster his wings would grow.¡±

    I paled, shuddering a little bit.

    ¡°Ah. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get used to that.¡±

    ¡°The digestive juices? Trust me, work with a Muk to help clean out a dump, and everything else will seem like a breeze.¡±

    It was his turn to shudder.

    ¡°Listen, if you¡¯re ever low on cash in LaRousse City, don¡¯t answer a job listing by a guy named Dexter. It¡¯s not worth it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ curiously specific.¡± I said. ¡°But not really what I was talking about. I meant just more about Pok¨¦mon eating other Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    Ted shrugged, but gave me a strange look. ¡°It¡¯s pretty normal, especially for the bigger Pok¨¦mon. The circle of life, you know? I guess you really haven¡¯t had to experience it considering Eevee are mainly herbivorous, besides some fish, and Combee are¡­ well¡­ Combee. If you get any Pok¨¦mon that are more omnivorous, or even just a carnivore, you¡¯re going to have to get used to it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ they¡¯re our partners, you know? Or wild Pok¨¦mon could be. They think and have feelings, and can understand us enough to follow orders- if not more. Would you be willing to feed a Gardevoir to one of your Pok¨¦mon?¡±

    He was silent for a long moment, thinking about it.

    ¡°I guess it¡¯s one of those things that I¡¯ve never really spent a lot of time thinking about. No, I wouldn¡¯t feed a Gardevoir to one of my Pok¨¦mon unless we were in a really dire situation and there were no other options. But something like a Tauros or one of the fish-like Pok¨¦mon¡­ yeah. It¡¯s just the way the world works.¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that hypocritical though? Why is one Pok¨¦mon more worthwhile to be eaten as opposed to another?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t been a vegetarian back on Earth, but here things were different. As much as I desperately craved a hamburger sometimes, I knew I couldn¡¯t go through with it if I knew that a Tauros had to die for it. Perhaps it was a bit hypocritical of me to think that way, that a Tauros was worth more than a cow, but there was just some indescribable difference between the two, as if one was more aware and present than the other..

    "It might be," Ted admitted, cutting through my thoughts. "But what''s the alternative? Should we let our Pok¨¦mon starve due to our morals? Take Switchback, for example."

    The small Pok¨¦mon in question looked over at the sound of his name, from where he was dodging Venus¡¯ Quick Attacks.

    "Sneasels are mainly carnivorous, so it would be cruel and inhumane to force them to eat only fruits, Berries, and vegetables. Would I eat some of the Pok¨¦mon meat that he does? No, but that¡¯s because I don¡¯t need it as much. Will I eat a Tauros burger though? Yeah. Because I know that the Tauros who gave the meat for it lived a healthy and fulfilled life."

    It was my turn to be silent while I thought. He had a point. It would be cruel to force a Pok¨¦mon to eat the wrong food. And since carnivorous Pok¨¦mon existed, it would mean that other Pok¨¦mon would have to die to feed them.

    It wasn¡¯t pretty but nobody ever said life was pretty.

    ¡°I guess,¡± I eventually bit out. ¡°I¡¯m just not sure if I would be comfortable doing that.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s fine,¡± Ted said. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people like that. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a right or wrong answer here.¡±

    We were quiet for a long time, as our Pok¨¦mon continued to train. Zetian continued to try and fly at a consistent height with the heavy weight below her, and although I could tell she was getting frustrated with her lack of progress, she was still determined to keep going.

    Venus and Switchback would trade dodging and attacking, getting used to fighting another Pok¨¦mon, and Ted¡¯s Sycther Mayfly was practicing using her wings to make quick, fluttering hops.

    ¡°You know,¡± Ted said suddenly. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but there are some things that confuse me about you.¡±

    ¡°Like?¡± I said, trying to ignore the flush of cold anxiety that ran down my spine.

    ¡°Pretty much everybody accepts that Pok¨¦mon will eat one another, but not you. You have strange gaps in your knowledge of Pok¨¦mon too, I have no doubt you could list off all the type matchups, but you don¡¯t know much about the practical training of Pok¨¦mon, not even the stuff you would learn growing up at school. And the way you talk sometimes it¡¯s¡­ well it¡¯s strange.¡±

    I froze.

    Did he know?

    No, surely not. Ultra Wormholes and dimensional travelers weren¡¯t common knowledge.

    ¡°I grew up on a small island.¡± I blurted out, trying frantically to recall my cover story. ¡°We didn¡¯t have a lot of Pok¨¦mon there, so it was basically all theoretical knowledge.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± He hummed noncommittally. ¡°What was that like?¡±

    ¡°It was¡­¡± Like a sailor who didn¡¯t know how to swim, I floundered for a moment, trying to get my bearings and stay above water.

    Stolen story; please report.

    Although, maybe a little bit of truth in a lie would help ease his mind.

    ¡°It was like coming to another world.¡± I said, wincing at every word. ¡°Things are so much more here in Sinnoh, there are Pok¨¦mon around every corner. All we really had were video games. And TV broadcasts from Unova, but that never really showed you what it was really like, you know?¡±

    Now, I was just making stuff up on the spot.

    ¡°And every now and again a ship would come by and the sailors would have Pok¨¦mon that we could play with, but for the most part it was just humans.¡±

    ¡°Fascinating.¡± There was still a bit of a glimmer in Ted¡¯s eyes, but whether that was from suspicion or from the idea of an island with no Pok¨¦mon, I wasn¡¯t sure.

    ¡°What made you come here?¡±

    I shrugged, feeling a bit more settled now. ¡°Wasn¡¯t my choice. I don¡¯t know what happened exactly, but Professor Rowan thinks it was a long range Teleport or something. I got in some trouble when I arrived and he helped me out of a tough spot, so I decided to stick around and help out in return.¡±

    Not entirely the truth, but not entirely a lie either.

    ¡°Besides, I met Venus, and I couldn¡¯t just abandon her.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly a story.¡± Ted said, but scratched at the scales between Rakkyo¡¯s red eye lenses. ¡°But I know what you mean, I would be lost without Rakkyo here. I think I¡¯d like to see your home one day, I can¡¯t imagine a place without any Pok¨¦mon. You said it was near Unova?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°It was a small island, I don¡¯t even think most maps have it listed.¡±

    ¡°A shame then. Maybe someday.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, maybe.¡±

    ¡°Do you ever think you¡¯ll go back?¡±

    I frowned, and while I was technically looking at Venus and Switchback spar, my eyes were seeing a place far, far away.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I would know how to get back there. Maybe if I find the right Pok¨¦mon to help take me there I could, but honestly? I¡¯m happier here than I ever was there.¡±

    ¡°What about your family?¡±

    ¡°What about them?¡±

    ¡°Hm.¡±

    That¡¯s a fair response. I thought to myself. I wouldn¡¯t know how to reply to that either.

    ¡°What about you?¡± I asked. ¡°I know you¡¯re from Hoenn, but where is home for you?¡±

    ¡°A small town near Mauville.¡±

    ¡°And will you go back?¡±

    His smile turned brittle. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not really an option for me anymore. It¡¯s gone.¡±

    ¡°Gone?¡±

    ¡°There was a¡­ natural disaster, and it was all I could do to escape. Luckily Professor Birch and all the others were happy to take me in and help, and I¡¯ve settled in well.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ I¡¯m, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s all good!¡± He said, with a smile that obviously meant it wasn¡¯t fine at all.

    We were quiet for a long while after that, neither of us quite sure what to say.

    Eventually, Ted broke the silence. ¡°It¡¯s starting to get dark, but I think there¡¯s enough light for a quick battle if you want to get some more exercise for our Pok¨¦mon in?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes please.¡± I said eagerly, happy for the distraction.

    I stood up and brushed off the dirt from my skirt and tights. Despite being made from Spinarak silk, they were still like magnets for small sticks and blades of grass.

    As I was walking towards Zetian and Venus, however, I thought I heard Ted speaking quietly to Rakkyo behind me.

    ¡°Like coming to another world? Funny¡­¡±

    /^\

    The next few days blurred together as we settled into a new routine of travel. When it had just been Venus, Zetian, and I, our mornings had been relatively quiet, but now they were surprisingly hectic with four more traveling companions.

    Miles passed under our feet as we hiked by flower fields and farms, each day getting closer and closer to Eterna City.

    It was actually quite pleasant to be traveling with somebody else. I hadn¡¯t realized how much I had missed talking with other people. Ted had a wealth of experience that he was happy to share with another Trainer, even if my team and I weren¡¯t anywhere close to being on a level necessary enough to put it into practice.

    I wasn¡¯t the only one getting information out of traveling though, and Ted¡¯s notebook quickly filled up with everything that I could remember from Pok¨¦mon Legends: Arceus about Hisui and its unique evolutions.

    Thankfully he accepted my explanations of having studied it as part of my Lab Assistant work with Professor Rowan.Otherwise, I had no idea how to convince him of my knowledge.

    I would sound like a crazy person to most people if I had told them I came from a world where this was all a game, after all.

    Of course, PL:A didn¡¯t have all the answers he was looking for, such as ¡®why are these evolutions different in Hisui than they are in Sinnoh?¡¯

    As it turns out, there was a lot more going on underneath the hood of Pok¨¦mon evolution than I or Ted knew of. I knew for a fact that if a Quilava evolved in Hisui, the resulting Typhlosion would be a dual-type with Fire and Ghost. It was in the games after all, and in the scraps of the ancient Pok¨¦ Dex that Professor Rowan had given Ted.

    But there was also concrete proof, captured on camera, that if a Quilava evolved in modern-day Sinnoh, not Hisui, that it would evolve into a regular Typhlosion.

    So whatever was governing Hisuian Pok¨¦mon¡¯s evolutions wasn¡¯t strictly environmental, or if it was, the effects had long since faded.

    At the same time, there were obviously some Hisuian Pok¨¦mon still kicking around, as evidenced by Switchback.

    It was a mystery, and one that was beginning to nag at me. There was something I was missing, I was sure of it, but I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it.

    More than anything else, my attempts to try and figure out what made Hisuian Pok¨¦mon appear was probably what had convinced Ted that I really was a researcher.

    Besides our wild theories on the nature of evolution and our nightly Pok¨¦mon battles, the rest of the trip to Eterna passed without any major issues. There were no emergency Ranger alerts, no lightning strikes on Pok¨¦mon nests, barely any rain even.

    Even Eterna Forest had been a disappointment.

    ¡°I¡¯m still not sure why you¡¯re so upset.¡± Ted said, as we left the last Ranger cabin in the forest.

    They were small bunkhouses that the Rangers kept operating for travelers, consisting of little more than some beds and a kitchenette for anybody to use.

    ¡°I¡¯m upset because it¡¯s Eterna Forest!¡±

    ¡°You realize that¡¯s not actually an answer.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be a magical, ethereal place! Full of mist, fog, piano music, and a natural maze! A place where double battles are common, and you have to find a strong companion to help you survive!¡±

    ¡°Piano music? Anyways¡­ I mean, maybe deeper in the forest it might be like that? But it¡¯s also a major passage from Floaroma Town to Eterna City, they¡¯re obviously going to make sure that it¡¯s able to be easily walkable.¡±

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean they needed to have a paved road.¡± I grumbled, although I wasn¡¯t too upset.

    Instead of the maze-like forest of the games, I had gotten a road that wouldn¡¯t have looked out of place in rural New England. No, it was nicer than those roads had been since it had actual care put into it instead of the minimum amount of funding a state would allocate.

    There had been Ranger cabins placed at regular intervals, and it had the air of a long hiking trail, not a wild forest.

    ¡°The rentable cars didn¡¯t help either, did they?¡± He asked, a slight grin on his face.

    I grumbled even more at the question.

    ¡°Although now that you mention it, there were a strange number of people who insisted on double battles,¡± Ted said with a slight frown. ¡°Must be a regional thing.¡±

    Zetian and Venus had both gotten good workouts in, but battles with other Trainers were a lot less intense than they were with wild Pok¨¦mon. There was an expectation that if something was to go wrong, the battle would stop, an expectation that wild Dusclops or Steelix most certainly didn¡¯t have.

    We hadn¡¯t even been able to get into the Old Chateau, since the haunted building had been boarded up.

    I had to reluctantly admit that was fair, since allowing people to just wander into a haven for Ghost-types probably wasn¡¯t a good idea.

    The good thing about Eterna Forest being made so accessible was that it was a lot faster to get through than I had been expecting however, and thankfully we were on track to making it to Eterna City several days before Rei¡¯s Quadrathlon.

    ¡°Might have to stop for the night soon.¡± Ted said as we were approaching Eterna City, after checking his ringing Rotom Phone. ¡°Apparently there¡¯s a big storm coming in tonight.¡±

    I nodded and looked towards the horizon. Sure enough, there was a dark line in the sky that was quickly approaching.

    ¡°Sure. Hey, did I ever tell you about that last storm I was in?¡±

 Chapter Thirty-Two

    The storm lasted for two days, which was a lot longer than I had wanted it to, but shorter than it could have been.

    According to Ted, the monsoon season in Hoenn lasted for months, depending on the year, stretching from mid-May or early June all the way through July.

    It made a lot of sense when I had taken another look at the map of the world.

    The Pok¨¦mon world was¡­ weird in its interpretation of geography, especially in the early days of the games and the anime. Things like Raichu having enough electricity to knock out an Indian elephant, or notably traces of Mew having been found in the jungles of South America.

    Guyana, if I remembered correctly.

    Obviously, those early discrepancies were due to a lack of understanding of what exactly Pok¨¦mon would become - the largest media franchise in the entire world. Here in the Pok¨¦mon world itself, things were a little different.

    Instead of being a direct 1:1 copy of Earth, the Pok¨¦mon world was more Earth-adjacent.

    Honestly, it looked a little bit like somebody had taken a globe and smudged things a little.

    There were similar landmasses to that of Earth, but none that were a direct copy. Galar being ¡°like¡± the British Isles, Unova being ¡°like¡± New York, or Kalos being ¡°like¡± France.

    The most notable set of locations for me, however, was the archipelago where most of the games were located.

    In my world it was known simply as ¡°Japan,¡± but it wasn¡¯t unified here, and was known as the ¡°Four Islands¡± - not to be mistaken for Four Island in the Sevii Island archipelago.

    Hoenn, Johto, Kanto, Kitakami, and Sinnoh made up the major regions of the archipelago, with a bunch of smaller territories scattered in between them. They were organized in that order from a loose south to north arc, covering a decent chunk of land all-together.

    Kitakami was an interesting region to me, considering I didn¡¯t actually know all that much about it. I had heard the name, of course, as part of the new DLC for Scarlet and Violet, but I had been transported here before actually having a chance to play it.

    Apparently, Kitakami was pretty mountainous and rural, without much going for it. It didn¡¯t have a Pok¨¦mon League or any Gyms, and mostly was involved in agriculture, so most people I had seen online didn¡¯t consider it a ¡°proper¡± region.

    I did know enough about Japanese geography to know that Hoenn, however, was based on the island of Kyushu, a region in the real world notable for how much rainfall it got.

    The way Ted described it, it rained pretty much constantly for the late spring and early summer.

    The area around Route 120, a location I knew well from the games, were confirmed by him to get rain almost every week, if not every day, and only escaped the deluge in the drier ¡°winter¡± months. Of course it didn¡¯t actually get cold or snow down there, being much more tropical, but I supposed it was the principle of the thing.

    I shuddered to think about that much rain, and thanked Jirachi again that it had dropped me off in Sinnoh, where it was much drier and colder.

    Regardless of how long the rain lasted overall, I was thoroughly miserable by the end of it.

    As much as I would have loved to stay in my tent for the entire time, that just wasn¡¯t practical, and each time I stepped outside to make some food, use the restroom, or simply stretch my legs I was instantly soaked.

    It got so bad that during the night, I swore that I would get myself a Fire-type Pok¨¦mon to help dry me out when I realized that all of my socks were soaked.

    Zetian was able to help some by using her wings to dry things out, and once the rain had finally let up Rakkyo used his Flamethrower to dry out both mine and Ted¡¯s clothes.

    Using a Flamethrower like a hair dryer wasn¡¯t the easiest thing in the world, but we managed to get the water out of our clothes.

    Once the rain had finally stopped, Ted and I got back on the road, which was when we saw the truck.

    /^\

    ¡°What do you think happened?¡± I asked as we stared at the ruined white flatbed truck.

    It was pretty obvious what had happened, but I was more asking to make conversation than anything else.

    We hadn¡¯t gotten far down the road towards Eterna City when the signs of the accident had appeared.

    At first it was just some tire marks on the road, long black lines where somebody had slammed on the brakes.

    Then a few hundred feet past that, deep divots had been dug into the wet earth on the side of the road. Ted and I had followed the path out of concern to find the flatbed truck wrapped around the side of a tree.

    ¡°Driver probably got distracted,¡± Ted said, shaking his head as he poked at the shattered glass of the driver¡¯s side window. ¡°Lost control of the car thanks to the water on the road and spun out.¡±

    He shivered. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯ll never see me driving. Those things are death traps, I¡¯ll take flying with Rakkyo any day.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you don¡¯t know how to drive?¡±

    ¡°Nope. You do?¡±

    He seemed genuinely surprised, and I was feeling the same.

    ¡°Yeah, back home you couldn¡¯t really get anywhere without driving.¡±

    ¡°Eugh. I¡¯m feeling a little bit less of an urge to visit now if I¡¯m being honest.¡±

    That, I thought. Is entirely fair.

    ¡°So wait, if you know how to drive, why are you asking me what happened?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that you didn¡¯t know how to drive.¡±

    ¡°Ah. You got me there. Do you think the driver is okay then?¡±

    Frowning, I came around the side of the car to where he was looking at the door. It wasn¡¯t in good shape at all, the metal torn and twisted, and the window had been completely shattered.

    ¡°I think so.¡± I said after a minute. ¡°I don¡¯t see any blood or anything and the seatbelt hasn¡¯t been cut. I¡¯m not a crash investigator, but considering the fact that nobody¡¯s here, I¡¯m inclined to say that they managed to get out in one piece.¡±

    It was Ted¡¯s turn to frown as he looked around the ditch the car was in.

    ¡°But if they weren¡¯t hurt too badly, where did they go?¡±

    Something about the truck was itching at the back of my mind, it seemed familiar for some reason. It looked like any generic truck that I had ever seen; dirty white paint, a tarp covering the contents of the bed, dried mud all over the body.

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    If not for the fact that a tree was occupying the place where the engine should have been, it would have been completely unremarkable.

    So why does it seem so familiar?

    ¡°Maybe they got knocked on the head,¡± I said, trying to answer Ted¡¯s question. ¡°Got confused and wandered off into the woods? Or maybe we aren¡¯t the first ones here and they were taken to the hospital?¡±

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the truck have been taken away then?¡±

    ¡°If Sinnoh is anything like home, it might take a couple of days if it¡¯s not a priority. Tow trucks might be needed somewhere else, especially after that storm.¡±

    Ted hummed at that. ¡°I¡¯m going to call the police, let them know that there¡¯s been a crash. If they already heard about it, that¡¯s fine, but I want to be sure.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, sounds good.¡± I said, as Ted wandered back to the road to get a better signal.

    While he was calling the police, I continued to poke around the crash site, unable to stop the feeling that I should know this truck for some reason.

    My eyes kept cutting back to the tarp over the bed of the truck, and the boxy objects that were under there.

    Ted was busy explaining the crash to somebody on the phone, and my curiosity got the better of me.

    The ground was still wet and muddy, and if not for the thick leather of my boots they would have been completely ruined by now. It was a bit of a challenge to get to a place where I could lift up the tarp, but as soon as I did so my blood ran cold.

    ¡°Son of a bitch.¡± I swore.

    A series of familiar cages were tossed about the bed of the truck. They were all empty, although the doors to a few of them had obviously been destroyed, the metal looking like it had been melted.

    I knew where I had seen this truck before.

    Kane.

    /^\

    ¡°Professor! I¡¯ve been trying to reach you for ages!¡±

    ¡°Alina,¡± Rowan¡¯s voice sounded tired. ¡°What¡¯s going on? I¡¯m in the middle of-¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s Kane!¡±

    He was silent for a long minute on the other side of the phone, and I was wondering if he had heard me.

    ¡°Tell me more.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s his truck! Ted and I are just outside of Eterna City, there was a big storm and his truck went off of the road.¡±

    ¡°Ted?¡±

    ¡°Professor Birch¡¯s assistant. I can¡¯t get in touch with Commissioner Jenny, do you think you could get her to send some people our way? Some of those Ace Trainers, the ones that work for the League? Maybe you could get Gardenia down here? Her Grass-types could probably find him faster!¡±

    ¡°Wait, Theodore Sering? How did you two¡­ never mind, it¡¯s not important right now. Are you sure it¡¯s Kane¡¯s truck?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± I nearly shouted into the speaker as I paced along the side of the road. ¡°I¡¯d recognize it anywhere! It has the cages, the same damn cages!¡±

    ¡°Alina-¡±

    ¡°You need to call Commissioner Jenny, we need to catch him! He couldn¡¯t have gotten far on foot!¡±

    ¡°Alina!¡±

    I stopped at the snap in his voice.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re having a panic attack.¡±

    ¡°No I¡¯m not.¡±

    Was I?

    I felt entirely justified in feeling so panicked, this was Kane after all.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Venus?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ she¡¯s in her Pok¨¦ Ball. I don¡¯t want her to see the cages again.¡±

    ¡°You need to let her out.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just hear what I said? I can¡¯t¡­ she¡­.¡±

    ¡°Alina,¡± Rowan¡¯s voice was a lot softer this time. ¡°You need to let her out. You shouldn¡¯t be alone right now.¡±

    My mind hesitated, but my hand betrayed me and went for the red and white ball at my waist. With a flash of light, Venus stood before me.

    She froze as she looked at me, then without hesitation, jumped.

    Even though she was still smaller than the average Eevee, Venus had gained some weight and muscle from the first time we had met. Ten pounds of fluffy Pok¨¦mon launching herself at me knocked me onto my rear.

    Luckily, I had splurged on fancy Spinarak silk clothes and I had trimmed Venus¡¯ claws the night before; otherwise, I¡¯m sure my clothes would have been ripped as she scrambled up my body.

    My clothes were covered in mud from sitting on the ground, but I couldn¡¯t care as Venus stretched across my shoulders, wrapping me up in her thick fur.

    I don¡¯t know how long we sat there like that, my entire body shaking as I desperately tried to get my breathing under control. Venus would lick my face every now and again, and it was all I could do to stroke her fur.

    Eventually, I calmed down, and Venus hopped down from my shoulders into my lap so I could more easily pet her.

    A quiet, tinny voice came out from somewhere, and it took me a second to find my phone laying in the mud, the call with Professor Rowan still going.

    ¡°Hi Professor.¡± I said, a bit miserably as I picked up the phone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry.¡± Relief was clear in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s good to know that you¡¯re feeling better, at least for now. I¡¯ve never heard you like that before.¡±

    I ran a hand down my face, feeling like a wrung out rag.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had a panic attack like that. I¡¯m really sorry if I scared you, it¡¯s just¡­ it¡¯s the cages.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± He said, in the way people did when they didn¡¯t really understand, but were trying their best to.

    I appreciated it, even if it rang a little hollow.

    ¡°While you were¡­ recovering¡­ I had George call young Theodore.¡±

    Looking over, I saw Ted shooting worried glances my way while talking on his phone.

    ¡°I explained the basics of the situation to him, and gave him the number for Commissioner Jenny. If everything is going to plan, he should be talking with her now so she can start putting together a response. Hopefully some Trainers and Rangers from Eterna City should be there shortly.¡±

    ¡°But what about Kane in the meantime?¡± I asked, feeling my heart start to pick up again.

    The thought that he was still out there, that he was still capturing Pok¨¦mon and holding them against their will was both infuriating and heartbreaking at the same time.

    Venus, bless her, picked up on this, and batted at my hand with her paw until I started to pet her again, dragging my attention away from the emotions welling up in my chest.

    ¡°Kane can wait.¡± Rowan said, although I heard more than a little bitterness in his voice. ¡°He¡¯s escaped justice for this long, he can wait a little bit longer. If you two go haring off without anybody else there, things could turn ugly.¡±

    As much as I hated it, as much as every fiber of my being demanded that I go right now and hunt Kane down so he couldn¡¯t hurt anybody else¡­ I knew that Rowan was right.

    Waiting for help was the best course of action. Neither Ted nor I knew the area, and there was a very good chance that we could get in trouble, or even hurt. Then the Rangers and other Trainers would have something else to worry about.

    Despite everything that I was telling myself, the words did nothing to make the pill I had to swallow any less bitter.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I bit out, then sighed. ¡°Okay. We¡¯ll wait. I¡¯m guessing that-¡±

    A loud crack, followed shortly afterwards by a crash, cut me off. It sounded like a large tree falling to the ground, and my head whipped around to stare deeper into the woods.

    The trees here weren¡¯t officially part of the Eterna Woods, but they were still dense enough to block wherever the sound had come from.

    ¡°Alina what was that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know professor, something just¡­ exploded? Fell down?¡±

    ¡°Stay there, you hear me?¡±

    ¡°What if somebody¡¯s hurt?¡±

    Ted was talking excitedly to somebody on the other end of his phone, and with his other hand he pulled a Pok¨¦ Ball off his waist, releasing Rakkyo.

    Venus was staring up at me, her ears perked up and swiveling slightly as if to catch every sound she could.

    I looked deep into her brown eyes, and saw a burning resolve there. She had been in those cages just as much as I had, and I felt the connection between us for a brief second.

    ¡°Alina, just wait for the police, they¡¯ll be there soon.¡±

    I moved my gaze over to Ted, who was staring out at the woods with excitement and a touch of predatory glee, a wolf who had gotten a smell of his prey.

    He looked over at me and despite my apprehension, I nodded.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Professor, but I have to go. You¡¯d do the same thing if you were in my place.¡±

    A heavy sigh echoed through the phone¡¯s speaker.

    ¡°I know I would, and that¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid of. I¡¯ll get in touch with Commissioner Jenny and explain about Kane. Please, please be safe.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try. I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡±

    I hung up and put the phone into my pocket, carefully standing up with Venus in my arms.

    ¡°I only got a brief description.¡± Ted said. ¡°Kane, poacher, likes Dark-types?¡±

    ¡°Last time I ran into him, he had a Mightyena and a Houndoom. The Houndoom should be being treated by the Rangers or the Aether Foundation as a rescue, but he still had his Mightyena.¡±

    ¡°How strong is it?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Wasn¡¯t in a good position to check last time, but it took out the Houndoom.¡±

    Poor Havoc, I hope he was doing well.

    ¡°Then again, that was almost three months ago. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s gotten any other Pok¨¦mon since then, but from his poaching habits I¡¯d say he likes rare Pok¨¦mon as well.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what Commissioner Jenny said as well. Apparently he¡¯s been recorded as having been seen with a Rhydon.¡±

    I gulped, but nodded. ¡°We should be able to handle that, right?¡±

    Ted smiled, baring his teeth. ¡°Let¡¯s find out.¡±

 Chapter Thirty-Three

    I had the realization about five minutes afterwards as Ted and I made our way deeper into the woods towards the explosion.

    Holy shit. I thought as a tree branch hit me in the face, drawing a thin line of blood across my cheek. This is an awful idea.

    For better or for worse, I was starting to come down off of the adrenaline high I had been riding ever since I had seen the cages in the back of Kane''s truck.

    It totally had been a panic attack, which didn¡¯t seem quite fair to me. After all, I had only been in the cages for a few hours, which seemed like too quick of a time to develop a trauma response.

    Although back then I had been exhausted, probably hadn¡¯t been eating enough, had just been transported to another world, knocked out, thrown in a cage, then beaten up, thrown in a cage again, then led a breakout against the poachers.

    Yeah, that was probably enough to give anybody some capital-T Trauma.

    But running off into the woods to chase down a poacher whose Pok¨¦mon had nearly killed me before? Not my best idea.

    Of course, I was different now than I was then. I had Venus and Zetian with me, and Ted and his Pok¨¦mon would surely help out.

    Did not make it any less of a stupid idea, however.

    With a screech, Rakkyo soared over the treetops above Ted and I, circling to get our attention.

    Ted had let out the Flygon when we had first set out, with instructions to find where the crash had come from and to lead us there. The branches were too dense for him to easily get through, and although I was sure the dragon could have made a hole, it likely would have taken a little too long.

    Instead, Ted blew his whistle, letting Rakkyo know that we had seen him, and the Pok¨¦mon took off, hovering slowly ahead of us.

    ¡°That way!¡± Ted said, and we adjusted our course.

    Naturally, more loud cracks soon followed, and we picked up our pace.

    Within minutes, we finally reached where Rakkyo had been leading us.

    A clearing surrounded a small pond that was fed by a little creek. It would have been a scenic spot to picnic if not for the battle that was currently taking place.

    I stopped at the edge of the clearing, mouth agape at the scene before me.

    A massive figure stood in the clearing, easily eight feet tall if I was an inch. Thick forearms batted at Rakkyo as he darted around the Pok¨¦mon like a hummingbird, but most of the Flygon¡¯s attacks were being stopped by thick, orange, armor-like plates.

    The Rhyperior didn¡¯t look threatened by Rakkyo, it looked angry.

    It picked up a stone easily the size of my head, palming it like it was a tennis ball, and slotted it into the empty hole in it¡¯s hand.

    When Rakkyo darted away again, the Rhyperior stuck out its arm, lined up a shot, and fired, the stone launching towards the Flygon with an explosive crack.

    Rakkyo didn¡¯t have a chance to evade, and took the stone on its side, drawing a small cry of pain from the dragon.

    It didn¡¯t look bad, a Flygon was resistant to Rock-type moves after all, but already there were several wounds visibly trickling some blood.

    I gulped. Most of the time during regular battles Pok¨¦mon normally held some of their power back, trying not to land killing blows.

    Kane and his Pok¨¦mon obviously weren¡¯t holding back.

    The man himself was standing by the edge of the pond, barking orders to both his Rhyperior, and to Terror.

    The Mightyena, a terrifying reminder of what had happened to me, was currently hunched above a squirming red and gray form, jaws locked around the other Pok¨¦mon¡¯s neck.

    Another Pok¨¦mon, a distant part of my mind absently noted how strange it was that a Hisuian Growlithe was here, stood by, clearly torn between wanting to help the other Growlithe in Terror¡¯s jaws, or to help the larger hyena-like Pok¨¦mon.

    Ted hadn¡¯t stopped like I had, and rushed into the clearing to bellow orders at Rakkyo. The dragon didn¡¯t seem to change his tactics all that much, but after spending time traveling with the pair, I could tell that he was relieved to see Ted there.

    ¡°You!¡± Kane said, eyes blazing with fury as he saw me standing there. ¡°I should have figured it was you!¡±

    He pulled another Pok¨¦ Ball off his waist, and with a flash of light he released another Pok¨¦mon onto the field.

    I blinked at the appearance of the Elekid, and for a moment I thought that it was the same one that I had rescued a couple months ago, but I soon realized that it wasn¡¯t the case at all.

    That Elekid had been small and young, but this one was older and much more grizzled. Faint lines of paler fur covered its body where scars had formed, and one of the electric plug-like horns was short, obviously from where it had been chopped off by some other Pok¨¦mon.

    Or judging by the strange jagged edges, it might have been bitten off by another Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°Blitz! Take care of the girl while I deal with this other fool. Don¡¯t be afraid to go all out, I want her dead, you hear me?¡±

    The Elekid grinned wickedly as it turned towards me, lightning crackling between its horns.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    I gulped, and pulled Venus¡¯ Pok¨¦ Ball off of my waist. I had wanted to keep her out, but she had been put back during our rush for the clearing since it would have been difficult to run with her in my arms, and I didn¡¯t want her to be slowed down in the thick underbrush.

    Zetian would have to sit this one out for now, however. She had been training, yes, but putting a Flying-type, even a dual-type like Combee, up against an Electric-type was asking for trouble.

    Venus appeared in a flash of light, and crouched down, her thick fur rising in a threat display as she growled at the Elekid.

    I saw the moment when she noticed Kane however, and she faltered. She was as terrified of him as I was, but she was hiding it a lot better.

    She was magnificent.

    ¡°Of course you kept that thing.¡± Kane snarled as he saw Venus. ¡°She could have made me a lot of money, but you just had to butt in. Blitz, don¡¯t hold back on that Eevee either. Don¡¯t bother trying to capture it.¡±

    The Elekid flared its lightning again in agreement, and Kane turned back to the fight with his Rhyperior and Rakkyo.

    I didn¡¯t have the opportunity to try and help out, as the Elekid launched itself at Venus.

    /^\

    The Elekid¡¯s form blurred into a white streak as it dashed towards Venus, and she barely had time to react before a fist was burying itself in her side.

    ¡°Venus!¡± I cried as she skidded to the side from the force of the blow, but she shook off my concerns.

    Lunging back with her own Quick Attack, the little Eevee slashed at Blitz with her claws, causing it to cry out in shock.

    ¡°Keep on dancing!¡± I called, using one of the predetermined code phrases we had set up.

    Ted had recommended the practice for now, and although Venus, Zetian, and I had only a few days of practice under our belts, it was better than nothing.

    ¡®Keep on dancing¡¯ was our phrase to keep using Quick Attack, but mostly to dodge rather than to attack.

    By using the speed granted by Quick Attack, it was possible to get out of the way of an incoming attack, even one that would normally hit. Percentage chances weren¡¯t a thing here, and while the lack of a guaranteed strike was annoying sometimes, it could prove useful in some circumstances.

    While Venus frantically dodged the Elekid¡¯s attacks, I was desperately searching for something I could do to help.

    Ted and Rakkyo were keeping Kane occupied, although it might have been the other way around. I wasn¡¯t expecting the Rhyperior to put up as much of a fight as it currently was, but the thing was a monster.

    Terror the Mightyena was still busy keeping a Hisuian Growlithe pinned to the ground, while another looked on.

    Venus was trying to dodge as many attacks as possible, keeping just one step ahead of the Elekid.

    Thank god for our speed training.

    And then, of course, there was me. Who was sitting there and not really doing anybody much good.

    This was really the worst possible line up for Zetian to come out into. The Elekid would fry her to a crisp with an electric attack, and there was nothing she could do to resist it. If I sent her out to try and help the Growlithe being pinned by Terror, the other Growlithe would be at a massive advantage with its Fire-typing.

    But at the same time¡­

    ¡°Zetian!¡± The Combee¡¯s form appeared, and began vibrating in anticipation as she saw the situation around her.

    What I was going to do was a low-blow, and generally considered against the rules in any regular Pok¨¦mon battle. But this wasn¡¯t a regular battle, and Kane had broken the rules first, back when he had commanded Terror to attack me.

    ¡°Use Bug Bite on Kane!¡±

    Her six eyes flashed, and in a moment she was darting through the air at the poacher.

    Kane was so caught up in the battle with Ted and Rakkyo that he didn¡¯t realize the danger he was in until it was too late. He cried out in pain as Zetian¡¯s stinger pierced through the jacket into his shoulder, and angrily swung an arm at her.

    He was too slow however, and the Combee was already out of his reach.

    It was at that point that I realized I had made a horrible mistake.

    Terror the Mightyena wasn¡¯t a stupid Pok¨¦mon. There were very few actually stupid Pok¨¦mon, and while Terror had probably been mistreated for its entire life, there was some part of it that surely felt a twisted form of loyalty to Kane.

    So when it saw me commanding Zetian to attack its owner, Terror must have decided that I was a bigger priority than the Growlithe.

    Letting go of the smaller Pok¨¦mon, Terror turned to face me, red eyes flashing with hatred.

    I instinctually took a step back, ice water running through my veins as I realized that now there was a very angry Pok¨¦mon who wanted to do nothing more than tear into me with its teeth and claws.

    Terror¡¯s charge started out slow at first as it got its feet under it, but soon was rocketing towards me in a flurry of red-stained teeth.

    This is it. I had a split second to think. This is how I die. I hope Venus and Zetian will be okay.

    That didn¡¯t come to pass, thankfully, as a yellow blur slammed heavily into Terror¡¯s side.

    One thing about Combee that I didn¡¯t really appreciate much of the time was how surprisingly heavy they were. Twelve pounds wasn¡¯t a lot of weight, but Combee were also pretty small, so they were a lot more dense than one would expect.

    Zetian was also incredibly smart. I had begun to realize just exactly how intelligent she was back on Takeo¡¯s farm, but until now I didn¡¯t realize she understood things like momentum. Her attack caught Terror right as the Mightyena was bounding towards me, just as it¡¯s back feet had left the ground.

    Twelve pounds of Combee moving at a pretty impressive speed slammed into the Mightyena at the worst possible time. As Terror was in mid-air, it didn¡¯t have any opportunity to dig its feet in, or change position, or have any reaction at all.

    Terror yelped in pain and was knocked off course, crashing to the ground in a confusion of limbs.

    Zetian buzzed ecstatically, and began stinging Terror as many times as she could, as quickly as she could.

    A crackle of electricity reminded me that the Elekid was still a threat, and Venus yelped in pain as a bolt of lighting lanced out from between the Elekid¡¯s horns.

    ¡°Venus!¡± I called, trying to form a plan that wouldn¡¯t end with us all dead. ¡°Use-¡±

    A pair of bellowing roars cut me off, and the fight faltered for a second as all of the combatant¡¯s attention was drawn to the battle between Rakkyo and the Rhyperior.

    The two Pok¨¦mon were locked together in a classic anime pose, both fists clenched together as they struggled against each other. Rakkyo was hovering in mid-air, kept in place by the sheer weight of the Rhyperior.

    Finally, the Rhyperior let go of one of Rakkyo¡¯s arms, inviting a deep slash across the torso.

    In exchange, the freed fist of the Rhyperior glowed a cold white-blue, and a thick layer of icicles formed. With a bone jarring blow, the Rhyperior slammed the fist into Rakkyo¡¯s side just underneath his shoulder, drawing a roar of pain as the icicles dug deep.

    I could see the moment that Rakkyo could no longer resist the Ice-type move, and his entire body shuddered with exertion before his eyes closed and he started to fall to the ground.

    Ted was quick on the draw, recalling Rakkyo into the Pok¨¦ Ball before the Flygon could fully collapse.

    The Rhyperior let out a victorious bellow, beating its fists against its bloody chest.

    Then another roar echoed out from the forest, a clear challenge that drew everybody¡¯s attention.

    That seemed to be the indication that the fight should continue, however, and all hell broke loose.

 Chapter Thirty-Four

    The battle was almost too hectic to follow.

    Rakkyo had just collapsed, a victim to a brutal Ice Punch by Kane¡¯s Rhyperior, and the victorious Pok¨¦mon was currently looking for its next victim.

    Ted was already pulling his last two Pok¨¦ Balls off of his waist, releasing Switchback and Mayfly as Venus dueled with Blitz and Zetian was stinging the life out of Terror.

    Then there were the bystanders, two Hisuian Growlithes who were watching the battle unfold around them. One was cowering on the ground, paws covering its head as weak rivulets of blood matted its fur from where Terror had been holding it down, while the other stood on in obvious indecision.

    I didn¡¯t know what their story was or their relationship to Kane, but a part of me had resolved that I would make sure they were safe.

    A larger part, however, was increasingly concerned that I wouldn¡¯t be able to help them if I was dead.

    One thing at a time.

    Zetian was currently looking viciously gleeful as she stung Terror, and I could see Ted directing Mayfly to assist her. Convinced that the two of them should be able to handle the Mightyena, I turned my attention elsewhere.

    The two Growlithe could wait for now, but Venus¡¯ fight with Blitz wasn¡¯t looking too great.

    On a purely statistical level in the games, an Eevee should be able to handle an Elekid if they were roughly even. I had even played a Little Cup game that had ended up in this exact matchup, but things weren¡¯t purely statistical anymore.

    Blitz the Elekid may not have evolved, but it had obviously been in plenty of fights, and it seemed to have a cruel streak.

    So far it had been relatively content to make quick, fast attacks that hadn¡¯t actually done Venus much damage. Granted, she had been using her Quick Attack to dodge most of them, but that also meant she hadn¡¯t had a chance to strike back against the Elekid.

    Venus had gotten one good hit in at the beginning of the fight, but since then she had only landed glancing blows that hadn¡¯t done much but make the Elekid mad.

    So I decided to take a risk.

    ¡°Venus!¡± I called, and thankfully our training was starting to show its benefits.

    She used to look back at me when I called out her orders, but now she kept her eyes on the enemy, merely flicking her ear to let me know she had heard me.

    ¡°Take him out! Quick Attack!¡±

    Calling out the name of the move wasn¡¯t always the smartest idea, but right now I just wanted this fight to be over.

    Venus nodded, getting down into her stance, and Blitz¡­ smiled?

    It was definitely an evil looking grin on the other Pok¨¦mon¡¯s face, and when Venus dashed forwards in a blur of light, he didn¡¯t try to dodge out of the way.

    Instead he opened his arms wide, and sparks of electricity started to play across his thin yellow fur.

    ¡°Wait, Venus, stop!¡± I called out in desperation, but it was too late.

    She slammed into the Elekid, and in the moment that she did  I could see Blitz¡¯s eyes widen.

    Venus was moving faster than he had expected, but it didn¡¯t matter in the end, his attack was already going.

    Blitz passed out from the blow, his egg-like body being thrown back from the force of the Quick Attack.

    I may have almost failed physics in school, but even I knew that force was equal to mass times velocity. Venus may not have weighed very much, but she had a lot of velocity on her side.

    The electricity that had been sparking around Blitz transferred over to Venus, and she let out a stuttering cry as she was badly shocked.

    All of her fur was standing on end, and every few seconds she would freeze for a moment, grimacing in pain as fresh shocks of static electricity played across her body.

    She was Paralyzed.

    ¡°Worthless!¡± Kane shouted, returning Blitz to his Pok¨¦ Ball.

    One of his arms was hanging limply by his side from where Zetian had stung his shoulder, but it didn¡¯t seem to be slowing him down any.

    ¡°Terror! Stop letting them walk all over you! Show some spine!¡±

    He turned back to his Rhyperior, who was currently staring down Switchback.

    ¡°Crusher.¡± He commanded, hatred in his eyes. ¡°Kill.¡±

    /^\

    Despite one less combatant on the field, the battle somehow got even more chaotic, not less.

    Terror finally started fighting back against Zetian and Mayfly, and while the two Bug-types were doing a fair amount of damage against the Mightyena, Terror was living up to his name.

    He turned from a ball of black and gray fur on the ground to a whirling hurricane of teeth and claws, forcing the Combee and Scyther back with the sheer number of attacks coming their way.

    Individually each attack was probably pretty weak, and unable to hurt our Pok¨¦mon, but all of them together was a potent threat.

    ¡°Zetian! Hang in there! Focus on staying safe for now!¡±

    I couldn¡¯t tell if Zetian had heard me, she was too busy trying to stay ahead of Terror¡¯s claws to give me a response.

    ¡°Venus, help Switchback!¡±

    It killed a small part of me to send Venus back into battle while she was still Paralyzed, and especially against such a tough opponent like Crusher the Rhyperior.

    Switchback was unable to do much besides frantically try and dodge the earth-shaking blows of Crusher, and I was sure that it was only a matter of time before one would connect.

    Besides, Crusher was already hurt from his battle with Rakkyo. Long gashes had sliced through the thick scales of the Rhyperior¡¯s skin, and dark red blood was starting to coat the orange armor.

    Was he slowing down?

    The fight had only been going on for maybe a minute, but I was pretty sure that Crusher was moving a bit more slowly than he had at the beginning of the battle.

    It might have just been my imagination, but it definitely gave me hope.

    Venus¡¯ and Switchback¡¯s coordination had improved over the past week since the battle with the Dusclops, and the two were dodging back and forth between Crusher¡¯s blows.

    This time it was Switchback who was trying to take the larger Pok¨¦mon¡¯s attention, as every so often Venus would stagger from her Paralysis.

    When she would freeze like that, Crusher would immediately turn to try and live up to his name, only to be interrupted by Switchback. The little Sneasel was a fury of slashing claws, except when the Rhyperior would turn his attention back to the smaller Pok¨¦mon.

    Then Switchback was back to desperately trying to stay ahead of the fists that were nearly as large as he was.

    ¡°Mayfly!¡± I heard Ted call. ¡°Double Team and Bug Bite your way through that Mightyena!¡±

    ¡°Terror, don¡¯t let it! Fire Fang!¡±

    Ted¡¯s exclamation of dismay was lost in the clamor of combat as the Terror lunged forwards, teeth alight with flames.

    Mayfly started to dash from side to side, moving so quickly it almost created after-images of the Scyther, but it wasn¡¯t fast enough. The normally stoic Bug-type chittered a cry of pain as flaming fangs cracked her green exoskeleton, then tried slashing down at the Mightyena.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Unfortunately for her, Terror was inside of her guard, and Mayfly couldn¡¯t get her scythe-like arms in a good enough position to do any real harm.

    ¡°Help her out Zetian!¡±

    The Combee was already on the job before I had even finished talking, darting down at the Mightyena with her stinger at the ready.

    Terror was ready for that however, and jumped aside at the last second, letting Mayfly to avoid getting hurt.

    Then a roar echoed throughout the clearing, and I looked back over at Crusher the Rhyperior to see what he was up to.

    He was looking around in confusion, as were Ted and Kane.

    If it wasn¡¯t Crusher¡­

    The ground almost seemed to shake as another massive form burst out of the treeline, roaring in anger.

    ¡°Arceus!¡±

    ¡°What the hell?¡±

    ¡°Jesus Christ!¡±

    Ted, Kane, and I all swore as an incredibly large and angry Ursaring shook off twigs and leaves from its thick brown coat, glaring at all of us.

    A flash of movement deeper in the forest caught my eye, and my heart sank as I saw a couple of tiny Teddiursa huddled behind some trees.

    This wasn¡¯t just an angry Ursaring, it was an angry Ursaring mother.

    We must have disturbed the small pack of Pok¨¦mon with our battle, and the mother had decided to take a more active role in ensuring her childrens¡¯ safety.

    For the first time in this battle, I was happy that Crusher was so much larger than my Pok¨¦mon.

    I could actually see the Ursaring pass right over Venus, Zetian, Switchback, and even Mayfly and Terror, focusing instead right on Crusher.

    If this was an anime, there would have been sparks flying as the two massive Pok¨¦mon eyed each other. Crusher was taller than the Ursaring by over a foot, but the bear-like Pok¨¦mon didn¡¯t seem to be intimidated as a thick mane of fur slowly rose up around the Urasring¡¯s neck.

    A deep, reverberating growl built up in the chest of the Ursaring, which was matched by Crusher.

    ¡°Crusher!¡± Kane called. ¡°Use Rock Tomb on the Sneasel, then you can focus on the Ursaring!¡±

    The Rhyperior didn¡¯t seem to be listening, his entire focus narrowed down onto the Ursaring. At some unseen signal, the two Pok¨¦mon dashed forwards, crashing together with bone shattering force.

    ¡°No! Don¡¯t-¡±

    Kane gave up, swearing as he turned back to us.

    ¡°You just had to make this difficult, didn¡¯t you?¡± He snarled. ¡°Everything was going fine until you showed up! Terror, kill the girl!¡±

    The Mightyena whirled in place with a speed and agility that would have been beautiful under other circumstances, then launched himself at me.

    I yelped and threw myself backwards, holding my arms out in a futile gesture of protection.

    There had been two main points that had sold me on the boots that I was wearing. Well, really there had been three. The tall, calf-high boots looked good on me, they had been made for hiking with tough Tauros leather, and the soles of the boots were apparently modeled with the same basic shapes of a Hariyama¡¯s soles.

    The big Fighting-type Pok¨¦mon was notorious for being able to dig its feet into the ground and not be pushed back during its sumo-like fights, and the sales pitches had told me that it would prevent me from slipping while hiking.

    The boots only managed to get two out of three, and while they looked good and the leather was proving remarkably waterproof yet breathable, when I threw myself backwards to get out of the way of Terror, I slipped on the wet grass and fell.

    That slip probably saved my life.

    All I saw of Terror was a black and gray blur as he soared overhead, snarling as his claws slashed only at air.

    I couldn¡¯t see him land or turn back around from my spot on the ground, but I could hear him move, howling with rage and frustration.

    That was twice that he had been commanded to kill me, and twice he had failed.

    And twice that my savior stepped up in the form of a tiny Eevee.

    Venus jumped through the legs of the dueling giants to come to my side, teeth bared as she snarled back at Terror.

    It would have been cute if not for the look of sheer determination and grit in her eyes as she stared down the much larger Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°Giratina take you all!¡± Kane howled, awkwardly pulling out a Pok¨¦ Ball with one hand.

    In a flash of light, Terror was recalled.

    ¡°Crusher! Listen to me for once in your miserable life!¡±

    From my spot on the ground I actually had a decent view of the fight between the Rhyperior and the wild Ursaring, and the larger Pok¨¦mon twitched as his Trainer finally got his attention.

    ¡°We¡¯re leaving! You know what to do!¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure if the grimace on the Rhyperior¡¯s face was natural, or a response to the situation, but it grunted in affirmation.

    Crusher swung a hideous fist at the Ursaring, catching her off guard and knocking her back a couple of steps. Then with a stomp, the Rhyperior shaped the ground beneath the Ursaring¡¯s feet.

    Large stones jutted out from the earth, trapping the bear-like Pok¨¦mon¡¯s legs in a Rock Tomb.

    Then Crusher turned and dashed for his Trainer, picking him up with arms that were nearly as large as Kane was.

    ¡°It¡¯s your choice!¡± Kane called to the Growlithe who was looking around in indecision. ¡°You can stay with that weakling, or come with us!¡±

    I didn¡¯t know the conversations that Kane had been having before we arrived, but whatever they had been, it obviously had affected the Growlithe deeply.

    It looked at the other Growlithe, still cowering on the ground and whimpering in pain, then snorted, and dashed after Kane.

    Crusher moved Kane carefully in his arms, and raised a giant hand as the Growlithe reached his feet.

    Sand streamed out of the barrel-like hole in the Rhyperior¡¯s hand, whipping up a Sandstrom that completely obscured the larger Pok¨¦mon and his Trainer.

    The Sandstorm only lasted for a few seconds without Crusher to maintain it, and when it ended they were gone. It was obvious which way they had gone, with smaller trees and plants crushed completely, but we had bigger problems at the moment.

    The Ursaring roared as stone cracked, and she managed to free one of her feet.

    ¡°Alina!¡± Ted called as he hurriedly recalled all his Pokemon. ¡°Honey!¡±

    I stared in confusion at him.

    ¡°The honey from Takeo! Hurry!¡±

    The neurons in my brain finally connected with what he was saying, and I shoved a hand into the side pocket on my backpack.

    Thank Arceus for the engineers at Silph Co.!

    I don¡¯t know what wizardry they used, but all I had to do was think of the large jar of Vespiquen Honey that Takeo had sold me for a discount, and it was in my hand.

    With a careful throw, I lobbed the jar over to Ted, who turned back to the Ursaring just in time for her to free her other foot.

    ¡°Woah there!¡± Ted said, holding up his hands. ¡°We¡¯re not your enemy! This is your part of the woods, we recognize that. We¡¯re not like those other intruders.¡±

    He was speaking with a calm tone that was remarkable considering the fact that we had just been in a fight for our lives less than a minute ago.

    I could see that his hands were shaking as he held out the jar, and sweat was pouring down the side of his face, but his expression was placid.

    The large man bowed his head with his hands outstretched, making himself seem smaller.

    ¡°We¡¯re sorry.¡± He said. ¡°Please, forgive us. We wanted to protect the woods from that poacher.¡±

    The Ursaring snorted angrily, and took a few steps forwards.

    ¡°Here, to show that we¡¯re not a threat, and that we¡¯re sorry for our intrusion; a gift.¡±

    Slowly, carefully, Ted opened the jar of honey and put it down on the ground.

    The Ursaring huffed again and started to take a step forwards over the jar to continue advancing on us, but a small yelp interrupted her.

    Two tiny teddy bears came scurrying out of the treeline, the scent of the honey too much for them to resist.

    The Ursaring looked around in increasing confusion and alarm as its Teddiursa children clambered around the broken ground, before digging their tiny paws into the jar of honey and eagerly stuffing the golden treat into their mouths.

    ¡°We¡¯re going.¡± Ted said, to both the Ursaring and myself. ¡°We¡¯re leaving. We¡¯re sorry that this happened at all.¡±

    The mother Ursaring looked torn between wanting to destroy the invaders in her territory and protecting her cubs.

    The instinct to protect her cubs won out, as she growled at us, gesturing with one massive paw towards the way we came.

    ¡°Alina, recall Venus and Zetian. We¡¯re going.¡±

    ¡°What about Kane?¡± I hissed.

    ¡°What about him?¡± He whispered back, and I swore.

    He was right.

    I pulled the Pok¨¦ Balls off of my belt and recalled my two Pok¨¦mon, before standing up on shaky legs.

    It galled me that Kane had escaped again, but none of our Pok¨¦mon were in a fit state to deal with an angry Ursaring. We had barely been able to keep up with Crusher, and the Ursaring had fought him to a standstill.

    My eyes flitted over to the whimpering Growlithe, and I took a few staggering steps to it.

    The Ursaring growled, but Ted was there to reassure it that everything was fine.

    ¡°Hey there.¡± I said gently, and the Growlithe flinched away from me. ¡°Listen, I¡¯m not like that bad man, okay?¡±

    I had to do my very best to keep the venom out of my voice as I spoke about Kane.

    ¡°We need to go, okay? That big Ursaring is really angry with all of us, and that might include you.¡±

    The Growlithe looked up at me, the dense white fur on its head obscuring most of its eyes.

    What little I could see of its expression was one of terror.

    Slowly I brought out Venus¡¯ Pok¨¦ Ball, and released her.

    The Ursaring growled upon seeing the Eevee, and Ted hissed ¡°What are you doing?¡±

    Venus was in a rough shape, her fur standing on end and electricity causing her muscles to twitch every few seconds, but she nuzzled into the Growlithe, and they seemed to ¡°talk¡± to each other.

    A few seconds passed, and the dog-like Pok¨¦mon staggered to its feet.

    ¡°We¡¯re going.¡± I said to both Ted and the Ursaring. ¡°I just had to help this one.¡±

    There was pain and suspicion in the Ursaring¡¯s eyes, but she didn¡¯t do anything else as Ted slowly backed away.

    We carefully made our way out of the clearing, back the way we came, everyone looking the worse for wear.

    The Ursaring roared in victory, causing flights of Starly to burst out of the trees and go flying in every direction.

    ¡°Let''s get back to the road.¡± Ted said, exhaustion clear in his voice.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    What had all of this been for? All of our Pok¨¦mon had been hurt, and for nothing. Kane had still escaped, still taken another Pok¨¦mon with him.

    The taste of defeat was bitter as we trudged through the forest, and my eyes stung as I tried and failed to hold back tears.

 Chapter Thirty-Five

    The first Rangers and police showed up twenty minutes after we had staggered back to the road and Kane¡¯s wrecked truck.

    Professor Rowan had called Commissioner Jenny, who had called the chief of the Eterna City Police Department, who had gotten in touch with the Rangers to organize a response.

    Apparently, the police in Eterna City weren¡¯t quite as quick on the draw as those in Jubilife, and their response was much more chaotic than the first time I had met Kane. Then again, when I had first defeated Kane and his goons, I had the luxury of being in constant contact with the dispatcher over the phone, and was able to tell them everything they needed to know.

    This time? They had to play a game of telephone and figure out where the crashed truck was located.

    I didn¡¯t blame them for being late, but I did feel slightly vindicated that I had made the right choice to not wait for them.

    Even if Kane had escaped, we were able to disrupt whatever he was planning, and had even saved another Pok¨¦mon that he would have tried to pawn off to the highest bidder. I should have felt at least a little proud of that.

    If we had waited for the police and the Rangers, he would have been long gone by now, with both Hisuian Growlithes. If things had gone even worse, he might even have been able to take on the Ursaring and her cubs, and I dreaded to think what would have happened to the little bears.

    Had it been a stupid idea to rush in? Yes. Had we failed to catch Kane? Also yes.

    I felt awful that my Pok¨¦mon had gotten hurt, but the look of sheer pride on Venus and Zetian¡¯s faces told me that they didn¡¯t regret it one bit.

    They had run into a fight that they shouldn¡¯t have been able to win, and came out alive on the other end. They had even rescued a Pok¨¦mon from the clutches of an evil poacher.

    That was enough for them, but I still didn¡¯t feel good about it.

    Ted had already left with the Rangers, taken to the Pok¨¦mon Center at Eterna City to have Rakkyo healed. We had been assured by the first responders that the Flygon would live, but he would likely need a lot of healing, even with the advanced medicine of the Pok¨¦mon world.

    I was planning to meet up with Ted in Eterna, and I was just hoping that he wouldn¡¯t blame me for getting Rakkyo hurt. I was already blaming myself enough.

    For now, I was sitting on the curb on the side of the road and trying to figure out what I could have done better.

    ¡°Well,¡± A familiar voice said, and I looked up to see Professor Rowan standing before me. ¡°This seems a little too familiar for my liking.¡±

    He looked a little disheveled, his long brown coat looking rumpled, and it was obvious that he had thrown it on in a hurry.

    ¡°Hi Professor.¡± I said tiredly.

    ¡°Sorry it took me so long to get here.¡± He stepped forwards and sat down at my side on the curb, looking down at the pile of fur by my feet.

    Venus had taken to the Hisuian Growlithe like a mother after a puppy, despite the dog-like Pok¨¦mon being much bigger than she was. With her help and a couple of poffins, I had convinced the Growlithe to let me give it a potion, and Venus had sat the larger Pok¨¦mon down to start grooming its fur.

    After she had gotten it cleaned up, the two Pok¨¦mon fell asleep, exhausted from the day¡¯s events.

    Zetian was also asleep, but she had chosen to sleep in her ball, and had gone in with three expressions of victory. She had been slashed by Terror, but had put a beating on the Mightyena in return and was quite happy with her partial victory.

    I was a little concerned with how gleeful she had been at stinging Kane and Terror, but that was a problem for future-me.

    Professor Rowan sighed and leaned back, looking up at the sky.

    ¡°Did I ever tell you that I traveled with Kane?¡±

    I looked over at him in shock. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you knew him at all.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Rowan hummed. ¡°I must have forgotten to mention it. It was¡­ well, as the kids would put it, it was the ¡®bad old days.¡¯¡±

    His gaze softened, and I could almost see the weight of time pressing down on him as he looked back at his past.

    ¡°Things were different back then. The Pok¨¦mon League that we know today was just an idea at that point, a pipe dream of idealists like myself and Professor Oak.¡±

    I had so many questions, like how he knew Oak, but they could wait.

    ¡°The regions were much more fractured. War wasn¡¯t common, per-se, but there were a lot of ¡®territorial conflicts.¡¯ Everything was less¡­ civilized. We talk today about Journeys and sending children off to learn about the world first-hand and to build confidence in themselves. But it wasn¡¯t always like that, children used to go out to get stronger, to find new Pok¨¦mon, to make the region a more formidable place so the other nations wouldn¡¯t want to attack us.

    I was young when I set out on my Journey, younger than you are now. As young as Dawn is, actually. I was full of gumption, eager to make my mark on the world. Cinder and I were determined to become the strongest Trainers in the entirety of Sinnoh.¡±

    ¡°Cinder?¡± I couldn¡¯t help but ask, and Rowan smiled bitterly.

    ¡°My first Pok¨¦mon. He was a Cyndaquil, and I wasn¡¯t a very imaginative kid when it came to names.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you have a Cyndaquil.¡±

    ¡°Had.¡± Rowan said, and the word was full of pain. ¡°But that comes later.

    There weren¡¯t gyms so much back then as there were clans of powerful Trainers. By challenging the most powerful members of the clans of a certain town or city, you would gain respect among your peers. Much like today, except less regulated and more brutal. I started out on my Journey, and met my first traveling companion.¡±

    ¡°Kane?¡±

    ¡°No, actually. A young girl by the name of Eleanor Jenny.¡±

    I blinked.

    ¡°Wait, Commissioner Jenny¡¯s first name is Eleanor?¡±

    He winced. ¡°Don¡¯t tell her I told you that. She¡¯s not a fan of the name. But that¡¯s besides the point. We got on like two Purugly in a bag, and were constantly sniping at each other. Still, we were strong Trainers, and together we were able to overcome any challenge thrown our way. But even two strong Trainers can¡¯t fight against the world, until we came across a young kid.¡±

    Professor Rowan chuckled. ¡°Listen to me, ¡®Young kid,¡¯ he was the same age as we were, but he seemed so much younger. He was from a different region you see, Orre, and had moved to be with his grandparents. Looking back on it, I think Jenny and I pitied him, being in a new region all alone with nobody to keep him company. Out of that pity we let him travel with us, although we never admitted as much, and promised that we would be friends forever. Jenny and I did too good of a job. We helped him catch his first Pok¨¦mon, a runt of a Ryhorn who had been abandoned by his herd. We taught him how to battle other trainers, and he took to it like a Goldeen to water. We also tried to teach him how to love his Pok¨¦mon, how to be a good person, and how to respect the natural world.

    It didn¡¯t work. I don¡¯t know where his attitude came from, but I think it must have been from his childhood. Orre is a rough region, and they¡¯ve never been able to overcome the difficulties of geography.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°What does that mean?¡±

    ¡°Orre simply doesn¡¯t have much going for it. It has some metals and minerals that can be mined, but most of the region is arid, with little to attract people. It was originally started as a colony by explorers from Hoenn, but was abandoned by the government after a few years when they failed to get a worthwhile return on their investments. Orre is home to some impressive scientists and architects, but the vast majority of people are struggling.¡±

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Oh.¡±

    That put the Pok¨¦mon Colosseum and XD games into a more depressing context.

    ¡°I did some research into what happened to Kane¡¯s family, after everything happened. There¡¯s few records, and they can¡¯t prove anything, but Kane¡¯s house burnt down when he was a child. He was the only survivor, and officially it was ruled as an accident, but I have my suspicions. The few people I talked to that remembered his family always said he was a mean child, and was fascinated by Fire-type Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    ¡°An arsonist?¡± I frowned. ¡°I suppose he did have Havoc, and he managed to get away with one of those Growlithes, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen him with any other Fire-types.¡±

    ¡°Like I said, they¡¯re just my suspicions, but as long as I¡¯ve known him, he¡¯s always had a Fire-type with him. When we were traveling together it was a Slugma, but I don¡¯t know what happened to it after we split.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    Rowan sighed. ¡°I wish I could tell you, I really do. As far as I¡¯m aware, there was no specific inciting incident, nothing that pushed him to be who he is now. At least, not while we were traveling together.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong.¡±

    We both turned to see Commissioner Jenny standing behind us, looking much older and more tired than the last time I had seen her.

    ¡°Eleanor!¡±

    ¡°Commissioner!¡±

    ¡°You should know better than to call me that, you old fossil. And it¡¯s good to see you again Alina, you¡¯re looking better than the last time I saw you.¡±

    She eyed me critically. ¡°Well, not that much better, but at least your face healed up well.¡±

    Rowan started to rise, but she waved him back down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I just spent the past twenty minutes trying to get out of a meeting with Cynthia to get here and I need to stretch my legs.¡±

    I froze. ¡°Cynthia? Like, the Champion?¡±

    Commissioner Jenny sighed. ¡°Yes, that Cynthia. She can go on for quite a while about wall engravings or whatever. I suppose I do have to thank her after this is all over. Once she finally understood that I needed to go, she was willing to give me a ride. It was much faster than if I had borrowed one of the police force¡¯s Staraptors, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    Professor Rowan nodded as if this was the most natural thing in the world, but to my horror I saw a blonde, black-clothed figure poking around inquisitively at the crashed truck.

    Cynthia. Perhaps one of the most powerful Champions in the entire world. A nightmare of a Trainer who had crushed my Pok¨¦mon teams many times over in the games.

    She was currently less than a hundred feet away from me.

    I may have let out a small squeak.

    ¡°I got an update from the Rangers.¡± Commissioner Jenny continued, like I hadn¡¯t just had a life-long dream accomplished. ¡°Is that the Growlithe that you managed to rescue?¡±

    ¡°It is.¡± Rowan answered for me.

    ¡°Good job.¡±

    Her words brought me out of my daze at seeing Cynthia in person, and I felt a wave of guilt crash over me.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t really do anything.¡± I said, shaking my head. ¡°Kane still got away, and with a Growlithe too.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t win ¡®em all kid,¡± Commissioner Jenny said. ¡°And if you try to win them all, you¡¯re just going to end up burning yourself out, and helping nobody in the end.¡±

    ¡°I want to believe that,¡± I said honestly. ¡°But I still feel like I failed.¡±

    She sighed.

    ¡°Trust me, I understand. We were seventeen when it happened. I¡¯d noticed that Kane was hanging around me a lot more often, and just generally acting¡­ well, creepy. It didn¡¯t take long for me to realize that he wanted to be more than friends.¡±

    Both Professor Rowan and I looked over at her.

    ¡°I never knew that.¡± Rowan said quietly.

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have. I kept it quiet because I didn¡¯t want to drive a wedge between us, I thought that the three of us were still friends. So I tried to rebuff Kane, to tell him that I didn¡¯t think about him that way. He didn¡¯t take it well.¡±

    Her face could have been set in stone.

    ¡°Kane changed after that. He had never been a fan of people, but after the rejection he started hating them. Pok¨¦mon were no longer companions to him, instead they were little more than tools to be used and discarded when necessary.¡±

    ¡°That I do remember.¡± Professor Rowan said.

    ¡°What happened after that?¡± I asked, morbidly curious.

    ¡°We still traveled together for a while longer.¡± Commissioner Jenny said. ¡°But it was different, more tense. Kane became increasingly callous, and started thinking that money would be the solution to all of his problems.¡±

    ¡°Money is what gets you respect.¡± Rowan said, his voice changing slightly as he mimicked Kane¡¯s voice. ¡°That¡¯s what Kane told me once. That money is what makes the world spin, and if he had enough money, he could be the powerful one for once.¡±

    ¡°He started poaching just before we went our separate ways. He came up to Rowan and I and said that he had heard from a ¡®friend¡¯ that we could make a lot of money if we helped out on a ¡®gig.¡¯ We were all in need of money then, so we thought it would be a good idea. Turns out that his ¡®friend¡¯ wanted some help in catching a Mamoswine for its tusks.

    When we figured out what was really going on, we turned our backs on Kane, and left him behind. I personally never saw him again, but over the years he¡¯s popped up in police reports. I¡¯ve done everything I can to crack down on poaching, but he¡¯s always remained one step ahead of us. This is the closest we¡¯ve ever come to catching him.¡±

    Commissioner Jenny sighed, looking off into the distance. ¡°So if the two of us haven¡¯t been able to catch him for decades, you shouldn¡¯t beat yourself up over this.¡±

    ¡°Do you regret what you did?¡± A new voice said from behind us, and I almost jumped out of my skin.

    I turned, and froze. Cynthia was standing there in all her glory.

    Stuttering, I blushed and looked down at the ground. I wasn¡¯t normally the kind of person to be star-struck, but this was Cynthia.

    ¡°No.¡± I eventually squeaked out.

    ¡°So you don¡¯t regret your actions, but you do regret the results?¡±

    I nodded instead of trying to speak and make myself look like a fool.

    ¡°Did you do the best you could?¡±

    I thought it over. I wasn¡¯t a great battler, but my Pok¨¦mon had put their hearts and souls into the fight. We were going up against stronger Pok¨¦mon than we were ready to deal with, and while my Pok¨¦mon had been hurt, we had still come out intact on the other side.

    Even Rakkyo would be alright, although he would need a lot of rest and recovery to be back to normal.

    ¡°Yes,¡± I eventually bit out. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t enough.¡±

    Cynthia crouched down so she was at eye level with me, and put a hand on my shoulder.

    I was blushing again, this time at how close she was.

    ¡°Then I agree with Rowan and Jenny - you shouldn¡¯t beat yourself up over this. You did your best, and your Pok¨¦mon are safe. You did everything and more than we could have asked of you.¡±

    She smiled, and my heart beat a little faster. ¡°If I remember correctly, Jenny was telling me that you had been told specifically not to chase after a dangerous poacher, and you did it anyway because you were worried about any Pokemon. It was a dangerous and stupid thing to do, but it was the right thing to do. If you never challenge a single gym or enter a competition, I would still say you are a magnificent Trainer, and that Sinnoh needs more like you.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t speak, and my eyes stung with unshed tears.

    ¡°So be proud of what you¡¯ve done. You might not have caught Kane, but you did your best regardless.¡±

    Cynthia patted my shoulder, and stood back up, turning to Jenny.

    ¡°As much as I want to stay and poke around a little more, I should get back to the League. What needs must, and all that.¡±

    With a friendly wave to Professor Rowan and Commissioner Jenny, she brought out her Garchomp.

    The entire clearing froze as the Dragon emerged with a roar, and every atom of my body was telling me that I should run and hide.

    Cynthia¡¯s Garchomp wasn¡¯t that big, physically. Rakkyo was actually larger than it was, but the sheer presence of the Pok¨¦mon was like a weight that pushed down on my chest.

    The smooth, fluid way it moved, the way its eyes seemed to take in everything at once and gleamed with intelligence, everything screamed that this was the most dangerous Pok¨¦mon I¡¯d ever seen.

    It took me another second, but I realized what else was remarkable about the Garchomp.

    Every ¡°high level¡± Pok¨¦mon I¡¯d seen, from Rakkyo to Crusher, had scars. I suppose it was inevitable, considering the kinds of attacks that Pok¨¦mon regularly threw at each other. Most Pok¨¦mon who were in the professional battling scene apparently saw them as a mark of pride.

    Cynthia¡¯s Garchomp had no scars. Not a single scale was marred in any way. This wasn¡¯t just a powerful Pok¨¦mon, this was a Pok¨¦mon who had seen battle, and had never been hit.

    ¡°Alright then!¡± Cynthia said, as if she hadn¡¯t just released a monster into our midst. ¡°I¡¯ll see you all later! And Alina;¡±

    She eyed me with a knowing look. ¡°I¡¯ve heard some interesting things about you from Professor Rowan. I think we should talk sometime.¡±

    With that, she hopped on the back of her Garchomp, and in a rush of motion, it was in the air and shooting out of sight like a fighter jet.

    Professor Rowan sighed. ¡°She hasn¡¯t changed at all, has she?¡±

    ¡°Not one bit.¡± Commissioner Jenny commiserated. ¡°She was supposed to be my ride back to Jubilife.¡±

    She turned back to me. ¡°So we¡¯ll need to get an official statement, but after that you¡¯ll be free to go.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it.¡±

    It felt¡­ anticlimactic. Wasn¡¯t there supposed to be more?

    But I guess the real world didn¡¯t operate on anime logic. Not every week ended with Team Rocket blasting off once again, only to show up in the next episode.

    I sagged like a puppet who had its strings cut, and a wave of exhaustion rolled over me. It was over for now, and there was only one thing on my mind.

    ¡°Is there anywhere I could take a nap?¡±

 Notice of Updates

Hi all!

    Due to some minor health issues, I''m taking another week off of posting.

    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Updates will resume on the 25th.

    Thank you for your understanding.

 Chapter Thirty-Six

    As it turned out, the nearest place I could take a nap was Eterna City, which was still a good day¡¯s walk from where I currently was.

    There were still a number of things I had to worry about before I could even think about taking a nap, as Professor Rowan had politely reminded me.

    I still didn¡¯t feel good about the situation with Kane and how he had escaped, but I could at least recognize the fact that there wasn¡¯t much I could have done about the situation.

    There would probably still be a fair amount of time that I spent worrying and obsessing about what I should have done differently, but it wasn¡¯t my fault that Kane was as slippery as an Eelektrik.

    For now, however, even more than a nap or trying to deal with Kane, the most pressing thing I had to worry about was the small pile of fur by my feet.

    I carefully reached down and extricated Venus from the sleeping Growlithe. The poor dog-like Pok¨¦mon was so exhausted that it didn¡¯t even stir as I pulled Venus onto my lap, and I sympathized.

    While the Growlithe continued to snore, Venus yawned cutely, and looked up at me.

    ¡°Hey girl.¡± I said, stroking her fur. ¡°You did really well today.¡±

    She blinked a couple of times, then preened as if saying ¡°Of course I did.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going to be going to the Pok¨¦mon Center soon to get you fully looked at, but I just wanted to take a moment to thank you.¡±

    I coughed as my throat closed with emotion, and my eyes stung with unshed tears.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what I would do without you. You¡¯re my best friend in any world.¡±

    Venus stared at me with wide, expressive eyes, then reached forwards and licked my nose.

    I smiled down at her, and kissed the top of her head.

    ¡°You¡¯re amazing.¡±

    She purred happily.

    All the talking had woken up the second Pok¨¦mon I had to deal with, and the little Growlithe looked up at me. It was hard to see its expression, considering the thick, rock-like fur on its head, but I could have sworn that the Growlithe looked scared.

    I slowly knelt down on the ground in front of it.

    Venus, continuing to be the absolute best Pok¨¦mon I could have wished for, carefully stood up and made her way over to the side of the Growlithe, draping her tail comfortingly over the back of the other Pok¨¦mon.

    It seemed to help, and I sent my love to Venus with a quick smile.

    ¡°Hi there.¡± I said gently. ¡°We didn¡¯t really get a chance to actually talk earlier, but my name is Alina. This is Venus.¡±

    The Eevee brushed her tail across the back of the Growlithe.

    ¡°I just wanted to say that I¡¯m really sorry about what you went through. It was really scary, I know because Venus and I both went through something very similar.¡±

    The way the Growlithe cocked its head made me think it was skeptical of that statement. Thankfully Venus purred as she looked over at the other Pok¨¦mon, and it seemed mollified.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what happened with your other buddy, but I¡¯m going to try and do my best to figure out what it''s doing with Kane, and to try and get it back, okay?¡±

    It still seemed very skeptical, but that was fair.

    ¡°The thing is, you have a big decision you have to make.¡± I gestured at the Rangers in the background. ¡°These are Rangers. They¡¯re really great humans, completely different from the one you met earlier. They all love Pok¨¦mon, and would be happy to try and get you back to your home, wherever it may be.¡±

    The Growlithe looked over at Venus, who nodded a little bit.

    ¡°None of them would ever hurt you, I promise. But I also completely understand if you don¡¯t trust them. The other option you have though, is we can let you go back into the woods and find your way back home yourself.¡±

    Professor Rowan had briefly mentioned the possibility, and said that I should be the one to make the offer to the Growlithe, as it probably didn¡¯t trust humans in general right now, but it might be willing to listen to me since I had helped it. A lot of Pok¨¦mon who had been rescued by the Rangers didn¡¯t trust humans at all, and disappeared as soon as they were able to, and there was every possibility that the Growlithe would feel the same way.

    ¡°So we can heal you up, and let you go on your own way. But I don¡¯t want to make the decision for you. You still have some time, so think it over, okay?¡±

    The little Growlithe looked lost in thought, and I sat back patiently.

    I was completely exhausted, and all I wanted was to take that nap, but I couldn¡¯t relax just yet.

    I owed it to the Growlithe to be fully present for its decision.

    Eventually the dog-like Pok¨¦mon looked up at me, and whuffed.

    I blinked.

    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m sorry, but what does that mean?¡±

    It whuffed again, and carefully stood up. I had applied a potion to its wounds, but that was really just an advanced bandaid, and the bites surely still hurt.

    Venus rose with it.

    The two seemed to have some kind of unspoken communication, and when the Growlithe looked at me again, I swore I could see a resolve in its eyes.

    It whuffed, then took a deeper breath, and barked.

    I was sure it meant to be powerful and decisive, but it came out as a soft ¡°bork¡± instead.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    It was adorable.

    It also didn¡¯t actually answer my question at all.

    ¡°Um, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I said. ¡°But I don¡¯t know what that means.¡±

    Venus rolled her eyes, then primly stepped over to my side.

    She carefully took a paw and batted at her Pok¨¦ Ball on my waist. It only took her another couple of times until I got what she was trying to say.

    ¡°Wait.¡± I said, looking intently at the Growlithe. ¡°Are you saying you want to come with me?¡±

    It took another deep breath, and let out another tremulous bork.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± I asked. ¡°I want you to know that it might not be what you¡¯re expecting. I¡¯m planning on tackling some of the Gyms around Sinnoh. You don¡¯t really have any context for what that means, I know, but I¡¯ll be doing some battling. It won¡¯t be like the fight we just had, not at all, but there¡¯s a chance you might get hurt if you come with me.¡±

    The Growlithe hesitated, then borked again.

    ¡°But you still want to travel with me?¡±

    It perked up a little bit and borked with determination, and I mentally sighed.

    Why not? I thought.

    ¡°Alright, you can come with me if you really want to.¡±

    The Growlithe wagged its stubby tail happily.

    ¡°First things first, are you a girl, or a boy? Or neither?¡±

    It cocked its head to one side, then pawed at the ground twice.

    ¡°A boy?¡±

    He barked happily.

    ¡°And would you like a name? I¡¯d rather not call you ¡°Growlithe,¡± but if that¡¯s what you want I¡¯m okay with it.

    The head cocked over to the other side, and he pawed the ground once again.

    ¡°Okay, so that¡¯s a yes on the name?¡±

    He barked happily.

    Let¡¯s see what I got.

    I stared at the Growlithe.

    He stared at me as the seconds ticked by.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long day!¡± I said defensively. ¡°I¡¯m not on the top of my naming game right now. We can sort it out later if you¡¯re okay with that.¡±

    The Growlithe huffed, but seemed to accept it.

    I fished a Pok¨¦ Ball out of my bag, and held it out to him.

    ¡°This is-¡±

    The Growlithe didn¡¯t bother to hear me explain it, and almost as if he knew what to do, reached out and pressed his nose against the center button.

    A flash of light and three shakes of the ball later, and I had a new member of my team.

    I let the Growlithe out again, and he practically vibrated with excitement, tail wagging like a helicopter¡¯s blade.

    Venus looked vaguely amused, and I had a sinking feeling that I had just gotten in over my head.

    Again.

    Unfortunately Professor Rowan and Commissioner Jenny both had actual jobs to get to, and with a few last words of support departed back to their homes.

    I had resigned myself to a grueling hike to Eterna City when one of the Rangers was kind enough to let me teleport with their Kadabra to the Pok¨¦mon Center in Eterna City.

    I knew it was a mistake to take them up on the offer when they smiled apologetically and pushed a paper bag into my hand and said: ¡°Just in case.¡±

    Venus, Zetian, and the as-of-yet unnamed Growlithe went into their Pok¨¦ Balls, then the Kadabra laid a hand on my arm.

    The world looked like a kaleidoscope for a second, and I felt like I was turned into spaghetti and run through a food processor. What was at once a nanosecond and an eternity later, I was standing in a small, red and white tiled room.

    I barely got the paper bag into place in time.

    A couple moments later a door opened, and a figure in pink nurse¡¯s scrubs stepped into the room.

    ¡°Welcome to the Eterna City Pok¨¦mon Cente- oh no. Not again.¡±

    The nurse leaned out the door.

    ¡°Hannah!¡± He called. ¡°Can you get the pills to help with teleportation sickness? We got another one.¡±

    /^\

    After taking a dose of pills from the nice nurse and drinking a full bottle of water, I was feeling better. Not great, but better.

    Apparently most people got sick after their first teleport, which at least made me feel like I hadn¡¯t done something wrong this time.

    Venus, Zetian, and the Growlithe were handed off to the nurses for a checkup and healing after the battle, and I made sure to warn them that the Growlithe was rather skittish around people.

    They had assured me that they would be alright, then disappeared into a back room, leaving me alone.

    I sat there for a minute or two before sighing and getting up, brushing some of the dirt off of my tights and skirt.

    A short walk around the Pok¨¦mon Center later, and I found who I was looking for.

    Ted looked awful. Physically he was fine, but worry was etched all over his face and he was slumped down in his chair.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I said softly, sitting down next to him.

    ¡°Hm? Oh, hi Alina.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯s Rakkyo?¡±

    Ted sighed. ¡°Not great. The nurses say he¡¯s stable, and will recover fully.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good.¡±

    His mouth twitched. ¡°But the damage to the muscles for his wings was severe. It will be several months of rest and physical therapy before he¡¯s able to fly again.¡±

    ¡°Oh god, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Ted shrugged weakly. ¡°I managed to talk to him a little bit about it before he fell asleep again. After a bit of arguing, he¡¯s going to be going back to Professor Birch¡¯s lab in Hoenn to recover.¡±

    That was a shame, Ted was becoming a good friend, and I enjoyed having somebody to talk to while we traveled.

    ¡°So when are you leaving?¡±

    Ted¡¯s face set in a hard expression. ¡°I¡¯m not. Rakkyo was insistent that he goes back to Hoenn on his own to recover.¡±

    I blinked. ¡°Wait, what? Why?¡±

    ¡°Because he¡¯s a Giratina-damned Dragon.¡± He said with a sigh, as if that made any sense at all.

    At my blank expression, he continued.

    ¡°Dragons are proud Pok¨¦mon, and despise showing any weakness at all. It makes sense for when they¡¯re in the wild, if a leader of a dragon flight appears weak, they¡¯ll be overthrown quickly.¡±

    ¡°And he doesn¡¯t want to appear weak before you.¡± I said as comprehension dawned.

    ¡°Like a fool.¡± Ted shook his head. ¡°The thing is, even though I¡¯m his Trainer, I don¡¯t actually have much of a say in the matter. If I went with him, he would act like everything is fine, and completely ruin his recovery.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s that stubborn?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. You should have seen him when he was a Vibrava, I swear the trouble he would get up to¡­¡±

    Ted trailed off before sighing again. ¡°I don¡¯t want to let him go alone. He¡¯s been by my side for almost ten years. But if I go with him, he and I both know that he won¡¯t take the time he needs to heal.¡±

    ¡°Are all dragons like that?¡±

    ¡°Most of them, yeah. I¡¯ve heard Goomy aren¡¯t, but I¡¯ve never seen one so I can¡¯t be sure.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± I sat next to Ted in silence for another minute or so. ¡°Do you want some time alone?¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± He said softly. ¡°No offense, but I need to figure out what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯ll send you a text when things are more sorted out.¡±

    ¡°Sounds good. Take your time, Venus and the others are in with the nurses now.¡±

    Ted stirred. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I completely forgot to ask-¡±

    I waved him back down. ¡°It¡¯s fine. None of them were as hurt as Rakkyo was, they should be good after a checkup and maybe some potions. You just worry about Rakkyo and the others.¡±

    He nodded, and I could see the exhaustion in the way his shoulders slumped.

    ¡°I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡±

 Chapter Thirty-Seven

    After a few minutes of waiting, the nurses came out and told me that Venus, Zetian, and the Growlithe were all looking like they would be fine, but they were resting and would need some time before I could see them again.

    They also wanted to get some more information to make a baseline for the Growlithe. Hisuian Growlithe were basically the next-best thing to extinct apparently, little more than legends and statues, and they were interested in the little guy¡¯s physical state.

    So with my Pok¨¦mon in the lab for at least a couple of hours, and Ted dealing with his own team, I decided to stretch my legs and to get out of the stuffy Pok¨¦mon Center.

    Eterna City was an old city. The architecture was decidedly different from the sleek modern styles of Jubilife City, and far removed from the blocky industrial themes of Oreburgh.

    While the downtown sections seemed to be more modern, I could easily see that the further away from the city center, the older the building styles became.

    That wasn¡¯t to say that the buildings were falling apart or anything, just the opposite. Everything that I could see appeared to be strong and solid, just a little outdated.

    This wasn¡¯t a city that had been left behind by the fleeting rapids of modernity, but instead an ancient oak tree, solid and unmoving.

    For the most part it was a calm day, but every once in a while a light gust of wind would blow by, causing wind chimes to softly ring out.

    There were few cars on the roads, and even those seemed to be electric. Everything was quiet, peaceful.

    Without even really intending to, I ended up walking into a park on the east side of town, climbing up a small hill. There, where I knew it would be, was a tall brass statue with a worn inscription plate.

    ¡°Huh.¡± I said to myself as I stared at the statue. ¡°It really could be either Palkia or Dialga.¡±

    The statue was one of the first glimpses of the real plot of the fourth generation games, even though the player encountered Team Galactic before Eterna City. Here however, was where the player first encountered the backstory of Palkia or Dialga, depending on which version of the games was being played.

    In this world though, it was just an impressive statue that was rather abstract, with lines and design features that hinted at one of the two Legendary Pok¨¦mon, but was still vague enough to be either one of them.

    If I squinted and turned my head, it could even have looked like Arceus.

    There was a small bench in front of the statue, and I brushed some fallen leaves off of it before sitting down.

    I should have changed my clothes, they were covered in mud and bits of twigs and leaves. I should have taken a shower, it would have helped me feel more human, more like myself.

    I should have eaten something, I could feel my stomach protesting all of the activity today without the energy I needed to keep going.

    instead I just sat there, staring at the tall brass statue while wind softly blew on my face.

    Why was I here? Was it really so simple as the fact that I had made a wish, and Jirachi had granted it?

    Shouldn¡¯t I have been sent to this world to accomplish some sort of mission? To save the world, to change history for the better?

    Or even something as simple as to ¡°seek out all Pok¨¦mon¡±?

    If I had been sent here to stop Kane and his poaching business, I wasn¡¯t doing a particularly good job of it so far. At the same time, would a Pok¨¦mon really send me across dimensions in order to take care of something so simple as poaching?

    To be fair, that did seem like the kind of thing that GameFreak would make a game about. Time travel and reincarnation for seemingly minor reasons weren¡¯t exactly unknown in the Pok¨¦mon universe.

    It still felt like my purpose in life here should be something more.

    Arceus didn¡¯t descend from the sky to answer my questions, nor did Jirachi appear to elaborate on its actions.

    Instead, I simply sat on a bench in front of a tall brass statue, wondering what my purpose was in life.

    Maybe there¡¯s not a goal for me to achieve in this world. I thought as I leaned back, staring at the blue sky. Maybe I don¡¯t have a purpose in life.

    Mount Coronet was, as always, visible. Eterna City was fairly close to the defining landmark of Sinnoh and it towered above me, but even now clouds covered the upper part of the mountain.

    I could almost imagine Spear Pillar at the summit of Mount Coronet, above the clouds. It must be like a dream to be that high up, the surface of the clouds obscuring the rest of the world from sight.

    No wonder that ancient civilization had built the Spear Pillar there. It was only the blue sky above you, the white clouds below, and the marble of the temple connecting you to Arceus.

    Or maybe. A comforting voice in my head offered. Your purpose in life is simply to live.

    Yeah. I thought. I can do that.

    ¡°Mommy?¡± A young voice said, and I looked down to see a mother and her young daughter on a walk through the park.

    The daughter was currently pointing at me. ¡°Why is that girl covered in mud?¡±

    ¡°Alice!¡± The mother hissed, and shot me an apologetic look. ¡°What did we say about pointing at people?¡±

    ¡°But daddy does it all the time!¡±

    I smiled and got up from the bench, making my way back to the Pok¨¦mon Center.

    Maybe there didn¡¯t have to be a reason why I was here, but I really could use a shower.

    /^\

    A shower, a change of clothes, and some snacks from a vending machine later, and I was feeling much more like an actual person.

    Things got even better when a nurse came over, his hair the bright pink of the Joy Clan.

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Hi there, are you Alina?¡±

    I stirred from my seat, looking up at him. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me.¡±

    With a smile, he stepped away and came back with a small tray with six indents in it, and half of them were filled with my Pok¨¦ Balls.

    ¡°Your companions are ready.¡±

    Hurriedly I grabbed the Pok¨¦ Balls, and opened the first one up.

    Venus yawned as I woke her up from her nap, then happily threaded her way through my legs.

    ¡°They¡¯re all in fine fettle.¡± He said as I petted Venus. ¡°Although that Growlithe is¡­ interesting.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a Rock/Fire dual-type.¡±

    A pen and notepad appeared in the nurse¡¯s hands, and he nodded, jotting down my words.

    ¡°That makes sense.¡±

    I spent the next few minutes chatting with the nurse about Hisuian Growlithe, until a pager on his belt rang and he left at a near-run.

    ¡°I hope that with whatever¡¯s going on, everybody¡¯s okay.¡± I said to Venus, who yawned and went back to sleep in my lap.

    Carefully maneuvering her to the side, and earning a small glare from her, I released Zetian, who danced in mid-air happily.

    ¡°Yes, you did very well.¡± I praised. ¡°But don¡¯t get the idea that you can go around stinging people, okay? That was a very specific circumstance that you shouldn¡¯t do again unless I tell you, okay?¡±

    She seemed a bit disappointed, but I really didn¡¯t want to encourage that kind of behavior.

    After a little bit longer of playing with and praising her, she drifted over and landed next to Venus, the two falling asleep together.

    ¡°And that leaves number three.¡± I muttered, and released the newest member of my party.

    The Growlithe looked around, a bit confused, but perked up when he saw me.

    He sat, looking up at me with a cocked head.

    ¡°Hey there.¡± I said, a bit awkwardly. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    His head flopped to the other side cutely, and he huffed quietly.

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit weird, being in a Pok¨¦mon Center, huh? I wanted to talk to you again, and let you know that you don¡¯t have to come with me. I don¡¯t want you to think that you have to travel with us just because we helped you out earlier, or because you were hurt. I want you to do this of your own free will.¡±

    He barked a bit louder, his chest puffing up with pride.

    ¡°You¡¯re in then?¡±

    Another bark.

    ¡°Okay. You¡¯re going to need a name then.¡±

    I stared at him for a long moment. Fire, rock, dog, Hephaestus?

    No, that doesn¡¯t fit.

    But maybe something along those lines.

    ¡°Vulcan?¡±

    The Growlithe thought, then shook his head, the off-white fur around his face wobbling as he did so.

    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t think so. Do you like the idea of being named after a god? Maybe some kind of igneous rock could work, or a volcano? Vesuvius is a little dark for a name though¡­¡±

    I trailed off, trying to think, but the Growlithe barked once.

    ¡°Oh? Not a volcano, but a god?¡±

    His little tail wagged excitedly.

    ¡°Hmm, let me see.¡± A thought popped into my mind, and I smiled. ¡°How about K¨­jin? He was a deity of fire and the hearth, and of turning violent things into something useful and productive for everybody.¡±

    The Growlithe paused, and I could almost see the gears turning in his little head. After a moment, he started barking happily, and began jumping up and down before running around in small circles.

    ¡°Okay!¡± I said, laughing. ¡°K¨­jin it is then!¡±

    All of his barking woke Venus and Zetian up from their naps, and I looked over at them.

    ¡°Meet our newest friend,¡± I said, gesturing. ¡°This is K¨­jin!¡±

    Zetian wiggled happily, while Venus purred.

    ¡°Glad to see everybody¡¯s doing well.¡± A familiar voice said, and I looked up to see an exhausted looking Ted smiling faintly.

    ¡°Ted!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s me. K¨­jin, huh?¡± He frowned. ¡°Interesting name. Is it Four Islands in origin?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, close enough.¡± The Four Islands were this world¡¯s name for Japan.

    ¡°Hm.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t ask earlier, but how¡¯s the rest of your team?¡±

    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re doing alright.¡± He sluggishly pulled out his two Pok¨¦ Balls, and released Mayfly and Switchback.

    The Scyther was looking rough, her green exoskeleton dull, and there were a few gauze pads taped to it where Havoc had bitten her. Zetian buzzed over to Mayfly, and the two Bug-types sat down to talk with each other. Switchback seemed to be doing better, even though he had a slight limp as he moved forwards to greet K¨­jin and Venus.

    ¡°Rakkyo was the worst off.¡± Ted explained. ¡°Mayfly and Switchback should be all set with a little more rest.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good.¡±

    Switchback was curiously poking at K¨­jin¡¯s rock-like head fur, and I started forwards, afraid that the Growlithe might not take well to the prodding.

    Thankfully I didn¡¯t have to worry too much, as K¨­jin sniffed the claw, then playfully bit the air in front of it.

    Switchback acted like he had just been mortally wounded, and the two began to run in circles, playing with each other.

    ¡°Have you figured out what¡¯s going to happen?¡± I asked.

    Ted blew out a breath. ¡°He¡¯s going to be going back to Hoenn to heal at Professor Birch¡¯s ranch. I don¡¯t like it but,¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can really do. He¡¯s too stubborn to let me take care of him, and I know that this is the best thing for him. It¡¯s not fun, but¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what has to happen.¡± I said quietly.

    ¡°Yeah. He should already be there, I just finished talking to Professor Birch about it on the phone.¡±

    I blinked, then looked over at him. ¡°Wait, how does that even work? Don¡¯t you have to go with him?¡±

    Ted shrugged again. ¡°It¡¯s some kind of teleportation. I¡¯m not sure how it works, but some guy in Kanto managed to figure out how to teleport Pok¨¦ Balls and their Pok¨¦mon. Most Pok¨¦ Centers have one now, something about Psychic Type Energy and mimicking the Teleport move? The science behind it is way beyond me.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°They didn¡¯t have those on your island?¡±

    ¡°Not at all.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fair, it did just come out in the last few years after all.¡±

    We were silent for a moment.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I eventually said. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for my vendetta against Kane this wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡±

    Ted shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, really. If I could go back and do it all again, I wouldn¡¯t change a thing.¡±

    He blinked. ¡°Well, I¡¯d make sure to have Rakkyo stay at range more, but that¡¯s besides the point. I would still have gone into the woods after hearing the commotion, and still tried to save the little one.¡± Ted gestured at K¨­jin.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±

    I blew out a breath. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie, I was a little worried you would hate me or something.¡±

    ¡°Hah! It would take more than getting us into a bad fight to make me hate you.¡± His face turned stony. ¡°Kane though, he¡¯s certainly earned it.¡±

    ¡°Welcome to the party.¡±

    ¡°How did the two of you meet?¡±

    ¡°That,¡± I said wearily. ¡°Is a long story. And one for another day.¡±

    He nodded. ¡°Fair enough. Now, I don¡¯t know about you, but I am in desperate need of a shower and some sleep.¡±

    ¡°They have plenty of rooms available here.¡± I said, showing off the hotel-like room card I had been given. ¡°The quadrathlon isn¡¯t for another week, so they still have space.¡±

    ¡°Oh, wonderful.¡± Ted groaned and stretched his back. ¡°I¡¯ll go get us a room then. It¡¯ll be nice to sleep in a real bed again.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it.¡± I tucked the card back into my skirt¡¯s pockets.

    That was one nice thing about the Pok¨¦mon world and their focus on adventure-ready clothing: all of the skirts I had bought had pockets.

    ¡°Venus, Zetian, K¨­jin, let¡¯s go take a nap.¡± I said, and my three Pok¨¦mon looked up at me.

    Venus looked excited to sleep on a bed again, Zetian just looked tired, and K¨­jin looked confused.

    ¡°Oh!¡± I said happily as I realized something. ¡°You¡¯ve never slept on a proper bed before, have you?¡±

    He cocked his head cutely.

    ¡°Let me tell you what, you¡¯re never going to want to go back after this.¡±

    He whuffed skeptically.

    Ted chuckled, though I could feel the exhaustion in the laughter. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll catch you later then.¡±

    He waved, and Switchback and Mayfly followed him to the front desk to reserve a room.

    ¡°You all did better than I could have asked.¡± I said, looking down at my Pok¨¦mon. ¡°I owe you everything.¡±

    Zetian buzzed, K¨­jin yipped happily, and Venus purred as she rubbed her head against my leg.

    ¡°Come on, you all deserve a good night¡¯s sleep.¡±

 Chapter Thirty-Eight

    It started storming on August 27th.

    The week before had been a thoroughly relaxing break, and one that was much needed. For the past month I had been rushing to get to Eterna City in order to make it there before the Quadrathlon, with various distractions and side-quests to keep pulling me off track.

    I had teleported into Eterna City on the 20th of August, and there were a good ten days until the Quadrathlon actually began, which gave me more than enough time to actually stop and relax without worrying about making it on time.

    Rei had been ecstatic to see me when I finally texted her a couple of days after we teleported into Eterna, and had taken Ted and I on a lighting-fast tour of the city. Being the sleepy city that it was, the tour was actually rather short, but that was fine.

    She also had given me a fascinating explanation of the Quadrathlon, and the larger celebrations across Sinnoh that heralded the beginning of the Pok¨¦mon League season and the opening of the Gyms to challengers.

    Every major city in Sinnoh, which meant the cities that had a Pok¨¦mon Gym, always held an annual event that depended on that city''s cultural cornerstone. Canalave city was known for their canal boat competition that ran down the length of the city, with all of the boats fashioned to look like different Pok¨¦mon.

    Snowpoint City held a snow-and-ice sculpture competition, and Sunnyshore was locally famous for their beach bash.

    According to Ted it was nothing like the beaches of Hoenn, which he claimed were the best in the entire world. From what I remembered of the games that certainly could have had some truth to it, but privately I wondered how much of that was regional pride at work.

    For the residents of Eterna City, however, their local event was the Quadrathlon. There were four sections to it, a four kilometer swim, a twenty kilometer run, and a horrifically long 120 kilometer bike ride, all the way across the entire length of the Cycling Road. After that was over, the contestants would have a Pok¨¦mon tournament among the top eight contestants. Of course, because this was the Pok¨¦mon world, the Trainers had to swim, run, and bike alongside their Pok¨¦mon the entire way.

    Interestingly enough, Oreburgh and Eterna actually shared the event as their celebration, trading off which city was the starting location. This year the swimming and running sections would be held in Oreburgh City, then the competitors would bike to Eterna City where they would participate in the battling section.

    Next year, it would swap, and the contestants would start in Eterna City and bike down to Oreburgh.

    It was the craziest endurance event I had ever heard of, and the distances involved made my muscles hurt just thinking about it.

    It was something that I thought would be seen in Veilstone City, since Maylene was the Fighting-type Gym specialist, but apparently they had a martial arts competition instead.

    Thankfully I didn¡¯t have to actually participate in the Quadrathlon at all, and I was just here to cheer on Rei and Yoshio, her Tyrogue.

    The week was also a good way to start getting to know K¨­jin, which was important because I didn¡¯t really know what to make of him. He was more skittish than I was expecting him to be, and while he was happy enough to be out of his Pok¨¦ Ball when it was just my Pok¨¦mon and I, as soon as we would come near a large group of people he would whine and beg to be put back into his Ball.

    I was also becoming increasingly convinced that he¡¯d had at least some kind of contact with humans before now. Zetian and Venus had both required some explanation of the Pok¨¦ Ball, but K¨­jin had understood it right off the bat, and didn¡¯t seem surprised or fascinated by the eccentricities of modern technology.

    Whether his skittishness around large groups of people was due to prior experiences or just a natural inclination, I wasn¡¯t sure. I had talked to a nurse about it when I was getting some advice about what kind of food K¨­jin should eat, and they had given me some tips to help acclimate him to a lot of people.

    K¨­jin was taking to battling well. He didn¡¯t have the same vaguely concerning thirst for battling that Zetian did, but he was much more into it than Venus, who seemed to prefer sleeping over exercising.

    To be fair, I couldn¡¯t blame her.

    I wasn¡¯t sure how soon it would take for K¨­jin to be ready to battle in a more professional environment. He was very good at listening to orders when I told him exactly what I wanted him to do, but he wasn¡¯t very good yet at interpreting vague commands. As I¡¯d learned from Rei and Ted, the more vague an order was, the harder it would be for an opponent to counter it.

    At the same time, if K¨­jin couldn¡¯t interpret the order to begin with¡­ it wasn¡¯t very useful of a strategy.

    I hoped he would be feeling ready to battle Gardenia when the Pok¨¦mon League season opened up at the beginning of September, his Fire typing would be a huge help. I also wasn''t going to push him if he wasn¡¯t feeling ready.

    Of course, all of our preparations were useless when the storms came.

    At first the rain storms were seen as a late summer oddity. The weather was already starting to turn a little chilly, but some rain wasn¡¯t too unusual.

    After the third straight day in a row of constant downpours, people started to get a little worried. On the fourth day, the last day of August and the supposed beginning of the Quadrathlon, the rains only got worse.

    The event was canceled, much to Rei¡¯s disappointment. She¡¯d called me from the Pok¨¦mon Center in Oreburgh City to complain, which I sympathized with. Rei had spent the entire year preparing for the Quadrathlon, only to find out it was canceled at the last minute.

    Unfortunately, I also had to agree with the event coordinators that now probably wasn¡¯t the best time to be having a competition. The cycling road had been shut down because there was so much water on the road that it wasn¡¯t safe to bike on, and the wilderness paths they would have been running on were essentially nothing but mud now.

    The local Pok¨¦mon were going crazy over the weather, which didn¡¯t make things better. All of the Trainers¡¯ Pok¨¦mon, including mine and Ted¡¯s, were getting increasingly anxious and snippy as the rain kept falling. Fire-types had it the worst, and poor K¨­jin was so miserable that I had to keep him in his Pok¨¦ Ball for most of the day.

    The Grass-types were ecstatic at first to be getting so much water, but soon even they were becoming clearly uncomfortable, and turned sloth-like without the sun to provide them energy. There was one Trainer who even had to rush his Maractus into the Pok¨¦mon Center because its feet had started to rot from so much water.

    Even Venus, who had loved frolicking in the rain and the puddles at the beginning of the week, had soon grown obviously uncomfortable with how unnatural the storm was.

    I was strumming on my guitar in my room at the Pok¨¦mon Center, all of my companions asleep in their Balls, when a pounding came from my door.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Carefully I got up and opened it, only to see Ted standing there, face pale.

    ¡°You have to see this.¡±

    /^\

    There was a crowd that had formed in the lobby of the Pok¨¦mon Center as Ted brought me down, everybody staring in silence at the TV screen mounted on the wall.

    It was airing some kind of camera footage, and there was a red blinking ¡°LIVE¡± in the corner of the screen.

    The camera zoomed in and out jerkily, frantically trying to keep the scene in focus. The video was obviously being taken from a helicopter or a flying Pok¨¦mon of some kind, providing a birds-eye view.

    ¡°This is Gabby, from Hoenn TV.¡± A woman said from off-camera, with fear in her voice. ¡°With me is my trusty cameraman Ty, and we¡¯re coming at you live with breaking footage from Sootopolis City.¡±

    Waves crashed against the white stone that made up the city¡¯s buildings as rain and lightning filled the sky. In the large body of water in the center of the city there was a massive form lurking just below the water, glowing yellow lines visible even underneath the choppy water.

    ¡°We¡¯re not¡­ I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on exactly.¡± Gabby said. ¡°The city was evacuated two days ago due to massive flooding in the region, but as you can see, a group of Trainers are still present.¡±

    The view on the television zoomed in rapidly to a small island with a massive tree, where a small group of people and Pok¨¦mon were standing, staring at the form underneath the water.

    I swallowed as the cameraman desperately tried to get them in focus. They were wearing different clothes, and they obviously looked different than in the anime, but I recognized them all.

    The two siblings May and Max, the Rock Solid Pok¨¦mon Trainer Brock, and of course - Ash Ketchum.

    Even if only a fraction of the events of the anime were actually true, if there was anybody who could be called this world¡¯s hero, it would be him.

    In the brief moments that Ty was able to keep the camera stable enough to get a clear view, I saw that Ash was older than in the show. Obviously they had kept him at about the same age, but here he had grown up. He looked to be about seventeen years old, but his short, messy black hair was unmistakable, as was the ancient, weatherbeaten hat on his head. Everybody¡¯s clothes were completely soaked with the pouring rain, but he stood proud as he shouted something unheard at the Pok¨¦mon in the water.

    On his shoulder, face set in an intense expression, was the famous electric rodent himself - Pikachu. Barely perceptible electric sparks sporadically emitted from his cheeks, and it managed to keep remarkably stable on Ash¡¯s shoulder as he threw his arm out dramatically, obviously saying some anime protagonist speech.

    ¡°We¡¯re not sure how they managed to get into Sootopolis considering that the Champion Steven Stone himself locked down the island, but - wait, there¡¯s the Champion now! Along with Sootopolis Gym Leader Wallace and, wait, who¡¯s that with them?

    The camera view whirled as Ty tried to focus on the new scene, but the helicopter was obviously unstable. Eventually after a sickening moment the video settled somewhat to show a serious looking Steven Stone walking out of the Cave of Origin, flanked on one side by Wallace and the other by¡­

    Zinnia?

    The view was unsteady, but it sure looked like Zinnia from the Delta Episode of the Hoenn remasters. Black hair and a long gray cloak were the most obvious tells, but I was pretty sure it was her.

    Wallace looked as extravagant as ever, but instead of his usual bubbly personality he strode forwards resolutely, tension clear in his body.

    The two groups met up, stopping to talk to each other. Gabby¡¯s narration continued to fill the air, but I couldn¡¯t pay much attention to what she was saying.

    Ash¡¯s conversation was cut off as another form emerged from the water, a blue submarine surfacing in the storming seas.

    The top hatch opened, and my blood chilled as a figure stepped out.

    ¡°It''s Archie!¡± Gabby said, incredulously. ¡°The notorious terrorist who¡¯s been number one on the most-wanted list in Hoenn ever since the events of last month! Is he behind all of this?¡±

    He held up a glowing object, and my heart sank as Ty focused on it. It was the Blue Orb.

    The two sides shouted things at each other, but I could tell that it was going nowhere. Archie threw his head back in a noiseless laugh, and raised both his arms, lifting the Blue Orb up high.

    The sea in the center of Sootopolis City, already choppy and filled with waves, grew even more violent as the other form emerged from the water.

    Primal Kyogre.

    Even over a thousand miles away and through a television screen, I shuddered in terror. It was completely instinctual, a pure reaction to seeing something that defied comprehension.

    This wasn¡¯t just a regular Pok¨¦mon. This was the closest thing to a god that I¡¯d ever seen, and my body reacted appropriately.

    The rest of the room seemed to feel the same, a soft susurration of dismay and fear spreading through the Pok¨¦mon Center. Some people, mostly the old and the young, seemed to have more of a reaction, turning away from the screen or breaking out into tears. Of all the people I could see, Ted seemed to have the least reaction, but I guessed that hanging around a Dragon all the time was probably a good way to become more inured to fear.

    Amazingly, the group in the video footage didn¡¯t seem to have nearly as big of a reaction as we did. Steven, Wallace, and Zinnia were taken aback, but not anything else. Brock seemed shaken, and May and Max were holding each other, but of all of them, Ash seemed the most unaffected. He shouted something in response to Archie, and held something up in his own hand.

    The camera caught a glimpse of something glowing softly, the colors running together into a rainbow.

    The entire screen shuddered with static as the cameraman tried to zoom in, but whatever Ash was holding seemed to react poorly with the camera, and after a second the feed cut out.

    Everybody stared in rapt silence at the TV screen, until it cut back to a shaken newscaster in a studio, face pale underneath his makeup.

    ¡°That was¡­ That was a live feed from Hoenn TV.¡± He said, trying to regain his breath. ¡°We¡¯re not sure what that was or what happened, but we will keep you informed as events continue to develop.¡±

    He droned on, and the tension in the room dropped almost instantly, like a marionette with its strings cut.

    People everywhere let out shaky breaths, and in a corner a baby started crying.

    ¡°Jesus.¡± I said, running a hand through my hair. ¡°That was¡­¡±

    ¡°Intense?¡± Ted asked.

    ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s one word for it.¡±

    Ted grimaced, and pulled out his phone. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, I have to call Professor Birch. Maybe he¡¯ll know more about what¡¯s going on.¡±

    He stepped away with his phone to his ear, and I let out a long breath. Venus was by my side, and her ears perked up.

    She started batting at my leg, and I absent-mindely knelt down to stroke her fur.

    Primal Reversion. That madman Archie had gone through with it. I had thought that the crackdowns on Teams Magma and Aqua would have prevented him from achieving his goal, but apparently not.

    The problem was, there was nothing I could actually do about it anymore. I¡¯d told Professor Rowan everything I could, and he¡¯d spread that information to the people who needed it.

    But I wasn¡¯t in Hoenn, I was over a thousand miles away with no hope of getting there in time. I didn¡¯t have any way to call Rayquaza down to stop Kyogre.

    I just had to have faith that Ash and friends would be able to calm a raging god.

    Venus yipped, and the ground rumbled.

    ¡°Was that an earthquake?¡± I asked as a chorus of concerned voices echoed my question throughout the Pok¨¦mon Center.

    Ted nodded, walking back over and returning his phone to his pocket. ¡°A small one. They¡¯re pretty common around these parts, but most of the time they¡¯re too small to be felt.¡±

    I¡¯d never been through an earthquake before. ¡°Maybe-¡±

    The ground shook again, this time a long, protracted shudder that knocked several people down.

    ¡°It¡¯s the mountain!¡± Somebody near the windows shouted. ¡°Get away from the glass!¡±

    The crowd of people started to panic, and I was buffeted by people running away from the windows and doors of the Center.

    ¡°Alina!¡± Ted called from somewhere nearby, but there were too many people.

    Someone crashed into me, knocking me to the ground.

    Venus! I struggled for the Pok¨¦ Ball at my waist, and managed to click the center button, recalling her in a flash of light.

    Through the mass of people trying to get to safety, I could just barely see out a window from my spot on the floor. Mount Coronet, so close to Eterna City, looked¡­ different.

    Then something hard struck my head, and everything went black.

 Chapter Thirty-Nine

    I came to in near-darkness. All of the lights in the Pok¨¦mon Center were off except for a few blood-red emergency lights on the walls near the ground, and it took my eyes a while to adjust to the faint light.

    Thankfully I wasn¡¯t on the ground anymore, with a quick glance I found that I was in a hospital bed, but my body still ached like I had just been run over by a truck. The worst of it was my head, which felt like somebody was pounding on it with a sledgehammer.

    It was easily the worst that I¡¯d felt since I had to drag a ton of Combee and a Vespiquen through the night to get to Oreburgh City.

    The fact that I had only done that a month ago was making me reconsider my career going forward.

    ¡°Hello?¡± I rasped out, my mouth feeling drier than a desert.

    Nothing.

    ¡°Hello!?¡± I tried again, louder, and this time there was a noise in the distance.

    A small light grew closer and closer, a candle flame, but something must have been wrong with my vision. I blinked several times and tried to rub at my eyes, but no matter what I did, it was still purple.

    It was also¡­ suspiciously low to the ground?

    The little form finally came into focus as it stepped around a chair.

    A tiny Litwick stared up at me, its golden eyes shining in the darkness. It let out a cry that sounded like nothing more than a soft and distant wind, then turned and scurried out of the room.

    ¡°Wait!¡± I called, struggling to sit up. ¡°Come back!¡±

    The light disappeared around a corner, leaving me in the dim red light once again.

    I shivered. I couldn¡¯t be sure, but it felt like the temperature had just fallen. Unless¡­

    ¡°Am I dead?¡± I whispered, staring around in horror.

    Litwick were Ghost-type Pok¨¦mon, and I vaguely remembered a Pok¨¦dex entry saying that they sucked away people¡¯s life energy and took them to the Ghost World, whatever that was.

    But¡­ I couldn¡¯t be dead, could I?

    I had been hit on the head pretty hard, and ghosts weren¡¯t simply stories in this world.

    After all, if psychic powers existed, why not ghosts?

    Besides, there was the Old Chateau, which while it could have been Ghost-type Pok¨¦mon playing tricks on people¡­

    I tried putting my hand through the bed, and thankfully it didn¡¯t pass through, instead hitting the sheets comfortingly.

    The light returned, and I froze.

    I¡¯m not dead, I¡¯m not dead¡­

    ¡°Oh! You¡¯re awake! Good, I was starting to get worried!¡±

    A nurse rounded the corner, and I felt the tension wash out of me.

    ¡°Easy does it!¡± She said, hurrying over to my side. ¡°Do you remember where you are?¡±

    I blinked up at her. ¡°Eterna City?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right! Can you tell me your name?¡±

    The nurse took out a pencil light and flashed it in my eyes, causing me to wince.

    ¡°Alina Knighton.¡±

    ¡°And the date?¡±

    I opened my mouth, then closed it, trying to think. ¡°The 31st of August?¡±

    ¡°Close enough! It¡¯s actually September 1st now, you were asleep for a good couple of hours. Do you remember talking to me?¡±

    ¡°No- wait, maybe?¡±

    Vague memories swam through my mind as I tried to think about where I had seen her before.

    ¡°You¡­ helped me before, right? I remember getting lights flashed in my eyes.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, a little bit of confusion, but I suppose that¡¯s not unexpected. You had a concussion, I was the one to help check you out and make sure that everything was okay.¡±

    ¡°Wait, a concussion? Aren¡¯t you not supposed to sleep?¡±

    She looked confused as she stared at me. ¡°What? I mean, I suppose if it was a bad concussion sleeping wouldn¡¯t be good. But we didn¡¯t see any strange pupil dilations and you didn¡¯t have any problems with walking, so it was fine that you slept.¡±

    Frowning, I tried to blink the spots from the pen light out of my eyes. ¡°I could have sworn that I was told that sleeping was a bad idea¡­¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m not sure who told you that, but we¡¯re medical professionals!¡± Her smile was like a spotlight in the dim flickering flame of the Litwick.

    Stupid American healthcare system. I grumbled to myself.

    ¡°Anyways, you seem like you¡¯re doing much better than the last time we talked, but I would still take it easy for a couple of days. Especially stay away from bright computer screens.¡±

    She laughed, but there was a little bit of tension in it. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not like that¡¯s going to be particularly difficult, all things considering.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    She gestured at the red emergency lights in the otherwise dark Pok¨¦mon Center around me.

    ¡°The power¡¯s out, but- oh, that¡¯s right, you¡¯ve been asleep. We have a backup generator, but it was purchased almost twenty years ago, and hasn¡¯t been used since then. Some very kind Trainers have helped by letting their Electric-types power some of the more important machines, but there¡¯s only so many of them, and they need their rest too. Only the most critical parts of the Center have power, so we have to rely on our little helpers like Yanki here.¡±

    She gestured down at the Litwick, who puffed up in waxy pride.

    ¡°But it¡¯s nice and sunny outside for once, so do you think you can walk?¡±

    Mentally checking how my legs felt, I nodded.

    ¡°Okay good! Give me your arm, let¡¯s take it slow and easy...¡±

    /^\

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    Eterna City had been a decently sized city, with maybe 300,000 people living in it. Now a third of it was under several feet of mud and dirt.

    All of the rain from Primal Kyogre¡¯s mere presence had inundated the ground, turning the mountainside into a thick layer of mud. A small earthquake, common in the region, had shaken up the mud just enough for it to start flowing, and Eterna City was unfortunately right in the way.

    The devastation was almost too much to comprehend. Just yesterday there was a thriving city here, and now¡­

    The nice nurse had left me to my own devices when I proved I was able to stand and walk on my own without falling over. She¡¯d wanted to stay and keep an eye on me, but another batch of survivors had been found in a buried house, and she¡¯d had to go and help.

    Thankfully she had given me my Pok¨¦ Balls before she ran to the emergency room, and Venus, Zetian, and K¨­jin were all safe and sound, if a little shaken up.

    I was sitting on the roof of the Pok¨¦mon Center with my companions huddled around me, looking out at the city. The battling courts behind the Center had been taken over by a small tent city, and I could see a stream of people going to the Gym, which had also been converted into a shelter.

    Nobody died, thankfully. Most people¡¯s Pok¨¦mon had felt the mudslide coming and warned their Trainers.

    ¡°Damn you Archie.¡± I whispered to the wind.

    People and their Pok¨¦mon were moving around in the city, working to clean up the devastation. Ground-types were one of the most useful types right now, using their moves to help make moving the dirt and mud more manageable. The few Psychic-types that were in the city were helping lead search and rescue teams, while Fire-types worked to dry out the massive puddles and small ponds that had formed with all of the rainfall.

    There were a few people who were staggering around, obviously lost and confused at the destruction around them, but thankfully they were quickly taken aside by a worker and sat down with some food and water.

    Even so soon after the massive destruction, people were already beginning to bounce back.

    A familiar figure nearby caught my attention, and I frowned.

    ¡°What¡¯s he doing here?¡± I asked Venus, who looked at me in confusion.

    Then she followed my eyeline, and her tail started wagging.

    I thought about just staying on the roof of the Pok¨¦mon Center, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I had been given the green light to wander around by the nurse.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go see what he¡¯s up to.¡± I said, pulling Zetian and K¨­jin back into their Pok¨¦ Balls while Venus scrambled up my clothes and onto my shoulder.

    Most of the Pok¨¦mon Center was still dark, with only the actual hospital parts being powered by the generator and whatever Electric-types they had, but enough windows were open to provide some light as we made our way down to the ground floor.

    The sun felt nice after days of rain, even if it was still rather humid outside, and I had pulled a nice sundress on instead of my normal traveling garb.

    Carefully picking my way through the detritus-filled streets of Eterna City, I slowly approached the intersection I had spotted earlier.

    A small work team was busy working to clean out the rubble in front of a cafe, and a few heads looked up as I approached.

    ¡°Alina?¡± A voice called in surprise, and I waved.

    ¡°Hi Lucas!¡±

    I turned to the leader of the work-party as she approached, an older woman with a well-worn hard hat and a Machoke by her side. Much to my delight, the Machoke was wearing an orange hi-vis vest.

    ¡°Can I help you?¡± The woman said, a bit gruffly.

    ¡°I saw my friend here working, and I came to say hello.¡± I gestured towards Lucas. ¡°I didn¡¯t know he was in town.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡± She looked between Lucas and I, then nodded. ¡°Alright. It¡¯s about time for lunch anyways.¡±

    The rest of the work crew cheered tiredly, and a couple slapped Lucas on the back in thanks as they made their way towards a small stack of bento boxes. A Swinub was sitting contentedly nearby, and blew a soft Icy Wind at the lunches to make sure they were cool for the workers.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked, pulling him to the side. ¡°Last time I saw you, you were running away from me in Jubilife.¡±

    The kid flushed, and rubbed at the back of his neck.

    ¡°Yeah, sorry about that, by the way. I guess I just got caught up in the moment.¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I was just taken off guard and surprised. Plus it''s weird, it¡¯s not every day when you have somebody declare you as a rival.¡±

    It was still ridiculous that rivals were even a thing, but the Pok¨¦mon world was weird like that.

    ¡°Anyways!¡± Lucas said, blushing even more. ¡°I just got into Eterna City last night.¡±

    My eyebrows climbed towards my hairline. ¡°Before or after the landslide?¡±

    ¡°After. We were on the road when the rains hit, and I thought that it would be just a few hours until the rains stopped. Then they didn¡¯t for a couple days, and I was starting to get more and more concerned for Maggy and Sunny.¡±

    Those would be his Magby and Monfernape, unless they¡¯d evolved in the past few weeks. At the moment most of his team were Fire-types, and would have been especially vulnerable to the mass amounts of rain.

    ¡°Eventually I got so concerned that I decided to push on through to Eterna City in the night, regardless of the rain. I wanted to get to the Pok¨¦mon Center but when I got here¡­¡±

    His eyes dropped to the ground, and his shoulders slumped.

    ¡°So much of the city was gone.¡± He said, voice quiet.

    He¡¯s only sixteen. I thought with a grimace. For all that the teenagers of the Pok¨¦mon world had so much more freedom than my old world, they also had a higher level of responsibilities.

    ¡°But!¡± He said, eyes firming as he set his shoulders. ¡°The rains stopped, and I figured out that I would be able to help. Hardy¡¯s been really useful in helping to break down the rubble into more manageable pieces. It¡¯s also been really good for him to burn off some of his energy, smashing things has really helped him calm down.¡±

    Lucas frowned, and gestured to my head.

    ¡°But are you okay?¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± I reached up. ¡°Oh, the bandage. I got a small cut from getting kicked in the head. I¡¯m fine though.¡±

    ¡°I, what?¡± He spluttered. ¡°Kicked in the head? What happened?¡±

    I sighed, and looked around for a piece of rubble big enough to sit on. ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡±

    /^\

    ¡°Wow.¡± Lucas stared at me, eyes wide as I finished the story of what had happened the past couple of weeks since we had last seen each other.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°Crazy? Scary? A lot?¡± I offered, sighing as I leaned back to stare at the clear blue sky.

    After having it rain for so long, it almost seemed weird to see a sky not covered with dark black storm clouds.

    ¡°That¡¯s awesome!¡± He exclaimed, his shout causing a few nearby Starly to take off in surprise.

    I tried not to sigh as he completely missed the most terrifying aspects of my life since leaving Jubilife City.

    ¡°You fought a real Dusclops? And a poacher! Man, I wish my life was as exciting as yours!¡± Lucas pouted. ¡°All I did was dig around in some caves.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said, blinking at him. ¡°Caves?¡±

    ¡°Yeahhh, I suppose it¡¯s a bit of a long story too.¡±

    His stomach growled, and he clutched it with a panicked expression.

    ¡°Oh man, I don¡¯t have any food! I gave the last of it away to some people who¡¯d lost their house!¡±

    This kid is too good for this world.

    ¡°Come on.¡± I said, gesturing. ¡°I was sitting on the roof of the Pok¨¦mon Center for a little bit, and I saw a store on the other side of town from the collapse that looked like it was still open.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± He said, looking around at the clean-up crew, half of whom were trying and failing to look like they weren¡¯t listening in to our conversation.

    ¡°I¡¯ll buy.¡±

    ¡°Okay! Let me check in with the boss. Hey boss-lady!¡±

    The supervisor of the work crew looked up from a sandwich as Lucas shouted at her.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Would it be okay if I took my lunch with my friend here?¡±

    She looked blankly at him.

    ¡°Kid, I don¡¯t even know your name. You don¡¯t work for the city, you just¡­ kinda showed up and started working. You can do whatever you want.¡±

    ¡°Great! Thanks boss!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not your¡­ nevermind.¡±

    She went back to eating her sandwich, and Lucas grinned at me.

    ¡°Okay, let''s go eat! It started way back after I last saw you in Jubilife City, I was talking with Professor Rowan and he mentioned that Hardy might do better if I got some advice from somebody who was familiar with Fossil Pok¨¦mon, so he sent me to Oreburgh City to meet up with Leader Roark, and we got talking and then he mentioned that there was an old man up here who knew all about caves and fossils, even more than he did! Then I needed a way to get up to Eterna CIty, and there was this old woman from Galar who was trying to set up a cross-country taxi service, but as it turned out her Corviknight had hurt it¡¯s wings, and couldn¡¯t fly without getting a new Metal Coat to fix them, but the only person who was willing to trade a Metal Coat had a Mawile with an impacted tooth, so I had to go find a dentist who was willing to pull a tooth, but he needed¡­¡±

    I smiled slightly as we walked down the ruined street, while Lucas talked incessantly about his adventures while we were separated.

    Eterna City was still heavily damaged by the mudslide, but at least it was beginning to bounce back, and a little bit of normalcy among the chaos went a long way to making the whole situation feel a lot less dire.

    Then I stopped, and looked at him with pure confusion.

    ¡°Wait, you had to do what for a Psyduck?¡±

 Chapter Forty

    The reconstruction of Eterna City was going faster than I had expected it would, but that didn¡¯t mean the city was put back together by the end of the first week of September.

    As it turned out, Pok¨¦mon made the process of cleaning the streets of rubble so much faster than in my old world. Beams and chunks of rubble that would require a truck to carry could be lifted with a single Fighting-type like Machoke, or broken into smaller, more manageable pieces with a carefully placed attack.

    Fire-types helped dry out any wet areas, and I saw Water-types helping to siphon some of the larger bodies of water that had formed. And of course Ground- and Rock-types were moving mass amounts of the dirt and stone that had fallen from the side of the mountain.

    Even with all of the advantages that came from having Pok¨¦mon, so much of the town was still destroyed.

    By the end of the third day of work, power had been restored to the vast majority of the city thanks to help from Electric-types. The Pok¨¦mon League had flown in some of Volkner¡¯s Gym Trainers and their Pok¨¦mon, who had helped provide enough power for essential services until the city¡¯s power generators could be restarted. As thankful as we all were to get the electricity back, it also let us see what had happened to the rest of the world.

    Galar, Kalos, Unova, Orre, and Paldea had all come out of the disaster relatively unscathed, thanks to their distance from the Four Islands. The coastal areas of those regions had been hit by bad storms, but none were too badly damaged.

    Alola had been subject to some nasty storms, but the Island Guardians there had managed to prevent most of the damage to the towns.

    On the other hand, Johto, Kanto, Sinnoh, and Kitakami had been hit hard. Power was still out in most of Johto, thanks to their more rural towns and cities. Mudslides like the one that had hit Eterna City were a common result across the Four Islands, and tsunamis had hit a number of cities near the coasts.

    But Hoenn¡­ Hoenn was in rough shape.

    There were surprisingly few deaths, which was remarkable all things considered. The large endemic population of Absol had been freaking out for the week of rainstorms, and their precognition had helped the people there start to evacuate before things got really bad.

    Even with advanced warning and time to evacuate, it hadn¡¯t been enough. Pacifidlog Town was mostly gone. The people there had been taken away before the worst of the storms, but the sheer presence of Primal Kyogre had caused such massive waves that they had swamped the floating city, shattering most of the buildings into so much driftwood.

    Thousands of people were homeless, and although the Hoenn government was doing the best it could, they were still fighting an uphill battle.

    Shipments of aid for Hoenn and the rest of the Four Islands were coming from all over the world, and even an old sailing ship carrying the red seal of Ransei had come to deliver some supplies. Apparently the various warlords there had agreed to have a ceasefire in their years-long civil war so they could repair the damage from the storms.

    The world was coming together to help with the recovery, but for Eterna City and the rest of Sinnoh, it would be a long time and a lot of work until things were back to normal.

    Which made it all the more confusing to me when I heard that Gardenia, the Gym Leader of Eterna City, was officially taking challengers to compete for the Forest Badge.

    /^\

    ¡°It''s a cultural thing.¡± Ted said, gesturing with his wrap. ¡°Unless there¡¯s a war or some other kind of extreme disaster, the Pok¨¦mon League always opens up every year.¡±

    Lucas nodded. ¡°Always. It¡¯s a, uh, resilience thing. Like showing that we aren¡¯t weak or something.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t speak with your mouth full.¡± I chided.

    He rolled his eyes and swallowed. ¡°Okay mom.¡±

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t this-¡± I waved at the ruined section of the city. ¡°Count as an extreme disaster?¡±

    The two looked at each other, and shrugged.

    ¡°I mean it¡¯s bad.¡± Ted said.

    ¡°Pretty bad.¡± Lucas echoed. ¡°But I mean, nobody like, died or anything.¡±

    ¡°Thank god for that.¡± I muttered.

    It was the closest thing to a miracle that I¡¯d ever seen. There were quite a few broken bones and concussions, and a few people had to be flown over to Jubilife City to the big hospitals there, but nobody had been killed in the mudslide.

    There had been a few close calls, but this world¡¯s medical capabilities were amazing. Berries alone went a long way to being a miracle drug, and they were some of the most common forms of medicine out there.

    ¡°But why not wait?¡± I asked again. ¡°I mean, surely a couple weeks or a month would go a long way to making things better, right? Why is the Gym open already?¡±

    Ted thought for a moment, putting his lunch down. Ted, Lucas, and I were all volunteering to help clear out a section of town, using our various Pok¨¦mon¡¯s abilities to help remove some of the rubble. Out of all of us, my Pok¨¦mon were probably the least suited to the task, but they were all willing to give it a shot.

    ¡°The island you grew up on, there was no Pok¨¦mon League there, right?¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°No. Not really that many Pok¨¦mon either.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so weird to think about.¡± Lucas muttered.

    ¡°Then you don¡¯t really have a frame of reference for it.¡± Ted said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to explain, but there used to be a time before the Pok¨¦mon League. A couple decades before I was born, there was no league, and instead there were powerful families that ruled the towns.¡±

    ¡°Professor Rowan told me this.¡± I said, thinking back to our conversation by the road after the fight with Kane.

    ¡°Oh, good, I don¡¯t have to explain that.¡± He said. ¡°I like learning about myths, not more recent history.¡±

    Lucas stuck his tongue out. ¡°Old man.¡±

    Ted spluttered. ¡°I¡¯m twenty-five!¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Old.¡±

    ¡°Anyways.¡± I cut in before the bickering continued. ¡°Cultural frame of reference?¡±

    Ted glared at Lucas, but there was no heat there. The two seemed to be getting along, even if there were a few good-natured jabs every so often.

    ¡°Well, maybe not cultural. Or not just cultural. It¡¯s hard to explain, but the times before the Pok¨¦mon League are seen as the ¡°bad old days,¡± when things were a lot tougher for people. Without the regulations and oversight of the Pok¨¦mon League, people are afraid that those bad days would come back.¡±

    ¡°But the League isn¡¯t the government, each town has its own police and local officials. I mean, take Galar for example, Chairman Rose isn¡¯t in charge of Champion Leon, and Leon¡¯s not in charge of Rose. They work together.¡±

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°True,¡± Ted admitted. ¡°But the League goes a long way to setting the guidelines for how Pok¨¦mon and Trainers are regulated, and the Champions and Gym Leaders help shoulder a lot of the burden of managing their regions of responsibility.¡±

    ¡°Yeah.¡± Lucas said around a mouthful of food. ¡°They may be technically separate, but the League has a lot of sway over the townies.¡±

    Ted and I both looked at him.

    ¡°Townies?¡± I asked.

    He flushed. ¡°Sorry - ¡°local government officials,¡± better? Plus, my dad always talks about how it¡¯s a symbiotic relationship, since the League helps bring in tourists and traveling Pok¨¦mon Trainers across the regions. There¡¯s a lot of money to be made by local businesses. Besides, Trainers who aren¡¯t from the region have to pay to compete if they travel abroad.¡±

    "I don¡¯t know if we can really explain it to somebody who grew up without the League.¡± Ted said, choosing to ignore Lucas. ¡°It¡¯s just one of those things that we take seriously. The Pok¨¦mon League endures, even in the face of adversity.¡±

    ¡°Especially in the face of adversity.¡± Lucas pitched in.

    I shook my head. ¡°Weirdos.¡±

    But it did make some sense. If I understood them right, the Pok¨¦mon League was like the UN or the EU back on Earth. They set some guidelines and had the power to enforce them, but didn¡¯t necessarily care for managing the regions directly.

    ¡°Yup!¡± Lucas said, and took another big bite of his wrap.

    ¡°Weird as we may be,¡± Ted said. ¡°At least I¡¯ve already got my challenge scheduled.¡±

    ¡°Hey same!¡± Lucas said. ¡°Mine¡¯s not this Monday, but the next one, on the thirteenth. When¡¯s yours?¡±

    ¡°This Wednesday.¡±

    ¡°Oooh, lucky! Why¡¯s yours so early?¡±

    Ted shrugged. ¡°I really can¡¯t say.¡±

    ¡°Lame. Well, what time is it? I want to come by and see you fight!¡±

    ¡°Uhh,¡± Ted pulled out his Rotom Phone and scrolled for a second. ¡°Two-thirty.¡±

    ¡°Nice! I¡¯ll be there.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± I cut in. ¡°You both already have scheduled your Gym battle?¡±

    The two looked at each other, then turned back to me.

    ¡°Well yeah.¡± Ted said.

    ¡°Of course I did.¡±

    ¡°But what about¡­¡± I gestured again at the ruined part of the city.

    ¡°It¡¯ll still be there if we take fifteen minutes to have a Gym battle.¡± Lucas said glibly.

    ¡°Unless you¡¯re at the higher levels of competition, battles don¡¯t take that long.¡± Ted agreed.

    Lucas looked at me weirdly ¡°Are you saying that you haven¡¯t scheduled your battle yet?¡±

    ¡°No! I¡¯ve been busy helping the town clean up!¡±

    ¡°It only takes five minutes on the website.¡± He muttered.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a fancy Rotom Phone.¡±

    ¡°The Pokemon Center has computers you can use.¡± Ted said. ¡°Or the local library. Or you could even go down to the Gym itself and schedule it in-person.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t do it soon, you might not get a battle in for a couple weeks!¡± Lucas chirped.

    ¡°Fine!¡± I threw up my hands in surrender. ¡°I¡¯ll go down to the Gym after we finish eating, happy?¡±

    Ted and Lucas looked at each other again and shrugged.

    ¡°I guess.¡±

    ¡°Sounds okay to me.¡±

    /^\

    I grumbled the entire way to the Eterna City Gym, which was a tall, circular building that was covered in vines and other flowering plants. The raid had over-watered a lot of the plants of the town, but now that it was over they were bouncing back quickly.

    Ted and Lucas had tagged along, ¡°for fun¡±, and they were discussing their strategies for taking on Gardenia.

    Lucas wasn¡¯t worried at all about the fight, with his two Fire-types he was at a strong advantage against Gardenia¡¯s Grass-type Pok¨¦mon.

    Ted also wasn¡¯t too particularly worried, although he didn¡¯t have quite as strong an advantage. While Switchback was technically a dual Fighting- and Poison-type, he didn¡¯t actually know any Poison-typed moves. Gardenia¡¯s Grass attacks wouldn¡¯t be as effective against Switchback, but likewise he wouldn¡¯t be able to hit her Pok¨¦mon as hard as he would otherwise like.

    Mayfly, Ted¡¯s Scyther, was going to be the front-runner for his team for this Gym.

    I was a little worried about my own chances. Zetian would be a strong counter to a lot of Gardenia¡¯s Pok¨¦mon, but K¨­jin was still very new, and we had a long way to go to build up our teamwork. While his Fire-typing would be a good advantage against Gardenia, I was leaning towards letting him sit this particular battle out.

    He could watch from the sidelines and get a good look at how a battle would go.

    The Gym¡¯s foyer was relatively empty, with a few people sitting idly by on some benches and chairs, mostly reading books or scrolling on their phone.

    ¡°Hi there!¡± A receptionist said from behind his desk, waving at us. ¡°Welcome to the Eterna City Gym! How can we help you today?¡±

    ¡°Hi, I¡¯d like to schedule a Gym battle with Leader Gardenia.¡± I said.

    ¡°Well certainly, we can do that for you. Can I see your Trainer ID?¡±

    I fumbled around in my purse, pulling out my wallet and handing over the ID card that I had gotten back at Professor Rowan¡¯s lab.

    The receptionist took it, and compared my face to the picture on it.

    He winced.

    ¡°You, uh, hm.¡± He said. ¡°Just so you know, the Pok¨¦mon Center can retake photos for a small fee.¡±

    I sighed. The photo had been taken shortly after I had fought Kane the first time around, and my face on my ID was bruised and had red lines where Terror the Mightyena had slashed at my face.

    ¡°I know.¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve been busy, but I¡¯ll get around to it.¡±

    ¡°Just a suggestion!¡± He said quickly, before typing on his computer.

    ¡°Hmm, let¡¯s see here, Alina Knighton, Trainer ID number 133415058. Oh, you¡¯re a Lab Trainer?¡±

    ¡°With Professor Rowan, that¡¯s right.¡±

    ¡°Good to know. Well, let me pull up our schedule here.¡±

    He moved to another screen, clicking through various menus.

    ¡°Due to, ah, current events our calendar is fairly busy.¡±

    ¡°How many challenges do you do in a day?¡± I asked with idle curiosity.

    ¡°Hmm, it depends.¡± He said, a bit distracted. ¡°We can usually get through more Trainers in a day if they¡¯re less experienced, since it¡¯s not quite as hard on the Pok¨¦mon. If we have a more challenging Trainer,¡±

    The receptionist turned to look at Ted for a second. ¡°It¡¯ll usually be a bit more of a show. Say maybe four to six Trainers a day, depending.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°That¡¯s less than I thought it would be.¡±

    He shrugged. ¡°It takes time for the challengers to go through our various Gym Trainers. Most gyms don¡¯t require challengers to take on the Gym Trainers, only the people who want a real challenge normally do so, but Gardenia insists on it. She says it¡¯s a good test of vitality and strength.¡±

    Internally I blanched at his words. I¡¯d hoped that that particular game mechanic hadn¡¯t been carried through into the real world, but I guess I was wrong.

    ¡°Plus it takes time for Pok¨¦mon to heal up. Ah, here it is. Well, it looks like our next opening for a battle is in a couple of weeks, say September 22nd?¡±

    I thought for a moment. ¡°Yeah, that should be-¡±

    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    The receptionist frowned, and clicked a few more times on his mouse, before looking up at me suspiciously.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ interesting.¡±

    He typed a few more things into his computer.

    ¡°Hm.¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± I asked.

    ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me.¡±

    He turned, and picked up his phone.

    ¡°Hi, this is Harry at the front desk, can you- yes. Yes. Another one. Uh huh. Okay thank you.¡±

    Harry listened for another minute, then nodded to himself and hung up the phone before turning back to his computer. Another minute or two of clicking, and he looked up.

    ¡°Sorry about that, my deepest apologies. It looks like there¡¯s a spot that just opened up, how would tomorrow work?¡±

    Lucas made a choking noise, and I could feel Ted raising an eyebrow.

    ¡°I, uh, sure?¡± I stuttered. ¡°That¡¯s a bit sooner than I thought but¡­ okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay good!¡± He looked relieved for some reason. ¡°Tomorrow at three-thirty?¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± I said, reeling a little bit from the change in pace.

    ¡°Great. Please be at the Gym fifteen minutes before your appointment, just so we can fill out some paperwork.¡±

    ¡°Why that time slot?¡±

    The man looked at me, then shrugged. ¡°I really can¡¯t say. It just opened up.¡±

    I nodded and exchanged a few more words to confirm the appointment, but my blood slowly began to run cold as I realized what was going on.

    Cynthia, the Champion of the entire Sinnoh Region, had looked me in the eyes and told me that she¡¯d heard interesting things about me, and that she wanted to talk sometime. I had a feeling that this was connected in some way.

    It was only half-way down the street, Ted and Lucas chattering excitedly about watching me battle, that I processed what had just happened.

    I had my first Gym battle tomorrow. This was really happening, I was a real Pok¨¦mon Trainer. I¡¯d been in battles before, but this was a Battle battle.

    I spun on my heel, stopping the two behind me.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Lucas asked at the look of sheer panic on my face.

    ¡°Guys, I¡¯ve never done a Gym battle before.¡± I said. ¡°What do I do?¡±

 Update

    No chapter this week, sorry! Turns out that heat exhaustion really sucks, and since it''s getting hotter and hotter every year, make sure you drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen, and be as careful as possible!

    However, I''ll leave you all with a teaser for the next chapter, to help tide you over:

    I took a deep breath, and palmed Zetian¡¯s Pok¨¦ Ball. Meeting Gardenia¡¯s eyes, a shock of electricity seemed to run through my body, and tingles of excitement ran down my spine.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    I began to understand what people saw in the Gym challenges.

    A smile spread across my face, and it was mirrored by Gardenia.

    ¡°Ready.¡± She said, and I took a deep breath.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

 Chapter Forty-One

    I sneezed, and tried my best to ignore the Roselia tending to the small greenhouse that was the Eterna City Gym¡¯s waiting room.

    It wasn¡¯t the Roselia¡¯s fault that it was a walking bunch of flowers and that flowers gave me a headache, but it was the unfortunate reality of challenging a Grass-type Gym.

    Normally I would have loved sitting in the waiting room, feeling the warmth of the sun streaming through the large glass ceiling panels while the days grew colder outside, but I was more than a little nervous about the upcoming battles.

    Ted and Lucas had tried to coach me with the ins-and-outs of Gym battling all of last night, which had been a mixed bag when it came to how helpful it had actually been.

    In general, there were three main paths that a Trainer could challenge a Gym, although they all ended with the Trainer fighting the Gym Leader. The first was the classic Gym Challenge, which involved some chore or test that a Trainer would have to navigate in order to prove themselves before the fight.

    Paldea and Galar in particular seemed to be big fans of the Gym Challenges, although I had frustrated memories of trying to solve Lieutenant Surge¡¯s trash-can puzzle in the Kanto games.

    The second method was an endurance test, where the Trainer would have to fight the Gym Trainers in a gauntlet, before taking on the Gym Leader. While most Gyms offered this as an option to Trainers, Gardenia had used her position to make this the required method to challenge the Eterna City Gym.

    The final method was simply to schedule a fight with the Gym Leader directly, and to skip the puzzles and tests. This was what most of the more experienced Trainers like Ted did when available, in order to make the process of challenging the gyms as easy as possible while traveling cross-country.

    The lore dump they had given me was interesting, but it didn¡¯t really help prepare me for my Gym battle, although my two friends didn¡¯t seem to be too worried about it.

    ¡°It¡¯s just the first Gym.¡± Ted said offhandedly. ¡°They¡¯ll go easy on you, it¡¯s really just to see where you¡¯re at as a Trainer rather than an actual challenge.¡±

    The fact that Ted and Lucas were going to be watching me battle didn¡¯t help my nerves either. Apparently while the big knock-down Gym battles for famous Trainers would be filmed and televised, gyms allowed an in-person audience for the less important battles.

    Many people didn¡¯t bother going, but if a Trainer had friends or family nearby, there was some stadium seating for them. Since Ted and Lucas didn¡¯t have anything better to do, they had insisted on sitting in for my first Gym, even though I had all-but begged them not to.

    They were already seated in the stadium, waiting for the challenger before me to finish their battles.

    I had even dressed up nicely, wearing a nice black skirt and white blouse. Some of the more popular Trainers tended to have a specific style they stuck to, but I figured that just a nice, business-casual look would be appropriate for a first Gym battle.

    Maybe if I went down this path and became a full-time Gym challenger I would change up my look, but that was a long time from now.

    A soft bell chimed, and the receptionist in the greenhouse-slash-waiting area looked up.

    ¡°Alina Knighton?¡± He called, even though I was the only other person there.

    ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± I said, standing up and smoothing imaginary wrinkles on my skirt.

    ¡°The Eterna City Gym is ready for you.¡± He gestured at a doorway. ¡°Please, enter through there.¡±

    I nodded jerkily, and stepped through the doorway.

    This is stupid. I thought to myself. I¡¯ve faced Kane twice. I fought a Dusclops for crying out loud. Why am I so nervous?

    The hallway was short, and I took a deep breath, trying to steady my racing heart, then stepped through the next doorway into¡­

    A rather boring looking stadium.

    I blinked, looking around in surprise. It honestly reminded me of a high school basketball court, and nothing at all like I had expected having played the games. The more I looked however, the more I started to see things that looked like they didn¡¯t belong.

    The center of the room was the battling arena, the same size and material as the ones out by the Pok¨¦mon Centers in most towns. Those arenas by the Pok¨¦mon Centers were made from a pale-green material that was kind of like the asphalt of a running track covered the ground, providing plenty of traction for the battling Pok¨¦mon while being tough enough to withstand their moves and effects.

    Gardenia, however, had clearly ripped up the standard floor to replace it with real dirt and grass.

    Trees in large clay pots were placed regularly along the walls of the Gym, along with some bushes and flowers. The ceiling was almost entirely made of glass, letting the sun wash down and warm up the entire Gym.

    All of the more interesting aspects of the Gym looked like they had been added on later, and I was pretty sure that this had been a pretty boring stadium that Gardenia had tried to ¡°Grass-type¡± up as much as possible.

    Wood and steel bleachers were mounted on the two long sides of the rectangular court, and a small scattering of people and Pok¨¦mon were seated on them. Most looked bored, but Ted and Lucas were sitting near the front row. Lucas looked excited, waving happily as I saw him, and Ted nodded reassuringly.

    K¨­jin barked happily from his seat next to Lucas, looking down intently at me.

    There was a whole book of rules and regulations for professional Pok¨¦mon battling, but one of the ones I¡¯d learned yesterday was that there was a limit on how many Pok¨¦mon could be used per Gym battle. For my first Gym, I could only bring two Pok¨¦mon with me.

    While K¨­jin and his Fire-typing could have made a big difference against the Grass-types of the Eterna City Gym, the fact remained that he was simply too inexperienced as compared to Venus and Zetian, and so he would sit out and watch how we did.

    I gave them a short wave, then blinked as one of the clay pots wiggled a little bit, and a Baltoy stuck its head out slightly.

    It spun a little bit as it saw me looking, then a soft purple wall emerged from it, connecting to another clay pot. Another Baltoy, I guessed.

    The purple wall shimmered before turning invisible.

    Protection from Pok¨¦mon moves. I realized.

    It wouldn¡¯t do to have the crowd be vaporized by a stray Solar Beam after all.

    I steeled myself, shaking away the fascination with all the little unique aspects of the Gym, and looked at my opponent on the opposite side of the court.

    It wasn¡¯t Gardenia, instead it was one of the Gym Trainers, a surprisingly young girl wearing what looked like a school uniform.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    ¡°Hi there!¡± She chirped. ¡°I¡¯m Caroline, I¡¯ll be your first challenge today!¡±

    ¡°Uh, hi.¡± I said, briefly waving. ¡°I¡¯m Alina.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you!¡±

    The enthusiasm was¡­ a lot.

    A tall, serious woman in a black and white striped shirt coughed from the sidelines. ¡°This will be an official match.¡± She called.

    ¡°The rules will be held in accordance with Pok¨¦mon League regulations. It is a one-on-one match, with no substitutions or items. Do both of you understand?¡±

    We both nodded, and I nervously fidgeted with Venus¡¯ Pok¨¦ Ball. Zetian, as a mixed Bug-/Flying-type, would be a great counter to most of the Grass-types that the Gym would be using. However I didn¡¯t know exactly how tough the fights would be, and I wanted to make sure she was feeling as strong and rested as possible for the final bouts with Gardenia.

    ¡°Trainers, release your Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    ¡°Cher, go!¡±

    I took a deep breath. It was cheesy, but this was my first Gym battle, I couldn¡¯t not do it¡­

    ¡°Venus! I choose you!¡±

    Our two Pok¨¦mon materialized in flashes of light. Venus looked around in amazement at the bright lights and open space of the Gym, before focusing in on the opponent. It was a rather cute Cherubi, the pink skin vibrant against the earthy green and brown tones of the Gym¡¯s walls.

    It squeaked adorably, waddling from side to side on its stubby little legs, but then frowned in concentration at Venus.

    My Eevee, for her part, lowered herself into a fighting stance, ready to pounce at the Cherubi.

    I felt a little weak in the knees as I realized that, for the first real time, I would have a large audience for my battle. I tried to inconspicuously wipe my sweating palms on my skirt, and a small, wildly distracted part of my brain realized that this was probably why so many Trainers had fingerless gloves.

    Maybe I should pick up a pair after this? It wouldn¡¯t be perfectly matched with my outfits, but maybe-

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    ¡°Cher! Tackle!¡±

    Venus and I had worked out a rough plan of attack last night, and I didn¡¯t even have to give an order as she jumped to the side, not even bothering to use a Quick Attack to dodge the blow.

    The Eevee then blurred into motion in a flash of white light, slamming into the Cherubi¡¯s side.

    Even its grunt of pain was oddly cute, as the Cherubi toppled to one side, rolling for a second before standing up on trembling legs.

    ¡°Again!¡± I called.

    ¡°Evade and Morning Sun!¡± Caroline called, but it was for naught.

    Even as motes of glowing lights began to rise from the Cherubi¡¯s stem, Venus was already pouncing, knocking Cher to the ground.

    It struggled weakly for a moment, then relaxed, knocked unconscious.

    There was a long beat, then the announcer held up an arm.

    ¡°Trainer Caroline, recall your Pok¨¦mon. By knock-out, Challenger Alina is victorious! Challenger Alina, recall your Pok¨¦mon!¡±

    I blinked.

    That was it?

    I numbly pulled out the Pok¨¦ Ball again, and recalled Venus. She went back in with a look of stunned pride, much like my own.

    Maybe I had hyped up the Gym battles a little too much?

    Caroline pouted, but brightened again as she retrieved her own Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°Good match!¡± She called. ¡°Your Eevee¡¯s really fast! And really cute too! Not as cute as my precious Cher, but still cute! Good job on avoiding my attacks, that¡¯s a really important thing for Trainers to learn!¡±

    She took a deep breath and her eyes unfocused a little, like she was trying to remember a script. ¡°You beat Cher before she could get Morning Sun off, that¡¯s good! Morning Sun is a healing move, which changes how much a Pok¨¦mon is healed based on the weather! In a closed space like this with no weather effects, it wouldn¡¯t have helped too much, but every little bit counts! In other instances, I could have healed Cher a lot, and dragged out the battle! Make sure to keep an eye on the weather and the environment of the battle, as it may have bigger effects than you realize! But, uh, you might already know that.¡±

    I blinked at the speech, before realizing what it really was.

    This is a tutorial!

    They were treating me like any other Trainer who was challenging a Gym for the first time, and so they wanted to introduce me to some of the more complicated aspects of battling.

    I smiled at the expectant girl, and bowed slightly. ¡°Thank you for the battle and the information! It was a good match.¡±

    She beamed, and bowed back.

    ¡°Have a good one!¡± Caroline waved, and almost skipped out of the battling courts.

    ¡°Challenger, are you ready to continue?¡± The referee asked, and I nodded.

    She reached down, and clicked a radio, speaking quietly into it.

    A few moments later, another woman walked out, this time wearing a nice white blouse and a long green skirt.

    ¡°Hi there!¡± She called. ¡°My name¡¯s Jenna, and I won¡¯t hold back, so you better be ready!¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Nice to meet you! I¡¯m Alina, and I¡¯m more than ready!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see about that!¡±

    /^\

    Jenna had a surprisingly fast Budew, who was more than happy to try and fill the air with Stun Spores. Unfortunately for it, despite how fast the Budew was, Venus was faster, and was able to knock it out relatively quickly.

    Some of the spores did end up getting trapped in Venus¡¯ fur, however, and during the next fight she was fully affected by the Paralysis effect.

    Luckily for her, the Budew¡¯s Paralysis was nowhere near as potent as the one from Kane¡¯s Elekid, but there were still several moments where Venus froze in place during the fight.

    My opponent that time was Angela, who had a Roselia that took advantage of the Paralysis to launch several waves of poisoned needles.

    It was a close call, but Venus came out victorious, albeit wobbling slightly from the aftereffects of poison coursing through her body.

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± Angela said. ¡°We do offer free Antidotes, but your Eevee¡¯s going to have to wait until after the challenge is done to get one.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, I really appreciate that.¡±

    She smiled, and waved as she walked out of the gym.

    That left just one last challenge, and I took a deep breath.

    ¡°Good job.¡± I said, holding Venus¡¯ Pok¨¦ Ball up to my face so I could speak to her. ¡°You got through a lot, but it¡¯s time for you to rest, okay?¡±

    The Pok¨¦ Ball wobbled for a second, but settled down soon enough.

    ¡°You did your job, and you did it perfectly. Thank you.¡±

    It wiggled one more time, and I replaced it on my belt. My hand drifted over to the next Ball, which was vibrating slightly.

    Zetian was more than eager to get going.

    The door on the other end of the Gym opened, and a red-headed woman in a green and brown outfit came skipping towards the court.

    ¡°Hi!¡± She called. ¡°It¡¯s great to finally meet you! I¡¯ve heard a lot about you, and I¡¯m eager to see what you got!¡±

    That caused a soft wave of whispers to go through the crowd, but I wasn¡¯t paying any attention to them.

    Gardenia was¡­ excitable.

    I knew that was her general personality from the shows and games, but they didn¡¯t quite manage to get what that would mean in real life across.

    She was bouncing up and down on her toes, eyes sparkling as she stared eagerly at me. Her green short-cape¡¯s edges fluttered as she did so, and I was reminded of nothing so much as a butterfly¡¯s wings in the wind.

    The orange cut-off cargo pants were¡­ a choice, but I could see that there were dirt smudges on her knees and the green boots she wore. She must have just come from a garden or something.

    ¡°This will be an official match.¡± The referee repeated. ¡°The rules will be held in accordance with Pok¨¦mon League regulations. It is a two-on-two match, with one substitution per Trainer, and no items used. Do both of you understand?¡±

    That was a little different than the past couple of times, but relatively simple as far as these things went.

    I took a deep breath, and palmed Zetian¡¯s Pok¨¦ Ball. Meeting Gardenia¡¯s eyes, a shock of electricity seemed to run through my body, and tingles of excitement ran down my spine.

    I began to understand what people saw in the Gym challenges.

    A smile spread across my face, and it was mirrored by Gardenia.

    ¡°Ready.¡± She said, and I took a deep breath.

    ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ¡°Release your Pok¨¦mon!¡±

    Zetian took to the air, her wings beating furiously as she darted around, getting used to the space.

    A form materialized on Gardenia¡¯s side of the field, another Cherubi.

    This one was much more weathered than Caroline¡¯s however, its pink skin darkened to something closer to a purplish-red, and its eyes glinted under the artificial lights of the Gym.

    The referee took a deep breath, and the world seemed to narrow down to just the battling court.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

 Chapter Forty-Two

    Gardenia¡¯s Cherubi was fast, for a Cherubi.

    That sounded dismissive, but I was genuinely impressed at how quickly it sped up, dashing forwards towards Zetian. Cherubi weren¡¯t known to be particularly fast, just the opposite in fact, since their stubby legs didn¡¯t lend themselves to speed or maneuverability.

    It was remarkable that Gardenia¡¯s Pok¨¦mon was able to move so fluidly, but it wasn¡¯t Zetian.

    Zetian had been ecstatic ever since I had told her the plan, and how she would be the lynch-pin in the fight against Gardenia. She had been vibrating more than usual with excitement, and I¡¯d had to tell her multiple times that she needed to rest and save her energy.

    She wasn¡¯t bothering to save her energy now.

    Zetian zipped forwards like she had been shot out of a cannon, her stinger primed and ready. Our strategy was simple by design - Zetian didn¡¯t know many moves, only Sweet Scent, Gust, Struggle Bug, and Bug Bite, and she wouldn¡¯t learn any more until she evolved. It was better for her to keep moving and hit as hard as she could then, using Bug Bite as her strongest move to whittle down Gardenia¡¯s Pok¨¦mon.

    I felt something change, and I looked up from the two rapidly closing Pok¨¦mon to see the smile still firmly in place on Gardenia¡¯s lips.

    Something¡¯s wrong!

    ¡°Zetian! Wave off!¡± I called, but it was too late.

    Her stinger came slashing down, and the Cherubi squealed in pain as a large chunk of the leaf on its head was torn away by the blow. But the seeds that had been held in place underneath the leaf also came away with the blow, latching onto Zetian.

    They pulsed green as Zetian beat back into the air, away from the Cherubi, and the little Combee staggered in mid air.

    On the ground, a smug looking Cherubi also pulsed with a green light, and it stood a little taller than it did before.

    Leech Seed!

    It was then that I realized the critical error that I had made. I had never paid too much attention to Gardenia¡¯s gym, always knocking it out early with only a little bit of effort before moving on to more important things in the games.

    But Gardenia¡¯s Gym had another theme beyond just making a challenger fight all of the Gym Trainers - she liked to use status effects and the weather to power up her own Pok¨¦mon.

    A Leech Seed wouldn¡¯t do much damage to Zetian, it was weak on two fronts, but even a little bit of chip damage could swing the tide of an entire battle.

    We were now in a race against time.

    ¡°Sorry about that!¡± Gardenia called, in a tone that told me she wasn¡¯t really that sorry. ¡°But I heard interesting things about you, and I wanted to make the fight a little more fun!¡±

    I ground my teeth. ¡°Zetian, end this quickly!¡±

    Gardenia pouted a little bit. ¡°No witty banter? Shame. Ref, I¡¯m using my switches. Sakura, return!¡±

    Zetian dived, but the referee blew a whistle, and she pulled up, glaring at Gardenia. In a flash of light, the Cherubi vanished, and Gardenia held up another Pok¨¦ Ball.

    ¡°Genbu! It¡¯s your turn!¡±

    A Turtwig appeared on the battling court, opening its maw and roaring. It was a bit high-pitched, this wasn¡¯t a Torterra after all, and I couldn¡¯t help myself.

    I may have squealed a little bit at how absolutely adorable it was.

    I loved Turtwig. It had been my first Starter when I¡¯d played the Generation 4 games, and even though I had played with the other two Starters in my later playthroughs, I always kept returning to the little grass turtle.

    Zetian shot me a look with one of her faces, and I promptly tried to get myself back on track.

    The referee looked between us, and nodded. ¡°Resume!¡±

    ¡°Genbu! Sunny Day!¡±

    My eyes widened. ¡°No! Zetian, don¡¯t let it get that off!¡±

    The Turtwig nodded, bracing all four feet on the ground as it looked up at the skylight.

    Zetian tried her best to get to the Turtwig before it got its move off, but she was too late.

    I wasn¡¯t sure exactly what it did, or how the move actually worked, but in a second the entire stage changed. The sunlight streaming in through the glass ceiling felt somehow stronger, more oppressive.

    A moment after the Sunny Day took hold, Zetian was diving down onto Genbu. Her stinger flashed and flailed as she tried to get through the shell on the Turtwig¡¯s back.

    Thankfully it hadn¡¯t hardened into the stone-like shell of Torterra, and I could see the stiletto-like stinger sink into the gaps between the plates of Genbu.

    The other Pok¨¦mon cried out in pain, and I tried to stop myself from feeling guilty.

    It¡¯ll be fine. I told myself. This is a Gym Leader¡¯s Pok¨¦mon, it¡¯s used to battling like this. Besides, it¡¯s not like this is life or death.

    Not like fighting Kane.

    Then the seeds still attached to Zetian pulsed, and she quivered in pain.

    ¡°Razor Leaf!¡± Gardenia called.

    Genbu cracked its neck like a whip, the small twig on its head glowing green in response to the command, and a vivid leaf spun like a spinning saw blade at Zetian.

    She took the hit well, but I could see that it still hurt her, pushing her back from the turtle-like Pok¨¦mon.

    A thought crossed my mind, a potential way out of the situation.

    ¡°Zetian! Use Gust! Underneath the Turtwig!¡±

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Zetian didn¡¯t bother to question the strange command, rearing up and beating her wings even more viciously at Genbu, the gusts of wind almost visible with the Flying-type Energy infused into the move.

    Even from this distance I could see Gardenia¡¯s eyes widen as she realized what I was trying to do.

    Genbu, bless its little heart, didn¡¯t have a chance to react.

    The gusts of wind didn¡¯t hit the Turtwig directly, instead they smashed into the ground just below its stomach.

    If it was a normal wind, that would have been the end of it, and nothing of any note would happen as the small localized gale of wind dispersed off of the floor into the surrounding air.

    But Pok¨¦mon had a way of changing things, and the energy that had been infused into the blow made it much more like a physical object.

    I didn¡¯t know exactly what Type Energy was, or how it worked. As far as I knew, nobody really did. It was something that Pok¨¦mon, and some humans, could harness and use to power up things that normally shouldn¡¯t work.

    A Pok¨¦mon pulling a blizzard in the middle of a desert, for example, or a human reading people¡¯s minds and levitating objects.

    People had been working on the problem of how to explain Type Energy for centuries in this world, and none had ever fully understood it. I wasn¡¯t a physicist, or a biologist, or anything else, so I didn¡¯t even bother attempting to figure it out. All I knew was that it made the impossible possible.

    The Gust of wind ricocheted off of the ground, slamming into Genbu¡¯s stomach, picking the Turtwig off of the floor and throwing it onto its back.

    Its little legs waved wildly as it tried to right itself, and I was sure that with enough time it could have accomplished the feat. Zetian didn¡¯t allow it to have that time.

    She practically teleported on top of the flailing Turtwig, and without a single order from me she jabbed the stinger into the much thinner shell on its stomach.

    The Leech Seed pulsed again, sucking more of her vitality out of the Combee, but it wasn¡¯t enough to save the Turtwig.

    With one last jab from the stinger, the Turtwig went limp.

    I¡¯d made sure to educate Zetian that this wasn¡¯t like the fight against Kane, and thankfully she pulled away once she noticed that Genbu was unconscious.

    ¡°Leader Gardenia¡¯s Pok¨¦mon is unable to continue battling!¡± The referee called. ¡°Leader Gardenia, please recall your Pok¨¦mon and send your next one out!¡±

    Genbu disappeared into Gardenia¡¯s Pok¨¦ Balls, and I blinked at their appearance. They were¡­ green?

    I didn¡¯t know of any green Pok¨¦ Balls, but they looked good, and I mentally made a note to see if it would be possible to ask Gardenia where she had gotten hers.

    Gardenia held up the Pok¨¦ Ball to her mouth, muttering something to it quietly, before putting back on her belt. She then pulled off another, and Sakura returned to the field.

    The little Cherubi staggered a little as it came out of its Ball, but then steadied. It raised its face to the ceiling, and let out a small cry of excitement as I realized why Gardenia¡¯s Turtwig had focused on setting up Sunny Day instead of trying to take out Zetian with more attacks.

    ¡°Leader Gardenia, are you ready?¡± Gardenia nodded.

    ¡°Challenger Knighton, ready?¡±

    I gulped, but nodded all the same.

    ¡°Let the battle continue!¡±

    ¡°Zetian, end it quickly! Gust again!¡±

    ¡°Sakura, Morning Sun.¡±

    Cherubi¡¯s ability was Chlorophyll, which doubled the speed of the Pok¨¦mon in harsh sunlight, which the interior of the Gym definitely now counted as. Where Sakura had once been much slower than Zetian, its leaves now almost shone with inner light, and when Zetian beat her wings to release her attack, the Cherubi easily danced to the side, letting the wind howl harmlessly nearby.

    Motes of light seemed to gather around Sakura, the sunlight filling its body and restoring its heath. Then the green Leech Seeds on Zetian pulsed once more, and as the light faded, the Cherubi looked completely unharmed.

    I grimaced, and looked over to the referee.

    ¡°I¡¯m using a switch!¡±

    The ref blew their whistle again, and Zetian spun to look at me with various expressions of dismay and frustration.

    I recalled her into her Ball, and the green seeds that had been stuck onto her body fell off, turning brown and rotten as they dropped to the floor.

    ¡°Trust me.¡± I said to the Pok¨¦ Ball. ¡°This isn¡¯t the end of it for you.¡±

    The Ball wiggled, but Zetian accepted the maneuver, and settled down as I placed her back onto my belt.

    I really didn¡¯t want to do this, but if we wanted to win¡­

    Releasing Venus, I knelt down by her side, looking the already injured Pok¨¦mon in her eyes.

    ¡°Trainer Knighton-¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Gardenia interrupted. ¡°Let her have a moment.¡±

    The ref grumbled, but quieted down.

    ¡°Hey girl.¡± I said softly. ¡°We¡¯re in a bit of a tough spot. Gardenia¡¯s one Pok¨¦mon down, but her Cherubi is back at full health, and she¡¯s gotten a buff from the sunlight.¡±

    Venus cocked her head, and while I could tell she was confused at some of my terminology, she seemed to get the gist of it.

    ¡°Zetian had some Leech Seeds on her that could only be gotten rid of by switching her out. She¡¯s still our best bet to beat Gardenia, but¡­ we¡¯re out of switches.¡±

    I took a deep breath.

    ¡°You might get knocked out during the fight. Please, don¡¯t think of this like I¡¯m sacrificing you, because that¡¯s not what I¡¯m-¡±

    Venus rolled her eyes, and leaned forwards, bumping her head against my nose and cutting me off.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ okay with this? If you¡¯re not, we can stop the match right now.¡±

    She batted at me with her paws, and I felt some of the tension seep out of me.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll trust you.¡±

    I stood back up, and looked at Gardenia, who had a complicated expression on her face that I couldn¡¯t quite read.

    ¡°Ready?¡± She asked, and I took another deep breath, before squaring my shoulders and nodding.

    ¡°Ready.¡±

    The referee looked a little annoyed, but called for the match to continue.

    ¡°Venus! No need to get fancy!¡±

    A flick of her ear was the only sign that she acknowledged me, and was off to the races against the Cherubi.

    Even with all of our speed training, with the sun streaming down through the skylight, Gardenia¡¯s Sakura would be faster than Venus was, if not for the simple fact that Quick Attack was, well, quick.

    Venus blurred into a line of light as she streaked forwards, smashing into the Cherubi¡¯s side and knocking it to the ground.

    Sakura was experienced however, and it turned its body as it fell, falling on the smaller cherry-like head/fruit thing attached to its stem.

    The little head gave a small cry of panic, but the maneuver caused Sakura to bounce back to its feet.

    ¡°Leafage!¡± Gardenia called, and the leaves on the stem glowed brightly before a hail of energy burst off of the little Cherubi.

    They smashed into Venus, who whimpered with pain as she was pushed back by the sheer weight of the attack.

    Small cuts opened up underneath her fur from the dozens of razor sharp ¡°leaves,¡± but I was less worried than I could have been. Just before they¡¯d hit, I¡¯d noticed that the energy leaves had dimmed in brightness, losing some of their potency.

    After all, this was a competition battle, not a fight to the death. Otherwise I¡¯m sure that the attack would have left much bigger wounds.

    Even still, Venus was wobbling on her feet after the attack, and I resisted the urge to withdraw her right now and take her to the Pok¨¦mon Center.

    She wouldn¡¯t be able to take another hit, and I was out of switches.

    ¡°Again!¡± I called, and Venus zipped forwards in light.

    The exchange played out almost the same way, but this time when Venus was hit by the Leafage, she collapsed.

    ¡°Challenger Knighton¡¯s Pok¨¦mon is unable to continue battling!¡± The referee called. ¡°Challenger Knighton, please recall your Pok¨¦mon and send your next one out!¡±

    ¡°You did amazing.¡± I said to Venus¡¯ Pok¨¦ Ball once she had been returned.

    The ball didn¡¯t wiggle, and I tried not to worry too much.

    ¡°Zetian!¡± I called, throwing her Ball onto the field. ¡°I choose you!¡±

    The Combee didn¡¯t bother with showing off at all, and even from behind I could tell that she was furious. Zetian was badly hurt, but Venus had done some damage against Sakura as well.

    This would be resolved in one, maybe two exchanges.

    The world slowed down to a crawl, and my focus narrowed entirely onto the battling court in front of me. There wasn¡¯t much I could actually do right now, it was all up to Zetian.

    The referee¡¯s arm lowered.

 Chapter Forty-Three

    I¡¯d always liked old samurai films.

    My father had preferred westerns, but ever since I had learned that many of those movies had been based on the black-and-white Japanese films, I had decided to watch those instead.

    At first it had been partially out of spite, but I grew to love the artistry of the films.

    There was something about the final battle between samurai that had always entranced me. Two warriors, facing off against each other, the tension slowly ratcheting up until they burst into action. A couple of quick blows with their swords, and then it was over.

    Akira Kurosawa¡¯s film Sanjuro had perhaps one of the most influential final battles, complete with a blood spray that would leave an enduring mark on action films and anime for decades to come. It only lasted two seconds, but the feeling of tension and catharsis had stayed with me for years.

    Watching Zetian fight Gardenia¡¯s Cherubi reminded me of those old samurai films.

    An intense staredown between the two combatants, a burst of motion, then a resolution.

    The battle was over in a single exchange. Zetian sliced through the air, her stinger leading as Sakura aimed towards the sky, its stems and leaves already glowing with a Leafage.

    Zetian stopped her mad dash towards the Cherubi by reversing her wing¡¯s motion, halting her in mid air. The leaves flew just in front of her face, and she responded with a vicious sweep of her wings.

    The Gust blew forth, catching the Cherubi right in the center of its body.

    Sakura staggered once, then collapsed on the ground unconscious.

    Zetian hovered in the sky for several long seconds, staring at the unmoving form of the Cherubi, almost as if daring it to get back up.

    After a long moment, when nothing happened, the referee stepped forwards.

    ¡°Leader Gard-¡±

    He was cut off by a brilliant, eye-searing light that burst forth from Zetian. I had to throw my hands up in front of my face, but I could hear the excited murmuring from the crowd.

    When it finally faded, Zetian was hovering in place, looking down at her new body with awe.

    Gone was the conjoined hexagonal Combee, replaced with a magnificent Vespiquen. The jewel in the middle of her head shone with an inner light as she looked at her body in awe and disbelief. If I was being honest, despite how amazing she looked as a whole¡­ Zetian looked a little ragged when you looked at her more closely.

    She was still a bit wounded from the battle, and there were some faint scars and ragged patches of the incredibly fine fur all across her body. One of her wings had a little bit torn out of it, and she was obviously exhausted.

    Professor Rowan had once explained to me that even though nobody was really sure of exactly how evolution worked, they did know that it took a lot of energy in order to accomplish it, and Zetian had already gone through the wringer, courtesy of Gardenia.

    But the one thing that really stood out to me was that, unless my memory was deceiving me, Zetian was actually bigger than her mother had been. It might have been the steady access to food, something that wasn¡¯t a certainty in the wild, or better healthcare in the form of regular Pok¨¦mon Center visits, or even just the fact that Zetian was getting a lot of exercise in.

    Her mother had been maybe a little under four feet, a bit small for Vespiquen. Zetian? Zetian was pushing four-and-a-half, easily.

    Even though we had practiced using weights to simulate the weight of a Vespiquen¡¯s lower abdomen, Zetian was sinking slowly in mid-air, too exhausted to keep herself fully flying.

    Ignoring everyone else, I hopped the short railing around the competitor¡¯s stand, and hurried out onto the field to try and catch her.

    Zetian buzzed happily as she saw me, and tried doing her excited wiggle-dance, only to realize that her new body made it impossible. Instead she gratefully flew over to my open arms, allowing me to relieve most of the strain from her new weight off her wings.

    ¡°Oof.¡± I muttered quietly, realizing that she had to weigh a good ninety pounds at least.

    It stung a little bit that my Pok¨¦mon was almost as large as I was, but I was too happy for her to focus on that.

    ¡°You did so well!¡± I cheered, and Zetian raised her arms happily.

    Then she caught on to the fact that she actually had hands and arms for the first time, and stared at them in amazement.

    Zetian clicked her mandibles happily, and reached out, gently stroking my hair.

    It was a little bit creepy to have a human-sized bee run her claws across my head, but I wasn¡¯t going to focus on that right now.

    ¡°I know you want to stay and investigate your new body,¡± I said, catching her attention again. ¡°But we need to get you back to your Pok¨¦ Ball, okay? Just long enough to get you to the Pok¨¦mon Center.¡±

    Zetian pouted a little bit, which was impressive considering the fact that she had no lips or facial features to actually pout with, but allowed herself to be put back into the Ball.

    As I¡¯d learned from Professor Rowan, it was always best to have a recently evolved Pok¨¦mon checked out by a medical professional as close to the actual time of evolution as possible. Nine times out of ten the evolution would be just fine, but there was always a chance that something could have gone wrong.

    ¡°Congratulations!¡± Gardenia said brightly, and I looked over at her in surprise.

    At some point she had also hopped the rail on her side of the court, and had come out to join me.

    ¡°That was a great battle! And wow! What a finish! Here, this belongs to you!¡±

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I blinked at Gardenia¡¯s outstretched hand, my brain not quite catching up to the reality of the situation yet. In her open palm laid an enameled pin, three green diamonds put together in a vaguely triangle-like shape.

    ¡°Oh, uh, thank you.¡± I reached out and gently picked it up.

    ¡°You¡¯re pretty good for a first-timer!¡± She chirped as I stared at the pin. ¡°You¡¯ve definitely earned that badge!¡±

    I blinked again, feeling slightly detached from the situation. This was the Forest Badge. I¡¯d done it, I¡¯d officially beat my first gym.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no more paperwork to worry about! Your winnings will be deposited into the account specified on your League forms!¡±

    ¡°Winnings?¡± I said.

    ¡°Well of course! It¡¯s not a lot, but it¡¯s a little bit of a cash deposit to help you prepare for the next Gym! I¡¯d like to talk some more, but I bet you wanna get your Pok¨¦mon to the Center, right? Plus we have some more challengers coming in soon. We should talk later though!¡±

    ¡°I¡­ yeah.¡± I was caught a little more than off guard by her stream of thoughts, and by everything that had just happened.

    I had done it. I had done it!

    A grin stretched across my face, and I looked out to the crowd. People were clapping and cheering at the end of the fight, like we were at a baseball game or something. Ted and Lucas were on their feet, and K¨­jin was letting out little bursts of fire.

    I held the pin up in victory, feeling like a champion.

    /^\

    ¡°I feel awful.¡± I moaned as I stared up at the lazily spinning fan in the Pok¨¦mon Center.

    ¡°Told you.¡± Ted said, a bit snidely. ¡°You ate enough to feed a Snorlax.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a celebration.¡± My arm dramatically flopped to the side as I tried to explain. ¡°We couldn¡¯t not eat too much.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡± Lucas said, from his spot on the foot of the bed where he was currently splayed out. ¡°We had to eat ourselves sick.¡±

    I could hear Ted rolling his eyes, but he might have had a point. We might have eaten a little too much in celebration of winning my first Gym Challenge.

    In fact, I was beginning to see why the Gym had reopened in the first place. With the buzz of victory still strong in my mind, it was easy to forget that there had been a less-than-natural disaster just a week ago. The Challenges gave people something to focus on that wasn¡¯t just the depressing reality of rebuilding parts of the city, and gave them hope for the future when things would return to normal.

    My Pok¨¦mon seemed to agree with me. Venus had recovered spectacularly, and my qualms about having her fall unconscious quieted down. She was ecstatic that she had been a part of the battle, and seemed even more excited to battle more in the future.

    K¨­jin was all fired up, literally. Even though he hadn¡¯t participated in the battle, he¡¯d been a ball of energy all morning in wanting to train, and had accidentally released a couple small gouts of fire.

    We¡¯d have to work on that more, but for now he was thankfully asleep in a food coma, curled up with Venus.

    Zetian though, Zetian was quietly reveling in her victory and evolution. She had reluctantly submitted to an examination by the doctors at the Pok¨¦mon Center, but thankfully nothing had gone wrong during her transformation.

    Through a process I didn¡¯t quite know the specifics of, and wasn¡¯t entirely sure I wanted to know, Zetian would start breeding her own colony of little bees for her own protection. That was part of the reason why we had splurged on so much food - forget eating for two, Zetian was now eating for two thousand.

    For now though, she was sitting in a chair, quietly reveling in being able to pick things up and put them down with her new hands.

    ¡°So.¡± Lucas said, looking up at all of us. ¡°What now?¡±

    ¡°Well now that Alina¡¯s done with her match, we both still have ours. After that, I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Lucas muttered, looking down sheepishly. ¡°If you all wouldn¡¯t mind, could I come along with you?¡±

    Ted and I shared a surprised look.

    ¡°I mean,¡± I started, feeling incredibly awkward.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t actually really mean to travel together for this long.¡± Ted said. ¡°We just met after we responded to the same Ranger alert, and started traveling in the same direction together.¡±

    ¡°Plus traded some tips in regards to Hisuian Pok¨¦mon.¡± I said, and he nodded.

    ¡°You definitely helped with training Switchback.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡± I shrugged. ¡°You two are really some of the only friend¡¯s I¡¯ve made since coming to Sinnoh. I wouldn¡¯t mind traveling with you all.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± Lucas pumped his fist in the air, and Ted looked contemplative.

    ¡°I¡¯d have to double check a few things, but I¡¯m not against the idea.¡± He said.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere right away.¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°Sure I beat Gardenia¡¯s Gym, but I¡¯m not in a hurry, and I¡¯d like to stick around and see your battles. Besides, Zetian and Venus still have to rest for a little bit.¡±

    Zetian looked up with a bit of a glare at the idea that she would have to rest, but she obviously was still unused to her new body and bounced her head off of the back of the chair.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯ll figure it out over the next few days. For now though, sure. I¡¯m good with traveling with you all.¡± Ted said, over Lucas¡¯ cheering.

    ¡°Although I¡¯m going to be spending a lot of time training.¡± He continued. ¡°Having seen some of what Gardenia¡¯s tricks are, I have some ideas for Mayfly and Switchback.¡±

    ¡°If you need any advice,¡± I said smugly. ¡°As an official owner of the Forest Badge, I can give you two pointers.¡±

    I¡¯d decided to buy one of the metal tins with the foam insert to carry my badges around in, and I¡¯d been pulling it out every now and again to look happily at my new badge.

    They both looked at me flatly.

    ¡°We have more battling experience than you by a long shot.¡± Ted said. ¡°I¡¯ve already done a full loop of the Hoenn circuit.¡±

    ¡°I have two Fire-types.¡± Lucas added. ¡°Besides, I already have experience in fighting a lot of Grass-type Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Yeah! It started out back when I was first going around to do the research for Professor Rowan, back when Sunny was just a Chimchar! So there we were, actually in Eterna Forest, not the nice sections of the road but the real forest, looking for a stone that¡¯s supposed to help Eevee evolve into Leafeon.¡±

    Venus¡¯ ear twitched, but she didn¡¯t bother to raise her head.

    ¡°Then we ran across this old guy who told us he knew where it was, but before he would show us, we had to help him. For some reason he needed fifteen leaves from Oddish.¡±

    Lucas frowned. ¡°For some reason, he needed leaves from fifteen different Oddish, so we couldn¡¯t just ask two or three Oddish if we could pick their leaves.¡±

    ¡°Wait, wouldn¡¯t that hurt them?¡± I asked.

    ¡°They grow back quickly.¡± Ted explained. ¡°And they¡¯re not actually connected to the nervous system, it¡¯s like our hair. In fact, if Oddish don¡¯t shed their leaves regularly, they¡¯ll start to rot.¡±

    ¡°Yeah! You got it! Anyways, so we started to go around and try to collect the leaves, but none of the Oddish wanted to let us take one. In fact, they started to get really aggressive, and attacked us! Sunny and I had to scare them off or knock them out, and as it turns out there was a really aggressive Vileplume who moved into the area recently, and was trying to take over. It was really weird too, because¡­¡±

    I leaned back further onto the pillows of the bed, closing my eyes as Lucas continued his increasingly improbable story of fighting a hundred Oddish, just to get fifteen leaves. Venus shifted closer to me, never quite fully waking up, but wanting to be next to me nonetheless.

    My hand rested softly on her head, and I scratched behind her ears, earning a soft purr.

    Ted and Lucas were now arguing about the logistics of how to pluck Oddish leaves, and I couldn¡¯t help but smile.

    This is the life.

 Chapter Forty-Four

    The rest of the week passed by in relative peace. Reconstruction of the town continued, and I was constantly amazed by how useful Pok¨¦mon were. With their strength and stamina being far beyond what most people had, the cleanup went by much faster than I had expected. It would still be a long time before Eterna City was back to normal, but certainly faster than anywhere back home could do.

    Lucas and Ted both also had their Gym battles, which were almost as fun to watch as it had been to participate in. And I had enjoyed the battle, which was a little surprising to me.

    Maybe I just hadn¡¯t had the right experiences with Pok¨¦mon battles before now.

    Ted had an interesting fighting style that I¡¯d experienced first hand in our practice bouts, but had never really seen from the sidelines before. More than most Trainers I¡¯d met, he believed in letting his Pok¨¦mon decide what they¡¯d do in the battle. He¡¯d give brief orders, which were really more like recommendations, but he preferred to have his Pok¨¦mon lead in the battles.

    Lucas, from his position beside me in the stands, had explained that Gym Leaders had different teams depending on the strength of the opponent in question. Because I was a new Trainer, Gardenia had used a team that was comparatively weak, but still strong for my skill level.

    Because Ted had a few badges under his belt, and was established as a Trainer; she could cut loose a little bit.

    Ted had still won against her, but it had been a much more action-packed battle than I had been expecting.

    Lucas¡¯s battle went by very easily. He simply had the type advantage over Gardenia¡¯s Pok¨¦mon, and it was no real challenge in the end. Lucas had a different style than Ted or I, but it was no less effective than either of ours.

    Despite his brash attitude a lot of the time, Lucas was surprisingly reserved when it came to fighting. He relied on his Pok¨¦mon¡¯s speed and agility to dodge a lot of the other Trainer¡¯s attacks, then when he saw an opportunity, he would have his Pok¨¦mon pounce on it with massive attacks that did a lot of damage.

    I wasn¡¯t sure what the ¡°meta¡± of Pok¨¦mon battling in this world was, but it would be interesting to see the differences between all of our different styles.

    Perhaps the most interesting thing to happen that week, however, was my meeting with Gardenia.

    /^\

    I tried my very best not to sneeze as I sat at the cafe table, waiting for my lunch partner to arrive.

    The El Caf¨¦ de Sinnoh was apparently one of the premier lunch spots in Eterna City, started by a Paldean expatriate who had moved to Sinnoh a few years ago. Lucas, who had been very jealous that I¡¯d been invited out to lunch there, told me the Caf¨¦¡¯s owner apparently specialized in sandwiches and the restaurant had apparently been named one of the best lunch places in Sinnoh.

    Privately, I wondered if the focus on sandwiches was more of a marketing ploy than anything else, as I¡¯d learned that while Paldeans did eat quite a few sandwiches, they were far from the only food the nation was known for.

    Apparently Paldea had tapas, and that was almost enough to get me on the next boat over there.

    The Caf¨¦ had managed to escape the devastation from the mudslide, and had been providing free meals for the workers. Everybody else who wasn¡¯t working still had to pay for their food, but that was a sacrifice I was willing to make today.

    Of course, I was starting to rethink my decision the longer I had to wait for Gardenia. She had sent ahead one her Roselia to hold her spot, and while it seemed like a very nice and proper Pok¨¦mon, it still made me sneeze.

    Eventually though, my salvation arrived.

    ¡°Sorry!¡± Gardenia¡¯s cheerful voice said from behind me, and the Roselia disappeared with a flash of red light as it was returned to its Pok¨¦ Ball. ¡°I was trying to get caught up on some paperwork, and completely lost track of what time it was!¡±

    She slipped into the recently vacated seat, and I had to suppress a smile at her appearance. Instead of her usual green and orange outfit, Gardenia was wearing much more normal clothes. A set of dirty denim overalls, a white t-shirt, and a red-and-black plaid flannel shirt made the woman look like a stereotype of a farmer. Gardenia had also accessorized by throwing on a pair of large sunglasses and a floppy straw sunhat.

    I had met actual farmers who didn¡¯t look as stereotypical as she did.

    ¡°No problem.¡± I said in response to her apology, trying to regain some kind of equilibrium. ¡°I wasn¡¯t waiting that long anyways.¡±

    ¡°Oh good! Have you ever eaten here? The sandwiches are divine.¡±

    ¡°Uh, no, I can¡¯t say I have. This is my first time in Eterna.¡±

    ¡°Oh really? Well I¡¯m glad we were your first stop in your Journey!¡±

    Her face fell. ¡°It¡¯s just a shame you didn¡¯t get to see it before the mudslide.¡±

    ¡°I was here for a little bit before then.¡± I reassured her. ¡°Actually, I was supposed to watch one of my friends do the Quadrathlon, but that didn¡¯t work out¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve been here a while then!¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess I have. Almost a month now, even if it feels like we just got in a couple days ago.¡±

    ¡°I know how that feels. But if you don¡¯t mind me asking, what do you think of my city?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nice.¡± I said, humming quietly as I tried to gather my thoughts.

    This conversation was not going like I¡¯d thought it would.

    ¡°Very peaceful and quiet.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Gardenia said, leaning back with a self-satisfied smile. ¡°That''s what we¡¯re trying to go for. Oh, the waiter¡¯s here!¡±

    Sure enough, a man in a black shirt and pants stepped up to the table, smiling politely.

    ¡°Good afternoon ladies, welcome to El Caf¨¦ de Sinnoh, can I get you some drinks to start off with?¡±

    ¡°A pitcher of mimosa for the table please.¡± Gardenia said, and I blinked at her.

    ¡°Unless that¡¯s not okay?¡± She asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±

    ¡°And how about food, have you had a chance to look at the menu?¡±

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    ¡°Just the usual for me.¡±

    The expression on the waiter¡¯s face was complicated as he nodded. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I would have said it was a mixture of regret and disgust, but surely that couldn''t be right.

    ¡°And for you?¡±

    ¡°Ah, I¡¯ll take the tofu, cheese, lettuce, and tomato sandwich please.¡± I¡¯d had plenty of time to look over the menu while I was waiting for Gardenia.

    ¡°An excellent choice! How would you like the tofu cooked?¡±

    I froze, that hadn¡¯t been on the menu.

    My eyes cut back over to Gardenia, who winked and mouthed ¡°fried.¡±

    ¡°Fried please.¡±

    ¡°Very good, those drinks will be out shortly.¡±

    He disappeared deeper into the restaurant, and I turned back to Gardenia.

    ¡°So!¡± She chirped, and leaned forwards. ¡°What did you think about our battle?¡±

    ¡°Is that why you asked me to lunch?¡± I asked, a little surprised.

    Gardenia shrugged. ¡°A little bit? Cynthia wanted me to get to know you a little bit better, she didn¡¯t say why, but you gotta be interesting in some way. I did a little bit of digging, good job on trying to stop those poachers, by the way.¡±

    ¡°That''s it? Just to get to know me?¡±

    She held up her hands. ¡°Isn¡¯t that enough?¡±

    I blinked a couple of times, then chuckled. ¡°I guess so.¡±

    ¡°So, the battle?¡±

    I hummed in thought, thinking back to the fight.

    ¡°It was good.¡± I said carefully, and Gardenia pouted.

    ¡°Your real thoughts. I promise I won¡¯t get offended!¡±

    I hesitated, then sighed. ¡°Honestly? The fights up until yours were easier than I was expecting.¡±

    She nodded rapidly. ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking too. But no offense, that¡¯s your problem.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± I said eloquently.

    ¡°Well, not a problem for you specifically, but really it¡¯s more of an issue for stronger Trainers. Most of the Trainers I hire for my Gym are actually relatively new.¡±

    ¡°Like Caroline.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! When I know that I¡¯m getting a more experienced Trainer coming through I¡¯ll give the Gym Trainers some stronger Pok¨¦mon, but most of the time I¡¯m getting newer challengers.¡± Gardenia shrugged. ¡°Honestly? My gym is more focused on training my Gym Trainers than challenging the people passing through.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°Why though?¡±

    The waiter returned with a pitcher of mimosa, and a couple of glasses that he elegantly set out on the table. He left right after pouring out the drinks, and I took a cautious sip.

    It was delicious.

    ¡°Because Eterna City is in a tough spot.¡± Gardenia said bluntly. ¡°We¡¯re flanked on two sides by Mount Coronet and the Eterna Forest. The Rangers do their best to make sure that the paths are safe, but they can¡¯t always stop wild Pok¨¦mon before they get to one of the outlying farms. The stronger my citizens are, the more experienced they are with battling, the safer they¡¯ll be if the worst happens.¡±

    She eyed me over the rim of her glass. ¡°After all, you¡¯d know about Pok¨¦mon getting out of control.¡±

    ¡°The Dusclops incident.¡± I said grimly.

    ¡°Exactly. If you and the Rangers hadn¡¯t stopped that, the most likely place the Duclops would have gone would be the Old Chateau. Ghosts are attracted to negative auras, and the Chateau is one of the most powerful sources of that kind of energy in the region. From the Chateau, it¡¯s a short hop over to my city.¡±

    I leaned forwards. ¡°Wait, so the Old Chateau actually does have Ghosts?¡±

    Gardenia looked bewildered for a second. ¡°Of course it does. Why wouldn¡¯t it? It¡¯s a haunted mansion, and we very specifically tell people to stay away from it. There¡¯s even a Ranger outpost nearby to keep kids from sneaking in.¡±

    ¡°They do that?¡±

    She rolled her eyes. ¡°They¡¯re young, dumb, and full of pep. Of course they think that sneaking into an abandoned mansion with a bunch of Ghost-types is some kind of challenge.¡±

    It was my turn to give her a considering look over the rim of my glass. ¡°And you never did it when you were a kid?¡±

    Gardenia spluttered as she took a sip of her mimosa. ¡°I, what? No, of course not!¡±

    Her face was beet red, and I enjoyed a victorious drink of my own.

    ¡°This is besides the point,¡± she said. ¡°Anyways, you might have had an easier time of it because I wasn¡¯t sure how strong you were, so the defenders didn¡¯t have my strongest Pok¨¦mon. After all, even though I want to make sure my Trainers are well prepared for the future, it wouldn¡¯t do to have our challengers be defeated before they even had a chance to face me.¡±

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking,¡± I said tentatively. ¡°How did I do in our battle?¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡± Gardenia took another sip.

    ¡°Not bad.¡± She eventually said. ¡°A bit rough around the edges, but overall not bad.¡±

    ¡°Any pointers?¡±

    ¡°You let your Combee stay out too long at first. Sorry, your Vespiquen. Congratulations, by the way!¡±

    I smiled. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll pass it on.¡±

    ¡°Anyways! You should have switched her out for your Eevee - who is very cute - much sooner. Instead you let the Leech Seeds take more of her strength than was necessary.¡±

    ¡°But she¡¯s resistant to the Leech Seed.¡± I argued. ¡°Venus isn¡¯t, wouldn¡¯t it make more sense to have her take the damage instead?¡±

    ¡°Ahh.¡± Gardenia said, wagging a finger at me. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. And no offense, but your inexperience is showing. Type matchups aren¡¯t everything, not even close. They¡¯re important, of course, but there¡¯s a lot of other factors to consider.¡±

    A lightbulb went off in my head. ¡°The sunlight.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! I saw that you noticed how bad it could be when Genbu got off his Sunny Day, but more experienced Trainers should recognize that I was likely to set up a field condition.¡±

    I rubbed at my forehead. ¡°Caroline and her Cherubi. The very first thing that they mentioned were the  effects that could come with different weather conditions.¡±

    ¡°Yes, that was on purpose. You saw that I had a Cherubi, and their ability is Chlorophyll - they get faster in sunlight. Knowing that, you should have anticipated that I would want to set up a Sunny Day. The longer you left your Combee out, however, the weaker she would be for the final confrontation. Combee don¡¯t have any healing moves available to them, so there was no way for her to heal herself.¡±

    ¡°But why didn¡¯t you lead with your Turtwig?¡± I asked, and Gardenia shrugged.

    ¡°It was a gamble. Genbu doesn¡¯t know Leech Seed, and I wanted to chip away at your health first. It¡¯s just my bad luck that you had a Combee with type advantages against me. Plus, even though I want to win, and I do try to win, it¡¯s not my main goal.¡±

    ¡°No?¡±

    ¡°Of course not. If I stomped every opponent that came my way with my Pok¨¦mon, I would be investigated by the Pok¨¦mon League. After all, my goal is to let people earn their Badges, and to teach them a few things along the way.¡±

    My brow furrowed as a new concern made itself known. ¡°You didn¡¯t let me win, did you?¡±

    Her cheery expression vanished as soon as the words left my mouth. ¡°You¡¯re pretty new to this, I can tell, so I¡¯m not going to take offense to that.¡± Gardenia said seriously. ¡°But no. Gym Leaders don¡¯t just hand out their Badges without testing their challengers first. Could I have beaten you? Yes, but that¡¯s not the point. You proved yourself to me, and I judged you strong enough to earn the Badge, that¡¯s all that really matters.¡±

    I sat back, a little mollified.

    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it!¡± Gardenia was back to her bubbly self in a second as she topped off her mimosa with the pitcher. ¡°Like I said, I know you¡¯re new. Now, here¡¯s what you did right- oh! The food¡¯s here!¡±

    The waiter had returned with two plates. One he placed in front of me, whichI immediately began salivating at the sight of. Perfectly toasted ciabatta bread, fresh tomatoes, crispy lettuce, and thick slices of cheese. Fried slices of tofu topped the sandwich off, and the basil pesto smelled heavenly.

    Gardenia¡¯s sandwich, on the other hand, made my stomach do a flip.

    Hard-boiled eggs, jalapeno peppers, cheese, the same kind of basil pesto I had on my sandwich, what looked like a heaping pile of plain white rice, lettuce, and even what looked like a latke was carefully arranged on the bread.

    The waiter had also dropped off a small glass bottle with olive oil and another bottle with chili sauce, and Gardenia happily poured both onto the sandwich.

    I nearly gagged, and the waiter shared a commiserating look with me.

    ¡°Nobody else makes sandwiches like these!¡± Gardenia said happily. ¡°Itadakimasu!¡±

    Without hesitating, she took a massive bite from the sandwich.

    I began hastily reconsidering all of my new advice.

 Chapter Forty-Five

    The knock at the door came just as I was finishing packing my bag. Venus began pouting as I dropped the bag of poffins into the abyss of the dimension-warping backpack, and Zetian was busy trying to pluck at my guitar¡¯s strings.

    I¡¯d already asked her to be gentle with them after she¡¯d accidentally snapped one with her claws.

    ¡°Come in.¡± I said as the knock repeated.

    ¡°Alina!¡± Lucas called from the open doorway. ¡°Are you ready?¡±

    I sighed and turned to see the younger man bouncing excitedly on his toes.

    ¡°Almost, I¡¯m just about finished packing.¡±

    Lucas scoffed.

    ¡°What? No, not that, are you ready to go to the station?¡±

    My head cocked to one side in confusion. ¡°The station?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, from the Rangers! Didn¡¯t you get the email on your phone?¡±

    ¡°No, my phone doesn¡¯t get emails.¡±

    ¡°Ohh.¡± He said, nodding sagely. ¡°I see. Well, you, me, and Ted all got emails asking us to come down to the Ranger Station later today.¡±

    Now that was interesting. ¡°Did they say why?¡±

    Lucas shrugged.

    ¡°Not exactly? Just saying they¡¯d like to speak with us since we¡¯re associated with Pok¨¦mon Professors and the labs.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t an order, is it?¡± I had a brief flashback to the Dusclops situation, and I was desperately hoping we wouldn¡¯t have to do something like that again.

    It was now Lucas¡¯ turn to look confused. ¡°An order? No, they¡¯re just asking us to stop by if we have the time.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Some of the tension in my shoulders eased. ¡°Oh okay, that¡¯s not that bad then. When did they say we should stop by?¡±

    ¡°Like, eleven o¡¯clock this morning I think.¡±

    I looked at the clock on the wall, and sighed.

    ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s already 10:45.¡±

    The young man crossed his arms. ¡°Well I didn¡¯t know that you couldn¡¯t get emails on your phone! I thought you were aware of it, and I just had to come and get you!¡±

    I eyed Zetian warily. ¡°If I let you stay here, will you promise not to break any more guitar strings?¡±

    The Vespiquen looked rather sheepish, and nodded. Then kept nodding, and I sighed.

    ¡°Is she okay?¡± Lucas whispered.

    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s just never really had a head before, so sometimes she gets distracted by it.¡±

    ¡°Hasn¡¯t it been like over a week already?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°If you lived your entire life with no arms or a separate head, wouldn¡¯t you be fascinated by them?¡±

    Lucas frowned in contemplation, his eyes turning glassy as he focused on the question, and Zetian stopped nodding as she realized we were talking about her.

    ¡°Okay, Zetian, do you want to stay here or come with us?¡±

    She considered for a moment, then deliberately pointed down at the floor with her hand, red eyes sparkling as she did so.

    ¡°Okay, well be careful please. Are you hungry? Want me to leave some food out? No? Okay.¡±

    I turned to the Eevee on the bed, who was currently sticking her head into the opening of my backpack.

    ¡°Venus.¡±

    Her head popped back out, and she tried her very best to look innocent.

    ¡°Do you want to come?¡±

    She was about to make up her mind, then I added, ¡°I¡¯m going to make sure you won¡¯t be able to get into the poffin bag if you stay, just as a head¡¯s up.¡±

    Venus¡¯ ears wilted, and she padded away from the bag to jump down from the bed.

    I eyed Zetian again, then made sure to close the bag up tightly before we left. I had the sneaking suspicion that now that Zetian had hands, she was trying to sneak snacks for herself, Venus, and K¨­jin.

    ¡°Speaking of, K¨­jin? Where are you?¡±

    There was a dull thumping noise, and the Growlithe crawled out from underneath the bed on his belly, his fur covered in dust.

    He borked happily, and didn¡¯t seem to mind the fact that his fur was now mostly gray.

    I resisted the urge to sigh.

    /^\

    ¡°Whoops.¡± I said as I stared at the Eterna City Ranger Station.

    It was a quaint little building, very much in the style of an old log cabin in browns and greens. A cheerful sign had been hung out front, urging anyone to call the posted number if they needed any help.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ted asked.

    ¡°I just remembered that I forgot to do something.¡±

    He gave me a quizzical look, but I didn¡¯t bother elaborating as we headed for the front door.

    It wasn¡¯t that important, surely, but I¡¯d realized that I had never actually stopped by the Ranger station back in Oreburgh City. Ranger Kimura had been nice, but actually going to the headquarters had just completely slipped my mind.

    I shrugged to myself, and followed Lucas into the building.

    The interior was just as quaint as the exterior. Wood and metal tables had been set up in a rough outline of an office, with old clunky CRT computer monitors on most of them. Several lazily spinning fans were spread out on the ceiling, but they didn¡¯t seem to actually do all that much.

    A large map of Eterna City and the surrounding area had been laminated and hung up on the wall. Different colored tacks and notes scribbled in dry erase marker littered the map, pointing out different areas of concern.

    In the corner there was a table set up with a coffee pot and several jars of snacks, including a whole row of jars with different colored lids. It didn¡¯t take me long to realize that they were intended for the different types of Pok¨¦mon.

    I took a deep breath in as I entered the building. It smelt of old, slightly burnt coffee, wood dust, and something else that I couldn¡¯t quite put my finger on.

    A Ranger stepped out of a small back room, a mug of coffee in her hand.

    ¡°Oh, hi!¡± She waved tiredly.

    She was wearing what seemed to pass for the Ranger¡¯s basic uniform; pants and shirt that were so dark blue they were edging on black, and a bright hunter orange vest thrown on top. She also looked completely exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes and dirt smudges all over her clothes.

    It was hard to tell on the dark blue pants, but the smudges on the bright orange vest made it extremely obvious.

    ¡°You must be the Lab Trainers, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s us!¡± Lucas chirped.

    ¡°Oh, good. Coffee?¡±

    She gestured with her mug at the coffee pot, making sure not to let any of the liquid spill.

    Lucas passed, and so did Ted, but I edged over to the pot and poured myself a mug of the dark liquid.

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    ¡°There¡¯s Alcreamer in the fridge.¡± She offered, and I opened the small mini-fridge to find a motley assortment of food scattered about.

    There was also a light blue and white blob in there, casually munching on some strawberries.

    I blinked at it, closed the door, then opened it again.

    ¡°There¡¯s a Snom in your fridge.¡± I said, still a little unsure of whether or not I was imagining it.

    The Ranger let out a long suffering sigh, placing her mug down on the edge of the table a little harder than necessary.

    ¡°Not again.¡± She muttered. ¡°Not today.¡±

    Stalking over, she gingerly moved me out of the way, opening the fridge door and kneeling down to get closer to the Snom, who froze as it noticed her.

    ¡°Clecle, you know you can¡¯t be in here.¡± She said sternly.

    The Snom melted a little, beady eyes staring up at the ranger mournfully.

    ¡°Nope. Not going to work on me today.¡± She continued, and pulled out a Pok¨¦ Ball. ¡°Come on back, we¡¯ll talk later.¡±

    The Snom vanished, and the Ranger shook her head.

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡± She reached in and grabbed a bottle of coffee creamer with a stylized Alcremie on it. ¡°Here you go.¡±

    ¡°So,¡± Ted began. ¡°Ranger¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry. It¡¯s been a busy day, my name¡¯s Machiko, nice to meet you all.¡±

    ¡°Ranger Machiko, nice to meet you too. What can we do for the Eterna City Rangers?¡±

    She ran a hand through her hair, and walked over to a desk, beckoning the three of us over.

    On the desk there were a series of maps, and she sorted through them before coming up with two different sheets of paper.

    One was a map of the foothills of Mount Coronet and the outskirts of Eterna City, and the other looked like a scene from a disaster movie.

    ¡°This is an image taken from the back of a Staraptor after the mudslide.¡± Machiko said, tapping the second image. ¡°And this one is what the area looked like before the mudslide.¡±

    We all winced, it wasn¡¯t a pretty sight.

    ¡°Most of it is bad, I¡¯m not going to lie. Thousands of Pok¨¦mon have been displaced thanks to the disaster, and it¡¯s wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem.¡±

    ¡°What do you want us to do?¡± Lucas said bravely, puffing out his chest.

    Machiko laughed hollowly. ¡°There¡¯s nothing you can do about that, but thanks for offering. The Rangers are stretched to the limit just trying to keep things from getting bad enough to alert the locals.¡±

    Ted frowned. ¡°It¡¯s that bad?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s close. We¡¯ve already seen a huge uptick in battles between wild Pok¨¦mon as they try to get to the best food and water spots. The local Sneasel population, for example, has seen a ton of infighting as different groups who didn¡¯t interact with each other are competing for more limited resources. Don¡¯t even get me started on the Bug-types, they¡¯ve taken a huge hit from all of this.¡±

    Lucas started to open his mouth to say something, but Machiko cut him off with a finger.

    ¡°One second, where is- ah, here it is.¡± She pulled out another sheet of paper, a closeup of the side of a hill. ¡°Do you see what¡¯s wrong with this image?¡±

    The three of us bent our heads over the image, trying to puzzle it out.

    ¡°Is it missing a lot of the dirt that used to be on top of it?¡± I offered, noting how one side of the hill was a lot more bare than the other.

    ¡°A good start, but if you look here-¡±

    ¡°There.¡± Ted said, pointing at a slightly darker section of the hill.

    ¡°You got it. That right there is the opening to a cave that one of our Rangers spotted while on patrol. And this-¡±

    She pulled out yet another image, this time of a much healthier looking hill, although it was a bit hard to tell because of all the rain in the image.

    ¡°Is the same hill two days before the mudslide. A tourist took the image because they liked the way the Berry trees were arranged, and were kind enough to let us have a copy.¡±

    I winced. There were no Berry trees on the hill after the disaster, and I doubted they would be growing back anytime soon. Then I frowned, and looked closer at the image.

    ¡°There¡¯s no cave there.¡± I said, comparing the two.

    ¡°Exactly. Sometime between the mudslide and now, this cave appeared.¡± She tapped the image. ¡°And we don¡¯t know why. I¡¯d like the three of you to go and check it out.¡±

    My blood froze a little at the thought of going down into another cave.

    ¡°Why us?¡± Ted asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t this the purview of the Rangers?¡±

    ¡°Normally the answer would be yes. We don¡¯t like calling on Lab Trainers to do our dirty work for us unless it¡¯s an emergency and we need the extra hands, but right now we¡¯re so short staffed it¡¯s not even funny.¡±

    Machiko ran her hand through her hair again, and she looked like she was on the verge of breaking down.

    ¡°There¡¯s just too much for us to do. Trying to get conflicts between Pok¨¦mon settled, making sure the paths are safe for travelers, rehoming Pok¨¦mon that lost their territory during the mudslide, there¡¯s only ten of us for the entire Eterna City region, and that was short-staffed before the disaster. Now? We¡¯re barely keeping our heads above water.

    I¡¯d like to temporarily deputize you three as Assistant Rangers, just long enough for you to check out the cave. We¡¯ve been seeing Pok¨¦mon that haven¡¯t been spotted in this area in decades, and we¡¯re pretty sure they¡¯re coming from here.¡±

    She tapped the image again.

    ¡°You¡¯ve helped us out before.¡± Machiko said, pointing at Lucas. ¡°The whole thing with the stone in the forest - I remember you.¡±

    He blushed and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

    ¡°And you two helped during the Dusclops affair. I wasn¡¯t there for it, but I heard about it afterwards. Good job, by the way.¡±

    Then Machiko fixed me with a look. ¡°And we¡¯ve got a small file on you too. Ranger Kimura in Oreburgh said you were experienced in caves, and I trust his word.¡±

    I mentally cursed Kimura.

    ¡°So, would you all be willing to help us out? You¡¯ll get paid for it, and we desperately need the help. Just get in, take a look around, and come on back. If everything goes well, it should take you an afternoon, if not less.¡±

    The other two members of my party looked at each other, and there was a spark in the air as they both nodded, obviously fired up over the idea.

    I sighed, and nodded.

    ¡°Sure. You got yourself a willing horse.¡± I muttered. ¡°What¡¯s one more mile?¡±

    /^\

    ¡°Well,¡± I said, staring at the cave mouth, hands on my hips. ¡°It¡¯s not from an Onix or a Steelix, I can tell you that much.¡±

    Lucas and Ted looked at me.

    ¡°Onix tunnels have notches cut out of the top.¡± I explained, ¡°which sometimes spiral to help the Onix pick up more speed, like the rifling in a gun. Steelix tunnels are a bit wider, and you¡¯ll see the metal streaks from their coats.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you know what Steelix tunnels look like but you didn¡¯t know that there were Wurmple in Sinnoh?¡± Lucas asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ve had a really weird couple of months, okay?¡±

    He held up his hands defensively, and we all turned back to the caves.

    ¡°Honestly this looks pretty natural to me.¡± Ted said, scratching the back of his head. ¡°It definitely was enlarged by a Pok¨¦mon or two, but not much more beyond that.¡±

    I had to agree with him. The cave opening was more like a slit in the earth, with the ground around it scratched and torn up. There were claw marks and obvious footprints from where Pok¨¦mon had scrambled their way out of the cave, but besides that it looked pretty natural.

    ¡°We could fit in there, right?¡± Lucas asked, eying the entrance.

    ¡°You two could easily fit.¡± Ted said, sounding a bit sour. ¡°And I could too, but it¡¯d be a tighter fit.¡±

    ¡°The perils of being tall. Welcome to the club.¡± I said, patting him on the back as I stepped forwards.

    I heard his sound of confusion, and smirked to myself. I really was enjoying my new body, even if it was hard to get things off the top shelves every now and again.

    If I was being honest with myself, I was being a bit more glib because I didn¡¯t want to go into the cave. My last experience in spelunking hadn¡¯t exactly gone well, and I wasn¡¯t looking forward to repeating the process.

    A flash of light caught my eye, and I frowned as I leaned forward, looking deeper into the cave.

    ¡°Do either of you have a flashlight?¡± I asked.

    There was the sound of shuffling, then Ted offered up a sturdy metal flashlight that had clearly seen some use.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have one of your own?¡± He asked as I took it.

    I flicked the flashlight on and shone it into the cavern. ¡°It¡¯s in the bottom of my bag, I wasn¡¯t expecting to need to use it so soon.¡±

    We had gone to the cave entrance after our meeting with Ranger Machiko, only swinging by the Pok¨¦mon Center to pick up our bags and Pok¨¦mon who had stayed behind.

    The three of us had joked around as we walked to the hillside, laughing about inconsequential things as we tried to keep our minds off of the destruction of the town around us. The area we walked through had been hit hardest by the mudslide, after all.

    ¡°What is that?¡± I muttered, trying and failing to get a closer look at the mysterious object without entering the cave.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go see!¡± Lucas said, and scrambled his way into the entrance.

    ¡°Lucas!¡± I called, but the boy was gone.

    I shared a commiserating sigh with Ted, but Lucas¡¯ voice soon echoed out of the opening.

    ¡°You guys need to come see this!¡±

    Ted shrugged and crawled his way inside, grumbling the entire time.I took a moment, breathing deeply before following suit.

    The cave wasn¡¯t as bad as I was expecting, which was a relief. It opened up a few feet past the initial small entrance, and Ted was barely able to stand at his full height in the cavern.

    Both Ted and Lucas were crouched down something embedded in the wall, staring intently at what I had seen reflecting the light from outside.

    ¡°What do you think this is?¡± Lucas asked, poking at the object.

    I couldn¡¯t answer, having locked up entirely as I stared at the slab.

    What is that doing here?

    The object in question was a stone tablet about the size of a paperback book, intricately carved with a series of reliefs.

    That shouldn¡¯t be here.

    It was mostly gray, but as the light from the flashlight caught it, it reflected multiple colors in a rainbow. Eighteen colors, to be precise.

    How can this be here?

    I didn¡¯t recognize which Type it was, but I could feel its power thrumming through my entire body.

    The world seemed to shift as I stared at one of the Plates of Arceus, and my entire being felt numb.

    ¡°I wonder who made it?¡± Lucas asked, leaning forwards.

    ¡°No, wait!¡± I called, but it was too late.

    His hand grabbed the Plate, pulling it out of the pile of dirt and rubble it had been buried in.

    The cave shifted - no, not just the cave, the entire mountainside rumbled.

    ¡°Watch out!¡± I called, and threw myself forwards.

    Ted and Lucas were both bigger and heavier than I was, but my sheer desperation let me tackle both of them to the ground.

    The world quaked, and with a crack of splintering stone, the floor of the cave collapsed.

 Chapter Forty-Six

    Even after the floor had collapsed, stones and pebbles still occasionally clattered to the ground from the hole in the earth above us.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Ted groaned. ¡°Who¡¯s still alive?¡±

    ¡°Here.¡± Lucas said in between coughing fits.

    ¡°I¡¯m still alive.¡± I said. ¡°This time anyways.¡±

    I¡¯d never really bothered too much to question how I¡¯d ended up in the Pok¨¦mon world. My wishes had been answered by Jirachi, bringing me to this world and exchanging my old body for the one I was in, but¡­ there were some memories from right before I had been brought here that I would rather not think about.

    ¡°Well that¡¯s good. Anybody hurt?¡±

    ¡°My whole body hurts.¡± Lucas said.

    ¡°In a ¡°broken bones¡± way or in a ¡°I¡¯m covered with bruises¡± way?¡± Ted asked.

    ¡°Um¡­ I¡¯m not sure?¡±

    ¡°Okay, this is ridiculous.¡±  With a groan, I sat up, wiping away the dust that had settled in my eye lashes.

    The cavern we had fallen into was completely dark, and I couldn¡¯t see any light coming from the hole in the floor. Or rather, I guess it was the ceiling now.

    I fumbled around in my bag until I managed to find my flashlight, but it didn¡¯t help that much. The problem with the Pok¨¦mon World was that since so many Pok¨¦mon could learn Flash, and the TM for it was so cheap, people had never really invested in making decent flashlights.

    Embarrassingly enough, out of our combined eight Pok¨¦mon, the only onethat could have learned the move was Zetian. I wish I could have had a good reason for not investing in the TM for Flash, but I hadn¡¯t even thought about getting it for Zetian.

    After all, with all of my previous experiences going spelunking, I didn¡¯t think I would be doing it again.

    The dim light of the flashlight only barely illuminated the cavern we had found ourselves in, but I was too occupied with being impressed that we hadn¡¯t died during the fall.

    God, or Arceus, must have been looking out for us.

    A dark corner of the room was briefly revealed by the flashlight, revealing the edges of a further tunnel down, but I quickly moved the light away.

    ¡°You look how I feel.¡± Lucas quipped, and I looked down at myself to see what he was talking about.

    I was completely covered in dust, my once-nice clothes now completely gray and brown. There were some rips and tears in the cloth, but thankfully nothing too serious. I had bought a sewing kit a while ago, after all, and I was sure they could be patched up. There were more than a few small cuts and bruises that I could feel forming, but nothing life-threatening.

    Then I shined the light on the younger man, and winced as I saw what he meant. I would have said he almost looked like he was lounging on a pile of rubble, except for the fact that ¡®lounging¡¯ implied comfort, and his position looked anything but comfortable. He was as covered in dirt and rubble as I was, but he hadn¡¯t been quite so lucky in terms of injuries. A small stream of blood was dripping down his face from a cut hidden by his hair, and half of his face was covered in a large red mark that I knew would develop into a massive bruise.

    ¡°That bad, huh?¡± He asked.

    ¡°Can you move your toes?¡± I asked, more worried about the state of his spine than his face.

    His face twisted in concentration and fear, but then his foot wiggled, and he sighed in relief.

    ¡°Oh thank Arceus.¡± He said. ¡°Yes, I can. I can feel both of them.¡±

    He winced again.

    ¡°Although to be fair, I¡¯m not sure I want to feel both of them right now. My entire body feels like a bruise.¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m glad that you don¡¯t seem to be paralyzed.¡± I said, and swept the beam over to Ted.

    ¡°How about you?¡±

    He gave me a somewhat shaky thumbs up. ¡°All good.¡±

    My shoulders slumped, the tension draining out of them.

    ¡°One second, let¡¯s get some real light in here.¡± Lucas said, and pulled out a Pok¨¦ Ball. ¡°Maggy, come on out.¡±

    The temperature of the cavern almost immediately started to rise as the Fire-type appeared in a flash of light.

    ¡°Can you get a fire going?¡±

    The Magby nodded, and started rooting around in Lucas¡¯ backpack.

    ¡°Do you have firewood?¡± I asked incredulously.

    ¡°Of course! I like Fire-types, so I always have stuff to make fires, just in case!¡±

    I shook my head, but soon enough the Magby had pulled out some thick tree branches that had been cut down to size, and with a single heavy breath had lit them aflame.

    With a little assistance from Maggy, Lucas removed himself from the pile of rubble he¡¯d been ¡®lounging¡¯ in. Ted brushed himself off before helping me up, where we proceeded to gingerly flop in front of our new light source.

    ¡°So,¡± Lucas said, face lit by the flickering flames of the impromptu campfire. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°The Plate.¡± I said tiredly. ¡°You grabbed it and it must have collapsed the tunnel.¡±

    I could just barely make out the confused expression on his face. ¡°The Plate?¡±

    ¡°The¡­ thing you grabbed.¡± Eloquence was still a little too far beyond me right now. ¡°It¡¯s a relic, lots of power. Related to Arceus and all that.¡±

    ¡°Wait wait wait.¡± Lucas said. ¡°Back up. Arceus?? Like, the god Arceus?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. Way back when, I don¡¯t actually know specifically,¡± the games had never mentioned a specific time frame. ¡°There were these eighteen, er, nineteen Plates, each representing a specific Type of Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s only eighteen types.¡±

    ¡°Right, well, the nineteenth Plate was supposed to represent all of them. Or none of them? It¡¯s confusing. Anyways, something happened, the Plates got scattered across Sinnoh, kinda standard stuff really.¡±

    I was way too tired and sore to try and recount the lore of a specific kind of item that barely had any actual lore surrounding them. The Plates in the games were just supposed to be a way to change Arceus¡¯ Type, but in the actual world of Pok¨¦mon¡­ I had no idea what they were supposed to do.

    A scratching noise filled the small cave we had ended up in, and I turned to Ted, who was busy scribbling in his notebook.

    ¡°Are you really taking notes?¡± I asked, blinking in wonder at him.

    He started, then flushed. ¡°I¡­ ah, well it¡¯s interesting! I don¡¯t know much about Sinnoh¡¯s history, and the Plates never came up before now.¡±

    Ted frowned and muttered something under his breath, before continuing to write down what I was saying.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t blame you.¡± Lucas said. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯ve never heard of these ¡®Plates¡¯ before, and I¡¯ve lived here my whole life! How do you know about them Alina?¡±

    I laughed nervously and shrugged. ¡°I read a lot?¡±

    It was the flimsiest excuse, but I couldn¡¯t exactly come out and say that I was from another world where all of history here was just the plotline to video games. Well, I¡¯d done that before, but Professor Rowan had been an outlier.

    ¡°Do you still have the Plate?¡± I asked Lucas.

    He frowned, dug around in the rubble for a second, then pulled out the undamaged Plate.

    ¡°Here.¡± He said, handing it over.

    An electric spark ran up my arm as I reached out to grab the Plate. It was about the size of a trade paperback book, and lighter than I thought a stone slab would be.

    The color of the Plate was the neutral gray of slate, and instantly I knew that it wasn¡¯t any of the regular typed Plates. This one had intricate carvings on both sides, completely unworn by the passing of time.

    ¡°The Legend Plate.¡± I whispered in shock, turning it over slowly in my hands.

    This¡­ shouldn¡¯t be here. The Legend Plate belonged on the top of the Spear Pillar - no, in the Hall of Origin itself. How did it make it to a random cave in Eterna City?

    ¡°Do you mind if I hold onto this?¡± I asked Lucas, who shrugged.

    ¡°Sure. I mean, you know more about it than I do.¡±

    I reverently put it into my pack.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you all more about it later.¡± I continued. ¡°But first, we gotta get out of here.¡±

    ¡°How?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°The hole in the ceiling is like, ten feet up.¡±

    ¡°Can we stand on each other¡¯s shoulders?¡± I offered.

    ¡°Mayfly!¡± Ted said, and pulled out his Pok¨¦ Ball.

    With a flash of light, the Scyther appeared, turning around in obvious confusion.

    ¡°Can you go and fly up to the entrance of the cave?¡± He asked.

    The green Pok¨¦mon nodded her head, and with a low drone of beating wings, flew up into the hole where we had fallen.

    ¡°I have some rope in my bag,¡± Ted continued. ¡°If we¡¯re lucky, Mayfly can try and secure it to a rock, and we can climb up.¡±

    I had my doubts about how a Scyther could tie a rope to a boulder, considering how famously it had blades for hands, but I kept them to myself.

    A few moments later, Mayfly dropped back into the lower cavern, shaking her head. With a quick motion of her scythe-like arms, she sketched a rough image into the dirt of the cave floor.

    ¡°Is that the opening to the cave upstairs?¡± I asked, tilting my head slightly.

    Mayfly nodded, before kicking a bunch of loose pebbles onto the image.

    ¡°Ah.¡± Ted said darkly. ¡°It¡¯s been blocked off by the falling stones. Is it possible to move them at all?¡±

    She thought for a moment, then shook her head.

    My heart dropped. We were trapped down here.

    Almost against my wishes, my eyes turned to the dark corner of the cave that we had all tried to ignore until now. This lower chamber had an entrance to a tunnel of some kind, and it loomed ominously in the corner. If we couldn¡¯t go up¡­ there was no choice but to go down.

    /^\

    Time passed strangely in the cave. If not for the fact that we all had watches or cell phones which could tell the time, the fifteen minutes that passed would have felt like hours.

    We¡¯d tried to call for help, of course, but the stone blocked the signal. Ted had spent a good couple of minutes fuming about Sinnoh¡¯s admittedly rather weak cell phone network, comparing it against places like Mauville or Goldenrod City.

    After Ted patched up his cut, Lucas had tried climbing the walls, to predictable results. He didn¡¯t seem too worried about being stuck in the cave, and seemed inclined to treat it like one big adventure. Lucas, for all his intelligence and Pok¨¦mon training ability, was still a teenage boy, and his understanding about the possibility of his own mortality was¡­ fleeting.

    Me? I sat by the campfire while my two companions tried their best to find a way out of the cave.

    I had pulled out my notebook with everything that I had written from my memories of the Pok¨¦mon games, and was going through each of the pages, trying to find something that would help us.

    By the time Lucas had settled down, and Ted had stopped cursing out how rural Sinnoh was, I¡¯d had a couple of bright ideas.

    ¡°Okay.¡± I said, taking a deep breath. ¡°I think I know where we are.¡±

    Ted and Lucas leaned in.

    ¡°Have either of you heard of the Underground?¡±

    Ted nodded, while Lucas scoffed.

    ¡°Heard of it? I¡¯ve been in it! Where do you think I got Hardy¡¯s fossil?¡±

    ¡°Well, have you ever heard of the Grand Underground?¡±

    Lucas faltered at that.

    ¡°Uh, no?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really just a theory I had, based around a few things I¡¯ve heard and my own experiences. When I was in the Wayward Cave-¡±

    ¡°You were in the Wayward Cave?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the Wayward Cave?¡±

    Lucas and Ted said at the same time.

    I sighed. ¡°Okay, backing up a little. Ted; the Wayward Cave is a cave network under Oreburgh City. Think of it like¡­ kinda like the Granite Cave I guess?¡±

    His eyes lit up with recognition and he nodded.

    ¡°And yes, Lucas, I went there after I left Professor Rowan¡¯s lab. No, don¡¯t bother asking, I¡¯m not going to tell you why.¡±

    The kid slumped, but I knew better than to give away the location of the wild Gible to him. Knowing Lucas, he¡¯d probably try to go there completely unprepared and get hurt trying to get a Gible.

    The irony wasn¡¯t lost on me, but I liked to think that I¡¯d learned a few things after that particular experience.

    ¡°Anyways, while we were in the depths of the cave, we came across a strange series of tunnels, created by a Steelix. The Rangers, well Ranger Kimura really, afterwards told me that there hadn¡¯t been a wild Steelix in the area in almost fifty years, and that he was concerned about strange Pok¨¦mon in the area.¡±

    ¡°So you think that the Steelix came in through the Underground?¡± Lucas asked.

    I hummed for a second in thought before I responded. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. You have to understand, we were deep in the caves. Deeper than we¡¯d ever been before, so deep we actually got lost.¡±

    Ted¡¯s eyes lit up with understanding.

    ¡°So you think that there¡¯s not just an Underground, but an even deeper level to it.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°Thus the Grand Underground.¡±

    It was a bit of a stretch, if I was being honest. The Grand Underground had taken the place of the normal Underground in the remakes of Diamond and Pearl. It had basically been a version of the Safari Zone from earlier games, allowing the player access to rare Pok¨¦mon that weren¡¯t normally available.

    The encounter with the Steelix could have just been a random twist of fate, and the deepest level of caves could have just been a lower area of the Underground¡­ but I had to hope that I was right. Kimura had hinted that there was something going on with the caves, and the Grand Underground was in the games.

    ¡°Do you think that these caves connect to the Grand Underground?¡±

    ¡°They might.¡± I said. ¡°But they very well might not. I kn- I heard that there was an entrance to the Underground and Grand Underground in this area. Whether this particular cave system connects or not¡­ I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    Ted hummed, drumming his fingers against his leg in thought. ¡°If we did manage to connect to the Grand Underground, do you think we could make it to Oreburgh City?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t promise anything.¡± I said honestly. ¡°These caves¡­ if they exist they might be a nightmare to travel through. Or they could be simple and a relatively straight line to follow. I just don¡¯t know. But I can promise that if we make it back into the Steelix caves, I can guide us back to Oreburgh.¡±

    Even though the trip back to the surface had been confusing and I had gotten lost a few times, I was confident that we could do it again. Venus and Zetian were both stronger than the last time, and we now had K¨­jin with us. Besides my team, Ted and Lucas were with me, and I was confident that the trip would be much easier.

    ¡°Honestly though, we should probably just wait here. The Rangers know where we went, after all, and I¡¯m sure that once they don¡¯t hear from us in a little bit they¡¯ll send somebody to look. They should have a Pok¨¦mon that can get rid of the cave-in and lower a rope for us.¡±

    Ted nodded wisely, then looked over at the other member of our party.

    ¡°Lucas? What do you think?¡±

    The younger man smacked a fist into his palm. ¡°I¡¯m all for trying out the caves!¡±

    I sighed as he continued.

    ¡°I mean, exploring a new cave system? One that might not have been explored by anybody besides us? What¡¯s not to like!?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t have that much food and water.¡± Ted cautioned. ¡°It might be safer to wait here.¡±

    If I remembered correctly, there were biomes in the Grand Underground that had water, and presumably food too considering the fact that Pok¨¦mon lived down here, but it would definitely be risky.

    Lucas, however, simply eyed Ted incredulously. ¡°It would be safer, sure, but I mean, come on! It¡¯s an adventure! You gotta take risks every now and again if you want to find something worthwhile! That¡¯s what my dad always says!¡±

    I looked over to find a reckless smile growing on Ted¡¯s face and I felt my stomach drop a little.

    ¡°I like that bit of advice!¡± He said, and stood up, brushing more dirt off of his clothes. ¡°Sure we could sit around and wait for rescue, but why do that when we could explore a hidden cave network? Who knows what we¡¯ll find!?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Lucas jumped up to his feet, fists held high in excitement.

    ¡°We¡¯re all going to die.¡± I moaned as the two fed off of each other¡¯s energy.

    It looked like we were going to be going with the cave routes, and I mentally prepared myself to go into the dark.

 Chapter Forty-Seven

    ¡°I¡¯m boreeed.¡± Lucas moaned as we walked down the tunnel.

    ¡°Well.¡± I said primly. ¡°You should have thought of that before we started walking.¡±

    ¡°But how was I supposed to know it would be nothing but stupid, boring tunnels with nothing interesting in them?¡±

    ¡°We did tell you that it would be like this.¡± Ted said.

    ¡°Yeah, but, like, there¡¯s nothing here!¡±

    ¡°When I was in the Wayward Cave it was almost excruciatingly boring.¡± I said. ¡°I mean, it was exciting at first, but after the first week or so of going into the same kind of caves and tunnels, the whole thing loses its appeal.¡±

    Ted nodded sagely, his features shadowed in the dim light of our flashlights.

    ¡°Most of the time? Caves are nothing more than stone walls. Not exactly the most interesting thing in the world.¡±

    I joined him in nodding, while Lucas scowled and kicked a loose rock a little bit further down the tunnel.

    ¡°How long have we even been walking?¡±

    ¡°Check your phone.¡± Ted suggested with a light chuckle, earning a few grumbles from Lucas.

    Lucas was a good kid, but at the end of the day, he was still a kid, and he was apparently bad at keeping his phone charged. The Rotom in the phone could power it for brief periods, but without an external power source, eventually the Rotom would need to conserve its own power as well.

    Unfortunately, considering we were deep within a cave, none of our solar powered chargers would work as well. Our flashlights were in better shape, considering they had a little hand crank to charge the batteries, but I wasn¡¯t sure how long they would last.

    I sighed and pulled out my own phone to check the time, which had a significantly longer battery life considering it didn¡¯t need to host a Rotom.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a day and a bit since we left the cave-in.¡± I said.

    Despite my best efforts, the other two were convinced that we would be okay with leaving the site of the cave in since there seemed to be a constant flow of fresh air from deeper in the tunnels. I had left a note for the Rangers on a page I had torn out from my notebook, telling them that we were okay and had decided to continue to investigate the caves.

    After that, it had been a long day of walking with absolutely nothing to show for it, beyond miles of identical tunnels. When possible we made sure to take the south-facing tunnel, hoping to end up close to Oreburgh City.

    If the worst happened, we marked down all of the tunnels with some chalk that Ted had in his pack, so we could return the same way to an exit we knew existed.

    ¡°I know that.¡± Lucas continued to grumble. ¡°But what about, like, since we left this morning?¡±

    I sighed. ¡°Lucas, it¡¯s been fifteen minutes.¡±

    He groaned melodramatically.

    ¡°When will something happen?¡±

    I sighed again. ¡°Lucas, if we¡¯re lucky, nothing will happen. We¡¯ll just keep walking for probably a couple days, find the tunnels that lead out of here, and then tell Ranger Kimura in Oreburgh about everything that happened.¡±

    ¡°But like, what about the Steelix and all the cool adventures that you went on? Will I get something like that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I said, resisting the urge to throw my hands up in the air.

    We¡¯d had this conversation almost ten times by now, and I was trying my very best not to get too annoyed at Lucas. I was pretty sure that at least some part of his constant moaning was a way to bluster past any anxiety he may have been feeling about the whole situation, which was fair.

    It was easy to think going into a bunch of tunnels was fun to begin with, but after the initial excitement faded, it was easy to see everything that could go wrong.

    Lucas grumbled a little more, then fell into silence again. We¡¯d exhausted most of the major conversation topics the day before, and without any external stimuli it was hard to come up with things to talk about.

    We walked for another couple hours or so, with absolutely nothing to show for it. Time and distance lost all meaning in the endlessly-similar tunnels, and to be fair to Lucas, it was easy to get discouraged about the lack of obvious progress we were making.

    ¡°Hey guys?¡± Lucas said, and I tried to hold back an annoyed groan as he gestured up the tunnel. ¡°What¡¯s that over there?¡±

    I looked to where he was pointing, only to see the tunnel stretching out before us.

    ¡°Lucas, I swear if this is some prank or something to make the time go by, I will-¡±

    ¡°No, seriously!¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± Ted said, peering down the tunnel. ¡°I think I see it too.¡±

    We stopped, each of us straining our eyes to see what was going on.

    After a few seconds, I started to see what they were talking about. The effect was so subtle at first I wasn¡¯t even sure that I was seeing anything at all, but there was an incredibly dim glow from further down in the tunnel.

    ¡°Light¡¯s off.¡± Ted said, and we all turned off our flashlights.

    Slowly, carefully, I reached down to my belt, pulling off Venus¡¯ Pok¨¦ Ball. Zetian wouldn¡¯t be good in the small tunnel, and while K¨­jin could probably use some practice battling, I didn¡¯t quite trust his control over his flames yet.

    I turned my head, hearing Ted and Lucas pull their own Pok¨¦ Balls out in preparation.

    ¡°No fire.¡± I whispered, and Lucas swapped his Ball out for another one - Hardy.

    Starting fires in enclosed areas was an awful idea. Even if we didn¡¯t get burned, it was entirely possible that K¨­jin could burn off some of the oxygen in the tunnel, or worse - possibly ignite any gas that might be lingering underground.

    A single methane pocket could turn all of us into a pile of ashes, and nobody would ever know what had happened to us.

    We¡¯d gotten lucky the day before, with the campfire by the entrance. I hadn¡¯t even thought about it until Lucas had already set it up, but there must have been some holes in the collapsed tunnel above us that had let the smoke out.

    This is a stupid idea. I thought, as the three of us exchanged nods and started to creep forwards, Pok¨¦ Balls held at the ready. We¡¯re all going to die.

    The light slowly intensified as we grew closer, our feet softly scuffing on the hard-packed dirt of the tunnel floor.

    I tried to run through all of the Pok¨¦mon that could possibly be glowing in my mind, but gave up pretty quickly. There were just too many options. I sincerely hoped that they weren¡¯t Morelulls or Shiinotics, those things creeped me out.

    It might not even be a Pok¨¦mon, there were plenty of stones and gems that glowed, spread all across the world in various caves, it could be one of those.

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    We crept slowly closer to the dim light, until shapes started to be made more clear. There were two- no, three, small figures that were milling around a particular spot in the wall, which ruled out the possibility of glowing gems. Thankfully, they were also much too small to be Shiinotics.

    It wasn¡¯t until we were about fifty yards away that I was able to make them out clearly. The light that they were emitting was incredibly dim, but we had spent enough time down in the caves without any sunlight to make it seem brighter than it actually was.

    As we came into view, I started to relax, despite the otherwise tense situation. The shapes were small, about a foot tall, pink, and relatively round.

    I almost felt like laughing, considering how nervous I had been.

    ¡°They¡¯re Cleffa!¡± I whispered, and Lucas chuckled.

    Ted didn¡¯t, however, and I could practically hear his frown.

    ¡°What are they doing down here?¡± He said. ¡°Cleffa don¡¯t normally live this deep underground.¡±

    ¡°The cave-in?¡± I offered. ¡°They like mountains, maybe they were caught up in the mudslides, and when they were trying to get back to Coronet, they got stuck due to the cave-in?¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that the path up ahead is blocked off then?¡± Lucas said, and my heart sank slightly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I said, trying to rally all of our spirits. ¡°But we won¡¯t know until we get closer.¡±

    Stepping forwards, I carefully edged past my other two companions to approach the Cleffa. They noticed me when I was about twenty yards away, looks of panic spreading across their tiny faces.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± I said, putting Venus¡¯ Ball back onto my belt and holding my hands up. ¡°We¡¯re not here to hurt you.¡±

    One of the Cleffa put itself in front of the other two with a mixed expression of fear and resolve.

    ¡°Easy there,¡± Ted said, stepping up himself.

    The lead Cleffa seemed to tremble as it stared up at a creature six times its size, until Ted kneeled down, bringing him closer to the brave Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°Like my friend said, we¡¯re not here to hurt you.¡±

    He slowly reached into a pocket before bringing out a square cube of compressed food - a Pok¨¦block. Ted was from Hoenn after all, and while Sinnoh preferred its Poffins, Ted had brought his Pok¨¦block machine with him. He¡¯d tried sharing some with Lucas and I¡¯s Pok¨¦mon, but they preferred the baked Poffins.

    The Cleffa, however, had likely never had a Poffin before, and I could see its eyes widen dramatically as it sniffed the block of food.

    Remarkably, it took a step back, looking at its two compatriots before facing down Ted once again.

    He let out an impressed huff, and brought out two more Pok¨¦blocks, setting them down in front of the other two Cleffa.

    They didn¡¯t have the same fortitude as the first one, and they jumped at the treats, scarfing them down quickly.

    The protecting Cleffa hesitated for a few seconds longer, but its own hunger took over, and it quickly picked up the Pok¨¦block to start gnawing on it.

    ¡°Oh, Arceus.¡± Lucas said, and we both turned to see him poking at the wall the Cleffa had been looking at.

    The lead Cleffa made a distressed sound of alarm, and tried to move forwards to stop him, but it was too late. Lucas pulled out several large stones, some of them larger than my head, and I had to wonder how strong the kid actually was.

    Then I saw what he had seen, and my heart plummeted.

    A Clefairy was partially buried, covered by enough stones that I hadn¡¯t even noticed that it was a Pok¨¦mon at first. The poor thing looked awful, and I feared for a minute that it had died when the stones had collapsed.

    Then its chest moved ever-so-slightly as it took a breath, and some pebbles tumbled off of the pile of rocks.

    Tears began to form in Lucas¡¯ eyes as he started pulling the stones off with more fervor.

    ¡°This is my fault.¡± He said, a mixture of sadness and anger in his voice. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t gone after that Plate, if I hadn¡¯t caused the cave to collapse¡­¡±

    ¡°You couldn¡¯t have known this would happen.¡± I said, trying to reassure him, but Lucas ignored me.

    He kept digging at the buried Pok¨¦mon, shoulders shaking occasionally.

    I didn¡¯t say anything else, instead moving to Lucas¡¯ side to help shift some of the rocks

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I heard Ted say to the assembled Cleffa. ¡°We¡¯ll make this right.¡±

    /^\

    It didn¡¯t take that long to free the Clefairy, all things considered. The Cleffa had struggled with the task, but that was because they were so small, and even the prodigious strength afforded to many Pok¨¦mon wasn¡¯t able to help move the large stones.

    With Lucas¡¯ resolve, however, we were able to excavate the buried Pok¨¦mon and get it set up on a blanket.

    We pooled our Potions and Berries together, trying to figure out what would be the best way to save the Clefairy. Potions were the next best thing to magic, as far as I was concerned, but even they had their limits - at least, the ones we were able to afford did.

    Still, we were able to get enough healing items together to get the Clefairy looking relatively healthy again, although it was still unconscious. It wasn¡¯t until Lucas brought out his final item that we were able to actually wake up the Clefairy.

    For a long time I had wondered how Revives actually worked, and to my surprise, they were essentially smelling salts.

    He pulled out the spiky medicine and crushed it in his palm, right underneath the Clefairy¡¯s face.

    Immediately a noxious scent filled the tunnel, and while Ted, Lucas, and I all wrinkled our noses in disgust, the three Cleffa basically started rolling around, trying to block their noses.

    The bold Cleffa even tried jumping at Lucas to get his hand away from the Clefairy, but Ted easily caught the little one and put it back on the ground.

    It glared up at Ted, at least until the Clefairy startled awake.

    The much larger pink Pok¨¦mon jumped to its feet before swaying in place, obviously still a bit woozy from everything that had happened. It looked at us in confusion, before stumbling to put itself between us and the Cleffa.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Ted said, for what felt like the millionth time. ¡°We¡¯re not here to hurt you.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s my fault.¡± Lucas said, eyes downcast.

    He had perked up a little bit as we had healed the Clefairy, but the guilt he was carrying was obvious.

    The Clefairy looked at him strangely, and I wasn¡¯t sure if it didn¡¯t understand what he was saying, or couldn¡¯t figure out how he had caused a partial cave-in.

    Instead it simply reached out and patted Lucas on the arm, then turned to take care of the Cleffa it was protecting.

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be, I dunno, more suspicious?¡± I whispered to Ted.

    ¡°Fairy-type.¡± He responded. ¡°They¡¯re good at sensing people¡¯s emotions and intentions. It was probably just defending the Cleffa on instinct when it first woke up, then realized we weren¡¯t a threat.¡±

    I hummed, interested. I wondered how that worked exactly, considering a lot of Pokemon had mentions of reading emotions in their Pok¨¦dex entries, like Hatterene or Blissey, there was even a meme about them. Was it related to Psychic-types, and their ability to sense emotions? Hatterene and Gardevoir were famous dual Fairy/Psychic-types, but Blissey was a Normal-type.

    Sylveon was a pure Fairy-type, but they had the ability to feel people¡¯s emotions if they touched them with one of their ribbons. Was it similar to Clefairy?

    I shook off my musings as the Clefairy finished checking over its charges and turned back to us.

    It nodded, then tried to shepard the Cleffa past us, heading towards the tunnel we had just come from.

    ¡°That way¡¯s closed.¡± Lucas said as they tried to edge around him. ¡°The cave-in collapsed the exit on top of us.¡±

    The Clefairy paused, brows furrowed. It eyed Lucas consideringly, then looked down the empty path. The Clefairy sighed, and motioned for the Cleffa to walk ahead of it. The little pink Pok¨¦mon milled about in confusion as the Clefairy tried to get them to go in the opposite direction, the way that we were going.

    They were having difficulty in figuring out what to do, unable to understand why they had to turn back around so the Clefairy sighed again, picked up one of the Cleffa, and waddled over to me.

    The taller Pok¨¦mon stared into my eyes for an uncomfortable second, and I could feel some kind of pressure building in my forehead.

    Then it reached out and pushed the Cleffa into my chest, forcing me to hold onto it.

    ¡°Wha-¡±

    The Clefairy repeated the process for Lucas and Ted, giving each of us a Cleffa. Ted got the brave one, who had tried to stand between us and the other Cleffa, and it gave an indignant squeak as it was shoved into Ted¡¯s arms.

    When we each had a squirming Cleffa, the Clefairy huffed, and motioned us to go in front of it, down the path.

    ¡°Uh,¡± I said eloquently as I stared down at the pink form blinking up at me. ¡°Are you sure about this?¡±

    The Clefairy huffed again, nodding, and motioned even more adamantly for us to start walking.

    We all shared confused looks, especially as Ted¡¯s Cleffa tried to gnaw ineffectually at his arms.

    ¡°How did we get roped into this?¡± I asked as the Clefairy came up behind Lucas, bodily pushing him to start walking.

    Ted simply shrugged, and started down the path, struggling a little bit as the Cleffa somehow ended up upside down in his grasp.

    The Clefairy walked up, and motioned for Ted to kneel down. It then looked at the ornery Cleffa, and bonked it on the head.

    The Cleffa stared at the Clefairy, dazed, but that seemed to do the trick and it settled down.

    My head was swimming. It seemed like the past several minutes had sped by, and I had no idea what had just happened.

    It almost felt a little bit like I was drunk, one minute we had been kneeling down, helping a Clefairy, and the next I had a snoozing Cleffa in my arms. I tried to think why this had all happened, but nothing really came up, besides the fact that I wanted to help the Fairy-types get out of the caves.

    Then there was a pushing at the back of my thighs and I sighed, looking back at the Clefairy who was urging me to get moving.

    ¡°Okay?¡± I said, and the Clefairy looked up at me before nodding in approval and setting off down the tunnel.

    ¡°I guess this is what we¡¯re doing now.¡±

 Chapter Forty-Eight

    ¡°So.¡± I said, staring out at the magnificent vista before us. ¡°Are you still bored?¡±

    Lucas gulped, his gaze fixed on the beautiful springs and natural water features. ¡°No, not really.¡±

    ¡°I was wrong.¡± Ted admitted. ¡°This is definitely the most interesting thing I¡¯ve seen in a cave.¡±

    I¡¯d never really played Pok¨¦mon Brilliant Diamond or Shining Pearl. I hadn¡¯t been a fan of the remastered art style, the relative lack of new content, or the fact that it seemed like a cash-grab to get people to buy into the games for nostalgia¡¯s sake.

    Pok¨¦mon: Legends Arceus had been more impressive to me because it actually had new ideas and an interesting concept, while still being in Sinnoh, or rather Hisui.

    As a result, I only knew of the Grand Underground from reading other people¡¯s reviews, and doing some research on Serebii. Enough to know that it basically served as a revamped Underground and even kind of a Safari Zone, and that it had some interesting visuals.

    I had never expected to actually see those sights with my own eyes.

    The area the Clefairy had led us to was almost too big to be called a cave. It was a massive underground ecosystem that was clearly self-sustaining in some way, and was large enough that the far wall was a little hard to see.

    Several stories above us a massive gestone hung from the ceiling, glowing in a mesmerizing inner light that illuminated the entire cave with its warm, sun-like radiance.

    The center of the cave was a massive underground lake, almost idyllic in its presentation. Crystal clear water shimmered under the light of the faux-sun, and even from this distance I could see shapes of Pok¨¦mon splashing around in the water.

    Smaller pools were scattered around the cave, flanked by green bushes and ferns, or often surrounded by stalactites. Stalagmites? Surrounded by pillars of stone.

    It was as if somebody had taken a chunk of paradise and dropped it into a cave in the middle of nowhere.

    ¡°Have either of you heard of anything like this?¡± I asked.

    Both Lucas and Ted shook their heads, still stunned.

    I¡¯m not sure whether that¡¯s a good thing, or a bad thing. I thought to myself.

    ¡°Have you?¡± Ted asked, looking over at me. ¡°You were the one who floated the idea of the Grand Underground.¡±

    It took me a second to formulate my response.

    ¡°I knew that there were rumors, and that there were strange Pok¨¦mon not native to the region popping up where they shouldn¡¯t, but this¡­¡±

    I waved a hand, gesturing at the view in front of us.

    ¡°This is way beyond what I expected to find.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t even a lie. I had honestly been expecting to see a bigger cave, sure, but not an entire water biome underneath the ground.

    There was an annoyed sound behind us, and we turned to see the Clefairy frowning at us, obviously impatient that we were taking so long. For a brief second I was vaguely annoyed at it, after all, it had been the one to force us to carry its kids through the long tunnel, and now it was getting mad at us for taking a few moments to admire the view?

    Then I blinked, and sighed. I supposed it was kind of cute in a strange way, seeing the pink blob frown like that. Besides, we really should keep going, after all.

    I rearranged the sleeping Cleffa in my arms, and started to follow my two traveling companions down the slight incline that joined the tunnel to the larger cave.

    ¡°Where are we even going?¡± Lucas asked after a minute. ¡°I mean, like beside Oreburgh.¡±

    The Clefairy frowned again, and pointed at the far end of the cave.

    ¡°Looks like that way.¡±

    I furrowed my brow as we started across the cave. It was pretty big, and if I squinted I could see some dark spots on the walls around us that looked like other tunnel entrances.

    Quickening my pace, I hurried over to Ted.

    ¡°Hey.¡± I whispered, and he looked over at me.

    Ted and the feisty Cleffa he had been given to hold had reached a kind of understanding, and the two weren¡¯t struggling with each other anymore. Instead, it actually looked like the Cleffa had settled comfortably in his arms, and though it tried to glare at everything, I could see its eyes fluttering closed with exhaustion every now and again.

    ¡°Do you have a compass?¡±

    Ted looked at me blankly, before blinking. ¡°A compass? Sure. Check the back pocket of my bag.¡±

    It took some careful juggling, but I was able to reach into Ted¡¯s backpack and pull out his compass while still maintaining a careful grip on the Cleffa in my arms. It made a soft noise that caused Ted¡¯s Cleffa to begin to squirm, but he simply patted it on the head and showed it that it¡¯s friend was alright.

    My frown deepened as I stared at the compass. At first the needle spun wildly, but then calmed down.

    ¡°What¡¯s it say?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re going east.¡± I muttered, double checking the orientation of the caves and where the Clefairy had pointed us.

    It was Ted¡¯s turn to look concerned. ¡°Oreburgh is south. Quite a ways south, actually.¡±

    ¡°About a hundred kilometers.¡± I confirmed. ¡°Not that bad, all things considered¡­¡±

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    ¡°But who knows what the path will look like.¡± Ted finished. ¡°And while we have supplies, I don¡¯t know if we have that many supplies.¡±

    I eyed the pools of water as we started to cross the cave floor. ¡°If there¡¯s water like this down here, there might be fish.¡±

    A Magikarp, its scales looking a bit paler than the normal vivid orange, poked its head out of the water, staring at us while we passed.

    ¡°Actual fish.¡± I clarified, and Ted gave me a non-committal hum.

    The idea of eating Pok¨¦mon still wasn¡¯t sitting well with me, but if it was between that and dying¡­

    ¡°Well,¡± Ted said. ¡°We can drop off the Cleffa and the Clefairy, and then turn back around and head south.¡±

    ¡°But where are we going?¡± I hissed. ¡°Where is the Clefairy leading us? And why were they in that tunnel to begin with?¡±

    Ted didn¡¯t have an answer, until the Cleffa in his arms yawned, stretched, and held its two stubby arms above its head. It then traced a circle in the air, before looking at us expectantly.

    ¡°What?¡± I asked, but Ted¡¯s eyes lit up.

    ¡°The moon?¡±

    The Cleffa nodded vigorously.

    ¡°What day is it?¡± Ted asked me.

    ¡°Uhh, Sunday? I think.¡±

    ¡°No, no, the date.¡±

    ¡°Oh. It¡¯s the nineteenth.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the full moon! It comes out on the twenty-eighth, the Clefairy must have been taking its pack to go see it.¡±

    I stared at him. ¡°Why do you know that?¡±

    He had the decency to flush a little bit. ¡°It¡¯s useful to know the moon''s schedule, a lot of Pok¨¦mon follow its cycle.¡±

    ¡°Uh huh. If that is the case,¡± and it honestly seemed pretty likely that it was, considering all their lore. ¡°Why were the Cleffa and the Clefairy leaving the caves so early? They would have exited the caves about ten days before the full moon.¡±

    I looked around. We were making good time across the cavern, and were just reaching the edge of the underground lake.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s taken us that long to travel this far.¡±

    Ted shrugged. ¡°Well, they do have pretty short legs, we¡¯re probably going much faster than they could. And maybe they wanted to find a good place to see the full moon? I¡¯ve heard rumors that Clefairy like to dance around natural ponds that can reflect the moon. Or at the very least in a circular clearing.¡±

    The Cleffa in his arms nodded vigorously.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case then why-¡±

    I was cut off by a yelp, and a splash of water.

    Ted and I both spun around to see a confused looking Cleffa on the ground, a frightened Clefairy, and the rippling surface of the lake as bubbles of air rose to the top.

    A second later, Lucas¡¯ head burst out of the pool, and he screamed before a massive tentacle wrapped itself around his shoulders and dragged him back down.

    More bubbles started to pop and burst at the surface, until a massive dark form emerged from the water, red eyes glowing balefully as it stared hatefully at us.

    Lucas was held limply in its tentacles, and the massive Tentacruel let out a piercing cry of anger.

    /^\

    Ted was the first one to react, tossing his Cleffa over to me as he pulled out one of his Pok¨¦ Balls.

    It was a struggle and a half to juggle the two small Pok¨¦mon in my arms, but I managed to get them settled before realizing what I was doing.

    ¡°Mayfly!¡± Ted called as his Scyther emerged in a flash of light and a buzz of her wings. ¡°The tentacles! Free Lucas!¡±

    The Pok¨¦mon jumped into action immediately, her wings blurring into action as she lept forwards, scythes extended.

    With a snicker-snack of flashing blades, the tentacle holding Lucas was severed, dripping a viscous blue blood into the water.

    Lucas dropped into the lake, before floating back up to the surface and bobbing there as the waves from the thrashing Tentacruel washed over him.

    Shit!

    I tried to put the Cleffa down gently, but I might have done so a little more harshly than I had intended to, using my newly freed hands to pull out Zetian¡¯s Pok¨¦ Ball. She emerged in a flash of light, her large, red, unblinking eyes scanning the room to see what was going on.

    ¡°Zetian, help Mayfly!¡±

    It wasn¡¯t the best match-up, especially since Zetian was still getting used to her new body. But Venus would have gotten caught up in the water, and K¨­jin? Even though types weren¡¯t everything, sending a relatively untrained Fire/Rock-type up against a Water-type was asking for trouble.

    Besides, the two Bug-types were pretty friendly with each other, and had been training together.

    They could keep the Tentacruel busy for a little while, at least.

    I started running for the edge of the pond, where Lucas was still bobbing up and down.

    ¡°Ted!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m on it!¡± Ted moved as well. ¡°I¡¯ll get his head, you get his legs!¡±

    We both splashed into the pond, and immediately I ran into a rather large problem.

    I was short. I liked being short. That also meant that the water level in the underground lake came half-way up my chest, while Ted only had to struggle with water at his waist.

    It was a challenge to get through the water, but I managed to get to Lucas¡¯ legs and grabbed his ankles. Ted was already picking the boy up by his shoulders, and it was an incredibly difficult process to get him to the edge of the lake.

    Taking a moment to glance around, I could see Mayfly and Zetian keeping the Tentacruel busy, while the Clefairy was occupied with shepherding the three Cleffa away from the action.

    ¡°He¡¯s still breathing!¡± Ted called as we splashed through the water to the shore.

    ¡°Thank god!¡±

    I spluttered a little bit as slightly bloody water got into my mouth with an awful copper tang to it. Then something tugged at my leg.

    ¡°Ted! I think that-¡±

    Then I was in the air, a tentacle wrapped around my leg as the Tentacruel bellowed in rage. Mayfly tried dashing forwards to cut me free, but was batted aside by a blast of water to her thorax.

    Then the view granted to me by being high up blurred, and I screamed as I was whipped through the air; the Tentacruel using me as a weapon against our Pok¨¦mon, forcing them to stay away.

    It was all I could do to stay conscious as the blood rushed from my feet to my head and back again, the only thing that I was able to see was the two massive red glowing orbs on its head.

    ¡°Ze- tian!¡± I managed to get out while being whipped around. ¡°The- orbs! Attack-¡±

    I wasn¡¯t able to say anything else, but thankfully Zetian was a gem of a Pok¨¦mon, and was able to pick up on my sad excuse for a command.

    She took a deep breath in, and a horde of bees emerged from her abdomen. They were a bit small, and there were definitely not as many of them as there really should be, but Zetian had managed to build up a colony for her commanding orders.

    It wasn¡¯t really the move I had wanted her to use, Bug-types weren¡¯t very effective against Tentacruel, but it wasn¡¯t like she had the type chart memorized. Besides, the attack managed to do its job.

    A horde of bees swarmed around the Tentacruel, each one stinging the much larger Pok¨¦mon in or around its giant red orbs, Zetian using a mix of pheromones and Type Energy to direct her servants.

    She somehow managed to get a couple of the bees to land on my flailing body, and they glowed a soft green color before taking off and returning to their queen.

    The Heal Order she had given to them wasn¡¯t much, but at least it stopped me from feeling like I was going to pass out immediately.

    The Tentacruel went wild as its orbs were stung, flailing around even more, but Mayfly was ready to capitalize on the opening Zetian had given her. A flash of scythe-like claws, and I was hanging in space for one terrifying moment before plummeting back to earth.

    Much to my horror, it was the earth I was headed for. The Tentacruel had its tentacle cut off right at the apex of one of its swings, and instead of landing in the water like Lucas had, I was going to end up crashing on the hard floor of the cave.

 Chapter Forty-Nine

    Much to my pleasant surprise, my Journey didn¡¯t end with me being splattered across the rocks in the Grand Underground by a raging Tentacruel.

    Zetian, the amazing, wonderful, magnificent Pok¨¦mon she was, managed to throw herself underneath me just in time to interrupt my fall.

    It wasn¡¯t a perfect landing, not by a longshot, but instead of being dashed upon the stone floor, I merely crashed into it, sending both myself and Zetian rolling across the ground.

    I laid there, dazed, staring up at nothing while stars danced in my eyes.

    Everything hurt, except for the leg that the Tentacruel had grabbed. That leg was completely numb, and I couldn¡¯t feel a thing, which was more than a little bit worrying.

    An explosion knocked me out of my daze, and I lifted my head up to see a bedraggled Lucas standing next to Sunny, his Monferno, and somewhat drunkenly pointing at the Tentacruel.

    That¡¯s stupid. I thought to myself. Bad type matchup.

    But Lucas and Sunny were a lot smarter than I gave them credit for. The monkey-like Pok¨¦mon took a deep breath, then released another burst of flames - literally.

    The attack was a small orb of fire that collapsed on itself a few feet away from the Tentacruel, the implosion causing a surprisingly large fireball and thunderclap of noise.

    Sunny¡¯s attack didn¡¯t do any actual damage to the Tentacruel, it didn¡¯t even hit the other Pok¨¦mon. But what it did do was create a very big, very loud, and incredibly distracting explosion a mere foot or two away from the Tentacruel¡¯s face.

    I didn¡¯t know how good the squid-like Pok¨¦mon¡¯s eyesight was, but I would have put money that even the blindest Deino would have been affected by Lucas¡¯ equivalent to a flashbang grenade.

    Then Ted was standing next to me, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me to my feet.

    ¡°We gotta get out of here!¡± He was shouting, and I nodded numbly.

    Sunny took another breath, and let out another explosion, the sheer force of the combusting air pushing all of us back a step.

    ¡°He can¡¯t do this forever!¡± Lucas said, eyes wild. ¡°Two, maybe three more times - max!¡±

    I grabbed Zetian¡¯s Pok¨¦ Ball, and withdrew her from where she was laid out on the floor. I hoped she was alright, but we couldn¡¯t take the time to make sure.

    Mayfly was also disappearing into her ball, as the explosion from another one of Sunny¡¯s flashbangs rattled the air.

    The Clefairy and the Cleffa were already on their way out, the Clefairy leading the flight deeper into the cavern, skirting around the edge of the underground lake.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Lucas shouted, and we all started our retreat.

    Ted pushed me to go first, and although I stumbled a little bit with my numb leg, I managed to start following the Clefairy without falling on my face. Ted was right besides me, steadying me every now and again with a careful arm as I staggered across the cavern floor.

    Lucas came next, Sunny giving the Tentacruel one last explosion before disappearing back into his Pok¨¦ Ball. His long, gangly legs and seemingly endless energy allowed him to catch up to us, then pass us to run next to the Clefairy.

    Then one of the Cleffa, running as fast as they could on their stubby legs, tripped over a rock, and tumbled to the ground.

    The Clefairy hesitated, turning to look as the little Cleffa squeaked in fear, then stolidly returned back to running, leaving its companion behind in the dust.

    One of the other two Cleffa, the one I was able to recognize as the brave one, skidded to a halt, and ran over to its fallen companion.

    Lucas didn¡¯t see any of it happen, he was too far ahead to have even seen the Cleffa fall.

    I was barely able to run, my head still swimming from when I had crashed against the rocks.

    Ted looked at me, swore, and with barely a pause, knelt down by the fallen Pok¨¦mon and swept both of the Cleffa into his arms.

    A jet of water smashed into the ground near my foot, and it was my turn to swear.

    With a shared look to Ted, we both nodded, and I did my very best to steady myself as we picked up speed, leaving the raging Tentacruel behind.

    /^\

    We stopped nearly ten minutes later, all of us panting and hunched over in exhaustion as we leaned against the wall of the cave.

    The exit the Clefairy was trying to lead us to was still beyond us for now, but we all had to take a break and catch our breaths after the desperate flight away from the underground lake.

    Thankfully, no other pools of water were nearby, although Lucas had an almost manic gleam in his eye as he frantically cast around, making sure that no Pok¨¦mon were sneaking up on him again.

    My leg had stopped being numb some time ago, although now it was hurting just as much as the rest of my body. Every now and again there would be a faint sensation of numbness, followed by an awful feeling of pins and needles, but I was able to run on it, and that was really what counted.

    With a grimace, I pulled aside my ripped tights to stare at my leg. Even the vaunted Spinarak silk leggings hadn¡¯t stood up to a Tentacruel, and they were in tatters now. Underneath the dark silk, were bright red circular welts where the Tentacruel¡¯s suckers had latched onto my skin.

    In the center of some of the welts, a thin stream of blood was dripping down my leg, and I vaguely remembered hearing that some squid and octopi had razor-like teeth in their tentacles to latch onto prey.

    I guess Tentacruel had them too.

    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    Even more worryingly, one of the welts had a nasty hole in the center where the skin and veins around it were turning a disgusting shade of purple.

    A wave of bile rose out of my stomach as I saw it, and my vision wavered as a pulse of pain and wrongness rippled throughout my body.

    I barely managed to turn around in time to throw up away from the rest of the party.

    ¡°Poison.¡± Ted said as he saw the wound. ¡°Take an Antidote, it¡¯ll be a few minutes for it to kick in, but it should stop the worst of the effects.¡±

    He turned to Lucas, who was gingerly poking at the tatters of his shirt where the Tentacruel had grabbed him. There were welts all across his own torso, and I shuddered to think what he must be feeling.

    ¡°You too.¡±

    Lucas nodded, and we both reached into our backpacks. I had stocked up on status cleansers after the fight with Gardenia, but I had never expected to use them on myself.

    ¡°So what the hell was that all about?¡± I said, spraying the Antidote on my leg.

    It stung like the worst bee-sting I¡¯d ever had, but hopefully I wouldn¡¯t be feeling so nauseous soon.

    ¡°Beats me.¡± Lucas said. ¡°All I know was that I was standing on the edge of the lake one second, then I was underwater the next!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of territorial Pok¨¦mon before,¡± Ted said, holding his side as he rested his head against the cool stone of the rock wall. ¡°But that was something else! How is a Tentacruel even able to live down here, I didn¡¯t think it would be able to get enough food to survive!¡±

    I eyed the Clefairy, a little bit of resentment bubbling up in my chest. ¡°Maybe this is how it manages to get enough to eat. It waits until a herd of Pok¨¦mon, or humans in our case, comes along, snatches them all up with its tentacles, and makes out like a bandit.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t strictly the Clefairy¡¯s fault, but some part of me felt like it could have warned us of the danger before we had stepped right up to the Tentacruel¡¯s lair.

    ¡°I guess so.¡± Ted said, frowning. ¡°It still doesn¡¯t explain how it got down here in the first place. Maybe there¡¯s a larger underground cistern that it lives in?¡±

    He shook his head, then fixed the Clefairy with a gimlet eye. ¡°It doesn¡¯t really matter. Why did you leave your Cleffa to die?¡±

    The Clefairy didn¡¯t react right away, merely staring at Ted with a flat expression.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Lucas said in the tense silence. ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°One of the Cleffa tripped, and the Clefairy kept running.¡± I said.

    ¡°It didn¡¯t even stop?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Ted¡¯s voice was ice cold. ¡°It didn¡¯t.¡±

    After a long, agonizing silence, the Clefairy sighed, and shrugged.

    I closed my eyes for a second, the exhaustion of the last couple of days washing over me. Did it really matter if the Clefairy left the others behind? I mean, it all worked out in the end anyways so-

    Another wave of pain and nausea roiled through my body from the poison in my leg, but my head felt clearer somehow. Like a fog had just been lifted off of my mind.

    ¡°Hey!¡± I said, snapping my eyes open. ¡°What was that?¡±

    Ted and Lucas both looked over at me, their eyes slightly glazed over.

    The Clefairy on the other hand, blanched, its pink skin turning even paler.

    Lucas gagged, sprayed more antidote on his chest, then his eyes seemed to refocus.

    ¡°Yeah! Wait a minute!¡±

    Ted looked at the two of us. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±

    Lucas reached out and slapped Ted across the face. The taller man took a step back, blinking in shock, then frowned.

    ¡°Son of a-¡± Ted cut himself off as he stared at the increasingly panicked Clefairy.

    ¡°You- you tricked us!¡± Lucas accused, pointing at the Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°Mind control?¡± I asked, but Ted and Lucas both shook their heads.

    ¡°Mind control doesn¡¯t work like that.¡± Ted said.

    ¡°Yeah, this was more like¡­ more like a nudge.¡±

    A wave of fog tried to roll over my mind again as the Clefairy concentrated on something, but now that I was aware of it, I was able to spot what was going on.

    I wanted to see the Clefairy as cute and innocent, but the more I concentrated, the more I could feel an alien presence lingering in the back of my mind.

    Some Fairy-types that GameFreak had created really played into the whole ¡°mysterious fae-like being¡± that a lot of mythological fairies had, but I had never suspected that the Clefairy line would be one of them.

    Then again, they were supposedly aliens, so what did I really know?

    ¡°All of this time, it¡¯s been playing us for fools!¡± Lucas said angrily.

    The Cleffa were now staring up at the Clefairy, a wide range of emotions on display in their faces. Two of them seemed to be a little confused by what we were talking about, but the third, the brave one, seemed almost angry.

    It squeaked something out at the taller Clefairy, who responded with an angry chitter and a tap on the head.

    That seemed to make the Cleffa even angrier, and it went on a long, squeaky tirade at the other Pok¨¦mon, at one point gesturing to one of the other Cleffa - the one who had fallen.

    ¡°Uh, maybe we should do something?¡± Lucas asked as the two began to get into an argument.

    The Clefairy seemed to be getting angrier and angrier, and a soft glow started to surround its body. It tried to hit the Cleffa on the head again, but it bounced out of the way before the blow could connect.

    ¡°Enough!¡± Ted said, stopping the fight for a second.

    ¡°What you do from here on out is up to you.¡± He said. ¡°But we need to go south, not east.¡±

    The Clefairy bristled as he spoke.

    ¡°Yeah! If you had been honest with us from the start, we might have helped you!¡± Lucas chimed in. ¡°But no, you had to try and be all sneaky and mind nudgy!¡±

    It was a fair point. I couldn¡¯t really look back and see any point where we would have really changed our actions in the bigger scheme of things. It¡¯s not like we would have left the Clefairy alone, hurt and partially buried under the stones with only some Cleffa to try and take care of it.

    If it had simply asked us to help it get the Cleffa to their home, wherever that was, we probably would have said yes.

    A part of me still wanted to see them wherever they were going, and I had to take a second to interrogate myself to see if it was stemming from the Clefairy.

    I was pretty sure it was just my own thoughts, not wanting to see the Pok¨¦mon hurt from whatever awaited them past this cave.

    And yet¡­ while I wasn¡¯t strictly angry that our minds had been played with, I certainly wasn¡¯t happy about it either.

    At this point, I couldn''t be sure exactly what was my own emotions, or the Clefairy''s, and I wasn''t going to be taking any big risks on that anytime soon.

    I cast a look towards the southern wall of the cave. It was a little bit away, but I could vaguely see the darker openings of tunnels.

    And the eastern passages were a lot closer now that we had gotten away from the central underground lake with the Tentacruel. The Clefairy line had managed to cross this cavern at least once before without our aid.

    ¡°We go south.¡± I said, agreeing with Ted and Lucas. ¡°What you do from here on out is up to you, but we¡¯re not going to get played with like that again.¡±

    The Clefairy seemed to struggle for a second, then its shoulders slumped in defeat.

    Now that I knew what to look for, I could feel the last lingering traces of its mental presence remove themselves from my mind, and while I didn¡¯t necessarily feel any different, it was a relief to know that we weren¡¯t being messed with.

    ¡°I don¡¯t wish you any harm.¡± Ted said sternly. ¡°But this is where we part ways. If you ever run into any humans again, maybe try finding a way to ask them for help first instead of messing with their minds.¡±

    He started out towards the southern wall of the cave, followed shortly by Lucas.

    I sighed, looking at the Clefairy and the Cleffa. Two of the Pok¨¦mon seemed to be relatively fine with the situation, but the brave one still looked disturbed.

    ¡°Goodbye.¡± I said awkwardly. ¡°I hope you get to wherever you¡¯re going safely.¡±

    With that, I turned on my heel and followed my friends away from the mess that we had found ourselves in.

 Chapter Fifty - Interlude 2

    Professor Augustine Sycamore stared up at the glittering stars from his spot on the hill, the soft wind whistling through the grass around him.

    He didn¡¯t get to do this often anymore, relaxing with a bottle of pastis underneath the stars, allowing his thoughts to flow with the breeze. When he was a younger man at university it seemed like he had spent every night out with his friends, drinking and toasting that they would live forever.

    Those nights were gone, however, and he was content with merely enjoying the peace, away from the hustle and bustle of Lumiose City.

    And Augustine needed peace after this past month.

    He took a drink of the alcohol, relishing the sweet, anise-and-licorice taste. Wine might certainly have been the stereotypical drink of choice for Kalos, but pastis was more popular in the south where he had grown up.

    It wasn¡¯t that he hated the city, just the opposite as a matter of fact. He loved being in such a central location, with so many people from so many different backgrounds coming together in a massive melting pot. Sometimes he needed the quiet of the countryside to gather his thoughts.

    It was why he had come out here to Route 16 today, after Lysandre had been arrested.

    Ostensibly it was for tax fraud and insider trading, but Augustine was one of the few people who knew the truth of the matter.

    It had all begun with a phone call several months ago with his old mentor, Professor Rowan. Augustine had been expecting a pleasant chat with his teacher, maybe cooperating on some research they were doing. After all, Augustine had spent a couple of years abroad in Sinnoh to learn from the old man, but instead he had gotten a bucket of ice-cold revelations thrown over his head.

    The things Rowan had said sounded crazy, they were crazy, and if it had been anybody else, Augustine would likely have called them insane.

    After all, who would have expected Lysandre of all people to try and destroy the world?

    But the more Rowan talked, the more sense he made. Rowan couldn¡¯t tell Augustine where he had gotten the information from, but he had been convinced it was accurate. The more he laid things out, the more Augustine had found himself agreeing with his old teacher, especially when Rowan started talking about Team Flare.

    Team Flare had been a minor phenomenon for a while in Kalos, and most people considered them nuisances, but nothing more than common criminals. Comparisons had been made between them and Team Rocket in the Indigo League region, but since Flare had never done anything too heinous, they had been low on the list of priorities.

    What reports did exist on them had an overwhelming debate on the subject of beauty, and creating a better, more beautiful world.

    Lysandre was a strange man, that much was known. He consistently brought up beauty as a concept, rambling on at length to anybody whom he could trap in a conversation.

    He was also fantastically wealthy, and his Lysandre Labs had been making great strides in developing technology. Their Holo Caster was rumored to be coming out in the next year or two, which would have made him even more money.

    When Rowan laid out the actions of Lysandre and Team Flare, there were enough similarities that Augustine couldn¡¯t ignore them.

    The rich and famous could get away with having their eccentricities, which was how Lysandre had snuck under the radar for so long.

    Using the information Rowan had given him, Augustine had gone to the authorities, bringing the matter to the attention of Champion Diantha herself.

    She hadn¡¯t believed him. Diantha and Lysandre were friends, after all, and regularly got coffee together to discuss their beliefs.

    A man with a rumpled, stained suit had approached Augustine the day after the disastrous meeting with Diantha, announcing himself as Jacques Lacroix, a member of the Commission des Op¨¦rations de Bourse, the Exchange Transactions Committee.

    Over a cup of coffee, Lacroix had told Augustine that he had been following Lysandre for a while now, along with some compatriots in the Direction G¨¦n¨¦rale des Finances Publiques de Kalos, the General Directorate of Public Finance of Kalos.

    They had been investigating him for tax fraud, as something didn¡¯t quite line up with Lysandre Labs¡¯ earning reports. The bureaucrats had been convinced that Lysandre had been cheating the system somehow. Then, Augustine¡¯s report had mysteriously landed on their desks, and they were very interested in the answers it provided.

    As it turned out, the odd transactions in Lysandre Labs¡¯ books were thanks to Team Flare¡¯s operations. Lysandre Labs had bankrolled several of Flare¡¯s activities, and the money and resources that Team Flare had stolen had gone right back into Lysandre Labs¡¯ coffers.

    Lysandre had been essentially operating a massive money laundering scheme, and while the Pok¨¦mon League - Diantha in particular - had been loath to investigate the man, Kalos¡¯ civil government was more than willing to levy charges.

    The Lumiose City Police Department had raided Lysandre Labs several days ago, arresting Lysandre and several members of Team Flare who had been working behind the scenes there.

    The news sent metaphorical waves throughout Kalos, but from what Augustine had seen, not much beyond his region¡¯s borders. After all, much of the world was still recovering from the quite literal waves caused by Kyogre.

    Diantha in particular was under close scrutiny, and there were even whispers of a formal investigation by the Pok¨¦mon League to ensure that she hadn¡¯t been abusing her power with her friendship with Lysandre.

    A rustle in the grass behind him caught his attention, and Augustine¡¯s hand drifted down to the Luxury Ball at his waist.

    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± He called.

    ¡°Just a weary traveler.¡± An ancient, exhausted voice replied.

    Augustine turned, and blinked in surprise as his eyes traveled up, and up, and up.

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    The man was utterly massive, easily three meters tall if he was a centimeter. He was covered in ragged clothes that barely hit his lanky frame, and long white hair spilled out from his orange knit cap.

    Augustine stared at the man, then sighed, and patted the ground next to him. The man walked over and sat down, folding his legs beneath him to be marginally shorter than his full height.

    ¡°Drink?¡± Augustine asked, holding the bottle out.

    He wasn¡¯t normally in the business of sharing his drinks with strangers, but something about the man reassured him that he wasn¡¯t going to do Augustine any harm. He seemed¡­ tired, not hostile.

    A small smile peaked out of the corner of the man¡¯s face, and he took the bottle with a gracious nod, taking a sip of the alcohol.

    ¡°Ahh, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve had a drink on such a calm night.¡± The giant said, staring out at the stars.

    He went to pass the bottle back, but Augustine shook his head before reaching into the basket at his side and pulling out another bottle.

    The man raised an eyebrow as Augustine popped the cork on the bottle, taking a swig of the fresh booze.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a long day.¡± Augustine said, before laughing. ¡°A long week. A long month. A long year.¡±

    ¡°A long life.¡± The man said knowingly, nodding at Augustine¡¯s words, and taking another sip himself.

    The two sat in silence for several minutes, occasionally drinking from their bottles, but mostly just staring at the night sky.

    ¡°Tell me.¡± Augustine said, breaking the silence. ¡°Why do you think people are naturally good, or evil?¡±

    The giant hummed. ¡°A difficult question, I don¡¯t know if I have an answer.¡±

    ¡°My economics professor would have said that it doesn¡¯t matter, but a lack of support systems opportunities for the underprivileged force them to commit crimes. They would be naturally good then, but forced to be evil. But yet at the same time, I¡¯ve known many naturally spiteful and awful people who have turned around and done some of the most kind gestures I have ever seen. They were naturally evil, so to speak, but chose for a moment to be good.¡±

    ¡°Do you have an answer?¡±

    Augustine sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Because I knew a man. He wasn¡¯t a friend, but¡­ an acquaintance. We traveled in some of the same circles. He seemed like a genuinely good man, if somewhat strange. Then I learned that he was one of the worst people I knew. He wanted to do unthinkable things for beauty.¡±

    Augustine stared in disgust out at the world. ¡°Not that beauty is not a worthwhile thing to have. The world is beautiful, people are beautiful, Pok¨¦mon are most certainly beautiful. But to kill millions, billions of people and Pok¨¦mon for the concept of beauty?¡±

    ¡°People have done such violence for worse reasons.¡± The man¡¯s voice was low.

    ¡°That brings us back to the original question.¡± Augustine said. ¡°Are people good, or evil? Because this man had every chance to be good. He had every opportunity and support system you could think of, and did some genuinely kind things that made people¡¯s lives better, and at the end of the day he still wanted to destroy everything.¡±

    ¡°For an ideology.¡± His drinking companion said after a minute. ¡°Your acquaintance, he wanted to commit an atrocity because he believed it was right to do so. All people are like that, just look at Hoenn and the strife they¡¯ve been having.¡±

    ¡°But why do they decide that they are the ones in the right? That their ideology is correct and everybody elses¡¯ is wrong. That they are good, and the rest of the world is evil?¡±

    The tall man eyed him thoughtfully.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the question you really want to be asking.¡± He said, and Augustine deflated, taking another sip of his pastis.

    ¡°No.¡± He said quietly. ¡°No it¡¯s not.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see it coming?¡± the man asked. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I stop? Why didn¡¯t I do better?¡±

    Augustine nodded, keeping silent for fear of what he would say if he were to speak.

    ¡°Those are the questions I¡¯ve asked myself millions of times.¡±

    ¡°Have you ever come up with an answer?¡±

    The man sighed, shaking his head. ¡°No. I keep thinking all day, every day for a proper answer, something that will make sense, and you know what I keep coming up with?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know the answer today, but I¡¯ll ask myself tomorrow.¡±

    A memory came to Augustine, and he laughed bitterly.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    ¡°Just an old joke I was told a long time ago. A wise man is asked why he is always so happy, and never is sad. He responds ¡®I am always so happy because I know that today is my last day on Earth, for I shall surely die tomorrow.¡¯ The joke of course being that it¡¯s never tomorrow, when the clock rolls over to 12:01 AM, it¡¯s a new day.¡±

    ¡°Not a particularly funny joke.¡±

    ¡°The man who told it was not a particularly funny person.¡±

    The two of them took a swig of their drinks at the same time.

    ¡°What do you think of these ¡®Trainers¡¯ of today?¡± The tall man asked.

    Augustine looked over in curiosity at the non-sequitur, before shrugging.

    ¡°They¡¯re good people.¡± He said honestly. ¡°There¡¯s a few bad eggs, but I¡¯ve found that, almost universally, Trainers love their Pok¨¦mon. Nobody is perfect, of course, but it¡¯s generally been a boon for society.¡±

    The man hummed.

    ¡°A fair answer.¡±

    Silence reigned for the next several minutes, before Augustine¡¯s phone buzzed.

    He pulled it out and looked at the screen, sighing as a text came in.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°I have to go. A problem at the lab requires my help.¡±

    ¡°Will you be safe getting back?¡±

    ¡°Hm?¡± Augustine looked down at the mostly-empty bottle in his hands. ¡°Oh, yes. Bouc here knows the way back.¡±

    He pulled out one of his Pok¨¦ Balls, releasing Bouc, his Gogoat.

    The Pok¨¦mon eyed the bottle with a bit of disdain, but allowed Augustine to hop on his back.

    ¡°Keep the bottle!¡± Augustine said. ¡°And be safe when traveling¡­ well, wherever you¡¯re going!¡±

    ¡°One last question!¡± The man said, standing up to his full, massive height. ¡°If you were talking to your acquaintance, the one who committed those crimes, who was going to hurt all those people. If he truly regretted his actions, if he despised what he did more than anything else in the entire world and has suffered immensely for it, do you think you could forgive him? Do you think he could forgive himself?¡±

    Augustine stared at the man, before shrugging.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± He said honestly. ¡°Ask me again tomorrow.¡±

    The wind blew across the two silent men, before the giant threw his head back and laughed, tears springing to his eyes as he almost doubled over with the effort of laughing.

    Augustine and Bouc set off, and even miles down the road, he thought he could still hear the laughter of the mysterious man.

    Although based on the sound, they could have been sobs.

    /^\

    It was almost morning by the time Augustine sorted out the issue with a small pack of Dedenne eating at the wires in his lab, when he realized he had never gotten the man¡¯s name.

    He shrugged and collapsed into his bed, falling asleep in seconds.

    If in the morning he was still curious, Augustine could try and look him up online. After all, there weren¡¯t many people who were over three meters tall, surely somebody would know about him.

    But that could wait until tomorrow.

 Chapter Fifty-One

    After the excitement of the cavern, returning back to the monotony of the tunnels was jarring, albeit none of us were complaining. The trip to the southern wall of the cave took a little bit longer than it maybe should have - we made sure to give any suspicious pools of water a wide berth, but we didn¡¯t spend long in the tunnels themselves before breaking off to make camp.

    There was an alcove just off one of the larger south-bound tunnels that had the glowing gemstones growing out of its walls, and by mutual consensus we all stopped to take a break, especially considering Lucas and I still needed to address the damage done by the Tentacruel.

    After getting settled in, Ted and Lucas started carefully cataloging everybody¡¯s injuries and broke out their first aid kits. I¡¯d only taken a single first aid class in college to get some extra credit for my mandatory biology class, and I¡¯d read a couple more books at Professor Rowan¡¯s lab, but my practical knowledge fell short compared to the two people who spent their lives around Pokemon.

    ¡°Despite how nasty it looks, most cases of poison can be naturally purged from the body before something becomes fatal.¡± Ted explained as he crushed some edible charcoal with a Pecha Berry to create a truly disgusting looking slurry.

    Ted had stocked up on poison cures during our time in Eterna City, having vowed to never let another Pok¨¦berry incident happen again.

    I reluctantly had to admit that his evil witch-doctor concoction did make me feel better as it purged the remnants of the Tentacruel¡¯s poison, even though it tasted absolutely atrocious.

    After once again finding myself in awe of the efficacy of medicine in this world, we decided it best to get some rest, since we were all so exhausted. We¡¯d settled on a system of sleeping in shifts last night, since none of us wanted to be caught unawares in the cave.

    Once our own wounds were treated, we decided to let out the members of our teams to catch everyone up to speed and treat them as well.

    ¡°Have I ever told you how amazing you are?¡± I asked Zetian while carefully brushing some dust off of her exoskeleton. ¡°I think I should keep a running tally of how much you saved my life, maybe we can have a reward when we hit a milestone like number ten or something¡­¡±

    She preened, then reached down to gently pet one of her bees that had crawled out of her abdomen, looking for all the world like a benevolent dictator.

    Sometimes I worried about her ego.

    Kojin whuffed in confusion at my comment, as he had no frame of reference for what I was talking about. After all, he hadn¡¯t been with us for most of our encounters so far.

    Ted hummed in thought. ¡°You know, I seem to have gotten in more trouble following you all around than I did on my old Journey back in Hoenn.¡±

    He hesitated for a second. ¡°Well, up to a certain point, anyways. It did get a little¡­ hectic, towards the end there.¡±

    Lucas just frowned and stared at the bowl of travel food we had doled out to everybody.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked, nudging him with my elbow.

    ¡°Hm? Oh, nothing. It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    He shook his head. ¡°Why did the Clefairy do that? Why bother messing with our minds?¡±

    Ted and I both shared a concerned look. Lucas was a good kid, and smart as a whip, but at the end of the day, he was still just a kid.

    I took a breath, letting it out slowly. ¡°It was probably scared. Most people, Pok¨¦mon included, don¡¯t do things out of intentional malice. They¡¯re just scared about something, and they let it infect their thoughts. The Clefairy was probably scared that we would try to hurt it or the Cleffa, and it didn¡¯t want to take that chance.¡±

    ¡°Fairies and Psychic-types tend to be that way.¡± Ted confirmed. ¡°I would imagine the Clefairy would have been even more scared if it knew that there was a Tentacruel in that cave. Passing by it the first time would have been tough, but having to go back again so soon? I would be scared too.¡±

    Lucas didn¡¯t seem reassured. ¡°I still feel like we should have done something more though. I would feel terrible if something had happened to those Pok¨¦mon and we could have done something to help them.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a noble goal,¡± I said carefully. ¡°But we have to look out for ourselves as well. It does nobody any good if we get ourselves hurt - or worse.¡±

    ¡°Keep in mind that the Clefairy didn¡¯t ask us either. I might be feeling worse about leaving it to fend for itself if not for the fact that it tried to mind control us. It was acting in bad faith, and we can¡¯t be expected to be paragons when the other party isn¡¯t being honest with us.¡±

    Lucas¡¯ frown deepened at mine and Ted¡¯s words, but he didn¡¯t push the issue any further.

    We sat in silence for a little while longer, before we settled down for the night.

    /^\

    ¡°Switchback, with me.¡±

    I slowly blinked the sleep out of my eyes as I heard the sound of claws quietly scrabbling along the stone floor. Venus, who didn¡¯t seem to trust me by myself after what happened, stirred from where she was asleep on my chest.

    ¡°Muh?¡± I mumbled, trying to figure out what was going on.

    Ted half-turned to face me, his face lit by the dim crystals on the wall. ¡°We heard something down the tunnel from the way we came.¡±

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    I was suddenly very awake, and I put my hand to the ground. Nothing was rumbling, and I hadn¡¯t seen any evidence of metal streaks on the walls.

    Probably not another Steelix then.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°No idea, but if it wants to try to get the drop on us while we¡¯re asleep, it better be ready for a fight.¡±

    At Ted¡¯s words, Switchback¡¯s claws flashed with a metallic sheen before it expertly scrambled up the tunnel wall to literally get the drop on whatever was coming our way.

    ¡°Lucas!¡± I hissed.

    The kid mumbled in his sleep, twisting around on his bedroll.

    Carefully I worked my way out of my own pile of blankets, and crouched by Lucas¡¯ side. I put one hand over his mouth, using the other to shake him awake.

    The hand over his mouth was a good idea, because he jerked like he had been hit with a live wire, eyes frantically darting all around the cavern before they settled on me. I put my finger up to my mouth in the universal sign for ¡°quiet,¡± then pulled my hands away.

    ¡°What are you doing? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°Ted heard something.¡±

    Lucas blinked up at me, obviously still mostly asleep.

    ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°He heard something moving towards us.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Oh!¡±

    ¡°So let¡¯s be quiet, and figure out what¡¯s going on, okay?¡±

    He nodded quickly, extricating himself from the mess that was his bedroll.

    Venus and Ted were standing at the entrance separating the rest of the tunnel from the small alcove we had set up in. Switchback was clinging to the roof above them, his claws buried deep into the stone to keep him from falling.

    ¡°Are we going out to meet it, or wait for it to come here?¡± Lucas asked in a whisper as we joined them.

    Venus trotted over to me, rubbing her side against my leg, but she never took her eyes off of the tunnel.

    Ted thought for a second. ¡°Going out to meet it.¡± He eventually said.

    ¡°If it goes really badly, we can always run back here.¡±

    Lucas and I both nodded, even though it was a fairly ridiculous sight. All three of us were wearing our pajamas, the full set that almost looked like a suit. Ted¡¯s was mint green with vibrant orange Tranpinch all over them, Lucas had a dark blue set dotted with Pok¨¦ Balls, and I had sprung for an off-white set with cartoon Eevees and its evolutions sprawled in different sleeping positions.

    It had been a bit of a process to make sure we could all change in privacy, but the extra comfort of the nice flannel pajamas was well worth it.

    Lucas hesitated for a second, then pulled out a Pok¨¦ Ball, releasing Sunny. With the three of us all having a Pok¨¦mon out, we would hopefully be able to scare off whatever was coming.

    With a shared nod, we started down the tunnel.

    /^\

    It wasn¡¯t long until we found the source of the noise.

    Ted had mentioned that it sounded like something was shuffling down the tunnel, and while that was mostly true, he had been slightly mistaken.

    As it turned out, it was something sniffling down the corridor.

    The three of us stared somewhat blankly at the crying Pok¨¦mon in front of us, and not for the first time I wondered how my life had gotten to this point.

    It was the brave little Celffa who had tried to protect its family, back when it had seen us as threats. The tiny Pok¨¦mon was looking worse for wear, its pink skin marred with scrapes and bruises, and its left horn was chipped.

    It had obviously been crying for a while, and when it finally saw us, it sat down on the ground and began crying even harder.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t another trap, is it?¡± Lucas asked, peering down the tunnel to try and see if the Clefairy was anywhere around.

    Ted had a deep frown on his face, an expression that matched the one I had. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡±

    He carefully stepped forwards, kneeling down by the Cleffa. He still dwarfed it, but the little Pok¨¦mon looked up with a complicated mixture of feelings plainly visible. Maybe it was something having to do with its Fairy typing, broadcasting its emotions, but I felt like I could read what it was feeling like a book.

    Fear, pain, sadness, betrayal, but also a strong sense of righteous anger.

    ¡°You tried arguing with the Clefairy, didn¡¯t you.¡± Ted said.

    It wasn¡¯t really a question, but the Cleffa nodded all the same.

    ¡°Why?¡± Lucas asked.

    ¡°You might not have seen it, considering all of the poison, but this little one wasn¡¯t very happy with the Clefairy.¡± I said quietly. ¡°I don¡¯t think it appreciated how it had tried to leave the other Cleffa behind.¡±

    The Cleffa nodded, sniffling a little as it did so.

    ¡°So what happened? You tried to get in a fight about it?¡±

    Another nod.

    ¡°And you lost.¡±

    The Cleffa froze for a second, then broke down crying again.

    Ted sighed, and picked up the Cleffa, holding it in his arms again. This time it didn¡¯t try to bite him.

    ¡°You got kicked out of the group, huh?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s horrible!¡± Lucas said, eyes aflame with his own righteous anger. ¡°That Clefairy isn¡¯t just content with leaving its fellows behind, but it¡¯ll actually kick them out!?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a tough world out there.¡± Ted said quietly as he gently rocked the Cleffa.

    The poor thing must have been exhausted, as it was already starting to fall asleep. I supposed it had been a very, very busy day for it, after all.

    ¡°The Clefairy probably thought it was a liability.¡± Ted continued. ¡°If this little one wasn¡¯t willing to follow its orders, then what good would it be?¡±

    It was a horrible, cutthroat attitude, but one that made a grim kind of sense. A lot of the Pok¨¦mon world was amazing, but like my old world it could be as terrifying as it was beautiful.

    Things were probably more raw and unfiltered down here in the caves, away from the steadying hand of the Pok¨¦mon League and the effects of people and Pok¨¦mon working together. It was more¡­ primal, in a sense.

    The Tentacruel was just one example of that. Who knew what else lay in wait in the dark? It was likely just as much for Cleffa''s safety that they followed the orders as it was for the benefit of the Clefairy.

    I could recognize that it made sense, but that didn¡¯t mean that I had to like it, or even to agree with it. It was a horrific thing that the Clefairy had kicked out the Cleffa, and no amount of justification would stop me from feeling angry about it.

    ¡°So,¡± Lucas said, shuffling in place. ¡°What happens now?¡±

    Ted sighed.

    ¡°We go back to sleep.¡± He responded. ¡°Wake up in the morning like normal, and see what the little one wants to do then. We¡¯ll either let it go, take it with us, or maybe find a safe place for it to go its own way.¡±

    I sighed. It was probably the best thing we could do at the moment, it wasn¡¯t exactly as if we had a Pok¨¦mon Center or a Ranger Station we could bring the Cleffa to in order to make sure that it could be safely rehomed.

    By this point, the tiny Pok¨¦mon was asleep in Ted¡¯s arms, and he looked down on it with a smile tinged with sadness.

    A smile of my own tugged at the corners of my mouth. Despite what Ted said about letting it go, I had the very strong feeling that the little Cleffa wouldn¡¯t be going anywhere.

 Chapter Fifty-Two

    As it turned out, I was right. The little Cleffa stayed with Ted during the night, and when they awoke the next morning Ted offered the Pok¨¦mon the chance to come along with him.

    The Cleffa took some time to think about it, but before we set out into the tunnels once again, it had found a new home in one of Ted¡¯s Pok¨¦ Balls, and a new name.

    Silver the Cleffa had a long way to go to being ready for any actual Gym battles, but he was scrappy nonetheless.

    Two weeks passed by in exhausting monotony as we trudged through the tunnels, heading further and further south. The only way we were relatively sure that we were going in the right direction was because of the compasses we had.

    The monotony was only broken thanks to the occasional small caves and underground biomes that we stumbled across. While none were as large as the cavern with the Tentacruel, they made up for their smaller size with their diversity..

    There were caves with grass and trees, caves that were home to pools of lava and were scorching hot, caves that were so cold and icy that they made me wish for the lava pools, and even one miserable cave that was a swamp.

    None of it should have been physically possible, at least according to my understanding of geology and biology, but then again, the Pok¨¦mon world never really played by the rules.

    Thankfully, we were able to supplement our traveling rations with food gathered from the caves so we didn¡¯t have to eat the same boring protein bars and dried food packets. Silver proved invaluable in this area, and I was grateful he was with us, as he could identify which fruits and berries in the more plant-filled caves were safe to eat.

    The other Pok¨¦mon that helped us out was Switchback - if the Poison-type was excited to eat a particular food, we all made sure to avoid it.

    By the end of the two weeks, we were thoroughly sick and tired of the caves. Everybody was exhausted and snapping at each other, all of our normal rhythms thrown off by the lack of sunlight and a proper day-night cycle. Really the only one who was happy about the entire affair was K¨­jin, who was able to burn off a lot of his energy by running up and down the caves, ecstatic at having the opportunity to go as fast as he could in a straight line.

    The only thing that I was even slightly happy about by the end of those two weeks was that there were no more encounters with hostile Pok¨¦mon like the Tentacruel.

    That¡¯s not to say that we didn¡¯t encounter any wild Pok¨¦mon, as each of the caves had their own unique ecosystems and Pok¨¦mon populations, but none of them seemed interested in trying to eat any of us.

    What was more interesting to all of us were that very few of the Pok¨¦mon in the caves should actually be there. Only a couple of the Pok¨¦mon that we had seen were native to Sinnoh, the rest were from all over the Four Islands.

    I knew that it was a justification by the game designers to have rare Pok¨¦mon for the player to collect in the remakes of the Diamond and Pearl games, but that didn¡¯t make the reality of it any less confusing.

    Ted and Lucas lost a decent amount of sleep trying to figure out just how all of these rare Pok¨¦mon managed to make it into the underground passages. I was curious too, even though I didn¡¯t lose any sleep over it.

    The breakthrough, so to speak, came when we were passing through one of the small icy caves. It was small in comparison to the massive cave where the Tentacruel had lived, but it was still about the size of a full city block or two.

    /^\

    Most of the caves we had passed through were relatively open spaces, but not this one. The cold wind howled through the tall, spire-like stalagmites as snowflakes drifted down around us. Nevermind the fact that, logically speaking, there shouldn¡¯t be snow this deep underground, but here we were, in the next-best thing to a blizzard.

    None of us had really bothered with bundling up in any winter clothes, after all, in a few hundred yards the biome would change back to the boring, rocky tunnels, and we would have to change into our regular clothes.

    Instead we decided to be miserable for a few minutes and braved the cold.

    K¨­jin, Sunny, and Maggy were our saviors for this particular cave. K¨­jin was having the time of his life, bounding through the snow and blasting great gouts of fire. The three Fire-types were burning us a path, which meant that we had to trudge through piles of slush instead of knee-high snow drifts.

    ¡°Did you see that?¡± Lucas asked, pointing with a shivering finger towards one of the pillars.

    ¡°No.¡± Ted grumbled.

    Out of all of us, he was taking the icy caverns the worst. Hoenn was a tropical region, after all, and they rarely had to deal with any kind of cold weather.

    Lucas was the most accustomed to these kinds of conditions, and I had vaguely fond memories of having to shovel snow off the driveway when I was a kid.

    ¡°There!¡± He said, pointing again. ¡°It¡¯s right there!¡±

    We all turned, and I just managed to get a glimpse of gray fur disappearing into the snowstorm.

    ¡°Son of a-¡± Ted cursed. ¡°Yes. I saw it. Probably just a Sneasel.¡±

    ¡°But where¡¯s its pack?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe they¡¯re all hiding in a different cave somewhere, safe and warm.¡±

    Lucas frowned. ¡°But they¡¯re Ice-types, wouldn¡¯t they be happy out in the cold?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know Lucas! I don¡¯t know how anybody can be happy in this stupid weather.¡±

    Some neurons started to fire in the back of my head, and I frowned over at where I had seen the moving Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°Say, what color is a Sneasel¡¯s fur?¡±

    ¡°Blue-ish.¡± Ted grunted. ¡°Sometimes black, but mostly blue.¡±

    ¡°But not gray?¡±

    ¡°Gray? No. Not gray.¡±

    ¡°I think it was a Sneasel.¡± I said, thinking back to the shape I had seen. ¡°It looked familiar, at least.¡±

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°Well, think about it. What looks like a Sneasel, but has gray fur?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Alina. Why don¡¯t you tell us?¡±

    I had a shit-eating grin on my face as I pointed at his belt.

    ¡°What? What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡±

    Lucas started giggling at Ted¡¯s expression, having picked up on where I was going with it.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny? I swear, next time Switchback finds a poisonous berry, I¡¯m going to-¡±

    He stopped.

    ¡°And the penny drops.¡± I stage-whispered to Lucas.

    ¡°What¡¯s a penny?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you think that it¡¯s a Hisuian Sneasel?¡± Ted said, eyes wide as he tried to peer through the gusting snow towards where the Pok¨¦mon had vanished.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a possibility.¡± I replied. ¡°Think about it, what kind of Ice-types have gray fur?¡±

    ¡°Weavile.¡± Ted shot back immediately.

    I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head. ¡°They live in packs. Besides, did you see any red on its crest?¡±

    ¡°No, but I only saw it for a second. And besides, just because we saw one doesn¡¯t mean that there¡¯s not others. Plus, these Hisuian Sneasels you talk about aren¡¯t Ice-types, you said so yourself. Why would they be living in an ice biome?¡±

    ¡°Shinx aren¡¯t Grass-types, but you find them living on the plains.¡±

    ¡°Come on everybody,¡± Lucas said. ¡°There¡¯s an easy way to figure this out. Just let Switchback out, and see if any Pok¨¦mon responds to his presence.¡±

    Ted and I shared a look, then we both shrugged.

    ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot.¡±

    Ted just mumbled something about the cold, but his desire to know more about Pok¨¦mon evidently won out against his personal comfort, and he pulled out Switchback¡¯s Pok¨¦ Ball.

    The short gray Pok¨¦mon emerged from the ball with a yawn, stretching slightly, then perked up as a gust of cold wind blew through the cavern.

    ¡°Hey there buddy.¡± Ted said, kneeling down to take a closer look at his companion.

    I didn¡¯t miss the slight grimace as he planted his knee into the cold snow.

    ¡°There might be another one of your species around here, and we were wondering if-¡±

    Switchback¡¯s head whipped around to the rest of the cavern, and cut Ted off with a joyful cry.

    A few seconds later, a similar voice shouted back from the cave, sounding much more uncertain.

    The little Sneasel tore off from where he was standing next to Ted, disappearing into the snow covered landscape, leaving the three of us blinking at each other in confusion.

    I was barely able to make out the sounds of Switchback and the other Pok¨¦mon chittering to each other underneath the sounds of the icy wind, along with a few thumps.

    ¡°How is there even wind?¡± I muttered. ¡°I mean, we¡¯re underground, it¡¯s not like there¡¯s wind currents or anything.¡±

    My musings were interrupted by Switchback prancing back through the snow, dragging a miserable looking Sneasel behind him.

    The other Pok¨¦mon was smaller than Switchback, and far scrawnier. It¡¯s fur was matted and dull in places as compared to Switchback¡¯s much more luscious coat, and I could tell from a glance that it was nowhere near as strong or well nourished as Ted¡¯s partner was.

    Probably had a hard time finding enough food in the caves.

    More importantly, it looked incredibly awkward as it saw us, tugging at its arm firmly locked in Switchback¡¯s hand. I got the distinct feeling that it would much rather be anywhere else.

    Switchback, for his part, chittered excitedly to Ted, looking back and forth between himself and the other Hisuian Sneasel.

    And it was a Hisuian Sneasel, that much was obvious. Ted merely stood there, mouth agape, and I leaned over with a smile and nudged him in the side.

    ¡°Told you.¡±

    /^\

    Our meeting with the other Hisuian Sneasel didn¡¯t last long.

    At the end of the day it was still a wild Pok¨¦mon, and from what I knew, the Hisuian Sneasel line was much more solitary than their regular counterparts. Switchback seemed to be a bit of an exception, but I chalked that up to the fact that he had been raised in a very friendly environment.

    Judging by the size of the cavern, the other Sneasel had probably only ever seen another of its kind a couple of times in its life, and certainly not one as companionable as Switchback.

    After a few minutes of letting us examine it in exchange for some Pok¨¦ Blocks, probably more nutrition in one place than it had gotten in months, the other Hisuian Sneasel had had enough. It scooped up the small pile of Pok¨¦ Blocks Ted had laid out in front of it, and disappeared back into the snow, its fur proving remarkably adept at disappearing into the snowstorm.

    ¡°Huh.¡± Ted said after a minute, looking down at his notebook and camera. ¡°Well, never say that I won¡¯t admit when I was wrong.¡±

    All of us had pulled out our notebooks to take down observations, and Ted had even gone so far as to pull out his camera, taking pictures of the other Sneasel and a brief video. The wild Hisuian Sneasel had obviously no idea what they were, but food had gone a long way in bribing it to allow us to examine it and take photos.

    ¡°This changes¡­ everything.¡± Ted said, before stuffing his camera and notebook back into his pack to protect them from the cold. ¡°I mean, one Hisuian Sneasel in Switchback is one thing, maybe he was just a weird genetic mutation while he was in his egg. But now that there¡¯s two, and presumably more, we might be looking at a whole subspecies of Pok¨¦mon living down here that were presumed extinct!¡±

    ¡°Maybe they retreated down here before they went extinct on the surface?¡± Lucas mused, flipping through his notebook. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not the best at history, but I vaguely remember something about some weird storms a couple hundred years ago. Maybe an environmental disaster drove the Hisuian Sneasel underground, leaving their regular Johtoian cousins to become the main species that people know about?¡±

    ¡®Some weird storms¡¯ was an understatement. Those storms had been anomalies ripping holes in time and space, spitting out Pok¨¦mon from all over the world, it was part of the main plot of Pok¨¦mon: Legends Arceus. Of course, it wasn¡¯t like I could just tell Ted and Lucas that, not without explaining how I knew that information.

    ¡°How did I not know about this?¡± Ted muttered to himself.

    ¡°I mean, you''re not an expert on Sinnoh Pok¨¦mon or history.¡± Lucas said.

    ¡°But even still, I mean, somebody should have said something. It¡¯s not like¡­¡± He shook his head. ¡°No. The only reason we even know about this now is because of the cave-in caused by the mudslide, if not for that, then nobody would even have known that this was all down here.¡±

    ¡°That might not be true.¡± I said, frowning. ¡°I think the Rangers had some idea that there were weird things happening underground.¡±

    ¡°But do they know about all of this?¡± Ted asked, waving a hand at the snowy landscape.

    ¡°Probably not.¡± I admitted.

    After all, the only reason I really knew about it was because I had knowledge from the games.

    ¡°Well, we can talk about the things people knew or didn¡¯t know.¡± Lucas said, teeth chattering. ¡°But honestly, right now? I¡¯m starting to feel the cold. Can we talk about this someplace else?¡±

    Ted and I shared a look, and I realized that in the excitement of finding another Hisuian Sneasel and examining it, we had all forgotten about the fact that we were currently standing in a cavern filled with a physics-defying blizzard.

    ¡°Your lips are a little blue.¡± I said.

    ¡°Your ears are looking kinda pale.¡± Ted replied.

    ¡°Let''s get out of here.¡± Lucas gestured to the direction we had been initially going towards and the exit of the cave.

    We bustled our way through the snow and wind, leaving the mystery of the Hisuian Sneasel behind. I had the feeling that Ted, at the very least, would probably be finding a way to return down here despite the cold so he could study them some more.

    And maybe, I thought, rolling the idea around in my head. It would be interesting to come back down myself.

    After all, I needed something to do after I did the Gym Challenges, and I was technically a Pok¨¦mon researcher now.

    K¨­jin was a Hisuian Growlithe so maybe there was a cave around here that had some of his subspecies? Did he come from the Grand Underground too? If he did, how did Kane find him and the other Growlithe K¨­jin had been traveling with? Unless Kane knew about the Grand Underground as well.

    All of a sudden, I had a lot of questions and precious few answers.

 No Chapter This Week

Hello all!

    Unfortunately due to the fact that I''m sick, there''ll be no chapter this week.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Thank you for your understanding.

 Chapter Fifty-Three

    I slapped at my arm, cursing under my breath as the remarkably durable mosquito buzzed away unharmed after getting its meal.

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make any sense at all.¡± I complained to the group. ¡°How is there a forest down here?¡±

    ¡°How was there snow?¡± Ted asked, his voice thick with exhaustion. ¡°How was there a lava cave? At a certain point, does it even really matter?¡±

    We must have been getting close to Oreburgh City by now, judging by the amount of time we¡¯d spent in the Grand Underground, but the lack of open skies and real sunlight was making everybody testy.

    The caverns had somehow managed to support life with massive Sun Stones growing out of the ceiling, providing enough fake sunlight for plants to survive. Underground springs provided water, and those two factors were enough to let entire biomes flourish.

    Long ago when I had first arrived at this world- it was only a couple months but it felt like years- I had noted that regular bugs that I was familiar with from Earth still existed here.

    Bug-Types were simply too big to help pollinate flowers, eat dead plants, and all the other things bugs do to keep the world going. They were more like lions and tigers among their respective food chains - apex predators for the bug kingdom, even if they were often small in comparison to other Pok¨¦mon.

    Unfortunately for me, that meant that at some point in the cavern¡¯s history mosquitos and other aforementioned bugs had managed to make their way down to nest in the more stagnant water sources.

    Where there were mosquitos, all manner of other life followed. Spiders to eat the mosquitos, birds and lizards to eat the spiders, and then Pok¨¦mon to eat those birds and lizards, and even a couple larger Pok¨¦mon to eat them.

    The glorious cycle of life, and I was thoroughly sick of it.

    I hadn¡¯t showered in weeks. Our trail rations were running low, and though we kept ourselves fed with the fruit from cavern trees, I craved a real meal. I missed clean clothes, the chance to do laundry, and¡ªmore than anything¡ªthe comforts of civilization.

    Even when I had spent weeks in the wilderness hunting for Gible, at least I had the opportunity to return to Oreburgh every now and again and enjoy the privileges of the city. That wasn¡¯t the case here.

    I could see Ted was starting to feel the same way I did, but, annoyingly, Lucas still seemed as chipper as ever.

    Happier than most of the time I had known him, actually, considering the new friend perched on his shoulder.

    The Dartrix had been an unexpected discovery, to say the least. We had been tromping through the largest cavern we¡¯d found yet- the massive forest which was even larger than the one with the Tentacruel- when a winged form had darted down in front of us. Against all conventional understanding of Pok¨¦mon habitats, a Dartrix was somehow living down here and decided to confront us for walking on a game trail.

    Whenever we tried to walk by it, it would reposition on the rough path and block us from going any further.

    What followed was something out of a comedy. Lucas stepped forward and tried to reason with the Dartrix. The Dartrix did not want to let us pass without giving it something, and it didn¡¯t want anything we offered it. One thing led to another, and things had snowballed until we found ourselves running around the cavern, collecting ancient stone arrowheads.

    I hadn¡¯t realized we¡¯d been given a side-quest until we were already scrabbling through the underbrush, searching for the arrowheads; and by then it was too late.

    As for where the arrowheads had come from in the first place, that was a question I wasn¡¯t even going to try to answer.

    When all was said and done, the Dartrix had decided that it had taken a shine to Lucas, and ended up as the fourth member of his party. He was now feeding it some berries while brainstorming a decent name for it.

    Lucas didn¡¯t seem to be particularly concerned that a Dartix shouldn¡¯t have been here at all- it was native to Alola, which was over four thousand miles from where we stood. Ted, however, seemed to be losing his mind over it.

    As for me, I was remarkably okay with the discrepancy. Maybe it was because I already knew the Rowlett line had been present in Hisui in the games, or maybe I was just too tired to really care.

    I missed an actual bed.

    But what I was focusing on, besides the annoying mosquitos, was that I was probably right.

    The Hisuian Pok¨¦mon had to have retreated into the Grand Underground sometime between the events of Pok¨¦mon: Legends Arceus and the modern day. There was just no other explanation to why we were seeing Pok¨¦mon who hadn¡¯t been native to Sinnoh in centuries, reappearing only in these caves and caverns.

    Hisuian Sneasel in the ice biome. Dartrix, and presumably Hisuian Decidueye, in the forest. It was a safe bet that K¨­jin had come from one of the fiery biomes, but we hadn¡¯t seen any Hisuian Growlithe yet.

    If we spent more time down here, with actual supplies and more support, I had a strong hunch that we would be able to find more of the ancient Pok¨¦mon variants.

    How they¡¯d ended up in the Grand Underground, why it had been sealed off for so long, and countless other logistical questions remained unknown.

    I swatted at another mosquito, and bit back another curse as it buzzed away, unharmed.

    Questions that could be answered as soon as I could get out of this goddamn cave.

    /^\

    The tiniest, smallest hint of a breeze caressed my face, and I immediately froze in place. My companions didn¡¯t notice me stopping at first, and continued to walk down the tunnel as I glanced around, trying to find the source of the breeze.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Lucas asked gruffly.

    Even his seemingly endless energy had been sapped after so long in the caves, leaving him a sullen teenager.

    ¡°I felt something.¡± I said, still looking around.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    ¡°Like what?¡± Ted asked, taking the opportunity to stretch his calves against the tunnel wall.

    ¡°A breeze.¡±

    That got their attention, and immediately both of them began to crane their necks around as well.

    ¡°Oh, holy Arceus.¡± Ted said, his eyes going wide. ¡°I feel it too.¡±

    ¡°What? What??¡± Lucas asked, frantic as he tried to feel what Ted and I were. ¡°I¡¯m not getting anything at all!¡±

    I narrowed my eyes, pointing off to the side. It wasn¡¯t quite a split into another tunnel, but there was a wall that seemed somewhat out of place. ¡°There?¡±

    Ted nodded. ¡°There.¡±

    We all scurried over to the wall, and spent a long minute intensely staring at the stone.

    ¡°Here it is!¡± Lucas said, eagerly pointing at¡­

    A crack. And not a particularly big one at that, just a thin, dark line that was barely noticeable against the gray and brown rock.

    I slumped, resting my forehead against the cool stone.

    ¡°Dammit. I thought we really had something here.¡±

    There wasn¡¯t even a hint of light peeking through the slit in the wall, it must¡¯ve been just wide enough for a little bit of air to get through.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t all bad though.¡± Ted said, stroking his chin and the short beard that had been growing there after several weeks without a shave.

    ¡°Now we know that we¡¯re close to the surface!¡± Some of Lucas¡¯ cheer returned as he carefully felt the rock.

    ¡°What he said,¡± Ted continued. ¡°If we keep going down this path, making sure to keep an eye on the right-hand side, we should hopefully be able to find a more promising location than this. Worst case scenario, we come back here and try to dig out.¡±

    I raised an unbelieving eyebrow. ¡°And how do you propose we dig through several feet of solid rock?¡±

    He grinned weakly. ¡°It¡¯s not entirely solid, there¡¯s a crack in it.¡±

    I sighed and rolled my eyes, pushing off from the wall.

    ¡°Okay then. Let¡¯s keep going and hopefully find an actual exit.¡±

    It was another two hours before we felt the hint of a breeze again. It was long enough that we were getting antsy about whether the previous fresh air had been a fluke or worse - a group hallucination.

    Thankfully, for the sake of our sanity, it hadn¡¯t been. Sure enough, the tunnel forked: the left-hand side sloping downward slightly, and the right rose up.

    The wind¨Cand it was a real breeze, not just a tiny wisp of air¨Cwas coming from the right.

    ¡°So,¡± Lucas said. ¡°We¡¯re going left, right?¡±

    Ted smacked the younger man on the back of his head, and headed towards the right.

    ¡°Ow! Hey that hurt!¡±

    ¡°Good.¡± Ted said.

    I patted Lucas on the shoulder. ¡°It was a funny joke.¡±

    ¡°I thought so.¡±

    He got another smack on the back of his head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t do it again. I¡¯m this close to an actual shower and a good meal.¡±

    Lucas grumbled, rubbing his neck, but didn¡¯t joke around any more as we followed Ted up the tunnel.

    The path continued for what felt like an eternity- though, according to my watch, was only an hour-and-a-half- until we finally found the source of the breeze.

    It wasn¡¯t just a crack in the wall. Ted let out a whoop of joy as we saw the opening to the outside world.

    We all rushed to the exit, piling out onto a small outcropping of rock that served as a plateau.

    I felt tears spring to my eyes as I processed the situation we had found ourselves in.

    ¡°Well,¡± I said, voice thick. ¡°I guess the finger curled on the mon- Mankey¡¯s paw.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯m familiar with that one.¡± Ted said distractedly.

    ¡°Old story I read. Basically there¡¯s this Mankey¡¯s paw that grants wishes, but it does so in the worst possible way.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s awful! Who would do such a thing to a Mankey?¡± Lucas asked.

    ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t write it.¡±

    Lucas grumbled something about Pok¨¦mon abuse, but continued staring out at the landscape before us.

    The cool night breeze was a welcome change from the oppressive stillness of the tunnels, and for a moment I closed my eyes, feeling the wind pass over me.

    The smell of nature¨Cof trees and distant water¨Cwas a salve to my soul. I could hear the sounds of Pok¨¦mon cries and insects chirping. It was a magnificent experience after weeks in a tunnel.

    We were also several hundred feet in the air.

    With no horizon to serve as a reference point, none of us had noticed that while we had been walking, the path had been sloping upwards. The incline was so gradual that the tunnel seemed level, but over its entire length, we¡¯d gained a couple hundred feet in elevation.

    The worst part was that we could see the lights of Oreburgh City from where we were, it was a bit off in the distance, yes, but it was visible nonetheless.

    Our problem was that the side of the mountain we were on was so steep that a Gogoat would have had difficulty scaling it. We would have called the Rangers, but after a couple of weeks in the caves, everybody¡¯s phone was dead - the Rotoms were asleep without any electricity to feed them, and my old phone¡¯s battery had died a couple of days ago.

    We were so close to civilization, yet so far.

    ¡°So,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Back into the caves?¡±

    The combined wattage of the glares that Ted and I gave Lucas could have powered Sunnyshore City for an entire week.

    ¡°Hey!¡± He said defensively. ¡°Do you have any better ideas? It¡¯s not like we have enough rope to get all the way down there. With no phones to call for help, what are we supposed to do? Send up smoke signals or somethi- Oh.¡±

    ¡°Sometimes, Lucas,¡± I said with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re the smartest of us all or not.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve thought that too.¡± Ted said.

    ¡°What a coincidence! I¡¯ve wondered the same thing myself!¡±

    /^\

    The flapping of wings announced the arrival of our salvation.

    A familiar looking Ranger on the back of a Staraptor flew down to the small plateau we were on.

    ¡°Okay K¨­jin,¡± I said. ¡°You can stop now.¡±

    The little Growlithe sighed in relief as he stopped blowing fire into the sky, tail dragging on the ground as he walked back over to me before slumping into my lap.

    ¡°Good boy.¡± I reached over and started scratching at his ears, causing his tail to pick up and wag despite his obvious exhaustion.

    Between Lucas¡¯ Pok¨¦mon and K¨­jin, we had been blowing fire into the sky for the past several hours, hoping that the sight and smoke would catch somebody¡¯s attention.

    K¨­jin had been excited at first, but after a while the tedium of just shooting fire into the sky had worn on the poor dog-like Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get a treat after this.¡± I said, continuing to scratch at his fur. ¡°And a nice grooming, and a nice long rest. You deserve it.¡±

    He looked up at me with a doggy smile, and licked my hand before I returned him to his Pok¨¦ Ball.

    ¡°Alina?¡± The Ranger asked as his Staraptor finally found a place to land.

    ¡°Ranger Kimura.¡± I waved weakly. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you again.¡±

    ¡°How come every time we meet, something has happened to you?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°Honestly? I wish I knew.¡±

    ¡°You know there¡¯s an alert out for all of you, right? The Rangers in Eterna City have been freaking out for weeks. You all disappeared with only a note to tell them what had happened.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a long, long story.¡±

    His gaze took us all in: our ragged, dirty clothes, the rough beard on Ted¡¯s face, the three lonely hairs on Lucas¡¯ chin, and the obvious fact that we hadn¡¯t showered in weeks.

    ¡°It sure seems like it. Well, now that I know a Pok¨¦mon isn¡¯t threatening to burn down the forest, I¡¯m going to call for some more help, and get you all off of this mountain and back to civilization.¡±

    ¡°That,¡± I said, slumping down with my back against the wall. ¡°Would be very much appreciated.¡±

    ¡°And then you are all going to tell us what happened. How are you here anyways? You were last seen outside of Eterna.¡±

    Ted and I both looked to the most enthusiastic member of our party.

    ¡°Well!¡± Lucas said, re-energized now that salvation was at hand. ¡°It all started when we went to go check out this cave¡­¡±

 Chapter Fifty-Four

    Three days after arriving in Oreburgh we were sitting in Ranger Kimura¡¯s office, and I had to admit it was a nice place. It was a shame I hadn¡¯t visited it last time I was here.

    The Rangers had arranged beds for us at the Pok¨¦mon Center, and a doctor checked over each of us-  including our Pok¨¦mon.

    We all were a bit malnourished and low on vitamin D, but thankfully, none of us had any serious issues.

    Sleeping in an actual bed for the first time in weeks was a dream come true, I must have slept for at least twelve hours straight that first night. The showers were even better; although I had to book a last-minute session for a groomer that specialized in Fire-type Pok¨¦mon so K¨­jin wouldn¡¯t be uncomfortable.

    After some much needed R&R, we had to give our official reports. Another day of waiting later, we were called into Ranger Kimura¡¯s office.

    ¡°So good news and bad news.¡± He said, and I felt a little bad for him.

    While we were resting he had obviously been burning the midnight oil, with dark bags under his eyes.

    ¡°You all are receiving an official citation on your records with the Pok¨¦mon League of Sinnoh for endangering yourselves and your Pok¨¦mon in an unnecessary fashion.¡±

    ¡°What!?¡± Lucas said, shooting out of his chair. ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡±

    ¡°Sit down. It¡¯s entirely fair, the Rangers managed to break through into the collapsed cavern two days after you had left and found your note. There¡¯s a reason why we tell Trainers that, in case of an emergency, you stay put and wait for help to arrive.¡±

    Lucas sat back down, chagrined.

    Ranger Kimura collected himself and continued. ¡°In addition to the official citation, you all have received an award from the League for ¡°Going Above and Beyond the Duties Entrusted by the Pok¨¦mon League.¡± Your adventures, as ill-advised as they were, did manage to find irrefutable proof of a massive tunnel and cavern network spanning Sinnoh that we are officially referring to as the ¡°Grand Underground¡± as you called it in the report, Alina. Arceus knows where else it goes; it might even extend into the rest of the Four Islands chain. Plus, you all discovered Pok¨¦mon species living down there, that by all rights, should most certainly not be able to exist. It¡¯s only been a day since I¡¯ve submitted the report and I¡¯ve already had numerous Pok¨¦mon Researchers clamoring for the opportunity to explore the caves.¡±

    He massaged his eyes and sighed.

    ¡°We¡¯ve had to declare the tunnels a Protected Area and make the entirely off-limits without permission, just based on the potential dangers involved. You all nearly died to a Tenatacruel, and you¡¯re assistants to Professors Rowan and Birch. What would happen if a new Trainer wandered into the caves? The worst part about this is that we don¡¯t even know where all of the entrances and exits are until somebody stumbles across one, so how are we supposed to enforce it?¡±

    ¡°Is there anything we can do to help?¡± Lucas asked.

    ¡°You¡¯ve already done enough. No, I¡¯m sorry, that was rude of me. No, there¡¯s nothing you can do to help right now. The Rangers are taking over from now on, it¡¯s just going to be a headache to figure out how to manage all of this on top of everything else.¡±

    ¡°For what it¡¯s worth,¡± Ted said contritely. ¡°I am sorry. I recognize how impulsive it was of us to go into the caves when we should have waited.¡±

    Ranger Kimura fixed him with a penetrating stare. ¡°If you were in the same situation again, would you stay put, or try and explore the caves again.¡±

    Ted smiled, and Kimura sighed again.

    ¡°Thank you all, you¡¯re free to go. If the Rangers need anything else from you all, we¡¯ll reach out. Oh, and Alina? Next time we meet, it¡¯d be nice if it wasn¡¯t about you getting in trouble from some caves.¡±

    ¡°At least we figured out that the tunnels I found a couple months ago were probably connected to the Grand Underground?¡±

    He stared at me for a second, and I swear I saw a bit of his soul leave his body.

    ¡°Please go,¡± He whispered. ¡°Before you give me even more work.¡±

    /^\

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think I might keep it.¡± Lucas said, feeling the freshly grown hairs on his chin. ¡°I¡¯ve never tried growing out a beard, do you think it¡¯ll look good?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Ted said quickly. ¡°Listen, I shaved almost immediately once we got to the Pok¨¦mon Center- you should too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah but you have that blond hair. Mine is dark, it might look better.¡±

    ¡°Or it might make the few hairs you manage to grow look even worse. You should shave.¡±

    Lucas pouted for a second, before turning to look at me.

    ¡°What do you think Alina? You¡¯re a girl, right?¡±

    ¡°Wow, how kind of you to notice.¡± I said flatly. ¡°Last time I checked, yes, I was.¡±

    And thank Arceus for that.

    ¡°Well, what do you think? I should grow it out, right?¡±

    I stared at the three slightly curly hairs on his chin.

    ¡°You should shave.¡±

    He flinched back at the suggestion, carefully shielding his three ¡®beard¡¯ hairs.

    ¡°Moving on to more important matters-¡±

    ¡°Hey! My beard is important!¡±

    ¡°What are we going to do now? I mean, we¡¯re way off of our planned path.¡±

    Ted frowned and looked around at Oreburgh City. It hadn¡¯t gotten hit nearly as hard as Eterna City had because of the storms caused by Primal Kyogre and Archie, but it still wasn¡¯t pretty. From what I had heard, the mines had suffered several cave-ins, and they were still trying to get back into working order.

    The worst part was that one of the minor earthquakes had caused a section of the tunnel to collapse, revealing a connection to an underground aquifer that flooded the lowest levels of the mine.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    No coal had been shipped out of Oreburgh City for the past several weeks. The talking heads on the news were beginning to worry that without its fuel, many cities and towns would start to suffer electricity shortages. Oreburgh didn¡¯t just supply the cities of Sinnoh, but most of the Four Islands and the rest of the world.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if it was as bad as people were worrying about. The Pok¨¦mon world was pretty good about using alternative power sources like solar and wind energy. Even so, it was just another consequence of Archie¡¯s madness.

    ¡°Well,¡± Ted said slowly. ¡°We¡¯re here, so we might as well see if the Oreburgh City Gym has any spots open.¡±

    ¡°You think they will?¡±

    Ted shrugged. ¡°One way to find out.¡±

    We wandered over to the Gym, only to be absolutely overwhelmed with noise as soon as we opened the doors to the building. Dozens of conversations washed over us, and I almost had to take a step back from the sheer force of the sound.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I had to shout to be heard.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know! Let¡¯s go find out!¡±

    Lucas led the way over to the front desk of the Gym, where a harried looking man was trying to keep his head down as he typed into his computer.

    There was a small bubble of space around the desk that was only slightly quieter than the rest simply due to the fact that there were fewer people standing there.

    ¡°Hi, what¡¯s all this about?¡± Lucas asked.

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s more of you. Great.¡± The man said. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re all here to take part in the competition?¡±

    ¡°What competition? We¡¯re here to schedule a Gym Battle with Leader Roark.¡±

    The secretary looked over the top of his glasses at us. ¡°You¡¯re joking, right?¡±

    ¡°We just got into town a day or two ago.¡± I confirmed. ¡°We¡¯ve been out of the loop for a while. What¡¯s going on?¡±

    He sighed.

    ¡°Leader Roark, in his infinite wisdom, has set up a new task for the Trainers of Oreburgh City. In addition to the standard Gym Challenges, he has also created a weekly competition to help clean out the mines.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Ted leaned forwards. ¡°How does it work?¡±

    ¡°Trainers, under the supervision of mine workers and Gym Trainers, will go into the Oreburgh Mine. There they¡¯ll do whichever task needs to be done to help get the mines operational. Usually, it¡¯s something along the lines of pumping water out, clearing out the sections of tunnels that have collapsed- that kind of thing.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°What if there¡¯s a Trainer with no Water- or Rock-types? Won¡¯t they be at a disadvantage?¡±

    ¡°In terms of clearing cave-ins? Yes. But the pumps have been modified to allow Pok¨¦mon of different types to run them. Electric-types run generators, there¡¯s wheels to run on, and they¡¯ve even whipped up some steam engines that power the pumps for Fire-types.¡±

    That perked me up a little. It might be good training for K¨­jin.

    ¡°How do you measure it?¡± Lucas wondered, stroking his chin hairs like they were an actual beard.

    ¡°Simple, by how much mass of stone is excavated or how much water is pumped out. Each Pok¨¦mon type is a different prize category, since it wouldn¡¯t be fair to measure a Water-type¡¯s control over pumping out water when compared to a Fire-type, after all. Besides that, there¡¯re sliding scales to accommodate different species, evolutionary levels- it¡¯s a whole deal.¡±

    ¡°What about the prizes?¡±

    He sighed again. ¡°That¡¯s what everybody wants to know. Each category has its own prizes. Third place wins cash. Second place wins a Technical Machine. First place wins an evolutionary stone.¡±

    Lucas and Ted both spluttered. ¡°An evo stone?¡± The younger man asked.

    ¡°What kind?¡± The older one said at the same time.

    ¡°Yes, and it¡¯s random. There¡¯s a random picking once the day of work is over.¡±

    ¡°How can the Gym afford that?¡± Was my question.

    The secretary laughed. ¡°Miss, this is the Oreburgh City Gym. If Leader Roark doesn¡¯t dig up at least one new evolutionary stone whenever he goes into the mines, it¡¯s considered a bad day. He¡¯s more than happy using the evolutionary stones as a prize if it means getting the mines back up and running.¡±

    ¡°How do we enter?¡± Lucas asked eagerly.

    A clipboard with a sheet of paper was pushed forwards, many names and phone numbers already written on them.

    ¡°The competition officially begins at noon, you still have half-an-hour left. The miners will take you from here. Is there anything else you need?¡±

    ¡°Nop-¡±

    ¡°Yes, actually.¡± I said, pulling Lucas back a step. ¡°Can you schedule us for some Gym Battles?¡±

    ¡°Oh. Right.¡± Lucas coughed.

    The secretary pulled out another clipboard, and pushed it forwards.

    /^\

    ¡°Oh come on Alina, isn¡¯t this great?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Where¡¯s your sense of adventure?¡±

    ¡°Dead and buried in a tunnel beneath Eterna City.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± Ted said, throwing me under the bus. ¡°We actually know that there¡¯s a way out this time.¡±

    ¡°Ted,¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Not helping.¡±

    The mouth of the mine loomed before us, although I did have to admit that it was much nicer than the one by Eterna City. It was squared off, there were plenty of supports, and it was well-lit with bright industrial-strength lights.

    I even knew rationally that I was only going down to the first level of the mine where the pump generators were set up. I would still be able to see daylight from where I would be competing.

    Despite all of that, it was still a cave.

    Taking a deep, somewhat ragged breath, I looked down to K¨­jin. He was sitting at my side, looking at the mine entrance with a doggy grin. His tail thumped against the ground so hard that his back legs were jittering back and forth.

    He must have felt my gaze, and he arched his back so he was looking up at me. Then he took his head, complete with the rock-like fur, and rammed it into my leg as a show of support.

    I sighed, leaning down carefully so I didn¡¯t collapse.

    ¡°K¨­jin, I appreciate the support,¡±

    His grin grew wider, and he reared back to give me another headbutt, but I caught his head in time.

    ¡°But you really can¡¯t keep headbutting me. I¡¯m not a Hisuian Growlithe like you, I can¡¯t take the same kind of hits that you can.¡±

    K¨­jin¡¯s head cocked to one side as he stared at me, dark eyes wide under the fur.

    ¡°No, don¡¯t give me the Baby-Doll Eyes.¡±

    He whined.

    ¡°And none of that either. You¡¯re my pal, no matter what, but you can¡¯t go around smashing things with your head.¡±

    K¨­jin sighed, and pawed at the ground.

    ¡°Got it?¡±

    He huffed.

    ¡°Good.¡± I scratched at his favorite spot, just behind his ears.

    His leg thumped on his ground.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I said, turning back to the rest of the group who were trying not to smile. ¡°Let''s go.¡±

    We followed the stream of Trainers who were challenging Roark¡¯s mine competition, most of whom were wearing the dirty overalls and hard-hats of the miners who normally worked here. I wasn¡¯t sure about how fair it was to have them take part in the competition when this was their job, but at the same time, I supposed that they weren¡¯t actually able to work considering the cave-ins.

    Soon enough we were all standing in a cavernous chamber that was filled to the brim with a motley collection of mining equipment and vehicles, along with a maze of conveyor belts that were stained with coal dust.

    ¡°Welcome, everybody!¡± Roark said from his position on top of a crate. ¡°To the fourth weekly Oreburgh Mine Clearing Competition!¡±

    A ragged cheer emerged from the crowd gathered before him.

    ¡°It¡¯s been an interesting month hasn¡¯t it? There¡¯s been some problems with the past couple weeks and how we¡¯ve managed them,¡±

    Some jeers and chuckles flew up at him, and he laughed and waved them away.

    ¡°But we¡¯ve managed to iron them all out. Or at least, until we find new ones!¡±

    More cheers, and Roark held his hands up.

    ¡°You know how this all works! Those who wish to pump out water, please go to the left! Those who are looking to clean out the rocks, go to the right!¡±

    Ted nodded. ¡°Alright folks, I suppose this is where I¡¯ll catch you later.¡±

    Lucas and I had signed up to pump out the water, with our Fire-types working to operate the steam-pumps. Ted, on the other hand, had decided that Switchback would be better suited to cutting and breaking the rocks.

    ¡°Good luck!¡±

    With a wave, he headed off towards the much larger group of miners who were waiting to break the rocks.

    ¡°Well,¡± Lucas said, cracking his neck. ¡°Let¡¯s try not to get trapped in the cave this time.¡±

    I smacked him on the back of the head.

 Chapter Fifty-Five

    ¡°Good job K¨­jin!¡± I said from my position on the ground next to the little fire-dog. ¡°Slow and steady, that¡¯s the way to do it.¡±

    The Growlithe wagged his tail tiredly, only letting it swing once or twice before letting it drop back to the ground.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still in the competition.¡± Lucas grumbled. ¡°Sunny was doing so well!¡±

    I smirked but didn¡¯t respond, instead continuing to murmur reassurances to K¨­jin. We were about thirty minutes into Roark¡¯s competition and already most of the challengers had already dropped out, Lucas included.

    The problem Lucas and most of the other Trainers with Fire-type Pok¨¦mon had run into was that they had actually trained their Pok¨¦mon too well. They had trained their Pok¨¦mon to deliver massive bursts of flame and heat - perfect for battles, but bad for the steady, sustained heat required by the competition.

    When one Pok¨¦mon never really saw more than fifteen minutes of activity in a battle, it didn¡¯t make a lot of sense to train for things beyond that.

    K¨­jin, however, was built different. He was still young and full of vim as it were, and while we had been practicing his fire-breathing moves for battle, I was cautious when it came to training him.

    I didn¡¯t really know how to train Pok¨¦mon after all, especially not Fire-types, so I figured that his control over the fire was more important than his power.

    A training philosophy that was proving useful, if only in this specific instance.

    There were only three Trainers left in the Fire-type category including myself, which meant I was guaranteed at least a cash prize. It wasn¡¯t a particularly hard category, to be fair. Sinnoh was historically lacking in Fire-type Pok¨¦mon.

    The other two competitors were a frantic Trainer cheering on a clearly exhausted Ponyta, and a much more composed man with a Torkoal.

    After another few seconds, the Ponyta stopped its flames, breathing heavily as white sweat shone on its flanks.

    ¡°Good job boy.¡± The Trainer said, shoulders slumping. ¡°That¡¯s enough, don¡¯t burn yourself out.¡±

    The Ponyta whinnied, pushing its muzzle into the chest of his Trainer. The man, who was wearing cowboy boots and chaps of all things, embraced his Pok¨¦mon, patting the part of its neck that wasn¡¯t wreathed in flames and murmuring consolations.

    The other trainer, the one with the Torkoal, turned to look at me.

    He was a massive man, easily six feet tall if I were an inch, and as broad as a tree. His arms were bulging with muscles, and he wore a heavy leather apron that must have weighed ten pounds at least.

    For a second I wondered what he even did for a living, then as he turned I saw the hammer slung in a leather belt at his waist.

    ¡°Your funny looking Growlithe is seeming a bit tired.¡± The blacksmith said casually, as if we were enjoying a day at the beach. ¡°Maybe you should bow out? Tatara here can keep going for as long as she needs to.¡±

    Sure enough, the Torkoal didn¡¯t look tired at all, although I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what a tortoise would look like if it was exhausted to begin with. Then the man reached down and patted his Pok¨¦mon¡¯s shell, and I winced as I heard the slight sizzle of skin on hot rocks.

    The man pulled his hand away, and besides a red mark he didn¡¯t show any sign of having been burned by his Pok¨¦mon at all. The Torkoal, for her part, looked smug as she kept powering the steam engine without any sign of stopping.

    I looked over at K¨­jin, whose tail was laying limply on the floor as he continued to breathe fire, even if it was a much weaker stream than it had been before.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay buddy.¡± I said to K¨­jin. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re winning this one, but you did a good job.¡±

    The Hisuian Growlithe looked over to me in betrayal, and his fire heated up for a second, boiling more of the water in the steam engine that powered the mine¡¯s pumps. Sure enough, the stream of fire weakened once again, before sputtering to a halt.

    K¨­jin panted, heat radiating off of him in waves as he tried to cool himself down. Small bursts of smoke emerged from his mouth every time he exhaled, and despite the sweat beading on my skin, I reached over and ran my fingers through his fur.

    ¡°You did so good,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re such a good boy.¡±

    He gave me a little doggy grin despite his obvious exhaustion, and flopped down next to me on the ground.

    We sat like that for another few minutes while he recovered, all the while the Torkoal kept up her constant stream of fire.

    ¡°Not a bad showing.¡± A vaguely familiar voice said from behind me. ¡°Interesting Growlithe you have there.¡±

    I started, looking behind me to see Roark standing with his arms crossed and a satisfied smile on his face as he looked at the water flowing out of the mines.

    ¡°Leader Roark!¡±

    He waved me back down as I started to stand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. You probably placed second after how long you and your Growlithe kept going, although Tatara and Ken are going to be first.¡±

    ¡°Probably?¡±

    Roark shrugged. ¡°We measure it based on how much water you¡¯ve pulled out of the mines. Naturally those who last longer pump more water out, but sometimes it doesn¡¯t work out that way.¡±

    I nodded at the Torkoal, Tatara, and her Trainer - Ken. ¡°They¡¯re going to be at this for a while, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. Ken¡¯s a blacksmith, he makes artisanal goods and Tatara serves as his furnace. They¡¯ll keep going all day.¡±

    ¡°Even if they¡¯ve already won?¡± Lucas said from nearby, where he had been eavesdropping.

    ¡°They don¡¯t do it for the prizes.¡± Roark smiled. ¡°Ken only has one Pok¨¦mon - Tatara. In fact, he won¡¯t even take any of the evolutionary stones they¡¯ve won, he¡¯s sold them back to me and given the money to charity to help rebuild Oreburgh.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ why?¡± The younger man frowned as he tried to puzzle it out. ¡°Those stones go for a lot of money, surely he could use it for something?¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°Because of the mines.¡± I said softly, looking at the tall man staring in satisfaction at the steam engine before him.

    ¡°Exactly. Ken makes more than enough money from being a blacksmith, he¡¯s doing this for the town. I don¡¯t know how big the aquifer that spilled into the mines is, nobody does, but what I do know is that without Ken and his Pok¨¦mon, there would be a lot more water clogging up the mines. Thanks in large part to him, but also to the rest of the competitors like yourselves, we¡¯ve already started to resume basic mining operations.¡±

    Roark grimaced. ¡°Not enough coal is being gathered to come anywhere close to what we used to export, but the first shipment is almost ready to be shipped out. As much as some of the smaller towns in Sinnoh could use the coal, this one¡¯s been earmarked for Hoenn. Mauville City was hit hard by the storms, and they need all the power they can get.¡±

    ¡°Wow.¡± Lucas said with awe, turning back to look at the Torkoal. ¡°That¡¯s amazing.¡±

    ¡°It really is,¡±

    Roark looked down at me for the first time, his face turning serious. ¡°But I must admit, I¡¯ve been wanting to talk to you again. It seems like every time you come into town, you have quite the story to tell.¡±

    I sighed and continued to pet K¨­jin as his pants of exhaustion turned into gentle snores.

    ¡°Trust me, if I could have a normal Journey, I would.¡±

    ¡°Well,¡± Roark said, and I could hear the faintest trace of a smile in his voice. ¡°Where would be the fun in that?¡±

    /^\

    ¡°Professor!?¡±

    Rowan looked up at me from his chair by Roark¡¯s desk and smiled. ¡°Ah, Alina, it¡¯s good to see you again. Lucas! You¡¯re looking well. I didn¡¯t realize the two of you were traveling together. Ted, I hope your research is going well.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been interesting, to say the least. I think I¡¯ve made some progress.¡±

    ¡°Good, good.¡±

    ¡°Please, everybody, sit down.¡± Roark said, gesturing to the mismatched chairs that had been brought into his office.

    I sat down, eyes flicking between the Gym Leader and the Pok¨¦mon Professor. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m glad to see you again Professor, but this feels like a trap somehow.¡±

    Professor Rowan smiled, a glint of amusement in his eyes. ¡°Calling it a trap has such negative connotations. I prefer to think of it as a surprise meeting of friends. I¡¯m not here to criticize your adventures or make any other kind of negative comments. Just the opposite, as a matter of fact.¡±

    Ted, Lucas, and I all shared a look, but we just shrugged and sat down.

    ¡°You¡¯ve done the study of Pok¨¦mon in Sinnoh a great service.¡± Rowan said after we were all settled. ¡°There were scattered reports of a cave system underneath the Underground, but none had been able to be verified until now. We¡¯ll most likely be seeing a new wave of exploration and research once things have settled down after the incidents in Hoenn.¡±

    ¡°A new cave system.¡± There was a fire in Roark¡¯s voice as he leaned forward. ¡°Pok¨¦mon that haven¡¯t been seen in Sinnoh in generations. Gems and stones of a size that beggars belief. And best of all, tunnels that have already been carved, with room for expansion. It¡¯s every miner¡¯s dream.¡±

    ¡°While I have many questions about the cave system, there was one thing I wanted to ask you three about in person.¡± Rowan stepped in. ¡°I¡¯ve read your reports several times now, and there seems to be a discrepancy.¡±

    Lucas winced.

    ¡°So what, exactly, is this ¡®Plate¡¯ that young Lucas mentioned.¡±

    I sighed. Lucas had mentioned the Legend Plate when he had talked to Ranger Kimura as the cause of the cave-in. Ted and I had convinced him that it probably wasn¡¯t the best idea to be going around and telling people that we had a potentially divine artifact in our possession, and going forward we had all agreed to say that we were trapped thanks to a random cave-in.

    But Kimura had obviously included it in his report, and we weren¡¯t nearly as lucky as I would have hoped.

    ¡°It¡¯s a stone tablet, about yea big.¡± I held out my hands to the approximate dimensions. ¡°It¡¯s engraved with some symbols, and emanates Type Energy. It¡¯s called the Legend Plate, and it¡¯s related directly to Arceus.¡±

    Roark¡¯s mouth fell open, but Rowan simply stroked his chin.

    ¡°Is it now?¡±

    His eyes fell on me heavily, and I gulped.

    ¡°It is. I don¡¯t know why it was located in a tiny cave outside of Eterna City, but it¡¯s definitely the Legend Plate.¡±

    ¡°Do you still have it with you?¡±

    ¡°I do.¡± My backpack was sitting on the ground next to my chair, and I could almost feel a magnetic pull from the Plate.

    ¡°Can I see it?¡±

    I took a look at my companions. Ted nodded, while Lucas still looked a bit embarrassed to have been called out.

    Reaching down, I opened the bag, and stuck my hand inside. The Legend Plate was right there, as if it had been waiting this entire time for me to simply look for it. It shimmered in the sunlight streaming through the window of Roark¡¯s office.

    ¡°Giratina¡¯s Breath.¡± Roark whispered as I gently laid it on the table. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t know what that is. It almost looks like limestone, but limestone doesn¡¯t have those same kinds of colors. May I?¡±

    I hesitated, then nodded. He carefully picked up the tablet, his eyes widening as he did so. He turned over in his hands, gently ran his fingers across the surface, and even tapped it a few times. After a few minutes of this, he passed it to Professor Rowan.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of material that is.¡± He said. ¡°It¡¯s not limestone, definitely not slate, it doesn¡¯t feel like granite¡­¡±

    Roark looked lost. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before.¡±

    ¡°I think,¡± Rowan said quietly. ¡°That¡¯s the point. According to Alina, this is a holy relic belonging to Arceus itself. I doubt it would have the same kind of material composition as any earthly minerals.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ how? I¡¯m not doubting you, not anymore, but how can you possibly know what it is?¡±

    ¡°Alina is a trusted research assistant.¡± Rowan said firmly. ¡°She knows things that even I don¡¯t, I would trust her knowledge over mine. If Alina says it¡¯s an artifact from Arceus, I believe her.¡±

    That got me a considering look from Ted.

    Roark struggled with the non-answer, then sighed. ¡°Very well. If things are as you say, then that thing is probably full to the brim with Type Energy. No wonder it caused a tunnel collapse if it was disturbed.¡±

    ¡°I think,¡± Rowan continued as he held the tablet. ¡°That it would be best if we kept the truth of this matter out of the reports. There are plenty of people who would love to get their hands on an artifact this powerful, and I can only trust a handful of them.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡± Roark looked at me. ¡°Would it be okay if I held onto this for now? No offense, but I can keep it safer than you can, and I might be able to look at the museum records to try and find anything else about it.¡±

    I struggled with the answer for a second, then sighed and nodded. ¡°Yeah, that should be fine. Just, be careful with it please?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to let it go, but Roark was right. A Gym Leader would be much more capable of keeping it safe than myself and my Pok¨¦mon would.

    ¡°Very well.¡± Rowan nodded. ¡°That was the main question I wanted to ask you all. Over the next couple of days I would like to talk with you all individually, but for now I think you all deserve to continue your rest. Leader Roark?¡±

    ¡°I agree. You¡¯ve been a massive help to all of us here. I¡¯ve heard that you three have signed up for Gym Challenges next week. I wish I could help speed them up, but unfortunately I can¡¯t be seen playing favorites. Gardenia might have been able to get you a battle faster, but she¡¯s more established as a Leader than I am, and she can afford to be loose with her schedules.¡±

    After a few more pleasantries, we were all gently ushered out of Roark¡¯s office. As I was leaving, Professor Rowan gave me a significant look, inclining his head towards my companions. I gulped, and nodded. A muffled conversation between the two older men kicked up almost as soon as the door closed.

    ¡°Wow.¡± Lucas said after a moment. ¡°That was¡­ fast. I thought we were going to be in a lot of trouble there for a minute!¡±

    ¡°It really was fast.¡± Ted said, eyeing me suspiciously. ¡°Alina, do you know anything about that?¡±

    I laughed nervously.

    ¡°It¡¯s interesting, because Professor Rowan said you were a trusted assistant, with knowledge that outstrips his own.¡± He continued. ¡°But you, yourself have said that you¡¯re new to the region, and no offense, but you¡¯re not that good of a Trainer.¡±

    ¡°Ted!¡± Lucas said scandalized.

    ¡°No, no, it¡¯s a fair point.¡± I sighed. ¡°I knew this was going to come up sooner or later.¡±

    ¡°Alina?¡± Lucas asked.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s find a quiet place to talk. I need to tell you all something.¡±

 Chapter Fifty-Six - Interlude 3

    Imagine if there was- no, I¡¯m sorry, I want to do this the right way, the traditional way.

    Once upon a time, there was a world much like this one. The shape of the continents and islands were shaped almost the same way, and the climate was similar, if a touch warmer.

    This other world was different, due to one massive factor - there were no Pok¨¦mon. None at all. Animals roamed the world, lions and tigers and bears, birds flew in the sky, fish swam in the seas.

    There¡¯s fish in this world!

    Yes, Lucas, there are. But there were so many more kinds of fish in that world that it¡¯s hard to imagine. Dolphins, whales, sharks, big fish and small fish, and every other kind of animal you can dream of.

    But no Pok¨¦mon.

    As a result, people were¡­ harder than you might expect. Without Pok¨¦mon to serve as constant companions, people weren¡¯t able to connect to nature in the same way. Oh there were pets, to be sure, but not companions. As a result, things were more difficult there. Technology was different without the science of Pok¨¦mon to make things more impressive. The land was exploited much more, because there were no Pok¨¦mon to protect it and nothing to make the people realize that the land was alive.

    Wars were a constant reality. People killed each other over the simplest of differences, and people everywhere were miserable.

    Our world isn¡¯t so different. People fight each other all the time, and before the Pok¨¦mon League, we¡¯ve had wars too.

    It¡¯s different. There was no real uniting force like the League, and there¡¯s the general understanding that if you get in a Pok¨¦mon battle, you won¡¯t try to kill the other Pok¨¦mon.

    In this world, let¡¯s call it another dimension, there was a girl. This girl wasn¡¯t special, there were millions of people like her all across the world. But she was trapped. Trapped in a body that wasn''t right, trapped in her mind, trapped in a job that she hated. There was no escape for her, for where could she go? Countries across the world hated people like her, because she was born into a different body than what she should have.

    What does that mean?

    She was transgender Lucas, keep up.

    Oh! Ohhh.

    ¡­ Yeah. Anyways, she was barely surviving in that world, so she decided to escape into another. Stories of a world where there were creatures that were basically magic, where people could live in harmony with nature and explore the beauty of the wilderness without threat of being killed for who they were. They were fantastical stories, but she loved them all the same.

    Then one day¡­ she died. I don¡¯t know how, since the memories are fuzzy. I don¡¯t like to think about it, but I think there may have been a truck, as stereotypical as that is.

    Wait¡­ you died? Like, died died?

    I guess so. Like I said, it¡¯s all really confusing. But then instead of going to the pearly gates or whatever, I woke up here. In a new body, the right kind of body, and a new chance at life.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    In this ¡°fantasy¡± world.

    Exactly. The fantasy world that I had loved so much. Not only did I wake up in this world, but I woke up in a body that matched what I felt like it should have. And for the first time in a long, long time, I felt¡­ alive. Every day was a blessing, and I could go on adventures like I had dreamed about for ages.

    How did you even get here in the first place?

    Like I said, I don¡¯t really know. Have you ever heard of Jirachi?

    Of course! It¡¯s a Hoenn myth, after all.

    I think it had something to do with it. I woke up here at the end of the festival when it was supposed to wake up, so maybe it granted my wishes.

    You wanted to know how I know so much? Because in a weird way, I¡¯ve lived some of this before. I¡¯ve read about things that aren¡¯t supposed to happen yet, and things that have happened long ago where there are few records left.

    That¡¯s how you knew about the Hisuian Pok¨¦mon and the Legend Plate when I hadn''t heard about them even though I grew up here.

    You got it in one. I shared all of this information with Professor Rowan, he already knows everything that I do. That whole thing in Hoenn, with the storms and Kyogre? In another universe, that went much worse. Kyogre fought Groudon, and Rayquaza had to step in to stop them. Lysandre was another one that I guess I meddled with, he nearly set off what¡¯s basically a nuke. Oh, uh, a really big bomb that would have killed millions of people, if not the world.

    You mean you¡¯ve saved the world?

    Saying it like that makes me sound much more grandiose than what actually happened. Really I just nudged things a little bit, helped people with some information that they would normally not have for a couple years. I don¡¯t think I saved the world. The world would have been saved without me, I just sped things up.

    Do you miss it?

    Miss what?

    Your old world.

    ¡­No. I don¡¯t think so. I don¡¯t know. There were a lot of bad things there, and I wasn¡¯t very happy. Not like I am here, with you all, and with my Pok¨¦mon. Yes, Venus, that means you, you can stop looking so smug about it.

    Sometimes I miss my family, but they made it clear a long time ago that they didn¡¯t want anything to do with me. Really? I¡¯m so much happier here than I was in that other world that it¡¯s hard to ever imagine going back. I hope I never go back.

    Well, if it matters, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here now. I¡¯m sure Ted feels the same, right Ted?

    Right.

    ¡­Thanks, you guys. That means a lot.

    If any of this freaks you out, I would understand if you don¡¯t want to travel with me anymore. It¡¯s a lot, I know, to have all of this dropped on you.

    Less than you might think.

    What, do you have your own story of interdimensional travel Ted?

    I¡¯m simply saying it¡¯s not unprecedented. It¡¯s one of the worst kept secrets that Alola is the epicenter of dimensional rifts, and they¡¯ve even been seen outside of Alola like in Hoenn. Is it weird that you came from a place with no Pok¨¦mon? Yes, don¡¯t get me wrong, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that different. What¡¯s more concerning to me is the fact that this was like a story to you.

    Oh, okay. Saying it¡¯s a story isn¡¯t exactly right, but I don¡¯t have the words to be able to explain it properly. A game, a show, really it was all a collection of different stories, some conflicted with others, and some were completely separate.

    Have the people you met been in any of them?

    Kind of? Not really in any major way that actually told me anything about your lives. I didn¡¯t know anything that had happened with Professor Rowan, for example. Lucas you never really got any screen time, and Ted, I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯ve never heard of you before.

    I¡¯m not sure whether to be offended or relieved.

    Yeah, no kidding.

    Regardless, the idea that we¡¯re characters in another¡­ world? Dimension? Place¡¯s story is something that I¡¯m probably going to have to unpack later. Maybe with a stiff drink or three.

    I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t want to give you all an existential crisis but I don¡¯t want to leave anything out. Like I said, if you want to go, there¡¯ll be no hard feelings.

    Like I¡¯d leave now! There¡¯s too many questions I have for you!

    Agreed. Despite everything, existential dread included, at the end of the day I still consider you my friend. Besides, we¡¯ve been through too much together to just leave now.

    Yeah!

    ¡­Thanks. Do any of you have a tissue?

 Chapter Fifty-Seven

    ¡°Y-you don¡¯t want to do this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Lucas, but it has to be done.¡±

    ¡°Ted, help me!¡±

    ¡°We told you, it has to go. I¡¯ll hold him down. Alina, will you do the honors?¡±

    Ted passed me the razor, and I gently checked it against my thumb. It was one of the sharpest blades I¡¯d ever seen, and it was only through long years of constant shaving that I didn¡¯t nick myself as I tested it.

    ¡°Lucas, if you keep thrashing about, I might cut you.¡±

    The young man started thrashing even harder, although the towering shape of Ted prevented him from moving too much.

    I sat down, straddling his chest while holding the razor, and Lucas went very still.

    ¡°Please.¡± He whispered. ¡°Please, no.¡±

    Ted sighed. ¡°It¡¯s either this, or I can have Mayfly do it. Which would you prefer?¡±

    Lucas¡¯ face paled.

    ¡°Hold still. This will be over in a second.¡±

    I leaned down, and ever so carefully, ran the razor once across his chin. Three thick, somewhat curly black hairs came away with the blade, leaving Lucas¡¯ face as smooth as a baby¡¯s.

    ¡°There we go!¡± I chirped, and swung off of him.

    ¡°You guys suck.¡±

    Ted patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Trust us, it¡¯s for the best.¡±

    ¡°It really didn¡¯t look that good.¡±

    ¡°That girl by the cafe liked it!¡±

    ¡°No, she was staring at it in terror.¡±

    Lucas pouted, but got up off of the bed as Ted released him.

    The two men started bickering, and I sat back down as I watched in silence. Things had been strained the past couple of days, ever since I had revealed the truth of my existence to my party, but it seemed like the tension was starting to fade.

    Both Ted and Lucas went about dealing with the information in different ways. Ted withdrew as he thought things over, and he spent a lot of time with Silver, the Cleffa he had picked up in the Grand Underground. From the few questions he had asked when Lucas was off doing his errands, he was actually more concerned about the ¡°no Pok¨¦mon¡± and the ¡°living in a story¡± than he was with me being from another world.

    After a couple of days, he stopped withdrawing, and everything seemed fine.

    Lucas, on the other hand, bounced back and forth between being overly excited about everything, and disappearing for several hours doing ¡°errands¡±.

    What those errands could be, I had no idea, but he always seemed a bit quiet after returning. Which was an almost pleasant change of pace.

    Whenever Lucas had a question, and could ask it in a relatively secluded place, he would ask. At first it was kind of nice to be able to talk about my old home, but after a while he started to ask some very strange questions.

    What kind of clothes did we wear? Did we eat normal food? How many people lived on my world? How did we manage to survive without Pok¨¦mon to help us? Did we do math the same way?

    What that last question had to do with anything was beyond me, but he seemed to be fascinated by the fact that, yes, we did do math the same way, albeit a bit slower without Porygon to speed things up.

    Finally, things seemed to be settling down into some kind of normalcy. It wasn¡¯t the same normal as it had been, but it was starting to become comfortable regardless.

    Of course I didn¡¯t spend the entire time moping around, waiting for my friends to come back to themselves. No, I had a Gym Battle with Roark coming up, and we were all drastically unprepared.

    /^\

    ¡°Okay!¡± I said, clapping my hands together as my team looked at me. ¡°Training time!¡±

    K¨­jin¡¯s tail wagged.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie to everybody, we¡¯re not in a great spot when it comes to Roark¡¯s Gym. Roark primarily uses Rock-type Pok¨¦mon, which is a bit of a problem for our team. Zetian, I¡¯m sorry, but while you helped carry us through Gardenia¡¯s Gym, you¡¯re a bad matchup for Roark.¡±

    Zetian looked up from where she was lounging on a fallen tree branch, her red eyes flashing. A small bee buzzed up from her abdomen at her agitation, and my Vespiquen gently grabbed it, letting the bee rest in her hands.

    ¡°Rock-types are very strong against both Flying- and Bug-types, so right now, you¡¯re the team member with the biggest target on their back.¡±

    I was being very careful not to say she was the weakest member of the team against Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon. While it was true, I didn¡¯t want to bruise her pride too badly.

    ¡°Likewise, while you are also part Rock-type, K¨­jin, your Fire-typing also makes you vulnerable to Rock moves.¡±

    K¨­jin whined, and dropped his head onto his paws.

    ¡°Venus, you¡¯re not particularly resistant nor vulnerable to any of Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    She preened under the attention, but her ears drooped as I continued.

    ¡°However, some of Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon do know Fighting-type moves, and those you are vulnerable to.¡±

    The composition of a Gym Leader¡¯s team was a matter of public information, at least in part. Even before the introduction of the internet, people had been taking notes of what Pok¨¦mon and moves a Gym Leader would use. The internet allowed for those notes to be widely shared and compiled, and even though the practice was formally frowned upon by the Pok¨¦mon League, almost every Trainer used it to help prepare their teams for an upcoming battle.

    Ted and Lucas had initially been baffled that I hadn¡¯t used the information when I had battled Gardenia, but after I had spilled my secrets, Ted told me that my spotty knowledge made a lot more sense now.

    ¡°We can likely be expected to go up against Roark¡¯s first-tier team. Probably a Geodude, an Onix, and a Cranidos, although that¡¯s not guaranteed. That Cranidos definitely knows Rock Smash, so the website says, and I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it knows other Fighting-type moves. For this battle, you¡¯re going to be our front-liner. K¨­jin, you¡¯ll be Venus¡¯ backup. I¡¯ll get two switches during the fight, so you¡¯re definitely going to be seeing some fighting.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    I turned to look at Zetian.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t really want to put you out front during this battle.¡±

    Zetian started to buzz in irritation.

    ¡°Now don¡¯t give me that. I¡¯m sorry, but in this fight, a single lucky hit could knock you out. I¡¯m not saying that you won¡¯t fight in this battle, but if you do you¡¯ll have to be very careful. Which is where our training comes in.

    ¡°Zetian, you do have an advantage in that you fly everywhere. That means that Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon will have to aim and hit you with their attacks. Bad news is that they probably train a lot to hit flying Pok¨¦mon, so we¡¯re going to have you work on dodging. K¨­jin, I know we¡¯ve been practicing your fire control, but right now I think we¡¯re going to have to focus on your other attacks. Venus? You¡¯re already doing well in terms of dodging but I think we need to work on your attacks. We still have a week to get this all done, so hopefully that should be enough time.¡±

    All of my Pok¨¦mon looked up at me with determination in their eyes, and I felt a wave of warmth at their faith in me.

    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s get to work!¡±

    /^\

    I blinked at the small figure before me. A red and white bird with a bag full of¡­ something, and a blue cap set at a jaunty angle was currently offering me a large manilla envelope.

    ¡°Uh, hi?¡±

    The Delibird chirped at me, setting down its burden for a moment to tip its hat.

    ¡°Is this¡­ for me?¡±

    The Delibird nodded, turning the envelope so I could see my name clearly written in sharpie on it. Then it pointed at its hat, and the embroidery on it.

    Sinnoh Post Holdings.

    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ a mailman. Mail-bird.¡±

    It nodded again, and shook the package a little bit.

    Slowly, feeling like this was all a dream, I reached out and took the package.

    ¡°Do I¡­ owe you anything?¡±

    The Delibird chirped, shook its head, and tipped its hat at me again.

    ¡°Well, thank you?¡±

    It nodded, picked up its bundle again, and began to waddle away. As it did so I got a good look at its back, and realized that the sack it was carrying was actually its tail, all bundled up so it could carry items in it.

    ¡°Oh hey.¡± Lucas said, jogging up to me from the practice court behind the Pok¨¦mon Center. ¡°You got a package! Nice!¡±

    ¡°Is that¡­ normal?¡± I asked, gesturing towards the retreating Delibird.

    ¡°Hm? Oh a Delibird? Yeah, sometimes. There¡¯s usually a couple in every city, they¡¯ve been trained by Sinnoh Post to help the other mail carriers deliver the mail.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°Anyways, what did you get? Open it!¡±

    I sighed and flipped the package around, working at the sealed end with one of my nails.

    Lucas and I had been doing some training with our Pok¨¦mon at the practice courts before the Delibird showed up, getting ready for our Gym battles coming up in a few days.

    Inside the envelope was a silvery disk in a clear plastic case, and a hastily scribbled note. I had to take a long minute to try and read the sloppy handwriting.

    Alina,

    Here¡¯s half of your reward from coming in second-place in the competition. Good job with your Growlithe, and I¡¯m looking forward to our battle. I¡¯ve wired the cash payment to your bank account, so it should be arriving soon.

    Inside the note is a Technical Machine disk for Rock Tomb, a fairly low-level but versatile Rock-type move. I hope it comes in handy.

    Best,

    Roark

    Folding the paper back up, I tucked it into my purse that I carried when I wasn¡¯t toting around my full backpack, and pulled out the TM.

    It was a silvery disk that was larger than the size of a standard CD disc, maybe about a foot wide, and I turned it over in my hand.

    ¡°Ohh, a TM.¡± Lucas said. ¡°Nice! Which one?¡±

    ¡°Rock Tomb.¡±

    He nodded. ¡°Makes sense, considering Roark¡¯s a Rock-type Leader and all.¡±

    ¡°Hey Lucas?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡±

    ¡°How do I use this?¡±

    He stared at me for a long moment, then laughed. ¡°Right! You¡¯ve never used one before, huh? Still weird to think about, no offense. I mean, you¡¯re from another world! Crazy. Anyways, the Pok¨¦mon Center has a TM Reader, you take your Pok¨¦mon, put them in their Ball and into the machine, then insert the disc. Through some kind of science, they learn the basics of the move. I think it¡¯s something having to do with Psychic Type Energy? It¡¯s like a lesson plan that¡¯s beamed into their minds. They still have to practice the move to actually get it down pat, but it¡¯s a lot faster than figuring it out from scratch.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± I continued turning it over in my hand. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you or Ted, but what is Type Energy exactly? I read that moves are just Pok¨¦mon manipulating the Type Energy to cause the move to go off, but that doesn¡¯t really explain it. Do you think Ted would know?¡±

    Lucas scoffed, and jabbed his thumb into his chest. ¡°No need to go to Ted, I can help you out!¡±

    I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Listen, I know I may be young, but really I actually have more experience with Pok¨¦mon theory and research than both you and Ted put together! My dad¡¯s been Professor Roark¡¯s assistant for decades now, and I basically grew up in the lab!¡±

    My mouth was open to offer a rebuttal, but I sheepishly closed it. He had a point, after all, Ted himself had said he¡¯d only been Professor Birch¡¯s assistant for a couple of years, and while Lucas was a bit scatterbrained, he also was surprisingly insightful at times.

    ¡°Okay then, what is Type Energy?¡± I sat down on a nearby bench expectantly.

    Lucas puffed out his chest and started pacing back and forth. When he spoke, he pitched his voice down, and I could tell he was trying to emulate Professor Rowan.

    ¡°Type Energy is simply one of the fundamental forces of the universe, present in all living beings. Notably, it¡¯s classified as a Meta-Physical force, that is, it doesn¡¯t exist as energy like heat or electricity and we can¡¯t measure it the same way, but it does affect our reality. We can measure it by the effects it has on our reality, but not directly, and there¡¯s some interesting research out of Paldea and Galar that state that it can actually crystallize into a physical form.¡±

    I blinked in surprise. That didn¡¯t make much sense, but it was a lot clearer than what the textbooks I had tried to read back at Professor Rowan¡¯s lab.

    ¡°Okay, but what is it?¡±

    ¡°Basically? It¡¯s a kind of energy that connects to a shared understanding of elements. Fire Type Energy isn¡¯t actually fire, at least not at first. When a Charizard uses a Flame Thrower, it¡¯s not actually mixing chemicals and igniting them. Instead, it uses the concept of flame, molds it with Type Energy, and effectively summons it into existence. When Rock Tomb is used,¡± he gestured towards the disc still in my hands. ¡°It¡¯s not always made using actual rocks from the ground. Sometimes those rocks are created using Type Energy, and dissipate once the move is finished. Other times, they¡¯re actual rocks that are manipulated using the Energy instead.¡±

    He smiled proudly as I stared blankly at him.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s magic.¡± He said simply. ¡°Energy that allows concepts to translate to reality.¡±

    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s, uh, complicated. Do you know how it works?¡±

    ¡°Not at all!¡± He grinned.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s useful.¡±

    ¡°Let me ask you this - what is gravity?¡±

    I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a fundamental force of nature, where objects are attracted to each other. Bigger objects attract smaller objects.¡±

    ¡°Right, but that¡¯s the effects of gravity. What is it?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s¡­¡± My brow furrowed as I tried to remember any of my physics lectures.

    I never liked physics.

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Lucas said. ¡°You know what it does, but not what it is. And for 99.99 percent of the time, that¡¯s more than enough. There¡¯s probably some scientist out there who actually knows what it is, but they¡¯ve spent decades studying it, built off of centuries of research. I don¡¯t know what gravity is, but I know that if I drop a pencil, it¡¯ll fall to the ground.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°You don¡¯t know what Type Energy is, but you know that it can create fire.¡±

    ¡°Yup!¡±

    I eyed the grinning kid. ¡°You¡¯re a lot smarter than you let on.¡±

    He shrugged, his expression turning serious. ¡°It helps. People tend to disregard silly kids who run their mouths and are loud. It makes it a lot easier to learn things if everybody is constantly underestimating you and thinking that you won¡¯t understand what they¡¯re saying.¡±

    A shiver ran down my back. I was guilty of exactly that kind of behavior, and the glint in Lucas¡¯ eyes told me he knew it too.

    ¡°But what can I say?¡± He said, his expression turning back to his normal, cheerful self. ¡°I¡¯m just a kid, afterall. Want to go to the Pok¨¦mon Center and teach K¨­jin that TM? I can teach you how to use the TM Reader.¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡± I said slowly, still trying to wrap my head around it. ¡°Sounds good.¡±

    I looked down at the disc in my hands.

    Who else have I underestimated?

 Chapter Fifty-Eight

    The earth underneath the training dummy, a reinforced fabric doll that wasn¡¯t modeled after any Pok¨¦mon in particular, shuddered as K¨­jin focused on it.

    ¡°Steady now.¡± I said as my Hisuian Growlithe concentrated. ¡°You¡¯ve almost got it!¡±

    With a groan of rocks grinding against each other, pillars of stone erupted out of the ground, closing in around the dummy¡¯s legs and lower body.

    ¡°Good job!¡±

    K¨­jin panted, exhaustion mixing with excitement.

    Two days ago we had gone to the Pok¨¦mon Center and had used the TM machine to teach K¨­jin the move. While he was learning Rock Tomb, I had quietly asked the nurse who was managing the machine if I could use the TM for another Pok¨¦mon in the future. Venus couldn¡¯t learn it right now, but maybe if I got another team member they might be able to.

    The answer was as disappointing as it was expected - no, a Technical Machine was a one-time use object.

    The reasoning behind the answer was rather unexpected.

    Theoretically, there was no limit to a Technical Machine¡¯s information sharing capabilities. The disc could be reused time and again if need be. The problem came in the form of copyright.

    Apparently, moves copied onto TMs counted as copyrighted material, and were legally only available to be used once. The TM Machine in the Pok¨¦mon Center read K¨­jin¡¯s registration number that was attached to his Pok¨¦ Ball and left a note on his file with the unique ID code for this copy of Rock Tomb. If I, or anybody else, tried to insert this disk into another licensed TM Machine, the system would flag the fact that the ID had already been used, and simply fail to transfer the information.

    According to the nurse, there were third-party TMs and readers out there, but they didn¡¯t have the same guarantees of quality and safety. Team Rocket had actually made a lot of money ripping off Trainers who were desperate to teach their Pok¨¦mon a powerful move for less money than a legitimate TM.

    It all sounded like a big scam to me, just another version of DRM, but there was nothing I could do about it.

    There were some anti-trust movements in Unova that were currently gaining traction, but it might be a couple years before anything came of it.

    Ted had grumbled about the fact that it was due to Silph Co.¡¯s corporate interests influencing the Pok¨¦mon League when the TMs first became available when I mentioned it to him later.

    In terms of the move itself¡­ K¨­jin was having some troubles.

    It wasn¡¯t a matter of power, or that he wasn¡¯t able to pull off the move at all.

    As far as I could tell, he was doing everything the way he was supposed to, a fact confirmed by both Ted and Lucas.

    No, the problem was that he wasn¡¯t able to pull off the move quickly enough. After most of two day¡¯s practicing, K¨­jin could reliably get the move off in less than five seconds.

    He wasn¡¯t slow, not by any means, but in a battle where seconds could feel like hours, K¨­jin needed to be faster.

    ¡°That was really good.¡± I knelt down by his side and scratched at his ears. ¡°Do you think you can keep going?¡±

    K¨­jin cocked his head and concentrated, I could feel the muscles bunching up in his neck as he tried to channel the Type Energy, but he was all tapped out.

    ¡°That¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll try again in a little bit once you¡¯re feeling more rested. Come on, want to check on the others?¡±

    He looked up at me with a tired doggy grin, and I gave him another scratch before standing up.

    It was a short walk over to the battling courts, where Ted was currently in a friendly match with Lucas. They were both trying to get their new Pok¨¦mon accustomed to official Pok¨¦mon battles, and their training regimes showed their experience a lot more than mine did.

    K¨­jin had been with me for weeks now, and I was just now comfortable with him being able to participate in an official Gym match.

    Lucas was already planning to use Ky¨±d¨­, the Dartrix he had found, in his match against Roark, and the two were working together surprisingly well. Silver, Ted¡¯s Cleffa, wasn¡¯t in the roster to go up against any of Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon, but that was thanks to the fact that it was a bad type matchup instead of anything else.

    The issue I kept running into was that while I had a decent foundation in the theory and mechanics of Pok¨¦mon battling, thanks to having played the games where there were actual numbers attached to things, Ted and Lucas simply had more practical experience. They had grown up with Pok¨¦mon, had learned in school how to help take care of and train Pok¨¦mon, and to them, it was as easy as riding a bike.

    I was learning everything about training Pok¨¦mon from scratch, and it showed.

    Ky¨±d¨­ was currently practicing its aiming skills, while Silver was working on dodging. The little Cleffa was surprisingly good at getting out of the way of the attacks, but every now and again it would make a cute oof noise as it was hit by one of Ky¨±d¨­¡¯s attacks.

    According to Lucas, the hardest thing he¡¯d had to deal with Ky¨±d¨­ was teaching him not to make the same kind of overwhelming killing blows that the Dartrix would normally use in the wild.

    As for my own Pok¨¦mon, Venus was currently sitting in the Pok¨¦mon Center under the ministrations of a particularly enthusiastic Blissey, the result of a misguided attempt to try and make her Quick Attack go faster.

    Meanwhile, Zetian was actually off doing her own thing. She had expressed an interest in going back to the nest where I had first met her, and was currently learning from her mother the best way to control the colony of bees in her abdomen.

    I would be going back there tomorrow to pick her up, but it had been made clear to me in no uncertain terms by the Vespiquen that while I was honored for saving the hive, the training was for Pok¨¦mon only.

    All of that meant I had been able to spend one-on-one time with K¨­jin, which was nice.

    I sighed and put my hands on my hips, staring at the shape of Roark¡¯s Gym just a few blocks away. It wasn¡¯t the tallest building in the city, but it had a certain presence, a weight that grabbed your attention.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    The feeling hadn¡¯t been there the last time I was in the city, but I hadn¡¯t been about to challenge the Gym either.

    K¨­jin whuffed quietly as he sat down next to me. It was hard to see, but underneath the rock-like hair I could see his eyes staring at the building as well.

    ¡°That¡¯s our goal.¡± I said.

    He let out a quiet bark.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know if we¡¯re ready.¡±

    The words were hard to say. I had been nervous before the fight with Gardenia, but that had been due to nerves. I hadn¡¯t thought myself able to take part in a public Battle like that. My anxiety had mostly settled by now, even though there was still a lingering sense of unease.

    No, it was difficult to say because I honestly didn¡¯t know if we were able to take on Roark. Zetian was at a massive disadvantage, K¨­jin was inexperienced, and while Venus was my strongest Battler, it was hard to know if it would be enough.

    A paw batted at my leg, and I looked down to see K¨­jin panting happily, small wisps of smoke coming out of his mouth with each breath.

    ¡°What?¡±

    He barked, a doggy grin across his face.

    ¡°You think we¡¯re ready?¡±

    K¨­jin barked again, and I couldn¡¯t help the small smile that spread across my face. I reached into a pocket and pulled out a cube of smoked Slowpoke tail meat that had been mixed with charcoal - the treat of choice for many Fire-type Pok¨¦mon, K¨­jin included.

    While I still had my reservations about eating Pok¨¦mon, I did recognize that Pok¨¦mon themselves had certain dietary needs that couldn¡¯t always be supplanted with vegetarian options. It might have been a bit hypocritical, but that was something I was able to accept.

    Besides, I¡¯d gotten it on good authority that this brand of treats were sustainably farmed. Apparently, the unethical farming of Slowpoke tails had dropped exponentially ever since Team Rocket¡¯s operations had been busted.

    K¨­jin¡¯s tail drummed out a rapid beat as he stared at the treat, and I tossed it into the air for him. He jumped up with a bark, snatching the cube and chewing on it happily.

    Even if we aren¡¯t ready, we¡¯ll do our best. And really, isn¡¯t that all that matters?

    I caught myself, laughing at the thought.

    Now I actually sound like a Pok¨¦mon protagonist.

    /^\

    Roark¡¯s Gym wasn¡¯t what I had expected. The lobby had been fairly standard as far as I could tell, but that was mostly to be expected. The waiting room, on the other hand, was definitely not what I had imagined when I thought of ¡°Rock-type Gym.¡±

    That brought up images of boulders, pickaxes, yellow-and-black caution paint, heavy machinery, and the rest.

    What Roark had decided to go with reminded me more of a therapist¡¯s office.

    Warm colors and soft lighting were the name of the game, and I was currently sitting on an incredibly comfortable armchair. There was a part of me that wanted to ask Roark where he had gotten it from, until I realized that I was technically homeless right now.

    In terms of tax purposes, I was operating out of Professor Rowan¡¯s lab back in Sandgem Town, but that was more of a paperwork issue. I doubted he would be happy about me shipping an armchair to his lab, although I was pretty sure he would store it for me regardless.

    There was even a radio in the waiting room playing some soft jazz.

    It was an interesting change of pace from Gardenia¡¯s greenhouse, although it didn¡¯t seem to be very reassuring to the young man who was anxiously twisting his hands together.

    ¡°First time?¡± I asked, and the kid almost jumped into the air.

    ¡°Y-yeah.¡± He said, voice breaking halfway through the word.

    ¡°Second for me.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    He looked a little suspicious, but I nodded. ¡°First one was Gardenia.¡±

    ¡°Oh, wow.¡± The boy said, eyes sparkling. ¡°She¡¯s really h- cool!¡±

    I gave him a soft stare. ¡°Hot¡± was probably what he was going to say, at least until he realized he was talking to a girl as well.

    The kid looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, so it definitely was that.

    It wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t understand what he was talking about, but my stomach still turned every time I thought of her choice of sandwiches.

    ¡°Yeah. If you challenge her, keep an eye on the weather.¡±

    The boy frowned in confusion, but I decided it would probably be better to let him find out for himself.

    A door opened on the other side of the waiting room.

    ¡°Mr. Tanaka?¡± A man said, and the boy jolted. ¡°The Gym Challenge is ready for you.¡±

    ¡°A-already?¡± He stood up, and his hand-wringing became just that much more frantic.

    ¡°Yes sir. If you would come this way please¡­¡±

    ¡°Good luck.¡± I called, and the boy gave me a small wave as he disappeared into the recesses of the Gym.

    I took the moment offered by the emptiness of the room to take a deep breath, letting it out.

    I still didn¡¯t think we were completely ready for the fight, but at the same time¡­ I wasn¡¯t nearly as nervous as I could have been.

    At this point, I had gone up against a criminal intent on killing me several times, as well as wild Pok¨¦mon that didn¡¯t understand the concept of ¡°holding back lethal blows.¡±

    The fact of the matter was that a monitored Battle with a referee and Pok¨¦mon able to step in to make sure things didn¡¯t get too bad was a very pleasant change in pace from a Tentacruel that had been going to eat me.

    I wasn¡¯t excited for the fight, not like some of the Trainers who lived for Gym Battles, but I wasn¡¯t dreading it either.

    ¡°Ah, right.¡± I muttered to myself, reaching into my purse.

    My bag was back in the Pok¨¦mon Center, and I was again wearing the black pencil skirt and white blouse that I had challenged Gardenia in.

    I pulled out and tugged on the pair of fingerless gloves before my battle. They looked a bit incongruous compared to the rest of my outfit, but I didn¡¯t mind that much.

    The next twenty minutes passed quickly enough, and a new challenger entered the waiting room with me - a grizzled looking man still in his mining clothes.

    We exchanged a few polite words, until the receptionist came back out and called for me.

    I stood up, straightened my skirt, and followed the man out into the arena proper.

    Like Gardenia¡¯s Gym, it looked like a fairly typical Battling court, although Roark had put his own touches on it.

    Instead of the skylight of the Eterna City Gym, Roark had instead installed massive work lights like those I had seen in the mines, and I briefly wondered if they would respond to weather moves properly.

    The asphalt-like floor had also been ripped up like Eterna, but instead of real dirt and grass, Roark had gone with stone and rock instead, with numerous boulders embedded in the ground at random intervals.

    The man himself was standing at the podium across the court from me, clad in his standard hi-vis outfit.

    Instead of going through the full gauntlet, I had just scheduled a single fight with the Leader, skipping all the rigamarole.

    The referee stepped up to the edge of the court, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Baltoy beginning to set up a barrier to protect the crowd.

    ¡°This will be an official match,¡± she began. ¡°The rules will be held in accordance with Pok¨¦mon League regulations. It is a two-on-two match, with one substitution per Trainer, and no items used. Do both of you understand?¡±

    My eyebrow raised. I¡¯d thought that this would be a three-on-three, but apparently not.

    It was an easy choice on which of my Pok¨¦mon would be left out. Zetian was far too vulnerable to risk in a match like this.

    ¡°I understand.¡± I said, and Roark parroted me.

    ¡°Trainers, are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Always.¡± Roark said confidently.

    I took a breath, and my hand settled on Venus¡¯ Pok¨¦ Ball.

    My plan was mostly the same as my battle with Gardenia, let Venus take care of what she could, then finish the fight with my trump card in the form of K¨­jin.

    ¡°Ready.¡±

    ¡°Release your Pok¨¦mon!¡±

 Chapter Fifty-Nine

    I had done my research. Gym Leaders kept a rotating roster of Pok¨¦mon for their Battles, making sure that they would always be ready to handle any level of challenger; whether it be a kid just starting out on their Journey, or a Trainer taking on their last Gym before going to a League Conference.

    Roark, according to the forums online and the people in town I had talked to, generally kept a cluster of Geodude ready for his Gym Battle, along with some Gravler and even a couple of Golem for the more advanced challengers.

    My research paid off as Venus¡¯ opponent appeared on Roark¡¯s side of the field, a Geodude that was hovering slightly off the ground and raising its arms as it bellowed out its war cry.

    I licked my lips nervously. ¡°Alright Venus, just like we practiced.¡±

    Venus simply flicked her ear in acknowledgement.

    ¡°Challenger ready?¡± The referee called.

    ¡°Ready!¡±

    ¡°Leader Roark, ready?¡±

    ¡°Ready.¡± Roark, curse him, didn¡¯t look nervous at all, simply standing with a small smile on his face, his arms crossed in front of him.

    He looked rather familiar standing like that, but I couldn¡¯t quite figure out why.

    The referee looked between us, then with a chopping motion, dropped her hand.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    Venus was the first to act, our speed training having paid off as she took off like a rocket towards the Geodude. Her form blurred into a white streak as she began her Quick Attack, and half-a-second later the stadium was filled with the next-best thing to the sound of a gunshot as she smashed into the Geodude.

    ¡°Keep it up!¡± I called, and Venus barely took a second to stop, reorient, and dash towards the Geodude again.

    ¡°Your Eevee is impressive!¡± Roark said nonchalantly. ¡°You must have been training your speed for a while! Unfortunately for you, speed is nothing compared to the staying power of Rock-type Pok¨¦mon!¡±

    True to his words, even as Venus smashed into the Geodude¡¯s body again, the other Pok¨¦mon barely seemed to notice.

    There was some damage there, I could see a few cracks and chips in its rocky exterior, but it was paltry in comparison to what came next.

    ¡°Show them what an attack really looks like!¡± Roark commanded.

    Having met him a couple of times already, I could tell the Gym Leader was playing things up for the crowd, but it was still surprisingly intimidating.

    The Geodude roared again, then reached down with its large hands. Its fingers dug into the ground, and with a mighty heave it simply tore a chunk out of the rocky terrain.

    I blinked, staring in awe despite myself.

    It was one thing to have K¨­jin force rocks upwards when he used Rock Tomb, and another to see a living boulder rip a chunk of stone out of the ground that was larger than it was.

    Rocks and boulder¡¯s shouldn¡¯t work like that, and I had to chalk it up to the mysterious Type Energy that governed this world¡¯s physics.

    With a grunt of effort, the Geodude sent the boulder flying towards Venus.

    She was fast, faster than the Geodude was, but even her speed couldn¡¯t save her entirely from this attack.

    She managed to make it most of the way out of the line of fire, but the rock was bigger than she had anticipated. A section of it clipped her hindquarters, sending her tumbling to the ground.

    I winced, unable to help Venus, but she didn¡¯t need my help. Venus staggered to her feet, letting out a small snarl of anger and pain at the attack.

    Without waiting for my command, she took off towards the Geodude, juking left and right as she moved to foul the other¡¯s aim.

    I wanted to chide her for taking off so rashly, but then a moment later I saw what Venus had.

    It¡¯s slow!

    For all of its strength and vitality, being able to shrug off Venus¡¯ Quick Attacks, the Geodude simply wasn¡¯t able to keep up with her speed.

    She smashed into its body again, and this time I saw a chip of stone fall off of its shell.

    ¡°Again!¡± I shouted my encouragement. ¡°Think of Zetian¡¯s bees!¡±

    Venus¡¯ ear flickered again as she got my meaning.

    Zetian¡¯s bees couldn¡¯t do a lot of damage at once, but over time they could be devastating. The only way we would win this right now is to simply chip away at the Geodude¡¯s health.

    Then I saw Roark smirk.

    ¡°No moss.¡± He called.

    I frowned in confusion. For a brief second I thought he was speaking Spanish, or Paldean in this world, then the Geoduce wrapped its arms around itself and began to spin, and I understood the Gym Leader¡¯s meaning.

    A rolling stone gathers no moss.

    ¡°Venus!¡± I shouted, panic in my voice. ¡°Get out of there!¡±

    She gave me a startled look, then turned back just in time to see the Geodude stop levitating.

    It hit the ground with a solid thunk and shot forwards, and I had the ridiculous image of the boulder from the first Indiana Jones movie.

    Rollout.

    Venus was quick on the draw however, and jumped out of the way before the Geodude could reach her.

    Or rather, she tried to do so at least.

    ¡°Redirect left!¡± Roark shouted, and I was witness to a truly ridiculous sight.

    The rolling Geodude snapped out its left arm and dug its fingers into the ground, creating a temporary anchor.

    Instead of spinning past Venus, the Geodude pivoted on the new axis provided, and took off right for her.

    Venus didn¡¯t have a chance to dodge again, and Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon smashed into her.

    She was thrown off her feet, landing several yards away from the still-spinning Geodude.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    The rest of the world faded away as I stared at my first companion in this world, but after a second, she stood up. Her legs were shaky, but she held her head up high, tail lifted proudly.

    My hand twitched towards her Pok¨¦ Ball at my waist, and Venus caught the motion.

    She snorted, and stared at the Geodude with determination blazing in her eyes.

    I let my hand drop.

    Venus didn¡¯t want me to withdraw her from this fight just yet.

    I took a deep breath, and nodded, the rest of the world beginning to come back to focus.

    I saw Roark smile.

    Both of our Pok¨¦mon had taken damage, but it wasn¡¯t over yet.

    Judging by the way Venus¡¯ body was shaking with strain, she probably only had one or two more exchanges in her. She¡¯d done a pretty fair amount of damage to the Geodude, but I didn¡¯t know if it would be enough to force a dual knock-out.

    The two Pok¨¦mon eyed each other for a moment, then burst into motion once again.

    Venus blurred into a Quick Attack again, racing towards the Geodude, but at the very last second the other Pok¨¦mon dropped its Rollout.

    Right before Venus slammed into Roark¡¯s Geodude, the ground erupted into a now-familiar pattern.

    Before I had a chance to tell her what was going on, the rocks that Roark had installed into the floor of the stadium shot upwards, the Geodude¡¯s Rock Tomb trapping her back leg.

    Venus slammed to the ground, her forward momentum ripped away by the move. I winced as she crashed into hard rock, but thankfully it didn¡¯t seem like any of her bones had been broken this time. She still managed to stagger to her feet, but her attack was effectively ruined with her foot still stuck in the rocks.

    Then something strange happened. The Geodude was just out of reach of Venus, and with the way she was trapped in the rocks, she was unable to get any movement to get a Quick Attack going, or even a Tackle.

    My Eevee snarled, and snapped at the Geodude. A dark mist seemed to shimmer into existence near her mouth, and then with another snap of her teeth, an almost invisible set of jaws snapped down on the Geodude.

    The Geodude that was at least a foot away from her.

    It cried out in pain and staggered back from Venus¡¯ trapped form, breaking its focus just long enough for her to wiggle her leg free of the Rock Tomb.

    I had to take a moment during her escape to figure out what exactly was going on. I wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but I was fairly confident that had been Bite of all things.

    I knew Eevee could learn Bite, but she¡¯d never shown any particular aptitude for the move during our training before now. At what level an Eevee would gain the move in the games, I wasn¡¯t sure, but whatever it was, I didn¡¯t think it would be in the middle of a Battle.

    ¡°Follow up Venus!¡± I cried. ¡°Use Bite again if you can!¡±

    She could handle the fight herself, I knew that much, but I couldn¡¯t help but shout my support.

    Interestingly, Roark didn¡¯t seem to follow the same philosophy, choosing to remain mostly silent.

    From the few times that I had met him, he seemed like an entirely different person when battling.

    Venus lunged forwards and while a dark mist began to appear around her mouth once again, this time the Geodude managed to get one up on her.

    ¡°Finish it.¡± Roark said quietly.

    The Geodude pulled its arm back and punched.

    Venus skidded across the ground, unconscious.

    The referee waited for a long minute, before blowing her whistle.

    ¡°Challenger Knighton¡¯s Pok¨¦mon is unable to continue battling!¡± The referee called. ¡°Challenger Knighton, please recall your Pok¨¦mon and send your next one out!¡±

    With a grimace I pulled Venus back into her Pok¨¦ Ball.

    ¡°You did great.¡± I whispered, even though I knew she couldn¡¯t hear it.

    The Ball went back onto my belt, and I pulled out K¨­jin.

    ¡°You can do this, just listen to my commands, and it¡¯ll be okay.¡±

    The Ball wiggled in excitement, and I held it out, releasing the fire dog.

    K¨­jin let out a howl as he emerged, brief spurts of flame sparking out of his mouth as he did so.

    ¡°Challenger ready?¡± The referee called.

    ¡°Ready!¡±

    ¡°Defender ready?¡±

    ¡°Ready.¡±

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    ¡°K¨­jin! Rock Tomb!¡±

    The move was still a little slow, slower than I¡¯d like, but my opponent was slow as well.

    The Geodude had just begun to spin up into another Rollout when pillars of rock erupted out of the earth, trapping it in place.

    ¡°Now, Head Smash!¡±

    K¨­jin barked happily, put his head down, and charged.

    The Geodude was hanging upside down from the pillar, caught mid-move, but it was already starting to get free. Unfortunately for it, I had learned a few things about K¨­jin during the past few weeks.

    One, I was ninety-nine percent sure that his Ability was Rock Head.

    Two, he was really good at headbutting things.

    Stone cracked, and the Geodude went limp. K¨­jin took a couple steps back, staring at the other Pok¨¦mon, before he was sure that it was unconscious.

    Then he sat down and looked over his shoulder at me with a big grin, panting happily.

    ¡°Leader Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon is unable to continue battling!¡± The referee called. ¡°Leader Roark, please recall your Pok¨¦mon and send your next one out!¡±

    Roark recalled his Geodude, and released his next Pok¨¦mon.

    I had to smirk as a familiar shape emerged onto the field. It seemed that at some point, Roark had also managed to get his hands on a fossil, as a Cranidos appeared in a flash of red light.

    This¡­ was actually good. At least on paper it was. I had done a lot of training with Lucas after all, and Hardy was also a Cranidos.

    Presumably the same tactics would apply.

    We went through the same rigamarole we had just gone through when Venus had been knocked out, and then the referee was blowing the whistle again, and the fight was on.

    ¡°K¨­jin! Flame Wheel then Head Smash!¡±

    From a type-effectiveness standpoint, Flame Wheel was a terrible move to use. Fire-type moves were weak against Rock-types after all, but the damage that it would be doing wasn¡¯t the point.

    K¨­jin concentrated, the Fire Type Energy coming much easier to him than Rock did, and a tall pinwheel of flame ignited in a wave of heat, and began rolling towards the Cranidos.

    It wouldn¡¯t hurt the other Pok¨¦mon that much, but it was big, and it was flashy.

    K¨­jin was right behind the Flame Wheel, charging forwards towards the Cranidos.

    I wish I could have kept the second half of the combo move quiet, but K¨­jin just wasn¡¯t at the point yet where we could have specific strategies.

    The Cranidos hopped out of the way of the Flame Wheel, and K¨­jin redirected his charge, intending to hit the other Pok¨¦mon while it was still distracted by the other, much flashier move.

    It had worked on Hardy, Lucas¡¯ Cranidos, and I was hoping that it would work here as well.

    My hopes were dashed when I realized the difference between a Pok¨¦mon that was trained by a well-taught researcher¡¯s assistant, and a professional Trainer and Gym Leader.

    The Cranidos spotted K¨­jin¡¯s follow-up move, and stepped back into the path of the Flame Wheel.

    Flames washed across the scaly hide of the dinosaur-like Pok¨¦mon, and although I thought I could see it flinch, that was all it did. And then it raised a foot.

    My heart sank at the motion.

    ¡°K¨­jin! To your left!¡±

    K¨­jin either didn¡¯t hear me, or couldn¡¯t move in time. His head was already down for his charge, and he was committed.

    The foot came down. A small boulder jumped out of the ground in defiance of all laws of physics, and then the Cranidos headbutted it, sending it directly into K¨­jin¡¯s side.

    K¨­jin yelped in pain, and was sent hurtling away.

    ¡°Focus!¡± Roark commanded.

    My heart sank even lower with the Cranidos¡¯ next move. Instead of following up with another attack, the Cranidos hunched down, eyes severe as it stared at K¨­jin.

    ¡°Get up!¡± I called. ¡°Rock Tomb, then get out of there!¡±

    K¨­jin scrambled to his feet and concentrated.

    A pale gold nimbus started to surround the Cranidos.

    Rocks crunched together around the dinosaur-like Pok¨¦mon, almost completely obscuring it from view, and K¨­jin began to dart away.

    ¡°Hemuretto!¡± Roark shouted, gesturing dramatically with one hand. ¡°Rock Slide!¡±

    The Cranidos roared from inside its rocky cage, and the ground moved. Pillars of stone emerged in concentric rings from where Hemuretto was trapped, and they only grew taller the farther they moved.

    K¨­jin, my poor boy, was caught by the move despite his best efforts. The Rock Slide picked him up, and slammed him into the ground, only for him to be caught by another ripple and tossed around again.

    When the dust finally settled, K¨­jin was laying on the ground, unconscious.

    ¡°Challenger Knighton is out of Pok¨¦mon! By knockout, Leader Roark is victorious!¡±

    Almost numbly, I fumbled for my Pok¨¦ Ball, recalling K¨­jin.

    We¡¯d lost.

 Chapter Delay

    Hi everybody,

    Thanks to both myself and my editor Ondmos getting sick at the same time, despite the fact that we live half-way across the country from each other, there will be no chapter this week. I apologize for the delay, and appreciate your understanding.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    Normal posting will resume on the 2nd of February.

    Best,

    Ashaman

 Chapter Sixty

    I shook Roark¡¯s hand, exchanged a few polite words, then left the Gym, heading back to the Pok¨¦mon Center.

    After the niceties were observed, I allowed myself exactly one hour and twenty-one minutes to sulk after my loss, the exact length of time that Venus and K¨­jin were being seen by the nurses.

    ¡°Your Pok¨¦mon will be fine.¡± The pink-haired nurse said to me, when they were handing back the Pok¨¦ Balls. ¡°I recommend several days of rest and light exercise only, but other than that they have no broken bones or serious wounds.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    The nurse nodded and stepped away, leaving me alone once again.

    From there, I made my way back to the hotel rooms we had rented. The Rangers had set us up with rooms in the Pok¨¦mon Center upon getting out of the caves, but they weren¡¯t nearly as comfortable as actual hotel rooms.

    After so long in the caves, we had all decided to splurge on nice places to sleep.

    Once I had returned to my room, I let out K¨­jin and Venus. Venus¡¯ leg had been wrapped from where she had been trapped by the Rock Tomb, and K¨­jin had a large ice pack over his side.

    ¡°I want you to know,¡± I said to them. ¡°That I¡¯m not blaming either of you for our loss. You both did amazing work during that battle.¡±

    Venus seemed a bit dispirited regardless, but K¨­jin yipped happily.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious Venus, you were amazing. It¡¯s not your fault that Roark beat us. He¡¯s just stronger than us - there¡¯s a lot of Trainers out there like that. Think about Lucas and Ted, they beat us almost half the time in our practices.¡±

    Venus grumbled, laying down and resting her head on her paws.

    ¡°One second.¡±

    I pulled out Zetian¡¯s Pok¨¦ Ball and released her. She buzzed around anxiously for a few seconds, checking in on Venus and K¨­jin.

    ¡°They¡¯re okay, just a little banged up.¡±

    Zetian¡¯s shoulders slumped in relief for a second, then her red compound eyes flashed in anger, and she started buzzing around.

    I didn¡¯t need to be a Psychic to understand her.

    ¡°I know. We lost this time, but we¡¯re going to train, okay? We¡¯re going to get better, and when we¡¯re ready, we¡¯ll challenge Roark again. And that time? We¡¯ll beat him.¡±

    K¨­jin barked, Zetian buzzed, and while Venus didn¡¯t do much, I saw her ear twitch and her tail wag slightly.

    She was sulking even more than I had.

    ¡°So, we¡¯re going to take a couple days to rest, and then we¡¯ll get to the business of training.¡±

    I wondered if it would be possible to get a copy of the battle from the Oreburgh Gym. I knew they were recorded, for safety and liability reasons if nothing else, but it could be a handy training tool to see where we had messed up, and what we had done well.

    But for now¡­

    I reached into my bag and pulled out the box of poffins I kept in there.

    Even Venus¡¯ ears perked up at that.

    /^\

    The next day, we got to watch Ted and Lucas beat Roark.

    It was a bitter salve to my soul, watching my friends get the Badge that I had been unable to win, but the battles taught me a lot more than I had expected.

    Lucas¡¯ fight was interesting to watch, especially how he had to work with Ky¨±d¨­ to convince the Pok¨¦mon to fight.

    Or rather, how he had to convince Ky¨±d¨­ to battle the way Lucas wanted him to.

    The past week and change had been good for their teamwork, but there was still a bit of friction. Every now and again Ky¨±d¨­ wouldn¡¯t follow Lucas¡¯ orders, choosing to do its own move instead.

    Most of the time it didn¡¯t work out the way the owl-like Pok¨¦mon had intended, and Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon managed to capitalize on the errors, punishing Ky¨±d¨­ with bits of rocks hurled at nasty speeds.

    At the end of the day, Ky¨±d¨­ had a strong type advantage against Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon. Everyone always said that type advantage wasn¡¯t always the deciding factor in a fight, but it was important nonetheless.

    It only took a couple of hits for a Geodude to get knocked out, and although Ky¨±d¨­¡¯s fight against one of Roark¡¯s Onix lasted a bit longer, it was fairly evident that the giant rock-snake didn¡¯t have a chance.

    Ted¡¯s match was a bit closer, but not by much.

    Mayfly was in much the same boat as Zetian had been with an extreme type disadvantage - one that not even training could overcome, and was knocked out early in the battle.

    Unfortunately for Roark though, Switchback was a Hisuian Sneasel, not just a regular one, and Fighting was its secondary typing.

    That little fact still wasn¡¯t widely spread, and Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon had been taken by surprise. To most people, Switchback just looked like a strange, oddly colored Sneasel. Maybe they thought it was a shiny Pok¨¦mon, or just some other quirk of genetics.

    Soon enough I was sure that Hisuian Pok¨¦mon would become a lot more famous as Pok¨¦mon Researchers began to investigate the Grand Underground, but for now Switchback¡¯s Fighting type had been a nasty shock.

    That wasn¡¯t to say Ted and Switchback had it easy. Roark¡¯s Pok¨¦mon, another Onix and a Nosepass of all things, were clearly stronger than the ones who had faced Lucas and I.

    It was a little annoying to know that I hadn¡¯t even been beaten by Roark¡¯s strongest team, but I shoved those irrational feelings down with a vengeance. Ted was an accomplished Trainer in Hoenn after all, so this wasn¡¯t his first rodeo.

    Still, after a close-fought battle, Ted and his party were victorious.

    We had a small celebration with some pizza and then got to the business of planning our next steps.

    /^\

    ¡°The way I see it,¡± Ted said as we all sat hunched over a map of Sinnoh. ¡°There¡¯s really two main ways we can go.¡±

    He reached over and followed the Routes north with a finger. ¡°We can head up to Snowpoint City by way of Eterna, or cross Mount Coronet to get to Hearthome City.¡±

    He tapped the symbol for the latter city.

    Lucas frowned as he looked at the map. ¡°There¡¯s no real ¡®typical¡¯ procedure for challenging Gyms, but most people on this side of the island start here in Oreburgh and make their way north towards Snowpoint. I¡¯m inclined to head that way myself.¡±

    ¡°Is that because you know you can get an easy win with all your Fire-types?¡± I said with a smile, and Lucas put a hand to his chest in mock pain.

    ¡°You wound me Alina!¡±

    ¡°But seriously, why those two?¡± I asked. ¡°Why not Canalave?¡±

    I reached over myself and tapped the western coast of mainland Sinnoh.

    ¡°We all have decently strong Pok¨¦mon against Steel-types, and it¡¯s a lot closer than Snowpoint.¡± I frowned. ¡°Although it¡¯s not quite as close as Hearthome is, we would have to cross Coronet.¡±Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard the region around Canalave City has a lot of strong Steel-types.¡± Ted said. ¡°Stronger than our Pok¨¦mon, at least. It might be better to wait until our teams get a bit tougher. If Rakkyo was here, I¡¯m sure it wouldn¡¯t be an issue, but as it stands now¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh.¡± Lucas waggled his hand.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, there definitely are strong Pok¨¦mon there, but I think you¡¯re thinking of Iron Island. Canalave mostly has Water-types surrounding it.¡±

    ¡°But Byron has a Steel-type Gym?¡±

    ¡°Gathered mostly from Iron Island. There are ferries that travel to the island constantly, as well as all across the Four Islands from Canalave Port.¡±

    Ted sat back. ¡°Huh.¡±

    ¡°Iron Island itself is known for the strong Steel-types that live there, so it¡¯s a great place to train. Canalave City itself kinda inherited its reputation back when Byron took over the Gym.¡±

    ¡°Well, you learn something new every day.¡±

    ¡°Personally,¡± I said, trying to steer the conversation back towards our planning. ¡°I¡¯d rather not go north to Snowpoint right now.¡±

    ¡°No?¡±

    ¡°To be honest, it feels like I¡¯ve spent the entirety of my Journey so far traveling north to Eterna City, then back down here. I¡¯d rather see more of Sinnoh than just this one stretch of road.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± Ted said, and Lucas nodded.

    ¡°So, Hearthome or Canalave?¡±

    We sat there in silence for a long minute as we thought about it.

    ¡°I can¡¯t really do much against a Ghost-type leader.¡± I said regretfully. ¡°Venus would be completely nullified.¡±

    ¡°Switchback wouldn¡¯t be very helpful either.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay with it.¡± Lucas said, and Ted and I rolled our eyes.

    ¡°On the other hand, we¡¯re all strong against Steel.¡±

    ¡°I could use a win.¡± I muttered.

    ¡°It would be nice to see the ocean again.¡± Ted said.

    ¡°Canalave then?¡±

    We all exchanged a look, and nodded.

    ¡°Canalave.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡±

    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll have to start planning on how to get there.¡± I said. ¡°Head to Jubilife and take Route 218 from there?¡±

    Ted started to agree, but Lucas scoffed.

    ¡°Please, I know a way to get there way faster.¡±

    ¡°A ferry?¡±

    ¡°A train?¡±

    I wouldn¡¯t mind taking a train, considering we¡¯d been walking everywhere for the past several months.

    ¡°Hah! Come with me, and I¡¯ll show you!¡±

    /^\

    I stared up at the giant steel bird, preening its blade-like feathers.

    Rationally, I knew that Corviknight were big Pok¨¦mon, but I was feeling anything but rational as I stared at the massive bird.

    Birds weren¡¯t something I had spent a lot of time thinking about in my past life, but I did have to do a research project on them once for a mandatory biology class in college. One of the facts that I was now remembering was that the snowy albatross had one of the largest wingspans of any bird, around eleven feet long, even though their body was only about four feet tall.

    That was a big bird by any metric. Massive, actually.

    The Corviknight in front of me was easily seven feet tall, if not larger, and as it opened one wing in order to scratch at a feather, the wing itself was at least twenty feet long.

    One wing alone was larger than an entire car, and I felt very, very small.

    Even Ted, one of the largest people I¡¯d seen in this world so far, seemed to feel the same way, judging by the way he was staring up at the massive wing.

    ¡°Canalave eh?¡± An old woman in an aviator¡¯s coat and goggles said. ¡°Yeah, we can get you there.¡±

    She had a thick British, or rather Galarian, accent that was made even more difficult to make out through the scarf that was wrapped around her neck and lower face.

    ¡°Great! How much do we owe you?¡±

    ¡°Owe?¡± She cackled. ¡°You don¡¯t owe me anything lad! After you helped me and Cheepy here with his little wing problem, I said that you ride for free! It¡¯s getting a bit late to take a flight today, but come back tomorrow and we¡¯ll get you there, no problem!¡±

    ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± Ted asked, voice a bit distant.

    I nodded, not taking my eyes off of the feathers of the Corviknight. They each could have been used as a sword.

    ¡°Yeah, uh, well kinda. A while back Lucas said that he had to help find a Metal Coat to heal a Corviknight¡¯s wings. Honestly I thought he was just telling stories, but apparently not.¡±

    Queenie¡¯s Taxi Company was a new addition to Oreburgh City, because I certainly wouldn¡¯t have missed seeing the massive Corviknight when I¡¯d been here before.

    ¡°So,¡± I said slowly, catching their attention. ¡°How does this work?¡±

    ¡°Eh? You never rode in an air-taxi before?¡±

    ¡°Once, in Jubilife, but that was operated by a pair of Staraptors.¡±

    ¡°Bah! Overgrown Chatot, that''s what they are!¡±

    The old woman rapped on the side of her Corviknight, the incongruously named ¡°Cheepy¡±. The noise sounded like she was banging on a metal wall.

    ¡°Cheepy here is the real deal! He¡¯ll get you anywhere you need to go, and he¡¯ll power through any disruptions in the way!¡±

    Almost two hundred pounds of a giant metal bird would do that, I figured, unless there was a Fire-type around.

    Or a Tinkaton, although I figured it would probably be smart not to mention the little pink Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°Just let us know when you¡¯re willing to go, and we¡¯ll be off!¡±

    We all nodded, exchanged a few farewells, and headed back to the hotel to finish getting ready.

    There was a part of me that wanted to stay here in Oreburgh and try to rechallenge Roark, but it would have been a fool¡¯s errand.

    We¡¯d already lost once, and we would need to train in order to have a chance to beat Roark. Sure, we could do that in the areas around Oreburgh, challenge some of the miners, maybe even some of the Gym Trainers, but if I was being honest with myself, I didn¡¯t want to spend too much longer here.

    Like I¡¯d told Ted and Lucas, I wanted to see more of this wonderful place I¡¯d found myself in.

    So, we¡¯d be going to Canalave City. I was reasonably sure we could defeat Byron¡¯s team, especially if K¨­jin was to get stronger. Zetian would be annoyed, her Flying- and Bug-types weren¡¯t very effective against Steel-types, but at least she wouldn¡¯t take as much damage as she would have facing down Roark.

    My thoughts were buzzing with plans to beat Byron as we got back to the hotel and started packing.

    We¡¯d gotten separate rooms, and mine was a little bit of a mess. The problem with having a bag that could carry everything you wanted was that it could carry everything you wanted.

    K¨­jin had leaned into his Rock-typing for Roark¡¯s Gym, but now we would have to pivot back to the Fire-typing.

    My poor boy was probably going to be getting whiplash.

    I dropped my guitar back into my backpack, my toiletries kit, the Legend Plate, a skirt that I¡¯d decided not to wear today¡­

    I blinked, and stopped, skirt in my hands.

    ¡°What.¡±

    Reaching down into the bag, I pulled out the tablet sized stone.

    ¡°Uh.¡±

    I fumbled at my phone, eventually managing to call the Oreburgh City Gym.

    ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°This is Alina Knighton, I need to talk to Leader Roark.¡±

    The secretary sighed.

    ¡°Leader Roark is in the middle of a-¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s really, really important.¡±

    They were quiet, then sighed. ¡°Very well.¡±

    I got a bit of hold music, then the phone connected again. ¡°Hello?¡±

    ¡°Roark, where¡¯s the Legend Plate?¡±

    ¡°Alina?¡±

    ¡°Yes! Where¡¯s the Plate?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not so sure why you¡¯re so bothered, it¡¯s still in my wall safe, I haven¡¯t brought it over to the museum yet.¡±

    I stared at the stone in my hand.

    ¡°Can you look at it for me?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this all about? I¡¯m a little busy right now-¡±

    ¡°Please?¡±

    Roark was silent for a long second, then he sighed.

    ¡°Very well, I¡¯m opening my safe now.¡±

    There was the quiet clicking of a combination lock, Roark sighing as he obviously got it wrong, and more clicking.

    ¡°Alright, see, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s right-¡±

    ¡°Roark?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s gone.¡±

    His tone carried with it an undercurrent of fear, and anger.

    ¡°Somebody must have broken in, I don¡¯t-¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s here. I have it in my hands.¡±

    I could almost hear the gears in Roark¡¯s head moving.

    ¡°I see.¡± He said. ¡°Actually, no, I don¡¯t. How did you get it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± I hissed into the phone. ¡°It just showed up in my bag! It wasn¡¯t here earlier today, that much is for sure!¡±

    Roark mumbled a few swears. ¡°Alright, this is way above my paygrade. This is some Ghost- or Psychic-type stuff. I¡¯m going to have to call in a specialist.¡±

    ¡°Do I need to stay here? We were planning on visiting Canalave City soon.¡±

    ¡°Canalave?¡± Roark¡¯s pitch rose. ¡°You, uh, right, of course.¡±

    Oh yeah, his dad. There was something going on there, but I wasn¡¯t going to pry.

    ¡°No, no, that¡¯s fine.¡± He continued. ¡°They can go there. I¡¯ll get in touch when I figure out the specifics.¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡± I asked.

    ¡°A specialist in Sinnoh history and mysticism.¡±

    A hollow pit formed in my stomach.

    ¡°You¡¯re not talking about Champion Cynthia, are you?¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Roark barked out a laugh. ¡°I wish, but no, Cynthia¡¯s far too busy for you. No offense. But you¡¯re close! I¡¯m not going to be reaching out to Cynthia.¡±

    ¡°Oh good.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be contacting her grandmother.¡±

 Chapter Sixty-One

    ¡°Oh God.¡± I said, stumbling out of the cab. ¡°Let''s not do that again.¡±

    ¡°Arceus save me.¡± Ted agreed. ¡°I¡¯ve ridden a lot of Pok¨¦mon, but nothing was like that.¡±

    ¡°Oh come on guys! It wasn¡¯t that bad!¡±

    We both turned to stare at Lucas, who was casually sauntering up towards the main body of the Corviknight.

    ¡°Thanks Auntie!¡± He shouted up at the woman.

    ¡°Bah! This was a one-time thing, you understand? Next time it¡¯s gonna cost you!¡±

    ¡°You said that last time!¡±

    The woman grumbled, but let us go without any fuss.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how the Galarians do it.¡± I said.

    ¡°Maybe their lack of tasty food makes them look for excitement in other areas?¡±

    ¡°Their food isn¡¯t bad!¡± Lucas chirped. ¡°They have great curry!¡±

    ¡°And where did they get the curry from?¡± Ted retorted. ¡°The Four Islands, that¡¯s where. Otherwise they¡¯d still probably be eating Clauncher-flavored potato chips, or that Marmite stuff.¡±

    The younger man didn¡¯t seem to have an answer to that, which allowed me to take in Canalave City for the first time.

    It was an odd collection of buildings of a variety of different styles. There was no unifying theme or aesthetic sensibility, but I was somehow reminded of Venice, or perhaps vaguely of St. Petersburg.

    That was probably due to the giant canal cutting down the middle of the city.

    It was a very impressive canal, wide enough for several large cargo ships to sail up and down its length, with smaller sail and motor boats to go zipping around them. Long arched bridges spanned the width of the canal, some of wood, some of metal, and even a few of what looked like marble.

    How they managed to stay suspended was something that was beyond me, but they looked impressive enough.

    ¡°So,¡± I said. ¡°Where to first? Gym? Pok¨¦mon Center?¡±

    The two men exchanged looks.

    ¡°Honestly? I¡¯m kind of sick of sleeping in Pok¨¦mon Centers.¡± Lucas hedged. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m happy to have a subsidized place to stay, but after a while they¡¯re a bit¡­¡±

    ¡°Small? Cramped? Have a weird smell to them?¡± Ted offered.

    ¡°Yeah, exactly. I¡¯ve gotten kinda used to sleeping in that hotel in Oreburgh, I¡¯d rather shell out a little extra money to sleep in comfort.¡±

    ¡°Do you have the money for that? I can help cover it if you need some extra cash.¡±

    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good, the Oreburgh Gym was pretty fast at depositing my winnings.¡±

    Another thing I had missed out on - Ted and Lucas had gotten some money from the Gym for winning. Enough for a hotel room, at the very least.

    Then again, I was also a multi-millionaire from helping to put the members of Teams Aqua and Magma into prison. I could afford to live in a hotel for a good long while, if I really wanted to. Or maybe even buy a house.

    I stopped moving as the thought occurred to me. I could buy a house.

    Maybe not a very big one, I didn¡¯t have that much money after all, but still, a house to myself. I¡¯d never actually even considered the possibility, with the way the economy was going back home, I¡¯d figured that I¡¯d be living in apartments my whole life.

    ¡°Alina?¡± Lucas asked, worry clear in his tone.

    ¡°I just realized I might be able to live in a house.¡±

    They exchanged another look.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Lucas drew the word out. ¡°That''s where people normally live?¡±

    ¡°No, but like a house.¡±

    ¡°Is she okay?¡± He whispered to Ted.

    ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I need to like, start investing. I mean I¡¯m on a Journey right now, but I have a lot of money. Maybe I can start investing in companies? Then I can buy an even bigger house.¡±

    Frantically I started running through which companies I knew that would be smart to invest in. Devon Corporation and Silph Co. were two of the big ones, of course, but there were others.

    Pok¨¦ Mart would be a pretty decent company to invest in as well, they had locations in literally almost every town across the world, but I didn¡¯t know if their stocks were publicly traded. They were technically a part of the Pok¨¦mon League, after all.

    Lysandre Labs would be a poor investment especially with Lysandre himself being arrested, but there was that other one in Galar¡­

    Macro Cosmos!

    No wait, that¡¯s the Chairman¡¯s company, if nobody stops him from summoning Eternatus, I¡¯m sure the stock prices would plummet. But then again, if they found another source of energy it might work?

    Maybe I could invest heavily into them now, and if they start talking about solving the energy crisis I could sell?

    ¡°Uh, Alina, are you thinking about insider trading?¡±

    I jolted out of my thoughts at Ted¡¯s words, looking at my traveling companions with wide eyes.

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°You realize you¡¯ve been muttering to yourself for the past couple minutes, right?¡±

    I could feel my cheeks and ears start to heat up.

    ¡°I, uh, huh? No I wasn¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, you kinda were.¡± Lucas said. ¡°Something about stocks and solving an energy crisis?¡±

    ¡°Ahhaha no I wasn¡¯t.¡± I waved my hands. ¡°Just random thoughts! There¡¯s nothing going on!¡±

    They didn¡¯t look convinced, but thankfully they let the matter drop, and we continued on our way to the nearest hotel.

    I privately resolved to look into financial advisors when I had a free moment.

    After all, I¡¯d done a lot of good and helped spread information that could maybe save the world, surely I could get some more money out of it, right?

    I¡¯d eventually like a house of my own, after all.

    /^\

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°So Ted,¡± Lucas said as we were eating lunch at a nice little bistro. ¡°How¡¯s your other Pok¨¦mon doing, Rakkyo, right?¡±

    We¡¯d gotten a couple of hotel rooms and my plans for financial investments had been put on hold in order to get some food.

    Ted blinked, looking up from his Kalosian onion soup. ¡°Hm? He¡¯s doing fine.¡±

    I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°You never met Rakkyo, did you Lucas?¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. You¡¯ve talked about him before, but I¡¯ve never actually seen him. A Flygon, right? You don¡¯t see many of those.¡±

    Ted set his spoon down, a small smile spreading across his face. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve raised him since he was a Trapinch.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯d you meet?¡± I prodded.

    ¡°Well, I grew up near Mauville, in Hoenn. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve ever been there,¡± he was looking specifically at Lucas, but we both shook our heads. ¡°I figured. Well, it¡¯s a lot different now.¡±

    A melancholic look spread over his face. ¡°Where I grew up, Mauville was a spread out city, and I lived in the suburbs, near the desert. Here, now Watson¡¯s gone ahead and built all of these skyscrapers, it¡¯s weird to think about. Anyways, you can imagine that everybody wanted an Electric-type, every kid wanted to be the next Watson.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°Not a lot of Electric-types near Mauville though. Not unless you count New Mauville.¡±

    Ted nodded. ¡°And New Mauville was mostly off-limits to the general public. Still, it didn''t stop people from trying. Anyways, my parents helped manage the windmills near the desert that provided some of the power to the city, and I wanted to see if I could catch any Electric Pok¨¦mon near there.¡±

    Lucas frowned. ¡°But didn¡¯t you just say there were only a few Electric-types? Besides, I wouldn¡¯t think that Electric Pok¨¦mon would enjoy the desert.¡±

    Ted rubbed the back of his head, looking more than a little sheepish.

    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t know that at the time. I was a kid, and I¡¯d just seen a Pok¨¦Geo special on Electric-types. It mentioned how Pok¨¦mon like Dedenne, Joltik, and Magnemite would flock to power plants and try to eat electricity, so I thought I could find one and bring one home.¡±

    ¡°Despite the fact that of those, only Magnemite actually lives in Hoenn.¡± I said blandly.

    ¡°I was a kid! Anyways, I sneak out of school and hike my way out to the desert, only to get lost in a sandstorm. I¡¯d lived in the area enough to know that they might happen, so at least I was smart enough to pack a scarf and some goggles, but it still got me turned around. So there I am, stumbling around in the desert, and I fall into a Trapinch hole.

    At the bottom there was this tiny little runt of a Trapinch, it couldn¡¯t even chew through my jeans. Turns out, it had tried to bite a Cacnea, and some of the poison needles had been stuck in its mouth. Poor thing was suffering, so I pulled out the needles and gave it a couple of the Pok¨¦ Blocks I¡¯d been hoping to bribe a Magnemite with.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°Magnemite don¡¯t have mouths.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how many times I have to say that I was just a kid. Anyways, we rode out the storm together in that pit for a whole day. When the winds stopped, it turned out that we were only a couple dozen meters away from the monitoring station where my parents worked.¡±

    He chuckled. ¡°Man, did I get an earful for that. ¡®Irresponsible¡¯ and ¡®dangerous¡¯ and ¡®stupid¡¯ were thrown around a lot for being out in a desert storm. After everything was said and done though, The little Trapinch that I¡¯d been stuck with wouldn¡¯t leave me alone, so once I was old enough, I officially became its Trainer. And that¡¯s how I met Rakkyo.¡±

    ¡°But why the name?¡± Lucas asked. ¡°I mean, Onion?¡±

    Ted flushed. ¡°He liked onions, okay? I didn¡¯t, so everytime my mom would make them, I would sneak them to him under the table. I didn¡¯t even realize at the time that when he evolved he would turn green.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a cute story.¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s not so little now though.¡±

    ¡°No he isn''t! I swear that silly Dragon eats more than a Snorlax does! It cost me all of my allowance money just to keep him fed as a kid. Once he started growing though, he just didn¡¯t stop.¡± Ted sighed happily, looking off into the distance.

    ¡°But from what I hear from Professor Birch, he¡¯s starting to heal up pretty well. The bad weather thanks to Kyogre slowed down his recovery, but it seems like he¡¯s doing better now that things have calmed down. Still not at his peak yet, but what can you do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve never really interacted with a Dragon-type all that much, is it true that they¡¯ll refuse medicine?¡± Lucas asked.

    Ted nodded. ¡°For the most part, yeah. Rakkyo¡¯s particularly ornery and prideful, so it¡¯s a struggle to get him to take any medicine. Any recovery takes just that much longer due to their stubbornness, since they see outside help as a weakness.¡±

    ¡°Surely they can¡¯t be that bad?¡±

    ¡°Oh some Dragons aren¡¯t terrible, like Goodra or Dratini, but I hear that the Salamence line are some of the worst offenders.¡±

    ¡°What about Gible and Garchomp?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Actually not that bad! Especially Gible, they¡¯re very food motivated, so if you mix in some medicine with their normal food they¡¯ll eat it all right up. Now Deino I hear are very interesting since they can¡¯t actually see, but from what a fellow Trainer once told me¡­¡±

    /^\

    I¡¯d spent a lot of my time in various libraries throughout my life, especially when I had been getting my degree. Not that I had actually done anything with my medieval studies degree, but it was the principle of the thing.

    For a while there I had even considered getting a job as a librarian, but any of the decent positions needed a master¡¯s degree to apply for, and I¡¯d been too strapped for cash to afford any further education. My awful retail job hadn¡¯t provided me with a lot of insurance, and I still had to pay out the nose for my hormone therapy pills.

    Back then I¡¯d decided that feeling like myself was more important than getting another degree, and I probably would have made the same decision again if I had to.

    The good thing was, I didn¡¯t actually have to make that decision. If I really wanted to, I could go to school for a library science degree here.

    Of course I would have to figure out how to actually prove that I was eligible for college - even though I was a registered Pok¨¦mon Lab Trainer thanks to Professor Rowan and the Pok¨¦mon League, I didn¡¯t exist on paper before the past few months. I had no high school degree, no college degree, nothing.

    Which was a shame, because the Canalave City Public Library was a thing of beauty. The main floor was mostly filled with old (to me) CRT monitors and computers, along with some general reference books and guides. The several floors were filled with books of all different shapes and sizes, fiction, history, philosophy, and of course, books on Pok¨¦mon.

    But it was the basement where I was now, and the main reason why I had convinced my two traveling companions to come to the library with me.

    Not that it was a hard sell, they were both Pok¨¦mon researchers after all.

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve had one of Professor Rowan¡¯s assistants come through.¡± The archivist said. ¡°Most of the time they¡¯re out doing field work.¡±

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve spent my fair share of time outside, but there are some things that you just need to read a book for.¡±

    ¡°Well said! You mentioned you were looking for records from the first settlements of the Galaxy Expedition Team?¡±

    ¡°Yes, specifically around two years into the founding of Jubilife Village, if you have it.¡±

    The archivist in charge of the special collections section of the library hummed.

    ¡°We do have a collection of materials from around that time, although we mostly specialize in pre-Expedition history and remnants of the Celestica peoples. You might have to travel to the Jubilife Archive if you can¡¯t find what you¡¯re looking for here.¡±

    ¡°I might do that, but I¡¯d like to see, regardless.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    The archivist smiled. ¡°Give me a minute, you can sit in the reading room while I get your materials for you.¡±

    Ted, Lucas and I all settled into the comfortable chairs at one of the tables in the indicated room.

    ¡°Why are we looking into this again?¡± Ted asked. ¡°Not that I mind being in the library, but still.¡±

    ¡°Following up on a hunch.¡± I said.

    The other two grumbled a little bit, but we fell into a comfortable silence until the archivist came back.

    ¡°Here you are.¡± He said, offering a set of ancient scrolls and a couple of books. ¡°This is all we have from that time. Like I figured, it¡¯s not much, I can reach out to Jubilife if you¡¯d like?¡±

    ¡°I might take you up on that.¡± I said, smiling. ¡°But for now this should be fine. Thank you very much.¡±

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll be right over there if you need anything.¡± He gestured at a desk nearby. ¡°Please, be careful with these materials. I know you¡¯re all researchers, but these are almost three hundred years old.¡±

    ¡°We will.¡±

    The man nodded, and stepped away.

    ¡°Alright, if there¡¯ll be any information on Hisuian Pok¨¦mon that you want to find, it¡¯ll be here. Maybe there¡¯ll be something to help train Switchback and Ky¨±d¨­.¡±

    That got their attention, and the two men eagerly began looking through the scrolls, and I started slowly unravelling the ancient texts as well.

    It took almost an hour, but I eventually found something that I was looking for, a couple pages of an ancient diary that had some damage rendering parts of it illegible.

    ¡­two years since the founding of Jubilife, and I¡¯m not sure how much longer the vill¡­ We are besieged on all sides by the native Pok¨¦mon, they are quite ¡­ifficult to deal with. However yesterday a rather strange young¡­  tered into the town, wearing quite queer clothing. A local merchant known by Volo also was present, and was showing off a peculiar stone. He called it a¡­ and said it had the power to do wondrous¡­ trange rifts have also been seen, expelling extraordinary¡­. mon.

    I smiled, feeling the weight of the Legend Stone in my pack, even though that should have been impossible.

    A lot of this I had already known, having played through Pok¨¦mon: Legends Arceus, but actually having evidence was something else entirely.

    There had been the early Pok¨¦Dex created by Professor Laventon that Professor Rowan had given me copies of, but having complementary sources was always nice.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± I said, getting the archivist¡¯s attention. ¡°Could you tell me what this is? I can¡¯t quite make out the title.¡±

    The man stepped over.

    ¡°Ah, yes, this is a diary belonging to Sanqua, the captain of the Construction Corps.¡±

    I smiled. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have any copies, would you?¡±

    The man thought, then nodded.

    ¡°We have a scanner, I¡¯m sure we could copy and print something out. For a small fee, of course.¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

 Chapter Sixty-Two

    The Canalave City Gym was surprisingly quiet. It was a simple building, without any of the plants or decor that I¡¯d seen in the other two Gyms before now. The lobby was bland and uninspired, and without the certificates of authentication from the Pok¨¦mon League, I probably would have seen it as any generic office building.

    ¡°Would you like to schedule a Gym Challenge?¡± A bored looking man at the front desk asked.

    ¡°Er, yes, I would.¡±

    ¡°Great. When works for you?¡±

    ¡°I, ah,¡± the question caught me off guard. Normally these things went the other way around.

    ¡°I guess it depends on when Leader Byron is available?¡±

    The man rolled his eyes, and clicked a few times on his computer. He sighed.

    ¡°How about this Monday?¡±

    ¡°That soon?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    I waited a little bit more for more information, but none came.

    ¡°Yeah, sure, that works.¡±

    ¡°Great.¡± The receptionist strung the word out. ¡°What time?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, noon?¡±

    ¡°No noon doesn¡¯t work.¡±

    I stared at him, but the man just sighed again.

    ¡°How about one?¡±

    A few more clicks on the computer.

    ¡°Yeah, sure, that works. Got a Trainer ID?¡±

    Still a little unsure of what exactly was going on, I passed over my ID.

    ¡°Wow, you look like shit in this.¡± He said looking at it.

    ¡°I know.¡± I bit out. ¡°It was a rough time.¡±

    ¡°Geez, no need to get so testy.¡±

    The next several minutes were filled with the half-hearted clacks of computer keys.

    ¡°Alright.¡± The man sighed, and handed back the card. ¡°You¡¯re all set for this Monday at 1:00 PM.¡±

    With that, he went back to ignoring me, focusing on his computer.

    Flabbergasted at the entire interaction, I wandered back to Ted and Lucas, who were both laughing.

    ¡°Interesting guy, huh?¡± Lucas asked.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s one way to put it.¡±

    ¡°Now you know why we wanted to do it separately.¡± Ted said with a smile.

    ¡°Is this normal?¡±

    ¡°No, not really. Jake there is infamous among the Sinnoh Trainer community though.¡± Lucas said. ¡°He¡¯s been working here for years, and treats everybody like garbage.¡±

    ¡°So why hasn¡¯t he been fired?¡±

    Lucas shrugged. ¡°I guess he does his job well enough? Or Byron can¡¯t find somebody to replace him? Who knows.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard some people say that it¡¯s a test.¡± Ted added. ¡°Like a pre-challenge to make sure people don¡¯t flip out when they don¡¯t get their way.¡±

    That sounded ridiculous, but also completely possible.

    ¡°When¡¯s your match?¡±

    ¡°Next Monday at one.¡± I said, still distracted over the entire encounter. ¡°You?¡±

    ¡°Same, except mine¡¯s at three¡± Ted said.

    ¡°This Friday at noon.¡±

    We both turned to look at Lucas, that was in just two days.

    ¡°What?¡± He asked defensively. ¡°My Pok¨¦mon are ready to go.¡±

    Lucas had a point. Out of the three of us, his Pok¨¦mon were most suited to going up against a Steel-type Trainer.

    ¡°Well, good for you.¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯m going to have to do some more training over the weekend.¡±

    ¡°Agreed.¡± Ted said.

    Lucas shrugged, a bit too proudly I thought, but didn¡¯t say much else on the topic.

    ¡°In the meantime,¡± I continued. ¡°I was thinking about checking out the port.¡±

    That got a confused look from my two companions.

    ¡°The port?¡± Ted asked suspiciously. ¡°Like, where all the boats are?¡±

    ¡°I think they¡¯re mostly ships, but yeah.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t an entirely unreasonable idea, at least to me. After all, Darkrai regularly visited Canalave City, and one of the sailor¡¯s kids had been the one to get influenced by it in the games.

    I didn¡¯t know if it was the right time for Darkrai to appear, but it was worth a chance in my opinion.

    Did I want a Dark-type Pok¨¦mon that lived in dreams and was viewed as a monster by many? No, not particularly, but if the opportunity came along¡­

    Unfortunately for me, the opportunity did not come along.

    After an hour or so of looking around the port and asking some rather pointed questions, I¡¯d come to the conclusion that nobody had been having any weird dreams or suffering from any nightmares beyond the usual.

    I¡¯d gotten more than one strange look, and a couple people had brushed me off completely, but while the overall mission had been a failure, I wasn¡¯t too disappointed.

    After all, what did a living shadow that spent most of its time in dreams even eat?

    /^\

    The evolution was both unexpected, and anti-climactic.

    We had a fairly relaxing day of exploring the city followed by some training, mostly figuring out how to get Venus to use Bite more consistently, and then some dinner.

    The hotel rooms had come with a small kitchenette, which was just big enough for me to cook dinner for my team, then meet up with Ted and Lucas so all our Pok¨¦mon could eat together.

    Venus had her normal meal of fish and veggies, Zetian had lounged on a couch and enjoyed some fruit while her bees buzzed around her, and K¨­jin was eating a half-raw steak and rocks.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Actual rocks and pebbles, apparently they were important for a Rock-type¡¯s diet according to the nurses at the Pok¨¦mon Center.

    He seemed to like them, treating them as little more than candy, so I figured it was all good.

    Ted¡¯s team was a little bit more diverse. Mayfly was a messy eater - as it turns out, having swords for hands meant that it was hard to properly hold food, and her fruit got everywhere. Ted had resorted to buying a tarp to keep the floors of the room clean. Switchback ate some poison berries along with some meat that I was pretty sure was a few days past its expiration date, but he didn¡¯t seem to mind.

    Silver, the Cleffa, didn¡¯t actually eat all that much, instead at night he simply sat in the moonlight and absorbed some nutrients that way.

    Which¡­ didn¡¯t actually make any sense when I had tried asking about it. Moonlight was just regular sunlight that was reflected off the moon, so why did it matter that Cleffa had to do so at night? Couldn¡¯t he just get more nutrients during the daytime with regular sunlight?

    For that matter, did that mean that the Cleffa line were essentially plants, using photosynthesis to provide their nutrition?

    I had asked Ted all of this, and he just shrugged and mentioned a couple of science journals that had investigated the topic.

    Lucas¡¯ team was more regular. Sunny, the Monferno, and Maggy, the Magby, both ate some seared fruit and vegetables, along with some regular Pok¨¦Chow. Hardy the Cranidos was eating much the same food as K¨­jin was, except that his meat was completely raw. Finally Ky¨±d¨­, the Dartrix, ate a strange collection of nuts, berries, and a packet of dried insects that Lucas had picked up from¡­ somewhere.

    After an enjoyable evening laughing and chatting with my friends and companions, some light guitar music to help relax, we all went to bed.

    K¨­jin was splayed out on the ground next to the baseboard heater of the hotel room, Zetian was sleeping in her Pok¨¦ Ball, and Venus was in her usual spot, curled up between my arms.

    Our nightly ritual was almost complete, so I turned off the lamp, leaned over and kissed the top of her head. Except this time, instead of drifting off to sleep with a bed-hog, a wave of light washed over me.

    I cried out, throwing my arms over my eyes, but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop the light from searing my retinas.

    It didn¡¯t last very long, and a couple of seconds later instead of a relatively tiny Eevee sitting in my arms, there was a much larger and heavier form in my bed.

    One that was also glowing slightly, although it was hard to tell with the spots in my eyes left over from the wave of light.

    Reaching the lamp on the bedside table took a bit of fumbling, but after a moment I was able to turn it back on and see what was happening.

    Laying down next to me was a very confused Umbreon.

    Venus was now about three times the size she had been, and her long, almost shaggy fur and mane had shortened, turning a deep black. Soft, yellow circles were glowing on her legs, body, and tail, and her ears flickered back and forth as she tried to figure out what was going on.

    I had always seen Umbreon as one of the more dog-like Eeveelutions, but looking at an actual Umbreon my perception changed. Venus was now much more fox-like, except for her ears which reminded me a bit of a rabbit.

    Wait, aren¡¯t foxes technically dogs?

    They were related in some way, but I couldn¡¯t put my finger on it.

    Regardless, she looked like a pitch-black fox with rabbit ears.

    Venus opened her mouth and tried to do¡­ something, but instead of whatever noise she had meant to make, instead a surprisingly high-pitched squeak came out.

    My not-so-little-anymore partner reared up in confusion at the noise of her own voice, and then toppled over backwards, unused to the new weight distribution of her body.

    I stared at Venus, currently scrambling around in the sheets and only getting more caught up in them, and then laughed.

    There was no stopping it, it started in the base of my stomach and rolled upwards before bursting out of me.

    Venus¡¯ new, much larger ears twitched, and she stopped flailing around to look at me with big red eyes.

    I swept her up in my arms, letting out a soft oof as I learned that she was much heavier than she used to be.

    That didn¡¯t stop me from cradling her and kissing the top of her head again, but it did mean that I had to put her down sooner rather than later.

    I carefully put her back down on the bed and yawned, rubbing my eyes as I looked at the clock.

    10:32 PM.

    ¡°Alright.¡± I muttered as K¨­jin continued to snore by the baseboard.

    He had slept through the entire experience.

    ¡°Time to go to the Pok¨¦mon Center.¡±

    It was better to get Pok¨¦mon who evolved checked out right away, and the Pok¨¦mon Center was a 24/7 institution.

    Venus nodded, and hopped down off the bed, walking towards the door of the hotel room.

    Then, with her new, much longer legs, she stepped on her own tail and tripped, sprawling on the ground.

    She stared up at me piteously, but I shook my head.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not carrying you the entire way there.¡±

    Venus huffed and got to her feet, much more carefully this time and continued to strut towards the door.

    I did notice that she kept glancing down to see where she was walking, however.

    /^\

    ¡°Hah!¡± Lucas crowed. ¡°I called it! Pay up!¡±

    Ted grumbled, but pulled out his wallet and passed Lucas a couple of coins.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry? Were you betting on Venus evolving?¡± I asked over the breakfast table.

    We had decided to skip the hotel¡¯s lackluster continental breakfast in exchange for a meal at one of the local Yoshida Coffee branches, and I had revealed Venus¡¯ new evolution to them.

    ¡°Not exactly.¡± Ted said sullenly.

    ¡°Yes we were! Two different bets, actually. One was when Venus would evolve, and the other was into which form.¡±

    ¡°I had bet that she wouldn¡¯t evolve for another month, and that she would have evolved into a Sylveon.¡±

    ¡°And I, on the other hand, had the wisdom and foresight to know that Venus would evolve sooner rather than that, and that she would be either an Espeon or an Umbreon.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I feel about you guys exchanging money on this.¡±

    Ted and Lucas shared a look, before Lucas smiled and opened his hand.

    Two coins sat in his palm, and they were both a dollar - equivalent to maybe a penny in my old life.

    My frown vanished and instead I rolled my eyes.

    ¡°Idiots.¡± I said with a smile.

    ¡°That¡¯s us!¡±

    ¡°In all honesty though, how did this happen?¡± Ted asked, leaning forwards to look at Venus more closely.

    Venus, the good sport, flicked her now much-longer ear at me and continued to eat her larger breakfast portion in relative silence.

    ¡°Honestly? I¡¯m not exactly sure myself. She evolved last night when we were getting ready to go to bed, nothing out of the ordinary happened, just our usual nightly routine until my retinas got cooked. I was hoping one of you had more information.¡±

    I looked at Ted, who looked at Lucas, who shrugged.

    ¡°I¡¯d have to ask Rowan.¡± He said. ¡°Honestly Umbreon, Espeon, and Sylveon are much more esoteric evolutions than Eevee¡¯s other options. You can get away with using Moon Shards and Sun Shards for the first two options, respectively, but in terms of the actual processes which govern the evolution¡­¡±

    He shrugged again, holding his hands out helplessly.

    ¡°It¡¯s different for each Pok¨¦mon. Some researchers say it¡¯s due to feeling safe and comfortable with their Trainer or their environment, others say it¡¯s a feeling of self-satisfaction and fulfillment, but it¡¯s very complicated. We still don¡¯t understand it, and not just for Eevees, but for all Pok¨¦mon that evolve this way.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard it referred to as ¡®Friendship¡¯.¡± I said.

    Ted and Lucas both started as they realized I was talking about my otherworldly knowledge.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not inaccurate I suppose.¡± Ted said slowly.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not.¡± Lucas frowned and looked down at his plate. ¡°I don¡¯t think it covers the full spectrum of what we¡¯re talking about, but it does fit nicely into a few categories.¡±

    ¡°If I remember correctly, Cleffa is another Pok¨¦mon that evolves that way.¡± I offered.

    Lucas shook his head.

    ¡°The entire Cleffa line is even more mysterious than most.¡± He said. ¡°At least Eevee are bred in captivity, allowing for easier access for researchers to study them. Cleffa and Clefairy, on the other hand, are reclusive at the best of times.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it, once we got back to Oreburgh I had to ask Professor Birch and Rowan for any materials they had relating to the evolutionary line.¡± Ted groused. ¡°And Birch barely had anything. They¡¯re not found in the wild in Hoenn, after all. Some say there¡¯s been sightings of them on the coast near Rustboro City, but nothing¡¯s been confirmed. The few Trainers who have evolved a Cleffa and wrote down their experiences mostly just say that they evolved when they feel safe and comfortable in their environment.¡±

    ¡°And do you think Silver is feeling that way?¡± I asked, looking over at the small huddle of our Pok¨¦mon who were taking their breakfast.

    Silver, the Cleffa in question, seemed to be getting more comfortable with his new teammates, but he was still actively hiding the last of his breakfast Berries from the greedy eyes of Switchback and Ky¨±d¨­. Whenever they would get too close, he would swat at them with his stubby arms.

    ¡°No idea.¡± Ted said. ¡°I mean, I would like to think so, but it¡¯s hard to tell sometimes.¡±

    I nodded and was about to say something about the little I knew of the line, but my phone beeped and I sighed.

    ¡°What¡¯s that about?¡± Lucas asked.

    It took only a second to check the text message, but it caused a strange vortex of dread and excitement in my stomach.

    ¡°Roark just got back to me with a time and location for a meeting.¡± I said.

    ¡°Oh? With who? And when?¡±

    I gulped. ¡°Somebody who should be able to help me with the Legend Plate, in thirty minutes.¡±

    Standing up, I withdrew all of my Pok¨¦mon besides Venus, who needed the exercise to get used to her new form.

    ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to get to the library.¡±

 Chapter Sixty-Three

    ¡°So you¡¯re the one who''s got everybody in a tizzy.¡±

    I swallowed and nodded, looking over at the older woman sitting across from me.

    ¡°I guess so?¡±

    ¡°You guess so? Either you are or you¡¯re not, there¡¯s no guessing involved.¡±

    This was going to be a long conversation.

    Cynthia¡¯s grandmother was one Professor Carolina, a former researcher on various legends and myths in Sinnoh. Well, she was supposed to be retired, but evidently the slow life didn¡¯t agree with her, and she¡¯d been continuing to pump out books and research papers for years.

    She had once been a tall woman, although age had caused her to shrink somewhat, but her presence seemed to fill the entire room. Despite the lines on her face and the grey in her hair, there was a fire in her eyes that was honestly inspiring, and I hoped that I could be like that when I was older.

    Professor Carolina looked me up and down, then snorted. ¡°You¡¯re too thin and small to have people talking about you so much. Here.¡±

    She took out a small tin, and slid it across the table from me. Inside there were some shortbread cookies, shaped to look like Chinglings.

    I took a second look at the Professor¡¯s hairpiece - what I had thought was a beautiful bell and ribbon was actually a Chingling sleeping in her hair.

    ¡°I, uh, thank you?¡±

    ¡°So, I was enjoying my wonderful retirement when all of a sudden a young man by the name of Roark called me up. He said he had a strange girl with a strange tablet, and he couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of it.¡±

    ¡°Yes ma¡¯am. I have it with me.¡±

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see it.¡±

    I gulped and took out the Legend Plate from my bag, placing it on the table between us.

    Professor Carolina¡¯s eyes widened, then narrowed as she looked between the Plate and I.

    ¡°I see. May I?¡±

    She gestured at the Plate.

    ¡°Please ma¡¯am, be my guest.¡±

    The professor hummed as she picked it up carefully, turning it over in her hands. She was silent for five long minutes as she studied the tablet, then gently placed it back on the table before turning to me.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re not from this world.¡±

    I nearly choked on a piece of shortbread.

    ¡°I, what? I mean, that would be ridiculous, right?¡±

    Professor Carolina rolled her eyes. ¡°Please girl, you may be fooling most people, but not me.¡±

    She tapped the Legend Plate. ¡°My grandmother told me stories of her grandmother, tales that have been passed down through generations of women in my family. I told those same stories to my daughter, who then told them to her daughter. Cynthia took to them more than many of my family have, but she¡¯s still just an amateur when it comes to history.

    ¡°My grandmother¡¯s grandmother told her of a stranger who came to this land long ago, who emerged from a rift in the sky to help the people when things were bad, and Jubilife Village was on the verge of collapse. They went around and collected a bunch of tablets and met with Arceus, apparently.¡±

    She fixed me with a gimlet eye.

    ¡°But I would imagine you know what I am talking about, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Pok¨¦mon: Legends Arceus.

    I nodded.

    ¡°Good, I don¡¯t have to go over it again then. I¡¯ve told that story so many times it¡¯s becoming old. These old geezers in their ivory towers roll their eyes whenever somebody brings up oral storytelling as a method of passing down history.¡±

    ¡°Right? It¡¯s like if it wasn¡¯t written down, then it doesn¡¯t exist for them.¡±

    Her eyes flashed with satisfaction. ¡°Ahah! You get it. I¡¯m guessing you studied history yourself, wherever you came from?¡±

    ¡°I did, with a focus on women and working-class lives and experiences in what we would call the medieval age. Um, I¡¯m not sure how long ago that was for you, but for us it was about five hundred to over a thousand years ago.¡±

    Disregarding the fact that the ¡°medieval ages¡± was an incredibly vague and non-specific description, and was relatively useless as an actual distinguishing time frame.

    ¡°Well good. You understand then. But why call me out here if you know what¡¯s going on?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the thing, I don¡¯t know.¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m here, or why the Legend Plate showed up near me. I tried to give it to Roark to be kept safe, but when we were leaving for Canalave City, it just reappeared in my bag.¡±

    ¡°Really now?¡± She took a closer look at the tablet. ¡°Well, that¡¯s new to me. I¡¯ve never heard any stories of tablets teleporting around. Then again, grandmother talked about how the stranger gathered them all together, I doubt they were trying to leave any of them behind. Still, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it really did refuse to leave your side.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    She rolled her eyes. ¡°Arceus is the God of Pok¨¦mon, girl. Our two champion deities in Sinnoh are the gods of space and time. We have numerous reported instances of space-time disruptions and rifts, even ones that were written down so that the old men can¡¯t complain about them. If Arceus really wanted this stone to be with you, it¡¯s going to stay with you.¡±

    ¡°And¡­ you think that Arceus wants it to be with me?¡±

    She stared over the table at me. ¡°Are you thick, girl? Where did you find this tablet?¡±

    ¡°When I went down into a cave to investigate some strange reports of Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Right.¡± She drew the word out. ¡°So you went into a random cave and found the Plate. Something that has been just a myth for generations. And you coincidentally managed to find it, and coincidentally you happen to be from another world. And when you tried to pawn it off to somebody else, it coincidentally managed to reappear back in your bag?¡±

    I flushed and looked down at the table.

    ¡°Well, when you put it like that¡­¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t say why Arceus wants you to have the Plate, but it does, and it¡¯s willing to bend the rules of the world to make sure that it stays with you.¡±

    ¡°Oh god.¡± I stuttered. ¡°That¡¯s, that¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°A terrifying amount of responsibility?¡±

    I nodded.

    ¡°Your fear is understandable. I would feel the same way!¡±

    ¡°But what are they? I don¡¯t even really know.¡±

    Well, I knew what they were supposed to do in the games - held items to give Arceus a different type.

    ¡°Now that,¡± Professor Carolina said, leaning back in her chair. ¡°Is a question that even I don¡¯t know the answer to. This is my first time actually seeing one in person, you understand.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Oh they¡¯re talked about in texts and stories, and apparently there¡¯s a rubbing of one floating around somewhere, but I personally think it¡¯s a hoax. As best as we know, they are, or were, records of ancient humanity in Hisui.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s some carving on that one.¡± I said, and she nodded. ¡°Can you decipher them?¡±

    The professor spent another long while turning the tablet over in her hands, studying the carvings.

    I¡¯d never really taken a while to investigate them before. While we were in the Grand Underground I¡¯d been too busy with simply trying to survive, and once we had gotten back to Oreburgh it had only been a couple of days until I had passed it off to Roark.

    Honestly, some part of me had been scared to look at it too closely.

    ¡°Well, this looks like ancient text to me. Some of it is understandable, albeit using very dated characters;  From all creations, over all creations, does the Original One watch over all. That being, Arceus, of course¡± Carolina said, distractedly. ¡°But unfortunately, most of it is useless.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡±

    ¡°Hm? Oh, yes, I suppose you wouldn¡¯t speak it, would you? It appears this tablet serves as a kind of key - not one for opening doors, but for translation. Presumably the other tablets¡¯ text is coded, and without this particular item, they¡¯re just squiggles in rock.¡±

    She frowned. ¡°That might mean that the rubbing could actually be legitimate. I guess I owe somebody an apology.¡±

    I rubbed my head and swore. It wasn¡¯t the Legend Plate in that it was legendary, it was named that because it was a legend to translate things.

    ¡°So what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to bring it somewhere? Give it to somebody?¡±

    Professor Carolina cackled. ¡°I don¡¯t know! Isn¡¯t that so exciting? Every time I think I start to have a handle on the world we live in, something else proves me wrong. I can¡¯t answer that question for you girl, and I don¡¯t know if anybody else can.¡±

    My shoulders slumped. ¡°So what was all this for? Nothing?¡±

    ¡°No. Not nothing.¡± Her voice was softer than it had been. ¡°I understand this must seem like a lot, and it is. However, while I don¡¯t have many answers, I can help alleviate some of your concerns.¡±

    Professor Carolina held up a finger. ¡°First, I will talk to that young whippersnapper Roark for you. I¡¯ll explain what I can, and tell him to buzz off about the rest.¡±

    Another finger went up. ¡°Next, I will ask around to see if anybody else has heard about these kinds of Plates. I¡¯ll try and get a copy of the rubbing I mentioned earlier, and hopefully can find some more. I still have some contacts from my university days, though most are older than me.¡± She cackled at the thought.

    ¡°And finally, here.¡± She fumbled in a pocket, then came out with a folded piece of paper. ¡°My address and house phone number. I don¡¯t have one of those fancy modern cell phones, so don¡¯t bother trying to reach me anywhere else. If you ever need anything, come to Celestic Town. I might know a couple other old women who can help out with anything you might need.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Thank you, ma¡¯am.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t exactly what I had been looking for. I would rather that she would take the Legend Plate away from me, or at least give me a proper task or even a quest of some kind.

    But apparently things were never that easy.

    ¡°Relax girl. Things are never as dire as they look. This may not have seemed like a productive session, but I will let you know when I learn more.¡±

    Her eyes glinted. ¡°And I will learn more.¡±

    ¡°But first;¡± She reached back into her pocket and pulled out another item. ¡°Here, to help cheer you up. Do you mind if I take a rubbing of this Plate? I think I have some supplies in my bag.¡±

    As she reached deep into her purse, I took a look at the item she¡¯d passed to me, and sighed.

    I guess in every universe grandmothers were the same.

    Professor Carolina held a piece of paper over the tablet and began rubbing it with a chunk of charcoal, and I popped the caramel candy into my mouth while I waited.

    It was as hard as a rock.

    /^\

    Canalave City was truly beautiful at night.

    While in the day time all the different architectural styles tended to clash, when the sun set and the street lamps kicked on, everything looked almost magical.

    Every street we walked through seemed to be from different countries and time periods, brought together by the warm orange lights. Jubilife City had reminded me a little bit of Boston, where there was always life and movement at night, even if it wasn¡¯t as busy as New York City.

    Canalave, however, was different.

    Oh there was some life to the city at night, to be sure, but it was more subdued, quieter. Instead of cars rushing their way down the streets, trolleys trundled their way down their tracks, with a few tired looking people and Pok¨¦mon briefly available through the windows.

    Every few blocks there was a corner store, open signs illuminated by harsher neon lights compared to the warm street lamps.

    There were a few people walking around, either late night walkers like myself, salarymen getting back from their work, or the odd teenager walking to one of those corner stores for some late-night snacks.

    If there were any trucks around, I would have told them to be careful.

    It was a good thing that I was a night owl instead of a morning person, because otherwise living with Venus after her evolution might have been a bit difficult.

    Right now she was currently prancing down the street ahead of me, yellow lights glowing in the near-darkness.

    Every now and again her rabbit-like ears would perk up as she heard one thing or another, and then the circles would disappear as she started to stalk whatever had caught her attention. The first time she had done that it had scared the wits out of me, as she had completely blended into the night.

    I had frantically called out her name, only for her to appear right by my side, cocking her head like she didn¡¯t know what was wrong.

    Now, it was just something I had to get used to.

    Yawning, I checked my watch, only to blink and sigh. It was already past midnight, we¡¯d been taking a walk for the past hour or so.

    ¡°Alright Venus, come on, it¡¯s time to get back to the hotel.¡±

    When she didn¡¯t yip in response, I looked up to see¡­ nothing. She had pulled another one of her disappearing tricks.

    I sighed, and checked the nearby alleyway. It took a second, and I thought she had vanished completely, but then I saw a slightly darker patch of black near the dumpster.

    ¡°Come on Venus, time to go.¡±

    I saw the patch of darkness freeze.

    ¡°I can see you, you know.¡±

    Then I heard it, something crunching between teeth.

    ¡°Are you eating something?¡±

    I squinted, and thought I saw a dirty sandwich wrapper.

    ¡°Hey! Drop it!¡±

    The chewing sped up as I chased her down the alley.

 Chapter Sixty-Four

    As I sat in the spectator seating at the Canalave City Gym, I continued to be impressed at just how good of a Trainer Lucas was.

    He was facing off against Byron, his back straight and his head held high as his Pok¨¦mon dodged, ducked, and used fire to blast their way to victory.

    Even though Lucas was several years younger than I was, he had a lot more experience at training and battling Pok¨¦mon, and it showed. Almost every call he made was the right one; his Pok¨¦mon managed to slip out of the way of most of the blows from Byron¡¯s Pok¨¦mon while managing to hit with their own moves.

    If one of Lucas¡¯ Pok¨¦mon was hit by an attack, it was almost certainly on purpose to allow the enemy to overreach and show an opening.

    That wasn¡¯t to say that Lucas was a perfect battler, he wasn¡¯t, and Byron punished every mistake he made, but the difference between him and I was stark.

    I didn¡¯t know how to feel about that.

    After a few more blows, Maggy the Magby let out a ferocious breath of flame and Byron¡¯s last Pok¨¦mon was knocked out.

    One of the things that always seemed to surprise me was just how short most Pok¨¦mon battles were.

    Most sporting events back home would last for at least an hour, if not several depending on the sport. The majority of Pok¨¦mon battles lasted less than fifteen minutes, especially during the first couple of Gyms. That was when most Pok¨¦mon weren¡¯t very strong, and each side only had two or three.

    I¡¯d seen some of the high-end battles on TV go for longer, with each participant having a full team of six Pok¨¦mon, but even then, they only lasted thirty minutes, forty-five tops.

    The Pok¨¦mon involved could only go for so long before being exhausted by the battles, after all.

    There was something nagging at the back of my head over all of this, but I shook it away as Lucas bowed to Byron and stepped back from the box.

    Byron apparently didn¡¯t like shaking hands so most people simply bowed at the end of their fights.

    ¡°That was a good match.¡± Ted said as we both stood up from our seats.

    ¡°Mhm.¡±

    ¡°Something on your mind?¡±

    ¡°No. Maybe. I¡¯m not sure.¡±

    I actually had to shake my head slightly to bring myself back to the present.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. Let''s go congratulate Lucas.¡±

    Most of the crowd remained sitting, waiting through the break between contestants, but there were enough people leaving to get snacks or visit the bathroom that it took Ted and I longer than expected to find the younger man.

    We found him getting stonewalled by the receptionist at the main desk of the Gym, and instead of helping him out, we decided to watch him struggle.

    It was a few minutes before he managed to accomplish whatever it was he was trying to do, and our sides were aching with barely restrained laughter by the end of it.

    ¡°You guys suck.¡± He said, as he stomped over.

    ¡°We can¡¯t let your head get too big with your victory.¡± Ted said.

    ¡°It¡¯s good to stay humble.¡± I wiped away a tear. ¡°But seriously, good job on the win.¡±

    ¡°Thanks.¡± He grumbled.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go get some food, you deserve it.¡±

    ¡°Sure, let me stop by the Pok¨¦mon Center first. Are we feeling Paldean? Galarian?¡±

    ¡°Paldean sounds good.¡±

    ¡°Cool.¡±

    ¡°Of course, since you won it¡¯s on you.¡±

    Lucas scowled, but I could see the smile underneath it.

    /^\

    ¡°This!¡± I said, holding the object in the air. ¡°Is a hose!¡±

    K¨­jin panted as his head cocked in confusion.

    We were in one of the back lots of the Pok¨¦mon Center, where I had requested a specific area to help train K¨­jin in.

    I made sure to keep the hose pointed away from my fire-dog, then turned on the water.

    It started pumping away, streaming out onto the ground.

    K¨­jin yelped in surprise and betrayal, scrambling away from the hated liquid. Regular water, uninfused with Type Energy, wouldn¡¯t actually hurt him all that much - not like some of the other Fire-type Pok¨¦mon like Magcargo. That didn¡¯t mean he liked getting wet.

    ¡°Easy there! It¡¯s a demonstration. See, this is what your fire is like right now.¡±

    I wobbled the hose around, the water streaming steadily.

    ¡°See, try to breathe some fire.¡±

    K¨­jin looked at me dubiously, but got in his stance and opened his mouth wide, breathing out. A large gout of flame burst out.

    ¡°Good! See, we¡¯ve worked on consistency and how long you can keep your fire going. But now we¡¯re going to work on strength. The way you¡¯re currently doing it, your mouth is like this hose nozzle. See, it¡¯s all big and round.¡±

    I shut off the water, and once the last remnants of it drizzled out onto the ground K¨­jin came over to sniff at it.

    ¡°Back up now.¡± Once he was clear, I started the water flowing again. ¡°I was never any good at physics, but this is one of the things I did manage to learn in class. Let''s say you have a constant stream of something - in this case it¡¯s water. It will always keep flowing at the same rate, through the tube and out the opening. But if you make the opening smaller, the water actually goes faster. See, it has to keep flowing, no matter what, so it speeds up to get out of the way of all the water behind it.¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Or something like that.

    ¡°Now, watch this;¡±

    I showed K¨­jin the hose, then pressed my thumb over most of the opening. Sure enough, the water turned from a steady stream into a pressurized jet.

    K¨­jin yelped again, and I turned the water off.

    ¡°Right now your mouth is like the end of this hose. It¡¯s big and open. That¡¯s not a bad thing, but if we want to get your fire into something that¡¯s stronger, I think this is a good way to do it.¡±

    He looked up at me, his dark eyes serious.

    ¡°I haven¡¯t forgotten how we met.¡± I said solemnly. ¡°That other Growlithe, it wasn¡¯t very kind to you, was it?¡±

    A growl built up in his throat.

    I didn¡¯t know exactly what had happened to K¨­jin before we met, when Kane was trying to capture them, but I doubt it was anything good. K¨­jin had barely been able to move during the battle, and I couldn¡¯t forget the look of disdain that the other Hisuian Growlithe had given him.

    ¡°I know you want to be stronger. And you¡¯ve been doing a good job of it. Strength isn¡¯t everything though, control is just as important.¡±

    Honestly, I didn¡¯t even really know what K¨­jin wanted. Not for the first time I wished that my Pok¨¦mon could speak, but alas, I didn¡¯t have any Psychic-types on my team to help translate. But I was sure we would be able to figure it out together.

    ¡°This will teach you control, at least a little bit, okay? Do you think you can try it?¡±

    K¨­jin eyed the hose before opening his mouth, then closing it slightly. He repeated the process several more times before I realized he was doing a dry run, so to speak.

    I smiled and rubbed his head, causing the dog-like Pok¨¦mon to lose concentration and bark in surprise.

    He looked up at me in betrayal, then jumped up onto my chest, knocking me back to the ground and licking my face.

    ¡°Augh! Dog cooties!¡± I yelled, and eventually managed to push him off me. ¡°Alright, you had your fun, let¡¯s get to work, shall we?¡±

    It wasn¡¯t until he started breathing fire that I realized he had purposefully knocked me into the puddle of water from the hose.

    /^\

    ¡°So today, we¡¯re not going to be working on an attack.¡±

    Zetian drooped a little, her mandibles clacking in disappointment.

    She was a good listener, and she really cared for her bees. I could see it every time she interacted with her hive. In fact, she seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time taking care of each and every one of them, going so far as to pet each one at least once a day.

    Zetian also seemed to be a mite over-protective of them when it came to water, and as soon as it started raining or a thunderstorm came through, she made sure to shepard all of them into her hive as soon as possible.

    But Zetian was also a little¡­ overzealous when it came to her attacks. If I was feeling uncharitable I might have called her vicious, or say that she was far too eager to sting something.

    ¡°Listen, you¡¯re doing really well so far, okay? Your control with your bees is improving every day, don¡¯t think I can¡¯t see it. But just because we¡¯re not working on an attack doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re not going to be working on something just as important.¡±

    That caught her attention.

    ¡°One thing you, as a Vespiquen, are really good at is being bulky. I don¡¯t mean that in a physical way, you have a very nice snatched waist and all, but you¡¯re resistant to a lot of different kinds of damage.¡±

    Vespiquen did have a pretty high defense stat, at least as far as I could remember from the games. It was times like this that I desperately wished I had access to Bulbapedia or Serebii again, with every Pok¨¦mon¡¯s stats and move pool.

    ¡°But what we¡¯re working on right now is how to heal yourself when you get injured. It¡¯s a move called Roost.¡±

    Zetian leaned forwards, her red eyes gleaming.

    I¡¯d done some research into the move on the public computers available in the Pok¨¦mon Center, checking the forums to make sure my memory was correct. It had been annoying enough to the point where I was considering buying a laptop, but all of the ones available were large, hefty, and even with my large bank account I didn¡¯t want to spend that much money on one.

    ¡°Basically what you do is you stop flying for a moment, then use that Flying-type energy to heal yourself. Think about it like you¡¯re redirecting that energy, channeling it into your body in a different way. Did your mother or¡­ what was his name? The Vespiquen that the Honey Man had ever do something like that?¡±

    She thought for a minute, then shook her head.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. It might make things a bit more complicated, I don¡¯t exactly know how to do this myself, but that just means that we can work on this together. Alright, first steps, can you stop flying?¡±

    Zetian eyed me for a second, then gracefully moved her abdomen out of the way so she could lounge on the ground.

    ¡°Great! And now can you rest?¡±

    Without eyelids she couldn¡¯t actually close her eyes, but she relaxed. I think it was called torpor, the state of sleep that bees went into.

    ¡°Good job! Can you focus the energy that went into flying into trying to heal yourself?¡±

    Zetian didn¡¯t answer, continuing to laze on the ground.

    I stayed quiet for at least five minutes, staring eagerly as she concentrated.

    ¡°Well?¡±

    Zetian startled, her gaze darting all around the training field as she started to hover into the air again.

    I eyed her suspiciously. ¡°Did you just fall asleep? Like, just straight up took a nap?¡±

    There was the distinct impression that if Zetian could blush, she would be right now.

    I sighed. ¡°Okay, so this is going to take some time. That¡¯s okay, let¡¯s try it again from the top.¡±

    /^\

    ¡°Okay Venus, you¡¯ve had the biggest change out of all of us so far.¡± I said, sitting across from my first Pok¨¦mon.

    ¡°When Zetian evolved, she got bigger and looked a lot different, but fundamentally her types haven¡¯t changed. When K¨­jin evolves, he¡¯ll remain a Fire-/Rock-type. But you went from being a Normal Pok¨¦mon, to being a Dark-type. That means a lot of things will change for you.

    First of all, before you couldn¡¯t hurt Ghost-types, and they couldn¡¯t hurt you. Now they can hurt you, but you¡¯ll do a lot more damage to them. Also any Psychic-types you run across will be the same way.¡±

    I frowned. ¡°Not that we¡¯ll probably be running into a lot of Psychic-types. I think the biggest Trainer who specializes in Psychic-types is Lucian in the Elite Four, and I doubt we¡¯ll ever get to the point where we¡¯ll be challenging him. Still, something to think about.

    ¡°On the other hand, you¡¯re now weaker to Bug-types, Fairy-types, and still vulnerable to Fighting-types like before. That means that Zetian¡¯s going to have an edge in your spars now, as well as Ted¡¯s whole team.¡±

    Venus huffed, scratching at her ear with one of her paws. Over the past day or so she¡¯d finally started to get accustomed to her new form, and like Zetian I¡¯d been leaving her out of her Pok¨¦ Ball as much as possible to help the process along.

    ¡°Something else to keep in mind is that you''re now stronger in literally every other way than you were before. You¡¯re faster, you hit harder, and you can take more hits as well.¡±

    Like Zetian, the best way to get to Venus¡¯ heart was through plenty of compliments, and my Umbreon preened under the praise.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be great, but first we gotta make sure that you¡¯re comfortable in your new body. It was amazing how you managed to get Bite out in the battle against Roark, but now that you¡¯re a Dark-type, it¡¯ll do even more damage. So we¡¯re going to practice until you get it down pat, okay? Next up on the list is another move, Snarl.¡±

    Venus cocked her head, and showed her teeth. They were much bigger and sharper than they had been when she was just a little Eevee.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re very threatening.¡± I rubbed behind her ear, and her back leg began thumping against the ground.

    ¡°But the move I¡¯m thinking of is a lot more like a roar. When you evolved, your vocal cords changed with you, and you should be able to harness that Dark-type energy to hurt your opponent. Does that make sense?¡±

    Her red eyes were contemplative, and she tried to snarl or roar a couple different times. They all came out squeaky and high-pitched, and I smiled down at her.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯ll get there. Now, let¡¯s try this again.¡±

 Chapter Sixty-Five

    ¡°Challenger ready?¡± The referee called.

    ¡°Ready!¡±

    ¡°Leader Byron, ready?¡±

    ¡°Ready.¡±

    The referee dropped his hand.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    ¡°Venus!¡± I called. ¡°Bite!¡±

    My not-so-little Umbreon lept forwards, her teeth clicking together loudly as she snapped at the enemy Bronzor.

    ¡°Dodge it!¡± Byron said, but the disk-like Pok¨¦mon was too slow.

    A set of shadowy jaws appeared around the other Pok¨¦mon, crunching down on its body. The Bronzor let out a wail of pain that shot through my head.

    Literally, in this particular instance. The Bronzor didn¡¯t have a mouth, and instead its cry was psychic, bypassing my ears to go straight into my brain.

    It was a unique experience, and one I didn¡¯t want to experience again. It reminded me too much of the Mime Jr. that I had saved from Kane several months ago.

    Letting Venus go first instead of K¨­jin against a Steel-type Trainer was a bit of a risky play, but in my admittedly limited research, I¡¯d seen that Byron often sent out his Bronzor first in fights. While Venus wasn¡¯t strong against Steel-types, her new Dark typing was formidable against the Psychic-typing of the Bronzor.

    Thankfully my move had paid off.

    ¡°Start dancing!¡± I ordered, and her ear flicked.

    Byron, for his part, had a slight frown on his face.

    ¡°Flash Cannon.¡±

    I tried not to smile as I realized that I¡¯d just beaten his Bronzor.

    The Bronzor tilted, catching the light from the overhead lamps, and used its reflective surface to concentrate it into a beam of energy that caught Venus on her hindquarters.

    My Umbreon yipped in pain, but powered through the blow.

    While I may not have been as good at battling as Ted or Lucas, I was still more than capable of doing research. Despite being half Steel-type, Bronzor didn¡¯t learn all that many Steel-type moves, and at lower ¡°levels¡± they mostly focused on the Psychic half, along with a small handful of Ghost- and Dark-type attacks.

    I was pretty sure that Flash Cannon was one of the only moves that Byron could use that was even somewhat effective.

    Right now, it was just a battle of attrition between Venus and the Bronzor, and that wasn¡¯t really a competition at all.

    Venus dodged what few attacks she could, but mostly focused on powering through the Bronzor¡¯s Flash Cannons to land her Bites.

    Her final attack came less than a minute after the battle had begun.

    The muscles in her legs were almost visible through the dark fur as she tensed, then leaped forwards. The Bronzor got off another attack, and Venus was a black blur as she jumped through the beam of light.

    She flew through the air, and a pair of shadowy teeth clamped down around her opponent.

    With a flick of her neck, the Bronzor was sent crashing to the ground, solidly unconscious.

    ¡°Leader Byron¡¯s Pok¨¦mon is unable to continue battling!¡± The referee called. ¡°Leader Byron, please recall your Pok¨¦mon and send your next one out!¡±

    ¡°Hey Ref! I¡¯d like to use one of my substitutions!¡±

    The referee looked over at me, and nodded.

    Venus disappeared back into her ball, and I released K¨­jin.

    He entered the battlefield with a happy howl, his tail wagging so hard it caused his legs to jump from side to side.

    Since I was the challenger for this particular fight, my Pok¨¦mon were released first, so Byron could respond in kind.

    He grimaced again, but released his next Pok¨¦mon.

    I froze, my hands grabbing the railing in front of me to try and stop them from shaking.

    Rationally, logically, I knew that it wasn¡¯t the same Steelix that I¡¯d fought so long ago, underneath Oreburgh City.

    But for a brief moment, I was back in the tunnels, staring up at a gigantic steel monster that was going to crush me and my Pok¨¦mon.

    Then K¨­jin growled, his entire chest resonating with the sound, and I was snapped back into the present, catching the tail end of the referee telling us to begin fighting again.

    ¡°K-K¨­jin!¡± I called, my voice unsteady. ¡°Ember!¡±

    K¨­jin was a good boy. He hadn¡¯t been with us, down there in the dark. He didn¡¯t have the same kind of hesitation, of fear that I did.

    All he saw was a big metal snake.

    The training we did over the weekend showed itself as he launched his first attack at the Steelix. Instead of his old, larger flames, his Ember was now like a short jet of concentrated fire.

    The Steelix reared back and roared, the sound shaking the area as a spot on its surface started to glow from the heat.

    Then the last segment of its tail began to spin, and the Pok¨¦mon dug it into the ground.

    Sand whipped up into the air and I threw up my hands to protect my eyes, though it never got that far. The storm battered against the psychic walls established before the fight, leaving everything beyond the arena perfectly untouched.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    But in the moments before the Sandstorm had gone up, I¡¯d managed to get a good look at the Steelix.

    It¡¯s smaller.

    Venus, Zetian, and I had beaten the Steelix underneath Oreburgh. We could beat this one, especially with K¨­jin on our team.

    My hands stopped shaking, and I dropped them back onto the railing.

    ¡°K¨­jin!¡± I commanded, having to raise my voice so he could hear it through the Sandstorm. ¡°Flame Wheel!¡±

    There was a yip of acknowledgement, and a new light blinked into existence through the haze of the storm.

    My Growlithe tore a path through the Sandstorm wreathed in flame, the dirt and gravel flowing in strange eddies as the fire ate the oxygen around it and changed the airflow.

    The Steelix roared in pain again, and I closed my eyes.

    There was nothing else I had to do right now. K¨­jin had this handled, and I had to leave it up to him.

    The rest of the battle passed quickly, but even if I¡¯d had my eyes open, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to see any of it through the storm.

    When the wind let up, K¨­jin was standing happily over the unconscious form of the Stelix.

    I let out a long, deep breath.

    ¡°Good job K¨­jin!¡±

    ¡°Leader Byron¡¯s Pok¨¦mon is unable to continue battling!¡± The referee called rotely. ¡°Leader Byron, please recall your Pok¨¦mon and send your next one out!¡±

    ¡°Any substitutions?¡± The referee asked me, and I shook my head.

    ¡°K¨­jin! Come on back over here!¡±

    The little Growlithe yipped, and hurried back over to my side of the arena so Byron could let his next Pok¨¦mon out.

    ¡°Not bad.¡± Byron said as he withdrew his Steelix.

    His hand hesitated over one of the Pok¨¦ Balls at his waist, then moved to another one.

    ¡°Go.¡± He said simply, and a new form appeared in a flash of light on the field.

    Byron was a lot like his son in a lot of ways. They both adored mining and used Pok¨¦mon whose types were associated with minerals. Also their ace Pok¨¦mon were the two Fossil Pok¨¦mon of the Sinnoh Region - Rampardos for Roark, and Bastiodon for Byron.

    I¡¯d seen Byron¡¯s Bastiodon in a couple of televised fights, and like most Gym Leader¡¯s aces, it seemed like a proper monster of a Pok¨¦mon.

    Thankfully, this wasn¡¯t that Bastiodon.

    Bastiodon weren¡¯t the tallest Pok¨¦mon in the world, most of the few surviving examples were only about four feet tall at the most, but this particular one Byron sent out was a little shorter than that. Its shield-like face barely had any scars on it at all, and overall it seemed like it was a little awkward in its own skin as it snorted and pawed at the ground.

    It was definitely younger than Byron¡¯s ace, and based on the small Bastiodon population, was probably even his ace¡¯s kid or grandkid.

    I recognized the signs from my own, admittedly small, experience. This Bastiodon had probably just evolved a little while ago, and it was still getting used to its new body.

    This was one of its first battles after evolving.

    If that was true, it stung a little bit to know that Byron didn¡¯t see me as worthy of using a stronger Pok¨¦mon on. At the same time, it also meant that I was more likely to defeat a newly evolved Pok¨¦mon, and my team could really use the win right now.

    I took another deep breath and shoved my ego aside. I shouldn¡¯t take any Gym Leader¡¯s Pok¨¦mon lightly, Byron was still in the fight.

    ¡°Begin!¡±

    The Bastiodon snorted, steadied its large, shield-like head, and charged.

    /^\

    In the Pok¨¦mon games back on my old world, the stats of each Pok¨¦mon had been broken up into six distinct categories. Health, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. There was a complicated set of values that regulated these stats, IVs and EVs, but I had never paid much attention to them and had no real idea how they worked.

    In general, the higher a stat was, the better the Pok¨¦mon was at it.

    I¡¯d never been big into the competitive Pok¨¦mon scene, but I did know a few things. While there were a few strategies like using Trick Room to make slower Pok¨¦mon move first, for the most part there was one stat that everybody made sure to put at least some effort into.

    Speed.

    A Pok¨¦mon with a higher Speed stat would move first, and depending on the matchup, just a single extra point in Speed could result in victory or defeat.

    Even though in the actual world of Pok¨¦mon these statistics didn¡¯t exist, Trainers here were much the same as those back on Earth, and had cottoned onto the same kind of strategy.

    Speed is life.

    And unfortunately for the Bastiodon, regardless of how much effort Byron had put into training its speed, K¨­jin was just that much faster.

    By the time the Bastiodon had gotten its head ready for ramming, and started charging, K¨­jin was already moving.

    ¡°Fight like it¡¯s Hardy!¡± I shouted, and K¨­jin barked in response.

    Hardy, Lucas¡¯ Cranidos, had the habit of putting his head down and attacking as fast as possible, but it could only move in straight lines when doing so.

    I didn¡¯t know much about the Bastiodon line, but with such a big, heavy head, I figured that any changes to its momentum would have to take a lot of energy and muscle-power.

    If K¨­jin could get around the charging Bastiodon, around that massive shield, he¡¯d be more than able to hit the weaker flanks.

    As K¨­jin started to dash to the side, I looked over and saw a small smile on Byron¡¯s face, and knew I had miscalculated.

    Once K¨­jin was in position, taking a deep breath to let loose his fire, Byron simply called out ¡°Right.¡±

    The Bastiodon turned its head to face K¨­jin and slammed its chin into the ground.

    A deep furrow was dug into the earth, but physics did its job. Almost all of the Bastiodon¡¯s forward momentum was cancelled out, and its weaker body swung around thanks to inertia to be behind the heavy shield of its head, just as K¨­jin let loose his fire.

    The flames whipped past the Bastiodon, and although I could see that a part of its side was looking a little sunburnt, it had managed to avoid most of the blow entirely.

    ¡°Ancient Power.¡±

    The Bastiodon opened its mouth and roared, the sound chilling me to my very bones. It wasn¡¯t like any other roar from a Pok¨¦mon that I¡¯d heard before; this was a clarion call, something that reached out and touched the instincts of my ancestors.

    It spoke to the fears of mammoths stampeding across the steppes, of being hunted by sabertooth tigers in the night, of huddling around the first fire in awe at the power of the gods delivered unto earth.

    Rocks tore themselves free from the ground, flying forwards to smack into K¨­jin. At the same time, the Bastiodon was clearly enhanced by the primeval call, and was moving more fluidly than before.

    I needed a new tactic. Byron had clearly trained his Bastiodon for just this exact purpose, he knew that other Trainers¡¯ Pok¨¦mon were going to be faster than his, and had planned around it.

    If that was the case¡­

    I sighed, and decided to give K¨­jin what he¡¯d wanted all along.

    I was completely convinced by now that K¨­jin¡¯s Ability was Rock Head. He just simply loved headbutting things too much for it to be anything else.

    Flame Wheel was, at its core, a charging move. Now if the Pok¨¦mon using it were smart, they would stop just before they actually ran into their opponent, causing the fire to lash out at their enemy.

    K¨­jin, the loveable goofball, wasn¡¯t very smart, but he did have a very hard head.

    ¡°K¨­jin. Full Throttle.¡±

    Full Throttle wasn¡¯t a move by any actual standard. It was just a codeword between the two of us that let him know he could go all out.

    For a slightly hyperactive Hisuian Growlithe with Rock Head, that meant using Flame Wheel to charge at the enemy and run into them as many times as possible, as hard as possible. Either they would get knocked out, or K¨­jin would.

    This was a stupid plan, but Venus was still mostly healthy and Zetian hadn¡¯t been out at all in this battle, while Roark¡¯s Bastiodon was his last Pok¨¦mon.

    I could take a chance or two to let my Pok¨¦mon go all out, just this once.

    My little fire-dog yipped happily at the command, his stubby tail wagging like a helicopter¡¯s blades, and charged.

 Chapter Sixty-Six

    The Mine Badge, I decided, looked very good in my little badge case. Whoever worked on the Pok¨¦mon League¡¯s rewards did a good job, and the enamel pin that I¡¯d gotten after beating Byron was a nice balm to my ego after the defeat at the hands of his son.

    ¡°So,¡± Ted said, stirring his bowl of ramen. ¡°Where to next?¡±

    We were celebrating at a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant, one of those mom and pop shops that served the best food in town.

    Ted had earned his badge shortly after I had, although I only caught the tail end of the battle after returning from the Pok¨¦mon Center.

    Lucas slurped up his noodles, before gesturing with his chopsticks.

    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of ferries that go through Canalave City. We could catch one of them, that would be a nice change of pace.¡±

    I nodded as I took a sip of non-alcoholic beer. While Ted had the full-strength version, and Lucas was still too young to drink, I¡¯d gone for the safer version, as a treat.

    Thankfully the ramen shop had some in stock, otherwise I would have just gone with a soda.

    ¡°Taking a break from walking everywhere would be nice. And after that taxi ride on the Corviknight¡­ a ferry would be a lot better I think.¡±

    Ted shuddered and nodded appreciatively, while Lucas looked a little crestfallen.

    ¡°I thought it was fun¡­¡± He murmured, taking another bite of food.

    ¡°So if we take the ferry,¡± I continued. ¡°Where would we go? North to Snowpoint City? Or south to Pastoria?¡±

    Lucas hummed in thought, but Ted frowned. ¡°Personally, I think we should go north. As it stands, we¡¯re all in a pretty good spot to fight Candice and her Ice-types, plus it¡¯s a shorter trip, right?¡±

    That last comment was directed towards Lucas, and he nodded.

    ¡°Yeah, you have to go around both the western and southern tips of Sinnoh to get to Pastoria. Just as a reminder, if we do go north right now it¡¯ll be pretty cold.¡±

    Ted shivered at the thought.

    I frowned and beat out a quick rhythm on the table with my fingers. ¡°I should mostly be good for the cold, although I might have to pick up some things at the store just to be safe.¡±

    My leggings were mostly insulated thanks to being made with Spinarak silk, but it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to pick up some properly lined ones just in case.

    Lucas sighed. ¡°More shopping?¡±

    I swiped at his shoulder, but he managed to dodge in time.

    ¡°Don¡¯t come between a girl and her shopping.¡±

    He stuck his tongue out at me.

    ¡°Say,¡± Ted interrupted. ¡°If we¡¯re going north, will we be passing by Iron Island?¡±

    ¡°Iron Island? Yeah, we should be.¡± Lucas asked.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Mayfly¡¯s getting close to the point where she¡¯s stagnating.¡± Ted said thoughtfully. ¡°I can tell she wants to evolve, and I¡¯ve heard Iron Island is where Sinnoh gets most of its Metal Coats.¡±

    ¡°Oh a Scizor!¡± Lucas said, stars in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to see one in person!¡±

    I ran a finger around the rim of my glass. ¡°There¡¯s always the chance to evolve into a Kleavor, if she wanted to.¡±

    ¡°I talked with her about it, and while she wasn¡¯t opposed to the idea, I think she would much rather evolve into a Scizor. Besides, doesn¡¯t evolving into Kleavor require some strange mineral?¡±

    ¡°Black Augurite.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where to find that? Because I did some looking online and at the library, and there¡¯s barely anything about it.¡±

    I opened my mouth, then frowned. In the game it had been a reward for completing a quest, but that was some three-hundred years ago.

    ¡°Exactly.¡± Ted continued. ¡°Apparently there¡¯s something similar over in Paldea, but that¡¯s half-a-world away. Besides, I¡¯m pretty sure she would be happier as a Scizor.¡±

    ¡°Well, nothing I can say to that then.¡±

    It was Lucas¡¯ turn to look thoughtful. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind stopping by Iron Island myself. There¡¯s a couple Steel-types I wouldn¡¯t mind adding to my team, and even if nothing else came out of it, it would be a good training experience.¡±

    They both looked at me, and I sighed.

    ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t have any reason to go, but at the same time, why not? If you both want to go, I¡¯m in.¡±

    Lucas and Ted both beamed with excitement.

    Ted held up his drink. ¡°A toast!¡±

    ¡°To what?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Victory? Friendship? Do we need a more specific reason?¡±

    Lucas cheered and held up his own glass.

    I sighed, and clinked my drink against the others as they celebrated, but I couldn¡¯t get rid of the small smile on my face.

    /^\

    ¡°I hate this.¡± Ted said, huddling into his new winter coat as the cold rain slashed across the hull of the ferry. ¡°Why are we doing this?¡±

    I rolled my eyes, and leaned on the railing in the small lounge, staring out at the stormy seas.

    ¡°We¡¯re not even out on the deck, there¡¯s no way for us to get wet.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter.¡± He said mulishly.

    ¡°I know for a fact that it rains a lot in Hoenn. Isn¡¯t it like, constantly raining on Route 120 or something?¡±

    ¡°There''s a lot of rain, but it¡¯s not constant. Besides, it¡¯s a warm rain. This is cold enough to be considered sleet.¡±

    ¡°Nah.¡± Lucas said from where he was draped across the end of a couch. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad yet.¡±

    ¡°We only have another hour or so, then we¡¯ll be on Iron Island.¡±

    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    ¡°Where it¡¯ll still be raining.¡± Ted grumbled. ¡°Fall in Sinnoh isn¡¯t nearly as nice as Hoenn. At least we¡¯ll be off the waves soon.¡±

    ¡°Wait, do you not like ships?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that I dislike them.¡± He hedged.

    ¡°But you prefer walking?¡±

    ¡°Or flying! Rakkyo is very good at keeping a nice, level flight.¡±

    I frowned.

    ¡°Is that why you don¡¯t have any Water-types?¡±

    He carefully avoided my gaze.

    ¡°It is!¡±

    ¡°Hey, neither you nor Lucas have any either!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯ve been here for less than a year.¡± I said. ¡°And I haven¡¯t been around many bodies of water yet.¡±

    ¡°I just like fire.¡± Lucas said, earning him a look from both Ted and I.

    ¡°Well, putting aside possibilities of pyromania aside-¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be on the boat for too much longer.¡±

    It was a relatively short trip to Iron Island, a couple hours by the ferry, although things were taking a bit longer thanks to the storm.

    Ted grumbled and went back to moping.

    /^\

    Iron Island was¡­ not very impressive.

    The entire island reminded me of the old ghost towns of the American Southwest, except with a little more life in it.

    It had once been the sight of a decently-sized iron mine, but once the veins ran out, most of the people who had been living there moved to greener pastures. What was once a small town dedicated to supporting the mine was little more than a few houses clustered around a lonely and understaffed Pok¨¦mon Center.

    According to the yellowed sheet of paper on the welcome sign that passed for a tour guide, Byron himself had actually worked at the mines before they shut down.

    What few people came here now were mostly Trainers, looking to test their Pok¨¦mon against the wild ¡®mons of the island, along with a scattering of hikers and tourists.

    There were even fewer people here than normal, the lady working the front desk of the Pok¨¦mon Center said. The storms from Archie¡¯s tantrum had ravaged the sea-side town, collapsing several of the buildings. Thankfully only causing some minor injuries. Still, the loss to tourism was hurting the local economy, and the receptionist had mentioned that it was likely even more people were going to move away.

    They were already an aging population, most of the young people having moved away when the mine closed, but now it was getting even worse.

    Iron Island didn¡¯t even have a police station, crime was so low here that if anything came up, somebody would just fly or Teleport in to take care of it.

    In a decade or two, Iron Island as a town would probably cease to exist completely.

    It was a sad state of affairs, and it stung a little bit that some of my actions had indirectly led to this.

    After all, If I hadn¡¯t told Professor Rowan what was going on, then they never would have made a move on Archie and Maxie when they did, causing Archie to completely lose it.

    Then again, I wasn¡¯t responsible for the actions of a madman. Archie would have tried to do the same thing regardless of whether I told anybody or not.

    That didn¡¯t stop me from feeling sad as I watched the corpse of a town decay into the sea.

    The storm that we¡¯d run into on the ferry-ride here wasn¡¯t as bad as Archie¡¯s Kyogre-created tempest, but it was still fairly impressive, and there was nobody walking the cobblestone streets as we dashed from the shelter of one building to another.

    ¡°How do you even know it¡¯s open?¡± I asked Ted, holding a coat over my head.

    ¡°I called ahead!¡± He shouted, trying to make himself heard over the rain.

    Ted, Lucas, and I made another run, sprinting across the street to reach another building.

    ¡°How much further is it?¡± Lucas asked, and Ted pointed to a building just across the way.

    ¡°There!¡±

    The store in question was a short, squat building made of a mix of concrete and wood like the rest of the neighborhood, but the warm glow of the lights inside were incredibly inviting.

    One last dash¡­

    I took a deep breath, and plunged out into the rain again, Ted and Lucas on my heels.

    We all stumbled through the door, piling into the nice, warm, and most importantly dry store.

    The Pok¨¦mon watching the front desk, a Bronzor that had been lazily floating above the desktop, spun wildly in concern and surprise.

    ¡°Eh?¡± A voice came out from the back. ¡°Who''s there?¡±

    ¡°A few customers.¡± Ted called back.

    ¡°Customers? In this weather?¡±

    An older man tottered out of a back room, his grey hair wild as he looked at us in surprise.

    Then he tutted, shaking his head.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting water all over the floor! You must be miserable. Come in, please come in.¡±

    He shepherded us deeper into the shop, taking our coats and putting them onto a small coat-rack. Then he pulled an ancient, battered Pok¨¦ Ball out and released a Torkoal into the shop.

    Just like everything else in the shop, the Torkoal was ancient, its skin wrinkled and its shell lined and cracked.

    It yawned, releasing a small cloud of steam.

    ¡°We have customers!¡± The old man said excitedly. ¡°Come now, let¡¯s warm this place up for them.¡±

    The Torkoal huffed, but almost immediately the temperature in the shop began to rise. The Pok¨¦mon wandered over to the coat-rack, and dropped to the floor with a huff. Water dripping off of our coats spattered onto its shell, causing puffs of steam to rise.

    Somehow we all ended up in mis-matched recliners, cups of tea in our hands.

    ¡°Now then, what can I do for you all?¡± He said, eyes twinkling.

    ¡°Well, I mentioned on the phone I was looking for a Metal Coat.¡± Ted said, after taking a sip of his tea. ¡°Oh, this is good.¡±

    ¡°Thank you! A Metal Coat? Oh yes yes, I remember you now. What kind of Pok¨¦mon are you looking to evolve?¡±

    He eyed Ted with a tailor¡¯s accuracy. ¡°Not an Onix, I think. You don¡¯t quite have the look of a miner or a Rock-type specialist. A Scyther then?¡±

    Ted nodded.

    ¡°Hmm. I think we might be able to help you then.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said, edging into the conversation. ¡°But what exactly is this shop?¡±

    ¡°Oh! I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t introduce myself.¡± The man put down his cup of tea and beamed at me. ¡°My name is Zachary, and this is Zachary¡¯s Metal Works! I specialize in little knick knacks that help out Pok¨¦mon.¡±

    He stood up and went over to the front desk, pulling out some examples.

    ¡°We have Metal Coats, Metal Powders, various kinds of braces and bands, a couple Rocky Helmets, Iron Balls, everything you need to make sure your Pok¨¦mon is in the best shape it can be!¡±

    I leaned forwards, fascinated by the items on the tray. I hadn¡¯t seen many held items before, they were expensive and difficult for regular Trainers to acquire, so they were mostly only used by professional battlers who had the time and money to put them to their best effect.

    ¡°Now then,¡± the old man said. ¡°Let¡¯s get you what you need.¡±

    /^\

    ¡°Is it just me, or is this place kinda¡­ depressing?¡± Lucas asked, picking at his food.

    The lone restaurant in town was a family restaurant, with nothing special about it at all.

    All of the food was rather bland and easily digestible, and I had the feeling that it was to cater to the aging population of Iron Island.

    ¡°Thank god,¡± Ted muttered. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to be the one to say it.¡±

    It was surprisingly busy, with what seemed like almost the entire island in the restaurant, celebrating bingo night. It was still only about fifty or so people.

    I stirred my miso. ¡°I wish there was something I could do. It''s sad seeing a town just die like this.¡±

    Back on Earth I knew that Japan had problems with an aging population and disappearing towns, but seeing it in person was something else.

    For some reason, I had thought that this world would be different, even though the games and anime had made it clear that there were still plenty of problems.

    ¡°But I just don¡¯t know how to keep this place alive.¡±

    The bell above the door chimed as someone new came in, briefly letting in a gust of cold air.

    The storm over Iron Island had gotten even worse, the locals saying it was likely the last big storm of the year, but things would hopefully clear up after this.

    All I knew was that the rain was coming down sideways, and already the power had flickered a few times.

    ¡°Money.¡± Ted said darkly. ¡°Get people buying and spending money in town, bring some new people in, and this place would start to feel more alive. It always comes back to money.¡±

    ¡°But the mine¡¯s closed.¡± Lucas sighed, putting his chopsticks down. ¡°Completely tapped out, from what I hear. What could possibly make people want to live here again?¡±

    Ted just shrugged.

    I opened my mouth, then closed it again with an audible click, before slinking down into my seat.

    ¡°Alina? Are you okay?¡± Lucas asked, but I barely heard him.

    A tall, athletic man with a Pok¨¦mon tooth necklace was standing at the front desk of the restaurant, before a server brought him to a table that was thankfully on the other side of the room.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look now,¡± I muttered, a spark of old hatred reigniting in my chest. ¡°But Kane is here.¡±