Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

[Skyfyre]

Its kind of funny how sad the other trainers here are. You're an established champion, and obviously know your stuff. You loose one battle to the top trainer of the area, who made you battle under duress of ruining a pokemon habitat like a villain team, and with a bunch of cheap trucks designed to harm you, and then everyone thinks you suck. Like what???

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They don't know that she was under threat.

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Indeed, they didn't know that she was underthreat, and kids can be dumb. Also, perhaps it was too oblique, but wI tried to hint that with some like the purple haired girl, that they still liked Nemona and thought she was good, but with the general attitude of the club against her, didn't want to speak up.

I liked the view into the smaller battle snippets that took place. Not too fast, or too slow. I think this was a good 'time-skip' method.

The battles did show many people leaning waaay too much into their one niche.
And those 'good weather friends' can stay away.

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Thanks, glad you like it!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 57 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, Garreon LeFay, and Allison Simon, my Ace Tier patreons! Your support means so much to me.

Athena stood proudly on the field, with Cataphract puffed up beside her, ready to take on the threats Cassandra threw our way. He did flinch a bit at seeing just how sharp the edges of Kleavor's axes were, as the Bug Type opposite us waved them menacingly in our direction. We could only see that display clearly for a few seconds however, as the other Pokemon Cassandra had called on, a Gigalith, had conjured a Sandstorm moments after landing on the battlefield with a heavy thud.

A shiny one too, if I'm not mistaken from the sparkling blue crystals jutting out of them. Hmm, didn't Chazz say that she had a special interest in Shiny Pokemon? Or at least that a decent number of her Pokemon are shinies.

The arena speakers gave us the countdown, announcing it over the roar of sand whirling around. "The battle will commence in three, two, one… begin!"

"Stone Axe, rip them to shreds! Block off an escape, Rock Tomb!" Cassandra shouted. It wasn't an opening she'd ever used before… however, I'd studied her extensively and I had seen her use this combo later on in battles. Despite being the weakest of the Elite Four, she's also the oldest student, set to graduate this year. That means there's the most footage and rumors about how she fights, unlike say Elsa, who is only one grade ahead of me.

"Tank and counter Cat, and meet them head on with a Meteor Mash! Inside their guard," I fired off. Despite Athena's command coming last, she was the first one to reach her target, assisted by a finely controlled Extremespeed to let her burst in, past Kleavor's raised axe-arms, but not wasting energy striking her with the Normal Type Move. Instead, Athena channeled Steel Type energy quickly into her paws, striking hard into Kleavor's carapace.

Cassandra wasn't on the Elite Four without any reason however, and her Pokemon proved it. Kleavor, rather than trying to absorb the super-effective blow, instead let it knock her backwards so she had room to properly swing them, cutting lightly into Athena's flesh. Only lightly however, as her double resistance to the Move had it doing little damage. Skittering away, several slivers broke off the axe and scattered themselves around the field.

That will make it trickier to switch out, but we should be fine. Especially with that new Battle Item I got from the store. On the other side of the field, Cataphract steadied himself, letting the rocks slam into him. Gigalith had some decent power behind the blow, managing to deal some damage to Cataphract despite his resistance. This only ended up hurting the rocky Pokemon though, as Cat hurled his shell forward in a powerful Counter that cracked one of the gems sticking out of her legs.

She leads with a slow Rock Tomb to try and equalize speed difference if it hits, but really, the goal is to set up a Stomping Tantrum for massive damage as the opponent dodges. I refused to play into that, especially with two Steel Types on the field.

"Copycat," I told Athena, utilizing a rarely used part of her arsenal to turn the tables on Cassandra and set up our own entry hazard. It was even better as I knew that despite being a Rock Type specialist, about half her team was actually weak to Rock Type Moves. Including Kleavor herself.

Unfortunately, Cassandra called for a hasty "Protect!" Which blocked the auric construct axes Athena had made, and in blocking the blow, stopping any Stealth 'Rocks' from being spread around the field. Perhaps if she had more practice with that Move, she could manage it even through the Protect; I know that Cassandra's Kleavor has done so. But Copying a Move for the first time and even someone as talented as Athena will likely miss a lot of the nuance involved in the technique.

Despite that, and the fact that Cat was limping slightly from where Gigalith's previous Move had hit him, I felt in a good spot. Rather than use a slightly weaker Ground Type Move, Gigalith opted to take advantage of Cat's other weakness. Jumping up in the air, she landed heavily upon my little Dragon, minorly cracking his shell.

It's fine, just a hairline fracture. Cat might not have taken worse than that while sparring with the Team, but he's taken just as bad. And it even gives us an advantage. My mind raced for an instance before I shouted, "Acid Spray!"

Gigalith tried to lumber away, but the sticky goo Cat secreted stuck onto the lumbering Rock Type, dragging her back just enough for Cat to unleash a gout of Poison down upon them. From that close a range, a few drops splashed back onto Cat, but his Steel Typing protected him from that, while the majority of the acid sizzled into Gigalith's tough body and blue vest.

Going for a color matching option rather than the traditional red one, Cassandra's Gigalith was wearing a vivid blue Assault Vest, which helped bolster the Rock Type's Special Defense. Which is on top of the Sandstorm boosting it further too. Gigalith's Physical Defenses are no slouch either, however, as shown by how much damage she did with that odd Body Press (though it might have just looked odd because I'm used to how Notch or Dun performs the Move, and they have very different body Types from Gigalith). Right now, my best bet is to wear down her Special Defense over time.

"Switch to the Dragon, he's the weak link! Close Combat, Stomping Tantrum!" Cassandra shouted. I raised my eyebrows, surprised for half a moment, then dismissed it. Your team is nowhere near fast enough for that kind of a trick.

"Protect," I called out, not bothering to waste a moment saying Cat's name as it was clear whom they were gunning for. The heavy, sweeping axe blows bounded off the barrier Cat erected around himself, and even as the ground cracked and erupted beneath him, the Protect formed a full sphere, blocking the attack entirely. C'mon now. Just because Cat is the least experienced member of my team doesn't mean I've slacked off in training him on the basics.

Steel Beam the Kleavor, I thought, projecting my thoughts forcefully at Athena. For a non-empath or Psychic, or even one not used to me, they wouldn't have picked up on it, but Athena knew me well. As Kleavor panted, momentarily exhausted from her futile assault on Cataphract, Athena drew her paws back before launching them forward in a pushing motion. From her paws, a solid beam of grey light erupted out, slamming straight into Kleavor and sending him tumbling into the wall of the arena where he landed in an ungainly heap.

"Double Life Dew" I called out, trying to take advantage of the fact that Cassandra would be down a Pokemon for a moment, but she surprised me… and not in a good way.

"Get back up! We can't lose here, so get in there and finish them off! If they're trying to heal they're weak! You too, Gig, hit them with an Earthquake!" Shakily, the Kleavor rose at her Trainer's words, then began running towards my Pokemon, a yellow liquid dribbling down her mouth. A Sitrus Berry, dammit. She must have been holding it inside her mouth since the start of the battle.

"Athena, Detect!" I called out, and she aborted the water she'd been gathering to heal. Her eyes glowed with a blue light as she began predicting the future, and I caught a faint frown from her as she stared at where Cataphract was. Yeah, I know how this goes.

Cataphract faced the oncoming foes boldly, not flinching from the surprising Reversal Kleavor launched into him, and even managing to toss out the Life Dew he had gathered on the tips of his antennas into the air. Then the Earthquake rocked the field, tossing my Pokemon around hard. It wasn't quite enough to knock him out though, not with the Life Dew landing mid-way through the damage he was taking.

Athena avoided it entirely, gracefully dodging around and riding the churning ground with ease, all while collecting a large amount of Dew as it fell, recovering from some of the damage Steel Beam cost her. While not massively damaging, Kleavor was still rocked by the Move as well, and looking to be in pretty bad shape once more.

"U-Turn!" Cassandra called out, trying to take out my Hisuian Pokemon while saving hers. She half succeeded. Kleavor dashed forward with surprising speed, going for a low cut into Cataphract that knocked him out before zipping back to her side of the field. Cassandra was raising her Pokeball to recall him before we interrupted.

"Extreme-" I began, and Athena was already on the other end of the arena, appearing mid-air in front of Kleavor. I could only imagine the shocked look in her eyes as she spun around, kicking our foe out of the way from the red beam of the Pokeball that would have saved her, and directly into unconsciousness. Do not pass Go, do not collect two-hundred Pokedollars.

I chuckled at my own thoughts, and Cassandra's face got red as she misinterpreted my humor. "What are you laughing at? You lost a Pokemon too, you know!"

Not the point, but if I can use this… I laughed harder, hoping it didn't sound too forced as I recalled my fallen Pokemon. Over the sand streaming by, I thought I heard her grinding her teeth together, so I felt I succeeded there.

We both released our next Pokemon while Athena attempted to use an Aura Sphere against Gigalith, who Protected against the attack. A Lunatone with glowing blue eyes took their place nearby the edge of the arena, spinning in the air once. While on my field, Notch calmly floated forward.

The Stealth Rocks Kleavor had scattered attempted to jump up at Notch, but all the rocks in the air stopped. Even the small, particulate rock based matter that made up the Sandstorm, now floating motionless in the air. Notch let their hand fall, and all the rocks did the same, landing with a heavy thump.

Okay, very impressive and cool Notch, but I think that's kinda undone the 'too angry to think clearly' thing I was going for. Indeed, Cassandra gaped for a moment before snapping her jaw shut and focusing again. Though, to be fair, I didn't let you know about this ahead of time, and frightening her a bit can be handy too, on top of removing that pesky hazard.

"Let's show her what you can really do, Notch. Diamond Storm!" Like a conductor, Notch waved their arms dramatically in the air, pointing up and raising a field of diamonds, which hung there until Notch swung their arms down, and the gems followed suit, whirling through the air.

Before they hit, Athena snapped forward with a Bullet Punch into Gigalith, then kicked off the quadrupedal Pokemon to avoid the diamonds as they cut into the enemies. Cassandra's other Pokemon leaned into the attack, using it to shave off and polish their rocky body slightly. After doing so, Lunatone was quickly zipping around the arena.

Gigalith meanwhile just tanked the blow, ponderously raising one foot to heavily stomp down with it, creating another Earthquake. It rocked hard into both of my Pokemon who were weak against it, though far harder against Athena who lacked Notch's sky-high defensive capabilities.

Signalling to Athena to Move in and fake an attack before Enduring, to set up a Reversal, I told Notch to, "Diamond Storm again! Show them what you're made of!" Lunatone attempted to dodge, only to find there was no escaping the splash of gems Notch created. Wresting the diamonds telekinetically out of the sky served them no better; there was no deflecting the attack either.

Gigalith didn't target Athena either, though a few errants shards from Notch's storm impacted her, leaving her ready to lay a brutal beatdown on our foes. Instead, they fired off a blast of Steel Type energy at Notch.

What? But I thought that Gigalith wasn't good at Special Attacks- oh. I realized the reason behind it as I saw Notch munching their Berry to take the attack better. Cassandra wanted that Berry out of the way for a Pokemon with a better Steel Type attack to take Notch out, and the bulk of its protective qualities fade fast upon consumption. Not all of it, as I knew from what Freddrick had tried way back, but still.

Lunatone got close and attempted a Hypnosis on Notch, but my Pokemon escaped, pushing the other Rock Type away with a quick and unfocused Psychic. It did little damage given Lunatone's secondary typing, but was enough to avoid being put to sleep.

"Steel Beam the Gigalith!" I called out, while slapping my knee. Athena readied a Flash Cannon in response to the signal. A second use of that Move is too obvious and draining - easy to counter. "Funhouse," I told Notch, who began conjuring diamonds to further enhance the attack.

Gigalith's Protect took the brunt of Athena's attack, but as sparkling diamond mirrors were pulled up, or foes realized that it was just the prelude. Not letting up on her beam, Athena directed it into the mirrors Notch had made, the blast suddenly bouncing and criss-crossing at unexpected angles to nearly hit the shiny Lunatone, and would have if she hadn't had enough of a speed boost from Rock Polish to pull out of the way. It still forced her to back off of Notch however.

"Fine, stay back Lune and just push that Diancie down with Psychic!" Lunatone's eyes glowed a deeper shade of blue from their usual and Notch found themselves crushed under Psychic power. Fighting against that directly will be difficult, but I think we can do it if- Then I saw Gigalith shuffle slightly, getting ready to jump.

They're going to get in close and hit Notch hard. Crud. In the split second I had, I made a choice on who to sacrifice. "Steel Beam Lunatone!" I shouted before calling "Protect!" For Notch.

Recognizing the urgency in my tone, Athena selflessly sacrificed herself, putting everything she had into the blast. This time, distracted by the Psychic pressure she was putting on my other Pokemon, Lunatone couldn't dodge the bouncing beam, and it struck her hard, breaking her focus. The Move and all the fighting beforehand had exhausted her too much, so Athena slumped to the ground, unconscious.

At the same time, Gigalith had leapt up in the air, poised to land on top of Notch with a Heavy Slam. Notch, freed from the painful Psychic grip likely could have used Protect to block the attack, except something strange happened. Gigalith suddenly fell far faster than I could have expected, crushing my diamond encrusted Pokemon.

"What?"

"Hah! That's our Self-Gravity trick we've been working on. It makes Heavy Slam hit even harder and faster. You didn't really think I wouldn't be prepared after your declaration of war, did you? Now you've lost your strongest… Pokemon…" Cassandra's jeering voice trailed off as her Gigalith shifted involuntarily, and then was dramatically thrown off, the lumbering Rock Type sent tumbling backwards.

['And you didn't really think that would be enough to take down a Pokemon trained by Saint Nemona, did you?'] Notch questioned as they rose up from the crater, eliciting shocked silence, and then massive cheers from the crowd. Their diamond armor was torn apart and several deep cracks ran throughout their body, but Notch was tough enough to keep on fighting despite that.

"1-A!" I shouted, before Cassandra could regain her bearings. Flying at the prone Gigalith, Notch rocked in with a powerful Drain Punch, healing back some of the damages they had caused to my Pokemon. "1-A, 1-A!" I called again as I returned Athena to her Pokeball.

Notch punched again, but any further punching was stopped by a quick Psychic from Lunatone, pushing my Pokemon away. Cassandra recalled her fallen Gigalith. Gigalith isn't looking too hot right now. My guess is that she's planning to use them to reset Sandstorm later and then Explode. It wasn't a bad strategy, but it being so predictable would give me options when the time came. Of course, we'll have to consider what other Pokemon she's using at the time. Speaking of which…

Cassandra tapped her foot impatiently. "Well? Why aren't you sending out your next Pokemon?" She demanded. In the arena, Notch was trading blows with Lunatone, swarms of diamond shards tearing through the air while she telekinetically assaulted my Pokemon in turn.

"Nah, I'm good for the moment." I replied, my right hand drifting over some of the Pokeballs on my belt. Technically the rules say nothing about me having to have two Pokemon on the field at a time, I just have to have at least one. This way, I can wait to see what she sends out and respond. Normally, that was a poor strategy as I'd still be giving her the chance to go for a 2 v 1, and if she didn't like what I sent out, then she could just switch to a more advantageous Pokemon. Especially because she could just swap Gigalith back in, resetting Sandstorm and in a better position to use Explosion.

She recognized that, and as she moved to one of the Pokeballs on her belt, I had my hand hover over the Love Ball. Here's where the mind games begin. I was certain Cassandra had seen the match between me and Atticus by this point, as well as having heard about some of the fights I'd used Anya in during the battle classes. She knows I can lock in any Pokemon she sends out, and since she just recalled Gigalith, she can't put them straight back in. So what will you do? What choice doesn't lock you in?

I decided to up the pressure by calling out, "Stealth Rock," openly. Notch pulled off their assault (something they were handily winning against the Lunatone at) to scatter the dangerous rocks around the field.

"Go, Owl!" Cassandra called out, ripping a Pokeball off of her belt and tossing it out, just before the Stealth Rocks could take their place in the field.

"Anya, let's show her what you can do!" I said, tossing the Love Ball out to the field. 'Anya' popped out, giving a dismissive stare at our foes. "Thief," I told her, pointing at Noctowl. A bit tricky, since she doesn't actually know Thief, but she does know Knock Off, so it should be easy enough to mimic.

Phantasm (disguised as Anya), easily raced up, even adding a few sweat drops to the illusion to sell the effort of 'running really hard' as Anya in what was a casual jog for her. The Dark Type attack hit, slapping the Charti Berry out of Noctowl's claws. The illusion made it look like 'Anya' had stolen it, but my enhanced ears could pick up the 'plop' sound as it squished on the ground.

Noctowl, for her part, mostly ignored that, setting up a Tailwind to make their side faster. Lunatone conjured a Moonlight above her head to help recover from the damages Notch had inflicted, something my Pokemon was happy to do more of, a Diamond Storm ripping through the field and hurting both of them, Noctowl particularly got hit hard.

"Push through it, I know you can do it, Owl! Moonblast and Hypnosis! Lune, Rock Slide!" Noctowl sent a powerful sphere of condensed Fairy Type energy (drawn in no small part from the Moonlight Lunatone had conjured and made me wonder briefly if that combo I'd seen before had been taught to the other League Clubber by Cassandra) towards Notch. She sped in right after it, almost keeping pace with the attack as she tried to put my Pokemon to sleep with crooning cries.

"Trick Room!" I ordered, hoping to turn the speed advantage they held on its head. "Anya, Shadow Ball!" Phantasm launched a flurry of Shadow Balls at Lunatone, a few hitting before she had to dodge the rocks the Psychic Type tossed up in the air. Notch couldn't dodge them, or the Moonblast, but didn't flinch before setting up the Trick Room. It came at a cost however, with Noctowl's confusion putting them to sleep and seeing Notch drop to the ground like a rock.

"You think you're the only one who's ever used that Move? Stop looking down on me!" I feel like, she's perhaps projecting her issues a tad. I didn't get the chance to call her out on it as she made her next Move. "Lune, Trick Room. Defog," she told her other Pokemon.

"Shadow Ball, that Lunatone can't be doing well." Then, in a whisper meant only for Phantasm's ears I added, "On my signal, raise an illusion of Notch." With the enemies focused on affecting the arena, neither of them could stop the Shadow Balls, which did significant damage to her Lunatone, the shiny Pokemon barely holding on.

She did hold on though, which saw the twisted dimensions reversed at the same time as the Stealth Rocks were blown away. I imagine the Lax Incense will be less effective too now, though I'm not sure about the interactions between that item and Defog. "We've got them now, both of you, Dream Eater!" Swiftly, her Pokemon flew in, ready to drain Notch's health, only for them to suddenly reverse course as Notch sprung up, instantly awake (as far as they could see).

"What?! How- so soon! Dammit, Owl, Protect! Lune, you know what to do," Cassandra responded quickly. Her Noctowl shielded itself with Protect while Lunatone began glowing with a bright light before using Explosion. The blast was deafening, shaking the arena and kicking up vast clouds of dust.

As the dust began to clear, we saw Lunatone, unconscious (even as Levitate kept her aloft, indicating a high degree of mastery of that Ability), and no one else hurt… aside from the 'second' Notch, lying on the ground to the side, displaced and mildly damaged by the blast. It had the added effect of waking them up, as Cassandra stared at the scene, aghast.

"How- but- you're Zoroark!" She declared angrily, pointing at 'Anya' who cackled and revealed her true form. And did so by having it displaced a few meters away from where she's really standing. Clever girl. "You were supposed to be in the Fast Ball!"

"I got permission to change out which Balls they were registered to before the fight. Thanks for that hour you gave us," I taunted her. And thank you Colress for being a staff I could count on to get a quick change at the Blueberry Registry done fast.

"DAMMIT! Stop looking down on me! You rich bitch! Thinking that just because you have more money or a Legendary that you can beat me? Well you're WRONG!" She shouted, a deranged look in her eyes as she recalled Lunatone.

"Slicer, cut them to shreds," she said with ragged breaths, tossing out a Kabutops onto the field. "Owl, Reflect."

"Bitter Malice, Diamond Storm," I calmly ordered, pointing at the newcomer to direct Phantasm's attack. Unfortunately, the wind was still on their side, and the Kabutops managed to close, dispersing the illusion before the rage made manifest could sap his strength. While the illusion guarded Phantasm from Kabutop's attack, it didn't have enough fidelity to cover for Notch's Diamond Storm which conspicuously avoided a spot not far from Kabutops. The attack was reduced in power by the Reflect Noctowl raised, but it still did good damage, especially to the Flying Type now flagging in strength.

"Night Slash, sweeping blows! Airslash on the illusionist as well," Cassandra called out, switching focus from Notch and to Phantasm. Not a bad strategy, but too little too late. The Dark Type attack hit, cutting deep into Phantasm and disrupting her illusions. Air Slash followed up and left her stunned, open for Kabutops to continue her assault.

Notch called upon Diamond Storm once more, but Noctowl proved quick enough to draw a Protect around herself before the attack could land, and Kabutops, relatively fresh and covered with Reflect, tanked it as he took out Phantasm.

Returning her, I said, "You did great, we've got this in the bag now." I ignored the angry shouts contrary from Cassanadra as I sent Miles out. For today, I'd chosen the Mow Form. It had relatively few advantages and many weaknesses, but against a Rock Type specialist like Cassandra, I figured the Grass Type Move it gave access to would be worth it.

Kabutops hadn't wasted any time, rushing at Notch with an Aqua Jet to hit them hard and fast, before using the same Move to slide away from a Draining Punch counter. As Noctowl tried to use Psychic, I ordered, "Protect," before telling Miles: "Discharge."

"Protect!" Cassandra gave a desperate call. Kabutops was quick enough to cover himself, but Noctowl couldn't drop the Psychic energy she'd been building up fast enough to bring a shield against the powerful Electric attack. Twitching from stray jolts, Noctowl fell out of the air, Cassandra recalling her before she could hit the ground.

Wordlessly, she tossed Gigalith right inbetween Miles and Notch, a Sandstorm raging around once more. "Explosion!" She called out, recalling Kabutops at the same time.

"Protect," I told both of my Pokemon, hoping that Notch would be able to pull it off twice in a row. They sort of did, the barrier they conjured breaking, but clearly reducing the damage of the attack, enough that with the diamond armor they'd been covering themselves in again, Notch was able to just hang on to the fight.

"Why won't you fall? Whatever, this will have to be enough. Shell Smash." Cassandra called out, her voice ever so slightly wavering. My attention was drawn to her final Pokemon, a Minior, released into the sky and somewhat concealed by the Explosion.

"Taunt!" I called out, a bit of panic in my voice. Carmine told me how she shut down that Pokemon, but I know if they can build up, Minior can be terribly powerful. I just need- huh?

Miles let out a staticky laugh, a big shit eating grin on their plasmic face, but the Move failed.

"I did learn from your little friend's trick there," Cassandra commented. "I put ground up Mental Herb into the minerals making up their shell, so you couldn't pull off something like that." As she spoke, I saw the brown, rocky shell around Minior crack, then shatter apart completely. What-? Shields Down already? Dammit, she's not playing around.

"Liquidation, Acrobatics," Cassandra ordered, her Pokemon not needing direction on which Pokemon to target with the Moves they were extra weak against. Notch tried to raise a defense, but had all their diamonds broken through by the powerful Water attack as Kabutops crashed through, while Minior dived down upon Miles with blistering speed.

"Electroweb!" I called out, but even as I spoke, Cassandra was tossing her Tera Orb over Minior, Terastalizing them in a dazzling burst to become a pure Rock Type. Their attack hit hard, but my Pokemon still managed to spit out Electroweb in retaliation, sending a small shock through both of her Pokemon and slowing them down slightly. That didn't put a dent in her mood however, the older girl brightening greatly as she saw Notch finally unconscious.

"I did it! Ha! I beat your Legendary! No one can say I'm not strong enough now." Cassandra whispered the last part to herself.

"You're pretty strong, it's true," I said with a raised voice, startling her. Better than Tyme or several of the Gym Leaders in Paldea. "That doesn't mean you're stronger than me, though, and I'm the one you have to beat. Go, Radiance!" I shouted, tossing their Pokeball out onto the field.

Emitting a loud sound, akin to metal screeching on metal, my Paradox Pokemon entered the field. Immediately, the capsule attached just below their head triggered, sending a rush of invigorating electricity through their body. With that, they were off like a rocket, zooming through the sky to chase after Cassandra's Terastilized Pokemon.

The two of them traded shots back and forth. The black meteor Pokemon conjured glowing crystals to fire off Power Gem shots crisscrossing through the air. Radiance trailed like a comet behind them, the flames burning off their wings erasing the last of the Sandstorm that had wracked the arena. They met the Power Gem blasts with rapid-fire Flash Cannon counterfire, the Steel Type attack barrelling through the beams and destroying the constructs behind them. The enemy tried to shoot off chunks of rock coalesced from the stardust trailing behind them, but Radiance dodged them with contemptuous ease, gaining on the shiny Pokemon with every circuit they took of the arena.

While those two were shooting off, I had Miles fending off Kabutops, holding out against the Leech Lifes the Water Type tried to land. Protect and Substitutes as well as fancy maneuvering kept the prehistoric Pokemon at bay, while lightning fast clashes occurred above.

"Go low!" Cassandra called out, that desperation I'd heard earlier creeping back into her voice. She's scared - no one is supposed to be faster than her Ace and we're both down to our last Pokemon now. That doesn't mean that she doesn't have a plan here though… and I can see how to counter it perfectly.

"Time to use our secret weapon!" I called out. Radiance hadn't been used often in official battles, and while people had already figured out their Typing, there was still plenty we hadn't shown anyone. I drew my Tera Orb out, pulling back my arm as I aimed.

My Pokemon weren't the only ones who had been training; I'd been working on several things, including my throwing arm. Though for a situation like this, it was less about the speed of my toss (though that was helpful too) and predicting where Radiance would end up. Two, no, two and a half circuits should do, I guessed as I launched the Enhancement item over the arena.

My guess proved correct, though I felt Radiance must have done at least a little course correcting to so perfectly end up under it as the orb broke open and surrounded them in crystals. At the same time, the ground cracked underneath Radiance, then exploded upwards. The force of Minior's Earth Power broke apart the crystals and revealed Radiance, stunning with a bright green sheen and set of flowers hovering above their head in the form of a Tera 'hat' Jewel.

"That won't work! Energy Ball!" I shouted, my voice growing a little hoarse. Minior had slowed down for a second to use Earth Power in response to the unexpected Terastalization, and that would prove to be their undoing. Bursting forward like a hypersonic jet (not that they had enough space to build up to those speeds), Radiance rushed Minior, launching a point blank Energy Ball at the other Terastilized Pokemon.

With their Shields Down, Shell Smash, and the STAB on the Super-Effective attack, Cassandra's Ace was knocked out in one blow, crashing down into the ground. I thought I might need to send in Torkoal and turn on the sun for Solar Beam. Radiance has worked hard on furthering their mastery of that Move, able to fire those attacks off so fast, and even multiple at a time! Ah well, bit risky to send out a(nother) Fire Type against a Rock specialist, even if there's some fun combos it opens up.

My opponent was just staring at the scene, shocked. Cassandra didn't make any moves or give commands to Kabutops, she just looked ahead, unsteady. "Are you- are you okay?" I asked. I want to win, so it kinda feels bad to not take the opportunity, but it'd feel worse to continue when she's like this.

Evidently, she didn't appreciate my concern, snapping out, "I'm fine! Worry about yourself!" I raised an eyebrow as if to say 'Really?' given the situation. She blushed but didn't say anything else, recalling her fallen Pokemon and I didn't press. No point in adding (more) insult to injury here.

Kabutops took the initiative, charging recklessly towards Radiance. Before they could reach the now Grass Type Pokemon with his scythe-like blades, Miles released a flurry of petals in a Leaf Storm that took out her Pokemon.

The crowd (which I noticed now had grown since we'd started, the arena looking pretty packed) let out a massive cheer as I was declared the winner. "We did it!" I cheered loudly, running on the field to hug Miles and pat Radiance on the back. My Paradox Pokemon wasn't too keen on contact, but they accepted that, spinning their wings around for the crowd.

Crossing fully over to Cassandra's side, I offered a hand out. "Good job out there, you did-"

"Shut up," she snarled, smacking my hand aside. "I don't need your pity," she growled before stomping off. I moved to step after her, only to be stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

"Ignore her. If she wants to pout, whatever," Carmine said with a flick of her black and crimson hair. She and the rest of my friends had all gathered around me.

"Yeah, you did great out there!"
"Those were some sick Moves you pulled!"
"Oh boy, I'm so hyped from watching this that I wanna battle too! Anyone up for a quick match?"
"I hope I can be half as good some day!"
"The crowd is going wild!"

It's true, they are. Hard to even hear my friends beside me over the roar. Turning to the crowd that had gathered around me and was cheering me on, I focused my headspace to a happier place. I did it. We, my team, did it. We weren't 'just' a big fish in a small pond in Paldea; we're strong here too, and only going to get even stronger. This was our first step forward, and we didn't stumble.

I gave the crowd a big wave, grinning as I took a moment to bask in my victory. There would be hard fights and challenges still ahead, I knew, but this felt good, so I allowed myself to simply enjoy it.

Spoiler: A/N:

And we have our first of the League Club Elite Fours down! I hope you enjoyed that fight; I know I had fun with Cassandra's character and her team. Minior was a Pokemon that had been on my short list for a while, but ultimately didn't make the cut onto Nemona's team (due to both space issues and being too similar in type and what they could do to Notch). I had fun getting to show them off here though.

We've got a bunch more battles in the future, but thankfully we don't need to do them all in-a-row for this arc, so we'll have a bit of a breather before the next Elite will be tackled. Which fights are people looking forward to the most? Let me know down below or on the the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 57 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, Garreon LeFay, and Allison Simon, my Ace Tier patreons! Your support means so much to me.

"Have fun over the break everyone!" I said, waving goodbye to most of my friends. Drayton gave a lazy wave back as he stepped into the car that was taking him back to… wherever the Dragon Tamer Clan of Unova was. You know, I never asked. Does that make me a bad friend? Or would it be rude to inquire?... The fact that I don't know whether their location is actively hidden or just 'not public knowledge' probably does make me a bad friend.

I pushed that thought down, resolving to be better at getting to know the slothful young Dragon Trainer (atop of everything else I was trying to do) before turning to my other friends. Lacey was waiting for her father to pick her up from the docks, while Carmine and Kieran were going to take a bus to the airport.

Victor hadn't been on the same submarine as us going back to the mainland, but I said my goodbye to Judai and him there.

"We will! Have a good time too!" Lacey called out.

"Yeah, tell us all about the wacky stuff you get up to in Paldea," Carmine said too loudly for my tastes. I don't get into that much crazy stuff in Paldea. Or, at least no more crazy than I do anywhere else. It was just the Journey that had a lot of stuff going on, and they haven't gone on their journeys yet.

"Sure, try not to get into too much trouble yourself, okay?" I responded to Carmine, but my words were meant for Kieran. Sadly, the boy barely seemed to be listening to me, his dull eyes lost in his own thoughts. His mouth moved up and down, muttering quiet ramblings that I could barely piece together, but mostly about battle strategy.

I really hope he doesn't seek out Ogerpon. In this state, I can't see her being drawn to Kieran as a Trainer, and if she was to reject him, it'd crush him. I'd only played the first half of the DLC so I never saw how that plotline turned out, but from how I remembered the Teal Mask's ending, it wasn't good. Wasn't there a theory Kieran was being manipulated by the force behind the Jerk Trio? But he's been getting just as bad here after losing to Charlotte, and I think we're way too far away for anything from Kitikami to be affecting him here.

Carmine heard my words and nodded. Well, she'll probably keep Kieran on the right track for now, and I can look into addressing his issues in the new term. With that settled I turned to Sally. "You coming?"

"Oh, right!" She said rushing forward, only to bump into a larger boy striding across the street as if he owned the place.

Ares turned to look at who bumped into him and sneered down at her. "Woof, thought I smelled something rank. Watch where you're going, pipsqueak, don't wanna get your stink all over me."

"I think anything would be a welcome distraction from your attitude," I said, marching up to the boy. His sneer twisted, a hint of active malice added onto his expression as he stared down at me, his blood red eyes peeking out just over his sunglasses. My Aura sight, as imprecise as it was, pulled back another layer, revealing a sliver of fear that didn't obviously show on his face or body language.

"Hmph, and the brat squad too. Didn't the Ice bitch teach you a lesson about messing with your betters?"

"Hmm?" I pretended to look around for the so-called 'betters' he was referring to. "Don't see anyone like that here. Just an asshole." I heard a slight intake of air behind me, probably Kieran or Lacey, unused to such profanity, but they were standing behind me regardless. Touching, but I don't need it to take on this guy.

The show of force was enough to get him to slink off, towards… My limo?! No, wait, mine is the one behind it. It drove off quickly, Ares finally getting out of our hair.

"People like that are so... so.... rude! It's just not right," Lacey complained.

"Yeah," I agreed distractedly as I offered a hand to help Sally up. I think Ares has had the run of the place for too long. Time to put him in his place… after the break. Properly saying goodbye to everyone else again, I led Sally into the limo and we headed off.

***

"Alright Sal, welcome to Paldea," I said, waving an arm out at the dusty field in front of us.

"Uh, 'Mona? I've kinda been here for hours already, since we landed at the airport and then took a flying taxi out… wherever 'here' is. Besides, is this really what you picture when you think of Paldea?" She asked hesitantly. It was understandable; the rocky mines of Zapapico were not exactly 'picturesque Paldea.'

"Of course!" I declared authoritatively. "And the swamps, and Lake Casseroya, and Glaseado Mountains, and the plains, and all of it! I found Dun on the beach not far from my house, met Haxorus on that peak up there, had a funny training accident on the mountain where Nightwing got her tongue stuck to a rock-"

"Gli!" The Pokemon mentioned said, bursting out of her Pokeball.

"But clearly, that's a story for another time." Nightwing gave a grumbling comment that I was pretty sure translated into 'Never would be a good time,' and I felt the other Pokeballs on my belt shake slightly in laughter from the inhabitants within.

"This may not have been what you envisioned when I invited you, but it's a part of Paldea, and to me, that makes it just as wonderful as any other part. And you should particularly like this, because it's where we're going to find you a new Pokemon! You still want a Revavroom next, right?"

"Yes," the usually nervous girl said, nodding her head resolutely. With my Pokedex (and a prototype of the Pokedex App Jacq had sent me) we had gone over different Pokemon she might want to catch to expand her team. She had instantly locked onto the picture of Varoom and Revavroom and decided she wanted one for her team.

We'd gone over it with Chumley too, though he hadn't been able to make the trip over to Paldea to catch an Ampharos to go along with the Komala he already had. Hopefully he'll be able to find one, but I'm not sure if Mareeps are native to his home. I pushed those thoughts aside to focus on Sally.

"This is probably the best place to find Varooms. They race all across the tunnels and slopes that make up this place! So now you just gotta find one that you connect with and make an offer for them to join your team," I said with a bright smile on my face.

"Wh-what if they don't want to? Do I really have to ask first? My sister just says I should catch first and then after I've proven my strength-"

"Yeah, that might work for her, but I don't think it'll be the best plan for you." Also, I think it's a rude and stupid way of doing things in general, but there's no need to insult the big sister Sally idolizes. At least she doesn't go to the same school as us. In a softer tone, I added, "Look, don't worry about all that stuff. Finding a Pokemon that matches you is important, and will help the two of you grow together well."

"But what if I don't find any Varooms that like me?" She asked, and I just shook my head.

"We'll worry about that if it happens. But we got a lot of land to explore first, so let's get searching!" Grabbing her by the hand, I led the charge, out of Zapapico and into the rocky, barren, mine-riddled wilderness.

Sally was reluctant at first, but with some encouragement from me, got into the spirit of things. Our bright attitudes did not preclude the need for sustenance however, so I took some time during midday to take out some food and give the smaller girl some much needed respite.

"Is this the kind of thing you do every day?" She asked, amazed.

"Uh, yeah, pretty much. You get used to it. This might be really tiring right now, but once you get stronger it'll be no big deal, and you get to see so much! The world really is fantastic, so much to see, so many cool Pokemon to battle." I let out a wistful sigh, remembering all I'd seen thus far and thinking about what might be waiting beyond the horizon, or even just around the corner.

"You sound like Big Bro," she replied, referring to Judai. I wonder if she calls him that because she wishes that she had someone who had that much strength and seemed cool but was also fun as an actual, biological elder sibling? And that I'm not seen in the same vein because I'm obviously too young to fit that role. I also wonder if I should possibly not try to psycho-analyze my friends? Hmm, thoughts for later.

"Heh. Yeah, he sounds like he'd be like that too. You two are planning on hanging out over the break, right?"

"Yeah!" She launched into an explanation of how there was an exhibit on an ancient pharaoh they were planning on checking out over the weekend.

"Cool. My folks are pretty busy with work, and my sister has a different break schedule than us at Uva so I'll mostly just be hanging out at home." The International League tried to impose a standardized set of holidays at some point, but Alola pushed back hard against that, and then the other regions did too. I can see why people wanted it that way as the uneven schedules between regions do make things a little complicated, but perserving regional identity is important too.

Shelving that thought, I continued with the task at hand, mentioning, "Assuming we don't spend all the time out here, anyways."

"Huh?"

"Well, we're going to spend as long as it takes to find you a Varoom that works for you, and there's a bunch of them out there, but it's a big place to cover, might take us a while." That being said, I'm hopefully we'll find some within a couple days so as to not mess up the rest of her holiday plans.

"Aww man," she moaned. Despite how she sounded though, Sally was willing to put in the work, searching hard for any Varooms. In the later half of the day we did find a few rolling around, but sadly, they were much too fast for Sally (and even I had trouble keeping up with them, and they were less inclined to listen to me trying to speak on her behalf).

Just when I thought we'd have to call it a night, with the sun sinking low over the horizon, Sally found a pack of a half dozen Varooms. These ones raced off like the others, but one of their number was left behind, the other five moving far too fast for him to keep up.

"Wait!" Sally shouted as she closed with the Steel Type. He tried to turn away, but Sally managed to corner him by an outcropping. As he realized he was trapped and turned to face her, Sally came to a halt, confusing the Pokemon slightly by not pressing forward.

"Hi, umm, my name is Sally and I want to be a Poison master, so would you please be on my team?" That seemed to confuse the little engine-shaped Pokemon even more, so I clarified.

"A Pokemon Trainer, like Sally, helps Pokemon grow and become strong. We also battle with Pokemon, so you can help her out in battles while she directs you." A spiel about symbiotic relationships would probably be a bit much for the Varoom.

He still looked hesitant, glancing around, but no longer looking like he was trying to immediately get out. "Va? Room room. Varoom," he said sadly.

"Uhh, little help here?" Sally asked, turning to me and I shrugged.

"Sorry, I don't actually have the ability to talk to Pokemon, it's just a knack for understanding them. And even then, I find the mineral group of Pokemon hardest to understand." Not entirely accurate, but there are several of the issues with Varoom that I first had with Notch.

I could, of course, release Notch (or Anya) at any time and get some translation from them, but I held off. If things go nowhere, I'll step in, but this is Sally's potential first meeting with her new Pokemon. Learning to understand him will be an important skill for her.

It took a few rounds of charades and Sally stepped back, watching as Varoom went back and forth in front of us. "You're saying… the others are faster?"

I snapped my fingers at Sally's words. "Slow Start. It's the Hidden Ability of Varooms. Varooms with that Ability take a while to build up speed and strength in a fight, which is why the others were able to leave us in the dust."

"Roo," Varoom said mournfully.

Sally kneeled down in front of him. "I know what that's like. People are always wondering why I'm not like my big sister, when they aren't calling me 'Stinky Sally'..." She shook her head before she could get caught on a tangent. "So maybe I've got a 'Slow Start' too, but I'll show the world that I can be great!" She declared boldly, stepping up with a clenched fist.

Then, she offered a hand holding a Pokeball down to the Varoom. "So, if you're up for it, I'd like to have you on my team, and we can take on the world toget- whoa!" Sally cried out as Varoom, who had already been looking at her with awe in his eyes, rammed straight into the Pokeball. Thankfully, he hit the button first and was pulled inside, rather than damaging it, though the shock of it still had Sally losing her balance and falling over.

The Pokeball clicked successfully almost immediately. I offered her a hand up, the girl still staring in a daze at the Pokeball in her other hand.

"I… I did it! I caught my first Pokemon in a new region!" She said, bursting with joy.

"Yup! I think you're off to a great start, nothing slow about it." Soon enough, you'll be able to 'Filter' out what any hater has to say. Or is that pushing the metaphor too hard? Ah, well in any case, Varoom and Sally, I've got faith in you.

***

"Nemonaaaaaaa!" Arven yelled, running at me and tackling me in a flying hug. I laughed, easily strong enough to handle the emotional boy. "I missed you." he mumbled as I patted him on the back.

I could have pointed out that we had a phone call at least once a week, I texted him every day, sent out long form emails fairly often (as I did for all of my family), and that we talked over the winter break too (even if he had been busy back then looking after his dad) but I just said: "Me too." Because I had. Even if this wasn't quite as long as my Gym circuit was. But then again, I missed my family then too.

As I let him go, I waved at Leah, who was standing politely at the doorway. I can see the joy on your face though! It's good to see her too. Turning back to Sally, who was standing awkwardly at the garden gate, I waved her forward. "Sally, this is my oldest friend, Arven. Arven, this is Sally one of my new friends from Blueberry Academy. She came over to catch a Pokemon here…" I trailed off awkwardly.

I was about to say 'do you mind if she stays here a day or two till she has to head home,' but that's silly this is my home. But now I've left things to long and need to think of something else to say- I was saved by Miraidon, popping out of their Pokeball.

The large Legendary Pokemon drifted close to Sally, who was more than a bit shocked. The Paradox Pokemon sniffed the small girl a few times, and then as she seemingly passed the sniff test gave her a long lick, up her face and onto her spikey blue hair.

"Ewww!" Sally cried out. "No, stop it! I don't care how cool you are, stop licking me!" The girl wailed, and I tried to smother my laughter at the scene.

"You think Miraidon is cool?" Arven asked, surprised. "Well yeah, of course they're cool! Miraidon and Mabosstiff are the coolest Pokemon around," he puffed up his chest slightly, releasing Mabosstiff from his Pokeball too.

Hmm, looks a bit tired, I thought as I saw Mabosstiff amble over to the girl. Usually, he'd be outside his Pokeball anyways (not that he had an aversion to the Pokeball, just that he liked being nearby Arven). I was more focused on seeing how well Sally was getting along with Arven, though, the girl still staring starstruck at Miraidon. This is good. I know Arven can get a little clingy, so I was worried how he was going to react to Sally.

"They're sooo cool! Especially Miraidon!" Then the small girl whirled around to face me. "You didn't tell me that Paldea had Pokemon as cool as this!" She accused me, waving her arms to point at Miraidon after having wiped the drool off her face.

"Ha ha, well, you said you were looking to be a Poison Type specialist, so we only focused on them." I suspect that was from how it's more work to be a generalist, and how she loves her Trubbish but is worried about her own skills. Of course, you can be a specialist and still have one or two Pokemon out of Type, right?

"Miraidon is unfortunately one-of-a-kind," I said, and her face drooped. Before she could get too disappointed however, I pulled out my Pokedex. "However, Miraidon is strikingly similar to another Pokemon that's quite plentiful here: Cyclizar. A lot of people ride them around to get places fast." Looking at her face, I could see that she was hooked.

"That's awesome! But wait… I only got permission to catch one Pokemon here," Sally pointed out and I froze. Fuck. But yeah, the form we filled out only allowed for the capture of a single Varoom. There was a good reason for those restrictions, it would be easy for poachers to flout the laws if they could just come in for a few days, grab as many rare Pokemon as they wanted and leave, but it was unfortunate for Sally right now. And I don't even think I'd be able to throw my weight around as Champion here; Cyclizars are part Dragon Type, and the Dragon Clan could easily stop that if I tried to make an adjustment here, and knowing their leader, Dominic definitely would do so.

"It's okay, you can try to catch one next time. For now, you can focus on training up Trubbish, Slowbro, Muk, and Varoom-"

"- Speed Racer. That's uh, his name," Sally added and I smiled.

"That's great. Now, who's up for a nice, light bit of training?" I asked calmly, and not at all with a manic gleam in my eyes. My two friends exchanged a glance and shivered (clearly with anticipation), but Leah stepped in.

"While I'm sure you'd love to play with your friends, it's quite late. Perhaps, young miss, you should get inside and have some food?" My stomach betrayed me by growling loudly at that point, and I acquiesced, walking inside.

***

After the delicious meal (I forgot how much I missed the food here!) We went to bed, tired after a long day. In the morning, I got up well before anyone else and started my training routine. We can't slack off just because school is out. I'm sure Elsa is training at least as hard in whatever icy domain she resides in. Thinking on it, I realized I didn't actually know much about the girl.

She's quite skilled, but doesn't have a very public battle record, not outside of Blueberry Academy at least. I could probably pry further if I asked my parents and used their resources but… nah. I can win this on my own, no need for anything that invasive.

My team and I had been up for a few hours and were well into our training by the time Arven and Sally joined us, the two groggily directed to the beach by Leah. "Alright, you must be ready for some training, right?"

"Uh, sure/yeah, definitely." Despite the lack of enthusiasm in their voices, I could see a fire in their eyes. Sally wants to see what she can do, while Arven wants to show me how far he's come since I left.

"Hmm, alright then. Let's have a quick pair of matches to warm up."

Sally faced me in a double battle, fighting against Anya and Cataphract, with her Trubbish and Varoom. The battle was pretty handily in my favor, but we got to see her try out some good strategies, making use of Taunt to shut down some of my strategies and exceptional use of Speed Racer's Gyro Ball to make up for Slow Start. The fact that both her Pokemon knew Self-Destruct was a shock to both of us, even if it was well used.

Anya was busy picking out some gunk from the top of her head. ['Ugh, this feels gross,'] she told me. From the psychic link I could also tell that the double explosion stung more than a little, even after she used her Sitrus Berry to heal up right beforehand.

"Oh, that's a brilliant idea!"

"What is?" Sally asked as she returned her two fainted Pokemon.

"You should see if you can combine Self-Destruct, and later Explosion, with Moves like Toxic Spikes and Toxic! The blast should help spread the poisonous elements all over the field!" It's not something all of her Pokemon can do, but that's fine. Slowpoke and future Pokemon on her team having different roles will help diversify them.

['That was not what I said! I don't want more gunk on me!'] Anya wailed.

"Goo goo?" Cataphract asked, which basically translated too: 'Why not? This is great!'

I ignored that little byplay, and focused on Sally, who was smiling like she had just learned Nasty Plot. Perfect. I'm sure you'll go far, Sally. Then I turned to Arven, who had been waiting patiently just past the arena. "Alright Arven, show me what you're made of!"

"I want to be on the same level as you, so I'm going to win this time, no holding back!" He declared with an uncharacteristically serious look (which only clashed slightly with his adorable, kid face).

"Alright, show me all you got!" He released Miraidon first, and I sent out Radiance in response. There was no need to trigger the Booster Energy as Miraidon released a field of crackling electricity over the entire arena. Sally gave a shocked gasp at that, seeing the friendly, goofy Miraidon reveal some of their true potential.

Beginning with a few Acid Sprays, I started to chip at Miraidon's defenses. Arven started tossing out Parabolic Charges to at least heal the damage I was doing before going for a big Electro Drift, that would have done massive damage, had it hit.

"Wha- Radiance is so fast! Way faster than before, I even studied their fight against Turtle," he muttered the last part before he refocused, slapping cheeks. "Whatever, we still got this. Miraidon, time for our secret weapon!"

A secret weapon, eh? Well, two can play at that game. "Radiance, shine bright! Dazzling Gleam!" Glittering lights gathered on their six wings, unleashing a powerful burst of Fairy Type energy right at the Dragon Type. It hit the psychic barrier around Arven's Pokemon, dealt impressive damage, nearly enough to take out the legendary with how weakened their scales were from the acid, and then reflected the damage back at Radiance. Wait, reflected the damage back, what?!

"Protect!" I cried, but it wasn't fast enough a warning to stop the extremely powerful Psychic counterstrike from taking down my Paradox Pokemon. "Well done," I said, returning Radiance to their Pokeball.

"Haha, we did it, we won!" Arven declared, rushing up on the field (and deftly maneuvering around the lingering acid) to hug Miraidon.

"Uhh, I do have another Pokemon to send out here," I pointed out, causing him to freeze. "Unless you plan on not giving Mabosstiff a chance to fight."

"O-oh, of course!" He shouted, scrambling back to his end of the arena. "Send your next Pokemon out, we can beat anything you send our way."

"That's more like it! Go, Dun!" I declared, releasing my starter, who stared warily at Miraidon, his tail swaying in the air and spinning in a light show of aggression. "Now lets crank it up, Boomburst!" I declared, while pulling my Tera Orb free and tossing it over at Dun while he inflated himself for the powerful sound-based attack.

"Switch!" Arven called out, returning Miraidon and waiting. Dun, looking quite swollen, stared at him and waited. And waited, unflinching in the face of Arven's tactics. Trying to wait it out and release Mabosstiff immediately afterwards would be a clever play, but Dun can hold the Move for a good while now - you'll run out of the thirty seconds grace time to switch before Dun loses his grip. There were other slight weaknesses to his strategy, like how he hadn't used Volt Switch to try and get some cheap damage in first, but overall, I was proud of how far he had come as a Trainer.

"Alright Mabosstiff, I believe in you! You can win this time!" The dog-like Pokemon cut off his Intimidating growl as he was released to give his Trainer a questioning look. Yeah, Arven probably didn't need to add 'this time' to what he said. It didn't truly matter that the Intimidate wasn't done properly as Dun was wearing a Clear Amulet to stop anything like that.

Copying me, Arven used his own Tera Orb to boost his Starter. Mabosstiff did impressive damage, Biting and Crunching into Dun, but my Pokemon shrugged it off with a few Coils, then a Tailwind for speed before Hyper Drilling into Arven's starter repeatedly. The boy attempted a Reversal, but our training with Athena had us seeing that one a mile away, so I had Dun block it with a Protect before landing a quick Body Press to take out the Dark Type.

"Eheh, looks like we both had a Pokemon fall unconscious. Guess we call this a draw?" He said hopefully. I nodded.

"Sure thing." Though I probably wouldn't have if your fighting spirit was still up, Arven. Miraidon was hurt worse than Dun, but he's taken a beating too, and the Acid Spray I used to weaken the Paradox Legendary is gone too. I honestly don't know that we'd win that fight… then again, Dun don't quit easy. I don't know that we'd lose either, so a draw seems fine.

The training continued after that, the two of them, and their Pokemon, slightly exhausted by the end of it, but we had a lot of fun.

***

Sally had to leave early the next day (too early even for my training times), but she thanked me the night before for all of my help. Then it was just myself, Arven, and the staff at home. Scratch that, Arven is back at his place, helping his dad out. Hmm, I should go talk to them. On my way out the door, I saw Leah, attending to her duties.

"Leah, sorry I didn't get the chance to talk much earlier. How have you been?"

She smiled. "No worries, it's good to see you play with your friends." Leah always was worried about me not 'acting my age' or making enough friends. Can't say the former has really changed, but for the latter… I really do have a bunch of friends now. Probably more close friends than I ever had in my previous life.

She continued, oblivious to my slightly depressing thoughts. "I've been well. It was an adjustment, becoming the major domo, but I think I'm adapting well to the role. I do worry about Arven, though-" She cut herself off before she could go further, but I'd already latched on.

"What's up with Arven? Is it just his father or something else?" I asked Leah. The older woman hesitated before finally admitting:

"I believe he had some issues with his mother. She came by after his father's accident but things were… fraught from what I could tell. I did not inquire deeply." Makes sense she doesn't want to get too entangled in that. He had told me the same which is why over the previous break, I had decided not to visit while Turo was still recovering and just sent a get well card and some flowers.

"Well, thank you. For letting me know and for helping my friend while I was gone. I really appreciate it, and everything you do for us." I said, trying to convey the depth of my gratitude. She reached down and gave me a hug.

"I know, and I'm glad to help." As Leah let me go, she said, "I've heard you're facing some difficulties at school. Is it-?"

"It's fine," I said quickly before answering in a more thoughtful and measured tone. "I mean, it was frustrating at first, but I think I'm on my way to dealing with the problems there. And there has been tons of great stuff too - like, I don't think you've had the chance to properly meet Torkoal yet! I met her there and she's great…"

After spending half an hour regaling her about some of the high points of Blueberry Academy (mostly my friends and the Terarium, much of which I'd already covered in messages before but could go into more depth now), I head off to see Arven. And Turo, it's been too long since I've properly faced him.

"Nemona!" Arven said brightly as I knocked on his door. "C'mon!" He waved me inside. Taking a look around, I saw that the place was a little tidier than before. Not a huge amount, but some of the research notes and projects Turo had been working on had been removed.

Stepping inside, I saw the man himself, Professor Turo. For a moment, he looked just as he always had, but then I noticed how one of the sleeves of his labcoat hung loose,and his hand wasn't in his pocket. How his stubble on his five o'clock shadow was slightly uneven, and the bags under his eyes. Arven said he was better, but how much better?

"Nemona," he said flatly, and the two of us stared at each other, Arven awkwardly caught in the middle.

I'd thought long and hard about what to say to this man. I still wasn't sure it was the right thing to say, but I settled on: "Your research from the Area Zero Underdepths was quite helpful in setting up the Tera Sphere. I don't think it would have been anywhere near as possible without what you did. My condolences on your loss," I added at the end.

There. Short and simple, acknowledging his skills and work, while at the same time bringing up the dangers of going too far, but in a subtle way that shows that I bear him no ill will and want Turo to be well. The man didn't respond for a moment, then dipped his head. "That's good to hear. Would you… like something to eat?"

"Uh sure. Do you have any apples?" Turo nodded, grabbing one from the fridge and passing it to me. As I munched on it, he spoke up again. His words, while still crisp and clear, were slower now, some of the confidence lost to his cadence and demeanour.

"I've looked over the notes Friede and Colress shared regarding their work on the Tera Sphere. It looks… good. Solid. I hadn't heard much of Colress' work since that nasty business with Team Plasma." Arven looked slightly confused at what his dad was referring to, and I realized belatedly that I'd never told my friends about Colress' past, just what he was working on now.

"I've been learning a lot from him," I admitted. "He helped sponsor some of my experiments, checking safety measures and the like. I don't think his desires even changed since then, just the way he goes about his goals. He takes into account the safety of the Trainers and the Pokemon involved as he looks for ways to make them stronger."

"I see," Turo said. His eyes were unfocused, lost in thought. Which I was kinda going for. Hopefully he can see that he can still do science and research, just in safer ways, experiments that don't take him away from his son for years. He didn't speak up again for a few minutes, which left us in an awkward silence until Arven spoke up.

"Hey, we should play a game! We've got umm, oh I just got Sevipers and Archaludons!" He said, holding up the board game that looked somewhat analogous to 'Snakes and Ladders' from my first life.

"Sure, let's play!" Then, to my surprise, Turo sat down with us around the coffee table.

"I don't recall playing this one before. You'll have to tell me the rules," he said, and Arven nodded his head furiously.

Turo sounds so… broken. Defeated. For a moment, I almost wondered if I had changed things for the better, but then, out of the corner of my eye, I caught him smiling slightly at his son's enthusiastic (and slightly out-of-order) description of the rules of the game.

No, this is waaaaay better than the alternative. He might still need some time to recover, but Turo will. He has a whole life ahead of him with his son now. Oh, I better start paying attention, this is sounding a lot more complicated than Snakes and Ladders, more like the board game 'Life'.

We spent the morning playing together and it was generally quite fun. Lunch was fine, though I noticed how some things in the kitchen were still a bit difficult for Turo to manage. After that, Turo said, "I'll be going down to sort through my equipment."

"Again?" Arven whined, though he stopped quickly when his dad turned around. "I just mean, you've done it a lot, and you said how the League had 'taken your life's work,' already, so I didn't think there was much else to go through." In other circumstances, I'd have found it funny how Arven was adopting a posture and tone similar to my own when trying to convince his father. Given what he's talking about here though-

"Hey, Nemona! You're the Champion, can't you just order the League to give everything back?" Arven turned to me, his face bright, as if he had solved all the problems in the world. My mind froze long enough for him to ask a follow up with, "Well, can't you?"

"That might be a bit difficult, even for me. Besides, Turo might have just lost that equipment, right?" My smile turned a tad sharper as I faced him.

"... I hadn't realized you'd heard me complaining," he said in a softer voice to his son before addressing me. "You're correct Nemona, I have no need to blame the League for that. I've probably just… lost those pieces. I should work on cleaning up the lab properly; it'll help me focus better and not lose things in the future."

Before he left for his basement lab, he stopped at the door and asked, "About that Tera Sphere… I have some ideas on how to improve it. The Stellar Terastalization I discovered down in the underdepths, I have some ideas on how to synthesize the Tera Crystals to change ones Tera Type to it. I might be able to modify the Sphere to induce 'natural' Stellar Terastalizations within the Terarium. If you think they would be interested in that."

"Of course! That sounds amazing. So long as it's what you're interested in pursuing." This would be great for me and battling in particular but I don't want him to feel like he owes me or he's pressured to work on what I want.

"I offered it," he said bluntly. While it could be seen as a bit snappish, I was used to it. He acted like this all the time before. Hopefully it's a good sign.

With that, he shuffled off. Arven looked confused, but shrugged it off a second later, the way kids could. "Wanna play tag?"

A few minutes later, after complaining about how fast I was, we switched to a different game (hide & seek), with which he did pretty well (after I deliberately didn't use my Aura at all). As we were playing, I asked him, "What happened with your mom coming here?"

"I dunno. It was… rough. Dad was yelling at her, she was yelling at him, but he was hurt and I was upset… She helped around the house for a bit, then when Dad could get out of bed again, she left." He was quiet for a minute before adding, "I didn't want to be mad at her, didn't even realize I was. When I saw her in-person for the first time in a super duper long time I just felt angry."

"That happens sometimes. It can be hard to accurately predict even how we'll feel about something. I think if you let her know how you were feeling, and how you still love her and all, it'll help a bunch."

"Okay. Do you think Mom and Dad will ever say that to each other?"

Oh boy. "Umm, I think that's really up to them," I said as diplomatically as I could. "Now, do you want Miles to show you some of the cool photos we took of the Terarium?"

"Yeah!"

***

That was one awkward family dynamic, but thankfully things were much better with my own family. Mother and Father had been busy over the weekdays, barely seeing me then, but with my sister free on the weekend all of us were able to come together.

"Ahh, our darling daughters, we've missed you so much!" Mom said, hugging us both tightly. Cyan squirmed a bit in her grip, in the way that said she was a teenager and felt she was too old for such public affection but also deeply glad to see our mom again.

"Indeed, our lives are missing some of their luster without you! Ah, I wish we could have taken you with us on our trip."" Dad declared as he hugged me. "And you as well, even if we've seen you more recently," he told Cyan.

"I already said it was fine," I told him, laughing as we got settled in the living room. "How was your time in Kalos?"

"It was wonderful! Oh, we have so many photos to show you! Come, let's go to the theatre room now, I'll put them on the projector," my mom declared imperiously, sweeping through the house. I think you've already shared a lot of these when we chatted.

My prediction was proven mostly true, but it was still fun to see what they had to say about them all.

"Ahh, this is from-"
"And here's where we-"
"Oh, show her this one next, Nims is gonna love this!"

"Wow, that sounds awesome." I said, and I noticed a flash of guilt on Cyan's face. "What's wrong?"

"Just- I'm sorry you didn't get to come with us on the trip."

I waved her off. "It's fine Cy, I knew we wouldn't all be able to make it on a trip together, and I'm glad you guys had fun. Besides, we can always visit again. And you didn't see all Kalos has to offer over your Regi week, did you? We can go to Lumiose in the future, maybe check out the Tower of Mastery, that kind of stuff."

"That's right," O'Nare chimed in. "I'm surprised the remodeling is taking so long in their city. No offense to them, but I think if we had been given the redevelopment contract over Quasartico Inc., we would have had it done by now!"

"Ah, that's Glitterati excellence for you!" Billy said, clapping his hands at his wife's boast.

"Huh, why didn't you develop things there?" I asked. "Did Quasartico offer to get the job done for less?"

"No, or rather, we never got to that stage. The Lumiose League was rather circumspect about certain aspects, but fairly early on they made it clear they wanted to keep it within Kalos." Guess that makes sense that they wouldn't want a Paldean realty group to be deciding the development of their capital city, though it is kinda weird how things are taking so long there.

"What have you been up to?" My sister asked, and now it was my turn to feel a pang of guilt, which I quickly smothered.

"Well, I helped my friend Sally catch her first Pokemon here, I think I've got some pictures of her Varoom zooming around," I said as I pulled up my phone to project some of those onto the screen. "There he is, zipping around the canyon, there's Sally catching him, ah, don't worry about the marks on the kitchen floor there, I think the staff has mostly scrubbed those out by now. Arven, Sally, and I played a ton before she had to go. Oh, and I said hi to Arven's Dad. Turo's not great, but it sounds like he's getting better…"

I'm not upset about the time I spent with my friends, but being honest with myself, and I probably could have left school early for the trip to Kalos. I've just been so focused on Elsa and the Elite Four that I-

"You okay Nims?" Cyan's question brought me out of my thoughts, and I saw that my sister and our parents were looking at me with concern.

"I'm fine. Just… thinking about school and the League Club." I had been tempted not to worry them about that, but then I remembered Leah's words before we left.

"You sure you don't need a hand dealing with them? I could transfer over-"

"No! Thank you," I told her, touched by her determination. "But things are fine. I won my first battle against the League Club! Ares was a jerk just as we left for the break, but I'll deal with him soon enough. Once me and my friends win we can make the League Club and school a better place. And we will."

"Alright honey, we trust you. But if anything like that incident with that Death girl happens again, let us know," mom said. Let you know so you can leverage your connections and economic might to crush her. It was an amusing fantasy, but I didn't indulge long, turning my attention to happier thoughts.

"I will. Hey, I haven't properly introduced you to my newest teammates, have I?" They had seen them via video calls, but that wasn't the same. "Presenting, the tough, tenacious, Testudinidae! And the youngest member, the stalwart Cataphract!" I called out, releasing the two Pokemon.

They burst out, proudly strutting (or in Cataphract's case, slithering) about. My parents reacted with appropriate levels of awe, handing out much praise. Seeing everyone adoring them and the two of them fitting in with my family easily filled my heart with much joy. Well, almost everyone. In the background, I saw some of the staff twitch at the sight of them - or rather the charcoal shaking out of Test's shell and the slime trail Cat left behind. I'm sure it's fine; there's got to be plenty of tools to clean up after Pokemon in this world, right?

"Oh, here's some photos of Cat when they were a Goomy- no, Cat, stop it!" I cried, laughing slighting as my newest Dragon tried to desperately cover up my phone with goo to stop my parents and sister from seeing his 'baby pictures.' "You know they've already seen some of these, right?"

"Sliggoo?!"

"Yeah, it's the same as how you heard Arven before you met him," I informed my youngest Pokemon, explaining how the internet and text messages worked. His antenna drooped down before I patted the top of his head. "Don't worry about them seeing you without a shell before; it just makes your transformation even more magnificent!"

"Goo goo!" Cat declared proudly, perking up.

"Indeed," my sister confirmed. "And you're not the only one," she said, running a hand over Testudinidae's warm shell. "Got a new theme going huh? The Great and Powerful Turtle would be proud" Cyan said cheekily and I shook my head.

"Ha ha, very funny. But Cat is more snail-themed than turtle-" then I paused, an idea coming to me as I processed her words. "However, he might have some defensive tips for them. And the school is about to implement a new system to invite tutors in…" Looks like the new year will be shaping up in an interesting fashion.

Those were thoughts for the future, however. For now, I decided to enjoy the time I had with my family, regaling them and being regaled in turn with tales of what we had done since we were last together. It left me with a wonderful fuzzy feeling inside that I could never articulate better than 'home.' It's good to be back.

Spoiler: A/N:

A brief foray back home before Nemona heads back to the frontlines school. With a side order of Sally and her growth as a trainer too! Oh, and for anyone not familiar, Varooms can have the hidden ability Slow Start, which is very bad in a fight, but when they evolve to Revavrooms, it becomes Filter, an amazing Ability, so that's where the pun/metaphor above came from. I feel it's kinda a good descriptor for Sally herself too (and I do love it when the Pokemon on the team reflect the trainer and vice versa). Let me know what you thought of this event down below or on the the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[LurkingInTheDeceit]

"Wh-what if they don't want to? Do I really have to ask first? My sister just says I should catch first and then after I've proven my strength-"

"Yeah, that might work for him, but I don't think it'll be the best plan for you." Also, I think it's a rude and stupid way of doing things in general, but there's no need to insult the big brother Sally idolizes.

Click to shrink...

'My sister just says', 'that might work for him'

^ Some confusion here. Not sure whether Sally has a brother and a sister, but this bit doesn't make sense regardless.

 

[Spearow]

^ Some confusion here. Not sure whether Sally has a brother and a sister, but this bit doesn't make sense regardless.

Click to shrink...

i think she has a friend that she wishes to be her brother and an actual sister? i dunno

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[LurkingInTheDeceit]

i think she has a friend that she wishes to be her brother and an actual sister? i dunno

Click to shrink...

Regardless of their relationship status, it doesn't make sense to say 'she said' followed by 'that might work for him', which is my point.

 

[Skyfyre]

'My sister just says', 'that might work for him'

^ Some confusion here. Not sure whether Sally has a brother and a sister, but this bit doesn't make sense regardless.

Click to shrink...

i think she has a friend that she wishes to be her brother and an actual sister? i dunno

Click to shrink...

Regardless of their relationship status, it doesn't make sense to say 'she said' followed by 'that might work for him', which is my point.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I made some mistakes there, they've been fixed now. Sally's older sibling is a girl

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

Click to shrink...

Thank you!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 58 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and Garreon LeFay, my Ace Tier patreons! Your support means so much to me.

"Nemona," Elsa said curtly to me, nodding her head as I entered the club room. There was no one else inside it yet, besides her and I. Walking over, I saw the four unique chairs assembled near the end of the table (not counting the massive, ice throne that Elsa sat in herself). Glancing up from her Rotom Phone, she gestured at the solid oak chair. "You can take Cassandra's chair for now, and we'll replace it with something more fitting after the meeting."

"Fine," I grunted, hefting the heavy chair back and then sliding in. I didn't really care about the chair, but was more annoyed even being here. Can't really blame Elsa for this one as it was part of my plan. Turns out becoming a member of the Elite Four means I need to attend meetings the Elite Four have to attend, who would have guessed?

I was five minutes early to the meeting, but it didn't take long for the rest of the Elites to trickle in. Ares was the latest, however, cutting it so close that when he walked in just as it became 6 o'clock, that I knew he had to have been purposefully timing it so. That, and I heard him waiting just outside the door for the last minute. I do love my Aura sometimes.

Elsa barely glanced at him, deciding to not give that stunt any extra attention. "We can begin. This is our first meeting of the term and we have a new member," she gestured at me. I just raised an eyebrow. What am I supposed to do? Wave? Introduce myself? I think we all know each other by this point.

The League Club Champion continued. "This is our first meeting after the break. We hold these once a month to check in on the status of the club, its members, and the facilities we look after. Each of the elites has an arena to look after. We let non-League Club members use it for a modest fee, and some League Club members may request tutelage from you for some BP." Elsa's words were mostly for me, but I got the feeling she was stating them as a refresher for some other members too.

"How much does that cost them?" I asked.

Atticus began to answer. "For using the arena, it's fairly cheap, only 10 BP per participant - though they are on the hook for any damages caused. As for tutelage-"

"However much you can wring out of them!" Ares answered.

"Really? You're not exactly desperate for money, and I'm sure you could buy anything you'd need BP for." I pointed out. He just laughed.

"Of course I can! But it's more fun to watch them squirm. Well, unless they're cool, like my bros, I don't charge them at all." With an attitude like that, it's no wonder some of the other students turned to me for help.

"Focus," Elsa's icy voice cut through the room. "You'll be given a stipend of 2000 BP a month as the fourth ranked Elite in the club, which increases slightly with each rank you rise. You can use these funds as you wish." She paused, then added, "Since your duties require you to keep the arena in the Canyon Biome running, I recommend you use some of those funds to hire other League Club members to watch over it when you're unavailable. Speaking of which," the white-haired girl said, turning to Charlotte. "There have been reports you've left your arena unattended for large stretches of time. That's unacceptable, especially from the highest Elite of the club."

The girl in question just leaned back in her chair, shrugging. "It's only in the morning, I don't have anyone to cover it then. You can't expect anyone to get up this early, it's a pain." It was indeed quite early, one of the reasons why no one else was using the club room right now. Elsa didn't seem impressed however, crossing her arms.

"Right now? Sure. But there have been cases where the arena is unattended up to 1 in the afternoon."

"Make… me." Charlotte began defiantly, but ended far less so as the room suddenly dropped in temperature, the Champion girl flexing her Aura. It didn't stop the Alolan girl from rolling her eyes, but she recognized the power that Elsa had and stopped talking back at least. "Ugh, that's going to seriously cut into my snack fund."

"Just bully some brats to watch over the place for you," Ares said. "I could even lend you some of my guys if you'd-"

"Fuck off," Charlotte casually said, flipping him off for added emphasis. "I'm not gonna date your weak bitch ass." The boy ground his teeth in response, his previous lecherous grin turned to a nasty frown.

I caught a slight sigh, a sound that no one else could have heard from Elsa. Her face seemed to say 'see what I have to put up with?' But she quickly schooled her features again and I wasn't sure if I imagined the expression. "If our Elites are short a few helpers, we have some new students who have joined the club since Cassandra left-"

"Wait, Cassandra left the club entirely? Why?" Elsa glared at me for interrupting, but Ares was the one to respond to my question.

"Because she realized she had no potential? Girl was a tryhard that couldn't cut it and you finally knocked her loose from the ledge she was hanging onto."

Atticus added, "The entire purpose of this club is about each of us striving to be the best. When she realized she couldn't succeed at this level, she left. It was for the best, for everyone."

"If you're all done," Elsa said sarcastically. "I've sent you a list of new students who have joined the club. Use them if they're helpful to you, if not, ignore them. Do not run them out of the club because you 'don't recognize them.'" Elsa said with a pointed stare at Ares. "As for your duties, I don't care how you do it, but don't slack off on them. Now, are there any questions? Any concerns about the League Club or its members?"

No one else rushed to answer, so I spoke up. "I've got a question. The arena is in a pretty good spot for me, so when I beat Ares and rank up, can I still keep it as my arena?" That earned a low 'oooh' from Charlotte and a good natured chuckle from Atticus, watching as the bully boy in question all but snarled at me.

Elsa waved it off. "That's fine. Any changes among the rank can have the winner choosing which arena they wish to claim as their own. Oh, and we have a new system that Cyrano installed," she said, waving at a computer monitor in the back of the room. "It's rather costly in BP to pay for the temporary lodgings and amenities, but we can call in 'tutors' or anyone else from outside the region to temporarily stay here. Use it if you want. That computer is also where you can make requests for remodeling the Club room, though for the Elites, that's just your chair and locker."

Feels a little unfair that she gets everything else in the room to change to her own desires, but this isn't a democracy. At least the snowy theme looks kinda pretty and is on brand for her. When no one else spoke up, Elsa clapped her hands. "Meeting adjourned." With that she got up, swiftly exiting the room.

The others left quickly, though Atticus at least stopped by to say, "Congratulations. While I wasn't able to watch, I heard your match against Cassandra was well done."

"Thanks," I said after a moment, politeness internally warring with the desire to get away from this slimy guy.

"Do you intend on challenging Elsa next?" He inquired.

"No, I'm going to trash all of you before taking down her," I said brightly and Atticus stiffened up slightly.

"I see." He left then, but not before tossing out one final line. "Don't be so quick to look down at all of us - not everyone here is as weak as Cassandra was." Yeah, sure. Whatever you want to tell yourself.

Part of me wanted to go up and challenge him, but there was someone else I'd been practicing and studying to fight first. That and Ares and his friends have been picking on Sally and other students, so I kinda want to get rid of that bully first. But before any of that I should probably get things settled at my arena.

2000 BP seemed like a lot, and it was by most student's standards, but compared to what I could earn by running through a bunch of BBQs, it probably wasn't worth the time spent watching over the arena (though part of that was due to the speed in which I could run through the BBQs). Hmm, I could get some of my friends to watch over the arena for me. I could toss them some BP and with enough of them on a schedule it wouldn't really cut into any of their training time.

***

"So that's what it's like being a big shot Elite Four, huh?" Drayton asked sarcastically, looking around at the arena. Carmine, Lacey, Sally, Chumley, and Judai were here as well (Kieran conspicuously absent from the picture despite my invitation to the Kitakami boy).

"Yeah," I responded, still thinking about how my first meeting with them had gone. I'd skimmed over it for the most part for my friends, but I couldn't shake how wrong the entire meeting felt. That's why we need to change things. "So uhh, if I could get your help in looking after the arena, that'd be great! I've got a ton of BP I can give you guys for it and we can work out a schedule that works for everyone."

Admittedly I planned for Kieran to be here too, but I can adjust the plan for six other people- "Umm, is it okay for us to watch over it?" Sally pointed out. "Big bro, Chumley, and I aren't part of the club so…"

"Ugh," I groaned. "You're right, I can't see Elsa being okay with that."

"Who cares what that frozen bitch thinks?" Carmine shouted, and I wondered if she would have said that had her brother been here. I feel like Carmine probably would have tempered her words around him, not wanting him to learn any 'bad words' like that. Or at least, to not learn them from her and have Kieran get in trouble from him repeating them.

Drayton seemed unfazed and Lacey was a bit surprised by the harsh language, but not shocked either. I gave Carmine a smile. "I appreciate the support and agree with the sentiment, but as she's still the leader of the club, I'll have to follow her orders. For now, at least. I'd rather spend as little time getting lectured in the Club Room as possible." I do still need to figure out a way to make this work though.

Despite those difficulties, we hammered out a plan that worked with all of our schedules. I'd still be spending the most time out of the four of us running the arena, but I could do much of my training there. One upside to all this is that I won't get too many challengers up here. The Canyon Biome, at least for the arena up here, saw some of the least traffic from the student body. Even the Polar Biome saw more students at its arena, if only because it was low to the ground and close-ish to one of the entrances.

Before Carmine left, I pulled her aside to ask, "How's Kieran doing?" She immediately frowned.

"Kiki's gotten… obsessed. He's training non-stop and barely talks to anyone. I know you've been busy with taking down the League Club, we all have, but you at least message us if you're going on a training binge in the Terarium. Even when we came back home, he was fixated on training."

"Did he seek out Oge- the Ogre?" I was shocked when Carmine shook her head. Seriously? I didn't think anything could break his focus on her. The tall girl's next words mollified me only slightly.

"Well, he went to the den and left a message once. Mumbled something about how he 'had to get strong enough to be worthy of their friendship' or something. I dunno, he talks under his breath way too much, he needs to speak up." I hid a grin at watching Carmine's overprotective elements kick in. She might pick on him at times, but that is clearly a right reserved just for her. I think I saw her nearly take out someone's eye on Ares' little bully squad when they tried to pick on him.

Distantly, I wondered if part of Carmine's overprotective attitude was because their parents were gone. In any case, Kieran really isn't doing great. "I'm sorry to hear that. Keep an eye on him and I'll see what I can do. If it gets any worse, we might try to hold an intervention or something."

"Thanks," Carmine said with a tired smile before leaving as well. This left me alone with my thoughts… for about three seconds, until I heard a shuffling coming from the edge of the forested section past the arena. Turning around, I spotted Cassandra shuffling through the trees. She must have been waiting till I was alone, probably to talk to me. I don't think she could have overheard us talking from over there, unless her hearing is as keen as mine.

When she emerged from the forest, I saw her hair was no longer dyed, the natural black and grey tinged coloration coming back through her roots. She wasn't wearing her black leather jacket any more either. "Cassandra," I said in greeting. This elicited a shocked screech from her, likely because I had slipped around the side, using the arena to cover my approach before floating up and around to land behind her.

"Arceus, why'd you fucking do that?" She growled. I didn't answer, just stood there with my arms crossed. I feel like this would be more intimidating if I wasn't ten years old and much shorter than her.

It was my turn to be surprised when Cassandra let the anger bleed out and said, "I'm sorry. For… stomping off like that after the match. You did good and I blamed you for stuff that wasn't your fault. The stuff about you being rich was just because I'm an orphan and been poor all my life. Had to fight for every scrap I could take, and I was just-" she blew out a sigh, as if coming up with the words was difficult. "Angry, I guess."

The confession shocked me enough that I didn't respond for a minute, until she got angry enough again to almost turn away and I called, "Wait! Umm, thank you, I appreciate that." I really do; it's not easy to admit you've done something wrong, and even more so to come up and apologize when I don't think there was anyone else pressuring her to do so. She could have felt bad about it but never talked to me again and no one would have blamed her.

"Why did you leave the League Club?" I asked. The older girl tensed up a bit, clearly unused to people asking about her without some pretext.

"I'm not gonna beat you. I put everything I had into that fight. Ever since you kids made your little declaration you were gunning for us, I prepared so hard. Especially for you, the Champion of another region. But I wasn't enough. And you might say, 'I could try again' or maybe I could take out one of the others and cling onto a spot for a bit, and I might be able to. But being in that club was just… stressful. Everything, your whole life becomes about trying to be the best, beating everyone above you and watching out for everyone below, at any cost. I need to take a break, find out what I really want, and what's best for my team."

She looks so tired. A girl of seventeen shouldn't look that way. "I'm- we're going to make the League Club a better place!" I told her. She gave me a small smile.

"Best of luck with that, Nemona. I'm heading out of here at the end of this year, but I hope you make it better. Or at least don't get wrapped up in their Taurosshit. Oh, and watch out for Ares, you hear? Taking a step back gave me some perspective, and I reviewed my old fights with him. Sure, he had Type advantage, but that jerk doesn't like to play fair; if he looks like he has one trick up his sleeves, he probably has another, as much as he acts like just some thug." With that, Cassandra had clearly exhausted her energy talking, giving me an airy wave goodbye as she walked away.

That was… unexpected. But appreciated. Alright, with everything set up, there's no point delaying. Time to knock Ares down a peg.

***

"What do you mean 'no?'" My question earned me a jeering look from the older boy.

"Weren't you supposed to be some sorta brainiac? Better go back to kindergarten if you don't even know what 'no' means. Distortion, kindergarten might be too much for you!"

"Hah! Good one," One of his cronies, a boy called Landon, cheered.

"I'm making a formal challenge, offering Blueberry Points to challenge you, you can't just-" I cut myself off, realizing he was just trying to rile me up. "Under what grounds are you refusing?" I demanded.

"My buddy, Landon here, just challenged me to a match."

"Uh, I did?" The other boy asked before receiving an elbow to his side. "I mean, yeah, course I did."

"You gotta give me three days after my battle till you can challenge me - can't have us Elites being worn down by constant challenges from the riff raff."

"Fine," I said, stomping off. So he buys himself a few days, so what? It won't make a huge difference. I'll just keep on training till I can take him down.

Unfortunately, I found the same problem when I found him in the Club Room three days later and challenged him once again. "Sorry, you're too late. I just got another challenge from Randy." Ares said with a smirk while his friends laughed. I bit back a frown.

"Surely, you've put up the Blueberry Points for the challenge, correct?" I turned, asking Randy, rather than Ares. The laughing boy paused, looking a bit uncomfortable as the others in the League Club turned to him.

"I don't-" he began before Ares cut him off.

"Hey, let me just transfer you the Blueberry Points for that thing," Ares waved it off, his Rotom Phone floating up and sending the points to Randy.

"Oh right, yeah." I saw Randy then send the challenge request to Ares.

"Wait, he hadn't even challenged you yet!" I pointed out.

"Don't be such a stickler for the rules," Ares said, which was the wrong thing to say. He had his back to her, but I could see Elsa frowning at him. "So what if he forgot to formalize it already, he told me and made it clear beforehand. Stop being a pest." There's something more going on here; I feel like he's aiming for something more than just annoying me or trying to endlessly stall.

"If you're so tired of this, let's settle things quickly. I want to book my match against you after this." I tried to have Miles send the request, but it was blocked as Randy's 'challenge' had already gone through. I haven't researched his lackeys much, but none of them are anywhere near Ares' skill, like most of the Leaguers.

"Sorry, but there's no method to arrange a challenge ahead of time. Just be quicker in the future," he mockingly offered.

"Perhaps there should be such a method," Elsa cut in, causing Ares' small crew to freeze. The Elite himself flinched, turning to face her as she continued. "I don't want slackers abusing their position, after all. Especially if they don't deserve it." The unspoken accusation was icy, though the room didn't grow any colder (it was always a little chilly compared to outside, likely due to the unmelting throne of ice she had).

"I deserve my spot," Ares bristled. "Fine, I know my boys have been waiting to challenge me so let's get…" I saw him doing the mental calculation and stepped in.

"Just tell me how many days you want to postpone things so we can set the match for after then," I said bluntly. He grit his teeth, either at being 'ganged up on'by Elsa and myself or being called out, I didn't know, but he bit out an answer.

"Sixteen days should be enough time to get what I need." Curious turn of phrase that. He's got something else in mind beyond just trying to study how my team fights. In any case, that does give me enough time to try something I would have otherwise saved til afterwards. I nodded and Elsa overriding the usual system with her Champion clearance, putting my challenge into the system, the requisite BP taken from my account.

"The match will be in the central Terarium court sixteen days hence." Who says hence? Hmm, I'm detecting a bit of that accent again. "Don't be late," she said, ostensibly to both of us, but clearly directed more at the rude boy than myself. As Ares left (with a gesture that could be charitably described as a wave, or more accurately described as a finger shot of flipping us the bird), the Champion of the League Club turned to me.

"I'm surprised you let him push you around. You could have easily pushed for an earlier match," she commented. "Or have you gotten cold feet upon approaching your goal?"

I snorted. "Hardly. But I want him to be at his best. I want all of you at your very best before I challenge, and crush you. Leaving no doubt who stands on top," I declared, staring up directly into her pretty, pale blue eyes.

Elsa laughed, a sound almost masking her battle lust, the eagerness I saw in her hands twitching towards the Pokeballs she carried. "Very well, we'll see how far you can climb… before being dashed against the mountainside by the storm." She leaned in, finishing in a low voice.

We held our stare off for a moment, before I asked, "... so, or you supposed to be the blizzard, or the mountain in this metaphor? The blizzard makes the most sense because I'm not climbing you, but what's the mountain th-?"

"It was just meant to sound cool, don't go questioning it too deeply!" Elsa shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. The other club members listening in on our interaction laughed, muffling themselves at her sweeping glare before she stormed out.

I left as well, but not before putting in a quick request at the terminal. With this extra time before our fight, I might as well get some extra tutelage from… not exactly a friend, but he's an acquaintance that might really be able to help my new Pokemon.

Spoiler: A/N:

Sorry if this one is a bit short, I hurt my shoulder a bit and my writing speed slowed down a a fair bit. Don't have much else to say here, so I hope you all are doing well.

 

[Anonymous Brainwash]

I eagerly await the curb-stomping of Elsa (and the remaining club members as well)

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 61 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and Garreon LeFay, my Ace Tier patreons! Your support means so much to me.

While I was waiting for my 'special coach' to arrive, I kept up with my training. The arena was quite good as a training space for my team, but honestly, I wasn't using it all that much. "Try to bring the temperature down," I instructed Cataphract, who was spraying out a blast of water at the Goomys in the enclosure. After seeing Cataphract's transformation, they've been quite eager to evolve themselves. Mostly, at least. There were still plenty of Goomys that were far happier to 'vibe' on the sidelines than fight themselves, but many were intrigued by Cataphract's change.

My little Dragon had been quite boastful of it, which was probably why I detected a hint of frustration in his eyes as he failed to make Chilling Water form properly. It's certainly cold enough from the bit of splash back I've received, but not that bone-deep chill that we're going for, the kind that saps a foe's strength in the heat of battle in an instant. "Focus on the cold, like with Ice Type energy but don't fully tap into it."

It was difficult to explain, since I couldn't tap into those Type energies, but Miles had explained it that way. When they get back from their flyby, I'll ask them if they can give any finer points to Cataphract. Training him with that move served three purposes; the first was to give him a quick option to use against physical attackers, as his defenses there were the weakest, even with the Eviolite he now carried within his shell.

Turning my attention over to the other side of the field, I saw Athena, honing her skill with Aura projection. While she could only manage ten out of the 'ten thousand' Hands of Arceus technique, the fact that she could do so without Mega Evolving was incredible. Part of me is tempted to hunt down the Mega Evolution experts in Kalos that supposedly discovered a new Mega Evolution stone for Lucarios, one that's even better at letting them unleash their Auric might, but that would take a while. Besides, we still have plenty of groundwork we can lay for a strong foundation there before trying to reach new heights.

Elsewhere, the rest of my team were practicing their own advanced Moves. Most of them were practicing on their own, around clifftops and spires of their own. Practicing together could help them learn basic Moves, and for more advanced drills, help hone their battle instincts (and had been tremendously helpful in raising up the power of our newest members). For something like this however, there was little they could do to aid each other, even when their fields seemingly overlapped.

Radiance might have been a master of Poison, but their Moves involved summoning great deluges of toxic liquid to subsume our foes. Potent, but not helpful for Nightwing in attempting to master a physical version of Venoshock. I spotted her off on a small peak with a stack of Toxic Orbs and Pecha berries, testing her stinger against the Scythers and Kleavor nearby. At the very least, the sharp, precise motions of the Scyther and their leader seem to be honing her precision in the air, an unintended beneficial side effect of her training. That'll be helpful even if she doesn't master it - though I really hope she does, it'll be an excellent addition to her regular battle patterns.

I made a mental note to check in on them later and make sure no one their went too hard - either her bullying them out of frustration or them swarming her out of anger at being unable to beat my Pokemon on their own - but as it was generally going fine, I turned my attention to where Bahamut was beating his head against a wall. Or boulders, as the case may be, slamming into the gigantic piles of stone Notch had conjured before heading off on their own training.

I wonder what exactly they're working on? They said they wanted to 'keep it a surprise until they could get it right,' but let slip it had been inspired from a story I'd told. I think I talked about Star Wars most recently, so maybe something about The Force inspired Notch with their fine tune Psychic control?

Bahamut made another run, propelling himself forwards via burning dragon fire, akin to a Draco Meteor… except with him as the meteor. Bahamut crashed into the boulder with tremendous force, smashing through the rock and leaving jagged splinters all around. Powerful. Impressive. And unfortunately useless, at least as it currently stands.

The fully evolved Dragon had been attempting to make use of Draco Meteor's Dragon energy and the sheer physical power behind Giga Impact to make a Dragon Type variant of the latter. While it looked like he was close to succeeding, the current Move seemed to be both as immediately exhausting as Giga Impact and as draining in long term strength as Draco Meteor, with recoil damage on top. Or at least some self damage from the burning energy pushing him forward.

"Hold up," I called out as Bahamut struggled to rise again. "Here," I sprayed him with a Hyper Potion and he gave out a relieved hiss. "I know we talked over the combined Move, but I want to go back to the drawing board here."

"Hax?"

"I think the method isn't working, but that's not to say the base idea of a powerful, physical Dragon Type Move is a bad idea. We just need to rework it a bit. You aimed for Giga Impact over Outrage as a base because of the wild, unpredictability of the Dragon Move, right?" He nodded his head, breathing heavily from his exertions. "Let's use the power of the Giga Impact, but focus it, just trying to launch a powerful, devastating close range cut from your tusks. We'll worry about introducing Dragon energy into the Move once you get the technique down."

Bahamut gave me a serious, "Orus!" Before getting to work, slicing the remaining boulders with incredibly powerful blows. I think this will work better with Bahamut's more disciplined fighting style, but I can't be certain. For every innovation, there's plenty of things we try that don't work. Despite that, it was heartening to see how much faith they all had in me. Even Radiance, the most standoff-ish of the group, had eagerly taken to my idea of attempting to use multiple Charge Beams from the tips of each of their wings.

Not everyone could train at once, though. While their training served as good practice for my awareness skills, I wasn't quite good enough to keep an eye on them all at the same time. Some, like Dun's work on perfecting Boomburst, would have made it difficult to pay attention to anything else. It also helped to give them rotating breaks. Huh? What was that? Despite all of those thoughts and chaos going on, I heard someone marching up the path below.

Waving Miles over to keep an eye on the training, I headed back to the arena. Despite my best intentions, I wasn't quite able to make it to the front desk before Hans, one of the new members of the club, made it there. This is the third time he's come here. I'm surprised he's willing to make that trek each time, just to hang out here. Is he lonely-?

"Damn, she's not here," I caught him muttering to himself before I could announce my presence. His next words stopped me dead in my tracks. "What am I going to tell Ares? If I can't give him detailed reports on her training he's gonna pick on me for the rest of the year."

That's the last thing you should be worried about, you two-faced brat! There was an urge to call him out, even report Hans to the staff, but I held back. As much as that would be nice in the short term, knowing this gives me a better option for the future. I can feed him wrong intel and keep my best tricks a secret.

I slunk into the shadows beside the arena, planning out my next move. That being said, it might be difficult to keep his presence a secret. The man can be rather flamboyant…

***

"The Great and Powerful Turtle is delighted that you have asked for his aid!" The man said in the third person, flourishing his arms wildly as he spoke. Navigating someone as flamboyant and odd as him throughout the school without anyone noticing would have been a difficult task, were it not for Phantasm and her mastery of illusions. She's focused on getting even better with those, over learning a unique Move. Probably smart, given the chaos of Double Battles. It makes the illusions even harder to manage, but the potential they have is also magnified, if she can use them right.

Turtle hadn't been pleased at having to hide his presence, but when I messaged him to explain, he understood, letting Phantasm conceal his presence until we reached the Terarium. We were currently deep in the cavern network that extended underneath all of the biomes. A quick 'reminder' to the Tera Galvantula that lurked nearby and we had a large opening all to ourselves, the other Pokemon nearby not keen to bother us.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, I appreciate it." I'd heard how the Elites were getting busier back home, Geeta starting to implement some of my suggestions.

"It was no trouble at all! Not when word had reached me you had added not one, but two fantastic Testudinidae to your team!" He declared, looking down at my Torkoal and Hisuian Sliggoo.

"Tork?" My Pokemon's question had Turtle looking curiously as well.

"Oh yeah, my Torkoal chose Testudinidae as her name-" I blinked, realizing the shrill scream of joy came from my guest.

"That's adorable," he cooed, and Test looked quite proud of herself. I'm glad. It took us a while to find a name that clicked.

"Cataphract here isn't quite a turtle-"

"Goo?" He asked, sadly.

"No, it's not something bad, your shell style is just similar to that of a snail rather than a turtle- it's just a difference in biology- I'm sure Turtle can teach you a ton too and you can practice with Test, don't worry!" I finished quickly, hoping that Cat's eyes wouldn't get any more teary.

The Elite knelt down, something that must have been difficult with the shell he wore, but he managed it with ease. "Do not worry young one, for regardless of those factors, I can tell that you bear the heart… of a turtle!"

"Tork! Orkoal!"

"Slig! Sliggoo!"

I face palmed as my Pokemon cheered. They're so silly about this. Despite that, I couldn't, and did nothing to try to, stop the smile that spread on my face from their antics. We've all been working hard to become stronger, but it's good to enjoy moments like this too.

Eventually, Turtle composed himself and took a good look at my shelled Pokemon. "Hmm, yes, I can see you've done an admirable job of training them up so far, but they lack finesse in their standing. Fret not, for the Great and Powerful Turtle shall help you!"

Before I could say anything he pulled out a large shell from his Sliph Co. bag. This one wasn't as big as the one he wore but of a similar nature and as he passed it to me, I realized what he was going for.

"To understand the nature of a turtle you must beco- oh. You're already wearing it." He said, a bit nonplussed I had just gone along with it. I mean, it is fairly heavy and for most kids my age, would be a bit much to wear. I work out enough that it isn't a problem, per se. I still didn't like the extra weight, in particular how unbalanced it made me feel, but I understood that was probably the point.

"Very good!" He recovered. "You shall wear that for as long as we train together, and you shall master. The ways. Of the Turtle!" As he spoke, he struck several exaggerated poses.

"Yes Sensei," I replied automatically, falling back into old habits from training with Dendra. Juan was once again a little surprised. I guess he's not used to people easily acquiescing with his training methods. I might find them a little unusual, but he wouldn't be the strongest member of the Paldean Elite Four if he didn't have some good ideas as well.

He proved it by launching into detailed drills, showing my Pokemon how to get the most out of moves like Body Slam and Gyro Ball, 'throwing their whole shells into it.' I'm surprised he can throw himself around to demonstrate that for us personally. He had me running through some basic drills as well, but the kinds of moves he was doing would be far too much for me to mimic.

"Tossing your weight can be done in several different manners, from basic Normal Moves, to focusing on the density of Steel Types, to the precision of a Fighting Type attack! Do they know Body Press yet?" He asked.

"Test does, Cat wasn't clicking with the TM yet. I'm hopeful he'll be able to understand it better once he evolves." Bahamut had similar issues, with Moves like Earthquake that he now can use quite well being near impossible for him to learn when he was a Fraxure. The coach nodded at my reasoning, moving on to an alternative drill for my newest Dragon.

"That's understandable, but he still needs something to help cover that. This is an excellent Move, one that I feel serves as a cornerstone of the Turtle style of fighting: Counter! You-"

"Wait for the opponent to strike in, then hit back twice as hard! That's actually something I already taught Cat - his physical defenses are better than a regular Sliggoos, but still lesser than his special ones, so when an opponent tries to take advantage of that, we can, well, 'counter,' it." He gave me a bemused expression, and I blushed. "Ah, sorry."

"No, it's fine. Just a reminder of the mind behind one of my few defeats. You are an exceptional Trainer." Does it feel odd for him to be offering me advice when I beat him in the past? There were other Trainers I could have called up, Champions from other regions, but I'd been a bit intimidated by the thought of doing so, having barely messaged them to say hello several months ago.

They were all polite, but felt very busy, actually having the duties and responsibilities that came with being a Champion. Also, after my loss to Elsa… I kinda want to face them as equals. And I'm not there, not yet.

The Great and Powerful Turtle was still an immensely skilled Trainer, and especially in regards to turtle-based Pokemon (and generally shelled, slower Pokemon). Logically figuring out how useful a Move like Counter could be didn't mean I could demonstrate it effectively. Juan had tons of other tips and tricks to get a bunch out of Moves like Withdraw, and in Cataphract's case, Shelter. The Move is very similar to Iron Defense, but not quite as strong a boost. Curling in on his shell makes him a smaller target to hit at, and helps prime him to roll around the battlefield.

It wasn't just Turtle instructing us, his Pokemon also helped with demonstrating Moves - and importantly Abilities - for my team. Test stared in awe at Turtle's Torkoal. She was a bit smaller than Testudinidae, but the power she held was clear, particularly that of the sun. White Smoke was far more useful than some would think, and we'd really maximized its potential in our training, but the fact of the matter was that Drought would give Test the firepower she needed to really deal devastating blows to our foes.

Training an ability like that was decently well known as a process (I'd been feeding her plenty of ground up heat rocks sprinkled in her meals and had her master the Move Sunny Day), so there wasn't a ton Turtle could help with. Still, he and his Torkoal gave Test some advice on how to better visualize the Ability, and I felt she was just inspired by seeing it.

Not everything the Elite tried worked, unfortunately. "Uhh, yeah, that's not going to fly," I said as his Torkoal demonstrated the Flamethrower and Rapid Spin combo he had used in our fight during the Gauntlet.

"What do you mean? It takes some time to master, but once you have it down, any Torkoal can become a force of devastation, burning the entire battlefield!"

"Exactly," I deadpanned. Seeing he didn't quite understand, I called my Pokemon up. "Cat, Test, take your positions as if you were getting ready to battle." They did so, and while they were hardly joined at the hip, seeing them stand only a few meters apart made it click in his head.

"Oh, you do that Double Battle style here, don't you? Guess that would complicate things a bit… How would you try to fight like that?" He asked, turning it back on me, but once again showing that he had respect for my skills. It's nice, not being looked down on for my age or for losing to the top girl in the school.

"Well, some of it is obvious, having one Pokemon boost the other," I stated, releasing Radiance. "For example, if they're fighting alongside Test, she can set up the Sun and Radiance can immediately capitalize on it, getting a boost to the Fire Type Moves from the sun being up, but it can also help with Solar Beam, especially when they're Terastalized."

"Grass Tera Type… Ah! To cover their weakness to Water, and doubly so against Ground Type," Juan declared. "Enamorous was motivated enough by her defeat to practice some of those Moves so she could not be bested so easily again." I wouldn't call beating you 'easy', even with the Type Advantage we held there.

One might think it kind of him to reveal that about his own training, and it was, but there was more to it than that. I've noticed he has an odd sense of honor about him. I revealed some of how Radiance has improved, and so he felt compelled to reveal some of his own. Not everything, of course, and there was the hidden trap, that if I tried to take advantage of that in a fight by Terastalizing Radiance to a Grass Type to avoid the Ground attacks, Enamorous would crush us with Flying Moves.

"Thank you, for coming here and working with us. I know there isn't a ton you get out of coming here; you could practice Terastalization anywhere back home. And… thanks for letting me use Radiance in our fight, it meant a lot to both of us." I put as much sincerity in my voice as I could. He gave me a bright grin in response.

"Of course! It was our pleasure. Enamorous hadn't had a fight as spectacular as that one since I caught her. She might have been a fierce snit in the weeks following, but that's just how she shows her devotion!" …Really? Well, this is Enamorous we're talking about, I can kinda see it. I didn't press, afraid he might send her out as 'proof' which could end badly with Radiance out.

Then again, perhaps not. Radiance has gotten much better at controlling themselves since then. Something that got better in part because of that battle. I smiled thinking about how much closer we had gotten before getting back to training.

"For Test, having a fast attacker like Radiance can help harry foes and leave her open for big Erruption blasts to cover the field. Radiance has decent resistance to such a Move, if they ever ended up caught in the blast zone." Hasn't happened yet, but it is theoretically possible. "Of course, there are times when I want both the Pokemon on the field to be a bit slower too."

"To trap your troubles in the terrible Trick Room?" Turtle asked and I laughed.

"That's right! Double Battles make it so much easier - I had a combo where I'd set it up with Dun and used Curse a ton to turn the speed drop into a speed boost on top of the strength it gave. But it was pretty tough to use in singles; I'd have to have the Trick Room set up and then switch Dun in to begin powering up, and that cut into the time Trick Room was available."

"It is quite the impressive Move to turn the tables, but there is another way for magnificent turtle Pokemon to overcome that natural disadvantage. Shell Smash!" It was definitely a Move I'd been considering for Test, but there were some drawbacks as well. We workshopped some of those out, alongside the rest of the training.

As the day came to a close, Juan asked me, "Now, I was hoping to enlist your help with something before I leave. A mission of utmost importance!"

"Alright, lay it on me." I said, prepared for any challenge. Officially, I might not be the La Primera, but I like to think I have the skills for it, mostly at least. Whatever is a problem for him, I'm sure I can handle it.

***

"Ooh, who's the cutest Turtwig ever? You are, yes you are!" Turtle crooned, petting said Pokemon. Okay, so it wasn't all that hard, especially considering that kind of Pokemon was recently introduced to 'my' biome. Really the biggest difficulty was in making sure to stay out Hans' sight while finding one.

Watching the Turtwig eagerly lean his head into the gentle scritches Turtle was giving him, I was happy. Training is important, but moments like these are too. Striking a balance was hard though, between my friends, schoolwork, hobbies and battling, though. I thought I heard a note of music fill the air, a tune of new discovery, optimism and adventure. Despite trying to commit the inspiration to memory, I found myself having trouble writing it down in my dorm room later.

Odd. Usually I can recall things fairly accurately from my old life, and for those notes to fill my mind so suddenly and clearly in the moment would usually mean they were part of a song I heard before. At least it helped me write a bit more for my new album. Mr. Smiley really wants to get that music video done, but I don't know if I'll have the time for it. The sound was a mystery, but one that I put away for the moment, focusing my efforts on the battle coming up in a few days. Look out Ares, your time pushing people around and using underhanded tactics is at an end.

Spoiler: A/N:

The return of the Turtle! This one was mostly just a bunch of training, but I hope I was able to make it interesting enough with the inclusion of him, and Ares' efforts to play dirty. Next up, we see their clash, but through a slightly different lens; that's right, it's time for an interlude!

As always feel free to let me know what you thought about the chapter, but this time I'm also curious to hear about what people think of Pokemon Champions. It's been out for a bit now and just got it's first big update, with a bunch of new mega evolvable Pokemon, and some Gen 9 favorites like Gholdengo and Annihilape. Let me know down below or on the the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Absolute Cinema
10/10
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 62 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and Garreon LeFay, my Ace Tier patreons! Your support means so much to me.

POV - Sally Truesdale

"Oof!" I cried out, stumbling back and falling down as someone ran into me. It was an experience I was pretty familiar with, being small and quiet, but that didn't make me more comfortable with it.

Looking up, I recognized the person who hit me with a sinking sensation. Landon, one of Ares' cronies. Running behind him are the rest of his friends, and the ringleader themselves, Ares. Before, his bullying was just casual, a light cruelty he inflicted on me the same as most others he met, but since he's started clashing with Nemona in the League Club, it's gotten more targeted.

"Whoa now," he said with a smirk. "I thought I smelled something rank. I was worried something was rotten in the cafeteria, but it looks like it was just Stink Sally." As he spoke, Chumley came up to help me up. "And it looks like Chum is here too. Watch out or you'll get some of her stink on you!" He faux-warned my friend.

"He'll just cover it up with a bunch of burgers!" Randy crowed, making oinking sounds. "I don't think I've seen someone Chonk down so much as this guy." Oh come off it! Charlotte eats way more than Victor, but you don't say anything like that to her. Of course, that was the point; bullies like them picked on people like us, but made themselves scarce when dealing with someone stronger.

It's also why it's hard to do anything about them. Trying to report it to the staff just leads to them saying they were 'just kidding bro,' and then coming at me twice as hard when they're sure no one else is looking. "Whatever," I muttered. "Let's go," I told Chumley, trying to head off to the cafeteria.

Usually that would be the end of it, but for some reason, Ares was in a particularly bad mood today, slamming an arm to the wall, blocking off my path. "Where do you think you're scurrying off to? You just hit my friend - you should at least apologize."

"I'm sorry…" I said on reflex, before straightening up and continuing. "... that Landon is such a klutz that he ran into me." There was a moment of silence before one of the boys whistled, causing Landon to glare at him.

"Ha!" Ares barked out. "Where did you get the Guts for that? Your big sister? Judai?" He cast a gaze across the hallway as if he was looking around, the other students walking by either hurrying past to try and get out of his notice or just ignoring the scene unfolding. Why are people so afraid and uncaring? Will it change? I don't want to spend three years having to deal with that.

"Huh, I don't see Judai around at all, and your sister graduated last year. She was tough, even if she was colder than our current Ice Bitch." Don't say that about Zara! I wanted to scream, but couldn't open my mouth. "But you? You're just pathetic. So I'll give you one last chance to change your mind and apologize like a good little girl."

He crossed his arms, waiting. I was caught, frozen. I wanted to fight, but I just couldn't muster the courage to do so, not with him and the others staring down at me. Luckily, I didn't need to do so on my own, with Trubish popping out of her Pokeball. "Trub! Rub rub!"

"Gah, that's nasty!" One of the bullies sneered, backing away a few steps. The rest followed, save for Ares who despite scrunching up his face, stood his ground.

"Stinky Sally strikes again. But if that's how you want to play it out, why don't you and Landon air things out. Literally," he said, pointing up at where the above water stadium was, and the others chuckled at his weak pun. "But if you lose, you gotta apologize to him. Oh, and do our homework for the next week."

"I- fine! But when I win, he has to apologize to me!" It's not a fair deal, I know, but I really don't trust this bozo with my homework - I'm barely up to a 'B' grade average as is!

The others jeered, and they headed up, Chumley and I trailing far behind. "Ugh, can't believe we have to miss lunch for this," he complained, but there was no heat behind it. My friend was also still coming with me despite his stomach's grumblings, so I knew he wasn't that upset at it. He was worried, however, asking in a low voice, "Are you sure about this? We could wait for Judai or Nemona-"

"No." I stated firmly. "I can't just rely on them all the time, I need to stand up on my own too." And if I can't beat Landon then I really am hopeless! There were doubts of course, but I was able to push them aside for the moment.

When we got to the arena up top, there weren't a ton of people sitting around and watching, but there was still enough to make me nervous. They started whispering when I entered the arena as the previous match cleared out, squaring off against Landon.

"This match will be two on two, the first girl to surrender loses - or if Sally shows a bit more backbone than expected, the first one to have both of their Pokemon knocked out loses. Battle items are one per Pokemon, one Terastalization allowed from each Trainer, yada, yada, you know the rules."

I did - the rules had been displayed on my Rotom Phone in full - but it still irritated me how he acted. Which is probably the point; Ares knows these matches are monitored by the arena's systems, and him officiating means nothing if I can just go to the staff with the recording if he tries to pull anything… which is why he acts like this, trying to get a rise out of me.

"We do know, which is why we don't need to hear you yapping any more." I shot back, trying to sound as 'tough' as possible. Given my stature, I didn't think it worked, but at least I tried.

Ares certainly seemed to be of the same mind. "Cute, looks like you grew a spine. Landon will crush that down soon enough. Go, release your Pokemon." We both did so, Landon sending out a Metang and Shieldon to face off against Trubbish and Varoom.

"Wait wha- that's not your Slowpoke? What kind of Pokemon is that?" Landon loudly asked, pointing a finger at my Varoom. I just smirked, remembering Nemona's teachings about not 'giving away secrets to the enemy.' It's really tempting to brag, but I shouldn't do that here. Especially not against these Pokemon! Steel Types are tough to deal with. All my Poison based strategies flew right out the window.

Part of me regretted not sending out my Slowbro or Muk, who might have better options, but I shook that worry aside. Speed Racer needs to get used to battling for real, and I feel like Trubbish is close to evolving. Besides, this is just Landon. Guy might be a jerk, but I have faith that we can beat this blowhard!

The match began, and we both started ordering our Pokemon in. "Brutal Swing, Trub!" My starter gleefully swung in, with a dark wind whirling around to hit anyone close by. This included Varoom, but I had him using Protect to make the wild blows bounce harmlessly off.

This also stopped Landon's order for a Bullet Punch. His call of, "Take Down, was directed at Trubbish however, so after easily shaking off the Brutal Swing, Shieldon slammed into my starter. It wasn't that hard, but Shieldon took such little damage from the Brutal Swing! That Pokemon is tough, I'll need to deal with it. Thankfully, everything else was falling into place as Landon ordered his Metang to make space away from Trubbish.

"Now, Bulldoze and Drain Punch!" I called out. Gleefully, my Pokemon struck at his. Metang got off a Bullet punch that Varoom mostly shrugged off before driving the Psychic Type into the ground, and my Starter easily landed a powerful punch into the Shieldon, the extremely effective blow even leaving a crack in the Rock Type's heavy, disc-like head. Not a large crack, though. That Pokemon is just sooo tough. But both of his Pokemon are slow - Trubbish is faster, dodging around Shieldon's counter, and I suspect Speed Racer will be much faster once his engine really gets going.

I was thankful for the advice Nemona had given me on diversifying the Moves my Pokemon could use. A few Technical Machines, learned and practiced hard, were making all the difference here. Unfortunately, Landon didn't just sit there and take it. "Shieldon, Terastalize!" He declared, tossing his Tera Orb over his Pokemon, and his Pokemon emerged from the crystals that had covered them, now proudly bearing a large steel axe Tera jewel above his head (which somehow didn't unbalance the Pokemon).

"Now, Take Down!" Wait, that's it? Did he just use Terastalization to make Drain Punch a bit less effective? I was surprised, enough that I was caught off-guard when the Move hit. It's possible that Shieldon doesn't actually know any Steel Type Moves yet! So I just have to keep at it, I guess.

"Drain Punch! And another Bulldoze!" My starter continued to wail against Shieldon, devolving into a brawl fest between the two - her defenses were lesser than his, but she kept on landing super-effective Moves that healed her.

On the other side of the field, Speed Racer had slowed Metang down with another Bulldoze, and the Flash Cannon Landon ordered did minimal damage. His friend, Randy however, pipped up there with some advice, holding up a Pokedex.

"That thing is a Varoom! They're really rare and Steel and Poison Types!"

"That so? Alright, let's switch it up, Zen Headbutt!"

"Protect!" I shouted and my Pokemon held off against the potent Psychic assault for a moment, but already I could see cracks forming in his shield. Nemona said that Move was simple, but its hard to use and nearly broke- no wait, she said it was a 'basic tool' in my arsenal. We just need a little longer for him to rev up his engine.

I wasn't sure if I would get that time, but there was a tactic I could use to buy a few more moments. "Go, leave a sparkling trail in your wake, Terastalize!" I cried, tossing my own Tera Orb over Speed Racer. Crystals formed around him and shattered, my Pokemon Spinning Out wildly and hitting Metang decently hard, despite their resistance. Metang's own Zen Headbutt now did far less to the fully Steel Type Pokemon.

There were some gasps and cheers from the crowd buzzing at the spectacle of both of us having Terastalized. There were comments about how well I was doing, and wondered if I could win. I wish I had such confidence. Even though we looked evenly matched, I could tell that Landon's Pokemon were stronger than mine, their blows dealing more damage. The tactics I had planned for, of using poison to wear down opponents over time, were useless here.

"Finish this, Take Down! He called out to his Shieldon, and despite being more than a bit battered by this point, the Pokemon charged in, hissing Trubish hard. She gave a cry, flipping over in the air to land nearby to Metang and Speed Racer. She lay on the ground for a moment, but slowly, rose back up, powering through the pain.

"Incredible…" I said aloud. Ugh, I might not have confidence in myself yet as a Trainer, but I have to have faith in my Pokemon! They can do this, I know it! It was clear that Trubbish was on her last legs however, and with Metang switching targets and readying another Zen Headbutt, I knew this would be her last stand.

"Let's go out with a bang, Self-Destruct!" I shouted, snapping my left hand. Speed Racer picked up on the signal and formed a barrier around himself lighting fast with Protect. Trubbish began glowing with a bright light, as she signalled her sacrificial Move for just a second. I was worried it wouldn't be enough time, that the Zen Headbutt would land first, but Landon gave a panicked order to Protect as well, which caused a moment of confusion in the Pokemon. Then Trubbish exploded, and the entire arena was filled with dust.

Even with my vision obscured, I hadn't missed the shattering sound that came from it, though. As it cleared, it revealed two Pokemon unconscious on the field - My Trubbish and his Shieldon. His Pokemon might have been naturally resistant to the Move, but the prior attacks and the recoil they suffered from their own Moves had worn the fossil Pokemon down too much to resist this.

Metang was scuffed up, but hadn't taken as much damage prior. Speed Racer was completely unharmed, though his shield broke, the hexagon patterned barrier cracked and quickly disintegrated. He won't be able to guard another attack like that again, but that's fine. I could hear the loud thrum of his engine, fully fired up.

Landon sneered even as I cheered, both us recalling our fallen Pokemon. "Don't get cocky yet! I've seen how you fight, just guarding and hiding, that won't let you win! Not against our power. Beat them to a pulp, Meteor Mash!"

"You haven't seen anything yet, Bulldoze!" Speed Racer shot off, zipping by far faster than he had been before, and far stronger too. The sudden change in strength threw off Metang, who stared in shock as my Pokemon rode up, leaping in the air only to land on Landon's Pokemon and drive them hard into the ground.

There was a moment of stunned silence as his Metang lay in the ground and we all slowly realized they wouldn't be getting back up. Ares spat to the side but regretfully announced, "Sally Truesdale is the winner."

"We did it! Woohoo!" I shouted with a jump for joy.

"Vroom vroom!" Speed Racer said, racing up to me excitedly. I gave him a few quick pats (his engine burning a bit too hot for anything beyond that), before Victor came up to congratulate us.

"That was an awesome win! I didn't know you had it i- I mean I was always rooting for you," the big boy corrected. I rolled my eyes, but didn't comment. Hardly fair of me to, considering my own doubts. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Landon trying to slink off. Oh no you don't!

"Landon! I believe we had a bet," I said loudly, doing my best not to curl in on myself as I felt the crowd's stares once again directed at me.

"Oh uh…" He mumbled something unintelligible.

"Not good enough, speak louder!"

After a moment of internal struggle, he shouted, "Gah! Fine, I'm sorry I ran into you, okay?!" That earned a few laughs from the crowd, but likely only from how red-faced and embarrassed Landon himself seemed at the forced apology.

Ares himself seemed unamused. "Did you get weak, Lan, or was this brat just hiding her strength?"

"I'm not a brat!" I fired back hotly, my retort only bringing a laugh to him and the rest of his crew (save Landon, who was still hanging his head in defeat). "I've got potential, which is more than can be said about you," I added. I regretted it with a "Eep!" As the boy suddenly loomed large over me.

"What, you think one lucky win means you can talk back to me?" He asked rhetorically. "You ain't anywhere fucking close to my league, even if you can beat a punk like Landon."

I froze, old instincts rising to the front of my mind, worried about what he'd do. The moment was broken by clapping. We turned to see the Director of the academy step out of the shade, slapping his hands together. "What a match! I love to see it!" He exclaimed before leveling a less amused look at Ares from under the brim of his white fedora. "Not as much a fan of the foul language, though."

"What?" Ares said, the bully boy baffled for but a moment. "Do you know who my parents are? I-"

"I am aware. I'll make sure to tell them about their son's detention next time we meet. If I can pencil them into my schedule." I could hear Ares gritting his teeth but he didn't try and argue with the director any more.

"Yes sir," He said looking away as he marched off. Yes! I won a battle, and you got called out for your Boufalantshit!

"Thank you, sir." I told the Director. "Oh, but could you make sure that his detention doesn't happen tomorrow at 4? My friend Neoma challenged him to a fight, and I don't want him to get out from it." I might be scared of him, but I know 'Mona can win; she can do anything! He nodded and I grinned. This is going to be fun.

***

Chumley, Judai, and I were all there at the center of the Terarium, waiting for the match. If Nemona's first fight against the Elite Four had drawn a crowd, this one was packed. There was plenty of space around the arena, this being the central hub of the Terarium, but even still, everyone was crowding around on the platforms nearby to get a good look at the match. Nemona was waiting patiently down in the center of the arena, having arrived five minutes early, while Ares was still nowhere in sight.

"Do you think he Torchickened out?" Judai asked, and I shook my head.

"I wish. No, knowing him, he's going to arrive any second now and try to provoke her even though he was the one who was late." True to my words, a minute later, Ares and his team strolled up. He walked with that arrogant swagger, waiting for Nemona to raise a fuss. The young girl didn't, however, simply staring at him dispassionately, giving him the kind of look you'd give when you'd heard a joke a hundred times before and were just waiting to get to the end of it.

With her not reacting to him being late, the bully decided to prod her a little. "I almost couldn't find you," he commented. "You and your little playpals are just so small I could barely find you."

Nemona raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you should get your eyes checked and wear some real glasses instead of those poser shades." I saw Ares tense up, but my mentor moved on before they could get caught up in that.

"Just to clarify, the rules: This is a challenge match for your spot in the Elite Four. I've already put up the Blueberry Points for the match, and if I win, I get your spot in the club."

"As if you'd get that luc-"

She continued, ignoring him. "This will be a six on six double battle, standard Blueberry Academy rules. One battle item maximum per Pokemon and each Trainer can use one enhancement effect once during the battle, correct?"

"Yeah, yeah, let's get this over with. I don't have all day to waste." Ares waved her off, walking to his end of the arena. The barrier lit up, with hidden speakers calling for the trainers to ready their Pokemon. Nemona lifted her brightly colored Pokeballs, and Ares lifted up his. All of his Pokemon were inside Luxury Balls, which was quite fancy. I wonder why Nemona doesn't have her Pokemon in those balls? Her family definitely seemed loaded from what I saw of her house.

On the signal to release, they both sent their Pokemon onto the field. Nemona sent out her starter, Dun, and Nightwing. On the opposite end of the arena Ares released the diminutive Hitmontop, the brown and blue Pokemon who spun aggressively in a way that was unsettling to me. The other one was one I hadn't seen before, resembling a large blade with two spindly limbs sticking out from the hilt, and holding a round shield in front.

Nemona wasn't fazed at all by this, but I thought I saw a flicker of annoyance from Ares, towards his Hitmontop. Or maybe towards Nemona's Pokemon about his Hitmontop? But the battle hasn't started yet, so he can't have done anything yet.

"Three, two, one, begin!" The electronic voice announced and I focused on the fight itself. Which started off in quite a subtle fashion.

"Like we planned!" Ares called out, Hitmontop preparing for… something, while the sword Pokemon performed an odd motion through the air, swishing around but being sure to keep their shield in front of them. Nemona gave a similarly broad instruction.

"Get stronger," she said. Dun curled around, tensing his muscles and getting ready to strike, his tail spinning lightly, while Nightwing went through a series of aerial maneuvers that seemed familiar. Oh! They both did Swords Dance!

Nightwing was finished far quicker than Ares' Pokemon was however, so Nemona ordered her to attack the bladed Pokemon. "Night Slash!"

"Huh, I haven't seen her use that Move much when she trains us," Chumley commented, and I nodded my head.

"That's a Dark Type Move. Nightwing is a Gliscor, so that doesn't have a matching Type to that, so Nemona's likely aiming for a weakness that Ares' Pokemon has." I pointed out.

"Oh, clever!" Judai added. Our joy turned to worry as the bully just smirked, placing a hand out as if to stop the attack. That alone couldn't do it, but the weird enemy Pokemon waved its shield around, creating a barrier that easily stopped the blow.

"The King's Shield won't just stop your Pokemon, it'll make them weaker too! Now Aegislash has the edge, an even sharper one than they had before," he taunted. There were some murmurs from the crowd, but I just frowned.

"It doesn't look like Nightwing got any weaker at all," I muttered, watching as she swooped around, cackling. On the other side of the field, Dun and the Hitmontop were still in the same holding pattern, with Dun coiling up tighter and Ares' Pokemon ready to make a strike if Nemona's Pokemon moved in.

This was evidently not to the red haired boy's liking as he ordered his Pokemon to, "Rush in! If they're too scared, force them to fight back with a Triple Axle!" Running forward and hopping on his head, Hitmontop spun towards Dun, legs spinning around and covered with an icy energy before smacking him consecutively. Nemona's Pokemon flinched from the blow but otherwise took the hit well.

"Time to go on the offensive," The bully told his Aegislash, who switched their stance, readying itself to attack Nightwing with its blade.

"Night Slash and Earthquake," Nemona called out crisply. Man, she's so cool. Just like my big sis, just you know, kinder. Not that Zara isn't kind, she just… looks out for me in her own way. When she tries to say I shouldn't aim to be a trainer, she's just worried I won't make it. If that hurt in some deep, unspeakable way, then I just pushed that pain down.

I didn't like how confident Ares looked here, but I loved the look of shock and dismay as his plans fell apart. It started with Nightwing slashing down with her tail into the Aegislash, the Move doing massive damage and cracking its blade. The other Pokemon was still able to lash out with a ghostly claw that hurt Nightwing a fair bit, but she remained in the air while Aegislash fell to the ground. They barely had a chance to rise before Dun's earthquake shook the field, damaging them even more.

Hitmontop had tried to preempt Dun's Move with a Sucker Punch, but it had done little, basically bouncing off of the Normal Type's scales. "How did you take- fuck!" Ares cursed. "Fine, Triple Kick, make them hurt! King's Shield!"

The shield warded off Nightwing's continued assault, while the three kicks Hitmontop used had Dun reeling, the crown atop the Fighting Type's head glowing with a yellow light. Nemona's eyes narrowed, calculating before she made her decision. "Switch targets, Drill Run, Acrobatics."

Without missing a beat, her two Pokemon instantly turned away from their current targets and towards the others. Nightwing was the fastest of the lot by a good margin, the orb around his neck shattering in a burst of light as he struck Hitmontop from every angle, battering the Fighting Type away before he could chase after Dun. For his part, Nemona's starter tore through the ground, knocking dirt into Aegislash.

That Pokemon was back in its defensive stance, however, so was able to take the super effective Move and strike back. Their sword cut deep into Dun's side, the flash of brown energy around the blade the only indication it was some kind of Fighting Type Move. Nemona's starter gave a great screech, mimicked by his comrade, as Nightwing was hit by Hitmontop's Triple Axle, the Ice Type Move hitting her very hard.

"Oh no, this is bad!" Chumley said nervously. My first instinct was to say the same, but then I took a better assessment of the situation. Both of Nemona's Pokemon did just get hit hard, that's true, but Ares' Pokemon are on their last legs too from all the damage they've taken.

"Believe in her, she'll be fine," I said. What clinched it for me, more than any logical analysis, was the cool, measured confidence behind Nemona's amber eyes. They spoke of someone who was going to win, no matter what.

"Fast Tailwind, Earthquake." She said, placing her right fist in her left hand. Nightwing, to the left, whipped up a Tailwind before Hitmontop could try anything else and those fair winds brought the speed Dun needed to shake the ground with an Earthquake once more. He did so by twisting, contorting his body around to pin Aegislash to the ground, and slamming the Move through Ares' Pokemon repeatedly.

The point-blank attack was too much for them, and likely would have been for Hitmontop too had he not raised a Protect at the last possible second. "Go, Sirfetch'd! Make minced meat out of them!" his words were clearly a hidden signal for the Pokemon, because as the white feathered bird landed on the field, he charged ahead, straight at Dun. With a lucky strike of his sturdy leak, knocking away Dun's tail that attempted to ward off the blow, Sirfetch'd struck cleanly with his shield, the immensely forceful attack knocking Nemona's starter out.

She had tried to order Nightwing to take care of Hitmontop as his Protect faded, but Ares' Pokemon Faked Out the Gliscor, dazing her long enough to back away a bit. The bully was beginning to get his confident swagger back, only for it to be replaced with confusion, and then anger at Nemona's next moves.

"Acrobatics, hit the Sirfetch'd," she told Nightwing before sending out her Gothorita, releasing them surprisingly close to the thick of things. There were clearly some high level tactics going on, but the implications of them all went over my head. I want to know though, to see things like Nemona, or my big sister can. Being able to respond as quickly as Judai would be nice too. I'd also like to get a handsome boyfriend and maybe some more vehicle models for my bookshelf- I cut off the wishful thoughts to focus back on the match at hand.

Ares' Pokemon were being pushed back by Nemona's, hard. Hitmontop would attempt to leap after Nightwing, only to get pushed back by Anya, who telekinetically tossed Hitmontop into the ground. Sirfetch'd was overwhelmed by Nightwing's speed and power. The bully recalled Hitmontop as it became clear that his Pokemon wasn't getting back up.

"Detect, First Impression!" With a blue glint in his eyes, Sirfetch'd held off Nightwing with some impressive leak placement, using the makeshift sword to fend off her advance. His next Pokemon, one that would have hit the ground heavily had he not ended up hovering just above it, charged hard. Escavalier, a heavily armored Pokemon with two lances for arms, struck hard, knocking the Gothorita back and leaving her struggling to get up. On top of the plate armor, I noticed he was wearing an 'Assault Vest' which Nemona had mentioned could make a Pokemon tougher, at the cost of restricting some of their Moves.

"Fire Fang the newcomer," Nemona told Nightwing before switching Anya out. This freed both of his Pokemon up to attack Nightwing. As my friend's Lucario hit the field, several things happened in quick succession. The Gliscor sunk her flaming fangs deep into the Bug Type, causing them to trash about. That wasn't enough to shake her grip, but Sirfetch'd charging in with A Brave Bird, was. He expertly aimed his aerial charge so as not to hit his ally, then rolled out of the way as Escavalier stabbed down, knocking out Nightwing and seemingly powering himself up greatly.

I bet my sister knows what that Move is. Nemona too. She didn't look happy at that turn of events, but I didn't see any shock or worry, just her lips drawing into a thin line. "You know, as someone who uses Fighting and Steel Types predominantly, I wondered why I never saw a Lucario on your team in any of the matches I reviewed," Nemona said, almost conversationally.

"But then I talked with Athena, and she said 'No Lucario of any self worth would be with him,' and I had to agree. You've got plenty of money, enough to buy cronies and gear, but that'll never get you true respect." Ares' face twisted with hate, both at her words and likely at the disrespect she was showing him by refusing to send out another Pokemon to fight alongside Athena.

"Shut up shut up shut up! What the fuck do you think you know?! Acting like you know everything just because you're a hotshot from Paldea? Newsflash; you got your ass kicked-"

"Old news! Yeah, I didn't win against Elsa, she's a strong trainer. But I'm getting stronger, and you? You aren't even fit to hide behind her skirts." Ares' face had transitioned past red to a disturbing shade of purple as anger consumed him. He let out a wordless scream and his Pokemon took that as a cue to attack.

Nemona simply raised a fist out in front of her, prominently displaying the Key Stone to the world before tapping it lightly. It glowed with a bright light and a sphere of translucent energy surrounded Athena, transforming her. She burst out of it, pushing the charging Steel/Bug Types off course.

The change wasn't drastic, physically speaking. She was a bit taller, a bit of brown on her fur, a few more small spikes sticking out of her chest, but nothing too crazy. What had changed greatly was the presence she exuded. It felt terrifying, like a hunter on the prowl. Bloodlust raged, and even not directed at me, it left me feeling so scared that I wanted to curl into a ball and cower. But what came next was too awe-inspiring to turn away from.

A golden construct formed around Athena as she floated into the air, taking the shape of some quadrupedal beast with pointed legs and a wavy, tapered head. Stretching out behind it were arms, dozens of them, reaching out and around, filling up Nemona's half of the battlefield completely.

"I've seen her use 'Aura Constructs' in practice drills before, but nothing like- like this! Is this the power of Mega Evolution?" I wondered aloud. The only person not overwhelmed by this demonstration, cheered with delight.

""Is that it is? That's awesome, I wanna Mega Evolve my Pokemon too!" Judai said brightly. "Kick his butt!"

Nemona smiled, waving at him. "With pleasure. Welcoming act." At the command, Athena slapped her flesh and blood hands together, pulling three auric arms across the arena floor, ripping it up as they tore towards Ares' Pokemon. They couldn't dodge the Move and were knocked aside.

The shock of it broke Ares from his anger and had the boy rallying. "We're ready for this, Bullet Punch and Close Combat!"

"Crush and Slap." The Champion countered, a grin growing on her face. With blistering speeds, Scizor launched a strike straight through the Aura construct, hitting Athena. It did minimal damage… and that was it, much to Ares' dismay. Without the opening he was hoping for, Escavalier was crushed by one hand, and as it rose back up, another hand swept from the side and slammed him into the force field wall which shook with the force.

"What? But that was-"

"Supposed to stop Athena?" Nemona interrupted him. "I found your little spy, so I fed him a bit of bad intel. Sure, in the past a direct hit like that would have stopped her; heck, she would have needed to be holding the Fist Plate in the first place to make it work. As I've said though, we've gotten stronger. Far stronger than a chump like you."

Ares barked out a few desperate commands, but Athena met them easily. The giant hands moved with such speed and power that Ares' Pokemon were getting battered about. "Wow! She's got him on the ropes, and with just one Pokemon!"

"Don't count your Eggs before they hatch," Chazz said. "They're doing good now, but that's only because she's focused on keeping Escavalier at bay. And each attack drains her Pokemon - that Lucario can't last much longer."

"I hadn't noticed that Chaaaaaz!" My voice spiked up as I realized who was standing beside me. What is he doing here?

"What are you doing here?" Chumley asked, echoing my thoughts. The scary boy sneered.

"I'm a member of the League Club, of course I'd be here. The results of this match affect me way more than you; if anything, I should be asking you that question." He didn't actually ask us, however, his attention was fixed on the match. Chazz has something of a rivalry with Judai, but lately I've noticed him drifting away from Ares and some of the nastier people in the Club recently. I wonder if that's in part from Nemona's efforts to change the club?

I could see that Chazz's assessment was correct, Athena's power was weakening and she was specifically focused on keeping Escavalier away. This meant that occasionally Scizor was able to slip through and push back a couple of grasping limbs and strike in. The Mega Lucario had modified the aura construct since the first attack, solidifying the center so Scizor couldn't push through, though that just meant that he would punch in with closed pincers against the giant energy creation.

This weakened it, causing it to shrink down slightly with each blow, Athena's reserves clearly running low. Not in time to stop her from finally battering down and defeating Escavalier with a 'Rain of Doom' as she called it - a technique which involved dozens of fists the size of small cars crashing down upon Ares' Pokemon.

"Falinks… don't fail me," Ares growled out, his voice low as he brought out his last Pokemon. The six, nearly identical helmeted figures popped onto the field in a line. "This is it, no way out!" Ares declared, flipping a switch on his belt buckle to reveal a Key Stone as the team of six spread out in a v-formation, powering up. Athena tried to stop the last Pokemon, but the combination of the force of the Mega Evolution and Scizor launching a desperate assault warded off at least the worst of her attack and let Falinks assume their new form.

Their Mega Evolution was strange - there were still six of them, but several of the bodies had grown larger and they were stacked on top of each other to form a vaguely humanoid figure. The smallest two served as the 'legs' with a similar sized one forming the torso. Its side shields were raised out to form two platforms sticking out on either side of it to better let the enlarged 'head' body stand atop it. That one was the largest, with the red spike atop it growing even further beyond the enlarged proportions it had. Almost as large were the two 'arms,' the legs of their bodies somehow sticking to the sides. These ones were further modified by a large red spike sticking out on one side, and an enlarged, singular version of the side shields sticking above the head on the other.

The crowd was shocked, as was I. "What is that?" I gaped, staring at the new Pokemon.

"No clue," Chazz said. "And while it might not be surprising that you slackers don't have a clue, I'm Chazz Princeton; I should know about this stuff." Before any of us could bristle or argue with the dark haired boy, Ares took the moment to boast.

"You aren't the only one with connections, little girl, but I've got way better than some reality and appliances; I got an in with Quasartico Incorporated! They made me a new Mega Stone just for this match!" He crowed. "Bet you're feeling pretty dumb for waiting now!"

"I mean yeah; if I knew you were going to be this insufferable and just waste my time I would have probably asked for an earlier fight. But if you think I'm scared of this…" Nemona said with a flick of her hands, a motion Athena copied, thus discarding the now unconscious Scizor from between her auric hands. "Then you've got another thing coming."

The Trubbish talking came to an end, and Ares went on the offensive, ordering, "Rock Slide! Then Brick Break!" It was an effective combination, with the formation Pokemon tossing up a bunch of rocks in the air then charging with a slash from their sword 'arm.' That wasn't enough to overcome Athena's defenses however, three of the hands sweeping above her head to deflect the rocks, while many more struck the Mega Falinks, driving them back.

"Don't fall back, get in there and show her you have the Upper Hand!" Ares commanded. His Falinks charged back in, and while the auric limbs tried to stop them again, this time they were prepared. Blocking a key attack with their shield 'arm', deflecting that attack upwards and running through the gap, jumping over the arms that attempted to get in their way, Ares' Pokemon struck true, cutting clean through the aura body, to Athena herself, and pinning her against the far wall of the arena.

The Auric construct faded away, Athena still struggling but clearly unable to maintain it. Her foe let her go, but that was only a prelude to another attack, the pure Fighting Type attempting to pin Athena down and crush her. It didn't work, Athena managing to push herself away from the shield arm that tried to pin her, then off the wall with a lightning fast Force Palm, sending her sliding between the two 'legs' of the other Mega Pokemon.

Slowly, both sides picked themselves off the ground, Athena out of tiredness, and Falinks due to their larger, interconnected body. Nemona's Pokemon picked up her second wind quickly, however, blitzing her foe with a kick so quick I thought I imagined it at first, zipping back to about where she stood before. But as Falinks roared in unison and charged forward, I knew it was true.

Athena tried to pelt them with Aura Spheres hurled one after the other at Falinks, but they dodged around them with some fancy footwork before ducking their 'head' and charging with a powerful Megahorn. Nemona's Pokemon dodged nimbly to the side, but Falniks stuck an arm out to clothesline her.

"Survive!" Nemona called out, her voice tight but somehow not sounding too panicked as the sixfold creature began wailing on her Pokemon. Athena curled up, taking literally ground shattering hits before they tried to finish off Athena by slamming their horn spike down upon her. "Now!"

At that order, Athena shot up from her position on the ground, grabbing the horn with two paws. Muscles straining, she lifted the Falinks up, and for one glorious moment I saw all six faces on the Mega Pokemon seem to go 'oh shit' before Athena crashed them down in a stunning Reversal of her previous position.

She kept her grip and proceeded to slam them down on the other side, then back again, and once more before swinging them around in a circle. Tossing them up in the sky, Athena gathered her energy, coalescing into a large silver orb between her paws, held over her heart. With a shoving motion, she pushed it forward and it erupted into a truly gigantic beam of force, larger than Athena herself and striking hard into the still airborne foe.

With the attack finished, Falinks fell into a crumpled heap on the ground, and Athena followed after. "That last attack must have exhausted her. Still, it allowed her to win- oh come on!" I exclaimed, watching as somehow, Ares' Pokemon rose back up, looking barely worse for wear than they had after being thrown around, if that.

"Haha! You talked a big game there but it looks like I win!" Ares cheered, which had Nemona cocking her head to the side.

"How do you figure that? I still have three Pokemon left," Nemona pointed out, releasing Anya and Testudinidae onto the field.

The Psychic Type haughtily stared down her foe, while it was hard to make out the Fire Type's expression, heavy white smoke spewing out and enveloping her almost as soon as she landed. "Proud flames," she told them, and they didn't waste a moment leaping into action.

The Gothorita began immediately cheering on the enemy… for some reason. ['You can do it, you're the best, we definitely won't burn you to death. Gooooo Falinks,'] she broadcasted telepathically. I'm pretty sure Flatter isn't supposed to sound sarcastic, but if it works, it works.

Ares' Pokemon was slightly enthused by the Move, but more Confused than anything, swinging around wildly and missing the Psychic Type. Nemona's Torkoal took great offense, however, unleashing a burst of fire from her shell that Burned the Mega Pokemon badly, further debilitating them.

"Keep your eyes on the Psychic," Nemona called out, and Anya waggled her finger hypnotizingly, drawing everyone's attention to her… and off of Test, who was preparing for a mighty Eruption.

"Rock Slide, bury them both!" Ares called out, finding an answer to that problem. Follow Me failed with both of them being attacked and Anya flinched as some of the falling rubble hit her. Falinks dropping another pile of large rocks hurt Testudinidae, but she powered through, her tough shell protecting her as she struck with a gout of flames washing over the Mega Pokemon.

Once again however, as the smoke and hot ash cleared, Ares Pokemon looked nearly as undamaged as before. How do they keep on shrugging off those attacks?

"Hmm, that's two, no, three, Athena went through at least two, so three more times then," I caught Nemona say. I had no time to puzzle it out as the battle continued. "Let's bring them down with a Clear Smog, then Flamethrower hard!" She told her Torkoal. No commands were given verbally to Anya, but she backed away on some unseen signal and began focusing intently on something, smirking as she did so.

"Close Combat!" Ares shouted, pointing at Test. They rushed in to beat Nemona's Pokemon, but that only exposed them to the odd Poison Type Move quicker. It was clear to me that they had lost much of the titanic strength that let them compete with Nemona's monster of a Lucario before, and just as clear that their strength was still great.

In close, Falinks began crushing Test with a High Horsepower, earning a cry of pain from the fiery tortoise. Nemona bit her lip, focused intently and ordered Test to "Unleash the fires of perdition!" Which looked to be a very fancy way of saying 'Inferno,' from the burst of fire that shot up all around Test and sent the formation Pokemon stumbling backwards in pain. All the while, Gothorita seemed to be lost in her own world, gazing off into the distance. Occasionally, she'd step forward, shuffle around slightly, then step back.

Snapping free of the confusion, Falniks charged in, clear eyed and undaunted by the pain. Nemona's Torkoal met that head on with a burning charge. It was hardly fast, but it didn't need to be here, with the two of them already set on a collision course.

From that clash, Falinks was the winner, taking the hit and flames barely leaving any burns as they flickered off their bodies. I thought I saw some appear for a moment then disappear, but that must have just been the smoke. Torkoal had been smacked down, a strong Brick Break leaving a slight crack in Testudinidae's shell that had knocked her out and would probably take a few days to recover.

Nemona didn't seem worried despite the seemingly invincible foe she faced, calmly recalling her fallen Pokemon and watching as the Mega Falinks menaced towards Anya… only to slip on a piece of rubble.

Their usual coordination failed them, the Mega Pokemon collapsing to the ground in a heap. Their front horn got wedged in the ground, causing them to wrench and thrash against themselves as the bottom half tried to rise. Eventually, they wrenched themselves up and then charged at Anya, who was pretending to look at her non-existent nails, yawning.

She stepped to the side, avoiding the shield bash that would have crushed her. Instead, it rebounded off the ground and back into their topmost face. A swing of their sword arm missed by a hair's breadth as she leaned back, and the momentum of it carried the strike right back into the Mega Pokemon. The force of that, and a bit of unsteadiness on one of the legs had them slipping and landing on their backs with a tremendous 'thud.'

"... What the fuck did I just see?" Ares uttered, baffled by what had just happened. It's not often I agree with him, but that was something else, like the fight had suddenly turned to a comedy show.

"You just had the pleasure of witnessing back-to-back Future Sights," Nemona revealed. "And with that, I think you're out of tricks." Huh? Wasn't she the one who tricked him?

"Get up! Get up get up!" Ares shouted, and now all of the Falinks looked to be in pain. Still, they followed their trainer's command. "Megahorn, get rid of her!"

Rather than trying to do so with a big charge up that Anya likely would have dodged, Falinks just thrust their sword arm out. The Bug Type energy surrounding it hit Anya hard, and had her reeling backwards. I was worried it might be the end, when suddenly, she started glowing brightly.

With a flash, Anya grew taller, evolving into a Gothitelle. Now standing taller than her Trainer, she turned away from the battle, staring at Nemona from behind the arena's barrier. A tear rolled down her face, and the young girl said something I couldn't hear, likely trying to reassure her.

I didn't know what was going on, and I doubt Ares did either, but he saw it as an opening. "Throat Chop, now!" He ordered, and Falinks lumbered forward, swinging down at the fully evolved Psychic Type.

Without looking backwards, Anya ducked her head down, letting the Dark Type attack sail harmlessly over her shoulder. Still not looking back, she gripped the Fighting Type with newfound Psychic strength, hoisting Falinks up in the air. With a screeching sound from the Mega Pokemon, she forced them apart. They wailed and cried, sounding as miserable as Anya looked, Ares' Pokemon spinning around above her head in a mesmerizing pattern, like planets in orbit. Then she tossed them aside, scattering on the field behind her.

No longer held by Psychic force, they snapped together, as if by magnetism, but as they did so, I saw the enlarged ones shrink back to their regular size. The crowd erupted into cheers, jubilantly clapping at her fantastic, impossible victory.

"Nemona said we could become as strong as her someday, if we worked hard enough, but is that really possible?" I wondered aloud, still amazed by what I had just witnessed. My question wasn't for anyone, and I thought my words would be lost amid the din, but Judai heard me through it all.

"Of course you will! After seeing all that, I can't wait to have a battle myself and try out some new moves!"

"Thanks," I said, smiling and feeling reassured. Down on the field, Nemona was talking with Anya in a low tone, before turning to her opponent who was trying to recall his Pokemon to no avail.

"Tell your Pokemon to quit it with the Shadow Tag! You won, fine, just let me go," Ares shouted at her. Nemona did not acquiesce, instead walking up to his Pokemon.

"You know, trying to spy on me would have been bad enough form, but I could forgive that, especially considering how badly you failed… and the fact that I don't have hard proof of that. But outright cheating in our fight?" Nemona asked, picking up a mostly eaten Sitrus berry from within the mouth of one of the Falniks bodies. "Under Blueberry standard rules, following Unovan regulations, the Mega Stone a Pokemon uses counts as their battle item for a fight. Yet you gave your Falinks what, five or six extra with all those Sitrus Berries?"

Shocked whispers raced around the arena like a flurry of disdainful wind, building up to jeers. "I- she planted it!" Ares shouted in desperation, but no one believed him, and the jeering and boos grew louder. Several students, including ones that I knew he had picked on before and had meekly accepted it then, now hurled insults and even berries of their own at him.

He stepped aggressively towards Nemona but she just snapped her fingers and Anya formed a barrier between them. Without physical violence on the table, he resorted to words. "I won't stand for this! My family is rich, I'll see you all pay!" Ares shouted at the crowd, doing nothing to stay their anger. With his Pokeball still refusing to return Falinks, he tried to heft them up, but all six was a bit much to carry on his own. "C'mon, help me move them!" He turned to where his cronies had been standing, a section of the crowd that was now conspicuously absent.

As he lifted Falinks up on his own, panting, his sunglasses tumbled to the ground, and I saw Ares crying, ashamed, and alone. I almost felt bad for him… and then I remembered him coining the phrase 'Stinky Sally' among hundreds of other little cruelties he'd inflict for his own amusement.

"Yeah, you get lost!" I added my voice to the crowds' and watched him leave before going down to congratulate Nemona alongside her other friends. Someday, I'll be as great a Trainer as you are Nemona, I vowed. I was too inspired to think of any other way; beyond all my doubts and fears, seeing Nemona Glitterati, my friend and mentor, surrounded by applause and driving out bullies like Ares made me want that too. The world better look out for Sally Truesdale!

Spoiler: A/N:

This was a long one, and a bit of a different take. We've had a couple of POVs that watched Nemona's battles from other angles, but this is one where it might be a bit harder to pick up on some of the exact details of the battle; Sally just isn't experienced enough to understand it all. Still, I hope her perspective gave a clear enough view that you all will be able to piece together the battle and most of the factors involved in it. Some of it will get spelled out next time, as things like what happened with Anya can't be inferred too much from the outside (I can confirm that Ares is not getting away with this, though). At the very least, it was hopefully a bit fun.

I also felt it was a good idea to show things from Sally's viewpoint and how one of Nemona's more 'normal' friends views her/the impact she's made on Sally's life. Sally was not originally intended to be a GX expy, actually, and while I found it easy to slip in some elements of that to her (an obsession with vehicles and an older sibling figure who's expectations she can't seem to live up to), I hope I was able to show her as a distinct character in her own right too. She's more than just a genderflipped Syrus.

Ares, as many people have realized, is a reference to the Greek God and probably the flattest of the Blueberry antagonists, though we've gotten to see a bit more of him than Cassandra. Still, I hope he was enjoyable, at least as an antagonist. Let me know what you thought down below or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[Spearow]

Man, the Aries slander never ends, percy jackson and wonder woman dragged his reputation to the mud, dude did almost nothing wrong in mythology and now, everywhere he is either a war bound crazy bastard or a petty bully, this has little to do with actual Ares, poor dude.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!