Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the interlude

 

[unlawfulwaffle362]

So there does exist some modicum of sense in Mom and Pop Glitteratti. It's just overridden by their desire to spoil their children.

 

[Skyfyre]

Brassius sent out a message calling for the Gym staff to come and officiate our match. They likely got the word out as well, given the large crowd gathering all around, but they were hardly the only ones.

My sister waved at me from a large group of Uva students that she was directing towards the arena. "Show him what you're made of Nims!" She shouted at me, and I smiled. Guess she got tired of the people online disparaging me.

I directed Miles to go and drop the phone off with her before floating back without an object to possess. That picked up a few whispers from the crowd, the students especially wondering if I was 'giving away my strategy'. I snorted.

Hardly. Brassius knows everything Hassel does, at the least. But we've got a few new tricks that neither of them have seen yet. Having Cyan around is handy for recording my match, but I'll probably need a permanent solution to that. Maybe I could ask the Gym staff next time?

When the crowd had gathered to the fullest extent they could on the massive circular platform the arena rested on. It was far smaller than Alfornada's, however, and with space to walk underneath it - no secret vaults here! I could hear and see others gathered around the outside as well, peering in. Many people were recording the match, and from what I could hear, some people below that couldn't see it were watching the streams from those above.

Brassius saw the staff taking their places and moved off to his own side. "Sorry you don't get to jump down from the windmill to dramatically start our match off." I said to him, too low to be heard by the crowd.

He smirked. "A shame, but my knees thank you for it." Then he walked over to the other side, his demeanor becoming serious. I opened my bag for Miles to possess the right Form.

The referee cleared their throat, holding up a microphone. "This will be a six-on-six match with up to four switches allowed for each Trainer. Battle Items and an Enhancement effect are allowed." That set off some whispers and excited discussion amongst the crowd. Four switches is a fair amount, usually reserved for the longest and toughest matches. Some people might have known about me online, but for a lot of the festival goers, this would just seem like a match for the start of the Treasure Hunt season.

"Gym Leader, Challenger, are you ready to begin?" Brassius raised a Pokeball off of his belt while I pulled Miles in Boombox form out of my bag. Miles took to the field, the sleek black boombox floating in the air, surrounded by a gray plasmic field, out of which extended two thin limbs. The 'hands' of the limbs were actually slightly asymmetrical, the right a disc with a hole in the center, while the left was rectangular with two holes spaced evenly from each other around the middle. CD and cassette player modes.

The referee glanced at Brassius, looking to see if he wanted to change his Pokemon out before he would release it. The Gym Leader frowned, staring intently at the unusual Rotom Form before shaking his head. He probably had a solid starter ready to deal with most anything I could throw at him, so they'll be just as good at dealing with a Rotom Form no one's ever seen before.

The referee gave the signal for Brassius to send out his Pokemon, and the man released a tall, thin Pokemon. She had two legs sticking out from a bark-like slim 'skirt' that led up to their leafy upper half. The leaves covered her long, outstretched arms and chest, as well as the top of her head, leaving only her round, pale face bare. Along her arms were several dark olives, and peeking out amidst the foliage on her right arm, I spotted a yellow berry peeking out.

Sitrus Berry. I'm sure she has Seed Sower, but could Brassius have trained her to have Harvest as well? That'll be a problem if she does. Arboliva is bulky enough and could outgrind us.

"Are both Trainers ready?" The referee asked, and we both nodded, the crowd's excited chattering dying down as everyone watched in eager anticipation. "Then we will start the battle in three, two, one… begin!"

"Thunder Wave," was my first command. He's expecting some big attack from the start, I'm sure.

My assumption was correct, as he called out "Mirror Co- Safeguard!" His attempt to course correct came too late, the thin bolts of electricity covering the Olive Pokemon before the Safeguard could come up. Arboliva twitched, Paralyzed by Miles' attack, and dropped some olives off her arms in response, which seeded the ground, spreading out in a lightly glowing green field around the arena.

"Hyper Voice, strafe." Miles zipped around, already capable of moving much faster than the Grass Type, now easily able to stay behind her, blasting her with powerful soundwaves. Wow, that's strong. Having a Life Orb and the Normal Type lets him do tons of damage. Wait, that's not just random noise; that's my music they're playing!

Indeed, Miles was playing 'Megalovania' from their boombox body, cranked up to eleven. The barrier made the sound less damaging for the audience, and I saw a few of them bobbing their heads along to the beat.

Brassius wasn't going to just sit back and let us defeat him, however. "Fill the air with beauty, Petal Dance!" Raising her arms up, she spun around, petals flaking off of her and spinning around, then regrowing and flying off again.

Miles was able to stay ahead of her but couldn't avoid the attack as it started to fill the entire arena. "Discharge!" A burst of lightning erupted all around them, frying the petals before they could touch them. The Electric Type attack did little damage to Arboliva as it reached her, but it protected Miles.

She tried to continue the attack but faltered, her body seizing up. "Hyper Voice!" I shouted, seeing our opening to lay more damage on her. She flailed about, waving her long arms around wildly, Confused. Despite that, I could see vines growing off her arms, carrying the Sitrus berry towards her mouth.

"Trick!" Miles' eyes flashed, and then the Sitrus berry Arboliva had been carrying to her mouth was replaced with the hard Life Orb that Miles had concealed in their body. Pulling the berry out of their cassette slot, Miles quickly chomped down on it with their plasmic mouth, healing almost all the fatigue the Life Orb had cost them so far.

Brassius frowned for a second before a delighted look took his face. "Clever use of my item, but I can make grand use of your gift as well. Terrain Pulse!" Any confusion that had hampered her snapped as she drew energy up from the terrain she had created. The orange ring in the reddish Life Orb glowed in Arboliva's grip as they unleashed a massive blast with the gathered energy.

Miles gave a grunt as they were knocked to the side. Damn, that hit hard. But we still need a little time till Safeguard ends. "Protect," I called out as they tried to fire out another blast, the beam of green energy deflecting harmlessly off of the barrier Miles had conjured around themselves.

Despite the terrain, which was boosting her attack and also rejuvenating her, it wasn't enough to keep up with the damage I'd already dealt, not by far. The Life Orb was also draining her with each attack. Something Brassius was keenly aware of as he switched tactics.

"Synthesis," his voice carried out over the field at the same time as the transparent shield that had been protecting Arboliva flashed out of existence.

Here's our opening! "Get in close!" I cried, the signal for Miles to use the new signature Move of this form. Speakers beating out music once again, Miles switched to a different tune, playing 'Oh the Places You'll Go,' this time.

Arboliva swayed back and forth before collapsing on the ground, asleep. Brassius gaped, looking shocked. "They know Sing?!" The Life Orb slipped out of her grip, and Miles scooped it back up.

"That's right! Now, Nasty Plot." The track changed again, playing 'You're Gonna Go Far Kid.'" Right, we didn't make a full song of that one, but we did do some recordings before deciding it wouldn't fit in the first album.

"Switch!" Brassius shouted, recalling his Pokemon and forcing Miles to stop their Move while Brassius chose a replacement. He's got fast reactions, I'll give him that. Miles probably only got off enough for an extra quarter increase in power from the Nasty Plot, when if they had been able to fully use the Move, they would have been twice as strong.

"What artful tactics! But the greatest of art breeds… imitation! Go, Breloom, Spore!" He called out as he released the bipedal mushroom Pokemon. Underneath their mushroom cap head, he had avian-like features with a beak-like nose. His pale neck led to a green body with powerful legs and short arms, two red claws on each limb.

The Breloom's long tail was the most noticeable feature, however. Mostly because he shook it back and forth, and from the green clover-looking end, spores started drifting across the field.

"Killjoys, make some noise!" Miles repeated those lyrics, but far louder, making a racket with Uproar. The sound was so loud that even as the Spores hit them and Miles' eyes started to droop, they couldn't fall asleep, their own sound jolting them awake.

It was far worse for Breloom, the Grass Type screeching in pain as the attack hit them hard. "Mach Punch!" Brassius shouted over the din, and I barely had time to wince before he had rocketed forward, slamming a claw into Miles with a screeching sound that came from the metal being dented and not Miles' music.

They didn't stop, however, continuing to blast out those tunes at Breloom, doing significant damage. Something my opposite noticed as well. "Those sound Moves, all so strong, and Mach Punch doing so much damage… Your Rotom Form is a Normal Type!"

I slipped my right hand into my Tera Orb case, tightening my grip. Yeah, he figured it out quickly. Miles is stuck in Uproar mode, so they won't be able to block your next move. The question is, how much do you commit from this discovery?

"Close Combat!" There we go. Capitalizing on a weakness you found was a major part of being a good Trainer. It was something you had to be careful about, however, as sometimes the discovered weakness… turned out to be a trap.

"Dazzle with electrifying power, Terastalize!" I chanted as I tossed the Tera Orb above Miles' body. It burst open, forming that glowing Tera symbol in the air for a scant second, then making a pillar of crystals around them.

Breloom smashed through, kicking, punching, and even swinging his tail through the crystal to hit Miles. To little effect, as they emerged with the lightbulb Tera 'hat' above their head, the powerful Move did only as much damage as Mach Punch had done before.

Staying in close only left the Breloom more open for the Uproar to blast into him. With one last screech of sound, the enemy was literally knocked off his feet by the attack, falling unconscious. I was actively protecting my ears with Aura, as well as the barrier diminishing the sound coming my way, so I could still hear the crowd cheer wildly as they saw me score my first knockout.

Brassius furrowed his thin eyebrows in concentration. "It appears I'll need to spice this work up; go Scovillain!"

His latest Pokemon was a bit shorter than the others, just under a meter tall. They had a solid bipedal dark green body with two thick legs and two fingerless hands on the ends of their short arms. The most distinctive feature though was their two heads, one red and on a lighter green than the body, each vaguely pepper-shaped.

Scovillain, Scovillain… It's a Paldean native Pokemon, makes sense he'd have it. Grass/Fire Typing covers a lot of weaknesses, what else- Insomnia. He's prepared for my Sleep attempts, and I can't Burn him either.

Brassius started the latest bout off, shouting, "Sunny Day!" The red head tilted back, mouth facing skyward, gathering a glowing ball of light in it that would serve as a miniature sun.

Seeing his Move, I decided to try buffing up as well. However, no sooner had I called out "Nasty Plot," did Brassius' Pokemon react, the second head spitting out a cluster of spices that got caught in Miles' body, aggravating them. What Move was that? Some kind of debuff, probably. At least the irritation sped up Nasty Plot.

Scovillain had released the sun up above them and started racing towards Miles, their speed obviously boosted from the sunlight. With a lunge, they jumped, snapping at Miles with one head, just barely missing as my Pokemon dodged out of the way, blasting them with a Hyper Voice on their way out.

Nice try, but Miles is the fastest out of all my Pokemon and second only in overall strength to Dun. Even the sun boost won't be enough.

"Bullet Seed, Flamethrower!" Brassius called out, quickly but still calm and unworried. His Pokemon angrily stomped the ground as the two heads tried shooting him down with seeds and fire. This time, the attacks came much faster, and the long necks let the Scovillain heads cut off angles of escape. What? But there were no other boosting Moves used, why did Scovillain get so much faster- Ah, I can't worry about that; I just gotta deal with it.

"Volt Switch!" Miles flew down at our enemy, a ring of electricity encircling them as they struck the Grass Type. Curving around, they narrowly avoided the attacks from the Scovillain and zipped back to me as I returned them to their Pokeball.

"Nemona has used her first switch! Challenger Nemona, please choose your next Pokemon!" I bit my lip as the referee talked, weighing my options.

Nightwing is fast, can probably at least match the Scovillain for speed while the sun is up, but not this even faster speed they have right now. She won't resist their Moves either, and her best Flying attack is Acrobatics, which means either ditching the Toxic Orb too early or trying to draw things out for time. No, not with their dual attacks and speed. If I can't go fast then...

"I'll go slow," I muttered, and Brassius turned, cupping an ear to try and hear me. "Ah, nevermind, I said, I choose you, Notch!" Pressing the button on their ball, I sent Notch out onto the field.

"Bullet Seed!/Reflect." We both called out. A few of the bullets shattered against Notch's rocky frame, chipping away at them but didn't do too much damage before Notch could raise a barrier.

"Even the harshest critic can be worn down with enough persistence - and coming at a piece from a different angle! Solar Beam!"

"Light Screen," I ordered, a smile growing across my face. I thought so! Each head has to use a different Type, he can't just double down on attacking power. I'm betting he's holding off on the Fire Moves to give the red head a chance to recover and regain strength.

Pokemon were magnificent, versatile creatures, but even those best designed to do so had difficulties using more than one Move at a time. At least while keeping the strength of all the Moves up. I'm sure Dun or Riolu could do three or even four Moves at once, but they'd all be really bad versions of each. Usually just better to focus.

With the sunlight shining brightly, Brassius fired off a Solar Beam quickly, digging in and cutting a small gouge into my Rock Type. Despite the super-effective blow, Notch held on, conjuring another barrier around themselves.

The Gym Leader clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed by my sudden shift to a defensive strategy. "Run around, Flamethrower."

"Power Gem, blast him!" Notch did their best, firing the Rock energy beams all around the arena, but Scovillain whirled around, too fast to be hit. Even as they tried to predict where the Fire Type was headed, Scovillain was able to react in time and dodge them.

The head that wasn't spitting fire at my Pokemon was laughing maniacally at our failed attempts. The flames themselves hardly hurt Notch, given their superior defenses, Type advantage, and barriers, but also cost Brassius nothing to do.

"Trick Room." There isn't any point trying to hide or conceal this Move; it takes too long and is too obvious for anyone skilled not to see it coming. The question is if he has any answers to deal with this.

The answer was that he did, and it was to stop using Scovillain. "Switch," he said, returning his Pokemon. He sent out his next one almost immediately, his Arboliva once more taking her place on the field. In this case, that place was lying on the ground, still asleep as Trick Room finished setting up around them.

Sometimes, Pokemon would wake up in their balls and be ready to hit the ground running when sent back out, but most of the time, situations like this happened where the Pokemon remained just as asleep as they had been before being put in their ball. A consequence of their design; they're meant to be comforting by nature and only sense outside stimuli if they put effort into doing so.

"Nice try," I said to Brassius before giving Notch their next command. "Stealth Rocks." There, that should give a bit of chip damage to all of Brassius' Pokemon and an especially nasty hit when he puts Scorvillain back in.

After the rocks were scattered about, I called, "Body Press." Carbink flew high above in the air, twirling as they slammed themselves down towards Arboliva. Unfortunately, our downed foe woke up at the last moment, and with the speed of Trick Room in their favor, narrowly rolled out of the way.

"Petal Blizzard!" Hmm, no Solar Beam while the sun remains up? His Pokemon are strong, but I guess he hasn't had the time to train them in a wide variety of Moves while pushing them to this level.

Opting to take the hit rather than go for a more defensive option I said, "Psychic, hold her in place!" The leaves she was flinging around cut into Notch, doing significant damage, even with the barrier from Reflect. Damn, she hits harder than I thought.

Notch lifted her slightly off the ground and held her in place, telekinetically squeezing her. It might have stopped a lesser Pokemon from completing their Move, but the Arboliva was able to command the leaves to continue firing off her arms and into Notch, even as they were held still. Holding her up did give us an opportunity that neither of us was going to waste.

"Body Press!" Notch threw themselves once more at the Arboliva, and this time she was unable to dodge in mid-air. They had to drop the Psychic to use the Fighting Type Move, but just as Arboliva touched the ground, Notch crashed into her.

The blow drove the olive Pokemon into the ground, leaving a small crater from the impact and knocking her out. As she fell unconscious, a few olives rolled off and seeded themselves around the arena, renewing the Grassy Terrain that had long since faded away at some point.

The next Pokemon Brassius sent out was his ace, Sudowoodo. The crowd cheered wildly upon seeing the Gym Leader's strongest Pokemon, especially the locals. There aren't many obvious differences between this one and the ones he uses for lesser matches, but looking closely, I can see the chips in his skin that look like bark ridges, the way he holds himself. This one is strong.

The fact that he didn't flinch as the rocks hidden around the arena pelted into him. This Sudowoodo also had a small gray stone hanging off a cord around his neck. Hard Stone, boost the power of Rock Type Moves. Something that Brassius put to good use right away with, "Head Smash" as his first command.

Charging in a reckless headbutt at Notch, he was moving faster than my Pokemon could react to with most Moves. "Protect!" Was faster, though, and able to shield them from an attack that made a shockwave when his twig-looking antenna smacked into the honeycomb barrier Notch had made.

No recoil for Sudowoodo either; must have whats-it-name Ability that stops that. Probably Sturdy too, from how tough he looks. "Body Press," I tried, hoping we could squish the Rock Type, or at least force out his Terastalization. Instead, they dodged out of the way, and as Brassius swung his arm out, Sudowoodo did the same, catching Notch in a heavy blow with his whole body behind it.

As they continued to dart around, now moving even faster, I was sure the Move they had used was Hammer Arm. Ok, decently clever to use my Trick Room against me, but the thing is, I set it up. And I can...

"Shut it down." The arena began to glow again as Sudowoodo built up more space for another charge towards Notch. Brassius' eyes darted looking for some method to try and deal with it, and for a second he was lost.

He wasn't a Gym Leader for nothing, however, and quickly recovered to at least stay the course. "Smash through the block before you!" Sudowoodo made an odd 'X' motion with his hand before charging ahead to smash into the Notch, this time the blow connecting solidly as the distorted dimensions returned to normal.

They gave a whimper as they spun through the air, falling to the ground... before just catching themself, barely holding on. Brassius's gaunt eyes bulged a little, seeing all the punishment Notch had taken and kept on fighting. Those barriers helped a ton, but part of it is just Notch's natural toughness. It takes a ton to put them down.

Sudowoodo raised an arm to try and smash into Notch, only to be blasted aside by a Power Gem. "Body Press!" I cried viciously, the speed advantage firmly in Notch's favor now. Spinning around Sudowoodo, they rose, ready to crash down on them.

"Substitute!" Brassius ordered, his hand going for his Pokeball. Sudowoodo split, making a copy at the last moment to absorb the blow for him, the fake getting pounded to smithereens by Notch. Before we could make any more attempts, the Gym Leader used his penultimate switch, recalling Sudowoodo.

"Show the beauty of nature, Lilligant!" Brassius' next Pokemon was, expectedly, Lilligant. She was a squat, flowery creature, with leaves for arms and legs, with an orange flower blooming slightly askew on her head, akin to a hat.

The Stealth Rocks once again rose up to smack into her, but Brassius was ready, immediately calling out "Petal Blizzard!" The stones struck into her, causing some damage; however, as they bounced off, looking to hide among the field once more, her petals struck out. The Grass attack blasted the rocks away - a clever method of removing my field hazard.

"Moonblast," I tried, hoping to use the opening provided by her being caught up in removing the hazard. However, she snapped out of the attention-consuming Move at Brassius' next command.

"Grassy Glide!" Zipping across the slowly fading grassy field, she struck Notch, knocking them down before they could finish the Move. That same terrain had slowly helped my Pokemon recover from some of the injuries they had taken, enough that with the Reflect just now slowly fading out of existence, they were able to hang on.

Finishing their Move, a giant blast of pink light crashed into the Lilligant, blasting her backward. In response, the Gym Leader called out "Giga Drain!"

Dashing forward, I caught the glimpse of a root object hanging from around her neck, underneath the yellow petal ring just below her head. Arms gripping deceptively gently onto Notch, she started draining their energy, the Carbink shaking and struggling before their ears drooped and they fell to the ground, defeated.

"You did good out there," I told Notch as I recalled them. "Alright, let's get back in there, Miles!" The return of my Rotom (and the music, Live and Learn filling the arena) got some whoops and cheers from the crowd. Underneath their noise, I could hear the buzz of electricity, Miles' Terastalization still going strong.

"Quiver Dance," Brassius tried, hoping to get a quick buff off.

"Slow her down, Thunder Wave!" Miles was faster than her, though, and easily able to shock her before she could complete her dance. Though the motions were less graceful and elegant, on shaking limbs she managed to execute the Move.

Her Special Defense is up now; just trying to blast her would be a slog. I really wish I could use Confuse Wisp, but she'll be immune to half of it, better save that card for later. "Sing a pleasant tune for the lady, will ya?" I mockingly asked.

As Miles swooped in, playing 'Eat Your Young,' Brassius started furiously cracking his whip. "Ignore it! Petal Blizzard!"

His Pokemon tried hard to follow his commands, but as she danced and threw petals all around, her eyelids started to flicker. At one point in her twirling, her limbs seized, and she fell to the ground. Trying to get up, she shot a few more sharp petals into Miles but couldn't muster the energy to stay awake, slumping to the ground, asleep.

"Switch," Brassius called out, swapping her away before she could be blasted into defeat. Or more likely, reading my intentions and knowing we would have gone for major setup there if he let us.

Without fanfare, he tossed his ace back into the fray. Sudowoodo makes a tempting target here for Thunder, making the most of our Terastalization but he'll just Terastalize in response... though maybe I should do that anyway? Yeah, best to get his Terastalization out of the way now when it won't be super effective against us. Plus, I can use him going Grass Type against him as well.

Thinking quickly, I called "Thunder!" At the same time, I pulled out some Pokeballs, getting ready for my latest ploy.

Brassius was making his own plans, tossing his Tera Orb out high above the Rock Type, even as he was running towards Miles. "I hope this work can live up to your expectations, Nemona. Be reimagined as Truelewoodo!"

Bursting out of the crystals that had surrounded him at the same time as he was struck by the Thunder, Brassius' ace continued his charge at my Pokemon. Raising an arm for a powerful Wood Hammer, I called on my switch.

"Switch! Go, Rotwo!" I then recalled Miles and waited a moment to send out Phantasm, giving her time to prepare the illusion. Appearing like another copy of Miles, down to the same Rotom Form, she stepped onto the stage (though the illusion floated a meter or so above where she actually stood).

The audience was muttering something fierce while Brassius looked shocked. Guess he hasn't heard about her from Kathy then. "Rotwo, make some noise!" She made the plasmic eyes gleam as her Hyper Voice screeched across the field, eliciting a wince from our foe.

Glad I didn't try and pull a fast one to make it look like it was still Miles on the field. I'd have to have used an extra switch and some sleight of hand to pull that off, and the trick would have failed as soon as she did that. She's got a good handle on the Move, but she can't weave in song lyrics to it naturally like Miles can, not yet at least.

"Art can often be a race against the clock; let us see if you can keep up with this new pace! Trailblaze!" Sudowoodo dashed across the field, surrounded in a glowing green energy. The attack passed through the illusion above, but Sudowoodo's stumpy legs still kicked Phantasm as he went by, tripping slightly.

She was able to hold on to the illusion, thankfully, but I was pretty sure the next hit they landed would undo it. Sudowoodo is staring suspiciously at the ground as it is. "Hex" was our codeword for Bitter Malice, which Phantasm used, surrounding the Sudowoodo with dark tendrils, sapping at his strength.

"Rock Head!" Was Brassius' next command, and I readied to tell Phantasm to 'dodge it,' only for the words to die on my tongue as I saw Sudowoodo stop. Rather than follow his trainer, Sudowoodo shook his head vigorously, waving at the ground with branch-like hands.

He's on to us! "Hex Hex Hex!" I cried, hoping to get some debuffs and damage while we could. Phantasm trains hard, but she just has so much less experience than the rest of my team. If a Gym Leader sees through our tricks... well, I won't say that she doesn't have a chance, but it'll be a miracle for her to pull through.

The Gym Leader quickly changed tactics. "Rock Slide, wide spread!" Even as the Bitter Malice assaulted him, Sudowoodo hefted a large stone out of the ground, chucking it in the air above Phantasm. It cracked there, splitting into several large chunks that rained down on her.

She gave a yip of pain as she was knocked to the side, one of the rocks clipping her back left leg. My Pokemon also became clearly visible to all, the illusion breaking from pain.

There was a moment of stunned silence from the crowd before jubilant cheers and delighted cooing over erupted from the gathered audience. My opposite looked surprised for a second before grinning. "What a delightful surprise, a new coat of paint on an existing masterpiece!" Then, as if as an afterthought to his artistic appreciation, he told his Sudowoodo, "Hammer Arm."

I smirked as the hot-dog-tree-looking Pokemon waddled up, arm raised high. Right! He doesn't know about her Typing yet; he's treating her like a regular Zorua! "Yours is the hatred that burns! Bitter Malice!"

It felt nice, for some reason, to call the Move out by its proper name. I suspected that Phantasm felt the same way, as this time the Distorted tendrils that wrapped around Sudowoodo's body practically engulfed him completely. That or she's upset about the Rock Slide.

Brassius' Pokemon managed to push through the attack and still swing his arm down at her, only for it to pass right through. "A Ghost Type?!" Brassius shouted, shocked.

"Haha, that's right!" Just not the full story. "Now-"

"Copycat!" Was his reaction. Oh wow, forgot that Sudowoodo learned that Move.

Bitter Malice surrounded my Pokemon, doing absolutely nothing. "Show him how it's done!" Phantasm gave a happy cry as she once again tormented the Gym Leader's ace, sapping his strength and life further. The Tera Grass Pokemon fell to the ground before, nearly defeated.

"Sucker Punch." Or not, I thought as the Sudowoodo lashed out, punching Phantasm with a Dark Type attack that sent my Pokemon reeling back. Even after all that, he can still hurt her that much? I get that she's on the frail side, and it was Super Effective, but still. I guess that goes to show how strong a Gym Leader's top Pokemon can be.

Sudowoodo straightened back up, and I prepared to call her back, thinking that Phantasm wouldn't be able to finish him off. Then, as she angrily pushed herself back to her feet, she started glowing.

It felt like the entire arena drew in a sharp breath as one, then all of us gasped as we saw her evolve. Even knowing what was coming, it was still a sight for me to behold as well. She started by growing so much taller and larger, her body still a silhouette surrounded by the light she exuded. Phantasm shifted to a more humanoid form, standing on two legs and growing short, sharp claws on the ends of her hands and feet. As the light faded, some more details could be made out, like a few red bumps covering arms and legs as well. Her eyes became yellow with red pupils, but the most drastic change was to her mane, the fur growing and becoming truly wild and far more red, covering one half of her face completely.

"Zoroark!" She triumphantly shouted, racing towards Sudowoodo. For his part, he tried to Sucker Punch her but hit only air as she ran past him, cutting a deep gouge into him with her claws. And illusion? No, she's just that much faster now!

"Hyper Voice!" I shouted, and she shouted louder, her voice shaking the arena. The sound crashed into Sudowoodo and knocked him off his feet. He flopped towards Brassius, his Terastalization shattering as he fell unconscious.

"Ha! You did it! Great job- wait, stop." I said as I noticed Phantasm stalking towards her fallen foe. She ignored me, continuing towards him until I said louder. "Stop!" Whirling around to face me, I saw hatred burning in her yellow eye. Part of me wanted to flinch, to set my shoulders up as fight-or-flight instincts kicked in, but I pushed those all aside, remembering the adorable little kit I had taken in a few months ago.

"Stop it, you've won." I said softly, but no less firm. The hatred dimmed in her eye as recognition took hold, and she looked ashamed of herself. She's still the same Phantasm as she was before; she just has some things to work out in regards to her new instincts.

While that happened, Brassius recalled his Sudowoodo, sending the last Pokemon I had yet to see on his team, Tsareena. She had three long green petal-like strands flowing off the top of her head down behind her and very long, dangerous-looking legs.

Rather than risking anything starting, I called "Switch!" Returning Phantasm to her ball. Before I put it away though, I whispered to her in the Pokeball, "You did great out there, I'm proud of you."

In a louder voice, I said, "Miles, I choose you!" Throwing his ball out on the field, they popped out (and I barely managed to catch the Pokeball as it came back, fumbling it in my hands).

"Make majestic art, Trop Kick!" Without hesitation, she jumped up, trying to land a heavy kick down upon Miles' head. Impressive; most Tsareena would think that Miles was a Steel Type from their appearance, and they can get prickly about Trainers telling them to use ineffective Moves. Of course, as good a bond as they have, they can't beat ours.

I waited, readying myself for as she descended closer before shouting "Foul Play!" Miles responded before I'd finished saying the second word, spinning around mid-air around the blow, then up around and hitting her on top of her head with one end of their boombox body, driving her down to the ground.

"Hyper Voice!" My order came fast, not wanting to let up here. They cranked up 'I Beg to Differ' and hit her hard with the attack.

Miles was floating well out of reach from her, wary of a counterattack, but she surprised us by turning around at her Trainer's order of "Power Whip!" Lashing her 'hair' out to an insane length, it whistled by my Pokemon, Miles just barely dodging.

It can be hard to spot with the appliance bodies Rotoms possess and all, but the glow around Miles is growing dimmer. They can't last much longer. Part of that was just due to the Life Orb they carried, making them hit so much harder but draining their own energy each time they attacked. "Let's end this," I said solemnly. "Hit it as loud as you can!"

They complied eagerly, diving down and turning up the volume as high as they could, attempting to blast Tsareena into submission.

I saw Brassius mouth 'Trop Kick' rather than heard the words over the din Miles was making. She was able to see him and follow through though, landing a powerful kick that cracked almost straight through their new boombox body. Miles dipped in the air, and while the system was too damaged to make music at the moment, they let out a screech that ripped through the air, taking Tsareena out.

That was their last Move, however, as their body continued to sink to the ground, even Levitate slowly failing them as they fell unconscious. Recalling them, I said, "That was magnificent, you did great out there."

Then, before the referee could announce who had to send out their Pokemon next (which would usually be Brassius), I pulled out Dun's Pokeball, releasing him. "Wow, that was great! You've been the first person to get me down to my fourth Pokemon so far."

He let out a chuckle of his own. "And I can see that dear ol' Hass was not downplaying your strength in the slightest either." That earned a few excited whispers, at least from the members of the crowd who realized that he was talking about a member of the Elite Four.

The artistic man sent Scovillain into the fray once more. He was still injured from the previous bouts but raring to go as he saw Dun. "Flamethrower, Bullet Seed!"

Two Moves huh? Let's match him! "Ancient Power, Air Slash!" While even Dun couldn't do the two Moves at full power simultaneously, he was able to fire the rocks at Scovillain quickly and then switch Type energies immediately to flap scythes of wind through the air at our foe before the rocks even met Scovillain's attack.

Ancient Power pushed through the Flamethrower, getting deflected by the high-velocity seeds that cracked into them. That only cleared the way for his Air Slash to cut into the Grass Type. Combined with his other injuries, the Scovillain fell quickly, leaving Brassius down to his last Pokemon.

"Liligant, wake up!" He puts his all into the fight even when backed into a corner like this, that's admirable. Brassius' desperate plea worked, and his Pokemon blearily opened her eyes as she was released onto the field. Not that it will save her.

"Hurricane!" Dun started slithering around her, whipping the air into a frenzy. She tried to use Petal Blizzard, and to her credit, the petals were amplified by the whirling winds. While less accurate, the ones that did hit cut deep into Dun. He just grunted with the blows though, easily tanking the attack as she was buffeted around by the wind and carried up into the air.

"Finish this, Hyper Drill!" Lifting up and flying through the updraft he made, Dun spiraled through the air towards the helpless Liligant stuck there. She sent a barrage of petals at him, all ground to mulch by his spinning drill tail before it connected with her, striking her down.

As they both landed down, the referee said, "Gym Leader Brassius has no more useable Pokemon! Challenger Nemona is the winner!"

Spoiler: A/N:

Three Gym Badges down! I know that they had Arven use Scovillian in the games because food theme, but I feel it really fits Brassius well, being a Moody Grassy Type. I'll add the new Rotom Form here and in an informational once we're all caught up. Alright then, hope you enjoyed the battle (because that's really all that could fit in this chapter haha).

Boombox Form:
- Electric/Normal Type
- Gives access to the Move Sing while Miles Possesses it
- Same Ability, Stats, and other traits as per usual for Miles

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Skyfyre]

"Avant Garde! Truly!" Brassius declared loudly as he passed me the badge I had earned. I opened the (super special, custom, gold) case my parents had bought me for my journey, snapping it in place alongside the others. Three of eight, plus a flip-side fit for Unovan badges when I eventually challenge them. Right now, just have Clay's 'unofficial' badge sitting there.

"You weren't too shabby yourself," I said, putting the case away and shaking his hand. "For someone who was only a Gym Leader for a year, you did quite well." Not that I'd be gauche enough to say it, but I'm pretty sure Oberon was hitting me with his full force in our battle too, and I swept him far easier.

Cyan quickly ran up, passing me back my phone. "That was awesome! You've gotten even stronger, Nims."

"Of course," I replied, flexing my arms as if that had anything to do with the 'strength' she was talking about. Naturally, I got an eye roll in response. More sincerely, I continued. "I'm impressed with Phantasm's growth as well."

"Is that the name of your Zoroark?!" A familiar, slightly chubby boy pushed through the crowd, asking me intently.

"Uh, yeah, it is. Hohma, right?" The boy nodded his head, and I internally sighed, knowing I had remembered him and hadn't mixed him up with someone else. That's always so embarrassing.

Answering that seemed to open the floodgates, as a large portion of the crowd rushed me like a horde. So many of them were talking, shouting over top of each other with questions or phrases of praise that it was somewhat overwhelming. Jeez, I hadn't expected this kind of reaction.

Cyan tried to tell them off. "Hey, give her space!" When that failed to work, she released her Kingdra, the appearance of her Dragon making all of them take a step back. The Smokescreen afterward gave us perfect cover to escape, especially since as the smoke cleared, they were all looking along the ground while we had flown away, her atop Kingdra and me with my Aura.

Brassius was the only one who spotted us, and I gave him a cheeky wave as we flew off, landing down behind the new hedge maze. "Thanks," I told Cyan, who nodded, returning her Pokemon.

"No problem; you seemed like you were getting a bit uncomfortable."

"Yeah, nothing like that happened to me before." It might have, at Oberon's Gym, if I hadn't run off. "Did you ever experience anything like that?"

My sister shook her head. "I got a few fans and fellow classmates cheering me on by about my fifth badge, but nothing that big. Then again, I never had a big six-on-six battle in the middle of a festival while showing off a brand new Pokemon and evolution," she retorted with her hands on her hips.

Yeah, guess that is somewhat my fault, though I didn't know that she'd evolve then. But that is the biggest concern I had; mostly all those people were trying to ask questions about Phantasm. We still need to talk before I show her off.

"Maybe they were just fascinated to talk to the author of such a famous and well-respected comic book series?"

"Wha- how did you- Brassius," my sister quickly determined.

"Yup. He actually told me about it being entered in the fair." The stern glare I gave her was only about 40% fake.

"I- I just wanted it to be a fun surprise for you," Cyan pouted, the singular red bang of her hair flopping about.

"That's fine; it's not a big deal. Just, tell me in the future. I don't need a big surprise."

"I suppose I should have known." At my curious look, she said, "At your birthday party? You kinda flipped out over… whatever happened with Friede that led to you getting Phantasm. Are you going to tell everyone where they can find more like-"

"No," I said flatly, my tone indicating I wouldn't budge on this issue. "I do plan on showing her off to the world, even if it means dodging some tough questions, though. Speaking of…" Looking around, I saw that there was no one nearby since we were on the edge of Artazon. "Mind giving us a moment to talk? I can meet you by our comic book display."

She nodded, wandering off back to the fair while I released Phantasm. She stood, taking in the change in scenery, her body slightly hunched over. Is that just natural for her now, or because she's feeling nervous? It fits the game images, but those aren't always fully indicative.

"Hey, let me get a good look at you." She obliged my calm words, slowly turning around. "Wow, you look gorgeous!"

"Really?" I blinked, surprised at the 'words'. They were just an illusion, I knew, but it was an impressive upgrade from before, where she'd have difficulty making the sound that precise. Sounds a bit like me, but slightly deeper in tone.

"Yeah! You look awesome, and those illusions—those are incredible too. People are going to be all over you." There was an awkward pause, and I caught a flash of frustration and confusion in her eyes; her long mane lifted slightly so I could see both of them.

"I made a promise to let people adore you and marvel over your magnificence, etcetera, and I'm going to live up to it. Just means that I'll seem like a jerk when they ask where I got you or how you came to be that way but- but that is fine." I stressed, in response to the low growl she made, clearly upset at even the idea of random strangers thinking badly of me.

Slowly, I offered my hand, and at her acceptance, I ran it through her mane, shivering slightly. Still has that unusual chill to it; gotta test more Ice Type TMs with her. "Your instincts might lead to aggression and hate easier, and that isn't bad, but you do need to learn to control it, ok? Save the viciousness for the truly bad people like those poachers."

She bristled slightly but nodded. "Are you ready to go out and see the world? Or rather, have the world see you? It's ok if you aren't…" Her expression was still somewhat unsure and I added "I'll have your Pokeball on hand if anything flares up, but you seem fine just talking with me."

Admittedly, I'm a lot closer to her, but this is still a stressful topic. We'll take it slowly, just start to get her used to other people and Pokemon outside of battle first. And for the next few Gyms, I'll just have her train with the team, who she knows and can stop her if she goes too far.

"Ark," she replied, standing up a bit straighter. My words seemed to reassure her and now she was eager, mane waving happily.

"Alright then, let's go check out the art. I don't think I even showed you the comics Cyan and I made back when we were home. It's about Spinarak-Man, an average man bitten by a mutated Spinarak who gains incredible powers, and the amazing foes he fights."

Explaining the lore of the series we had adapted, I led her through the festival. Almost the instant we got around the maze, people were pointing at Phantasm and whispering. "They're saying only good things; don't worry," I told her as I noticed her movements get a little stiffer, suddenly nervous.

A little girl (ok, only a few years younger than I was) ran away from her mom and up to us. "Hey, can I pet her?" She asked excitedly. Glancing at Phantasm, I saw her nod, so I gave her the go-ahead. She did so cheerfully, cooing over her and being a bit surprised when she felt how cold Phantasm's mane was.

There were plenty more like her on the way to Cyan. A few people did seem a bit wary or disturbed by Phantasm's appearance, but they were in the minority. Most of them seemed quite impressed, especially the children. A lot of the Uva students would pepper me with questions about how strong she was, or what Type she was, and most of all…

"How can we get a Zoroark like her?" A group of three older boys demanded of me, cornering me as some others got their photos taken with her.

"Sorry, can't say." Was my entirely unapologetic response. The other questions are easy enough to answer - no one here is asking questions anyone couldn't find out just by reviewing the fight I just had with Brassius.

They didn't seem happy with that, the lead boy stepping up to tower over me. Then, suddenly, the three of them flinched, turning to stare at Phantasm, who was balefully glaring down at them. Without another word, they ran off.

As we moved on, I asked her in a low voice, "What illusion did you show them?"

["Just a growl. Didn't even need to do anything like that bitch did."] It took me a moment to get over my surprise at her precise auditory illusion-speak and realize that she was talking about Raifort's Zoroark. Well, I guess I don't have any right to tell her not to hate Raifort - she definitely fits my description of very bad people.

I noticed she would cast a baleful glare at those boys a couple of times as they ran away, though there was little anger to her. It feels like she'll make and keep grudges easier, but it's more hatred than anger. I kept things like that in mind as we wandered about, taking in the sights of the impressive festival.

To help protect the donated art pieces from the elements, a great number of large tents had been set up in the open, grassy sections of town. There, people and Pokemon could wander around and view the pieces. We found my sister in one of these, showing off the book.

"Nemona!" She called out, waving me over. "I was just telling my classmates about the comic book we made.

"You wrote this?" Asked one of the older girls. "But you're so young." I didn't really know how to respond to that, so I just shrugged.

"Yeah. We wrote more than just this; we actually have quite a few of these comics at home."

"How many?" Another kid asked excitedly, the young boy not much older than me.

"Uhh, we got up to issue thirty two, I think, so thirty one more." My sister nodded, agreeing with my memory.

"We had ideas for hundreds of issues more, but someone got too busy with Training."

Frowning at her, I said, "Training is important too. You should know, given your own badges. And I'd say it was time well spent." Phantasm had been ever so carefully flipping through the pages as we talked, reading our story. As I gestured to her, she gave a toothy grin before conjuring an illusion of a Spinarak descending from the ceiling. Just like the iconic scene from the comic where Peter Parkour got his powers.

That distracted most of the other students, who began eagerly calling out different scenes they wanted her to make. My Pokemon took great joy, reveling in the new power and control she had with her illusions. That'll be useful for battles, but I'm glad to see her getting to do stuff like this too. She's a great storyteller, and it brings her a lot of joy.

Eventually, the other students left, going to check out some of the other art displays. Before they did though, the young boy (whose name I learned was Adrian) asked, "If you have ideas for tons of more comic books, why don't you just make them already?"

I chuckled at that. "Easier said than done. Making the comics takes a lot of time, to sketch them all out, color them properly, and actually write the dialogue and narration. And even if we have general outlines of the plot, writing the details in between the plot points is what brings the story to life. Plus, not everything goes as planned; sometimes, the story evolves in ways you didn't expect as you make it."

He nodded and followed after the older students, animatedly chatting about the book. Turning to my sister, I said, "Thanks."

"What for?"

"For putting our comic on display. I would have been hesitant, but it's really cool to see a bunch of people like it, even amidst all this professional work."

"Well, not all of it's professional. Think there are a few other amateur pieces people volunteered here. Oh, that reminds me! They've got a portrait station where you can make your own piece of art. Let's go check it out; I'm sure Smeargle will love it."

"You got one?" I asked excitedly as she dragged me along, Phantasm loping behind us.

"Yes, yes," she reapplied, waving me off with her free hand. "Turns out Alisha has a Purugly, so he was able to sketch that Move you wanted."

Yes! One step closer to my plan. A lot of red tape to cut through for us to get our shot, but I'm really hopeful about this one.

My mind turned away from schemes as we approached the do-it-yourself portrait station. There were also several professional artists nearby offering sketches and portraits for a modest fee. We went in the line-up to try our own hand at it - or rather, for Cyan and her Smeargle to try their hands (and tail) at it.

"You sure you don't want to try too?" Cyan asked, and I shook my head vigorously.

"No thanks; we both know I'm pretty bad at this kind of stuff." Occasionally I had drawn things for the comic book to give Cyan a better image of what I had envisioned, and it often ended with me having to explain a bunch of details and nuance that I had failed to illustrate for her.

"Smearg?" The Smeargle by her side asked, talking with Phantasm.

"Oark, zor." Was her response. Hmm, getting only one half of the conversation, less really with Phantasm's evolution giving her new cues and body signs, but I think they're talking about Grafaiai? They're the resident painting Pokemon of Paldea, and I see a few of them around here. Pokemon were a part of every facet of life, and making art was no exception. Some, like Smeargle and Grafaiai, were naturally predisposed to such, but there were plenty of unusual artists I saw, like a Gallade metalworker, a Falinks dance 'team', and an Eelektross poet.

Phantasm and I took our places, both of us trying to strike dramatic yet easy-to-hold poses. That was easier said than done, but we eventually settled down. I tried to remain still, but chatted a little with Cyan, just about what school had been like and other little things that we'd missed that hadn't made their way onto the group chat, as well as my future plans.

"Are you going to race to Iono's Gym next? She's pretty fun in her streams, but I haven't gotten to see how she performs as a Gym Leader." I chuckled at her words, causing her to scowl. "Don't move around."

"Sorry, just thinking about how much more interested you've become in Pokemon stuff ever since you've gotten your badges. I never would have believed it, my sister, a Pokemaniac." That only got her to scowl harder.

Graciously shifting the conversation, I continued. "Nah, not gonna rush ahead. Kinda blitzed through the last three, wanna to take a bit more time to explore the land. Maybe backtrack a bit and check out the Secluded Beach."

"Oh right, that's one of the ten sights. I picked up Toxapex not far from there, actually." I resisted the ingrained instinct to nod my head at my sister telling me something I already knew. I remember how you bragged about getting Mareanie to join your team and then begged me until I gave you tons of advice on how to best integrate her into your team.

After they finished, we looked at their portraits. "This is- I look…" Fierce, powerful, and confident. Like a champion ready to take on the world, and not just a little girl. "Thank you."

Cyan blushed at her praise, while Phantasm delicately passed me her portrait before grabbing Smeargle in a bone-crushing hug. I can see why; this looks great! Not sure why he chose to use a snowy background for this, considering it's a bright sunny day, but it helps add to the flair of 'mystery' and dims the sense of danger radiating off of her.

"You're welcome-"

"Ok, now do one with the whole team!" I shouted, releasing the rest of my Pokemon.

"Hey, I didn't agree to that! I was just going to do one portrait-"



***



['Still looking at that picture your kin drew for us?'] Phantasm didn't speak often through illusions, human language a bit odd for her. If she tried to make the illusion too fast or her mind drifted to the emotion she was trying to convey, the illusion would get messed up. Still, does make it easier to understand her and how exactly she's feeling.

"Of course!" I replied to Phantasm brightly, thrusting my phone in her face. She looked annoyed by the action but held back from swatting it away in a remarkable display of control. Or perhaps the fact that Miles is inside it, and they can still kick her keister, even with her evolution.

I pulled back when I realized she wasn't looking. Being fair and honest, she had dutifully looked at it the first dozen or so times I had shown it to her, as well as being there when it was made. The picture isn't quite as good as the real thing, but the large portrait would have taken up space in my bag and is better hanging up in my house.

Despite her denials, Cyan eventually (with Smeargle's help) agreed to make a portrait for the whole team. It was a bit tricky to get everyone in a tight frame, but we managed. Dun lay curled up in the center, with me sitting atop. Notch floated directly above my head while Miles was in front of me, not possessing any appliances but sticking out with their blue glow. On my left was Phantasm, and on my right stood Riolu, with Nightwing hovering above her.

This is awesome. I love little things like this to remind me of how great the journey can be. I've stumbled a bit and ran into some trouble, but as a whole, I'm glad we've gone on it. It also made for a nice distraction from the gloom around me.

The secluded beach was, surprisingly, actually secluded when I arrived. Ever since it had been called one of the 'Ten Sights of Paldea,' there had been tons of tourism to this spot. Today, however, the sky was quite overcast, hovering on the precipice of precipitation.

"Honestly, this place is pretty boring," I said, voicing my thoughts aloud.

['Do you think all the Ten Sights will be like that?'] Phantasm asked. Making illusory sounds was great for communication, and it doubled as training for making complex and subtle illusions in battle.

"Nah, I think we've just had bad luck. Well, at least with the Olive Field. I grew up on a beach, at least in this life." Though I hadn't been that far from the water in my first life, even if I didn't have a beachside mansion to grow up in then. "So this place probably wouldn't be that impressive for me even when it's warm and sunny. Must be the same for any citizens of Levincia and their 'million-volt skyline."

That being said, I can totally see how this would be fairly impressive. Got that magnificent waterfall from the river that flows down from above, and the beach itself is kept quite clean. Here and there, I spotted signs of Rangers or their presence. A 'lifeguard' tower that doubled as an outpost, from what I recognized in my Explorer training.

Phantasm cared little for that, and the Finizens, Wattrels, Clawitzers, and the like here hadn't the strength to challenge her. ['K, I'm going back to rest in my ball.'] Which she promptly did.

What to do now? We could carry on to Levincia and get our challenge to Iono done, but I did say I wasn't going to rush things. Looking around, I brightened up as I saw the cliff looming over the beach.

"Hey, Notch." They tilted their body after I released them, making some questioning chiming sounds. "Want to explore the marsh over there?"

They rotated in the air, their gaze following my finger pointing over the cliff. Without a sign of interest or the opposite, they started simply floating that way. Laughing, I followed her, jumping up as easily as she ascended, despite gravity's lacking hold on her. Aura really is awesome.

Atop the cliff, we stared down at the marsh on the other side. The basin was muddy, with large puddles of water covering much of it. Within them splashed Woopers under the watchful eyes of Clodsires while Mareanies lurked within the surface, only the purple tips of their heads sticking out of the water.

They were hardly the only Poison Types to make their home here, I realized as I caught sight of a Croagunk scooping a Skrelp out of the water. The Skrelp managed to shoot out a Water Gun and push itself out of the Croagunk's claw, flipping back into the water with a splash and hiding amidst the silt churned up.

There were some non-Poison Types as well, with stubborn Chewtles and oblivious Psyducks wandering around; however, the strongest group of Pokemon seemed to be the Flamigos, who strutted around as if they owned the place.

Considering I can see a Tera Bug one off in the center of the marsh, I guess they kind of do. I wonder if they can deal with all this toxic water because their long legs are resistant to that? I remember Flamingos in my world having something like that. I think? Maybe other birds had resistance in their talons, like one with red talons that could hunt snakes? And they'd trick the snakes into biting their legs, and they'd be fine? I don't know. Guess I can't find out, and it doesn't really matter anyway.

With a sigh, I jumped off the ledge, gently floating down to the marsh. My Aura helped me land lightly, but then I made the mistake of letting go of it once I touched down, causing my feet to sink into the mud.

"Gah!" Wrenching my feet free took a bit of effort, and it felt terrible, the mud sinking into my shoes, coating my socks and feet. "Ughhhh!" I whined, kicking the mud away as if that would help anything. I hate getting mucky and dirty like this!

So too did the Goomy that I accidentally hit with my little tantrum. That, or they thought it was an attack, and so rearing up, they let loose a stream of purple fire at me. On instinct, I raised my arms up to shield myself from the blast and yelled in pain from the Dragon Breath.

It didn't last long, luckily, as Notch summoned a mighty Moonblast to send the offending dragon slithering away, disappearing amongst the reeds. They moved to pursue, but I waved them down. "It- it's fine," I said, wincing. My nerves feel like they're on fire. God, that stings. I can see why Pokemon can have trouble just pushing through it.

Notch returned to stand guard over me as I pulled out a Parlyz Heal and, with shaking arms, sprayed myself with it. "Ahhh." That's better. Not perfect, but better.

It was still a struggle to climb out, my muscles moving sluggishly as I scurried back up the cliff before lying down in a heap. Bright blue eyes stared at me from above, Notch floating nearby, wondering how they could help.

"You already are."

They looked confused as I took off my shoes and socks and got Miles to wash those articles of clothing and my feet off with their Wash Form. "No, really, you helped tons. Not just in protecting me, but in stopping me from just moping around. I know myself well enough to know that if I was by myself and hurt and dirty and grumpy, I'd just waste a bunch of time feeling bad for myself before I got on with what needed to be done to fix the situation."

I frowned as I thought about it a bit more. "At least, that's how I used to be. Not sure that I am that way anymore. Is it because I'm Nemona now, or just a result of growing up again here?"

Shaking my head, I said, "It doesn't matter. I'm me, and I'm so glad to have your help on this journey." Miles had already switched to their Heat Form to begin drying off my clothes. Yeah, I wouldn't make it anywhere near as far without them.

To Notch, I finished by saying, "That's why I wanted to show you someplace new and exciting. The marsh doesn't seem like the greatest choice, but is there anywhere else you want to explore?" That, and they're the quietest of the team. I want to make sure they get to do some exploring here too.

Notch thought about it for a few minutes as I dried off and put my now clean socks and shoes on again. It was difficult not to be impatient, but I did my best, not wanting to rush them. Man, stories hardly ever go into these things, huh? It's just dramatic dialogue and the scene cuts to the action, never covering the little difficulties of day-to-day life on the road. The games certainly never showed how mucky it was to travel across the countryside. And I have it fairly easy, all things considered, with six supernatural beings by my side and tons of expensive gear to make things easier.

Some chiming sounds alerted me to where Notch was pointing, their ears directing my gaze up and up and up. Across the river bank on the other side were the canyons, but amidst the trenches and hills of that land that separated Mesagoza from Artazon, one feature stood out. A massive pillar of stone that rose well above any other. That was where Notch was pointing.

Delighted, I grinned. "That's where you want to go? Alright then, let's reach the peak! Nothing can stop us." My stomach decided to speak up at that moment, reminding me of how hungry I was. "... After lunch, nothing can stop us after we've had lunch." The chiming this time sounded like laughter, and I couldn't blame them.



***



I had thoroughly restocked by the time I left the festival, so we had plenty of food for lunch. The team was rowdy as usual, eagerly digging into their meals and conversing. Phantasm is getting bolder now, pushing her limits more. Which is a good thing, but she snaps back easier than the others, getting more upset for real way faster than the others. Might have to have a chat with her if she's not seeing it herself before Riolu puts her in her place. Or maybe Nightwing, she's getting antsy too.

Most of the talk was general chatter and banter, but some things of great importance were discussed when I had the whole team out to eat and socialize.

"Dudun." Dun firmly stated.

"Bzzt, I firmly disagree. The main theme is friendship and cooperation."

"Sparce, un." Dun rebutted Miles.

"That arc is practically filler, bzzt! And even if not given its dubious canonicity for happening in the Dream World arc, the tragedy of following orders blindly hardly shows up again at all."

Dun dug in further, both literally and metaphorically, his tail grinding against the grassy hill. "Un dun, dunsparce."

Miles actually rolled their plasmic eyes. "The ending does show hints of those darker elements, but I believe that was just a way to ratchet up tension, bzzt. Also to distract from the fact that the writers were too cowardly to put Espeon and Umbreon together, despite the clear chemistry they had."

My starter nodded his head, the waggle of his tail showing he agreed with Miles' latter point, but still had things he wanted to argue on the first. I had just finished my deconstructed 'sandwich' however, so I decided to cut things short.

"Guys, a show can have more than one major theme." I paused for a moment before continuing, "But sorry, Dun, Miles is totally right. Eeveelution Ranger Rescue Squad is a kid's show, of course, friendship and comradery are the main themes!"

Talking overtop his angered hisses, I offered an olive branch to smooth over his feelings. "That's not to say they don't have elements that more mature watchers can't enjoy, like shipping characters together or darker themes that show up occasionally. And if you want to explore that more, that's great; that's what fanfiction is for."

"Iolu."

"Yes, you can write and find fanfics where Leafeon doesn't get Worfed every major battle."

"Ri? Riolu! Lu!" She asked, then vehemently protested. This girl. Acting like she isn't glued to the screen or her Aura doesn't light up whenever Leafeon takes out a mook. Of course, such things were 'too immature' for her to enjoy… despite how she would always 'happen' to find herself in the room and out of her ball whenever it was on.

"A character being 'Worfed' is a term from my world. It came from a series, well several series actually, called Star Trek. Worf was actually in a lot of the different series; however, in Next Generation, where he premiered, he was a tough security officer. However, to show how tough the enemy of the week was, Worf would often lose to them despite his supposed strength, to hype up how tough the threat was. That's where the term comes from," I explained.

I wisely refrained from pointing out how such a term might be called 'Leafeon'd' in this world to avoid an argument flaring up again. Notch chimed in, curious about details from my world.

Packing up the picnic (really just a large blanket for us to lay on and a basket; no whole-ass bench and table as they got in the games), I answered Notch's question. "Well, I don't remember a ton about the series, to be honest. It was one of the main Science Fiction franchises in my world, alongside Star Wars. I was more into Star Wars than Star Trek, but I'll tell you what I remember. Trek starts with Captain Kirk, serving aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise…"

As we began our hike, I regaled Notch with tales of some of the stories of my world. Crossing the river was easy enough with my Aura, but the climb began to take its toll as we ascended. While there were a few ledges to rest on, most were fairly flat, meaning I had to climb or fly my way up. And there's no way I'm flying up this whole thing, not with my Aura as it currently stands.

The ledges served at least as nice places to rest and recuperate. I'd drink water and sit for a bit before getting back up and continuing the climb. Notch helped as well, with me reluctant to have them carry me up (and thus cut out any effort in the climb), but they were able to pull rock chunks from the sheer cliff face, making hand and foot holds for me to ascend.

As the climb progressed, I moved from my stories on Star Trek (which had a surprising deal of breadth to them from general osmosis, though little depth on much of the series) to Star Wars (which I knew better but still had several series or books I hadn't read and only had a partial picture on).

Eventually, I mentioned fanfiction, of which I had read a fair bit. "It likely colors my opinion of some of the- urk - the stories, admittedly. In most series I tried to read the main work first, but sometimes I got introduced to them through a crossover or some recommendation."

Grunting, I pulled myself up to another ledge, wiping sweat from my brow. Gathering my Aura, I tried to revitalize myself, long having forgone using it to just float up. Easier than climbing, but it exhausts me so quickly.

"I wrote some fanfic in my old world. Not much, just one big story that I ended up dropping and a one shot that wasn't very popular. I liked it though; it helped sharpen my skills as a writer. At least, I felt like it did." Cringing at your past work is a sign you've improved, right? And hopefully liking the vision and idea that was there under the poor prose and bad grammar means you had an idea worth writing in the first place.

Notch chimed along, and I took a drink of water, my throat feeling parched. Attempting the climb in silence would be worse, though. Need something to distract me from how tired I feel.

Getting back up, I continued. "What I was really proud of, or at least hopeful about, were my original works. Stories I had made up all my own. Never managed to get them to any publishers; only tried with one. Got distracted with work, life- hah!"

Nearly slipping with one hand, I tightened my grip with the other, wrenching myself back up. Notch had immediately hovered down beside me, ready to catch me with Psychic if need be, and eyed me warily as I continued.

"Life, gaming groups, card game hobbies, etcetera. Those were fun. I should try making those games here." Suddenly I frowned, remembering what games I was talking about. "Then again, maybe not. No one needs to be subjected to knowing the difference between 'when you can' and 'if you can' effects."

Even Notch didn't know how to reply there, and I just shook my head. "Anyways, it was fun to make those stories. Maybe I'll try my hand at writing some other original stories later." My companion chimed a question, and I understood it well enough to respond.

"Why not those stories I never got published? Well, most of them were fantasy stories. But they don't really translate well to a world with Pokemon." At more insistent chimes, I explained, "Writing a story without Pokemon? Here? Wouldn't work."

I paused, both to think on it more and to catch my breath from the climb. "I mean, there were things of speculative fiction in my old world, something where there were no humans or equally fundamental as no Pokemon could work here but then-" I cut myself off, trying to find the right way to explain it.

"The thing is, hup," I pulled myself up once more. "A work of fiction like that usually just explores that one change. Writing some other magic system or fantastical elements amidst it feels… weird."

Notch hovered nearby, shaking their body/head, chiming insistently, and I paused to look at them. "You think I should anyway?" Then they pulled out the Diancite. "Oh. I didn't give up on your dreams, so you aren't going to give up on mine."

Some happy chimes informed me my assumption of their meaning was correct, and my eyes watered. "Thanks, Notch," I said softly before resuming the climb.

"Ok, so I could write something like that. Maybe under a pseudonym? And an online handle, as a Faller. That could explain why I had those ideas and why I made that kind of story. Of course, if I'm doing that, I won't have my family's resources to call upon in pushing it. But maybe that's a good thing. I'll get to see how my stories will stand on their own. And even if they don't sell, it'll be a project more just for me. Getting some readers who enjoy it will just be a happy bonus."

The climb had continued past the setting of the sun and well into the night. Notch made worried sounds, motioning that maybe I should take a break on a nearby ledge. Tempting, that spot would be spacious enough for me to set up the tent. But…

"It might be dumb, but I want to make it up here by dawn. It's gonna look great, I'm sure of it." I was not, in fact, 'sure of it.' However, I thought it was very likely, and I wanted to believe it. Want to push myself as well, go past my limits.

Notch nodded, eyes gleaming with determination as they exuded a pink, misty energy around them, lighting up our side of the cliff face, making it easier for me to see where to go. "Thanks!" With renewed vigor, I continued my climb.

That extra strength couldn't carry on forever, though. I noticed my strength flagging again, my breaks taking longer and longer to regain the energy for the next climb as the night carried on. On the other hand, the distance to our goal got shorter and shorter too, and just as the light was coming back to the world, we crested the top.

"We did it!" I shouted tiredly before lowering my voice as I saw a Vigoroth shift in its sleep nearby. Luckily, it stayed asleep, not being bothered getting up at this time of day, so I slipped away.

The top of the pillar was very flat, with a few spikes sticking up above the large, rocky surface. Walking to the edge, I put on my goggles and sat down, waiting for the sun to rise. I didn't have to wait long, as inexorably, the sliver of light grew larger and brighter.

Watching it, shining over the horizon, the sea shimmering out as far as even my eyes could see, I could only think: This is the real sight of Paldea. There's so much beauty and wonder to this land.

From the wide-eyed, awed, and reverent look Notch gave the view beside me, I knew they felt the same. Ha, I knew this was the right call. The sky looks so pretty like this, so deep and blue… think I'm just gonna lie back and…



***



I woke to the sound of my phone ringing. "Huh? Who is it?" Miles screens my calls, so this must be someone important. My groggy thoughts were interrupted by the realization of just how close I was to the cliff's edge, and I scrambled backward instinctively as if that would help me be safer.

Gah, stop spazzing out and- Hassel? Floating in front of me, Miles possessing the phone showed me who was calling. Pressing the button to accept, I said, "Hey Hassel, what's up?"

The man appeared on the screen, looking the same as he ever did, save for perhaps being a bit more tired, with some slight bags under his eyes. Not that I'm one to talk, I must look like a raccoon right now.

"Greetings Nemona. I would say you are. My colleagues have been buzzing with news of your exploits." His colleagues- oh, right. Gym Leaders work for the League, so they work along with Elite Four members.

"Yeah, I'm taking on the Gyms and stuff; I gotta work my way up to face you again. I'm guessing Brassius told you about our battle?"

"He did. And Oberon had much to say about you as well." Hassel's tone hardly shifted at all, his expression remaining much the same as well, but there was a steely glint in his eyes.

"Aha, yeah, got into some trouble there. But all's well that ends well, right?" I tried, with my most innocent, childlike smile.

The Elite Four Dragon Trainer, having known me for years at this point, did not buy it for a second. "Where are you? I was thinking we might talk in person."

"Ah, well, I'm really high up. It's kinda remote. I'm on top of that big rocky cliff beside the canyons in South Province, and it's hard to get to- is that…" My voice trailed off as I looked around. Those markings on the big rocks nearby, they're very weird but familiar. The familiarity came from how much I had studied them, interested in this particular Pokemon.

Looking around in the light of day confirmed my suspicions. Many Pokemon wandered around the open area, from Litleos pouncing on each other to Flittles flitting by. What caught my eye, however, were a few small, stubby, green, tusked Pokemon waddling about.

"Did you know that there were Axews here?!" I exclaimed excitedly, unable to contain my exuberance. "Oh man, I think I see some Bagons too!"

"I… was not aware of them in that location, no. I'll-" he paused, someone offscreen talking to him. "We'll be there soon." He hung up, but I barely noticed, running up to the adorable little Axews.

As I neared them, I slowed down, trying not to scare them. "Hi, I'm Nemona," I said, waving tentatively at one. The little gal turned around, looking confused at me for a moment before smiling and mimicking my gesture, waving back. The action nearly unbalanced her, and she dropped some of the berries she was carrying in her little arms.

Crouching down, I picked some up, passing them back to her. She happily warbled in thanks and began marching off. Without anything better to do as I waited for Hassel, I followed her. We walked a long way around, twisting past a few small sections of stone or mini cliffs, winding our way to a set of truly ancient ruins.

Whoa. I wonder who made these? There aren't any records of a civilization here, not even any watchtowers like there are down in the canyons, so who put these crumbling stone walls here?

My first thoughts were quickly overtaken with caution as I spotted the large eagle-like bird roosting atop the ruins. The Braviary glanced over at me with one piercing eye before turning away, the great bird more focused on the young Rufflets flapping about, making awkward hops on the ground. Though I imagine her nonchalance will change if I go near her young.

The Axew didn't lead me that way though, but around, back behind one of the walls, where I saw a bunch of Axews gathered around, playing together and eating. Off in the corner, huddled up by himself, was a larger figure. He had light green scales on the upper half of his body, his legs, and his face a light black. His feet and claws were blue, as were his eyes and the tip of his tusks.

The Fraxure looked surprised at my presence, nervously taking me in. For a moment he squared up, ready to fight me if I was a threat, until he saw the Axew that led me there, excitedly pointing at me and talking to the others. Well, perhaps a bit too trusting on the Axews' part, but maybe they're just good judges of character. But why is that Fraxure acting so oddly? And their coloring…

I didn't have time to worry about what to do, nor were any of us concerned about appearances as heavy wing beats heralded new arrivals. The Braviary spotted them and, in a surprising(ly intelligent) display, hopped down from her perch and gathered her children, flying away immediately.

Not that I think they would have hurt us. Those riders are pretty familiar. Well, Hassel is pretty familiar, the other guy I only have heard about. However, I think she was more worried about the Pokemon they're riding in on.

Hassel sat atop the back of his Dragonite as usual. Slightly ahead of him was a man in a pristine blue suit jacket, with a red tie tucked firmly in, matching his red dress pants. In contrast to his professional attire, his hair was a tangled mess that looked only slightly worse flying atop the back of his Salamence than it did in official press releases.

The pair landed down in the opening in front of the ruins, and I stepped out to meet them. "So you're the young girl who's taking Paldea by storm, are ya? Nice to meet you, Nemona." He said with a smirk, sticking a hand out to shake. On his middle finger was an unusual ring that looked to be carved out of stone. Probably because it was, given it's a Key Stone.

I shook the offered hand firmly. "Nice to meet you too, Miguel Worthington, current El Primero of Paldea."

Spoiler: A/N:

A wild Champion appears! And with Nemona on her journey so much earlier, it is not Geeta she'll be facing (don't worry, Geeta's got her own stuff going on). Thank you all for your support, it means a lot.

Nemona's Current Team:

-'Dun' (Dudunsparce, Male, Normal Type, Starter)
- Tera Type: Normal
- Held Item: Expert Belt
- Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace
- Moves known: Flail, Mud Slap, Rollout, Glare, Body Slam, Poison Jab, Earthquake, Bite, Yawn (Invisible Version)*, Last Resort, Hyper Voice, Protect, Thunder, Hex, Agility, Air Slash, Giga Impact, Tailwind, Roost, Ancient Power, Drill Run, Hyper Drill, Triple Yawn*, Ice Spinner, Solar Beam, Lunge, Flamethrower, Aqua Tail, Coil, Hurricane, Outrage, Smart Strike

- 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)
- Tera Type: Electric
- Held Item: Life Orb
- Ability: Levitate
- Moves Known: Astonish, Confuse Ray, Thundershock, Double Team, Hyper Voice, Protect, Thunder, Rain Dance, Will O' Wisp, Nasty Plot, Hex, Sunny Day, Substitute, Foul Play, Trick, Discharge, Shadow Ball, Eerie Impulse, Reflect, Light Screen, Uproar, Confuse Wisp*

- 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)
- Tera Type: Water
- Held Item: Toxic Orb
- Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal
- Moves Known: Poison Sting, Sand Attack, Harden, Knock Off, Fury Cutter, Acrobatics, Bulldoze, Quick Attack, Psychic Fangs, Poison Tail, Slash, Gunk Shot, Dig, Ice Fang, Lunge, U-Turn, Protect, Tailwind, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Night Slash, Sand Tomb, Crabhammer

- 'Notch' (Carbink, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Held Item: Light Clay
- Ability: Clear Body
- Moves Known: Harden, Tackle, Guard Split, Flail, Ancient Power, Light Screen, Reflect, Iron Defense, Body Press, Stealth Rocks, Psychic, Smack Down, Trick Room, Dazzling Gleam, Rock Polish, Power Gem, Stone Edge, Protect, Spikes, Stomping Tantrum, Moonblast

- 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)
- Tera Type: Ghost
- Held Item: Lax Incense
- Ability: Illusion
- Moves Known: Leer, Scratch, Torment, Hone Claws, Shadow Sneak, Curse, Swift, Aerial Ace, Snarl, Double Team, Taunt, Bitter Malice, Knock Off, Shadow Claw, Slash, U-Turn, Spite

- 'Riolu' (Riolu, Female, Fighting)
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Held Item: Clear Amulet
- Ability: Steadfast
- Moves Known: Endure, Quick Attack, Feint, Metal Claw, Counter, Work Up, Detect, Rock Smash, Trailblaze, Vacuum Wave, Screech, Quick Guard, Circle Throw, Force Palm, Drain Punch, Swords Dance, High Jump Kick, Aerial Ace, Poison Jab, Copycat, Ice Punch, Close Combat, Final Gambit, Reversal, Dancing Sword*, Howl, Earthquake, Brick Break

*Custom Moves

 

[unlawfulwaffle362]

I wonder how good this Champion is. Comparatively, Geeta's strength and reign as La Primera is kinda the weakest compared to all the other Champions. So how would her predecessor fare?

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Skyfyre]

I wonder how good this Champion is. Comparatively, Geeta's strength and reign as La Primera is kinda the weakest compared to all the other Champions. So how would her predecessor fare?

Click to shrink...

Not sure. As the DLC shows, Geeta can actually be pretty decent, just by swapping her team order around a bit (well okay, and by changing up how she uses her Tera and a couple of the less impressive Pokemon on the team too). To me, it feels like despite her words, she just isn't trying her hardest there.

As for the predecessor, it's highly head canon, but I theorize that the reason why they have Gym Leader and actual child as some of the Elite Four in the games is that some disaster or incident happened which cost them a lot of the usual Elites they would have, which would explain why Geeta is both the Chairwoman and the 'top champion'.

 

[Skyfyre]

He returned the handshake just as firmly before letting go. "Oh? You know who I am?" His skin was fairly tanned, with messy dark brown hair. Though his question was light, there was a sharpness to his green eyes as he examined me.

How to approach meeting a Champion? Aaaah, I don't know. I guess just be a cocky shit? Worked for the Gym Leaders so far, right? "Well, I am aiming for your spot; I felt it was only polite to learn your name."

Apparently that worked, as he guffawed heartily. "Ha! Just as spirited as you said, Hassel."

The man in question was rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Yes, she is indeed a spirited young lass." Then turning to me, he said in a softer tone, "I'm glad to see you are doing well. I was horrified by what I heard had happened to you."

My own smile grew brittle. "Nothing happened to me, more Oberon you should worry about." Honestly. Not sure how all that would have shaken out in the original timeline. Would the poachers have been destroyed by the Tera Dragonair if they hadn't been exhausted from fighting me? Would they have succeeded and gone on with Raifort's plan only to be betrayed later? Would Raifort just have stolen the key by herself with her Zoroark and evaded notice?

I couldn't guess at any of those things, but I did know that several years from this point in canon, he wasn't the leader and Tulip was. Those blue gloves he's wearing, they look familiar… I think they're something the last top Champion wore, and Geeta wears in the games.

The rampant speculation on my part helped distract me from any trauma I was ignoring, and I continued blithely. "This place is amazing! So many cool Pokemon all around," I said, spreading my arms out wide. "Swablus, Axews, Bagons… all here. And there are Goomys and Skrelps down below! I can see why Paldea is called the land of Dragons."

"You remembered that? You always were quite the sharp student," he commented fondly, before his yellow eyes grew sharp. "I look forward to facing you once again."

"Wait, hold the phone!" Miguel exclaimed. "Now give the phone back to me. You already got to fight her? Not fair," the grown man whined to his (ostensible) underling, much to the latter's embarrassment. Hassel just gave me a flat look, as if to say, 'See what I have to put up with?'

I just laughed. "That's, uh, definitely a side I didn't get to see of you in your matches or statements to the press." Not that there are too many of those. Paldea is just not as battle hyped as places like Sinnoh or Kanto, plus we have a multiple Champion system, so getting a new El Primero isn't a big news deal.

It had still made the front page for at least a day or two, and I'd made sure to study his battle against Blake Hogan religiously during that time. There had been some minor controversy online and hinted at in the news coverage about Miguel using Mega Evolution instead of Terastalization, but I thought he did fine. Certainly better than Blake, that guy was the epitome of why Paldea doesn't make it big in tournaments internationally.

He sighed heavily. "Being the top Champion is a lot less fun and games than it looks."

"I can imagine," I said, nodding sympathetically. All that politics and bureaucracy must have been why Geeta held onto the position after Nemona beat her in canon. I suppose that a government that is at least in part based on how good someone is at battling might have some flaws.

Miguel became more pensive, staring at me. "You really can, can't you?" He asked rhetorically, and I stiffened up a bit. He's good at reading people. Makes sense for a Champion-tier Trainer, but I shouldn't underestimate him just because of his occasional bouts of goofiness.

"Alright, I want to battle you!"

His sudden declaration had me and Hassel going, "Huh?" However, half a second later I had recovered and said, "Yeah, sure. What rules?" While Hassel was still stammering.

"That's a good attitude," he said while we both stepped forward, taking our places in a general approximation of what an arena would look like. The El Primero released his Rabsca off to the side, having them raise barriers around to stop stray attacks from hurting us. That's a smart idea. I should teach Notch and Miles how to do that too.

"I was thinking we'd just have a one-on-one, nice and quick." He gestured at his Salamence, who stepped into the arena. His Ace Pokemon, that's a clear sign of respect. Logically, Notch is the best counter to them, but…

"Go, Dun!" I called, tossing Dun out onto the field. Ace Pokemon-vs-Ace Pokemon, let's go.

"Dudunsparce!" He cried, fearlessly staring down the Dragon. The Salamence craned her long red and blue neck down to glare at the snake before her, roaring. My starter shivered; the Intimidating presence of this pseudo-legendary was not something even he could shake off, but he didn't back down, and I saw a glimmer of approval in her (and Miguel's) eyes. These two are going to take us seriously.

Hassel had recovered from his surprise and took a position as referee. As it was a one-on-one battle and we had both released our Pokemon, he skipped the preamble. "The battle will commence in three, two, one, begin!"

"Coil!" Was my first Move, and Dun began tightening into a circle. We need to get Dun's power back up after that Intimidation, and the Defense boost will help him resist her attacks.

"Tail." Miguel's clipped response had his ace blitzing forward, flying so fast she was a slight blur even to me. Spinning around as she approached, she knocked Dun aside with a lash of her long tail. Dragon Tail could knock an opponent out of bounds or far away in the wild, but this one was performed in a controlled manner, just to disrupt Dun.

Unfortunately for them, we had trained not having such Moves get stopped with our Roost practice, so Dun finished the buff. We need to do some damage back and limit their movements. The moment this becomes an aerial battle, we lose. "Body Slam!"

Dun flipped himself on his head, flinging his body tail first over Salamence. As he did so, I tossed my Tera Orb above him, creating a great crystal eruption around him. The suddenness of my action slowed her retreat for a split second, and combined with the extra height from the new Tera Jewel 'hat' atop his head that he was lying on as he burst free from the crystals, Dun's Move connected with her right wing.

She gave a wince of pain and Paralysis as she turned away, taking to the air. Dun rolled around and spun to face her. Off on the other side, Miguel raised an eyebrow. "Terastalization? This early?"

Of course, it provides a boost, and there's no trick I have to hide his Tera Type. It could be seen as tiring, but… "If you think you can beat us in stamina, go ahead and try," I laughed, covering my mouth.

Dun read my hidden signal, letting out an invisible Yawn, but Miguel caught onto that instantly, either somehow spotting it or just acting off instinct. "Flamethrower!"

Wheeling around, Salamence let out great streams of fire, joyously burning the rocky ground around Dun. A quick "Protect!" Shielded him from harm, but I could feel the heat rising off from that Move. Damn, I forgot how strong pseudos were everywhere. Even as a more physical attacker, she could still turn the ground under him to magma. She hit the Yawn too, so no sleep incoming.

"Hyper Voice!" With a deep intake of air, Dun screeched, his piercing voice causing his foe to cry in pain.

"Dragon Pulse," Miguel called, switching it up from random destruction to more precise bursts, the STAB helping him do more damage. That, and the Dragon's Fang she has tied against her left foreleg. Dun grunted in pain as a purple energy blast rained down into him, cracking scales.

"Agility." She's still Paralyzed, if we can speed up, Dun might dodge some of those blows and-

Miguel countered easily. "Scary Face." The fearsome visage and roar his Pokemon gave caused Dun's Psychically assisted acceleration to slow down, and he was just moving at normal speed.

"Roost," I called out, hoping to buy time. Which worked, as Salamence seemingly ignored Miguel's next command to use Dragon Pulse and instead flew around above us. I didn't miss that wince or how hard she had to flap with her left wing to stay aloft there! That was the Paralysis kicking in.

With my starter now healed up, I called out, "Hurricane, ride the wind!" Dun grinned widely, flapping his wings hard to whip up a giant storm in the arena. He placed it just so, with himself on the very edge, using those air currents to ascend, rising up to the Salamence caught in the storm.

Not caught for long, however, as Miguel said, "Hurricane, counter spin." With a few beats of her wings, the violent storm was easily dispelled by a reverse Hurricane formed in the same area, countering our previous Move and canceling each other out. He followed up with, "Dragon Rush."

That Move is kinda hard to use; it's easy to dodge the all-out rush if you know what you're doing. He saw that we had less maneuverability in the air and capitalized on it immediately. We weren't out of options, however, and as she approached, I cried, "Outrage!"

Thrashing about in midair, Salamence dove into Dun, smashing the side of his body. Writhing around with his large, segmented body, he bashed right back into her, the two of them covered in Draconic auras as they raged through the sky.

Rather than continue to duke it out, Miguel called, "Sub." In a puff of smoke, two Salamences floated in the air. Dun unfortunately carried on his rampage against the fake, bashing through the Normal Type construct while our foe got away.

Dun's rampage came to an end, and he looked around Confused, not flapping his wings nearly as hard as before. Given his size, he started plummeting to the ground.

"Snap out of it!" I shouted while Miguel had his Pokemon hang back, coating herself in an Iron Defense. Smart, an immediate enemy nearby assaulting Dun might give him something to focus on and possibly snap himself out of this. Desperately, I started singing a note I had heard before, trying to utilize my Aura to shape the sound right.

It wasn't exactly like what the Yellow Flute in my bag would have made, but it was enough. That or he just pushed through with enough willpower on his own. In any case, at the last moment, Dun snapped out of it, gently lowering himself to the ground. Yes! And he's going right into Roost as well, that's smart.

"DRACO METEOR!" Miguel suddenly shouted, his hands clenched tight as he saw us turn things around. With a loud cry, Salamence summoned dozens of burning rocks around her and then fired them down on us.

The psychic barrier shook from the impact, and that was mostly just the ones that broke against the ground and rebounded against the shields. The majority of the meteorites hit Dun, slamming into him with tremendous power. Dun was battered and cried out, and even as his healing Move finished, he was covered in nasty bruises and scrapes.

Despite his wounds, Dun defiantly warbled, saying something akin to, 'That all you got?' Salamence gave a frustrated screech in response, but I noticed a weakness in her voice. That Draco Meteor took a lot out of her; she won't be able to do another Move like that again any time soon.

"Ancient Power." I ordered, and Dun quickly responded, lifting a bunch of stones from the ruins behind us, his power surging as he tossed them at her.

"Iron Head," Miguel said, his tone cold and calculating, with a passion lurking under the surface as our battle reached its final stage. Diving down, Salamence pulled her wings and limbs in tight, using her head covered in Steel Type energy to smash through the rocks chucked at her and then into Dun.

He grunted, but the Move did little damage to him given his defensive boosts. Which is a damn good thing, as he's too hurt to take much more of this, and she's shaken off the Paralysis.

Part of me was tempted to go for a Roost and heal up, but with her being so close to the ground, the opportunity to finish this was too good to pass up. "Ice Spinner!"

Dun rose up on his tail, surrounding himself in icy shards as he spun around. With a roar from both opposing Dragon and Trainer, Salamence met it with an Outrage. The two of them tore into each other, her fangs and claws rending Duns scales, while the ice he made did the same to her.

Dun spun past her, and Salamence continued her rage-fueled charge past him, blindly slamming into my side of the arena and crashing down, unable to rise on ice-coated wings. On the other, Dun wobbled, his spinning becoming erratic before he flopped down with a heavy thud.

After a moment of silence and no motion from either combatant, Hassel called out authoritatively, "Neither contestant is able to battle! This match is… a tie."

The El Primero of Paldea stared on the scene in shock for a second before laughing loudly. "Haha, that was great! Haven't had a tie in ages!"

Striding across the field, we each tended to our Pokemon, healing them up and congratulating them for their efforts. "That was incredible, Dun. I couldn't be prouder. Rest up; you've earned it," I said, recalling him.

Miguel finished spraying some Hyper Potions on his Ace but didn't recall her (likely because she was his way off of this rock) before marching over to me. Sticking out his hand, I shook it once again. "Thank you for that match," he said sincerely. "You've got a ton of talent, you'll go far someday."

Despite his sincerity, there was a hint of wistfulness in his tone. The things he didn't mention were clearly on his mind. The fact that 'someday' will be sooner than most people would realize, or that it means me taking his spot. A position that, for all its frustrations, he hasn't held for too long.

"Thank you as well, that was incredible. And we still have a ways to go; Dun Terastalized while you didn't Mega Evolve," I pointed out.

He nodded. "That was my bad. She doesn't like to Mega Evolve, so we save it for the big battles. Of course, if I'd realized you were going to push us this hard, I'd have done it sooner." The Pokemon in question let out a quiet roar as well, her head dipping to stare me in the eyes. And it looks like she agrees; next time we fight, I gotta be ready to take on Mega Salamence.

The Champion-ranked Trainer turned to talk to Hassel for a moment, discussing schedules and meetings, how to arrange the rest of their days. Boring stuff, even if it is kinda funny to hear Hassel trying to not quite criticize his ostensible 'boss', but still chew him out for this little unplanned field trip. Would be more effective if he wasn't also practically glowing with exuberance at having witnessed our battle.

Turning from them, I addressed a wild Pokemon. "Hey there, you can come out now; I know you were watching our battle." The Axews and Bagons had all eagerly gathered from the start, with even Skiddos and Pawmos watching openly from the smaller cliffs above. They weren't the one I was talking to, though.

Tentatively, the Fraxure stepped out from behind the corner of the ruins where he had been poking his head around to watch the battle. He held himself nervously, but there was a level of awe in his blue eyes, lingering from the fight he had just witnessed, which pushed past his shyness.

"Did you like that fight?" Slowly he nodded his head, smiling as he spoke.

"Raxure, ax." As he spoke, he did a little pantomime of some of the attacks we had used.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool. I bet you'll be doing stuff just like it some day. Really," I insisted at the look of disbelief on his tusked face. "You'll be all cool and strong and tough, well, more than you are already."

My words aren't convincing him, or rather, they aren't hitting the right area. He's the only Fraxure nearby, so even for their line being more even-tempered than most, you'd think he'd be reveling in his strength.

"This evolution was pretty new for you, wasn't it?"

"Fra," he agreed.

"But I bet you've seen others evolve occasionally too."

This time it was met by a much sadder "Fra."

"So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you've been kinda worried about looking different than those other Fraxures, right? Thinking that you're somewhat weird?"

"Ra-Rax," he replied, blinking.

"Well, don't be! You're amazing, just the way you are. Doesn't matter if your scales are a bit paler, skin darker, or spots blue instead of red. You're still a mighty Dragon."

Hassel, having heard our conversation, strode over. "That's quite the deduction, Young Miss- ah forgive me - Nemona."

I waved him off. "Not that hard. Shiny Axews look pretty similar to regular Axews, so I figured he mostly blended in before his evolution. Hey, mind releasing your Haxorus?" I asked the man before turning back to the wild Dragons.

Many of the curious Axews had gathered around, and their eyes grew wide as they beheld Hassel's Pokemon. The Haxorus towered above all of them, his entire body covered in thick, polished, yellow-green scales, armoring him. His tusk didn't stick straight out like his pre-evolutions, but instead curved around like axe blades, each lined with red, the same as was on his claws.

"So, that's what you guys are going to look like someday." And you are all way too cute for me to think about untimely deaths or lack of resources or anything else that will stop you from reaching your full potential in the wild, or else I would catch all of you.

Then to Fraxure I said, "You're going to look slightly different. When you evolve, you'll have scales that are black, like the color of his skin or tusks, but a shade paler."

"Fraxure…" The Dragon whispered in awe, looking up at his elder, who nodded. There was a note of disbelief in his voice like…

"Of course you too can be a Haxorus!" Wherever did he get the idea that he couldn't? "You'll be just as strong as him when you evolve; heck, maybe even stronger! Those tusks of yours look sharp and well-maintained, that's super important for a Haxorus."

It's a large part of why Haxorus are as rare in the wild as most pseudo-legendaries. They learn to break and regrow their tusks constantly as Axews, but when they become Fraxures, their most potent weapons become a weak point that can cripple them if they aren't careful. Most instinctively are, but still, accidents happen, especially in the wilderness.

Behind me, Haxorus snorted and rolled his eyes, the thought of anyone being stronger than him not taken as an insult but seen as laughable. The fact that Hassel trained him well also helped.

The man in question was watching the scene unfold, bemused, before clearing his throat. "I need to apologize for misjudging you."

"Hmm? Didn't we already go through this? It's fine, you've recognized my potential as a trainer now." I tried to wave him off, but he stubbornly shook his head.

"Not about that, or rather I didn't apologize for the offer I gave you those years ago." I frowned trying to remember what he was talking about before an Axew bumping up against my leg reminded me of what he had done. When he offered me an Axew to train, back when I only had two Pokemon on my team.

"Ah, right," I said awkwardly, not entirely sure where he was going with this.

"You're aware that I left my tribe to search for my dream, to make art." I nodded, as it was something he had long ago confided in me. In the background, I noticed Miguel's ears perk up, this little tidbit was something the Champion-ranked Trainer clearly hadn't heard about his co-worker.

Though even in self-imposed exile, I only know vague details. Without the games, I probably wouldn't be able to guess that his tribe lived in seclusion among the Dragons that were so common off in the North Province, to the East of Glaseado Mountain. He did let slip that his father was the chieftain once, so I could have figured out that he used to be the heir, and from his position in the Elite Four, it wouldn't be a leap for me to 'guess' that his family wants him back if any of them come around and start pestering him.

"Despite my… disagreements with them," he said, so lightly and casually that it had to be a topic of much deeper distress for him. "They taught me many lessons. About Paldea and our land. One of the greatest of these was to be wary of the Great Crater. At a certain point in a Trainer's life, if they get strong enough, they will seek out ever greater challenges. And in Paldea, that means the Great Crater. And to one and all, any who have ventured deep enough within it…"

"... have met their doom," I finished. "And I'm guessing that's part of why all the Gym Leaders and Elite Four have such… diverse interests, so prominently displayed for the public." It's not like powerful Trainers in other regions don't have hobbies and whatnot, but few of them make their challenges and battles so centered around those interests.

After a moment of silence, I prodded further. "What changed then?"

"My own trips down to the Great Crater. It's a remarkable place…" There was a wistfulness to his tone that made me wonder how all those conquerors and adventurers of the past had died. It looked beautiful and fantastical from across a screen. I wonder how enchanting it would be in real life? Maybe some of those explorers didn't get overwhelmed but just decided to stay there.

I frowned before shaking my head. If that were the case, there'd be other signs of habitation down there. Kings marched whole armies into the place. Likely, they just got tricked into traveling further, just a bit further than they had planned, before being destroyed.

My head motion brought Hassel's own attention back to the moment. "Ahem. It has been quite dangerous, but with proper planning and cohesive effort from the League, we've been able to support the research ongoing down there."

It was almost painful not to wince there, with what I knew of what was going on. Do I just spill the beans now and hope they- He continued, heedless of my train of thought. "It's been difficult, but we have managed it, and one day you will too. And that day is coming very soon, given your performance against Miguel."

"Too true, to both parts," the man in question chimed in. "Been such a headache to organize and rotate our people through," he groaned. "Still, should be interesting to see what the Professor can come up with. We're already learning tons about the place."

"Yes. And so, on that note, I'd like to apologize formally for not having enough faith and dangling that offer in front of you to try and bar your path."

"Ah, it's fine-"

"No, no, it isn't. I can see your clear love and appreciation for this- this line of Dwagons! And sho, I give my full permisshon to use them as a-" his sobbing made his voice unintelligible, so the El Primero stepped in.

"What my friend here is trying to say is that you can have that Fraxure as your seventh Pokémon; no need to go rotating them around. And hey, train them up hard enough, and you can have a match against Hassel and his Haxorus. Show us how far you've grown."

I gaped openly. "Uhh, that's incredible, I really appreciate it. Umm, but Fraxure, I haven't asked yet if you even want to join m- oof!" As the Fraxure joyously bowled me over in a crushing hug, I gave a grunt. Looks like he's a hugger; that's actually great, though hopefully in the future I'll have the chance to stay on my feet.

"Frax! Fraxure!"

Pushing myself up, I returned the hug before pulling out a Pokeball and catching Fraxure right away. It clicked for a complete capture almost immediately. I released them again, and they hugged me once more, jumping for joy.

"This is awesome! You're awesome!" Fraxure made a happy clicking sound, which I equated to laughter as we floated down, my newest team member looking on in awe at my power. Really not a big deal compared to what you can do.

Hassel had recomposed himself, but I could tell he was on the verge of tears again at my display of 'exuberance and wonder'. Miguel just grinned. "Yeah, it is. We're looking forward to seeing what you can do."

He half turned to his Salamence before my words had him turning back. "You betcha! And next time, we're gonna get to see your Mega Evolution too."

"Oh? You're interested in that?" He asked a little too casually.

"Of course, Mega Evolution is great," I cheered. To prove my point, I grabbed Notch's Pokeball and released them. "Go on, show him."

With great care and a bit of Psychic assistance, Notch shook loose the Mega Stone from their fluffy mane, displaying it proudly for the Elite Four and Champion Trainer. Miguel, in particular, leaned in, studying it intently.

"Wow, looks beautiful. What type of Mega Stone is this? I hadn't heard of Carbinks being able to Mega Evolve."

I shook my head. "Carbinks can't, but one day, we're going to turn Notch here into a Diancie! Then their Diancite will let them Mega Evolve." Both of them looked shocked at that, though Hassel recovered faster, more keenly aware of how rich my family was.

"That's incredible. How are you going to do that?"

"I… have no idea!" My dramatic pause for effect, then the anticlimax, had both of the men nearly face-faulting, and I laughed uproariously (Fraxure did so as well beside me, but I didn't think he actually knew why it was funny).

"Nemona!" Hassel reprimanded, and I tried to stop laughing.

"Sorry, it was just too good to pass up." I didn't succeed well at my first attempt, but after a few moments I did calm down. "I don't know how to change them yet, or I would have already done it. That being said, I do have things I've tried and some plans for the future that seem promising."

I outlined the best plan I had so far, and the El Primero nodded, considering it. "Well, I certainly wouldn't have thought of anything like that, but it sounds like it could work. Have you tried getting in touch with any of the known Diancie enclaves for the plan?"

"Yeah, but I haven't had much luck. No word yet from the Kalosian or Alolan Leagues about my requests." Possibly could have used my parents to apply more pressure to let this happen, but we had other methods to try before this plan, and things were too hectic once I was starting my journey, and I forgot to ask them since. And even then it would be difficult; Legendaries are League protected Pokemon no matter which region you go to. Asking for a chance to visit them with a plus one is a big ask, even if you have a lot of money.

"Well, I can see what I can do about greasing the wheels," Miguel offered, much to my surprise.

"Really? Wowzer- er, thank y-"

"Don't thank me yet. Here, take this too." He reached around in his bag and tossed me a small piece of rock. One very similar in size and texture to the one around his finger.

"Is this a… a…" My voice caught as I cradled it in my palms.

"That's right; it's a Key Stone! Didn't have a chance to shape it into anything nice, but it'll still work."

"I can- I mean, this is almost too much. I don't know what to say." A Key Stone?! A freaking Key Stone!? Who gives these out? Well, I think Stephen does in the remakes, so ok, maybe it is somewhat normal-ish to get a Key Stone from a Champion, but still.

"Say you'll use it against me when you fight me. As I've said in interviews before, I have nothing against Terastalization, but I love Mega Evolutions. It'd be nice to fight against someone else who shares that view here."

Huh, he must have gotten more grief over this than I realized. It must be tough; the papers say he moved back to Paldea a few years ago, getting ready to take what he'd learned in Hoenn and use it here, only to find most others had moved to something else.

"I will. Not sure if Notch will be ready by then, but Riolu and I definitely will, so you'll face a Mega Evolution one way or another." That brightened him back up, and the two men got back on their Dragons.

"It was great to see you again, Young M- Nemona. Stay out of trouble," Hassel sternly warned, clearly not having forgotten the beginning of our conversation and why he came here, even if he didn't have time to lecture me further. And then they were off, soaring through the skies again.

Spoiler: A/N:

Fraxure joins the team! And we got a look at the current top Champion of Paldea. I was worried that him appearing out of nowhere and giving her a Keystone might be a bit much, but then I remembered that Stephen does pretty much the same thing in ORAS, so I figured it was fine. What do you all think?

This is where I took a break, so hopefully the quality of the next few updates will be at least as good as the stuff before it. And on that note, it does mean we only have a few updates left until the update rate does drastically slow down, I am sorry to say. Still, I'm getting out a consistent chapter once every other week on this, and my other two stories now, so at least there is some consistency.

Nemona's Current Team:

-'Dun' (Dudunsparce, Male, Normal Type, Starter)
- Tera Type: Normal
- Held Item: Expert Belt
- Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace
- Moves known: Flail, Mud Slap, Rollout, Glare, Body Slam, Poison Jab, Earthquake, Bite, Yawn (Invisible Version)*, Last Resort, Hyper Voice, Protect, Thunder, Hex, Agility, Air Slash, Giga Impact, Tailwind, Roost, Ancient Power, Drill Run, Hyper Drill, Triple Yawn*, Ice Spinner, Solar Beam, Lunge, Flamethrower, Aqua Tail, Coil, Hurricane, Outrage, Smart Strike

- 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)
- Tera Type: Electric
- Held Item: Life Orb
- Ability: Levitate
- Moves Known: Astonish, Confuse Ray, Thundershock, Double Team, Hyper Voice, Protect, Thunder, Rain Dance, Will O' Wisp, Nasty Plot, Hex, Sunny Day, Substitute, Foul Play, Trick, Discharge, Shadow Ball, Eerie Impulse, Reflect, Light Screen, Uproar, Confuse Wisp*

- 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)
- Tera Type: Water
- Held Item: Toxic Orb
- Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal
- Moves Known: Poison Sting, Sand Attack, Harden, Knock Off, Fury Cutter, Acrobatics, Bulldoze, Quick Attack, Psychic Fangs, Poison Tail, Slash, Gunk Shot, Dig, Ice Fang, Lunge, U-Turn, Protect, Tailwind, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Night Slash, Sand Tomb, Crabhammer

- 'Notch' (Carbink, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Held Item: Light Clay
- Ability: Clear Body
- Moves Known: Harden, Tackle, Guard Split, Flail, Ancient Power, Light Screen, Reflect, Iron Defense, Body Press, Stealth Rocks, Psychic, Smack Down, Trick Room, Dazzling Gleam, Rock Polish, Power Gem, Stone Edge, Protect, Spikes, Stomping Tantrum, Moonblast

- 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)
- Tera Type: Ghost
- Held Item: Lax Incense
- Ability: Illusion
- Moves Known: Leer, Scratch, Torment, Hone Claws, Shadow Sneak, Curse, Swift, Aerial Ace, Snarl, Double Team, Taunt, Bitter Malice, Knock Off, Shadow Claw, Slash, U-Turn, Spite

- 'Riolu' (Riolu, Female, Fighting)
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Held Item: Clear Amulet
- Ability: Steadfast
- Moves Known: Endure, Quick Attack, Feint, Metal Claw, Counter, Work Up, Detect, Rock Smash, Trailblaze, Vacuum Wave, Screech, Quick Guard, Circle Throw, Force Palm, Drain Punch, Swords Dance, High Jump Kick, Aerial Ace, Poison Jab, Copycat, Ice Punch, Close Combat, Final Gambit, Reversal, Dancing Sword*, Howl, Earthquake, Brick Break

-'Fraxure' (Fraxure, Male, Dragon, Shiny)
- Tera Type: ?
- Held Item: None
- Ability: Mold Breaker
- Moves Known: Bite, Scratch, Leer, Assurance, Slash, Dragon Claw, Scary Face, Breaking Swipe, Focus Energy, Dragon Pulse, Dual Chop

*Custom Moves

 

[Spearow]

hope she gets a non cannon mega

 

[unlawfulwaffle362]

Nice shiny.

 

[AshKing]

Awesome chapter

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[ComradeKremer]

hope she gets a non cannon mega

Click to shrink...

Pokemon Insurgence's Mega Haxorus would be insane

 

[Skyfyre]

I sighed as another kid (at least five years my 'senior' but still a child in my eyes) locked onto me, pointing as I walked over the grassy hill. "You!" She cried, running up to me.

"Nah, I'm not you; I'm me." I replied instinctively, the bad joke confusing the teenage girl. She screwed up her face trying to parse it before shaking her head, her black twintails flying about.

"Whatever, I want to battle you!" You and every other Uva Academy student. It seemed the price of fame meant more battles. Which I wouldn't be against, it's just…

"Ok, let's go. How many Pokemon are we using?" I asked, stepping back to make room for our battle.

She thought about it for a moment and said, "I've got two Pokemon, so let's make it two on two!"

Nodding, I tossed out Fraxure, who gave a proud roar… once he realized it was a fight and I hadn't sent him out just to play. Though really, it's not much different, I thought as our foe released her Cufant.

The small elephantine Pokemon landed with a heavy thud, weighing three times as much as Fraxure but was only a bit taller. Her Steel Type nature led to her being much denser than most Pokemon, as well as making her resistant to most of Fraxure's attacks.

Miles, who had been the Pokemon I had out at the moment she had challenged me, took their place off to the side to count us in. "The battle will begin in three, two, one… begin!"

"Swords Dance!" I shouted immediately. Such a Move was probably overkill, but I was hoping that Fraxure could manage it in a battle setting.

Unfortunately, I could see that his motions were slightly off from the start. He waved his tusks about effectively, evoking the power of a blade, but each shake of his head was accompanied by a sinuous motion of his body. My newest Pokemon also had to abort the motion as Cufant began rolling towards him.

He probably only got half a boost there, dodging the Rollout like that. I've got to have him train with Riolu more, see if he can learn to incorporate dodging into the Move. While I doubted he would have the level of mastery and Auric control needed to turn it into a perfect avoidance and boost Move like she did, it would still be enough to get his evasiveness up to a general level, even as he danced.

"Crunch," I called out, feeling like half a boost would be enough. It was.

With fast feet, Fraxure rushed the Cufant as she was unfurling, still trying to get her bearings after missing. My Pokemon sunk his teeth, the Dark Type energy around his fangs letting him easily pierce her tough hide. He lifted her up and swung her about, unclasping his jaw and letting her fly toward her Trainer, defeated.

"Wha- how did you beat us?! In just one hit…" And that's the reason why these fights are annoying; no one here is good enough to even challenge my freshly caught Pokemon.

"I'm not giving up though! Crocalor and I got this!" She shouted exuberantly, releasing her next Pokemon. Enthusiasm is good, but you have to have a plan. Do you? "Tackle," she commanded as her fiery crocodile-like Pokemon took the field, awkwardly charging at Fraxure on stubby legs.

"Breaking Swipe, followed with Assurance." Swinging around, Fraxure smacked the Fire Type with his long tail, our Move nearly tripping them up completely and taking a lot of the strength out of the Tackle that landed into Fraxure.

Not all of the strength, however, which meant that immediately after they slammed into Fraxure, they were able to fire back, landing a heavy palm blow that knocked the Crocalor back. Struggling, they tried to get back on their feet.

I held a hand up and asked, "Do you want to stop this? Any further and they won't be able to battle, and I don't think you have any other Pokemon left." She paled significantly and nodded her head, bringing the battle to a close. Not having any Pokemon out here in the wild can be very dangerous, though admittedly slightly less so in this place.

Most of the wild Pokemon here were friendly, like Cyclizars or Pawmis running about, or at worst indifferent to the passing of humans, like the Magnemites.

"Wow, I can't believe you won so fast. I mean, I can, given how fast you beat Brassius, but still," she gushed. "Guess I've got a long way to go, haha."

Yes. "You might want to stick with ranged attacks for Crocalor if you can. Especially against Pokemon that are as physically tough as Fraxure." My advice was taken well, and she brightened up.

"Oh yeah, that's really smart, thanks!" She waved at me as she left, and I waved back as she went over the hill and out of sight.

"Frax?" Fraxure asked, and I affectionately rubbed the top of his head, which was met with happy crooning noises.

"You did good out there. Unfortunately," he stiffened up at my words, as if sensing what was coming. "The Trainers here aren't tough enough to push you. So we need to go further. Luckily, Riolu can handle that well."

He was outright whimpering now, and as I released Riolu from her Pokeball, he dropped to his knees, claws clasped as if begging me. "Have fun!" I said in a chipper tone as the far smaller Fighting Type menaced towards him.

Putting the sounds of violence out of my mind, I turned away and released Phantasm. She glanced over at me to see Riolu 'training' Fraxure, frowning slightly. "Hey, he'll be fine; you know how he can be a drama queen about that stuff."

Which was quite a surprise. He's a hard enough worker when it comes to training, but I didn't get how big he would overreact to little things like that. Almost as surprising as how easily Phantasm has accepted him. I had worried when I introduced them that she would be aggressive towards Fraxure, given her evolution and her previous stance on me taking on new Pokemon. Instead, they talked for half an hour and were soon getting along great.

Maybe it was because she evolved, so she doesn't feel nervous about being the weakest on the team? Or perhaps just because they joined me from similar situations, looking different from their kin. In any case, I was quite glad that I didn't have to spend time mediating between them and could spend that time training, helping them get up to the level of the rest of the team.

"Phantasm, I'm going to have you practice getting in tune with Dark Type energy with Miles. You've gotten so much stronger since evolving, and Nasty Plot is only going to make that greater." Both of them looked a little confused, so I offered a few more ideas.

"You might want to try using Torment as a base, then try and… invert it? Take the idea, the feeling of that punishment you'll inflict on someone else, the anticipation of that feeling to start shaping it." Right, can't just treat everyone like Dun. Miles is good at using Moves and learning them from experience, but they don't have Dun's natural genius of just hearing half a sentence of description and mastering an unknown Move from there. Still, I'm sure they'll do well with a bit of time.

Turning away, I looked back at Fraxure, who was 'sparring' with Riolu, the lithe Fighting Type slipping past his guard to land a few weak blows before darting back to avoid the Dragon's wild counters. She launched a few Vacuum Waves out as well, the attacks rippling through the air before they slammed into him.

"Alright!" I said, clapping my hands. "Think that's enough of a warmup."

"Raaaaax," Fraxure croaked out in relief.

"You did alright there, but there's some room for improvement. If faced with a faster opponent, try using Scary Face to slow them down. Your greatest strength is, well, your strength. That physical might you have is huge." He beamed, proud of the praise. "However, that strength means nothing if you can't reach your foe."

His jaw dropped, and he suddenly looked horrified. Wow, if you weren't a guy and were a Psychic Type, I'd be tempted to call you Anya for how dramatic your expressions are. We were still trying out names. Luckily, I had a lot of options considering different fictitious dragons in my old world, but nothing had quite stuck yet.

That was a side issue for the moment, most of our time spent training and slowly making our way to Levincia. According to the map, we should be just about ready to see the city once we pass this hill. From there I'm thinking we can go down to the beach before cutting back up to Levincia; there's a ton of different Pokemon there. Should give them some unique training experiences.

"Work on the Scary Face, then Riolu can help you with Aerial Ace." The two of them went back to work, more focused on Fraxure getting the Moves down than landing points on each other.

Seeing Fraxure use Scary Face against Riolu greatly improved his ability to fight her, though she still held a slight upper hand with her skill, deflecting several of Fraxure's attacks. "Don't be reckless, but don't be afraid to use your tusks either." That's going to be a tricky balance to find, but key to his growth and evolution. Speaking of which…

After they got tired of that, I had Fraxure practicing Slash alongside Phantasm, who was starting to get too frustrated to make more progress with Nasty Plot for the time being. Calling Riolu over, I asked, "How is Aura Sphere going?"

She gave a so-so gesture with a paw. So by Riolu terms, it's great, but not perfect. Taking a stance before me, she demonstrated the Move, gathering energy in front of one paw, then using the other paw to manipulate it from the side. This combination helped give the sphere a cohesive form and spin to its motion before she thrust it out. The ball of blue energy shot forward into a tree, coring out a large chunk of it as it grinded in, before bursting apart as it lost cohesive form.

"That's pretty impressive; you should be happy even getting it to work at this stage." I.e., before she evolved. You should also be happy I read Naruto before reincarnating here to steal that idea for you.

"Riolu, lu." She definitely didn't pout, and I held back a chuckle at her adorable face.

"Anyone 'can' do better; you're already doing great. Still, if you are looking to improve the Move, I think there are some Claunchers on the beach by Levincia. Their line are masters of Aura and Pulse Moves," I said, making sure to stress the 'Moves' part so Riolu wouldn't feel I was slighting her line and their Auric mastery. "With any luck we'll find one of them or their evolutions that knows that Move. Then you can Copycat it and measure how it feels different from what you do now."

She brightened up, tail wagging rapidly, until she spotted my gaze. Furiously, she turned around to glare the offending body part into submission before adopting a stoic mien and giving me a respectful bow. She wants to 'grow up' so hard.

With night approaching, I recalled the team I had out, all of them tired from the vigorous training they had gone through. Releasing Nightwing, I pointed at the cliff on the other side of the river. "Hey, I know it's not your favorite thing in the world, but mind taking us over there?" I asked, pointing at where I wanted to go.

"Scor," she replied curtly, not moving from where I released her.

"Yes, you'll get a shot at this Gym, I promise." My voice was only slightly tinged with exasperation. Of course I'm going to use you against Iono; you're the only one both Immune to her Type specialization and with STAB super-effective Moves against most of her Pokemon. But also, it's been a while since Katy, and I do want to rotate the team around to give everyone a good chance against the Gym Leaders. So far we've outmatched them, but they're the biggest challenge we've faced so far and will be the best practice we can get against the Elite Four (barring Champions randomly dropping by to battle us, of course).

With a self-satisfied click of her pincers, she readily scooped me up, wrapping her tail gingerly around my waist and taking off. For my part, I used my Aura to lighten myself so she could carry me easier. Doing my best to avoid looking at the bright city before we got to our destination, I instead immersed myself in thoughts of team composition.

Nightwing hasn't been as big a fan of Fraxure. Nothing major, but I've just noticed she pranks him a bit more and will be a little harsher during training. I'll have to have a talk with her about it… maybe sometime after she's holding me a hundred meters above a river. Dun might be a bit standoffish to him too, but it's hard to tell with him; despite how well I know my starter, he can be annoyingly stoic sometimes. Man, I have no idea how Gym Leaders balance literally dozens of Pokemon. The answer was, I likely knew, staff to help them out, but I couldn't bear the idea of someone else Training my team.

We landed down with the sun just finished setting over the horizon. Not that it did much to dim the light, as looking over the dusty cliff edge, I saw Levincia lit up, shining brightly with all the colorful beams of light shooting up into the night sky, mixing into a dazzling array with the sleepless city's regular lights as well, from buildings and massive billboard signs.

I released the rest of my team to let them take in the sight as well, all eight of us staring on in awe. "Ok, I can see why this one deserves to be called one of the 'Ten Sights of Paldea.' It earns its name."

"Would you like me to take a photo of you beside it, bzzt?" Miles inquired, and I nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" I gathered all of us around the landmark sign, with the lights shining brilliantly in the background. Which took a bit more work than I had anticipated; some of the team was excitable, and Fraxure had to be directed to face the camera and not the lights (he still didn't get a lot of how technology worked yet). Then, after we had our photo taken, I took the phone from Miles, and they hovered in the same spot that we were before, and I took a photo of them so my Rotom could edit themselves into the picture after.

There, that'll make for a nice memory, and I can send it to my family and friends. I'd kept them up-to-date on my training and general location, but there wasn't a lot of substance between our communications in the past while with my focus on training.

With the entire team out, I took the moment to address them. "I know we've been working hard, but it's all going to be worth it. For views like this, discoveries undreamed of, and of course, epic battles we're going to win." Pointing out behind me at the city far below, I finished my small speech by saying, "Thank you. Thank you all so much for following me and working together to reach our dreams-"

It was at that point I was stopped by Notch enthusiastically 'hugging' me. Given that they didn't have arms (yet), their hug was very akin to how they would use Body Press. If that hadn't taken the wind out of me, the rest of the team dog-piling me in the hug would have.

"Urk- Please, heeeelp," I desperately called from underneath the mound of Pokemon. Miles, my faithful, stalwart steward, the one who had been by my side from the start, looked on at this… and repossessed their phone body, taking photos of my plight.

"Traitoooor," I croaked, to much laughter from my Pokemon, and eventually wheezing sounds from myself as I joined in despite how much pressure was on my lungs. This really is… magical. I'm so glad that I'm here.

***

Levincia was a very interesting place, with a unique history, as I had found out in the days I had spent just exploring the large city. It had apparently been two cities at one point in time, Levi and Cia, to the north and south, respectively. Over the ages they had been bitter rivals on opposite sides of the river, to grudging trading partners, to sister city-states. As technology improved, travel between the two became easier, until fifty years ago, when to announce the joining of them as a single entity, a massive structure was constructed to bridge the two.

And then in the spirit of the capitalism that brought them together, they slapped a million advertisements on it. My internal snark wasn't actually what the sign said, but I felt it would have added a bit of flair to this large circular ring.

Riolu had little care for my internal thoughts or the sign, barking at me insistently. With a sigh, I turned from what I had been reading to look down where she was pointing. "Yes, we're going to the battlefield, but can't you appreciate the history of this place? Especially since we have… fifteen minutes left to meet your tutor," I said dryly.

There was a slight shift to her eyes, the closest I was going to get to a guilty admission from her, and I sighed. It's not like a bit of extra practice will hurt. "Alright, let's go down to the battlefield. You guys can practice some of your new Moves there."

Another thing we had done in Levincia was go on a bit of a spending spree. That took almost as much time as the rest of my exploration had, but it was well worth it. There was a large variety of stores in Levincia, as befitting the second largest metropolis of Paldea. With a bit of hunting around, I was able to find Battle Items like a Dragon Fang, Fist Plate, King's Rock, and even some unusual items like Iron Ball, Flame Orb, and Target Ring.

The vast majority of it, however, was spent on Technical Machines. Fraxure needed to learn a bunch of Moves to help him catch up to the others. While he could learn some of the Moves from them, the machines would give him a huge leg up in that regard, and we could just help him perfect the Moves from there.

Nightwing and Phantasm also had room to grow in terms of their Movepools. In Phantasm's case, we were experimenting as much with Moves she couldn't use as with ones she could, in large part because the Pokedex could only help us so much in terms of Moves she was compatible with. Blizzard had been a bust, but somehow Icy Wind and Snowscape worked.

I also got a few machines for Notch, Dun, and Riolu as well (Miles had cited wanting to perfect the Moves they currently had), even if those ones didn't 'need' the increased number of Moves as much.

No such thing as being 'too prepared' after all, so long as it doesn't get in the way of them achieving high overall Movepool proficiency (which from my eye, it hasn't). Plus, it gives some options. Riolu had Aerial Ace for Bug Types and Ice Punch for Flying, but both of those required her to get in close and might not work well depending on the secondary Typing of Pokemon that are resistant to the majority of her Moves. Rock Tomb gives her another counter, one that doesn't require her to get up close, and by slowing the enemy, makes it easier for her to use one of those other Moves if she does need to after.

I was ready for her to put those Moves to further practice when we got down to the arena, but as we stepped onto it, a portly man waved us over. "Are you Nemona?"

Nodding, I asked, "Are you Dave?"

"Yuuperonie, that's me," he replied in a very genial fashion. He is… not what I expected when I put out the request on the message board. Dave was wearing a floral button-up shirt and cargo shorts, a very comfortable build, more than the average Trainer had. Then again, I'm hardly in a position to judge him. A lot of people took one look at me and thought I was too young to be a 'serious' Trainer.

I used those thoughts to distract me from the sudden paranoia that tried to grip me from talking to a stranger. It's pointless; I'm the one who put out a request on the message board for that. He had no reason to know who I was before he offered to complete the request, and I checked, and he's a verified Trainer. We're out in the open; there are no criminals trying to hurt me.

Telling myself all that and more didn't manage to assuage my irrational fears, but I pushed past them as we walked to an open spot in the arena. He released his Clawitzer, the lobster-looking Pokemon giving a proud cry as he took the field. His small left pincer helped him remain upright on the ground, given the size of his right arm, a massive pincer covered in faded blue plates, bigger than the rest of his body combined.

"So, you just need to see my boy use Aura Sphere?" Dave asked, a hint of incredulity in his voice. Understandable, getting paid a few thousand Pokedollars just to perform a Move is a bit much, but so worth it if it can help Riolu.

"Yeah, a couple of times if you could. You ready?" I directed the question to Riolu, who barked an affirmative, her eyes glowing faintly as she channeled her Aura, intently analyzing the Pokemon before us.

The Clawitzer raised his pincer/launcher up, gathering energy within it, then shooting off a powerful blast into the sky above, where it traveled about a dozen meters before violently bursting apart in the air. Strong, even without STAB, much stronger than Riolu's. Admittedly, he has an Ability that boosts it, but still.

They repeated the process a few times, and then Riolu used Copycat, performing the Move herself. Dave blinked in surprise at seeing this. "Well, I'll be! Your Riolu already knows Aura Sphere?"

"Yes, but we've been having some issues with getting it to work perfectly. Thank you for doing this; it helps a lot." Or at least I hope it does. I had Miles transfer Dave the money as I watched Riolu perform shot after shot with each hand, blasting out Aura Spheres almost as large as her body.

"How's it feeling?" I asked her. My own Aura sight was far less developed than her own, but I could feel all kinds of different Aura channels pushing and weaving the Move inside the Water Type's overly large pincer. Despite the biological differences, I got an eager response from her.

"Riolu! Ol, iolu." Holding a hand up, she steadied herself, gathering that familiar blue light in front of it, then with a slight push of her arm, launched it forward. It was slightly smaller than the previous shots she had been firing and a little slower, but I could tell how big an improvement that was.

"You didn't need to use Copycat!" She smiled, her tail wagging freely behind her for once. Impressive, very impressive. She's getting quite strong, even unevolved, and even that… It might have been hopeful thinking, but at this moment, I felt it might not be far off.

"Well then, I think we're ready to take on Iono."

"Olu!"

Spoiler: A/N:

Don't really have much to say here, this chapter didn't feel too amazing, but also felt necessary for me, both getting back into things after my hiatus and to show how Fraxure was fitting in to the team/and to bridge things between him joining and Iono. In any case, hope you like it.

Nemona's Current Team:

-'Dun' (Dudunsparce, Male, Normal Type, Starter)
- Tera Type: Normal
- Held Item: Expert Belt
- Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace
- Moves known: Flail, Mud Slap, Rollout, Glare, Body Slam, Poison Jab, Earthquake, Bite, Yawn (Invisible Version)*, Last Resort, Hyper Voice, Protect, Thunder, Hex, Agility, Air Slash, Giga Impact, Tailwind, Roost, Ancient Power, Drill Run, Hyper Drill, Triple Yawn*, Ice Spinner, Solar Beam, Lunge, Flamethrower, Aqua Tail, Coil, Hurricane, Outrage, Smart Strike, Blizzard, Curse, Toxic, Zen Headbutt

- 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)
- Tera Type: Electric
- Held Item: Life Orb
- Ability: Levitate
- Moves Known: Astonish, Confuse Ray, Thundershock, Double Team, Hyper Voice, Protect, Thunder, Rain Dance, Will O' Wisp, Nasty Plot, Hex, Sunny Day, Substitute, Foul Play, Trick, Discharge, Shadow Ball, Eerie Impulse, Reflect, Light Screen, Uproar, Confuse Wisp*

- 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)
- Tera Type: Water
- Held Item: Toxic Orb
- Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal
- Moves Known: Poison Sting, Sand Attack, Harden, Knock Off, Fury Cutter, Acrobatics, Bulldoze, Quick Attack, Psychic Fangs, Poison Tail, Slash, Gunk Shot, Dig, Ice Fang, Lunge, U-Turn, Protect, Tailwind, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Night Slash, Sand Tomb, Crabhammer, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Breaking Swipe, Swords Dance

- 'Notch' (Carbink, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Held Item: Light Clay
- Ability: Clear Body
- Moves Known: Harden, Tackle, Guard Split, Flail, Ancient Power, Light Screen, Reflect, Iron Defense, Body Press, Stealth Rocks, Psychic, Smack Down, Trick Room, Dazzling Gleam, Rock Polish, Power Gem, Stone Edge, Protect, Spikes, Stomping Tantrum, Moonblast, Iron Head, Skill Swap, Sandstorm

- 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)
- Tera Type: Ghost
- Held Item: Lax Incense
- Ability: Illusion
- Moves Known: Leer, Scratch, Torment, Hone Claws, Shadow Sneak, Curse, Swift, Aerial Ace, Snarl, Double Team, Taunt, Bitter Malice, Knock Off, Shadow Claw, Slash, U-Turn, Spite, Shadow Ball, Nasty Plot, Icy Wind, Snowscape, Detect, Hex

- 'Riolu' (Riolu, Female, Fighting)
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Held Item: Clear Amulet
- Ability: Steadfast
- Moves Known: Endure, Quick Attack, Feint, Metal Claw, Counter, Work Up, Detect, Rock Smash, Trailblaze, Vacuum Wave, Screech, Quick Guard, Circle Throw, Force Palm, Drain Punch, Swords Dance, High Jump Kick, Aerial Ace, Poison Jab, Copycat, Ice Punch, Close Combat, Final Gambit, Reversal, Dancing Sword*, Howl, Earthquake, Brick Break, Aura Sphere, Rock Tomb


-'Fraxure' (Fraxure, Male, Dragon)
- Tera Type: Dragon
- Held Item: Dragon Fang
- Ability: Mold Breaker
- Moves Known: Bite, Scratch, Leer, Assurance, Slash, Dragon Claw, Scary Face, Breaking Swipe, Focus Energy, Dragon Pulse, Dual Chop, Aerial Ace, Trailblaze, Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, Poison Jab, Draco Meteor, Iron Head, Crunch

*Custom Moves

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[Valthorix]

Poor fraxure, Lil guy did not know what kind of training he signed up for.

 

[unlawfulwaffle362]

I feel like Clawitzer is slept on as a mon. It has Megalauncher which makes it's heal pulse heal 75%, it's move pool is pretty diverse, and it has Crabhammer!

 

[Skyfyre]

Feeling ready, I entered the Gym Building. Here, amidst the metropolis of Levincia and all of their highrises, the building fit in quite well, better than in the other ones I had been to. The plain white nature of it still allowed it to stand out compared to the steel gray buildings beside it, enough to easily find even without consulting a map.

As I entered, I immediately faced Iono. The girl was attired in a similar fashion as she was in the games, wearing a large baggy sweater, but her current look had it colored gray. With Iono's twintails colored red and blue, it gave her a distinctly magnet look… even before the addition of the two Magnemites attached to her hair on either side.

"What's this? Ello, ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour!" She said dramatically to the Rotom Phone filming her to the side. "This Trainer has her eyes caught in my Electroweb!"

"Indeed. Hello Supercharged Streamer, I'm Nemona Glitterati, and I'm here to challenge you for your Gym Badge."

"Oh boy, this'll be electrifying! The young prodigy vs. little ol' me. Oh, thanks for the sub from my newest fan, Electro King. Ha, looks like there are some people who believe in me, but before we get to the Challenge, we've got to handle the Gym Trial. Are you up for it?"

Crossing my arms, I nodded determinedly. "Ready for whatever you got."

She grinned like a hungry shark. "Excellent. You caught me in the middle of a stream, so what say we make this a little collab? Say hello to my audience!" Iono waved an arm out towards the Rotom Phone.

"Ah, ello, ello, hola!" I said, somewhat awkwardly waving at them. Should have expected that. Well, we probably won't be doing the 'where in Levincia is Mr. Walkabout' like they did in the games. Not really sure what to be doing here.

Iono had no such doubts, taking the chance to put her arm around my shoulder. "Folks, this little girl isn't just a Trainer, but she's also a singer! So I was thinkin' we have ourselves a little interview."

"Eh?" What does this have to do with me being a Trainer!? How is this a Gym Trial?

Despite my confusion, I found myself whisked further into the building in short order, taken up to Iono's office. On the way, I asked, "What was this stream going to be about?"

"I 'unno, whatever I found, I guess." I held back a sigh at her lackadaisical answer. So random. I get that it gives her a broad appeal, and a Gym Leader exploring their city to better show it off to the world is probably actually a pretty good idea. Still, I prefer to know what I'm getting into before watching.

Iono's office was the second Gym Leader's office I had entered, and hers was a stark contrast to Oberon's. Her desk and computer were pushed into the corner, with room for a couch to one side, facing a television with a Nintendo Switch hooked up to it (so weird that this world has those). There was a wheeled chair as well, which Iono spun herself into in the middle of the floor, and a bean bag chair in another corner. On the walls were brightly colored posters and merchandise of all kinds, giving the place a feel of a bedroom rather than an important place of business.

"Alright, take a seat, why dontcha, and we can chat about your musical endeavors." I did so, sitting slightly stiffly on the plush couch. "You know, I've actually played some of your stuff on my streams."

"Oh really? I didn't know."

"Not a true Iono Zoner yet? Well-"

"Yeah, I don't really watch your stuff," I said perhaps a bit too candidly. "Uhh, sorry, just been super focused on my Training, as well as my other hobbies."

To her credit, Iono recovered quickly. "Like music?"

"That and Martial Arts."

"Oho, like Kung Fu? Hawcha!" She did some motions with her arms that… generously, might be called punches.

"Some of that. Mixed Martial Arts. I won a tournament about a year ago." Before she could make a bigger deal out of me, I added, "I can't thank Sensei Dendra enough for her training; I wouldn't have made it as far without her." And her very close friend Tulip for the Aura training, but I hardly feel like mentioning that on one of Iono's streams.

"Did your music teacher help you as much with your album?"

"Hmm, I would say so. I only had ideas in my head for the songs, their lyrics, but little knowledge of music. I needed a way to bring those visions to life, and Hassel helped teach me how to sing and play various instruments."

"Hold up - this Hassel, izat the same guy as the one on the Elite Four?!"

I sighed. Should I have said that? Eh, it's probably fine; it wasn't a big secret or anything. "Yes, the same. He's a skilled artist and musician as well as a Trainer, I look up to him a great deal."

"Ahh, and here we get the juicy stuff. Was he your inspiration for becoming-"

"Nope," I interrupted her. "Sorry, but I didn't even know he was going to be my music tutor before I met him."

Iono pouted a little at the interruption, her cheeks puffed out. "I was gonna ask if he was your inspiration for being a Pokemon Trainer."

"Ah. Well, no to that too; I had started Training Dun and Miles before I met him. That being said, I have battled him, and I'm looking forward to a rematch. Once I defeat you and the rest of the Gym Leaders."

The Gym Leader in question just cackled. "Hot diggity dang! I can see you're all fired up. But it's gonna be tougher than you think." She had a fierce grin on her face, matching the tone of her words… but not what I sensed from her Aura. Why is she so nervous?

"I look forward to the challenge. If I had an inspiration as a Trainer, it would probably be Ash Ketchum. He worked hard from a young age to be a great Pokemon Trainer and despite several setbacks and obstacles, he became a Pokemon Master. Oh, but I also really like Cynthia, and Alder was a legend back in his heyday-" she coughed politely to break off my rambling words.

"Ahem. Alright, that one's on me, but I think we could be here all day if I let you go down that Bunneary hole. Back to the music, Hassel helped you make this album?" I bit back a sigh at that. Really wish this Gym Trial focused a tad more on Pokemon and less on celebrity gossip.

"He helped teach me a lot about music and introduced me to some of the artists I collabed with, but he didn't have a hand in the production itself," I clarified. Something that he was keen to make clear when I published it. I actually appreciate it; he had faith in my music and wanted it to stand on its own, not have the credit be given to himself.

"It's super-duper impressive to make an album, 'specially at your age." Yet you're the one talking like a child. "What inspired you ta make it?"

"Well, I'd have never gotten as far as I did without the support of my family. As for my inspiration… It's a lot of things. These can be obvious in the different songs themselves, but for instance, 'Oh the Places You'll Go' was one I came up with upon seeing my sister get her first Pokemon. That moment was just so magical and precious to me that I had to capture it in a song."

"Aww, that's adorbs. Any song for your own Pokemon? Peeps have noticed that ya don't have many references to Pokemon, which feels weird."

I chuckled. "Yes, that would be odd for a Pokemon Trainer like myself. While I don't have a ton of direct references, a lot of the songs have messages relating to all Pokemon, or in specific to some of the feelings I have while watching them. 'Celestial' really captures just how incredible it is to adventure with them, while 'The Pretender' is for when we're pulling through a tough battle. At least those are some of the things I feel; others are free to attribute their own feelings to them."

The Gym Leader leaned back in her chair. "Nice. But not all your songs are about happy or fun stuff, even for you?"

Nodding, I agreed. "That's correct, they are a bit of an, ah, eclectic mix, if you will. 'I Beg to Differ' is about feeling upset and worried but having hope for the future. That if you reach out, you'll see how wonderful this world can be."

"Heavy stuff!" Iono exclaimed, and I bit the inside of my cheek to avoid a snappish response. "But not as heavy as 'Eat Your Young.' That's probs the most controversial song on the album. Why write a song about poachers and war when none of that-"

"It is very relevant to our current life." The Gym Leader flinched back, and I took a deep breath, centering myself and calming down. "I believe that history is a very important thing to study and that the problems of the past do not just disappear. There is every possibility that those problems can reoccur or are happening under the surface of peaceful society. We need to remember those occurrences and stay vigilant against such crimes."

Slowly, I unclenched the fists my hands had balled themselves into as Iono just stared at me for a minute. "Aha, wh-what's your favorite song?" She asked tentatively, her face pleading as if to say, 'Please don't pick 'Eat Your Young.' Lucky for her, that isn't my favorite.

"All of them are great. Honestly, it's hard to pick just one. It was difficult to narrow the album down to just those eleven. If I had to pick, well, I'm really happy with how 'The Pretender' turned out. Huge thanks to the Kubfu Fighters for their part in this, and all the other groups who featured in the other songs."

A sly smile formed on Iono's face as she settled back into her comfortable role as 'host' of this impromptu interview. "I've heard that some of those artists weren't too happy with you."

I did actually sigh at that, recalling the incident she was referring to. I'm so glad Miles kept me up to date on all that sort of stuff. "Yes, E.X. did mention in a podcast that I had been a bit… demanding in our collaboration. They later clarified that they were quite thankful for the chance to participate and appreciated the opportunity."

I wasn't sure how much of that might have been pressure from my parents or not, but I liked to believe that they did truly feel that way. "Like I said, I had a very particular vision for these songs. That may have led me to be quite strict in what I wanted from those I worked with, and I apologize if that may have left any bad feelings. What we made is something truly incredible, and I'm so grateful for their help."

"Yesss, there were a lot of artists involved in this project; most of them had nothing but good things to say about you. We're all looking forward to what you make next. Oh!" She said it as if the thought had just popped into her head. "Why don't you play something new for all the Iono Zoners out there?"

"I- I don't have anything prepared-" I tried to argue, but she just waved me off with those overly long sleeves of hers, as if just whipping up a song on the spot was no problem.

"Just a part of a song, from one of those songs that you couldn't fit on the first album. I'm sure the fans would love it." She had the Rotom Phone streaming our conversation, showing us some of the chat, with people furiously demanding I play something for them.

There was an unspoken accusation in those messages and the request Iono was making. One I had seen plastered far too often when seeing discussion of my music online. That I didn't make this music. How could a little girl write all of this by herself anyway? The thoughts vary on how much credit other people deserve, but a lot of them think I did barely anything and just got my name put on it because I'm rich.

Those opinions were the reason why I let Miles scroll for such discussions on my music rather than doing so myself. I glared up at Iono, ready to roast her for this, until I saw her face looking encouraging. Wait, is she doing this to give me a chance to prove the 'haters' wrong? That she believes in me and is giving me the opportunity to prove myself to the world? I still didn't like the situation, but it cast her actions in a different light.

"Sorry, just give me a moment; I have to think of something. I wasn't expecting this." Even if it is an opportunity, there's a reason why I have to spend a long time working things out with Miles before we even get down to writing out the song, let alone playing it. I dislike having things sprung on me like this, especially with so many people that I know are watching me on the other end of that stream. I don't have my music studio or gear or time to practice, and it's only luck that I even decided to take my guitar with me on this journey.

"No worries, take your time," she said encouragingly. Alright, what now? Metric or The Beaches are great, but I'd definitely need to change some lyrics; too risqué to just sing their stuff as is. Ok Go or Foo Fighters are decent choices, though I still need to be careful about making sure there aren't any unusual cultural references. Music Go Music- oh. Oh, that's perfect! I've been waiting to do that song, and I think this is the right opportunity.

Opening my bag, I pulled out my guitar. While I hadn't used it too much, on days that we weren't too tired from the travels and Training earlier, I'd sometimes pull it out and play a bit before heading to bed. Fraxure in particular was growing to be a rapid fan of the tunes I'd perform for the team.

Making sure it was tuned right, I began strumming it, beginning the song. Once I got a good rhythm going, I started singing the chorus.


"Now I'm moving up where I belong,

I'm through pretending I'm not strong.

Stepping out into the morning light,

The future never looked so bright."

"Spreading out my wings, I learned to fly.

Soaring on my own across the sky,

I never knew how good it felt to be,

Just me, just me."


Iono clapped eagerly as I finished. "That was rad! How do you do it all? Being a singer and Trainer, and so young too; what's your secret?"

Shaking my head, I said, "There's no grand secret. Anyone could do what I've done, with enough effort and focus." There was a skeptical look on Iono's face, but she didn't voice what she was feeling, instead plastering a smile on as she stood up.

"Thanks very muchly for the collab, can't wait to have you back again." I shook her hand as she got up and ended the stream. Can't really say the same; that whole experience felt a little uncomfortable.

"I'm sure a shocking show like that is sure to skyrocket stream numbers," the Gym Leader cackled to herself. "I'll be raking in tons of dough with this."

"Uh-huh, cause that's all that matters." My voice was a bit too sharp, and I knew it, but the frustration had leaked out.

Turning around to look at me, there was something unpleasant on her face. Not disdain for what I said, but a flash of real disturbance. That look adults or kids give me as I don't fit into either category. That I'm not just too intelligent, but too mature, too level-headed even when upset, for any child. They look at me like I'm some alien that doesn't fit in this world… and they're entirely right.

"Aren't you glad too though? You'll get to sell tons more of your albums too, win-win!" The streamer cheered.

"I suppose I am grateful for the chance to get my music out there to more people, but I'm not really concerned about the money; all the proceeds go to charity."

"Huh?!" She said, the Magnemites comically (and somewhat disturbingly) fell out of her hair in response to her utter shock.

"Yes, not everyone is only concerned about money." That got a flash of hurt from her.

"Not everyone's got rich parents to support them, you know? Girl's gotta make a livin' somehow." I snorted. Maybe that was true once in her life, but she's a Gym Leader now for crying out loud!

I glared at her for a moment. "I may have been supported by them, but everything I achieved, I did so on my own merit - I'll prove that in our match."

That reminded her of our situation. "Oh righty, the match. Eheh, this is awkward…" With a heavy sigh, she said, "I've gotta do some Gym stuff; I'll meet you at the court soon." It looked like she had something else to say on the tip of her tongue but shook her head and left.

Great going, Nemona, way to ruin what should have been a friendly interaction. Shaking myself out of my recriminations, I got up and exited as well.

***

There was a bit of time before my battle with Iono, the Gym Leader needing to attend to other duties and get the arena cleared for our battle. Her words at the end still stuck with me, so I used that time to (with Miles' assistance) start calculating something.

"Wow, I forgot how expensive Nasty Plot was."

"Bzzt, it is quite a rare Technical Machine," Miles mildly pointed out, putting it onto the tally on the phone.

As I added the supplements, I said, "Let's leave out the diamonds used on Notch's food. Same with their Mega Stone." While those were other expenses I had, I can argue those weren't part of what I spent as a Trainer, more for research. It was a thin distinction, but the Mega Stone in particular was a gift and worth so damn much that I felt it would dwarf the rest of the list combined.

Or so I thought. In the end though, that Diancite was only approximately equal to what I had spent on all the training Technical Machines, Battle Items, and supplements. "Do you want me to find out what the Battlefield costs, bzzt?" Miles politely inquired, and I groaned, leaning over the railing.

We're already at more money than some people would have spent over the course of their lives. Hardly enough to make a dent in the obscene amounts of money, but still. And then all the advertising and stuff they've done for my music, and feeding the team, which I haven't even bothered to count… How the hell did the real Nemona do it all without relying on her family? Guess that's what a real genius can do.

There wasn't much more time to worry about that, as the arena was finally ready for us, so I pushed it to the back of my mind for the moment. I'll deal with that later; gotta focus on the battle right now.

Iono and I took our places on the battlefield; a large crowd gathered around the ring outside it. Not quite as large a crowd as the one that watched my fight with Brassius, but pretty close, and that's without any festival going on here. There were also drone-mounted cameras recording the event after.

"Ello, ello, hola! Ciao and bonjour!" Iono declared loudly, waving to the camera as the show began. "Today we've got a fun treat for you - I'm going to be facing off against this hotshot, burning hotter than a Torkoal, Nemona Glitterati! And since she's bringing the heat, I'll be using my toughest Pokemon!"

Frowning, I asked, "Just one-on-one?"

She paused for just a second before resuming her cheery persona. "Yuuuup, that's right! You'll be facing the best I got. You ready to enter the Iono Zone?" She asked, baring her fang-like teeth in a grin.

Why only one Pokemon? I have to change my plans now. I wanted to give Fraxure a challenge, but I promised Nightwing that she'd get to fight here too. What's the point of- oh, I see. Iono held herself well, used to keeping up a good face during a stream despite potential mishaps, but I saw the slight nervousness in her bearing now.

"Alright then, let's take on the Iono Zone!" I boisterously declared, holding up Nightwing's Pokeball. The Gym Leader held up her own Pokeball, and on the arena's automated count, we released our Pokemon.

Nightwing flapped her wings, clacking her pincers as she flew over the arena. Our foe also floated above the ground, not from wings, but due to her spectral powers. Looking somewhat akin to a stereotypical witch, especially with the pointed hat-like top of her head, Mismagius cackled as she stared down my Pokemon.

A barrier rose up around us, and I wondered for a moment if it seemed slightly 'thicker' for lack of a better word than some of the ones I'd seen in the past. Though if the Gym Leaders are talking about my fights, it might make sense to amp up the power after the barrier broke in my fight with Oberon. "The battle will commence in three, two, one…" The speakers at the side droned out. "Begin."

"Night Slash!" I shouted out instantly, hoping to get a quick, super-effective attack off before she Terastalized and nullified any weaknesses Mismagius had.

They weren't keen on letting us just win, however. Iono called out, "Dodge!" To my dismay, that seemed to work; whether it was the command or the Ghost Type's innate speed, she just barely evaded the Dark covered tip of Nightwing's tail slashing at her.

"Mystical Fire" was Iono's next attempt, but Nightwing was too close. Not letting up even as she waved her long, thin, wavy arms about to conjure a bolt of fire, Nightwing used Night Slash, cutting into her. She let out a haunting wail, still blasting my Pokemon with flames. She pushed through the blow, her tough body getting slightly cooked but already starting to recover.

Good, Toxic Orb has kicked in. "Fling!" Nightwing plucked the Toxic Orb off the string around her neck and hurled it at the Ghost Type, who faded into a hole in space, briefly entering the Distortion World… and taking the Toxic Orb with it.

I winced, both at the money that had literally vanished into the void and the fact that the trajectory meant the Fling had probably missed her as well. "Get ready to counter when she pops up!" I shouted.

Nightwing's tail coiled up, waiting, even as she began a series of complicated aerial maneuvers. Mismagius reappeared behind my Pokemon, but with how fast Nightwing was spinning around, they were face-to-face as the Phantom Force hit. She couldn't stop the blow but was easily able to hit her with a heavy Night Slash in retaliation before she could retreat.

Rather than try that Phantom Force again, the Gym Leader called out, "We ain't looking too hot, gimmie some love, fans! And you," she declared dramatically, pointing at me. "Are getting too heated; time to chill out. Icy Wind!" Waving her arms out wildly, frigid air washed over the battlefield, the side effect of the Move passing through the screen. The main thrust of it, numerous ice shards that crystallized mid-air, did not as they shot out towards my Pokemon.

"Protect!" Nightwing is faster than her for the moment, but that will change once she gets slowed down, to say nothing of how powerful an Ice attack will be against her. I can Terastalize to resist this, but that's going to leave me wide open for her Electric attacks.

As I was thinking it, Iono used the opening made by my defensive plan to use her own Tera Orb. Raising it up in her hands (I assumed - her sleeves were too floppy and long for me to actually see them), she said, "Time to electrify the crowd, Terastalize!" Then tossed it above Mismagius' head.

While my Pokemon could continue their attacks, Mismagius either chose not to or was somewhat unused to the process of Terastalizing. With an opening as the large crystal pillar formed around her, I called out, "Quick Attack out of the way, then Gunk Shot!"

The crystals burst quickly, but the moment they did, our foe was looking around, having lost sight of Nightwing. Her vision was still a little high up, not realizing that she needed to drop down to the ground to use Gunk Shot, and in the second it took her to lock onto my Pokemon, the patch of ground beside her had already been turned into a toxic pile of waste. Spinning with a slapshot motion from her tail, the noxious muck was sent straight into Mismagius' now gleaming Terastalized face.

She made a coughing, retching sound as it hit, and Nightwing laughed hysterically at the sight of her. "Get out of there, dig!"

My warning came too late, and with red eyes glaring malevolently at Nightwing, Mismagius blew away all of the sludge with a powerful Icy Wind that hit Nightwing head-on. Buffeted by the freezing winds, she couldn't even try to escape underground partway through, lifted slightly in the air.

As Nightwing began to glide back down, I saw her movements were sluggish and slow. Ah well, guess there's no point putting it off further. "Crash onto the scene with sparkling waves, Terastalize!" I shouted, only momentarily mourning Nightwing nixing the phrase 'time to make a splash' as I tossed my own Tera Orb over her head.

She burst out gleaming and with a water spout, Tera 'hat' over her head. Moving fast, well used to the sensation and even being pelted by the Icy Wind, she managed to close in on the witchy ghost. "Crabhammer!" With a vicious uppercut, her claws covered in a powerful surging spray, she clocked Mismagius hard, sending her spinning throughout the air.

It was hardly the end, though, as from underneath her wide-brimmed hat-like head, she pulled out a large yellow berry and began hastily chomping down. "Knock off!"

"Let's play a game of rock, paper, pew pew pew! Charge Beam!" As childish as the command was, the Move was still quite effective (super effective, one might say) and lanced hard into Nightwing. Her wings seized up for a moment, giving Mismagius time to finish the Sitrus Berry she had been eating, and I noticed the air cackling dangerously around her, likely the very beam she just used powering her up.

On the flip side, however, Mismagius wasn't looking great, even after the rejuvenating berry she just consumed. Is she- yes, she's Poisoned! I had missed it at first with how purple she already was, but it was clear her health was flagging.

"More pews! Enough pews to fill a church!" Wait, churches have pews in this world? I wonder what else is similar religiousl- no, focus!

"Protect!" Nightwing stopped mid-air, conjuring the hive-pattern barrier around herself and deflecting the thin beam of electricity off of it. As the Poison hurts her, it'll heal Nightwing, though. We just gotta outlast her.

As the barrier started to fail, I decided to risk it and called out, "Protect," once more. With a look of intense concentration, it held out, though the barrier was weaker than before, some of the hexes flickering under the assault.

This time, the shield only held half as long, and Nightwing was on the move once again as it faltered, dodging around the beam her foe was firing. "Get underground and wait it ou-"

"Taunt!" Iono countered, her smile all teeth. With a smug smirk, Mismagius enraged Nightwing, who was already halfway underground. Popping back up, she charged the Tera Electric Pokemon.

Dammit! Fine, let's go all in. "Crabhammer!" My voice reached Nightwing, and while she was still too enraged to do anything other than attack, she did follow my order and use that Move, the strongest one she had at the moment.

The ice clinging to her wings was slowing her down a tad, but not enough for Mismagius to entirely evade the blow, the attack clipping her as Nightwing passed by. "Stone Edge," I ordered as my Gliscor twirled around, raising large spikes from the ground with an arm gesture. The ghostly foe proved too nimble, dancing around the attack and firing back.

Another powerful Charge Beam slammed into Nightwing, the blow cracking her chitinous exoskeleton. This actually helped to some degree, freeing my Gliscor from some of the ice impeding her movements. On the flip side, though, more damage was taken, and Mismagius got another boost from the Charge Beam.

Clicking her tongue, Iono's voice rang out over the arena. "They're getting back up even stronger, oh noes. We gotta finish this fast, so cheer on this Thunderbolt!"

The crowd was cheering wildly even as I felt the energy building around Mismagius. We can't block or stall it out; all our protective Moves won't work… But what about an offensive Move?

"Sand Tomb around yourself! Stick your tail in the ground!" The combination would be weird at the best of times, and right now was far worse. Yet even through the taunt, she followed my orders, the dirt swirling around her as the Thunderbolt struck in. Much of its power was lost by the Ground Type attack it passed through, doing minimal harm to my Pokemon as she successfully channeled it into the arena floor.

"Wowzah! That's some cool stuff," Iono said as Nightwing could be held back no longer and charged forward. For Mismagius' part, she began gathering an orb of purple-colored power. She tossed it towards Nightwing as my Pokemon neared her.

"Meet it with a Crabhammer!" The two attacks met, colliding in a tremendous explosion. Both of us peered through the smoke cloud created from the clash. No way… I thought this only happened in the anime.

A few seconds later Iono saw what I saw and started cackling. "Whozat, whatzis? A tie!?"

I blinked. "Well, wasn't expecting that," I muttered as I saw both of our Pokemon lying insensate on the ground. The crowd around started cheering furiously, and I could practically see the dollar signs in Iono's eyes as she waved at them, the Magnemites around her head flying erratically.

I suppose it's not as bad as I thought to be concerned about money. I used to be far more frugal for similar reasons, but I guess I just… got used to being rich. Plastering a smile on my face, I recalled Nightwing and strode across the field to Iono.

She recalled her Mismagius and turned to face me. "Ha! That battle was as flashy as a Catastropika!"

"Let's see if we can amp it up to a ten-million-volt Thunderbolt next time, heh." I offered my hand out to shake as I spoke. Iono readily shook it, cameras and phones flashing around us as the distant crowd took photos.

As I let go of her sleeve-covered hand, I said, "And I want to apologize for before. I was frustrated about the music and other things. I thought about the money situation and hadn't realized how much I had come to rely on my parents and their money as a Trainer." She blinked, looking surprised.

Continuing, I added, "I'm sure that my team would be tough and strong even without that. We all worked hard and put a lot into our Training… But I also understand that the resources we have mean they've grown strong faster than they might have otherwise. Reaching where they are today would have taken a lot longer if we didn't have that support. That's why you only used Mismagius, right?"

The streamer winced as my guess hit the mark. "Oof, you got me there. You've been tearing up a storm through the circuit; it feels like no one can even challenge you! And we want to, but… I just didn't have enough time to train up a full team to your crazy-high level." I don't think the stream is catching this, at least not the specific words. Iono is rather bold naturally, but she's not as over-the-top as she usually is when putting on her stage face.

"So you trained up just your ace to give me a challenge. Well, she definitely did that," I said, my hand gliding over Nightwing's Pokeball. We've got to work on her resistance to Special Attacks. Physically she's almost as tough as Notch, but that was a real weakness here. And on that note…

"If you're busy with your streams, why not use them as time to train your Pokemon?" I suggested. "You can make videos showing how you train different Pokemon at different levels of development for your Gym, and all of that. You get to train your Pokemon-"

"-And earn tons of cash!" At the look on my face, she giggled nervously. "But mostly just the Training, haha."

I waved her off. "No, no, it's fine. I can't take it for granted that everyone has the same focus or means that I have." Then she surprised me by pulling out the small badge with a lightning bolt symbol on it. "Even though I didn't win?"

"Of course, you fought hard. And 'sides, I woulda got clobbered by your full team." I took the badge with a smile. "Hey, if you ever wanna do another collab-"

"I'll let you know." Then after a beat, added, "Maybe after you're done all those Training vids you can give my full team a challenge." Huh, it's weird, her teeth are way more pointed than mine, yet somehow she's the one gulping nervously.

Spoiler: A/N:

Nemona's fourth Gym Badge obtained, she's halfway there!

Nemona definitely wasn't covering herself in glory at the end of the interview, but she had a lot of her buttons (mostly inadvertently) pressed by Iono there. She also sorta been taking the vast amounts of money she can throw into her Training for granted. She's not going to stop Training her team to their fullest, but it's definitely something she'll think about and won't take for granted.

Nemona's Current Team:

-'Dun' (Dudunsparce, Male, Normal Type, Starter)
- Tera Type: Normal
- Held Item: Expert Belt
- Abilities: Run Away, Serene Grace
- Moves known: Flail, Mud Slap, Rollout, Glare, Body Slam, Poison Jab, Earthquake, Bite, Yawn (Invisible Version)*, Last Resort, Hyper Voice, Protect, Thunder, Hex, Agility, Air Slash, Giga Impact, Tailwind, Roost, Ancient Power, Drill Run, Hyper Drill, Triple Yawn*, Ice Spinner, Solar Beam, Lunge, Flamethrower, Aqua Tail, Coil, Hurricane, Outrage, Smart Strike, Blizzard, Curse, Toxic, Zen Headbutt

- 'Miles' (Rotom, Genderless, Electric/Form dependent Type)
- Tera Type: Electric
- Held Item: Life Orb
- Ability: Levitate
- Moves Known: Astonish, Confuse Ray, Thundershock, Double Team, Hyper Voice, Protect, Thunder, Rain Dance, Will O' Wisp, Nasty Plot, Hex, Sunny Day, Substitute, Foul Play, Trick, Discharge, Shadow Ball, Eerie Impulse, Reflect, Light Screen, Uproar, Confuse Wisp*

- 'Nightwing' (Gliscor, Female, Flying/Ground Type)
- Tera Type: Water
- Held Item: Toxic Orb
- Ability: Hyper Cutter, Poison Heal
- Moves Known: Poison Sting, Sand Attack, Harden, Knock Off, Fury Cutter, Acrobatics, Bulldoze, Quick Attack, Psychic Fangs, Poison Tail, Slash, Gunk Shot, Dig, Ice Fang, Lunge, U-Turn, Protect, Tailwind, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Night Slash, Sand Tomb, Crabhammer, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Breaking Swipe, Swords Dance

- 'Notch' (Carbink, Genderless, Rock/Fairy Type)
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Held Item: Light Clay
- Ability: Clear Body
- Moves Known: Harden, Tackle, Guard Split, Flail, Ancient Power, Light Screen, Reflect, Iron Defense, Body Press, Stealth Rocks, Psychic, Smack Down, Trick Room, Dazzling Gleam, Rock Polish, Power Gem, Stone Edge, Protect, Spikes, Stomping Tantrum, Moonblast, Iron Head, Skill Swap, Sandstorm

- 'Phantasm' (Hisuian Zoroark, Female, Normal/Ghost)
- Tera Type: Ghost
- Held Item: Lax Incense
- Ability: Illusion
- Moves Known: Leer, Scratch, Torment, Hone Claws, Shadow Sneak, Curse, Swift, Aerial Ace, Snarl, Double Team, Taunt, Bitter Malice, Knock Off, Shadow Claw, Slash, U-Turn, Spite, Shadow Ball, Nasty Plot, Icy Wind, Snowscape, Detect, Hex

- 'Riolu' (Riolu, Female, Fighting)
- Tera Type: Fighting
- Held Item: Clear Amulet
- Ability: Steadfast
- Moves Known: Endure, Quick Attack, Feint, Metal Claw, Counter, Work Up, Detect, Rock Smash, Trailblaze, Vacuum Wave, Screech, Quick Guard, Circle Throw, Force Palm, Drain Punch, Swords Dance, High Jump Kick, Aerial Ace, Poison Jab, Copycat, Ice Punch, Close Combat, Final Gambit, Reversal, Dancing Sword*, Howl, Earthquake, Brick Break, Aura Sphere, Rock Tomb

-'Fraxure' (Shiny Fraxure, Male, Dragon)
- Tera Type: Dragon
- Held Item: Dragon Fang
- Ability: Mold Breaker
- Moves Known: Bite, Scratch, Leer, Assurance, Slash, Dragon Claw, Scary Face, Breaking Swipe, Focus Energy, Dragon Pulse, Dual Chop, Aerial Ace, Trailblaze, Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, Poison Jab, Draco Meteor, Iron Head, Crunch

*Custom Moves

 

[Nephthys8079]

Damn already read this....fuck

 

[unlawfulwaffle362]

Nemona needs to chill with her trustfundbaby ways. We out here and peeps need to hustle to eat.

 

[Dromeosaur]

I love how you portray Nemona's character. Feels very realistic, you know? Saying something not wise and then apologising.

 

[Skyfyre]

Damn already read this....fuck

Click to shrink...

Yeah... we're nearing the end of daily updates here, sadly.

Nemona needs to chill with her trustfundbaby ways. We out here and peeps need to hustle to eat.

Click to shrink...

Yuuup. She did catch herself afterwards, but it's easy to get used to the situation your in. Thankfully she hasn't lost all perspective and will address this later.

I love how you portray Nemona's character. Feels very realistic, you know? Saying something not wise and then apologising.

Click to shrink...

Thank you! I really try to have the characters behave realistically in my story. Sometimes that can lead to less than climactic finishes to story arcs admittedly, but I'm glad that it seems to connect with people.

 

[Skyfyre]

POV - Dun

["Human dialogue is in square brackets"]

I stretched my body out, slithering over to dusty ground to where the rest of the team was camped out. Nemona stood off to the side, talking on the phone, but since Miles was possessing it, I didn't have any worries for her safety.

Not that there's much reason to worry; we cleared out this spot fairly well with our training today. I doubt any wild Pokemon will be coming back to harass us anytime soon. Then again, I wouldn't have had any worries before, but now we always have someone on watch. Not that I blamed my Trainer - that run-in with those low lives worried me for her even to this day.

"So there I was, surrounded by foes, beset on all sides!" Nightwing's voice drifted over to me, beginning to brag about her 'victory' already. Which I don't think I'd mind- ok, I'd mind it less if it was both accurate and wasn't bragging about a battle we'd all been there for. Most of us could just ignore her, but I saw the Dragon looking up at the boastful Gliscor, awestruck.

Thankfully, I didn't have to correct her as Riolu stepped in, barking dismissively at the batty Pokemon. "You only had to deal with five of them, just a few Rookidees and a Rufflet, and you were the one that started that fiasco in the first place! If you hadn't been digging around willy-nilly through the tunnels, we wouldn't have had that big brawl on our hands at all."

I bobbed my head up and down in agreement, having gotten used to mimicking mannerisms people (mostly Nemona) used. Before I could communicate those to them properly, however, Riolu had to ruin it by continuing to talk. "You show less sense than even Dun here with your recklessness."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, the hint of irritation in my hiss should have been warning enough for anyone else to back off. Not so for Riolu, who simply squared off against me.

"Your Earthquakes are strong, but you nearly brought the whole tunnel down on our heads."

"There was a horde of Orthworms on our tails! What else was I supposed to do?" Admittedly in retrospect, that wasn't the best Move, but how was I supposed to know that they had an Ability perfect for stopping it? I could smell the Steel on them; Type-wise it should have worked.

I prided myself on keeping Typings keenly in mind in battle. Part of it was just information that rubbed off from working with Nemona for so long, but I knew some of my compatriots weren't as tactically inclined; only Miles and sometimes Riolu tried to keep those details in mind as much as I; the rest were content to offload all that work to Nemona.

"Are they gonna fight again?" Fraxure nervously asked. I offered a glance to Riolu, subtly asking if she wanted to do this, and in response she rubbed at her shoulder. That's a no then.

"We should maintain our combat forces, just in case we get surrounded at night." It was unlikely, even camped out on the open road, but it gave her an out without 'losing face.'. We aren't even in the middle of the road, I suppose. Our tent was placed in the shade of one of the jagged rocky pillars that dotted the vast mining complex.

"Ahem," Nightwing said, fake-clearing her throat, her long tail lashing against the ground as she saw that she wasn't the center of attention. "As I was saying, those vile brutes had us surrounded, but thanks to my magnificent power and grace…"

I was slightly distracted from her tale by the image playing out behind her. A fairly accurate, if low on details, reenactment of the battle as it actually happened. The illusion showed all eight of us having desperately run out of the abandoned mining tunnel that we had been exploring which collapsed behind us (definitely due to the horde of Pokemon chasing after us and nothing to do with my Earthquake).

We stood in a semi-circle around Nemona, shielding her from the dozens of Digletts, Dugtrios, Orthworms, and a few Rolycolys that chased after us. She gave orders quickly, directing us as fast as she could, splitting up our efforts into offense, defense, and support based on our specialties. Miles, Phantasm, and Notch worked on boosting us and messing with the enemies. Nightwing mostly hovered around Nemona, who was now flying in the air to avoid the Ground Type attacks, the Gliscor blocking any rocks thrown up at her or the like.

Fraxure, Riolu, and I pushed back against them in offense. My Hyper Voice took out large swathes of them, while Fraxure sliced at a few, using his claws to good effect, though he was reluctant to use his tusks against the hardier foes. The Digletts and softer Pokemon would have been taken out by his tusks without any risk of breaking, and it meant he wasted time using multiple claw strikes against the tougher ones. Also good attention to detail by Phantasm in the illusion she's crafting.

A bit too good, in fact. The scene showed Riolu fighting and taking down a great deal of them, but also showed her getting hurt a bit in return. Especially when the Hariyama wandered over and nearly put her down with a Force Palm to the shoulder, which had the real-life Riolu growling.

"I mean, that is how it happened." My words had Nightwing beaming, glad that I agreed with her. That only lasted a second before her eyes narrowed, and those fangs were bared more menacingly at me as she realized that I wouldn't do something like that. Her glare quickly slid off me as if I had the Limber Ability scanning the rest of the group (Fraxure's quiet laughter may not have helped matters, especially given how good Nightwing's hearing was).

The Gliscor turned to suspiciously stare at Phantasm. The unusual Zoroark was lying down on her side, head propped up on one foreclaw, her face mostly obscured by the long white and red mane that fell down over her face and the upper half of her body. Her other foreclaw pointed at herself as if to ask, 'Me? What could I possibly be doing?'

Nightwing, naturally, did not buy it for an instant and pounced upon Phantasm, or at least attempted to. Given that she crashed headfirst into the dirt, I assumed that in addition to making her first illusion only visible to us, she cast another one concealing her exact location from Nightwing.

Of course, this only lasted for a second before Nightwing continued diving into the ground, burrowing through it and giving Phantasm just enough time for her eye to widen in shock before Nightwing burst out underneath her. The two of them tumbled around, through the air and on the ground, grappling and slashing at each other as they played out their little spat.

With a deep breath, I Yawned, directing the cloud over to them. Phantasm saw it and attempted to break away, only to be swung around by Nightwing, who thought she was trying to get away from her. The two coughed, covered in the sleepy cloud, and on unspoken communication immediately turned on me, descending on me with fury before the drowsiness could get to them.

A powerful Protect guarded me against their attacks, and I laughed at their futile efforts. "Damn you!" Phantasm shrieked as Nightwing succumbed to slumber before me. "If I just knew Phantom Force-"

"Can you even learn that?" It was a legitimate question; with her rare variation, Nemona was a pioneer in figuring out what modern Moves Phantasm might be able to learn.

The question was also slightly less than legitimate, as it was designed to confuse her, which it did. That uncertainty cut through her rage, and the sleepiness started to take hold almost instantly. "I don't… know…" My barrier fell as she collapsed, drifting off to sleep.

Shucking her off my body, I slithered around to get closer to the fire. "Wow… you handled them like they were nothing! Will I get that strong too someday?" Fraxure's eyes were wide as he asked the question.

"I think so; you're on your way. You handled quite a few of the wild Pokemon today by yourself." As much as I hate to admit it, it's true. He's green (in more ways than one), but there's some serious power waiting to be released there.

"Not as much as you! That was so cool, the way those Dugtrios tried to slip underground, and you just drilled right down and followed them!" I couldn't help but smile bittersweetly at his enthusiasm. How I used to be, before I was disabused of that notion. At least he has a better den than I had. Not that he deserves it.

Riolu shot me a look, and I turned away, acting like I was checking on Nightwing and Phantasm, still slumbering peacefully. She rolled her eyes and distracted Fraxure by going over the fight again, giving him some pointers.

Shamefully, a part of me felt irrationally jealous of him. I know that Nemona still likes me and all, but I also know that she had the Haxorus line as her 'favorite,' at least before we met. It was easy for me to see how excited she was in Training him now, but I also knew how distressed she would be if she saw that I was worried about her fretting over the Dragon Type.

I dealt with that by making sure to tamp down on any signs of resentment towards him. I'm pretty sure Riolu is the only one who has noticed, with her Aura Sight, and she won't say a word. "You should use your tusks more often," I chimed in.

"Hu- huh? But if they break…" He shivered at the very thought. This guy is such a wuss… But I suppose I'd have been just as bad if my tail could be permanently damaged like that. The thought brought forth memories of Dunsparce taunting me, but I pushed it to the side.

"Don't worry about it, just have faith in Nemona." My words brightened Fraxure up, but a dark shadow fell over his face.

"Yes indeed, we should have faith in our Arceus-sent saint," Notch said melodiously, hovering above Fraxure. The Dragon Type toppled backward but managed a somewhat gainly roll to get back on his feet.

"Whoa, you surprised me there." Fraxure replied as Riolu and I groaned. Notch is perfectly fine most of the time, but when they get like this… "What's a saint?" The Dragon Type innocently asked, not yet realizing the few sermons Notch had released on us in his month of training were actually on the light side of how much they could pontificate.

"Saint is a word I recently heard from Nemona; it was used in her old world to describe a holy person, one blessed with many virtues and qualities of excellence. Considering her circumstances, I can only perceive her as a saint, touched by the divine." Notch finished with a series of self-assured chimes, pitching their voice over the sound of Gliscor heavily snoring.

"Whoooooa… I don't get it," the newest team member admitted, and Notch dipped a little in the air before catching themself.

"Don't worry about it, just something that Notch likes to yammer on about," I said, causing Notch's damaged ear to twitch violently.

"How can you, of all Pokemon, deny her holiness? The providence by which you met her, your evolution being one in a hundred, the many great qualities of intellect, stewardship, and battling she possesses? The-" I waved my tail in their face, getting them to stop.

"Look, Nemona is incredible, the best thing to happen to me, to most of us. I just don't think you need to make a whole religion around her." There was more I could go into there, about how even Nemona thought that Arceus had little overt involvement with her given the lack of divine mission the Hero of Hissui had, or how she herself would not want a religion formed around her, but going down those lines would just open up further arguments.

Indeed, Notch seemed upset but ceased any further prattle, accepting my views for what they were. The team was mostly split into two camps about Nemona, with Notch worshipping her and some quiet support (or at least acceptance) from Miles and recently, interest from Riolu. Phantasm, Nightwing, and I didn't care for it. Fraxure still looked confused.

"Ok, but what's that 'other world' stuff you mentioned?" He asked. "Like, she's from a different region?"

"No, she reincarnated - was born again - in this world with all the memories of her life in the previous world. A planet ruled entirely by humans, with only near-mindless animals as company. The world had knowledge of ours, however, with fantastical stories of Pokemon. These stories give her insight into our world and maturity beyond her age. How else did you think she knows what she does?" I asked clipped, my voice coming out a scale harsher than I intended.

Riolu noticed, raising an eyebrow at me while Fraxure awkwardly scratched at his neck with stubby claws. "Oh, right. Guess that makes sense. Everything down here is so strange and new, but I should have understood that by now; Nemona really is different than the other humans."

His expression made me feel like I'd kicked a Fidough using Baby Doll Eyes (despite my lack of legs), so I hastily added, "It's fine. I get a little overwhelmed by just how big this world is at times." I could barely imagine anything outside of the burrows when I first got kicked out…

Fraxure started excitedly piping back up, raving about all the 'cool' things he'd seen since joining us while I cast my mind back to the one time I had returned to the place I once called home.

***

It was late at night; Nemona was sleeping softly nearby while I lay curled up on the floor before the bed. We had only just recently come home from Unova, and her bed, as large as it was, needed a bit of reinforcing before I could sleep on it without damaging the mattress.

That also made it easier for me to slip away at night. Ever since my evolution - no, before that, since I really started to realize how strong I could be - an idea had burrowed into my mind. Now that I've evolved, I want to see how I stack up to them.

It took a bit of work, but I unlatched the window. The noise wasn't enough to wake Nemona, but it did rouse Miles. "I'll be back in a bit," I whispered with the implicit request for them to keep watch over Nemona.

They frowned as hard as I'd ever seen them frown but didn't raise any alarm, which I took as permission. Propping up the window, I slithered out, my new wings helping compensate for my larger body and flapping hard to let me drift to the beach.

From there, things got a little complicated. I clearly remember where the old tunnels were, but they've long since been abandoned. Even for the den's sedentary actions, they move around a bit.

Widening my search, I traversed far over the land, though I held back from across the river. Where could they be? I don't think they've gone far enough to leave the province- wait, there! Sniffing hard, I detected the scent of a bunch of Dunsparce nearby, with just a hint of an evolved Eevee.

Hard to tell particulars, but since it's coming from that well-hidden burrow at the base of a big tree, I'm pretty sure it's him, and not like, the Tera Leafeon or something.

Heading down proved to be more of a challenge than I had thought it would be. My body grew a bunch when I evolved, and while it was mostly in length, I'm still too wide for these tunnels.

The solution was simple - just drill my own way down. My drilling ability had always been lackluster, and part of me wondered if I would still be considered terrible at it after evolution, if compared to another Dudunsparce. Still, my training and evolution had given me much power, so I was able to brute force my way down and into their main complex.

Twisted tunnels from all over met in one large cavern; many Dunsparce gathered there to rest and socialize. The blue and yellow winged snake-like Pokemon startled at my sudden entrance. Something I could tell more by smell, as I could not see their colors in the dark, dank cave. The only sources of light in here were a few glowing yellow rings, stiffening at my approach.

I slithered over to the Umbreon and said, "It's been a while, Father." My words created a sudden stirring of interest, and as Umbreon conjured Moonlight, illuminating the area, we could all see each other.

Most of the Dunsparces hadn't managed to burrow away yet, caught in a panic, before stopping and staring at me. Umbreon eyed me suspiciously, stating, "I know of no child like you. How did you become so large?" 'So powerful, so dangerous,' went unspoken, as did the question of what I wanted here.

"I evolved through training and hard work and the aid of a human." He scoffed at that, but I carried on. "Any of us are capable of evolving through that effort, even I, Dunsparce," I said, emphasizing my words just so. There was a nuance I could never quite explain to Nemona in how we said that, to let others know which Pokemon we were talking about in specific and not our species.

My words set off a flurry of whispers throughout the cavern from the Dunsparces. Even some of the ones who had fled were poking their heads back in, having not felt any violent actions since I announced myself.

Half of them didn't know what I was talking about, new Dunsparces that had been born since I was kicked out. Some of the older ones told the younger ones, voices filled with disbelief, that the Dunsparce I had been, the weakling, the runt, the anchor on their tails, could grow to be the one who stood before them.

"You are not Dunsparce," Umbreon said, less in disbelief and more in confusion as he circled around me.

"I am now Dudunsparce, and I truly am the child you kicked out. You thought me too weak, a drain on the den's resources, but look at me now!" I flapped my wings hard, kicking up dust.

"Hmph, power gained from a human. I evolved through my bond with the den, with my family. I don't know how much was wasted to get you to this state, but I doubt it was worth it." My tail drill spun angrily at his words.

"Nemona helped me realize the power within me! The strength you were too ignorant to see, that you-" I cut myself off, my eyes watering slightly.

The Moonlight was fading, but not so fast that I couldn't catch the sneer on Umbreon's face. "And where is this human now? Or have you come to beg for a place back in the den?" His voice was somewhat considering, like he might accept it if I bowed to him. Screw that!

"I didn't come here to ask for a place back; I came here to show you how much stronger I've become!"

"Talk is nothing more than a breeze above. Demonstrate your so-called 'strength.' Or are you too afraid without your human here-" I cut him off with a Body Slam, which I could feel that he had narrowly dodged.

He used Bite on my flank, but I was flexible enough to return that with a Bite of my own, causing him to flinch and let go. Probably didn't hurt him much, though; he's got STAB on his and Resistance to my own use of the Move. Gotta fight smart.

Umbreon slammed into me with a Quick Attack, swiftly retreating. While I doubted I'd be fast enough to match him in chase, I didn't think he could avoid an Ancient Power, not when I could easily sense the vibrations he made against the ground.

I was rewarded by a cry of pain as the rocks struck him, and I readied myself for another strike. He paused, moving very softly over the ground now, neglecting speed to hide himself from my senses. Well, whatever, I can hit you no matter where you hide.

Flopping hard against the ground, I set off a series of tremors that shook the earth, eliciting many cries of pain and shock.

"What are you doing!?" Umbreon screeched, blasting me with a Dark Pulse in turn. "Are you going to bring down this whole den down on our heads?"

"Not my fault if you make your tunnels poorly," I shot back, trying to smother the guilt I was feeling. I don't think he even recognized that what I just said was a clever paraphrase of what he said to me the first time I showed him one of the tunnels I tried to make on my own.

It struck me in that moment that the words he had said, which I had stuck with me to this day, were something he hadn't even remembered. An event completely beneath his notice.

What also struck me was Father himself, leaping forward and clawing at me. Whirling around, I Hyper Drilled into him as he tried to fade away, earning a nasty squelching sound where my tail met his flesh.

Umbreon disengaged, and the cavern was filled with light as Moonlight was called upon once more. His injuries were revealed in the pale light and already began to stitch themselves back together. In response, I flapped my six wings, settling down and Roosting to heal myself.

Once at full health, I charged back in, throwing myself into a hefty Body Slam. Umbreon howled out, the sound emphasized by a bone snapping. As I felt my own body seize up suddenly, I knew that I had Paralyzed him with that blow, his Ability afflicting me with it as well.

From there, we engaged in a brutal melee, my powerful tail and heavy body contesting his claws and fangs. He was tough; no way for him to be the patriarch of the den without some strength, but I was stronger. Inch by inch, I was overtaking him.

With a snarl (not the Move; we both were staying away from area attacks after my Earthquake), he zipped backward, faltering slightly as his muscles froze up. I moved to follow before mine did the same.

There was only a bit of space between us, but enough for me to see the familiar glow surrounding Umbreon's body. Last Resort, his strongest Move. I dreamed of being that strong, once upon a time.

He accelerated through the star-shaped energy rapidly. I could have tried to meet it head-on, but something like Nemona's voice in my head rang out: 'There's a time and place for everything, but not now!'

Instead, I pulled up my quickest Move, surrounding myself in a hive comb barrier around myself, Umbreon's powerful strike deflecting off of it. He looked confused and shocked, which I capitalized on, my tail spinning fast as I spiraled towards him.

Umbreon tried to Detect, his eyes flashing as he tried to perceive where I would go, only to stop cold. My erratic, reactionary motions couldn't be predicted, leaving him wide open for my signature attack.

My father gave out one last cry of pain as I hit him before collapsing against the cavern wall. With weak legs, he tried to rise before collapsing down. I felt his head raise up, as if to call upon Moonlight again before he heard me upon him. "I yield," he spat out, contempt warring with weariness in his voice.

"So? Is my strength enough?" I asked smugly, Roosting to heal back up, as he called upon a weak Moonlight to recover just enough to be mobile; anything further would be a sign of him attempting to continue the challenge.

"Enough for what?" He questioned back. "You say you have no desire to rejoin us, so I see no other purpose in this than to satisfy your overly large ego. That, and to scare your siblings and cousins."

I bristled, but he continued before I could do or say something rash. "You always were a bold one," his voice muttered and didn't carry through the chamber. "Too brave and arrogant for how weak you were, too quick to use your tail as a weapon, not an escape method." I doubted anyone else could hear him, though I wasn't sure if that was due to how weak he was or deliberate on his part, the message only meant for me.

"This was to show how wrong you could be, so you hesitate the next time you think of throwing someone out of the den because you, in your ignorance, have dubbed them 'weak.'" I lied, quickly crafting an altruistic reason for myself to avoid confronting what he said.

Before he could say anything further, I continued. "I've done what I needed to here; I won't be returning." Slithering backward away from him, I drilled up to the surface, trying to ignore the shaking in my body, blaming it on the Paralysis, not his words.

***

I refocused back on the present as Notch was explaining more in depth to Fraxure about what Nemona's plans were. Kinda hard to really envision what fighting a 'Paradox' Pokemon is like, at least until you've met one. Though Nemona said that Miraidon's sheer power is an outlier even amongst Paradox Pokemon - and she also indicated the Turo or the 'ai' will likely have one, and one stronger than Arven's.

"Nightwing, stop faking it," I ordered. "Tell Fraxure about what it was like fighting Miraidon." They're both Dragon Types and Dragon is weak to itself, so Fraxure needs to be ready.

Rather than answer my question, Nightwing popped a yellow eye open before flipping herself up. "Aww, what gave it away?"

"You started snoring, and only when Notch started talking, not when you first went to sleep." Notch twitched in irritation at the performance while Nightwing just laughed.

"Haha, yeah, good eye there. I've been working on my resistance to sleep ever since that stupid Bug put me to sleep." She grumbled at her own reminder of the poachers. "I coulda taken down that Magnet jerk no problem if I'd been awake."

But you weren't, I refrained from saying. If she's trying to improve independently, that's a good sign; no need to nettle her for that. I repressed a sigh. It can suck being the mature one sometimes. But I'm Nemona's Partner, her first Pokemon. She relies on me to keep order in the camp when she's busy planning other things.

Nightwing groaned as she stretched out. "Ugh, I've gotten too used to the good life if this feels like roughing it."

"Huh?" Fraxure asked, quizzically twisting his head.

"We lived and trained in a mansion - that is, a big house - before we went on this journey," I explained. "It was nice; Nemona's family has people who can get her pretty much whatever she wants."

"The biggest thing you're missing out on is the food," Nightwing commented, and I found my own mouth watering at the thought.

"There's better food than this?!" Fraxure replied, shocked.

"Oh yeah, we've got tons of great stuff at home," Phantasm announced her return to wakefulness, stretching up in an exaggerated motion to show off her height. With her arms stretched up high, she's technically taller than Nightwing on her tail, despite her own impressive size for a Gliscor. Still no match for when I stand straight up.

Nemona had been worried that rivalry might breed truly negative emotions between Phantasm and Nightwing, but so far they seemed fine. Perhaps a bit more competitive, but no hatred any of us (even cheater-no-pants Riolu with her Aura) could detect.

When she first evolved, Phantasm was all too willing to make truly nasty barbs against us when squabbling or losing a battle. Some of them bordered on the edge of crossing a line. Things like insulting Notch's dream of becoming a Diancie or insulting Nightwing's mother. Or calling me weak, though I've gotten more used to that. Plenty of people and other Pokemon couldn't see my true strength at first, but it stings more if one of my true family was making the accusation.

Luckily, she's gotten better about that over time. Nemona's training of Fraxure also had her helping slowly ease off Phantasm's new instincts and emotions. Of course, Fraxure's addition hadn't been great for all of the team balance.

"It's a shame you won't get any food when we get there," Nightwing continued.

"Huh? Why?" Fraxure asked, confused.

"Well, the Glitterati have a strict 'No Dragons at the table' rule. They'll expect you to know it when you get there, so just go outside during meal-" With lightning-quick movements, Riolu flashed over and slapped the lying Gliscor down with a Quick Attack kick. Using a Move against another would usually be enough to start a fight, but Riolu lacked the physical strength the rest of us had, and Nightwing was nearly as solid as Notch, so a weak Move was needed to give it enough force to reprimand the evolved Pokemon (or at least shut her up for a moment).

"Stop lying to him. Everyone is allowed to eat at the Glitterati's table," Riolu explained. Despite ostensibly talking to Nightwing and then Fraxure, her eyes were locked onto me, as if judging me. Because I should have stepped in. But I can hardly blame Nightwing for tricking him; he's just so gullible! Fraxure would have almost certainly taken those words to heart and gone outside to eat - at least until Nemona noticed and rectified the situation.

A small part of me wondered if I was that bad when I had first been taken in. Years of living with humans made me quite familiar with their culture (to the point that wild Pokemon would often mock me for it when first meeting me, calling me soft; those insults never last long, though). I pushed aside those concerns and moved the conversation along. "Yes, and you'll get to eat all kinds of foods at the Glitterati household."

"Like what?" The curious Dragon asked.

"Well, we get to eat meat every day, sometimes even multiple times a day!" Nightwing exclaimed energetically, bouncing back up. She was in conversations as she was in battle; hard to put down and could come back from a beating with just a few moments to recover. That, combined with her being a bit of a prankster, made her nearly irrepressible. Only nearly, because once she slapped mud all over Miles' phone case. Then, 'coincidentally,' she got paired to fight Miles in their Refrigerator form three days in a row. I think Nemona was starting to get suspicious of the schedule by the end, but by that point, she never tried to prank Miles again.

The Hisuian Zoroark licked her chops at the idea as well. Hmm, she's always liked meat, but she seems hungrier for it these days. I wonder if that's something innate to Hisuian rather than regular Zoroark. Or maybe it's a difference of degree, not kind.

Blinking, I shook off that line of thought. Usually such things didn't interest me too much, but it was apparent that Nemona had rubbed off on me. "Oh yeah, someone is a glutton for the food made at the Glitterati house," Riolu chimed in.

Belatedly, I added, "It's pretty nice." The food is divine! If there is any gift from Arceus, it's the wonderful meals we can share alongside the Glitterati family- calm down, brain. It was amazing, though, and while I was glad for how we'd all grown stronger on this journey, I would not miss coming back home just for the food.

"Right, and that's why you eat five courses with most meals there-" Phantasm began.

"I'm a big Dudunsparce!" I protested. "I need more food than everyone else."

"- and why you only eat three bowls of the Pokechow we get on the road," Nightwing finished.

"...It's quite filling," I objected in a smaller voice. Nightwing gave Phantasm a 'low-five,' and I narrowed my eyes, wondering if perhaps they were getting along too well.

"That sounds awesome!" Fraxure clapped happily again, his claws making an odd sound as they connected. "We had a small pack of sheep we looked after up there, but it was a rare treat to cull one. And then that stupid Braviary came and stole them," he grumbled, kicking up a tuft of dirt mulishly.

"How rough was it up there?"

Fraxure frowned at Notch's question, puzzling it over. "I mean, it was home for all my life until now, so I liked it? But while we weren't starving, there were times when we couldn't find too many berries, and we went hungry. Not a ton of food or greenery up there, and the other Pokemon were pretty tough too. Things are so much better here, though!" He brightened up, like a light switch being hit.

"I get stronger way faster, and the food is pretty good, and you said there'd be even better food, and I really like you guys, you're all so tough, and I want to be just like you…"

I tuned his rambling out, thinking about new Gym strategies when I received a sharp elbow to the side. Glancing around, I saw Riolu, looking unimpressed.

"What?" I said in a low tone, already having an idea of what this would be about and trying to make sure Fraxure didn't hear us. Riolu, for her part, had enough control of her Aura to send my silent, still messages through precise combinations of emotions she conveyed to me.

From the mix of annoyance and dismissal, she was telling me to shove off with my feelings towards Fraxure. "I'm trying. I can't just… stop what I feel."

Pride, dismissal, and concern came next. "Do better?" I wanted to scoff before she sent a burst of wariness and pain. "Fine, I'll- I'll try," I hissed out. She's right that eventually even Fraxure will notice my jealousy. I've just got to push past it and remind myself that Nemona chose me first, over any other hypothetical Pokemon she could have had. And with her knowledge of the world and her parents' resources, that was a loooong list indeed.

The girl in question walked over to us, plopping herself down near the fire and beside me. ["Hey guys, how's it going? You all seem lively tonight."] Miles floated beside her, running through all the little things they did to organize Nemona's schedule and correspondences with her friends and family.

We gave a series of replies mostly amounting to 'we're doing well' and 'telling Fraxure about stuff.' She nodded. ["Glad to hear you're all doing well. You did great out there today against that horde. Might be a bit too risky to get so many wild Pokemon attacking us at once, but group battles might be good for your Training, to stimulate the kinds of power and speed you'll face from higher-level foes. Though the wild Pokemon will get stronger the farther north we head…"]

The rest of her words were mumbled, more to herself than us, as she plotted out Training plans for us. If I hadn't faced off against Hassel's Pokemon and that Salamence, I would hardly be able to think that there was much further for me to grow, but those encounters showed me wrong. And there are Trainers with Pokemon even stronger than those ones. I can see why she says the potential of Pokemon is limitless.

As she thought, her hand absently drifted down to scratch the top of my head, and I happily leaned into it. We all sat like that there for a few minutes, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the companionship of our fellow teammates. This is nice. All of it, even Fraxure.

All good things had to come to an end, however, as a small alarm beeped from Miles. "Apologies, but it appears it's time for us to sleep if we're to get up early in the morning, bzzt. I'd be happy to take first watch."

"I'll join you," I said as well. We used to only have one Pokemon on watch, but ever since the poacher incident, we had at least two of us on watch. Even when we stayed in a proper building in a city or the like.

The others got ready to rest for the night, most of them going back in their balls. Riolu and Fraxure went to the tent, while Nemona waited a moment, music on some messages she was reviewing on the phone case.

["I should probably talk to my parents. Maybe arrange to meet them at Glaseadeo Gym."] Nemona said, her voice heavy.

"What brought this on?" I inquired.

She gave me a thin smile, scratching the top of my head in a way she knew I liked. ["Just, Iono got me thinking about how much they've done for me and all of us. And honestly, I should have already told them about the whole poachers thing."]

Why should you do something you don't want to do? What does it matter if you tell them or not? The guilt I was feeling didn't match what I was thinking or what I eventually voiced, blurting out a second later. "I went back to visit my old family a while ago."

There was a moment of silence, the only sound the crackling of the fire, and I refused to look over, daring to hope this was one of the times that she didn't understand me.

["You want to go visit your old home? Sure, we could take some time out to do that- no, wait. You already went and visited your old home? When?"] Her voice rose a tad as she spoke.

Fraxure, who had apparently been listening from the edge of the tent, chimed in. "Whoa, Nemona can understand us so well. I mean, I knew that and all; it just really clicked now that I've been to the city." I sighed heavily, though I wasn't shocked. Living so close together like this means you don't keep secrets for long. Not that most Pokemon excel at that anyway.

["Some people don't understand Pokemon as well as others. More dedicated Trainers tend to be better at reading those body language cues, especially of the Pokemon on their team. They say that 90% of all communication happens through body language, even for humans."] Though she spoke to the Dragon Type, I felt one eye still on me, her voice a little tight still.

"Sorry," I mumbled, wiggling in the dirt, as if that would get me away. It's funny; I have all these ways that I could flee right now, through ground or sky, because of Nemona's training… But because of that training, I'm bound by myself. There's probably some dumb human saying about that.

She stared at me for a moment, her amber eyes inscrutable, before she waved Fraxure off to bed. Then she turned back and asked me, "How did it go?"

Thinking about it for a second, I tried to come up with some good way to spin it before shaking my head. "Not great. I did what I set out to do, but… it all felt pointless."

["Revenge often is. You think it feels nice, and maybe it does in the moment or maybe it doesn't, but it doesn't help in the long run. You aren't moving on; you're just opening up old wounds."] She paused for a moment before adding, ["Sorry it felt that way though."]

Nemona sighed heavily before hugging me tightly. ["Guess that's what I get for keeping secrets from my own parents."] She paused and released me, a slight tension running through her frame. Unconsciously, she'd stepped over one of those 'social lines' that people felt were so important, as if comparing our relationship to the one she held with her parents 'changed' anything.

I flopped my large head on top of her, knocking her back with a slight exhalation, then giggled. ["Yeah, you're right. Guess that stuff doesn't matter. You're Dun and I'm Nemona. Together we're unstoppable, and we'll be together forever."]

"Agreed." I rolled off her and stared at the stars. Looking back on it now, it seems crazy that my den was so happy to spend so much time underground when there's so much more up here. On the land and seas, the skies, and beyond. All that space going on forever and ever… gonna see it all… Slowly, I drifted off to sleep by Nemona's side, dreaming of victories and adventure.

Spoiler: A/N:

A long overdue look into Dun and the dynamics of the team! There's a lot going on here, but hopefully this snippet was enough to pull back the curtain a tad and give you a better look at some of the nuances and dynamics going on in her team. I think the Pokemon in a fic are important and it's good to take the time to get to know them and all their different personalities and how they mesh and clash.