Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

[Spearow]

now she knows he lost an arm, i wonder if she would offer to make a rotom arm prosthetic for him, her family is the number 1 rotom specialist in the world right now, right?

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[Skyfyre]

now she knows he lost an arm, i wonder if she would offer to make a rotom arm prosthetic for him, her family is the number 1 rotom specialist in the world right now, right?

Click to shrink...

Probably not a rotom arm - having your arm controlled by a separate, sentient creature would probably be a bit disconcerting and difficult, even if the creature controlling it was quite helpful. That being said, they could help him with any material and equipment he would want to source for making a new arm.

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

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

"Cool ride, Professor, thanks for the lift!" Drayton shouted to the Professor atop the Brave Olivine, who was waving back cheerfully down. There wasn't exactly enough space for the ship to land amidst the tall, thin trees that made up the grove in Area Two of North Province. After dropping us off, the Professor and the crew had to head out to the League to get the mass of Tera Crystals secured to the ship for transit.

"Thank you, I'm looking forward to seeing you soon," I spoke less loudly than my friend, using Aura to carry my voice over the whirling propellers and up to Friede. Cap on his shoulder gave us a thumbs up, and they were off leaving us alone. Well, not quite alone.

"It's a pleasure to see you two again," Hassel said from behind us, clapping us on the shoulders. "Are you ready to face the dragon's den?"

"Yup. Isn't that a place in Johto?" Drayton droned while I asked sardonically.

"It's a figure of speech and the Blackthorns don't have a copyright on the name, not for lack of trying, mind you. Now, onward!"

The Dragon Guardian of the Elite Four led us through the sparse forest, his subtle presence warding off the powerful Scythers, Bisharps, Heracrosses, and even Ursarings (to only slight disappointment on my part - I shouldn't be catching more Pokemon anyways, I still have Anya to train up!). As we went, I said, "Thank you again for helping us meet them, I know I sprung this on you. And do you think they'll be alright with Drayton coming along? I know he's part of a Dragon Tamer Clan too, but…"

"It is no trouble. I know young Drayton from the connection between our clans. While he's never- while I don't believe he's ever been in-person, They'll respect his lineage." After a beat he added, "And if not, he has Dragons of his own to fight off any challenger.

My friend groaned at the idea of more work, but I saw the way his hands twitched to the Pokeballs at his side and the glint to his eyes. For all that he can be a slacker, he's got that drive to win, to dominate, that most Dragons have.

Hassel walked us through the clearing, and I noted how he eyed the land, drinking it in and comparing it to his memories, looking for any slight changes, like how he stopped for a second at a tree stump before carrying on. I didn't miss the slip up earlier either. My teacher really has been locked out of any information going on from his old tribe.

We continued, and for a moment I thought I saw a small beige-grey Pokemon practicing at the base of the falls, but when I blinked they were gone. Must have been nothing, I thought when my companions didn't say anything, and soon Hassel led us past the roaring falls, to a small crack in the base of the large stone pillars that towered over the remote valley.

"Through that crevasse, you'll find my clan. I wish you the best of luck and- well, the best of luck." There was something else, unspoken, on his face, for just a second. Everyone he knew growing up lays just beyond that passway. Friends… and family. I imagine there are all sorts of things he wishes to say to them, that he didn't get the chance to before, or hadn't thought hard enough but spent sleepless nights wondering ever since, or just the fact that his own view has changed and evolved since leaving and that might mean he views things differently now. But it's not enough to get him to come back to the clan, and in that case, any other message he could pass along would be skirting his banishment. He's here as a member of the League to direct a Champion with an official request to the Dragon Tamer Clan, that's it.

Giving him a sad smile, I nodded, and with Drayton we marched through the dark passage. It was a little small, and I imagined that for adults it was probably quite cramped. I wonder if they have another way in and out? It wouldn't surprise me.

It didn't take long before we were on the other side, and what greeted us were a pair of guards. They wore segmented armor and were even carrying bone spears, holding them to the sides to bar our path past the gate place right in front of the opening. "Halt! Who dares to enter the hidden village of Dragons?" The guard to the left asked.

Very nice. Quite rehearsed and a little forced, but a nice show. I wonder if they would have dressed up like that and done all this if the League hadn't already warned them of my arrival? "I am Nemona Glitterati, Champion ranked Trainer of Paldea. This is my comrade, Drayton. We seek an audience with your chief," I said, playing along.

The other guard spoke up as they both pulled their spears back. "Your arrival has been expected. Enter with care, and do not rouse the Dragon's wrath." Doing my best not to roll my eyes or giggle at the show of it all, I nodded and stepped through the gateway.

It opened up to a small valley, nestled within the pillars of black stone jutting up all around, like small mountains if Glaseado nearby didn't dwarf them to the point of making the comparison ridiculous. Sunlight streamed down, illuminating the rustic village.

There were wooden houses, and even a few tents on the outskirts, with some of the same tall thin trees outside the enclosure growing here too. Near the center of the village was a very large, three story building that served as a central hub and likely the place of residence of Hassel's father. Despite the old timey trappings, there were some signs of more advanced developments, like some mostly concealed wires to give running electricity throughout the town and some manhole covers painted to blend in with the stone ground indicating a sewage system.

The people took note of us as we entered, but with no alarm raised and no suspicious behavior on our parts, they just whispered, wondering about us. Or at least the adults are. I saw some kids running carefree, chasing after a Dratini and being chased by a Gible. Off in the distance, I could see some Dragons gathered in the fields and some huts on the outskirts of town. They even have a small pool for Dragons that prefer the water, like Skrelp, and a cave up and on the side of the rocks. Must be a great place for Bagons, Noibats, and Deinos.

We made our way straight to the center of the village, seeking out the chieftain, and there we found him. Hassel's father, Dominic, stood with his arms crossed in front of the largest building. It was obvious his relation, with his bright blonde hair and his yellow eyes. Where my teacher had well combed hair and bright eyes, Dominic's hair was wild, his eyes hard (a fact only accentuated by the long scar running over one of them). This was a grizzled man with an intimidating appearance. Physically, at least. My Aura sense has improved and when Hassel is upset by me screwing around or the like, I can feel that fight or flight instinct kick in far greater. Dominic seems just… lesser, somehow.

I wasn't so gauche as to immediately say that to his face however, instead bowing slightly as we approached him. "Nemona Glitterati," the man said slowly, his voice deep. "One of Paldea's newest 'champions.' What brings you to intrude upon the domain of the most ancient and noble first people of Paldea?"

First impressions weren't always everything, but they tended to tell you a lot about a person… especially when they had a runner from the gates and had likely already received a request from the League for this meeting (however much they might pretend and have the trappings of an ancient civilization, they had phones and computers here). My first impression is that this guy is a complete bag of dicks.

For his opening move, he had acted dismissive of my position and placed his own small group on a pedestal, all while neatly avoiding any mention of his son. It was almost impressive and I wondered if people like him practiced to be such jerks or if it just came naturally. Still, diplomacy hasn't failed yet. The reveal of what they could gain, at pretty much no cost to himself, should turn things around.

"I'm here to ask the Dragon Tamer Clan's permission in recruiting some of Paldea's Dragons in an experiment to help unlock potential long since lost. May we speak inside?"

"No." He refused me bluntly, shocking me a bit. "You will air your request out in the open, for all of my people to hear." The few curious people who had gathered before were now riveted, with more drawing around the village square with every moment. It left me off-balance. Is this part of their culture that I didn't know about? Or is this just a way for Dominic to try and humiliate me in front of his clan.

I persisted, trying my best to present a strong, yet polite front. "Goomys were noted to have once grown shells, evolving into a Steel and Dragon Type-"

"Not by any history of this land! We have carried the history of Paldea through our stories before the land was even called that, do not presume to know more than us." Dominic interrupted and I fought to keep a frown off my face.

"Of Paldea, I would not make such a claim. I'm talking of Sinnoh's past, when it was called Hisui. Goomys there could gain the Steel Typing upon evolving."

Drayton piped up here. "Gotta say, big fan of that combo. Be real interesting to see if we could get a second Dragon line with that Typing." that set off a flurry of mutterings among the clan. Steel is one of the best Typings to pair with several other Types, Dragon being one of them. It eliminates all of Dragon's normal weaknesses, adds more resistances, and with Dragons able to handle the heat, only adds two new Weaknesses.

I barely bit my tongue to avoid pointing out it would be a third 'line' though, when I realized that Dialga, probably wasn't considered as an appropriate Pokemon most people would have access to.

I continued. "While there are none known left in Sinnoh and the landscape has changed over the years, I've studied the environmental conditions there and believe we could recreate them in Blueberry Academy. If we could take some Goomys to live there for a time," I could already see the dark looks on some of their faces, so I hurried my explanation. "We could see if this new kind of Dragon could be rediscovered. And of course, an equal number of Goomys would be returned to Paldea at the end of the experiment."

Dominic held a hand up to forestall the discouragement from his people (and I noted hearing Mera's voice the loudest from that bunch). "How many would you need to take from us? How long would they stray from this land?"

"Thirty would be ideal. I believe that many could be returned within five years time, through eggs and those who wish to return. There are Goomy living on the Eastern coast of Paldea, near the marshlands should provide a reasonable place to find some willing to join me on this trip, as well as by the hills near Casseroya Lake. All I would need is your permission."

Dominic mused it over for a minute. "And you will not have it. Thirty Dragons to be taken from Paldea? Oh and you might breed a few more, but in the time they'd been gone, there would have been sixty or more here had they just stayed put, weakening our delicate ecosystem. I see no reason to support this."

"Thirty would be more beneficial, but I see your point. Twenty then would be far tighter but-"

"Still too many."

"Fifteen, and I'd be happy to have some of your clan help me and make sure the ecosystem isn't damaged by my efforts-"

"No."

"One," I finally said, glaring up at him.

He marched over, looming above me and with a sneer said: "No." This earned a few cheers from the crowd, but also a few frowns. I noted who the ones frowning were as he continued. "I do not bow to the whims of some child. Why should I let you get even a single Dragon?"

"I already have a Dragon, and Bahamut is stronger than any one you have." His nostril flared and he raised a hand - for what purpose I didn't know, only for our stand off to be interrupted. Clayton broke out from the crowd, marching up to us.

"Nemona, it is good to see you again!" He declared loudly. "You must be tired from your travels here, and we haven't offered you any food or drink yet." There was a meaningful glance at his chief, and Dominic turned away, waving a hand in mine and Drayton's general direction. A couple of adults escorted us to an open fire in the town, and food was quickly gathered and put in a pot to roast around it.

Some of the children came up, asking us about what it was like outside and my Pokemon. I released Bahamut, giving them the chance to 'ooh' and 'awe' over my Shiny Dragon, but then they started crowding in with a machine gun fire of questions.

"How did you train him to be so strong?"

"Will my Axew look like him when she's grown up?"

"I want a Haxorus too! I'm gonna get one when I get a Pokemon."

"Are you really a Champion?"

"How strong is a Champion?"

"I like your music!"

"Uhh, thanks," I told the girl who had made the last comment before a flurry of questions where asked ontop of what they'd already asked, leaving me a little lost on how to proceed, until Drayton saved me.

Swooping in, the toothpaste colored hair boy eagerly engaged them, getting along well with the kids. Is it because despite being fairly bright, he is actually a kid, unlike me? Or just his understanding of how these clans work? He seems to have a lot more energy here, but it might just be from being in a Dragon Tamer camp. There's an air to this place that's different from outside in a way that's hard to explain.

With that handled, I tried to win over the other clanspeople, explaining my plan in more details. Going over security features, expected length, results, and some of the specifics of the setup was tiring in it's own way, especially when I had to repeat the spiel several times to the different, small groups they were clumped in. Hopefully this will get them to listen and they can pressure Dominic into giving up on this stupid argument.

They would often ask how I got the idea and what the Goomys would look like, and I released Phantasm in way of explanation. With her illusions and my guidance, we were able to mock-up how a Hisuian Goodra would appear, and the display got quite a bit of attention, which is when I noticed Clayton strolling up, Dominic hanging back, the two of them having clearly had a disagreement of some kind or another.

"Good to see you again. Hadn't expected our paths would cross so soon," Clayton commented. He whistled lowly at the illusion. "Definitely a Goodra, but so different too. Is the goo supposed to be that color?" He pointed at the greyish purple goo 'dripping' off the fake Goodra. "Same with the eyes, not the usual green.

"Good eye," I said. Makes sense he'd know so much as an experienced Dragon Tamer. "As far as I'm aware, yeah, those are the correct colorations. A lot of this is recreating what was written down in old books; the first Pokedexes, really. But we'll likely be missing some details til we can create a true Hisuian Goodra."

"And ya think any Goodra can become one?" He asked and I paused.

"Ehh, any Goomy. Once they evolve to Sligoos, some of their 'potential,' for lack of a better word, gets locked in on that path. A non-Hisuian Goodra will likely have more endurance and be faster, not weighed down by that shell - possibly even have more ability to use the quick, lashing motions for moves like Power Whip. But then Hisuian Goodra will likely be tougher and able to take Shelter within their shell- ah, sorry about that," I said as I noticed his indulgent smile as I had started rambling. "I'm not trying to say that this will obsolete regular Goodras, just that this presents new opportunities."

I do honestly feel that by Type combination alone, Hisuian Goodra will be stronger on average. But that doesn't mean everything. Pokemon in this world can go far beyond their limits on a game screen, and the 'meta' for battling is quite different when anyone could potentially reach the greatest of heights with any Pokemon. Hmm, I should do a study into 'Potential' and how unevolved Pokemon that are trained very hard like Ash's Pikachu might tap into it while keeping their original forms. It would be a hard quantity to verify however, and I had other things to focus on at the moment, so I shelved it for later.

"I see," he said, slowly nodding. "It'd be a sight to see, if the two kinds of Goodra got to clash," he remarked wistfully.

"I know, right!" I cheered, my battle hungry brain already envisioning it. After a moment the smile fell off my face. "Unfortunately it doesn't look like that will be happening any time soon." Okay, realistically I have a backup plan in Kitakami, but no need to blab about that in Dominic's earshot lest he use it as an excuse to kick us out entirely.

"Perhaps you'll be able to convince him over a hot meal," Clayton offered, though he didn't sound optimistic. From a basic read of his Aura, I got the feeling he had more on his mind and was planning something, but I couldn't question him on it before he walked off, talking to Mera and some of the others I didn't recognize. Not long after that dinner was called. As we were heading over to the circle, Drayton pulled me to the side.

"You need a new strategy here. Had no clue this guy hated you this much; you could have warned me." The boy gave a long-suffering sigh.

"I've never met him before today. Besides, Not really sure what to do here," I hissed back. Clayton means well, but I think his goal is more in discrediting Dominic in front of the clan than helping us out. It was understandable, especially if his position and team were too weak to currently directly challenge the man. Now there's a thought…

"What are the odds Dominic would accept if I challenged him over this?" I asked. It feels kinda rude to just assume they solve things by duels, but on the other claw… Dragon Tamer clan.

Drayton said, "Ehhh," and winced slightly. "In most cases you'd be right; you tried being polite and got shot down; showing off your strength in a way they respect could do a lot of good. But this guy really has it out for you. No way he accepts an outsider challenging him."

"I see…" A plan began formulating in my mind. Hashing out a few details with Drayton quickly, we soon took our seats in the large circle formed around the pot of stew. Bowels were handed around with it, and this time the concoction made by the Dragon Tamer clan smelt good, and tasted even better. Ah, this is what they can make when not on the road for weeks. Much better.

Beside me, Dominic gulped his bowel down quickly, dropping the bowl on the grass in front of him. "So hasty," I commented between spoonfuls.

"I don't need to waste time." His blunt words were hardly subtle. Need to provoke him again, but how?

"Feels like you're missing out here. This is the opportunity of a lifetime." He snorted derisively.

"The chance for what? You to take our Dragons and then maybe give them back years later? Even if by some miracle you succeed, what would be the benefit for this land? The Goomys returned or brought here won't be changed."

That brought me to a stop for a moment, which I had by slurping up some stew. Surprisingly cogent point. "Very well, we can alter the deal to send a number of Hisuian Sliggoos equal to the number of Goomys you send. Might take a bit longer than a few years, but you'll get your due in time."

I wasn't honestly super happy with that deal, it would be much more annoying to deal with. But I also didn't expect him to accept it. "No." He surprised me with the reasoning, however. "Why would we trust you or anyone from the League after they stole our land."

"I- wait, is this about the League taking back that hunk of rock?" He nodded sharply and I ran a hand through my hair, sighing.

"Uhh, Nemona? What's this all about?" Drayton asked, looking a little lost.

"Right. Up over there," I pointed out at the direction of the Grand Cliff, even if it was blocked from sight by the stone encircling the village. "Is a large chunk of land. It's barren, inhospitable, and generally unused. When the League was first founded, that land was gifted to them, along with some small sections here," I explained.

"And then your League decided to snatch it up again without a word of warning at the end of the last summer!" Dominic snarled and I heard many sounds of agreement from the rest of his clan. Dammit, should have realized this would come back to bite me.

"Ouch, stealing a Dragon Clan's lands is not a great look…" Drayton began and I winced until he added: "Surprised you lot have put up with it so meekly, then." I swore I heard one of the clanspeople hiss at Drayton, riled up as they were by his words.

"Of course they aren't doing anything other than bitterly complaining; they weren't using that land for anything! That's why the League took it away!"

"You seem remarkably well informed of the situation," Dominic narrowed his eyes at me, suspicious. All that bluster was just to win over his people, he knows that I shouldn't actually be too involved with the League, and in most cases, for most of their current decisions, that would be true.

"I've talked to the Chairwoman and Elite Hassel about such things in preparation for this meeting. You haven't been particularly communicative about your thoughts on the matter." He let out an angry huff at that, as if it was unreasonable of me to expect him to deign to reach out to the League.

Steepling my hands together, I continued. "Still, I can see that is upsetting to you, so why don't I try to get the League to offer you some land nearby the marshes?"

"What?" He blinked, looking confused.

"The lands nearby the marshes are generally unpopulated. It would be easy to find a place for some of your clan, and unlike the Grand Cliff, there's a couple of Dragons in Dragalges and Goomys nearby." That earned a few interested and some event excited, whispers from the crowd.

Holding a fist up in the air, the chief silenced the clan. "And this deal is presumptive on us taking your offer?" Before I could answer, he continued. "Perhaps you have forgotten, but we are Dragons. We don't bow and scrape to Leagues or little girls just for a pittance of the worst land you can offer us, far from our ancestral homes."

"I thought all of Paldea was 'your ancestral home' before? Or is travelling around too much for the famed Dragon Tamer Clan?" He grit his teeth almost loudly enough to drown out the sound of mutterings his way. "Doesn't sound like everyone agrees with you." I pointed out and he snarled, rising to his feet.

"That doesn't matter - I am the leader here!" He caught himself as he saw my smirk and shook his head. "That is to say, I know what is best for the clan. You are a little girl with no experience. This would be and unconscionable risk-"

"I'd say I have plenty of experience," I interrupted releasing Notch. The Legendary Fairy Type smiled joyfully, twirling around through the air, eliciting awe and horror in equal measure from the Dragon Tamers. All of the Pokemon they had out would bare their fangs while still cowering from the innocuous diamond covered Pokemon.

"Get that thing away from us!" Dominic demanded, a slight quake to his voice. "Then leave this place; you are not welcome here!" Damn, didn't realize Notch would be that scary to them. Thought it would just be more impressive.

Drayton cut in. "That's a little harsh, don't you think? She was just trying to prove that she's done the impossible before." He snapped his fingers as if in realization. "Oh right, you don't have any Steel Types. Yeah, that would make Notch a pretty big threat to you, huh?"

"The Typing doesn't matter you idiotic brat!" Dominic snapped, and Drayton flashed me a grin that looked far too sharp.

"Kinda feels like it does. I know my clan would love this opportunity if Goomys were native to Unova."

"Then your clan is as foolish as you are." It was as if everyone sucked in a breath at once. That went waaaaay too far. Good. Hopefully we can end this now.

"Nah. I'm a bit of a slacker, but my clan? They work damn hard and are just as sharp. But if you're so keen to talk Buffolant dung, how bout we settle this with action." Despite how laidback he usually seemed, there was a cold determination behind his words that had the older man stiffening up.

"Now see here-"

"No, you've insulted me and my friend one too many times, so we're having a battle." None of the tribe members around were arguing or going to Dominic's defense. The older man gritted his teeth before marching out of the circle.

"Fine, it's been a while since I needed to teach the younger generation a lesson."

"Because that worked out so well the last time?" I shot sarcastically. He whirled back to face me, only to stop cold as he saw Notch, still floating beside me, their arms crossed. Without another word he continued away to a pit at the edge of the valley.

Drayton, the rest of the tribe, and I, followed. There was a ring of rocks laid out around the pit which none of the spectators stepped past but no barriers or technology to protect any Trainers (or audience members) standing on the outskirts. Hmm, I should make something portable to make official barriers like they have on League courts, for when you want to battle in the wild. Of course, even if I had something like that here, I doubt any of these people would accept it, for multiple reasons.

It was still something to think on, but I put that thought to the back of my mind as the Trainers squared off. "I'll make this quick, one on one," Dominic declared.

"Wow, what a joke," I muttered aloud, earning me a confused glance from Clayton. I explained, "One vee One only favors you if you have just one powerful Pokemon to use. It's the sign of an inexperienced Trainer, or at least one who's out of practice. I don't think he knows much about Drayton, but being so young, usually that would favor him, as young kids tend to only have one well-trained Pokemon."

To be fair, if that was all the threat Drayton posed then Dominic would hardly be that badly hurt by that ruleset for the match, but still. It all shows that he isn't taking this seriously. I saw Clayton nod, but also look up a little uncomfortably at Notch. Sighing, I recalled them to let Clayton and the others relax.

The signal was given, and the two battlers released their Pokemon. Drayton predictably released his Duraludon while Dominic, almost as predictably, released a Baxcalibur. The same Ace Pokemon his son had… but, at the same time, so much different.

While Dominic's Dragon gave off an impressive roar, I felt much less danger from that Pokemon than I did from Hassel's. Or even the Duraludon. I'd only seen Drayton's Starter a few times in action so far, and knew next to nothing about his foe, but something told me he was stronger.

That was put to the test immediately as the battle commenced. Baxcalibur was the first to rush in, sweeping in with a Breaking Swipe to steal the power from Duraludon's Dragon Claws, the tail strike pushing him back just far enough that his claws barely scratched the pseudo-Legendary.

Recognizing that Duraludon was slower, Drayton waited, giving a signal to his Pokemon. It was obviously missed or ignored by the chieftain, as Dominic had his Dragon rush in with an Ice Fang. The sharp teeth barely sunk in before the Steel Type exploded in a Steel Burst, that had his body shifting to make a number of spikes that jabbed into the foe and forced Baxcalibur to back off for a moment.

Drayton used that chance, calling for a "Laser Focus." Duraludon locked his sights onto his enemy, and Baxcalibur met it head on. Or rather, 'back on,' in this case.

"Glaive Rush!" Dominic called with an exaggerated wave of his hand (leaving no doubt as to where Hassel got at least some of his flair for the dramatic). His Pokemon turned around, sliding back blade first towards Duraludon, hitting him with a heavy 'clang.'

For a moment I thought about trying to let Drayton know about the weakness of that Move, but I didn't have to as Drayton ordered an immediate counter attack. "Before he can turn around, Flash Cannon!"

"What!?" Dominic cried out, unprepared for the sudden reversal. His Dragon was the same, having no time to defend himself against the Super Effective blow. Most Dragon Types wouldn't be able to weather such a powerful attack and strike back. But Duraludon's Steel Typing, naturally high physical defense, and Eviolite let him just shrug that off.

The battle continued, now with Dominic on the back foot. He tried to keep his distance, calling for Ice Beams and Blizzards. Drayton's Starter took those attacks worse than the Physical ones, but that was balanced by Baxcalibur clearly having far less skill with those. The return fire of Dragon Pulses and Flash Cannons hammered hard into the chief's Ace Pokemon.

"Pay close attention to Dominic," I said softly to Clayton standing beside me, keeping my eyes focused straight ahead on the battle. "Every flaw in his technique, what his strengths are… you've probably seen him fight before, but an outsider's fight can give you new ideas for what you need."

'To overthrow him' went unspoken, but from the grunt he gave, I figured it was understood. One day soon, hopefully. I'm already tired of this guy, can't imagine how hard it's been for Hassel.

When it came time to end it, Duraludon calling up a massive Draco Meteor barrage, I even heard some cheers from the others in the clan. It really is an incredible show, I thought as the purple flamed rocks smashed into Baxcalibur with his back to the edge of the arena. With one final cry, the Ice Type fainted and fell over.

There was silence as Dominic, his teeth clenched tightly, recalled his Pokemon and marched up to Drayton. Very stiffly, he bowed slightly to the boy. "My apologies for doubting your skill-"

"And intellect," he pipped up brightly, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"That too," he ground out. "The Unova Dragon Tamers have a bright future with you." Then, as if to wash the words out of his mouth, he declared to both of us. "You have shared in our food and enjoyed or hospitality. You can leave now." It was clearly not an offer but a demand.

"What about-" Drayton began before Dominic cut him off.

"That match has nothing to do with my decision on the Goomys. I will not grant you permission to take any from Paldea." Drayton looked upset, but I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Very well, we'll make our farewells," I told Dominic and the man stomped off to deal with his bruised ego. And… is he crying? It was faint, but with my enhanced hearing, I could indeed hear that from the man, though he was walking away with his back turned to us. Huh, guess Hassel does get that at least in part from his Dad. Then again, Hassel cries over happy things, this guy is just butt hurt.

I didn't have too much attention focused on that as I instead found a small group of the Tamers led by Clayton gathered and waving me over. There were a bunch of them, mostly on the younger side, but still adults, save for one of the girls who had asked me about how I battled. Curiously, I even spotted Mera among the group, the woman looking uncomfortable, but standing her ground.

"What's all this about?" I inquired, hoping that they'd have some other answer to the obstinate problem in our way.

"While Clayton's decision is final for the authority of the clan, we can still make our own choices. All ten Tamers here have Goomys of their own, and they're willing to place them in your care for this experiment. They should help you get a colony started over at Blueberry Academy, and then can return here, a changed Dragon."

"Really?" My eyebrows shot up. That's a huge showing of trust, especially from-

"Yeah, really," Mera rolled her eyes. "I still think Terastalization is a cheap tactic, but that kind of strength Duraludon has… I want it," she said with a fierce gleam in her eyes. "Besides, I've seen you fight Hassel and heard about how you fought off a bunch of Dragon Poachers. You might not be the worst brat ever," she finished turning away from me as she held a Pokeball out.

I think that might be the most backhanded apology I've ever received, impressive. Nonetheless, I took the Pokeball and thanked her. The rest handed me a bunch of their Pokeballs, which led to a bit of confusion before we got a marker and began noting down who each of the ten Pokeball belonged to.

"Thank you for arranging this Clayton-" I began before he held a hand out. Following his gaze, I turned to see a Goodra waddling over with something oval shaped in her arms.

"I don't have any Goomys of my own to give, but Nessie was impressed by your dedication - much as Dominic might pretend otherwise, we all watched your Gauntlet matches in the meeting room. She's interested to see if you can make her kid tougher than she is - and that's no easy feat, let me tell you!"

I could barely pay any attention to his words, stuck as the Goodra walked up to me. Holding out the pale lavender spotted egg, I took it gingerly in my arms. There was a bunch of goo sticking off of it that I usually would be uncomfortable with but I paid no attention to as I held it close to me, as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. Staring into the purple giant's emerald eyes, there was a moment of understanding that passed between us, and I nodded, trying to convey all my conviction to her.

Since she let go, it seemed to work, the Dragon Type trundling back. Gulping, I turned to Clayton. "I won't let you down. Thank you."

"I know you won't. This was rougher than a Druddigon's scales, but we'd like to have you back again someday. And maybe you can give me and Goodra a good battle on that day." I gulped at the intensity of his gaze while feeling fired up at the concept of fighting him, Pseudo-Legendary Dragon vs. Pseudo-Legendary Dragon. "Hopefully, It'll be soon." There was a look of determination in his eyes as he gazed past me, to where Dominic had marched off. We might not have scored all the Pokemon we need here, but at least that's a chink in Dominic's authority. Hopefully Clayton will widen it until the day comes when Hassel can return home, and that's worthwhile too.

With that we made our proper farewells, and I left hopeful that I might get to see more of the village in the future.

Spoiler: A/N:

I know I've said this a bit before, but wow did this chapter fight me hard. I knew where I wanted to go, but getting there just felt so awkward. Still does, a little, but I'm happier with this final version than I was with how it went before.

And now Nemona has received her first Egg! Given how much has been going into this arc, she was always going to end up with a Goomy of her own, but this felt like the perfect time for her to have an egg to look after. Given it wasn't always in the plan, and Clayton being a minor character, I didn't have time to foreshadow this more. Hopefully it was still enjoyable, however.

Next up, we get a return to Kitakami to gather the last of the Goomys and maybe explore some other stuff there. What are people looking forward to/thinking will happen with the Goomys? Let me know down below or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 57 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, Exalted Requiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons!

"Thanks again for coming," I told Kieran and Carmine as we walked from the bus stop past the winding rice paddies into Kitakami. As we walked, I adjusted the incubator on my back, currently holding the Goomy Egg I'd been given. There hasn't been a ton of movement from it yet, but that's normal.

At least, it was normal according to everything I'd read, which had been a lot, on the subject of both Pokemon Eggs in general and Dragon Type and Goomy Eggs in specific. The wait at the airport and plane ride over had given me plenty of time to furiously study it, much to the bemusement of most of my team. It's my first time with an Egg, give me a break!

"No worries," Kieran said with a soft smile, while Carmine laughed boisterously.

"Of course. You'd need the best guides of Kitakami to help you here so it's only natural we'd offer to help," she preened. Kieran and I rolled our eyes, but we were well and truly used to her behaviour. As much as she boasts, Carmine is also quite kind, refusing to take my BP as payment for this.

"Alright O' wise guide," I said half-mockingly. "Our first step will be in convincing the mayor of Mossui Town to let us take so many Goomys. What would be the best approach there?"

"Money," she deadpanned and I nearly tripped at how quick and concise a response that was. Oh man, if I fell over and onto the incubator… okay, realistically, nothing bad would happen. Incubators are built incredibly tough in general and this one is top of the line. I'd have to get smooshed to paste before anything could even scratch this. I still felt a little worried, and I wondered if this was what being a mom felt like.

"Soooo, am I just supposed to bribe him or…?" I could afford it, but I really don't think that's legal.

"Uh, I mean it might work. B-but you should just offer promotions for the town and especially the inn," Kieran advised. "He really likes to increase the tourism here."

"Got it." I nodded, taking in the sights of Kitakami. It really is a beautiful place, I thought to myself, looking out at the green fields, running streams, and Pokemon playing about happily. The road carried us up to the town square, a few people waving happily at the siblings beside me as I marched into the Inn.

"Hello, we're here to see the mayor," I told the woman at the front desk. She smiled kindly at me and brought the man forward. He had a somewhat timeless look to him, appearing just as he had the last time I'd been here. Over two years already. How time flies…

The bald man greeted us kindly. "Kieran, Carmine! So wonderful to have you back so soon," he declared with only a slight twitch to his smile. Carmine downplays it, but I know they're seen as troublemakers, at least a little. Still, overall, he seemed in a good mood, though part of that may have been how his eyes were fixed on my very flashy jinbei. "And what brings you back, Miss Glitterati?"

"You remembered me." I said, a little surprised. Hadn't realized I'd made that big an impact.

"It's good in this business to keep a note of everyone you can."

"Mayoral business or Innkeeper business?" He just gave me a broad smile that clearly said 'both.' Turning back to the receptionist I asked for the fanciest room to stay in for at least a few days.

"Weren't you going to stay at our place?" Kieran asked and I saw Carmine pouting beside him. Giving them an apologetic smile I explained.

"I don't want to impose, and you guys would have to clean up the guest room and everything…" More important however, is the way the Innkeep's eyes lit up at that. I was nowhere near as good as my parents when it came to winning people over, couldn't even match Cyan in that regard, but I'd learnt a few things from my family at least for these kinds of situations.

"Besides, we don't know how long we'll be in town to complete our experiment." I continued. "On that note, is there somewhere we can discuss this?" I asked the mayor and he straightened up.

"Of course." He led us to the coffee table with a slightly nicer set of couches and seats than the ones on the other side of the small foyer and sat down. There was no one else around, likely due to it being the low point in the tourism for Kitakami, the winter months seeing few guests to the inn. I took my seat opposite him, but took a moment to double glance at Carmine with her rigid, back-straight posture, in contrast to Kieran, who was practically hanging out of his loveseat.

"I got your email about you asking to catch an unusually large number of Goomys, is that right?"

"Correct. I have a non-invasive experiment to run with a decent sized group of Goomys. We'd take at least twenty to join us and live at Blueberry Academy for a few years, then return that many back, from those who wanted to return and with new Goomys born from Eggs since who wanted to opt out."

That's the most difficult part of the balancing act here. I need to find those willing to leave their homes, at least for a time, and then find an equal number to return. The return part is a future Nemona problem however, and I can likely find enough willing to give Eggs to send back, however.

"If you insist," he said with a shrug, causing me to blink. "Honestly, they've been a bit of a pest around here, we had to drive them off the crops and break up disputes they'd get into the Applins with. I don't think we've seen many of them in recent times."

"Not nearby Mossui Town, but there are some caves in Oni Mountain that have them!" Kieran piped up brightly. "Uhh, on the other side of the mountain from the Oni's Maw," he added quickly at the older man's stern gaze.

"Sounds like that could work then. Ah, but you need permission to gather so many Pokemon from here, don't you?" I nodded. Kitakami has remarkably relaxed catch regulations, but I still wouldn't be allowed to catch more than two Dragon Types from here without getting permission.

"I wouldn't mind letting you do so, your um, experiment sounds like an interesting idea," he stated with the tone of someone who had only skimmed the required reading. "Kitakami is a rich environment, full with plenty of interesting Pokemon that are sure to catch Trainers' eyes. It would be nice if more people around the world could see that. Like, if, say, we got an endorsement from a Champion," he finished with a pointed look my way.

I gave him a polite smile. "I can do that." No real issues with it, honestly. Kitakami is a great place, and it would be nice if more people heard about it. Maybe I can tie a song into it? But what would fit? I could just say I dedicated a song to Kitakami, but that didn't feel right, but trying to capture the mini-region in a song was tricky too.

Hunting High and Low? It has a sense of new frontiers and freedom to it, but the 'hunting' part might not work. Similar issues with Black Diamond from the same band. I could change some things around, play with it and see what works. Or maybe something about a monster to tie into the legend of the Oni? I don't want to vilify Ogerpon or raise too much interest in her yet though.

Clearing my throat as I caught myself getting lost in my thoughts, I added, "I'll talk to the teachers and see if we can arrange a field trip here in the future." That caused all three of them to light up.

"All our classmates coming over here? W-Wowzer…"

"Yessssss! I can show them how great our region is!"

"A school sponsored trip… we might need to renovate the inn and add more rooms just to fit everyone!"

If this was an anime, this would be the part where his eyes turned into dollar signs. I kept a grin plastered on my face as I stood up and offered him my hand. "Does that sound like a good deal then?"

"Of course, of course! If you can get regular field trips set up to our town, you don't even have to send any back after," he eagerly offered as he reached down to shake my hand. Considering how you mentioned the Goomys as being 'pests' before, that's not really some great offer. I took it anyways, knowing it would make things much easier.

With that settled, I dropped my suitcase in my room before meeting up with my friends. Heading out of the inn, we waved goodbye to the innkeeper, wishing us well from the doorway. As we crossed the bridge separating the town from the wilderness, I asked my companions:

"Okay, so, what is his name?" Felt way too awkward to ask in there.

***

Kieran gave one last longing glance over at the Oni's Maw before dragging himself along the path around the mountain. "You can go look for her later, okay?''

"Yeah…" he said with a sigh before perking up as we walked along the rocky path. It had been pretty chilly down below, but the hike up (and Slugmas passing by) had Carmine wiping her brow of sweat.

We were travelling along the same path we'd travelled before to the Crystal pool for the mask their grandfather made for Ogerpon and where I had met Notch, but rather than ascend those steep stairs to reach the water, we continued around the mountain.

"I'm kinda regretting the winter uniform too," I commented to the taller girl who just gave me a miserable look. Fair, especially considering I'm using my aura to call on a cooling breeze and to lighten my steps. It was still tiring in its own way, Aura usage draining me, but these subtle tricks weren't too hard to maintain. I was also eager to start working on those techniques more consistently; I'd had my journey and Turo to worry about before, and I took things easily after that, but getting more mastery of my Aura was a goal I hadn't forgotten about.

As we neared our destination I held a hand out as I saw a Terastalized Lampent floating in our way. Atop her lamp head floated a Grass tera jewel hat, which looked a little silly, but did nothing to take away from the danger this Pokemon posed. Of course, I had Bahamut out, leading the way for us, and the Dragon Type stomped forward, giving off a low greeting cry. The wild Pokemon seemed ready to defend itself, but her flames shrunk a little as Bahamut nodded his head to the side, indicating we just wanted to pass.

She seemed convinced, drifting to the side and letting us proceed downwards. Given that she floated up to check the rest of the path first, she didn't quite take him at his word, though. Of course, none of the Pokemon there had been hurt on our way past, save for one uppity Houndoom that got promptly swept aside by Bahamut's tail before turning their own and fleeing. In fact…

"Hey, was it just me, or did that Lampent seem rather afraid of you in particular?" I asked Carmine, realizing that the Terastalized Pokemon had likely been staring directly at her.

"Urk!" Her grunt confirmed my suspicions. The Pokemon on the way up generally gave us a wide berth, implying that they were used to and had been fought off by at least one member of our group. She confirmed my suspicions with her next words.

"That's just how training works! I don't have any fancy facilities to battle in or train up my team, so I have to challenge wild Pokemon to make them strong," Carmine defended herself, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I get it, that's how I trained too, but you waited to see who was willing to challenge you, right? Or at least offer them berries after you finish thrashing them?" From the way her cheeks lit up an adorable red, I took it to mean that she had not. Kieran snickered behind her.

"She didn't think of anything like that. No room for any thoughts in her head beyond 'how to surpass Nemona.'"

"Shut up Kiki!" She whirled on him, shaking a fist and he just stuck his tongue out at her. It's nice to see them like this. Kieran gets quiet and shy in public, but he can have quite the biting retort of his own when he's just with close friends. Someone unfamiliar with them might not understand and be upset with how Carmine talked to her brother in public, but I knew it to be no different than how she was here. I also knew that the first person to insult or make fun of Kieran (besides herself) would face all of her wrath, as a few of the more egotistical jerks at the Academy had already learned.

At the edge of a drop off in the rocks was a faded sign that read 'To The Chilling Waterhead.'

"Looks like we're on the right path," I said, about to recall Bahamut to climb down the wooden ladder placed up against the cliff wall before he just jumped over, landing down with a heavy thud. A cheeky smile grew on my face before I followed suit, jumping down with a slightly less dramatic entrance (but no less impressive for it), the winds slowing my fall as I landed as light as a feather.

"Show off," Carmine grumbled as she got off the ladder after climbing down the slow way. I just beamed at her and Kieran as they joined me, the Kitikami siblings and everyone else in my circle of friends having been informed of my Auric abilities. Except for Drayton, Chumley and Sally. I like them but I'm not fully sure I trust them yet, at least that much. Though, Drayton probably already knows about Aura and the other two likely aren't interested in such a thing.

The cave itself had a wide, yawning entrance within the mountain face, one that narrowed down as we wound down the path, eventually coming up to a deep opening. Many stone paths and walkways crossed over and down through the large shaft down, with numerous side passages out and around, heading further into the mountain.

The space was also teeming with Pokemon of all sorts. Quagsires waddling around on the ground, ignorant of the hisses of Sneasles scrambling around the icy stone floors and walls, with Noibats gleefully swooping down from their perches above. Chiming sounds rang out through the entire cave system, echoing around.

I was a little lost, shivering from the drop in temperature. I wonder if it's so chilly down here because of all of the Ice Types, or if they make their home here because of the cold. But that still wouldn't explain why, naturally, this part of the mountain interior would be so icy. Though it could be that one led to the other - perhaps some Swinubs and Sneasles relocated here at some point, leading to a drop in temperature which in turn drew in more Ice Types? But that wouldn't explain why environments all around the world weren't changed like that. Unless the cave system forms a micro-environment mostly sealed from the outside world! That in general the environmental conditions follow the landscape and features therein, but a closed off space might adapt to the Pokemon involved.

While my friends also had their teeth chattering over the cold, they knew the environment much better and quickly set to tracking the Dragons we sought down. Unfortunately, a half an hour of searching found no Goomys, but they did find signs of them.

There were clear indicators of Goomys within the cave, slick trails covering the icy ground, but nothing to be seen of the Pokemon themselves. Following the trails was a complicated process, due to the winding tracks, twisting caverns, and especially the wild Pokemon. After our run in with that Piloswine, nobody wants to cause another disturbance and bring down the mountain on our heads. I have no clue how some people explore caves regularly, these places feel like death traps. Nowhere to easily get out of the way if it all goes wrong.

Thankfully, most of the other Pokemon we ran into were unbothered by our passing (or possibly unaware in the case of the Quagsire we went around), until we reached the bottom. There, near the exit, a Dudunsparce drilled her way out of the ground and glared at us, puffing herself up in the face of Bahamut.

Rather than let a fight break out (even if I had every faith my Dragon would win), I sent out Dun to help smoothing things over. This worked a little too well, when the other Dudunsparce waggled her tail at him, causing Athena to pop out of her ball on her own accord, glaring daggers out at the wild Pokemon.

With that settled, the wild Dudunsparce quickly tunneling away from the fierce Fighting Type, we continued out of the tunnel, emerging onto the rocky mountainside, though far lower than we had been before. "Now who's terrorizing the wildlife?" Carmine asked.

"That's not the same - Athena didn't even fight the Dudunsparce and- oh." I stopped myself as I realized the Kitakami girl was just teasing me.

A pause filled the air as we climbed down before Carmine sighed and spoke up. "You don't need to worry so much about what you say, you know, right?"

"Hmm?"

"Like that!" She exclaimed, pointing a finger down at me before almost losing her grip and scrambling back as we continued our descent. "It was harder to tell when we didn't hang out as often or mostly chatted online, but none of us are gonna get mad at you if you say something dumb or weird. Like, look at Kiki."

"Or you," the boy shot back under his breath.

"Shut up Kiki!" Despite her words, her voice held no heat to it. Turning back to crane her neck down at me, she continued. "You act awkward, but you don't need to. We like you for you, Nemona. Now hurry up!" She shouted at the end, as if embarrassed by the openness of her feelings. I felt my face heat up too.

I know that I'm weird for my age… and in general. There were friends I made in my first life and then I would… say the wrong thing, or do something wrong, whatever it was and they'd distance themselves from me. And there were a few (a very select few) that stuck by me. I wonder what they thought when I was go- no, none of that. I'm sure they mourned and moved on and are fine, like I am.

Still, there's a reason why I gravitate to socializing during games, eschewing parties or large social gatherings, and talking online, when I have the time to craft a perfect message. It is nice though, to get some reassurance that it'll be fine. I'll try to relax more.

We chatted a bit more, mostly about inconsequential stuff, but I didn't try to filter back my thoughts, even if they were a bit rambly. That talk died down as we followed the trail of goo down the mountain and across the wide, grass, windswept plains. The individual trails converged, the group gathered up, and I spotted almost two dozen of them gathered together by a tree.

There, in the center of the field, a small group of Goomys and one Sliggoo were huddled up nervously, being harassed by a foe who terrified them. Flying above with malicious glee in their eyes was Ribombee, menacing the dozen or so Dragons.

The Sliggoo fought back valiantly, spraying Acid at the Fairy Type, but the Ribombee nimbly evaded the attack before doing a 'bombing run,' dropping Pollen Puffs that disoriented and dazed the Dragons.

Before the Fairy could fly by for another attack, Bahamut stepped up, followed swiftly by Dipplin and Sinsitcha. The Ribombee turned to face the new threats, sneering. My Dragon gave a warning growl, but they didn't bother to respond, simply diving straight at him, tossing a Pollen Puff at his face.

Catching the attack expertly on his tail, he knocked the pollen aside, spinning around again in the air, his tail flashing with Steel Type energy as he continued his rotation before smacking into Ribombee hard.

I winced as I heard the crack before pushing it aside. Never fun to see a Pokemon get hurt, but that Bug was picking on the little Goomys for no good reason. Glancing over, I saw the Ribombee get back, flying limply to eye level with Bahamut and begin 'yelling' in my Pokemon's face. My Dragon reared back slightly but I held a hand out, motioning him down. If she doesn't want to attack any more, we don't need to continue things. I was also worried it might lead to serious harm, since the Ribombee looked the type to push herself, and given the difference in strength between her and Bahamut, she could end up being maimed or worse, and I wouldn't want that on Bahamut's conscience.

Stepping forward slightly, though still placing Bahamut between myself and Ribombee, I asked, "What seems to be the problem here?"

Ribombee angrily buzzed, waving her arms about in the direction of the Goomys, which caused them to cower for a second. After that second was up however, the little Dragons made a cacophony of noise in response, screeching back. This went back and forth for a moment before Carmine whistled sharply.

"Shut… upppppp!" She shouted, and the Pokemon went silent, even some of those beyond our small section of the field, for a moment, before going back to their games and foraging. The taller girl beamed brightly at me before gesturing a hand forward. I appreciate the quiet - they were giving me a headache - but now it's too quiet, and I can get to the bottom of it.

My hand drifted over Notch's Pokeball for a second before moving past it. Throwing a Legendary Fairy Type into the mix will only put them more on edge. Possibly the Ribombee too, given the Rock Typing as well. Opening Athena's ball instead, I asked for her to translate.

Ribombee seemed fascinated with Athena and what she was doing, and as she pushed her emotions clumsily at me, I got the feeling she was trying to copy my Pokemon. I remember now, Ribombee's are empathetic in nature, capable of using Aura like Lucarios can. Athena was far more skilled (and more importantly) far more in-tune with me than the wild Bug Type, so Ribombee's words mostly just splashed over me like a distorted echo.

['She claims that 'the slug-Dragons' were 'disturbing the peace.'] I didn't need to hear Athena's derisive snort to understand what she thought of that, and as I looked around the lush, peaceful fields, I couldn't help but agree with that sentiment.

The Goomy pack was eager to make their side heard as well, wailing back, with the Sliggoo eventually becoming a central voice for the group. ['She claims that they were just trying to find a new den to live in.'] There was no judgment in Athena's translation, so I crouched down slightly to stare Sliggoo in the eyes as I talked directly to her.

"Why leave the caves? It didn't seem too dangerous."

"Goo goo, sligoo!"

['The constant ringing. A bunch of Chimechos and their Chingling children moved in to the passage beside them and were making a bunch of noise. And- too crowded?'] There was a slight disconnect with the translation. As good as Athena was at being in-tune with me and I was at reading her, the use of Aura really only stretched to feelings and impressions. Getting actual words out of it took skill on both of our parts and it wasn't perfect.

"Well, I don't think you were doing anything wrong coming here; there's plenty of space you could use here." Cheering ensued, one of the Goomys already beginning to slide up the nearby tree, eyes eagerly fixed on an apple hanging off of one of it's branches. Ribombee moved aggressively towards them, but Sinistcha floated in front of them with a sinister expression on their face, one which had the Fairy Type shivering.

"That being said," I began, raising my voice over the din. "I do have a third option, if you're interested. We could take you with us to a far off land, with plentiful food and space to live. One that could see you changing and becoming tough enough that you wouldn't ever have to worry about getting bullied around like that ever again."

The Goomy's turned, shocked (so much so that the one climbing the tree fell off with a squishing sound that had me worried for a minute before seeing the ball of goo easily right himself and continue to stare on with the same starry-eyed wonder the others had). I waited for a moment before asking, "So, who wants to come with me?"

That led to a flurry of eager responses and cheers (even some from Ribombee, whom I assumed was just happy to have 'won' and reclaimed complete dominance over this tiny section of the fields), but those quickly died down as the Sliggoo argued with her pack. A sidelong glance to Athena told me that their leader was mistrustful of me. Or maybe just distrustful. The difference there is subtle but important. She might just be worried for her family rather than having a bias against me.

"You want to know how you can trust me? I know, I'm promising a lot, and you haven't seen much of what I can do yet, but…" I knelt before them, sliding the incubator case around in front of me. The group gathered around, squishing sounds filling the air, and I eyed the trails they left behind. That is something I'll have to get used to. I've never been the greatest at dealing with that kind of muck, but even still. I don't doubt I can do it.

Showing the Egg clearly within the glass, I said. "This is a Goomy Egg. One day, a little guy or gal just like you is going to hatch from this. And I'm going to raise them in the same place I'm taking you all, to become big and strong. To build an iron shell that will keep them safe from any harm. Doing that will take time, so I'm hoping that you can help protect them and raise them alongside me."

This time I got a unanimous round of cheers, one which had Ribombee flying off in a huff, and even I winced before using Aura to dampen the sound around my ears. The trust I offered them was clearly being returned, with the Sliggoo even coming up to give me a hug. Yup, this is… very sticky. Much goo. Ah well, I can get cleaned up later. I returned the hug to the squishy Dragon, a smile splitting my face.

Spoiler: A/N:

This chapter was split up by me playing Hollow Knight Silksong, so I hope it turned out okay. Recently I've been feeling like these chapters have been fighting me, or just not quite coming out perfect, but I've revised them a lot and I hope they're good enough (at the very least, I'm excited for the next chapter as we still have some adventures in Kitikami left). Still if you have any comments or criticisms please let me know in the Discord. and I'll see what I can do. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 59 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and HanShotFirst, your support means so much to me.

"Looks like we've got all the Goomys you need, right?" Carmine asked, and I nodded.

"Yup, with these and the ones from Paldea we're ready to begin the experiment." It'll be better to have the two groups anyways; less chance scientists are going to point to some pre-existing condition of their original environment as a way to undermine the results. Being charitable, I could recognize that was still an issue that I should look into; I couldn't just assume that one condition or element encompassed the whole of an experiment.

And on that note… I scrolled through my phone and looked for the available flights out of Kitakami. There was one available right now if we rushed, but another available for the next day. I clicked on that one. "I've got us a flight for tomorrow. And since we have a bit of time, I thought I might explore a bit."

Kieran perked up. "Then that means I've got time to search for the Ogre! Alright, see you later Nemona!" he cried out, already racing off to Oni Mountain.

"Kiki!" Carmine shouted before sighing. "Do you want to come with us?" She asked me. "Once we get my little brother off his mad hunt there's a lot of sightseeing we could do. I still haven't shown you-"

I shook my head. "Maybe next time. I really want to check out the Timeless Woods."

"That place is pretty dangerous. Grandma and Grampa always tell us not to go there. You can probably handle it though." She looked torn between watching her brother run over the bridge and then back to me. "Just, go through the Wistful Fields and the Barrens instead of around Fellhorn Gorge, way harder to go that way!" She advised, taking off after Kieran. "And tell me why you needed to go there later!" She shouted before fully turning away from me.

I will. Hopefully with a new teammate in tow. Taking a deep breath, I began walking away from Mossui town and towards a Pokemon I'd been interested in for some time, but only now felt ready to take on. Bloodmoon Ursaluna, here I come.

***

"Halt! Who goes there?" I jumped, caught off-guard by the sudden appearance of a newcomer jumping out at me from behind a tree. The mask she was wearing didn't help with that, though I quickly recognized why the Oni-like design was familiar.

"You're a member of the Ogre Clan, aren't you, like Kotetsu?" Silence was my answer, and I would have felt ticked off, but she had asked first. "My name is Nemona Glitterati, Champion ranked Trainer of Paldea."

"You can call me Kanemitsu, and I declare here, that you shall not pass!" She struck a bold pose, one hand up in the air, one held out in front of them, towards me.

"Is this about the Goomys? I got permission from the Caretaker - also, real quick: Is that guy like the mayor of the town? Everyone seems to go along with what he says and he runs the festivals and all, but he always goes by 'Caretaker–"

"Silence, fool! The slug-Dragons were not your transgression!" Then, after a beat, she added, "But yes, he is our mayor as well. He just tends to take more enjoyment from the money the inn brings into the town, but is otherwise fairly reliable." Her admission was rather embarrassed, but that all faded away as she drew one of the four Pokeballs on her belt.

In response, I did the same, pulling up Dun's ball. "Four on four. Any rules about switches or the like?"

"Nay, use whatever tricks you may, the might of Kitikami's Ogre Clan will burn it to ashes!" With a straight line like that, I wasn't surprised when we both released our Pokemon and she revealed a Ninetails on the other side. The yellow fox-Pokemon gave a piercing cry as she looked down at Dun, the heat intensifying and becoming as scorching hot as it had been back in the Paradise Wastes.

Kanemitsu just gave a cry of, "Begin!" Without any preamble and I scrambled to respond.

"Earthquake!" The ground shook violently, churning up the grass at our feet. Any nearby Pokemon that were hanging around to watch immediately ran further away, not wishing to get accidentally embroiled in the fight. Ninetails, for her part, just seemed to tank the Move, albeit poorly, one of her paws twisted from the assault. A hateful gleam in her eyes revealed what they were really doing, however.

"Yawn, put them to sleep!" I ordered Dun, hoping it would stop her from getting another boost from Nasty Plot. Dun let out a quick breath, not the Triple or invisible versions which would take longer. Despite that, this Ninetails was incredibly quick, switching it up immediately as her Trainer gave the command:

"Weather Ball!" The fox Pokemon shot out a ball of fire that annihilated the yellow cloud of soporific gas as it carried through straight at Dun, narrowly missing my starter as he barrel rolled to the side. The ball of flames soared past him, erupting in a conflagration of heat that had me hissing in pain.

I forgot how dangerous battling at this level can be, especially without an arena to hold off the worst of the splash damage. But I'm not backing down so easily! Just gotta be careful with where the attacks are aimed. "Get close," I called out, adding a twist of my right wrist to indicate the Move I wanted Dun to perform.

Without hesitation, he flipped himself around, and began spinning his tail up. Drilling through the ground, he rushed towards Ninetails, kicking up tons of dirt with his Drill Run as he approached. Our foe leapt to the side with ease to avoid the direct thrust of the attack, but a pile of mud smacked into her hard, sending her rolling to the side in a very ungraceful and likely somewhat painful tumble.

She's off balance, time to finish her off! Unfortunately, Kanemitsu had the same idea and her order came just before my call for 'Earthquake'. "Extrasensory, lift them up!"

The Psychic power seized Dun and tossed him into the air, holding him there and making his thrashing meaningless as he was unable to hit the ground. "Fire Blast," she continued, and Ninetails showed remarkable control in managing to hold the Extrasensory at the same time as she let loose a torrent of flame in the shape of the kanji for Fire.

"If they want to support us, that's fine then. Boomburst!" I called before shielding my own ears with my Aura. The loud, booming sound was still almost too much for me as the Normal Type attack washed over the plain, causing immense pain for Kanemitsu and her Pokemon. It was enough to make her drop him, and I saw how burnt his scales were. He's been through worse, but I can't just let him keep on taking her attacks.

On the bright side, she was looking pretty bad too, standing on shaky feet. "Glare, then AP." An intense glare had her averting her gaze, which helped avoid Paralysis but left her open to the chunks of rocks pulled from the ground and tossed out like spears at the Fire Type.

The Ogre Clanswoman called for "Baton Pass" and switched her Ninetails before more damage could be piled atop her. Likely so she can send her back in to set up the harsh sunlight again when it fades. Not that it looked likely to be happening any time soon, the heat beating down upon us. The Heat Rock I spied within Ninetails' fur likely had something to do with it, but her power is impressive as well.

Chandelure took the field, swooping down to grasp the baton construct left behind by his teammate. Dun was ready, striking with an Ancient Power again as he did so. Even as Chandelure got the boost from the baton, so did Dun from his own Move, my starter swelling with power.

Faintly, I heard the woman chuckle, confusing me for an instant before I heard her next command. "Burning Jealousy." Shaking in rage, Chandelure let out a heat wave that washed across the field, Burning Dun. Even standing off to the side, I felt choked by the sheer strength of those flames. Damn, even Radiance would have trouble matching that power, and that's with the same boosts they're under.

Despite that, somehow (and likely in no small part due to the omni-boost Dun had received) my brave Dudunsparce wasn't yet out of the fight. "Triple Yawn," I called, snapping my fingers as I did so. He released three quick breaths out at the Ghost Type, then sighed as I recalled him, the Burn and previous damage having hurt him too much to use him any more in this battle.

"Alright Notch, show them what you're made of," I called out as I released my Mythical Pokemon. Kanemitsu's face was concealed but from the way she was frozen in shock, I could see that she hadn't expected to fight a Legendary Pokemon.

['Of course, my Saint.'] Notch responded, twirling around. Diamonds formed in front of them, and any shock faded away as the enemy Trainer snapped into action. Orbs of Distortion floated out from his flames, meeting the diamond shards head on, and exploding violently. None of his attacks got through to Notch, but he was holding off our own assault.

Flicking a hand up, I gave a signal we'd long since practiced, for what to do when a frontal assault didn't work. Rocks jutted out of the ground beneath Chandelure in a sharp pillar, the Stone Edge hurting him greatly.

Kanemitsu called for a Fire Spin, and her Pokemon righted himself in the air and conjured a swirling storm of fire which Notch was too slow to escape from.

I ignored that for the time being, focusing on setting up some defense against the insane amount of offense the Chandelure could bring to bear right now. Just glad that she doesn't have a Mega Stone too. "Light Screen, then Sand Tomb." A barrier flashed into place around Notch's body, limiting the damage of all of Chandelure's subsequent attacks, though the flames still licked at them. The whirling sand did the same to Chandelure, chipping away at the Fire Type and locking them in.

Kanemitsu must have given a signal for him to also use Will O Wisp, but Notch was well used to such tactics from Dun and snuffed out the ghostly flames with a few chunks of diamond conjured around the Move. The storm of Diamonds and Shadow Balls resumed after, but I frowned. We aren't getting anywhere, and merely trading with them isn't worth it. I doubted another Stone Edge would surprise them, but we had other cards to play.

"Get in close and Stomp!" I saw that Kanemitsu was immediately one edge; it would be a strange tactic even when not against a Ghost Type. Of course 'Stomp' in this case was short for 'Stomping Tantrum,' so when Notch shoved their way past the Shadow Balls, tanking the attacks, the Ground Type energy of the Move they were using let them grip onto Chandelure's head and smash them into the ground. The frustration from the previous Moves failing only enhanced the attack, hurting Chandelure badly.

Not enough to knock them out of the fight, however. "Point blank Power Gem," I called, as Kanemitsu shouted her own attack.

The Overheat washed over Notch, using the last of the sun, and the flames that he had siphoned off of the Fire Spin as my Pokemon grappled them, to sear Notch. It wasn't very effective, and Notch was too hardy to fall so quickly, so my Pokemon powered through, blasting Chandelure away with a beam that drove the Fire Type into the ground, making a large furrow across the field.

Kanemitsu quickly checked on her Pokemon before returning them and sending Ninetails back out. "Diamond Storm," I called instantly. It didn't stop the sun resuming it's scorching intensity across the field, nor Ninetails' own Psychic attack in Extrasensory shipping away at Notch's defenses ever so slightly. But it wasn't enough, and the injured fox-Pokemon swiftly fell to the piercing storm that ripped through the air.

The Fire Spin faded around Notch, and now I could see several burns scoring their body. Despite that, they floated proudly above the field, giving a little 'bring it' sign to Kanemitsu.

She legitimately growled before sending a wild, white purred Pokemon, who aggressively shook his leaf fan hands at us. Shiftry, an interesting choice. Given that he's a Grass Type and the Sun is up…

"Razor Leaf," she called out, testing Notch's defenses. They were rock solid, but the quick attack was super effective, still leaving small cuts on their body.

When the Dark Type handily dodged the Moonblast I called for next, my suspicions were confirmed. Chlorophyll, a massive speed boost for Grass Types in the Sun. Of course, most of them are still weak to the enhanced Fire attacks from it too.

My hand drifted to the Pokeballs at my side to pull Notch out, but they shook their head. ['I can handle this one, do not worry.']

Trusting them, I decided to switch tactics. "Dazzling Gleam: Field of Brilliance edition." Notch grinned widely as they conjured diamonds all around the plains, not using them to attack, but to reflect the light from the Dazzling Gleam they created.

Shiftry was no fool, dodging around the initial attack and striking in hard with a Solar Blade, the powerful Grass attack performed in moments when bolstered by the Sun. The reflected blast hit before Shiftry could follow up however, and two more such blasts pushed him away and cut off a path to get closer.

The other Trainer carefully took in the battlefield, before shaking her head. She's realized that she can't just memorize a pattern to this; Notch adjust the diamonds floating in the air to redirect attacks better.

"Tailwind," she ordered instead, and Shiftry flapped his fan hands hard, kicking up a mild storm that buoyed… and empowered the Dark Type.

"Two Abilities… well done," I muttered as he went back on the offensive, easily avoiding and tearing through Notch's defense now. Darting down and cutting up, chopping down, attacking left and right, the glowing green blade he conjured cut into Notch's rocky skin, eliciting a small broken chime of pain.

"Trick, then get out of there." Focusing, Notch called all of their diamonds back, forging a suit of armor around themself before spreading their hands out and focusing. Within a few moments and three more slashes, the Trick Room settled in around, and Shiftry's lightning fast motions slowed to an aching crawl.

Letting out a cackle like cracking stone, Notch grabbed Shiftry by his surprisingly skinny arms, tossing him to the ground. Following it up was an elbow drop, but Shiftry called upon a rapid shield to block the Body Press. Notch waited for the Protect to stop before blasting him with a point blank moonblast.

"Punch it," Kanemitsu declared, and Shiftry shattered their own (already weakening) barrier, to land the Sucker Punch, not that it did much to stop the Fairy Type. Blasting them again dropped him down even further, and finally my Diancie floated well above, dropping down a very focused Dazzling Gleam… only to run into another Protect.

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at the woman on the other end of the field. She's just stalling at this point. Must be to try and wait out the Trick Room, which means her next Pokemon will be a speedster type too. Of course, if Shiftry managed to make it all the way through, he might just take out Notch - while they were showing off their superiority at the moment, those Solar Blades were no joke.

"Road Roller," I called, deciding this was the perfect time for that trump card. Creating a massive chunk of diamond vaguely in the shape of a steamroller, Notch flung it down at Shiftry. To his credit, he pulled off another Protect in quick succession to absorb the blow. But just like a certain JoJo, that only let him hold off against the initial assault.

With their bulky arms, Notch began slamming down upon the diamond, smashing it into Shiftry, hammering away at his barrier. It broke soon after, and large chunks of diamond were still between him and my Pokemon, letting Notch slam him into unconsciousness without ever putting himself at risk. Never realized that Move would actually be useful for something, We might have to practice it more.

As Kanemitsu recalled her Pokemon, the heat abated, and the Trick Room faded only a few seconds after, leaving Liligant on the field at full speed. "Sunny Day." And likely to be even faster too! Not if we have anything to say about it, though.

"Sandstorm," I countered. The howling winds kicked up much dust and particulate matter, blotting out the harsh Sun, giving Liligant barely a moment of faster speed before slowing down once again.

"Sun Dance." Sun Dance? That's not like Rain Dance and Sunny Day, those Moves are complete opposite… ohhh, that vibration to her body. That's Quiver Dance. Fuck. Her vibrating, ecstatic dance was blowing away the sand and making her go even faster on top of the speed boost the Sun gave her through Chlorophyl.

I debated for a second of using my Tera or Mega Evolving before discarding the thought. She's not the main challenge here, Notch needs to conserve their strength. "Switch. Radiance, burn."

My Iron Moth burst out onto the field, Booster Energy triggering instantly. In a flash, the Paradox Pokemon raced across the field, fiery streaks trailing behind their six wings as they began their own dance, one of flames that left the green ground charred beneath them.

The Liligant, usually graceful and elegant, scrambled backwards, shocked at the foe she faced. With Chlorophyl active and a Quiver Dance boost, they likely thought they were the fastest thing around, and usually that would be true. All our speed training and the booster energy let them chase the Grass Type across the field, zigging and zagging around as she desperately ran away, throwing out Petal Blizzards at them. Radiance ignored the very ineffective attack and burnt the Grass Type with her own.

Out of the corner of her eye, I saw Kanemitsu whip her head back and forth, barely able to track the battle as it raced across the plain. Despite that, she still leaned into speed, valuing that as the edge to let her win, calling out "Quiver Dance!"

Foolish, I thought, casting my gaze over to where Liligant had stopped retreating, going through complex dance. "Storm of Fire," I called out. Despite the dramatic name, it was really just Hurricane and an amped up Overheat used together, to devastating effect. The winds whipped up the fire and turned it into a deadly cyclone centered on Liligant.

I heard a horrifying screech from within and for a moment I feared the worst, wondering if I had overestimated her defensive abilities. Thankfully, the restraint training had Radiance pulling her attacks back as well, revealing the now heavily charred Grass Type, swaying in the center of a scorched crater in the fields.

Turning my gaze over to Kanemitsu, I saw her bow her head and recall her Pokemon. "This… is your victory." I opened my mouth to respond, but she scurried off, running back in the direction of the Paradise Barrens, likely to go that way back to the town.

Rather than recall my Pokemon, I walked up to them, still standing there, hovering in front of the pit of scorched earth. "Good job," I croaked, still feeling a little shaken but wanting to demonstrate encouragement to Radiance. They sensed my feelings though and turned, staring curiously at me.

"No, really, you did good. This was on me. I could have noticed that Liligant's leaves didn't look that glossy or shiny after the 'Sun Dance,' and that they must not have gotten the boost to their special defense; most hybrid Moves come with drawbacks."

They made a few beeping sounds at me, still curious. "You need to be careful, of course. Always as much as you can. But in high level battles like that, holding back means you lose."

They shook their wings disdainfully, making a few, slightly more aggressive beeps and boops. "Ha, true, they might not have beaten you." Mostly due to Typing being vastly stacked in your favor. "But it would have made for a much trickier fight had she gotten that boost off. You would have had to spew poison everywhere, use big attacks to catch her in them or even just clip her…"

My voice trailed off as I saw the amount of destruction we'd already caused. The ground was covered in sharp diamonds where we'd originally fought, and the pit in front of me, as well as various debris and spillover. Even with all of that, vast amounts of the plain were verdant and bright, relatively untouched by our fight. Glad we didn't have to go that far. The Pokemon nearby already look terrified of us.

"But yeah, letting her get a boost that powerful off would have been terrible," I continued explaining as I began walking away. "It's a double edged sword, however. That same Move required too much focus to use safely, and so you were able to nuke her. Oh, 'nuke'? Well, it comes from a weapon designed back in my first life…"

***

We had a pleasant talk, the Paradox Pokemon always appreciating discussions of my world, what it was like to sometimes feel like a stranger in this one, wondering if I'd feel that way if I ever mysteriously ended up back in my original one, and the philosophy surrounding such things. All good things came to an end however, and I recalled them as we left the Wilds and stood at the edge of the Timeless Woods.

The name is fitting. It feels like these shadow woods have stood in a perpetual twilight for centuries, or perhaps a second. There were ghostly whisperings and laughter echoing from within to add to the spooky atmosphere.

Which Pokemon should I bring with me? Radiance has a terrible match up here, but I worry about Phantasm acting overly aggressive before we get to him. Maybe Nightwing? While I was deliberating however, once again I was surprised. This time by a dusky skinned man in a purple shirt, running up to my side.

"Whoa, hold up there, friend," he called out. As he got closer there was something familiar about the man, but I just couldn't place what it was. Perhaps I met him the first time I came to Kitikami? He doesn't stand out, but there's something about him that puts me on edge.

He was wearing a purple t-shirt and had a friendly smile, but something about the man made me see him as a threat. "You might be new here, traveller, but those mists can be pretty dangerous. Come back to town and I can show you all the coolest spots round here." The Kitikami native offered. "We got our six wonders of Kitikami-"

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll be fine. I know what I'm getting into here."

"Do you? Really now?" He pressed, and I nodded.

"Bloodmoon Ursaluna lurks within. Same Normal/Ground Typing as regular Ursaluna but a different Ability that lets it hit Ghost Types with Moves they'd otherwise be immune to as well as not losing any accuracy. Hmm, that might be why he comes out in the mists, using them to hamper his foes while his Mind's Eye lets him pierce through it with ease… But you probably know that already, mister Ogre Clan…?"

"Muramasa, of the Ogre Clan, and I didn't, not all of those details at least. To have the Guardian studied so intently, to recognize who I am even when I did my best to conceal my true nature," he commented wistfully, revealing an oni mask he'd been hiding behind his back. "You're… kinda crazy, you know that?"

I laughed openly. "Yeah, I do, though I think we'd differ on the reasons. The fact that you showed up and tried to divert me from my path right after someone else did it was pretty suspicious too, admittedly." And hopefully you won't question where the rest of my knowledge came from too hard.

"I remember seeing you the first time I came to Kitikami, and I knew there was something about you that was far stronger than you portrayed yourself. I've got a good eye for these sorts of things." I took an L-stance, falling back on martial arts instincts even if this would be a Pokemon battle. "It's not an exact science however, and I've gotten tons stronger in the past two years. Still, even if I beat one of you, that was one of the toughest battles I've had to date, and you feel even stronger. So why didn't you lead with trying to beat me down too?"

"We hear things in Kitikami too, especially with that loud girl boasting to everyone she knows of 'her friend, the best champion in Paldea.'" He said with a smirk and I made a mental note to tease/thank Carmine for that. "So yeah, maybe we throw down and I win, or maybe you do and you continue on and everything goes to Distortion."

"Why's that exactly? I just wanted to ask Bloodmoon to join my team, maybe tell me about his years living here, and what happened before."

"Our Guardian leaving would be the worst thing to happen to this region."

"Explain," I demanded, crossing my arms. I don't remember anything like that in the games.

"There's something, some Pokemon, a monster lurking on the edge of our region."

"A monster?" I asked, my eyes flickering to the mask in his hands, clearly stylized after Ogerpon's mask (or at least, the retellings of her Teal Mask). He shook his head.

"Nah, not the Ogre. Wouldn't be surprised if they're real, but this wasn't anything like our 'clan's' namesake. None of us ever got a good look at this thing, some of us even thought it might be some force rather than a creature, but I can feel it in my bones; there's something out there, something with a twisted personality, just waiting at our gates."

"And you seem certain this thing isn't Bloodmoon," I commented, sensing there was a story behind it. "How do you know?"

"Because one day, me and my friends thought we'd go and find 'the Legendary Bloodmoon.' We were hot Slugmas, thinking we had trained so hard we were the best things around, and what else is there for tough Trainers to do around Kitakami?"

Muramusa slumped down, sitting at the edge of the woods, gazing out unfocused into the distance. "It was so much tougher than we'd ever faced before. That beast could tear the land asunder with one swipe of his paws, shrug off our toughest blows on that thick, plated hide, and could even change the color of the moon." His words were awed and hushed, the reverence one would have one speaking of a Legendary.

"We had trained hard though, we were the best in the village by a mile- you'd need a Heracross' to Fling anyone close to us! Together, we prevailed, driving the beast back." He paused for a moment, looking at his mask before stowing it. "We congratulated each other, drank, partied, and were merry. But while we were having our party celebration, something… strange happened in Mossui Town."

"Strange how?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Strange like everybody doing the Torchic Dance in the town square."

"What."

"Hahaha, yup, we thought they were punking us at first! Would have been quite the trick, that. But no, we soon realized this wasn't a joke at our expense, the townsfolk weren't acting; they were all under the control of something strange. They tried to get us to eat this mochi, and when we refused, tried battling us to force us to do so, all while blathering nonsense and dancing around." He shook his head. "It was kinda dumb, but also incredibly frightening too, ya know?"

Yeah, I can imagine. Losing control over your body sounds terrifying. "Did any of you eat the, what, mind-control mochi? Did you see who was making it?"

"Munechika did, yeah, that's what tipped us off. Then when he went weird and fed it to his team, they all went crazy too. Cept for his Snorlax, he held off the rest of 'Chika's team while we fought the town. We were tired from our fight against the Bloodmoon, but like I said, we were pretty good, so we were able to hold them off. No clue who made the mochi but nothing was set up in town to do so, just a bunch of our festival masks scattered everywhere."

"It was getting difficult to hold them off and not hurt anyone though, when we heard it. The Bloodmoon's roar. It echoed throughout the town, and we saw the moon above turn crimson, that dread blast crushing down not far from where we're standing right now. And then… it ended. Our fight against the townsfolk, everything going back to normal. Whatever it was, the Bloodmoon had struck it down, saving the town. And it only got so far because we injured Bloodmoon to begin with, weakening it enough for them to strike."

"The one behind the Trio…" I muttered to myself before shaking my head. "I see. Why does no one in town know about this then?"

"They all forgot being controlled after they were freed, assumed it was a strange conflux of Glimmora and Weezing gas that drifted down from the mountain top. We didn't see the need to correct and frighten them. Besides, Bloodmoon ain't exactly the prettiest face around town. What if they thought he was just some monster like the Ogre? Like we did?" Closer to the truth than you'll know.

"I understand. I- I'll leave him alone. Disturbing him and starting a fight could be bad." I remember that happening with photographer girl in the DLC, so if he's so important to the town's defense, I won't risk that. "I do have some questions though."

"Alright, shoot your best Bullet Punch," he said, leaning back slightly, a tension dropping from his shoulders.

"Why not take this force on yourself? Or rather, with the whole Ogre Clan? You've got eight Elite level Trainers here, and I'm guessing if anything that experience just inspired you to train harder."

"Your guess is on the Pay Day, we've been working hard ever since. Nothing like a kick in the pants to push you further. We even set up the Ogre Clan all around to try and challenge the next generation to fight harder, but it doesn't seem to be working," he frowned. "Man, 'next generation,' how old do I sound?"

I decided not to answer the rhetorical question and instead offered, "Why don't you guys challenge Carmine and Kieran next time they come back home? I know Carmine would leap at a fight, and both of them are pretty strong these days."

"Interesting…" he spoke with a sharp grin and a gleam in his eyes before turning back to the topic we started with. "Us Ogre Clans don't lurk around just to challenge other Trainers, we also keep a lookout for that thing. Trouble is in catching the nasty Mandibuzz. Honestly, Scratch that, it gives a bad name to Mandibuzzes, with how that Ghost lurks around and all. And I'm certain it's a Ghost now," he added before I could follow up. "They're able to slip past even Dusky," he said, patting one of his Pokeballs. "Plusle, you said something about how Bloodmoon was an 'Ursaluna' that could hit Ghosts with Normal Type moves, right? How'd you know about that?"

"I did, and I do a lot of research on the past. Ursalunas were around in ancient Sinnoh, back when it was called Hisui. Following some trails about that time led me here." I mean, I played Pokemon Legends Arceus and that led to me playing Violet and the DLC, so it sorta counts, right?

"Now there's something I'd like you to do for me." Muramusa's posture didn't change, but there was a slight tension in the air. "That story, about a great defender of the town, who might not have looked nice but fought selflessly to protect them… could you spread that story around. Not, the exact details, but just the sentiment." At his questioning glance, I lamely added, "It's a good message. One the people here could stand to learn."

"If you agree to leave? Sure." I nodded, and with one last glance at the haunted woods, turned back, marching towards Mossui Town. The trip back was fairly enjoyable all told, Muramusa quite eager to talk about training methods and battles on the way back. Still, part of me wondered about the mysteries surrounding the wilds of Kitakami.

I don't think this will be the last I hear of them, but for now, we're headed back to Blueberry Academy. Time to see if I can bring back a Pokemon for Hisui… on purpose, this time.

Spoiler: A/N:

So, a few changes to the lore here, but I feel it fits in well enough with everything else and should lead to an interesting plot down the line (or maybe just additions as I don't think anything here directly counters the lore). Ursaluna has no connection that I know of to Pecharunt, but it does feel interesting that a Pokemon that so thoroughly counters the Mythical (special attacker able to hit it with Normal STAB and Super Effective Ground, when it's got high physical defense and Bloodmoon is immune/resistant to their STABs) just happens to be there, so I thought I'd tie them together, as well as find a way to bring in the Ogre Clan.

The Ogre Clan are a really fun bunch of post game fights that have some decent tricks to them, and make for a good post-Elite Four fight for Nemona right now. Plus, felt nice to have another match with them after one of their members handed Nemona one of her few loses thus far, back when she found Notch.

I hope you've enjoyed this little Goomy/Kitakami excursion, because after this, we'll be heading back to Blueberry Academy! I've got some fun stuff planned there. Let me know what you're looking forward to down in the comments or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[cazador]

She could always catch an ursaring or teddiursa herself and raise it

 

[Spearow]

i have no idea what the original lore was, so, makes no difference for me

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 58 Beginner Tier Patreons and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons!

"Kiki, we have to go," Carmine told him, attempting to drag the younger boy away, but he dug his heels in and refused to move. "Kiki, c'mon- Kieran!" Carmine shouted as after dislodging him from his spot, her brother had reached out to the bus stop and was clinging onto it desperately, refusing to go.

"No! I finally saw her. For real this time! Then you came and scared her off! You can go back to Blueberry Academy, I'm looking for her again." The boy said mullshly. Kieran's search was a rousing success, which is unfortunately now a problem. The three of us were standing on the edge of town, the bus driver looking down impatiently at the scene as he waited for us to board.

"You're being unreasonable Kieran," Carmine responded with gritted teeth, still trying to pull the boy off. "You're probably just imagining having seen her too!" The boy glared angrily, his expression twisting to something I'd never seen before. At least not in this life. He got pretty pissed off in the DLC, with hints that he was going to get worse in the second half. We all thought that was him being possessed by this 'mastermind' behind the Loyal Trio, but given what Musamune said, I don't think that's the case. Maybe he just has a darker side to him?

In any case, it was proving to be a problem now. "I did NOT imagine it! I saw her, wearing the mask WE gave her! I'm gonna find her, and be her friend, and you can go off to that stupid school. I don't care."

"Gramdma and Grandpa paid a lot for our tuition there, don't be so-" I stepped in before Carmine could finish that sentence, hoping to de-escalate.

"Kieran, I believe you." Carmine whirled around, looking betrayed, but I held a hand up and she let me continue, letting go of her little brother. "I honestly think you did see Ogerp- the ogre, and that's great. But we still need to go," I said, holding out a hand to him."

The smaller boy looked at my hand suspiciously, like it was viper ready to strike. "But if you believe me then-"

"You want to go chasing after her, and I understand. I think it's clear by now that she only lets herself be seen when she wants to. It's been two years since you gave her the mask, and while I'm sure she appreciates it, she took her time to approach you and just wave before leaving again. So maybe you should give her some space and let her look for you on her own time."

"I- it was just Carmine that drove her off before, I'm sure she's ready to see me now." Kieran tried, but his voice was shaky. I shook my head.

"She read your note, she knows who Carmine is. The ogre is still too cautious for a longer meeting, so let's give her time and work on your schoolwork and training your team. Dipplin still wants to evolve, right?"

"Yeah, I guess… the boy trailed off morosely, letting go of the bench. Carmine took the opportunity to drag him away and onto the bus before he could change his mind again. "I just really want to be friends with her, you know?" He said as the bus took off, carrying us to the airport.

"We know," Carmine and I said in unison, her voice a bit more exasperated than mine. She's also been dealing with this longer than I have. "You'll get plenty of time to look for her in the summer and when we're on break," I offered, and Carmine glared lightly at me. What? It's not like he wouldn't think of that stuff anyways.

***

With that matter settled, the rest of our trip back was fairly smooth. Our friends all said hi and inquired as to how it went, and I even had plenty of other students who had been wondering where I was, and more importantly, if I could give them more tips. I hadn't realized I'd made that much of an impression on the other kids here, though I suppose it could be due to exams starting up, however. That, or trying to get advice from Drayton; he's barely motivated enough to help himself!

I was happy to learn that him and Lacey had at least tried to help out those acquaintances of mine in my absence, it was nice of them. And likely very well received by them. We were nearing the end of the first term, so everyone was studying furiously to try and pull up their grades or get the best scores.

I was busy with both that and helping the installation of the Tera Sphere. Technically I could have fobbed that off to Friede and the researchers here, but after having gone all the way to get the Tera crystals over here, I was eager to see how it would all work.

"Man, having this guy around must make the construction a breeze," I commented as I watched the steel beams being lifted into place by Colress' Magnezone. With incredible control, they held it steady at the top of the Terarium. Flying nearby were Skarmorys holding workers aloft so they could weld the beam in place. Though it looked similar to how it had been before, I'd seen some of the construction they'd already done from the outside, how they reinforced the structure. A lot of the terms went over my head at first, but reviewing the engineers' notes was informative, and at least helped prepare me for my math exam, heh.

Colress gave me an odd look from behind his glasses. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Hmm?" I turned my attention back to him. Dun was doing his best to keep me afloat while I observed the construction process, and doing an admirable job at that. He hardly needs more endurance training, but every bit of work they put in helps. Unfortunately, with my time dominated by exams, this project, the Hisuian Goodra project, and miscellaneous activities, my training had slipped a little. Not much, but my team needs to push harder after things are set up to keep its edge.

"You said 'having this guy around,' in reference to Magnezone," the former villain said, lightly patting the top of said Pokemon he was currently riding on. "The way you phrased it was like you had some idea of large scale construction that took place without Pokemon being involved."

"It- well, we make some things without Pokemon of course. Like look right there, the construction crew is using welders, not Fire Types."

"Fire Types would only spook the Steel types involved in the process. Welders can achieve the same degree of heat without triggering those primal instincts," Colress responded automatically. "Hmm, but the way you phrased it did truly feel like you were talking about more than just tool use alongside Pokemon." I blanched slightly before he frowned.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to pry," the man added. "I just hope that if you have an… alternative perspective, you'll feel free to share it. I've noticed how you've been studying hard, but innovations in science are made through both rigorous study and great imagination."

I blushed at the idea of making such 'innovations.' So much of the technology of this world feels fantastical to me. I wasn't an idiot back home, but I never pursued scientific discovery with great passion either. But I want to here. I want to understand how it all works.

"Well, thank you. And I appreciate you mentoring me, it means a lot," I said earnestly. Colress is insanely smart, I hope I can learn a fraction of what he knows some day.

"It's no trouble. At least not on my behalf." He then paused in a manner uncharacteristic for him, even though it was only for a split second. "The world of science caves to many practical demands however, and you might find certain doors closed to you, if you continue to learn from me." He gently warned.

"Is Friede still giving you problems?" I asked, and a faint smile graced his face.

"He has not said an unkind word to me since our first meeting," Colress replied, and I rolled my eyes. Which probably means Friede has been giving Colress the cold shoulder ever since… and that behaving that way is still better than most people.

"I'll have a word with him," I decided, and before Colress could warn me off of that path, I felt a shaking in the incubator. "Oh, the egg just shook! I'll go ask him about it now," I said, digging my heels into Dun's sides gently to indicate we should fly off.

Down on the ground, Friede was overseeing the construction of the massive sphere that would change the Terarium forever. The sphere was split in half, with chunks of Tera Crystal being carefully lowered into the green liquid within the bottom half of the glass. "What's up with the liquid?" I inquired, dismounting Dun and striding forward. Dun slithered off to chat with Friede's Charizard who was hanging out nearby but didn't look nearly as interested as the Professor did.

"Nemona! This is… well I never came up with a name for it exactly," he said with a chuckle scratching the back of his head. "As a placeholder we've been calling it Terarial." Which means that's probably what it will be called forever, now. As names went, it wasn't the worst. "I found some special herbs and plants within Paldea. When ground up and added to water caught within the basin of a Tera Crystal outcropping you get this."

"Fascinating." Those 'special herbs'... Herba Mystica? No, I doubt it, those are almost always fiercely guarded by Pokemon nearby. Still, they could be an offshoot of those mythical herbs. A different evolutionary path that made them less empowering to Pokemon while still having strange properties of their own. "How did you come up with this?"

"There was a bit of an accident when I first Terastalized Cap-"

"Chu…" Captain Pikachu said darkly from atop Friede's shoulders, the electric rodent Pokemon's cheeks sparking with power.

"-which we do not need to get into, hah. But suffice to say, I noticed a boost to the power of the Tera Orb with the water. Experimentation allowed me to refine Terarial to the point that I could use my Tera Orb while abroad."

A fact which had Geeta looking like she wanted to both strangle and kiss Friede, for having come up with a solid answer to Paldea's problems in overseas events but also furious that he never told anyone else. Thankfully, he hadn't been in the room at the time I told her.

I know she wants to get someone new to represent Paldea as the regional Professor, but I'm not sure he'll make the cut. Friede is a bit too much of a free spirit for the role. It wasn't likely that Geeta would pick Sada or someone else either, since she said the person she had in mind was 'young, but had a proven track record.' Well, as long as she's not worried, I'm not either.

"And the Terarial will work on such a scale? No offense but this is on a bigger scale than just recharging your Tera Orb. Also, will the liquid need replacing over time?"

"It might need to be replaced over time, but Tera Crystals are fascinating stuff. They seem to have limitless energy, growing and sprouting all on their own if the conditions are right, albeit slowly." Why does that sound famili- "I helped the caretakers plant the herbs they'll need, so with that, Blueberry Academy should be able to make their own replacements. If worst comes to worst, they could ask the Paldean League for help again and I'm sure something could be worked out. Or Colress will whip up some miracle out his… rear."

I gave him an unamused look at that and he sighed. "In answer to your first question, yes, the Terarial will work on that scale, thanks in no small part to the adjustments Colress suggested. Should it be called Terarial v2 now?" Friede pondered aloud for a moment before shaking his head. "I get the man is smart, brilliant even, and I hope you know me well enough by now to know what that means."

It's true. Friede has a very 'cool' energy about him, but he's well and earned that title as the world's youngest Pokemon Professor and for him to consider someone brilliant is quite high praise indeed. Nodding slowly, I asked, "So why have you been so cold to him ever since this began? We've been working for nearly a month on this, and you barely ever discuss anything with him." They work together, and Friede doesn't complain if they're in a group, but he never stays to chat and is always brusque with him.

Running a hand through his stark white hair, Friede gave me a look. "Maybe you're too young to get it, but what he did with Plasma-"

"Was bad," I interrupted Friede. "Awful and horrible on a level that cannot be described. May Ghetsis burn forever for the things he did. And yes, I know that Colress worked with Team Plasma for a time, but he did so for a very different reason! Trying to advance the potential of Pokemon rather than blind ambition. And he's confessed to his crimes and worked to make amends for over a decade now. Doesn't that mean something too?"

Friede paused, staring at me with that slightly uncomfortable expression on his face. "...You have a better understanding of the situation than I realized, better than most people have. Logically, I understand that view point, and can even agree with it. I trust you and the people working with you. But as I studied for my professorship, we'd be told of the dangers of unethical experimentation. And who do you think was used as an example of that?"

"Colress," I said, craning my gaze up to the top of the Terarium where he was overseeing the work.

"Exactly. So be aware that people will judge you for working with and learning from him. But if you think it's the best way forward, I won't stop you." Charizard stomped forward, giving the Professor a slight nudge with his head. Which, being a 'nudge' from a Charizard, was still enough to push the man off balance slightly.

"Whoa- hey! Okay, okay, I'll try to be politer while dealing with him too."

"Ah, thank you," I muttered, lost in my own thoughts. I talk a big game about wanting to be forgiving, but is that just because I know these people personally? I want to help Colress and Turo, but that's because I know them, and know from the games that they have the potential to do great things. The Rainbow Rocket incident hadn't (to the best of my knowledge, which was limited) happened here, but I had seen a version of Colress that had been willing to fight against Ghestis and save the day, and I had no reason to believe that Colress was so different from the man I was growing to look up to.

On the other hand, if I saw some random, 'no-name' poacher, would I be willing to spare them? The jury is out on Raifort, and I even know she could be a teacher at Uva. I wasn't sure if I hadn't butterflied that event away yet, however. Martha was an Elite Four member, and would likely push for a lenient, if well-supervised, punishment, but I also knew she wouldn't be an Elite for long. Though I might have changed that too.

"Thank you for the advice as well, but I think I'll stick with Colress." I snapped my head up to meet Friede's gaze. "I'll always keep an eye out for cruelties carried out towards Pokemon and I'd never be a party to such acts. But so long as Colress continues to give solid, practical advice and mentoring, I'll learn all I can from him. It might not be the easiest path, but it's the one that will see me grow the most, and that's the path that I'm always going to take." Whoops, nearly said 'that any Glitterati would take,' guess mom and dad have really rubbed off on me.

Friede smiled and reached down, rubbing my hair. "Ack! Hiss!" I batted his hand away and he laughed.

"Growing up so fast," he whispered, low enough that I likely wasn't meant to have been able to hear that. "Keep in mind that you've got other people you can rely on and learn from too."

"True, that Turo sure is a smart Professor," I said, doing my best to keep a straight face, even as I used a modified battle command through hand gestures to send Miles out and snap a pic of Friede's upset face.

"Oi," he said with a deadpan before blinking as the flash went off.

"Sorry, bzzt." Miles said before floating back and I got a good look at the shot, deciding it was good enough to fire off a quick text to Orla.

"Kidding, kidding. Seriously, thank you." On impulse, I gave him a quick hug startling the Professor slightly before he returned it.

"Ah, it's no proble- it's fine. Like I said before, happy to help. This thing is going to be amazing when it's finished." The man scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He really doesn't know how to deal with praise, huh? Maybe that's why he travels around so much; no sticking around to get thanked. Eh, probably more just to live that free lifestyle.

Something that I could admit was tempting at times, but for now, I was eager to see what work could be done here, in an institution as advanced as Blueberry Academy. Letting Friede go, I was reminded of my original question by another shake of the Egg.

"Oh right, meant to ask you if you had anything more you could advise me on how to raise a Goomy and the environment and stuff," I finished inelegantly. There had been just enough time in between the meetings discussing the Tera Sphere and my own duties that I'd had the time to outline my experiment to him and mention the Egg I carried around constantly, but nothing more.

He rubbed his chin. "Goomys are a very social Pokemon, moreso than most Dragons. They still have their pride, even if they can be friendly and are more easily frightened than most of that Type. You've got them situated on the cliffs in the Canyon biome, correct?" I nodded. "I think they've got a good enough handle on the formula and mixture for now," he said, jabbing a thumb at the other researchers, construction people, and Pokemon at work making the Sphere. "Let's head over to check it out."

While Friede was invaluable in helping draft up the designs in the first place, there isn't much for him to do now, but I get the feeling he's too excited to just leave things be which is why he was overseeing things here. I guess Colress is similar in that respect to him. I carefully kept that observation to myself before agreeing. Recalling Dun, I sent out Radiance as a faster flier to keep up with Charizard as we took to the skies.

***

"Ouch ouch ouch," I muttered as I got off of Radiance in a hurry once we arrived. They gave me a gesture with their wings that was half shrug, their crosshair eyes drifting slightly to the side and not meeting my own gaze. It was their way of half apologizing and half saying 'nothing I can do about it.' Radiance was firmly willing to work with me and listen now, but they were still the most standoffish of my Pokemon.

"Are you okay?" Friede asked, dismounting his own Fire Type. Did he hear me say that or just notice it from the heat Radiance radiated? Am I actually on fire? A quick glance at my clothing revealed that nothing had caught on fire as we streaked through the air.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just get a bit warm flying on Radiance," I downplayed it. For short flights it really isn't too bad, and up here the wind is cooling me down nicely.

"It's always warm when I fly on Charizard but not hot. How did you get a Flying License for your Iron Moth if they can't regulate their heat at those speeds?"

There was an awkward silence where I cast my gaze over the verdant landscape and rocky backdrop, looking for something to get me out of this conversation. Okay, chucking a rock at that Scyther would probably do the trick, but maybe not the best choice.

"Would you believe that you don't need a Flying License to fly here?" Technically true; while we are still in Unovan Waters and not international territory, we are in the water, so the argument can be made that flying within the Terarium is a-okay.

"Uhuh, and I'm also supposed to believe that you never flew on Radiance - or any of your Pokemon that you don't have a license for - while in Paldea?"

"Yes?"

"No."

"Nemona!"

Dammit. Thankfully, I was spared a lecture by the shutter sound of a camera catching our attention. Turning around, I saw Sohdayo taking a picture of the Pokemon and environment here.

"Sorry, let's talk about this never," I told Friede before grabbing onto the distraction. "Sohdayo! What are you doing here?"

"Discovering the hidden world of Blueberry Academy's Terarium!" The green haired man exclaimed excitedly. Huh, that one is pretty close to the truth… so I'm sure he'll exaggerate it in some way. Still, it's kinda hard to top reality here.

"Anyone else from the crew down here?" I asked. I know Orla at least will be remaining up top on her ship. She helped with the design of the Tera Sphere a bit, but the Brave Olivine is really her passion. I don't expect Murdoch to come down much and it's hard to get a read on Ludlow, so that just leaves-

"I've got it! The panacea you mentioned" Molly declared triumphantly, pushing her way through the underbrush to get to the clearing we were in. She looked somewhat disheveled from her walk through the wooded space, with some goo still sticking to her pink outfit and holding a full vial of the substance. "Oh, hello Nemona, Friede. What are you doing here?"

"Wynaut?" Sohdayo's partner Pokemon questioned dubiously, staring at the vial of greenish-purple goo within the rogue nurse's hands.

"We wanted to check on the Goomys and Sliggoo and see how they were settling in. And uh, I don't think you should trust that on blind faith - any claim of a panacea is probably unlikely to work perfectly for all kinds of Pokemon." Even the Herba Mystica needed all five types to heal Mabosstiff in the games, and they really were touted as rare, miracle cures.

"Oh." Molly let out in a quiet voice, glancing over from the vial in her hands to the photographer, whose smile had taken on a slight nervous edge.

"Well, it might be a Panacea for some Pokemon," he defended. For someone so bright and knowledgeable about Pokemon, it's surprising that Molly gets tricked by Sohdayo so. Then again, I have the feeling that will change over time. There was a new level of suspicion the pink-haired girl had to her eyes.

Before we could get too far off track, I asked, "How are the Goomys doing, by the way?"

She turned her attention back to me, brightening up. "They're doing great!" Waving a hand, I followed her through the brush to get to the Goomy enclosure. The almost three dozen Goomys were gathered together, nearby a tree, letting rainwater drip down on them. All of them happily cheered as they saw us.

"None of them have spread out," I muttered. This whole clifftop is supposed to be a free space for them. Though there are still other Pokemon wandering around here. "Are they scared?"

"Possibly, definitely for some of them," Molly replied, keeping a bright smile on her face as she waved at the Goomys. "You mentioned rescuing some of them, and it looks like the other Goomys have designated themselves as 'defenders' of the group." Looking closer, I could see there was indeed a loose 'ring' of Goomys in front of the rest of the pack, and I imagined these ones were the ones who had come from the Dragon Tamer Clan. The only exception to this was Sliggoo at the center, likely because her height meant she could respond quickly to any of the younger ones that needed help, as well as serving as a final line of defense.

"When taking the… 'panacea', I tested the Goomys to make sure none of them were sick and they all appeared to be fine. No significant injuries among the bunch and they show no signs beyond the norm for Goomys of their age," Molly explained. Both a good and bad thing, here.

The Sliggoo seemed quite happy at our arrival, and moreso when I released Bahamut. The fully evolved Dragon had a few of the Goomys frightened for a moment until they recognized him and began eagerly swarming forward, climbing on him. My Dragon gave half a pretence of dismissiveness, trying to hold onto that draconic pride… which lasted all of a few seconds before he was happily playing with them too.

This is nice, I'm glad to see he fits in so well here. I'll likely need his help in getting them adjusted here. The majority of the Goomys weren't incredible fighters, at least not by nature. With how things worked out in Kitikami I don't actually have to send that many back, but I'd like to see this experiment succeed. Even in the best case scenario however, that will require waiting.

There hadn't been any signs of changes or evolutions yet, but that was fine. Some of the Goomys were even fitted with Everstones for the moment, to make sure they didn't evolve too early, before they had adapted to the environment. When that would occur exactly, no one was sure, not even Colress. He had suggested slowly letting the more trained Goomys off after another month, however. If one evolved into a Hisuian Sliggoo at that point, the others could be encouraged to evolve as well. If not we'd wait longer and try to spread it out over the next year, to see if/when they could adapt to the environment.

Assuming it works as I intended. Glancing around, I could see the freshly dug earth where iron deposits had been placed. Hidden unobtrusively around trees and shrubs were special humidifiers, designed to make the environment more prone to rain and to add a very slight level of iron to that rainwater. In theory, it should all work out. All the numbers we crunched, every historical document of ancient Sinnoh we could study… it points to this working. But I'm still worried.

Watching the Dragon's play and having fun (even the more serious 'guard' Goomys getting roped into it, enjoying being around Bahamut), the worry wasn't for them. So it must be for me, and my own ambitions. I was coming around to the idea of becoming a Pokemon Professor, and this would be a tremendous step forward. It would prove that my discovery with Notch wasn't just a fluke.

"So, what do you think?" I said, turning brightly to Friede, who had been chatting with Sohdayo for a moment.

"Hmm, well, the set up looks about as ideal as you could get to Hisuian climates," he replied, rubbing at his chin. His own experimentation had him studying plenty of the ancient land before he shut it down. "I'd say the best way forward would be to focus on how the Goomys are trained."

"How so?"

"Well, Goomys can actually learn Iron Tail through the right tutors, Technical Records, or via breeding… despite not having much of a tail at this point in their lives. A Steel Type Move might help them connect with the Typing you want them to emulate. Not sure if you can find enough Technical Records to help teach all of them that, though."

"No, but if I get just one then I can teach it to the others through Mirror Herb!" Which would be expensive to buy, not that I really was ever hurting for cash. Still, I want to do this on my own merits, as much as I can, so maybe I should start looking into the BBQs?

Spoiler: A/N:

There is just so much I want to explore in Blueberry, the world, and the relationships between the characters. Friede making a reappearance wasn't what I originally had planned, but when I saw the plotlines drawing together it just fit. In the anime, he can just Terastalize wherever when flying around, but in the games it isn't useable outside of Paldea, so I decided to bridge that gap by just saying he had invented a way to do so (which makes for a nice reason to include him here).

I know things haven't been the most action-y right now, but hopefully it was still enjoyable and I look forward to seeing you all next time. Let me know what you thought down in the comments or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

Oh and, for any Sohdayo haters out there... sorry, I hinted that he wouldn't show up again but forgot he does briefly reappear here. Don't worry though, this should really be the last time - when we see the Rising Volt Tacklers again, he'll have left to go his own way.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[LuminousBlackrock]

"Plus," she added, "he is quite photogenic."

Click to shrink...

Was she flirting with Dun or I'm reading too much into that comment?

 

[Skyfyre]

Was she flirting with Dun or I'm reading too much into that comment?

Click to shrink...

Haha, she was indeed flirting with him (the wonders of the 'Field' Egg category!)

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 55 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means so much to me.

I watched as the finishing touches were put on the Tera Sphere from the plaza below. This is going to be huge. Both for Blueberry Academy, and for the world at large. Enabling people to use Tera Orbs outside of Paldea (and Kitakami) would put us on a global stage in terms of battling. New strategies will be opened up, new Trainers will come looking for Tera Orbs wanting to obtain and use them for their own…

"Impressive," a voice rang out clearly beside me and I leaped away with a small shriek.

"Jeez, you startled me," I said, looking over at the icy girl. Elsa's gaze was fixed straight up not even looking at me, yet she was obviously keenly aware of my presence. Been a while since anyone could sneak up on me like that. Did her Ice Aura help her in such a way or is she just naturally stealthy? This world had ninjas with skills beyond what any ordinary person could manage, and I had been distracted, so it was hard to tell.

"You've spent a lot of time setting up the Tera Sphere. Hopefully your skills haven't dulled in that time," Elsa said, finally deigning to look my way, the smile on her face mocking.

Clicking my tongue, I said, "Why do you care so much?"

"The whole school is buzzing like Beedrills over this. New opportunities, dreams of their own strength improving with the Rollout of Tera Orbs, most of them missing out how it will empower all their challengers as well. And even before you brought Terastalization to us, they've been calling you a true Champion. I hope now that you have your precious Enhancement effect-" I turned away, having barely been listening halfway through. Opening Radiance's Pokeball, I hoped aboard my Pokemon as Elsa literally hissed and backed away, the heat shaking the teen.

"Sorry, Egg is hatching gotta go." I said quickly before taking off at literally blistering speeds. Swinging the incubator around in front of me, I saw the Egg inside beginning to crack open. "Hurry," I said, hoping that Radiance could get there soon. In the distance I heard Elsa cry out something that sounded like, 'get back here you ponce!' But I quickly put it out of my mind, focused fully on the Egg.

The Egg had been shaking more and more these past few days, so I'd been hanging around the Terarium, waiting in the hopes that if it happened, we could get to the Goomy grounds so they could hatch there. Unfortunately, it seemed to be happening faster than I imagined, the little one eager to get out of their shell, pieces of it breaking off inside the incubator.

Of course, I also forgot about the Booster Energy, and with a surge of power, Radiance rocketed through the air. In seconds, we were above the clifftop and I launched myself off of the Paradox Pokemon, both to get away from the scorching heat and to start setting the incubator on the ground and opening it up.

Not a second too soon, either, as it was placed down just as the baby Dragon shattered the top of their shell, squirming out of it and onto the wet grass. The purple, gooey Pokemon opened up a bleary pair of eyes to stare at me. "Goo?" He asked, still dazed from the process.

He looks so small. It was all I could think of as I kneeled down in front of the slug-like Dragon. I knew he would grow big fast, but for the moment I could almost fit him inside one of my hands.

"Hi there," I said softly. "I'm Nemona. I'm your Trainer, which means I'm going to look after you and help you become big and strong."

"Goomy?" He said, and I got the impression he had no idea what I was talking about, or possibly even what he was asking exactly. Fair, he's only been conscious for a few seconds or so.

Taking a different tack, I pulled a bottle of Dragon baby formula out that Friede had recommended. It wasn't milk, since Pokemon (aside from Miltank and Gogoat) didn't use that to wean their young, but the slurry had all the nutrients a Goomy would need. It took a moment for me to show him how to drink it from the straw, but once he got the hang of it, he went to town, drinking the whole thing with gusto.

Letting out a small burp, he finished it all and looked up at me with hungry eyes. "Haha, that's good!" I declared while pulling out the Pokeballs on my belt as a distraction. I have plenty more of the formula in my bag, but I shouldn't feed him too much, too fast or he'll just throw up.

"This is where you'll be living, and these are your family." With a click, I released the team one at a time, letting him take in the (comparative) giants that stood around me. It took over half an hour, with how overwhelmed he was by everything and everyone. When going up to inspect them he'd alternate between being afraid and incredibly curious for each of the team. By the end of it, he had clambered over each and every one of them (aside from Anya - despite my strictest warnings for everyone to be on their best behaviour she was still too prissy to let herself get covered in goo), getting a sense for them by feel as much as by sight.

After a short drink, this time only half of a small bottle, I told him, "Now that you've met your family, I'll show you where we'll be staying." Guiding him in further on the cliff plateau, I took him at a sedate pace to see the rest of the Goomys. They were all thrilled when they saw the little guy, eagerly slithering over.

My Goomy recognized them as similar to him and seemed delighted until they crowded him in a bit. Before I could even tell them off however, the Sliggoo called them back to give the little guy some space.

"Thank you," I told her.

"Slig," she said simply, nodding her head. It didn't escape my attention that in sidling up closer to me, she also got closer to Bahamut. She seemed naturally drawn towards him, a fact I wasn't sure he had noticed yet. I wonder when he'll figure out her intentions? I resolved not to spoil the surprise too soon; ever since he evolved, it had been rare when I got to see him act out in a big way, but I felt this might do the trick.

Those were thoughts for later though. For the moment, I just enjoyed watching how my precious new Dragon was handling the world for the first time.

***

"What happened to you?" Lacey asked before covering her mouth, as if surprised by her own bluntness.

"I slept in the Terarium last night," I responded, stifling a yawn. In her defense, I must look awful right now. While I had set up an alarm to give me plenty of time to sleep, that hadn't accounted for my Goomy having slipped by Athena on the night watch. We had a panicked search for him, with the little guy having gotten far too close to the cliffs for comfort. After scooping him up and leaving him back at the small den Sliggoo had made for them, I was nearly late in my rush to class.

I know Athena didn't mean to, and that it was just a problem with her Aura senses getting confused by so many Goomys. Still, it's kinda irritating right now.

There wasn't any time to talk more about it before Professor Hardy's class began, but afterwards Lacey peppered me with questions as to why and I explained.

"Oh right, Goomy hatched yesterday! I've been spending all day with him there in the experiment grounds." I suddenly blanched as I realized that. "I… should probably message a bunch of people." Disappearing suddenly would be worrying.

The responses back showed the usual; my parents were used to it, understanding of such things, my sister only mildly annoyed, and Arven… had his own troubles. At least him and his mom seem to be working things out a bit and Turo is recovering. Still, reading between the lines, there's an awkwardness to all of them. I imagine things were said that couldn't be unsaid.

I wished I could help, but frankly didn't know how to even if I was there. In the end I just offered as much support as I could and let Arven know I'd always be available to talk. For however much that helps. He did seem slightly more cheery when I mentioned I'd be coming home soon for the winter break, at least.

After that it was back to the Goomy camp. I hadn't decided on a name for him yet, wanting the little guy to get a better understanding of who he was and the world before bandying about suggestions. It was amazing how quickly he was growing though, both in size, but also in intelligence and power. Having my entire team around with nothing to do but guide him certainly helps too.

They trained some as, but we were actually limited in how much we could train within the Goomy camp and sometimes had to travel farther afield, like with Athena challenging the Kleavor that prowled on some of the peaks nearby. Teaching the other Dragons gave Bahamut a good opportunity to refine his own technique, and I focused on bringing Anya up to match the rest of the team (no matter how she would endlessly complain).

In one quiet moment after a long session of training, I sat down with her by the ledge, letting our legs dangle over the air. Looking over the edge, the Terarium feels like its own little world, complete with a green sun hanging overhead. The Tera Sphere above gave off a dim light, shaded with green from the Terarial filled within it.

"Your Psychic has come a long way, Notch is quite impressed by your control," I told her as we gazed out. Notch still has her beat in terms of power, even with the STAB boost Anya gets, but that's to be expected as a Legendary.

A fact she didn't miss. ['I'm not strong enough,'] she pouted cutely and I struggled to contain a bout of laughter at seeing her like that. She's empathetic enough to know what I'm feeling, and to know that I know she knows, but still. She doesn't like having something like that brought up so openly.

"It's hard to breach that gulf between them and you, but they have a lot more training than you've had so far."

['And I'm not evolved yet.'] Anya cuts quickly to the heart of the matter, with all the subtlety of a wrecking ball.

"True. You don't necessarily need to evolve to obtain great power - I've heard of Pikachus taking on the strongest in the world before. But if you want it, it'll make becoming stronger easier."

She was quiet for a moment thinking hard before responding. ['I don't know. I want to see what'll happen, to make the right choice. The best way to do that is to evolve but…']

"...You'll see me die," I finished softly. Wild Gothitelles aren't very forthcoming with what they see, but Gothitelles with Trainers have relayed their experiences, with much anguish. "It's a tough path either way. For the time being, I'll leave you without an Everstone, so you can decide." Pokemon could hold back an evolution naturally, but only for so long without intense discomfort and even pain. An Everstone would eliminate such concerns.

"One thing to keep in mind is that if you do evolve, whatever you see… just remember that it won't be the end for me. Yeah, I'll be gone, but if this life has taught me anything, it's that my spirit will go on." To where or how, I didn't know, and if I was honest, those thoughts worried me. Pokeverse has been pretty much a dream come true. What if I get stuck in some grimdark world next time? Or if it just never ends? The weight of eons grinding my sanity down to gibbering madness?

Those baseless worries I did my best to put out of my mind and not scare Anya with. The Psychic Type sat there for a long time, thinking of her future before coming up with her answer.

***

"Are you going to spend all of this term hiding away in the Terarium again?" Carmine demanded, hands on her hips. All of us were on the submarine, having just gotten back from winter break.

"Looking after a baby Dragon is good and all, but you gotta let them find their own wings," Drayton commented from the side.

"I know I know, just wanted to make sure everything would be fine before I left. The others are getting a bit antsy though, so I don't think we'll need to hover quite so much." The fact that I can't risk taking Goomy with me is annoying though. I hadn't realized how difficult it would be when I started this.

"Somehow, I don't think you'll be spending much less time in the Terarium," Chumley commented. "It's not like you've joined any clubs."

"I might!" I shot back with a chuckle. Looking outside one of the thick glass windows I peered through the depths, dark and fathomless. "There's an aquatic exploration club, isn't there?"

"Two of them!" Sally piped up. "I've done a few BBQs for the Terarium Snorkle Club. Picked up some battle gear to help Muk and Slowbro." She flashed me a fierce grin which I returned. She's growing into her own as a Poison Type specialist. Still a bit predictable with her tactics, but part of that is because I've helped her come up with most of them so far. Once she starts developing her own combinations she'll be a solid Trainer.

As we got off the submarine, Lacey stepped her fingers together. "Speaking of BBQs, I was wondering if you could help me. There's a bigger one I want to tackle there."

"Sure, what's the problem?"

"There were apparently a few Dittos hiding around in the last shipment of Ditto blocks. They slipped away after the blocks arrived, and are causing problems in the Savannah Biome. I checked the app and it said the quest is still up." Lacey held up her Rotom Phone and showed the number of BP we would get for it.

I whistled. That's a lot of points. "Alright, let's get going! If we're fast we can get it done today!" Grabbing her hand, I raced down the walkway and towards the school.

***

God, this is taking forever. I scanned across the wide Savannah, searching for something, some Pokemon out of the ordinary, but once more, couldn't find anything. Turns out shapeshifters are hard to find. Who would have thought?

I cursed myself for not realizing just how tough the 'gold' labelled BBQs were and for forgetting why they were often recommended to only be undertaken by a group of students. Luckily, I had Lacey to help, as well as both our teams.

The girl was off, a few kilometers away from me, scanning the rest of the Savannah with her Drillbur and Snubbull. The two had an excellent sense of smell and were keen trackers, but that had only held middling results against the Dittos. The trails shift and change, mingling in with the other scents. Still, she managed to find one so far.

We had both been given six balls to catch the six Dittos with, each one linked to the school's registry and not our own Trainer's licenses. They had also been specially modified, to only accept the capture of Dittos (something I found fascinating and couldn't wait to pick Colress' mind about when I got the chance). With that in mind, we'd been able to try the Pokeballs repeatedly against any Pokemon we saw, but it quickly became apparent that the 'try everyone' method wouldn't work. Not with how expansive the biome was.

I wonder how they're certain the Dittos haven't crossed over into the other biomes yet? Perhaps the Ditto walls that divide the place? But that wouldn't account for Chargestone Cavern. In any case, we'd managed to find three already. Lacey's team had tracked down one of them, while I had spotted one attempting to hide amongst a herd of Rhydons, the eyes not quite right. Radiance had baited out another one by flying around and then making it obvious that it was a Ditto that had copied them and not a second Paradox Pokemon.

Hunting them down afterwards was the hard part. Radiance didn't have many supper-effective Moves against their own Typing, and the Ditto had copied their defenses - and more importantly, their speed. In the end, with the help of Nightwing's Tailwind boosted speed and Phantasm's illusions, we were able to lead the Ditto into a trap where Dun's Earthquake knocked the fake out.

But our early successes have dried up. Even splitting up to cover more ground hasn't yielded any results. I glanced at my phone, wondering if I should check in with Lacey before shaking my head. It had only been ten minutes since our last check in and nothing had changed yet.

"Anything you can sense?" I asked of Athena and Anya, the two most sensitive Pokemon on sensory duty, to try and detect anything amiss regular senses couldn't find. The Psychic Type pouted and shook her head while Athena growled in disappointment.

['Frustration. Minor Self-loathing.'] The emotions came through my empathetic link to her and I patted her on the shoulder.

"It's not your fault, these Dittos are really good at hiding. Considering how perfectly they can copy another Pokemon, it shouldn't be a surprise they can fool your Aura sense too." It does raise the question of how to find the perfect infiltrator though…

"Hey, want to try it with a bit of a boost?" I offered, holding up the Mega Stone ring. Athena gave me a sharp nod before bracing herself. Mega Evolution comes with a lot of dramatic changes and won't last long, but I've got faith in her control.

Focusing, I connected with her through our bond, Mega Evolving her. She grew a bit, her fur becoming dark red-brown in places and becoming wilder. She let out a howl as the transformation finished, and Anya took a frightened step backwards from the raw anger and power she exuded.

"It's okay, she's got things under control." I said, stabalizing Anya while looking straight into Athena's eyes. "You just got to find the Ditto, see if you can detect anything weird in this state."

"Ario," she vocalized, clipped, before rushing off in a burst of Extremespeed. After a few sweeps, she honed in on a pack of Venonats in the distance. Scanning amongst them, they paused, but she locked onto one, seemingly the same as the others. That one stopped, their form rippling as they knew the game was up, until a swift punch took the Ditto out before they could transform and copy her strength.

"Excellent work!" I praised as I arrived on the scene, capturing the fallen Ditto. She gave me a sharp grin before racing off around the Savannah to try and find the others. Calling Lacey, I told her the good news. "We caught one of the Dittos! Only two left."

"Make that one! Milly made some snacks and placed them just out of reach for some of the Pokemon here, and one of them took the bait!"

"Oh that's clever." She mentioned having bonded and trained with that Milcery a fair bit, but I wouldn't have thought of using those talents to bait out the Dittos. "I'm not sure how long Athena can hold out her Mega for, but once she catches the last one let's meet up by the entrance."

***

Unfortunately, even with Athena straining to hold onto it for fifteen minutes, she couldn't end up finding the Ditto anywhere within the biome, no matter how far she looked. After recalling my tired Pokemon, I walked back to the entrance. Lacey was already waiting by the rest area, and from the look on her face I could already tell she hadn't been able to find the last Ditto. She looked dirty and covered in dust from the work she had done, her Pokemon not looking much better. Drillbur and Snubbull were panting hard, and Milcery drooped with exhaustion. The only one that didn't look exhausted was her Carbink, which was likely more due to how hard it was to figure out if their species was tired, and not an actual measurement of their fatigue.

As I walked up, I leaned against the shelter and said, "I think we have to wrap it up for today. It's getting late." It's easy to lose yourself in the Terarium, this place feeling like it's own little world, but the rest of the world i.e. classes, beckon, and not getting a good night's rest sucks the next day.

The pink-haired girl sighed at the thought of leaving the assignment only mostly finished but nodded. "Think they'll have some food left in the cafeteria?"

My stomach growled. "Hopefully. Looks like we'll be saving the reward feast for another day."

"Actually, I was planning on spending my share in a different way. There's an item that the school store sells that can evolve Milly." There was a wistful look to Lacey's face, which I understood all too well, from hard days and nights where a technique or breakthrough had remained just out of reach. Those days always feel less frustrating in retrospect. I guess the eventual success outshined the trials and tribulations.

"Oh, that would have been sweet," I said with a wink, making my pun clear.

Lacey laughed, I laughed, the wall laughed.

…

Slowly, we both turned to see the block that was slightly pinker in color than the others, with two black dots for eyes and a grin that was frozen in place.

Then the moment broke and Ditto tried shifting out of place, but I was already on them. Quick as a whip, I pulled out my Pokeball and pressed the button, capturing Ditto. The ball shook violently in my hand but then, as if sensing my tightening grip and determination not to let them go, the shaking subsided and there was a click.

"Gotcha."

While it took a bit longer than anticipated, the desserts Lacey's new Alchremie made for us were sweet and delicious indeed.

Spoiler: A/N:

So this chapter was written while I was feeling under the weather (doing much better now though) and I wonder if it shows? It's a bit shorter than the others at least, but hopefully it was still enjoyable. Also we get to see a bit more of Lacey and her developing team. If you liked it, please let me know down in the comments below or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[TidalGrunt]

Oh. OH!
I've been chipping at this fic for months now and I finally caught up! Hell yeah! Chapter was nice, the goomy are adorable!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 53 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means the world to me.

"Everything okay?" I asked Miles as we walked through the eerie cavern. Calling it a mere 'cavern' feels like an understatement, though. Chargestone Cavern was a massive, sprawling, underground network, one which spread across all four Biomes, with major entrances in and out of the four, and given the winding sidetunnels and passageways, even more I suspected lay within it.

The main cavern floor had a wide ceiling, with a few stone bridges and walkways crisscrossing above. A ways off from the Savannah entrance I had used, I could see the dips in the ground, which according to the maps/guides I'd read off the app, led to a network of tunnels further below. Off to the side, in the distance, was a rest area with a healing booth, and was the one place where the wild Pokemon did not go.

And there were so many of them here! Drilburs and other burrowing Pokemon well suited for underground environments played about, but there were also many Electric Type Pokemon zipping this way and that. Minuns and Plusles danced around while Tynamos swam through the air, and there were even Rotoms to be found. These ones were clearly wild, as I saw them playfully shocking Beldums as they passed by, the Rotoms' faces gleefully spiteful as they did so.

All of this was illuminated by the glowing blue rocks that lit up the entire cavern. Some of them were small, but others were massive pillars dominating the landscape. Blue sparks crackled as anyone passed nearby, and I noticed how all the Pokemon, especially the Electric and Steel Types, were attracted to them.

"Bzzt, I'm fine, bzzt." At my questioning look, Miles folded. "It'z strange. I feel empowered, energized, but also erratic. It's distracting, but not a big deal, bzzt."

"Alright, so long as you're sure." Miles in Oven Form is my best choice against the Galvantula nest I need to clear out, but only so long as they can focus. Still, I'll trust their judgment here - Miles isn't one to boast or prevaricate when they can't manage something, unlike some of my other Pokemon who would push themselves too hard.

Walking through the cavern, I drank in the wonder of the place. How did they design this? Did it start out as some small add-on to the project in the mind of the Director or one of the architects and grow from there? Or did they always plan for it to be so big a connective tissue of the Terarium as a whole?

Whatever the case, the Pokemon within quite enjoyed it, frolicking about and occasionally battling. There was a difference to the fights in here, in the Terarium, as I had noted them. The Pokemon carried a good deal of strength on average, but they didn't act quite as aggressively as wild Pokemon of their stature often would. The fights more akin to play-fighting or sparring even in between species than real fighting would get in the wilderness (even if the deaths there were fewer than one might imagine, the beaten party usually slinking off to lick their wounds, and often allowed to do so by the victor).

Not all clashed; some simply drifted, existing in their own ways. An Electric Terastalized Porygon floated just by the edge of one of the walkways above, and it appeared that all the Pokemon up there gave the digital Pokemon a wide berth. There were also even Miniors, one of the rarest Pokemon to see, and one noted for a need to exist high up, somehow found down within these depths.

Cyrano must have adapted something to let them exist in the Terarium, because they're pretty common all around here. Probably something very specific with the minerals given they're a Rock Type of the Mineral Egg group and the fact that whatever was done to the Goomys' living space means that no Miniors wander towards that area. Oh man, I'd love to have some of them with a 'Reach for the Stars' music video idea I have bouncing around- ah, later. I've got a quest to do right now!

The quest did involve looking for Pokemon, and so I kept my eyes peeled as we walked along, and eventually I found what I was looking for. A few, tiny Joltiks, closer to the size of my previous life spiders (if large ones) than Pokemon-sized Bugs, were hopping high along the ground. My vision caught onto the movement, my gaze tracking a few of them as they went down one of the many paths down deeper.

The vast cavern floor opened up to tunnels winding below, and peering into the depths, I saw it was illuminated by more than just the glowing blue rocks, but also by vibrant yellow webs that also crackled with electricity. The Joltiks stopped hopping here and were climbing along the walls. I opted for the more expedient route; jumping straight down.

My Aura made for an easy landing, though I spotted Miles instantly floating down by my side, ready to save me. At my questioning glance they said, "Sorry, bzzt. We're trained to make ourselves immediately ready to grab onto if our Trainer is about to take a fall. Bzzt, hard h-h-habit to break."

Breaking the Habit, that's a good song, though another one I'll have to save until I'm older… and after I've done some discreet research into the topic. I don't technically even know if illicit drugs exist here, or what they might be. Those thoughts were in the background however as I keenly watched Miles, not wanting to press when they claimed to be fine, but still worried for them.

As we walked through the lower tunnels, I saw the Joltiks, and now Galvantulas too, gathering towards a central chamber, where the webbing grew thicker. As I got closer, a few stray Thundershocks were sent my way - none close enough to hit me, but clearly trying to ward me off with their attacks and gnashing mandibles.

"Don't think diplomacy will win the day here," I muttered out loud. Especially since they probably answer to the boss down there. It had taken me a while, but I was fairly certain some of the light coming from there was the shine of Terastalization. "Confuse Wisp, let them wear each other out, then buff suite."

A flurry of phantasmal flames fanned out towards the spider-like Pokemon, causing them to hiss and skitter about. The lights disoriented them before the flames sunk in and though they tried to go on the offensive, half the time their attacks hit each other instead. For the rest of the attacks, Miles tanked them easily between their resistances, high defenses, and conjured Light Screen, then struck back with powerful Hexes.

A final Uproar scared off the rest and any Joltiks that had come to aid their fellows in this fight, and we made our way down. Towards the entrance were far more, thicker webs, that I couldn't just maneuver around. Miles burnt through the webbing and the boost from a Nasty Plot they'd just used with an Overheat. Opening the oven door, the heat rolled out, causing me to sweat a bit, even with most of the heat directed the other way. Distracted as I was, I nearly missed the humming that indicated danger incoming.

Leaping to the side, I rolled out and past the entrance and into a large round chamber, lightning striking just where I had been a moment prior. Miles had zipped out to the other side at the same time, readying themself to face our new foe. In the center of the chamber was a large Chargestone, with stalactites sticking down to meet it, connected by Electrowebs and a few stalactites sticking up around it. In front of the electrified blue rock stood a very large (though not Alpha sized) Galvantula, with a lightbulb Tera 'hat' jewel.

With a loud cry, the wild Tera Pokemon scuttled towards us. "Confuse Wisp, then Hex!" I called as I jumped up and drifted away, out of the line of fire. Miles followed my command swiftly, but our foe was smart, jumping away well before the dancing flames could get close. A sharp buzzing created faint geen waves through the air, the Bug Type attack slamming into Miles and doing decent damage even through the resistance.

She's quite powerful, but that's to be expected from Wild Tera Pokemon. Even with that though, Miles is much better in a fight. "Shadow Ball, wide spread, cast a net."

Miles conjured dozens of orbs of Distorted energy, flinging them all around in a wide cone pattern in front of them. As they travelled, the Ghost Type attack grew in energy, the spheres widening. Seeing 'the trap,' Galvantula charged ahead, narrowly sliding through an opening in the front and low to the ground, taking advantage of the wide area to slip between the center… and running headlong into the Overheat Miles had been preparing.

Everyone thinks they're so smart when they 'figure that one out' only to realize that Miles can switch up Type energy very fast. Galvantula gave off an awful shriek from the flame. She didn't have a weakness to that Type anymore, but she clearly remembered the pain of Fire Type attacks, and Miles' Move was hot enough to make me sweat, even well away from the attack. She didn't let that stop her from landing a heavy Slash into Miles though, before darting away again.

My attention too caught by the battle, I hadn't realized I'd drifted to close to the Electro Webs surrounding the chamber until a shock ran through me. While not overly painful, it was nearly enough to get me to drop my Aura. Which would have been quite bad, considering just how much webbing there was underneath me.

As I steadied myself in the air, the fight continued, with Galvantula raining down some Thunders on Miles while they used Nasty Plot of their own accord to make up for the drain of Overheat. "Thunder right back, you can hit harder than they can." The other attacks Miles could use were either too slow, or likely to hurt me inside this enclosed space, so I had to rely on a not-very effective attack (albeit a powerful one). Even with the Tera boost Galvantula had, I held faith in Miles' power. And that's before counting their Life Orb.

Great flashes of lightning blasted into the two Electric Types, the attacks crashing down with terrible force. There was so much of it that the bolts seemed to be falling almost like rain. Of course, where it would have been a gentle spring breeze in the case of the bolts targeted against Miles (however well aimed), the ones falling against Galvantula were like driving rain in a fierce storm.

With a pained cry, she gave up attacking for a moment to scuttle up the wall, quickly climbing to the ceiling. From there, Miles had a slight problem in attacking her - Thunder was designed to strike down at the target, and trying to gather the Electric Type energy to hit from the side or directly around the enemy was difficult. Luckily, we had other options.

"Ascend to match, Hyper Voice." The sound waves hit her hard, and floating just off the ceiling (and deftly avoiding touching the webbing on the roof of the cave) made it just as difficult for her to hit them with Thunder. Plus she's running out of steam. So why isn't she giving up?

She had one more trick to pull, spitting out an Electroweb that stuck Miles to the roof, mildly zapping them and sapping at their speed before they were able to pull away from it. Enough is enough. "Sub, then in close. Overheat."

A pokedoll construct pulled out of thin air in front of Miles did the trick, absorbing the hits and letting them get in close. She tried to back away, but Overheat could have surprisingly good distance to it, given how the Oven Form funneled the attack forward.

With one final cry, Galvantula was defeated, her body slumping down as the Terastalization around her shattered… and then, despite being beaten and burnt, scuttled over to the side to stand in front of a particularly thick clump of webbing.

"What- those are Eggs." They're so small! I mean, I guess I should have suspected, Joltiks and all, but still. "That's why you've been fighting so hard." I could see Miles straining but managing to get themself under control, not continuing to fight - likely a side effect of the Chargestone Cavern exciting Electric Types, but not enough to break their solid self-control.

"Gal. Ula," she clacked at me, glaring.

"Look, we're not here to hurt you or your eggs, we just need to stop all this excessive webbing - no one can move freely down here." The look she gave me was suspicious and disdainful, but I didn't care, instead directing Miles to clear up the webbing, but to leave the section with the Eggs alone.

"You can protect your Eggs, but next time just ask the staff for help rather than making this mess," I said shortly, waving a hand at the burning webs all around.

"Vantula!" She snapped back.

"Yeah well, clearly you do need the help if I can beat you. I'll clear the rest of this up then tell the staff about this." I tried to give her a warning look, but she refused to meet my gaze with any of her eyes. If anything, she looked a little mullish about the fact that I was clearly uninterested in her clutch of Eggs. I suppose if you build up a threat in your mind and then it turns out the threat isn't there, you'd feel a little put out about it. Then again, I'm not sure how real a 'threat' this was to her, and not just an excuse to revel in the power Terastalization gave her.

I suspected there would be a number of unbalances around the Terarium as Pokemon got used to Terastalization. In time, the social dynamics would reassert themselves and things would be peaceful, but there would be incidents until then.

As I cleared the most egregious layers of webbings (no need to get rid of all them, these caverns have always had some), I thought I heard something near one section. Miles handily burned that away and they I definitely heard the yelp of surprise as the heat burnt through the webs and washed over a boy about five years older than me.

"Give a guy some warning next time, will ya?" He squeaked while patting at his uniform as if to make sure it wasn't one fire too.

"Umm, who are you? And I would have if I knew anyone was down here… speaking of, why were you down here?" That doesn't look like a full tunnel into and out of the Galvantula's chambers either, more like an extended alcove.

"Oh, I'm Jerome." His voice dropped so low for a moment that it would have been hard for someone else to catch his name properly. "You're Nemona, right? I've heard about you." He looked oddly embarrassed about admitting that, quickly speaking up again. "I was uh, just doing this Quest too." This kid is way too nervous for his own good. What's going on here?

"Really? It hadn't been claimed by anyone else on the App." There was a sophisticated management system for such Quests so that whoever clicked on the Quest first could take it. If someone else wanted to, they could request to join you and share the BP and you could see who it was, where they were, and accept or reject it. You could also set the system to automatically reject offers to help and it would let you take them on alone - save for those with a yellow border that were designed to be taken by multiple people. Blue, and even red outlined BBQs could be undertaken by anyone on their own (though the school did encourage students collaborating on the red ones).

"Aha, guess I forgot," he said with a depreciating chuckle as he scratched the back of his neck in a manner that was less-endearing and more showing how racked his nerves were. "You did most of the work here, so I'll just let you take the credit for this." He tried to walk away before I reached out and grabbed onto his shoulder (which was a bit awkward in how I had to reach up but he still froze nonetheless).

"No worries, I can add you on right now. What's your student ID?" I asked while pulling up my phone to look at the request.

"11376120," He rattled off after a moment.

"Oh, weird fact here; that's the number of the person who posted the BBQ," I deadpanned. This had the rather shocking reaction of causing him to whirl around and drop to his knees.

"Please don't tell anyone!" He begged, and I was a bit perplexed.

"Why the mystery? Also, how did you get the ability to post this Quest?" As students I'm pretty sure we need faculty approval for such a thing.

"I'm part of the League Club, so we get special privileges, like the ability to set some BBQs. Most of the others don't bother with it too often unless they want something, so I didn't think they'd check."

"And you're worried I'll reveal your abuse of power," I finished, which made him look like I was speaking a different language all of a sudden.

"No? I'm worried they'll kick me out over getting caught! 'This is just the Terarium' they'll say. It's not my fault, that Galvantula was way too tough! I didn't realize the wild Pokemon here could Terastalize too."

"It was a known likely side effect of the instillation of the Tera Sphere; they mentioned that in the lectures we received and files they sent us regarding Terastalization." I should know since I helped write it. "Didn't you have Terastalization of your own?" I asked, rhetorically, since I knew that all of the students had been given Tera Orbs to try out. Jerome nodded, limply holding up his dull Tera Orb.

"I tried it, and if anything, they got even stronger!" I frowned at his explanation.

You can't just expect an immediate boost of power from Terastalization on any Move like you could with Mega Evolution or Gigantamaxing, but he should still know that and use Moves that get the STAB boost, right? I took another look at him, sighed, and asked, "What Pokemon did you Terastalize?"

"My Swampert!" Jerome said brightly. "He's my starter and was fighting well but having a tough time against Galvantula, so I thought I could give him a Tera boost and make things better. But then he got knocked out and I just had Graveller to protect me…"

I sighed heavily. "And let me guess, your Swampert is a Water Tera Type?"

"How'd you know?"

"Most Pokemon are the Tera Type of one of the Types they were originally. Swampert started out as a Mudkip, which is a pure Water Type, so it stands to reason that Swampert would be that way too. But it also means that when you Terastalized him, you took away the Ground Type Immunity to Electric attacks and gave him a weakness to it! Her Terastalization to pure Electric Type stacked with the base Type she had there, but it also eliminated her Bug sides' Resistance to Ground Type Moves, which would have left her vulnerable there," I added. He looked suitably abashed as I poked him in the forehead.

"Now come on, get up," I ordered. "Let's get you to the Rest Area nearby so you can get your team healed. Then you can give me the BP, and with the recharge station attached, we can test out your Pokemon's Tera Types and I can show you how to use them properly. Honestly! I know Terastalization is new and all but I can't believe people are still having this much trouble with it.

***

Why some people throw away perfectly good Revives, I have no idea, I thought to myself as I bent down to pick up another piece of litter amongst the grass of the Savannah plains. As I stood up, I noticed an odd, slightly portly, middle aged man, standing atop a rocky outcropping, staring off into the distance.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" I asked, approaching the man. It wasn't unusual for adults to be here, but most of them wore vests or uniforms signifying them as staff or teachers. This man was wearing a well-tailored suit. As he turned around to greet me however, I noticed a laminated guest pass hanging around his neck.

"Oh? Hello there!" He said, jumping down the distance, not with ease or grace exactly, but sturdily enough for a man of his age. "And I'm doing swell Miss…?"

"Nemona. And you are?"

"I'm Mister Snacksworth! Just taking a pause in my travels to visit my old friend Cyrano." That would explain the guest pass. Despite having been an adult in my past life, still hard to conceptualize my teachers having a life outside of the school. Then again, maybe that's because I don't know these teachers that well? I can definitely picture it for Dendra, Tulip, and Hassel.

"Cyrano invited me to take a look-see at his Terarium and it sure is a treat! Why, I thought I saw a Gouging Fire just over that there hill where the water falls down."

"A 'Gouging Fire'? I've never heard of that Pokemon."

"Look like Entei they do, but with a bright yellow crown on their heads! I saw one when I was a wee lad, barely any older than you are. Musta been one of the hottest summers when I saw them. They were standing just at the base of the waterfall, majestic as anyone could be. Then they locked eyes with me, leapin' over in one great bound! I thought I was done for, but they barely stopped to take a bit of the sandwich I'd set down before leapin' off again!"

"Uhuh, wow." I said, doing my best to keep my voice straight. So some unheard of alternate Entei exists and he's the only one to have spotted it? "Did you ever spot any other Pokemon like that?"

"Oh boy, the stories I could tell you. Do you have a few minutes, lass?" I nodded, since I was only doing a clean-up BBQ at the moment, hardly anything time sensitive. "When I was swimming in Paldea as a younger lad, though older than you are now, and it was a perfect crystal clear stretch of water…"

His ramblings continued, with some outrageous stories (like explaining how he knew the 'Gouging Fire' was different from Entei because he had raced Entei… and the other three Legendary Dogs, before). It was very entertaining, however, so I could see why Cyrano was friends with him, if only wanting to hear whatever next fantastic adventure the man would invent.

I still refused the sandwich he offered me at the end of the day though, even if he seemed harmless. I'm not really one to eat sandwiches, and the idea that it would somehow attract a Gouging Fire if eaten in the right spot? As if.

***

With a huff, I pulled myself up, over the ledge. Rolling over on the flat clifftop, I took a moment to catch my breath. That was a looooong climb up.

Athena sat down, panting beside me, just as tired as I was. In her case though, she hadn't so much climbed it as jumped up and down it while I scaled it. As if the massive cliff was nothing more than a giant stair to exercise with. It's kinda crazy just how strong Pokemon can be. At ten years old, I'm capable of feats I never could have managed in my old, adult body. But it still pales in comparison to what Pokemon can manage.

After taking a moment to gather myself, I pulled my body back up with a groan, standing up. Gazing over the edge, I saw the beautiful Coastal Biome spread out before me, from the glistening water gently lapping onto the bright, sandy shores, to the small, verdant, island-like structures connected by a series of bridges.

Turning my gaze around, I focused on the main objective of my latest Quest: A survey of the highest point of the Coastal Biome. It was almost incongruous, the vast pillar of stone that jutted up high above the rest of the biome here, but compared to the mountain of the Polar Biome, or the many peaks of the Canyon Biome, it wasn't that crazy.

A tougher climb though, with how steep it was. Still, makes for a good workout, and less tall than the place where I found Bahamut. Nicer too, if I was being honest. There was a large basin filled with water in the center that ran down in falls over the edge and leading into the waterways below. The water and heat made for a heavy, humid environment.

I let out a small 'huh' earning a glance from Athena. "Ah, just thinking about the heat. I was always terrible in the heat, it would just sap my energy like nobodies business. In summer I'd barely get anything productive done. But not so much now." Likewise the cold is a bit worse, though at least I can just bundle up more to deal with it.

['Envy. Grumpiness'.] I smothered a chuckle at Athena's distress. With all her fur, the warm weather was worse for Athena even before her natural disinclination towards the heat from her Steel Typing.

The heat was due to the many Fire Types hanging around the edges of the basin, especially the Torkoals. Clambering up on top of one of the odd ditto block pavillions, I sat down and pulled out a notebook. Some of the Pokemon, like Talonflames, watched me carefully, but as I showed no desire to get involved with the events going on below, they left me alone.

Carefully, I began writing down what I saw in as much detail as I could. Underneath me, Athena settled in to meditate (and tried to ignore how hot it was).

What Pokemon lived here: a large number of Camerupts and Numels, Fletchlings (including one that decided to perch atop my head for a few minutes before flapping off with a trill that sounded like laughter), Fletchinders, and Talonflames, and a couple of Torkoals. In the water, the Araquanids ruled, watching over packs of Dewpiders with watchful compound eyes (but not Compound Eyes!). Horsea and Seadra existed peacefully alongside them, and I even spotted one Bruxish, though I had to avert my eyes after not long, the Dazzling scales on him glittering brightly in the clear water.

How many of each Type: 12 Talonflames, 16 Fletchinders, 50!? Fletchlings 30 Dewpiders, 6 Araquanids, 5 Torkoals, 20 Camerupts, 21 Numels, 4 Miniors, 1 Bruxish, 7? Horsea, 2 Seadra.

Exact numbers of some of the Pokemon impossible to determine, Dewpiders will slip in and out of the water, the birds fly around as they please.

Behavioral patterns:

Before I could put that thought to paper, someone broke me out of my thoughts. "Hey, watcha doing there?"

"Bgwah?!" I said elegantly before recovering and glancing over at the girl waving from beside the pavilion. Leaning down, I glanced at Athena who cracked one open and gave me a shrug. I guess another student saying 'hi' doesn't really count as a 'dangerous threat' to anything other than my dignity.

With a sigh I pushed off and hopped down off the pavilion, causing the sandy-haired girl to take a step back. "Whoa."

"Pokemon watching for a BBQ." And for scientific research. It had generally been agreed by the scientific community that observation like this was one of the best ways to learn about Pokemon and pretty much every Pokemon Professor did a dedicated stint of a few months of observation. Because of that, Colress had designed this one specifically for me to help me grow as a researcher. Personally, I'm not sure with the wealth of information we have on hand in the modern age it's absolutely necessary to follow the Oak methodologies, but I can't deny that it's certainly informative, and sweltering under the hot sun has a way of making the knowledge stick that book reading can lack.

"Hi, I'm Nemona Glitterati," I said, offering a hand to shake. The girl was wearing a League Club navy blue uniform, which made me slightly wary, but I decided not to judge her by the individuals I knew in it. She also looks slightly familiar in a way I can't place.

"Oh boy, I didn't think I'd get to see you here!" The older girl said with glee. "I'm Erin Hawthorne."

"Umm, do you know a Vance Hawthorne?"

"Yeah, he's my cousin. How do you know him?"

"He gave me and my family a ride to Kitakami one time and some heavy duty gloves… which got worn out at some point in my journey." Was it when I climbed Glaseado? Nah, before then, I think when I was scaling that pillar where I found Bahamut they really started to show some wear and tear and I had to throw them out by the time I got to Zapipico.

"He's a good guy," Erin nodded. "But more into Dragons like the rest of my family. We're not as famous as the Blackthorn family, but we have our own Dragons. I love my Dragonair," she said, patting at a Pokeball on her belt, which shook happily in response. "But I want a more balanced team. That's why I was exploring here. So, oh Guru of the Terarium, please, teach me your ways!" She declared dramatically, hands clasped as she dropped to her knees, pleading.

There was a huffing sound behind me that equated to laughter from Athena, and I didn't need to turn around or receive any empathetic signals from her to understand she was thinking of introducing this girl to Notch's cult. Don't you dare! I shot mentally at the Aura Pokemon before focusing my attention on her.

"I uh- I can probably help you - please get off the ground. But first; where did this 'Guru of the Terarium' deal come from?" I asked, bewildered.

She shot back up. "Everyone notices you cause you're a Champion, and like, a real one. So they see you dart out of class right away and run off to the Terarium, disappearing for weeks at a time only to return with wisdom to dispense with those who cross your path before returning." There was a moment of silence before she scratched the back of her head. "At least, that's what Jerome told me."

Of course he did. With a sigh, I shook my head helplessly. "That's not nearly the truth, but sure, I can offer some advice. What are you looking for in a Pokemon? There's plenty of Fire and Water Types here. And a few Miniors."

"No Minior thanks. Cassandra just got a shiny one, so if anyone else in the club catches one, she'll take it as a challenge. Plus she enjoys picking on the weaker members anyways," she muttered before perking up. "Isn't it kinda weird for there to be so many Water and Fire Types together?"

"You'd think so, but even most Fire Types need a clean drinking source, and this serves as a good spot for them. A lot of the Torkoals here know Drought, which weakens Water Type Moves, and Camerupts might have Solid Rock, which reduces some of their otherwise crippling weakness to Water. On the flip side, Araquanids are strong enough with Water attacks thanks to their Water Bubble Ability that they can defend their territory pretty well. A couple of other Water Types take advantage of that too, at least those strong enough to swim up the falls." I suspect that the Seadra up here were those who evolved up here and haven't gone back down yet, as they'll have lost the Swift Swim Ability, and they aren't quite as fast as that Bruxish.

I continued, pointing at a Fletchinder flying in with a Max Revive in its talons. "Generally though, they don't fight for territory. Instead, they live peacefully, with a sort of tribute system." As I spoke, the Flying Type dropped the Max Revive beside one of the Araquanids gliding atop the water who quickly scooped it up into his Water Bubble. "They store things they value in there, which can include the Dewpiders… and their Trainers at times."

At the horrified look on her face, I added, "They just forget that humans can't breath water sometimes!"

Erin shivered. "Still, rather not risk it. Plus, they seem kinda slow; I'm looking for someone that hits fast and hard!"

"In that case, Talonflame is probably the fastest hitter you'll ever see," I said pointing at one of the big birds soaring about. "They can even learn a Hidden Ability to make their Flying Moves even faster - but as they take some damage they won't be able to Move their wings fast enough."

"On the flip side, Bruxish hits harder and is decently fast, but that one in particular has Dazzling, which puts a stop to super fast Moves like Quick Attack or Extremespeed."

"I knew you could help. Thank you Guru!" Erin exclaimed while grabbing me in for a hug.

"Ah no problem!" I squeaked, blushing as I tried (and failed) to ignore the fact that she was pushing my face into her chest. She let me go after a moment and I did my best to regain my composure by listing off other facts and tidbits I had learned of the environment.

***

"Hey there!" I called out, laughing and trying to hide my discomfort as Goomy latched onto my ankle as I stood up and made to leave. Given how he had no hands, he had to latch on with his mouth. Thankfully he didn't have any teeth, but gooing all over my socks and shoes was going to be unpleasant. The excessive goo he exuded was a trait I had encouraged as best I could, though; Gooey as an Ability might be a hassle for me in my day to day life, but would be absolutely critical in winning battles in the future, and now was the best time to train him to develop that Hidden Ability.

He's getting so big. Already he was as large as most of the Goomys within the area, and looked to be getting larger still. I didn't think it was a sign of impending evolution - as bright as he was in picking up the Moves and advice Haxorus and the others showed him, evolving after only a month would be a bit much for most Pokemon and especially a Dragon.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I gotta go. I've got BBQs to do and you need to stay here to evolve someday." From how he looked up at me while still maintaining a grip, I understood that he understood the situation; he just didn't want to let me go. Fair, but also I've already been here for a few hours today.

"C'mon." When my begging didn't work out, I decided to bargain. "How about I play a song and then go?"

"Goo!" Goomy let go of my leg, cheering happily as they waited for me to play. Pulling the guitar from my Silph bag, I waited for some of the rest of my team to get in position, Notch and Athena clapping their hands, Phantasm stomping her feet along with Bahamut, and Dun slapping his tail to get the beat started.

"So this is what you meant,

When you said that you were spent,

And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit,

Right to the top,

Don't look back.

Packing my bags and giving the academy a raincheck,

I don't ever want to let you down,

I don't ever want to leave this town,

Cause afterall,

The city never sleeps at night!

It's time to begin,

Isn't it?

I get a little bit bigger,

But then I'll admit,

I'm just the same as who I was,

Oh don't you understand?

I'm never changing who I am."

That earned a chorus of cheers, and also some questions (like what was a city or a 'raincheck'), but I was somewhat distracted by a whisper I thought I heard, like happy laughter chiming through the air. Like Notch but more organic?

Something about that thought stuck with me, but I couldn't place what was significant about it in particular. A glance and sign over at Phantasm had her checking, but she couldn't detect any Ghost haunting us. I wonder what it was? I was almost certain it was no figment of my imagination.

Unfortunately in my distractedness, I missed my opportunity to escape, Goomy slithering up to demand another song, a cry echoed by the other Dragons there.

"Alright, but just one more, okay?" After a rendition of Black Diamond… and Carry on my Wayward Son… and Light up the Night, I left the camp.

***

Shivering even in my winter uniform, I huddled in on myself and kept on walking up the path, pushing through the fierce winds. Even with my Aura to stop the winds from sapping my strength, the mountain was still incredibly cold. A sentiment that wasn't necessarily shared by Notch, who floated through the air beside me with ease, their diamond encrusted body glistening in the pale light reflected from the snow.

The polar biome was considered by many to be the harshest of the biomes and had the fewest students that explored it (at least beyond the Rest Area or nearby the plaza), even as it held a diverse and interesting variety of Pokemon. There were the expected Ice Types of course, like the Beartics and Abomasnows clomping through the snow, but I also saw signs of rarer ones, like tiny pawprints in the snow that I suspected belonged to a pack of Alolan Vulpix. I've even seen a few Duraludons walking around. No clue how Cyrano managed to get them here for the school though - that line of Dragons is noted only in Galar and amongst certain elite Dragon Tamer clans.

['What are you hoping to find here?'] Notch inquired curiously.

"The strange fog, for one. That was what the quest asked me to look into." Proof that either it 'did or did not exist.' The former is a much easier thing to prove than the latter.

['True, but the request is rather vague. Whoever told the staff about this 'dense fog' had no other information on the subject. We might be searching for a while until we determine that there is no such thing.'] There was no judgment in Notch's telepathic voice as usual, just curiosity into my own thoughts.

We had already checked out the part of the mountain where they said the 'strange, dense fog' was before, but there had been no sign of it there. I could have just left then and reported the Quest as complete, but I wanted to be thorough. There was also the joy in exploring a new area, discovering all of its hidden secrets, and seeing how the Pokemon played about.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Metang, after a moment of (quite likely literal) internal debate, picking up a lump of snow and moulding it into a snowball which they expertly threw into a floating Minior. The Flying Type appeared to completely ignore it, drifting through the air as they did. The Duraludon, less so.

Ignoring the draconic screeching in the background I said. "Possibly, but I don't see why someone would lie about this. It's both too unusual and too boring a thing to tell a falsehood about." Even if I don't manage to find what I'm looking for though, there's still joy to be found in exploring this place… Though I think once I reach the peak once, I'll stick to the lower, slightly warmer sections in the future.

"I wonder how much wilderness training these students receive?" I asked after a few minutes of silence. I hadn't needed to show any proof of that, but then again, the Trainer's exam does cover basic wilderness preparedness. Of course, that's not the same as having trekked over vast mountains before. My training with The Explorers and experiences in Glaseado helped a bunch here in marking the shriveled trees and jagged peaks in my mind to use as landmarks if I got lost.

Eventually, I hiked up to the top, casting my gaze down over the whole of the Polar Biome. Pristine white snow covered the vast majority of the biome, blanketing it tightly. Because of this, it was easy to see the black cloud of smoke down on the lower levels of the mountain.

Could that have been the fog from before? Or maybe connected to it; that's way farther away from where it was reported even without the difference in color. My mind immediately went to Pokemon, as such small weather disturbances usually were, but I couldn't tell which one. "Notch, wanna race?" I said with a grin, one that my Legendary matched.

With a 'whoop' and a leap, I was off, flying through the air. Gliding would have been much less of a drain, but I'd been practicing and getting stronger, so instead of slowing my fall, I sped up, racing down far below. When I neared the fog, I banked hard, pulling on my Aura. It was a stretch, a burn, and more. The force felt like I was pulling on a rope (that was my soul), the rope straining, but not snapping.

Hmm, whenever I reveal Aura to the world at large, I probably shouldn't describe it like that. Or to anyone. It's not like my soul would break if my Aura couldn't pull off the maneuver I attempted (and I had Notch ready on standby to catch me Psychically if anything went wrong), but that's just the best way I can describe it right now.

I was distracted from those thoughts by seeing Notch joyously dive past me into the cloud before I was enveloped by it myself - and then immediately started coughing. Right, smoke, don't inhale. I used my Aura to quickly clear the smoke and see the cause of it.

Standing in the middle of a puddle, was a large, shivering red tortoise. Flames sputtered out of her mouth at the surprise of mine and Notch's entrance, but they soon turned to weak coughs. The light within her shell was quite dim. No sun following her around either, must have the White Smoke Ability… which probably explains the phenomenon of 'dense fog' reported a few days ago. But a few days within this biome put her in this state, which is why her smoke turned black, a natural change for when Torkoals are distressed or agitated.

As my mind raced, Notch rushed in first, before I could warn them to wait. Predictably, the startled Torkoal lashed out, but Notch easily ignored the thin Flamethrower she sent their way and used their big arms to wrap the Fire Type in a gentle hug.

"Hey, hey, it's going to be okay," I told her while moving in slowly closer myself. When she didn't react negatively, I leaned in to hug the Pokemon as well, and she crooned, leaning into the warm contact (Notch tried hard and was nice, but couldn't make body heat of their own).

She feels warm-ish, but nowhere near as warm as a Torkoal should be. How long has she been in this Biome? And why? Those were questions to be addressed after dealing with the immediate problem. "We're going to take you to a place where you can be safe and warm. Everything is going to be alright."

She seemed reluctant, so Notch added ['You can trust Nemona,'] they spoke with a telepathic sincerity that felt like an unbreakable truth. It's kind of awe-inspiring just how much faith Notch, and the rest of my team, have in me sometimes.

Torkoal shook her head, bunting it against the Pokeballs on my belt. "You… want me to catch you?" It's not a great idea, the team is already adjusting to Anya and Goomy, but if she insists, I'm not sure I could say no here.

Thankfully she didn't, instead waving her head back and forth. "You don't want to be caught? No, you were caught and you're looking for your Pokeball!"

"Tork!"

"Well, I know that's important, but I think it's more important we get you healthy first. We'll take you into the infirmary and get you healed up, then we can find your Trainer and track down your Pokeball, okay?"

She was a stubborn Torkoal, but the frigid cold had taken most of the fight out of her, so with barely any resistance she let herself be led away. I didn't wait for a Flying Taxi and instead flew her out with the help of my team. Once out of the Terarium it didn't take long to get to the infirmary, currently staffed by an aged nurse, her grey hair tied up in a bun. The woman was quite sharp with me until I revealed this wasn't my Torkoal, and got the Fire Type plenty of coal to eat and a heating bed.

With Notch's translations and Phantasm's illusions, it didn't take too long until we could get an illusion of the guy who had caught Torkoal. Presenting that image to the staff, they scrolled through a list of all the students and their photo IDs till they found 'Kai Anderson'. We waited a bit as he was called down, Torkoal being fed and cared for in the meantime.

When he did show up, he was flanked by someone else familiar to me. "Atticus, I didn't expect to see you here," I said flatly, the dark-skinned boy nodding at me.

"I happened to be in the same class as Kai here when he got your message. That's the Torkoal you caught?" He asked his fellow League Club member, the other boy nodding.

Kai appeared to be from Kanto or Johto, with short black hair slicked back. He was wearing a mostly standard League Uniform, save for a dramatic cape he wore overtop his shoulders. "Yeah, I thought she'd help my team but she was worthless, so I left her behind. I mean, she couldn't even make the sun bright, and that's the only point of a Torkoal as a sun setter."

"What the fuck?!" I shouted, outraged. "Every Pokemon has worth on a team - White Smoke is a great Ability defensively, and even if you didn't see the value in it, you could have trained her to use Drought too! Then you'd have a Pokemon with two great Abilities."

Kai perked up at that, but Atticus shook his head. "Training a second Ability takes far too much time, especially for Abilities that don't synergize. If you wanted a sun setup Torkoal, you should have just caught one with Drought." The Elite Four clicked his tongue disapprovingly at his junior.

"How the heck was I supposed to know what Ability she had? I heard through the grapevine that there was a great place to find Torkoals above the Torchlit Cave, but there were too many up there and it was too hot. It was only after I took her to the Polar Biome to cool down and test her out that I found out she was-" he paused for a moment, as if fearful of me getting angry again. "She didn't have the Ability I needed. Look, I only came down here because I was kinda curious, but if it's going to take a long time to train her, I think I'll pass. Do you want her?" Behind me, Torkoal whined at her Trainer's clear rejection.

I snarled with rage, and if Atticus hadn't cuffed Kai on the back of the head, shocking me out of it as we both turned to stare at him. "I thought I taught you better than that. I didn't pick you from Ares' little clique and take you under my metaphorical wing for nothing. You have a brain, use it. You can't just toss Pokemon in the wilderness."

"Thank y-" I began before Atticus continued.

"Any capture, even one that didn't work out, is effort expended. Don't just give that up for nothing. You should offer Torkoal up for trade, see if you can get a different team member, or even some TMs or battle items for her." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Torkoal crying quietly, her head hung low.

"How can you talk like that? Offering her up as if she was some… thing for you to barter?" I was a little low on energy after my trek through the mountain, so I didn't whip the winds around me, but it was a near thing.

Atticus pushed the glasses up on his face, staring down imperiously at me. "It's just the way of the world. Besides, Torkoal is Kai's Pokemon, so while your efforts are appreciated, you don't have any right to complain."

"Yeah. Though, if you care so much, I might be willing to offer her up for a trade," Kai added with a smirk, emboldened. "You've got some pretty strong Pokemon if you beat a Champion, even if they were the Paldean ones."

"Or I could just go to the School Board, Director, and even Unovan League about this. They have a lot to say about the welfare of Pokemon and the responsibilities of a Trainer." I crossed my arms and glared at the teen, who suddenly paled.

"Uh, shit. You can have her, for free! I'm- I'm sorry." Kai ran out of the infirmary like Giratina was on his heels. Atticus rolled his eyes; either at the display, or the fact that Kai hadn't pulled a promise from me not to do what I threatened. Before he could leave as well, I gripped his wrist tight, earning a wince.

"What is it?" He hissed.

"What is your problem? No, seriously, what is wrong with you?"

He shook his arm free from my grip (mostly because I let him, not looking to instigate a physical fight here). "Not a single thing. I would never suggest abandoning a Pokemon, and trading Pokemon is entirely legal, no matter what… views you may have on the matter."

"You know what I mean. Not a single other person is as callous as you are towards their Team in this school. Even with you trying to coach another flunky." Atticus' eye twitched at that before waving off my words.

"Then that's simply a sign that they won't make it to the top. If you aim to be the best, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes. You might have lucked out with your Legendary, but not all of us are so lucky, and I suspect even you'll find you've hit a wall soon." He turned away and began walking out. As he reached the doorway, I called out again.

"I remember you offered me your Dhelmise at the Junior Tournament. That was cold even then, but this… What changed?"

"I grew up. You'll learn, in time." I sincerely doubt it. He left without another word.

Checking in with the nurse (who had watched the whole confrontation and was already writing out a report against Kai) I made sure that Torkoal would be okay before heading out.

A few hours later, much colder and even tireder, I came back, with a red Pokeball in my shaking hands. "Took a bit, but I found your Pokeball," I told Torkoal. The despondent tortoise Pokemon lifted her head up, looking slightly confused, but mostly still sad.

"Ah, having it will make it easier to break the bond, so you don't have to worry about that jerk ever again. You can be free and go back to the Terarium and find a better Trainer." When she didn't look much happier, the fire within her shell still dim, I added, "I could even be your Trainer, if you want."

There was a long minute of silence before I heard her croak out, "Koal?" There was a hesitancy in her voice, as if she couldn't believe that I - or anyone - would want her. I felt a rage towards Kai and Atticus for hurting her so, but I put it to the side to focus on the one who truly mattered here.

Kneeling to be more on a level with her, I stared her straight in the eye. "I think that you're spectacular. Most Fire types couldn't have survived in the Polar Biome as long as you did. And I think you could be even stronger, and I'd be happy, and proud, to train you." After a moment I added, "If you want to. I know you might be a bit hesitant after all that-" That was all I got out before she bowled me over, hugging me as best she could.

"Tork! Torkooooooal!" She cried, the tears happy this time. I cried with her, happy as well (and also slightly crushed, but mostly happy). You're going to be great on the Team, Torkoal. I'm so happy I found you.

Spoiler: A/N:

So this was a bigger one, but I felt it worked to have all of these BBQs and little scenes together. I had a lot of fun with them and exploring Blueberry Academy and playing around with things. The Torkoal part at the end was not intended, but the idea grew on its own and really grew on me. I know it's another Pokemon joining the team soon, and I do plan to get into that, at least part of which will be covered in the next of the upcoming pair of interludes.

Let me know what you liked down in the comments below or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[Lillie Jones]

Thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues.
Cheers!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 53 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra big thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means so much to me.

POV - Phantasm

"Ready…" Of course I am, I was born ready!

"Set…" I'm on all fours, how much more set can I get? My claws dug into the soft earth beneath me.

"Go!" Nemona declared, dropping her arm down. With a leap, I bounded forward, soaring through the air and the first target ring. Hitting the ground at a run, I raced further ahead, jumping through another ring, before I leapt off of this cliff and onto another one of the pillars that jutted high into the air and gave the Canyon Biome its name.

There were two dozen of the high tech 'rings' - metal circles big enough for any of us to pass through the center with ease - and Nemona had placed them all around the biome as a kind of training drill. Makes me think of all those times I'd struggle to keep up with the bigger and stronger Pokemon on the team as a Zorua.

There was a sense of nostalgia as my memory flicked to those times, but I put that to the side as I scrambled up a rocky wall. I'm not gonna lose because I got lost in my head!

Ostensibly (to use the kind of big words Miles loves), this was a test of the new target ring system that Mister weird hair guy had developed. In practice though, we were just having fun racing each other.

It was challenging too; Nemona was good at (among other things), setting up training that was both enjoyable and could push you to your limits. In one close section I had to jump through a ring, then slide down against a cliff face, only to push off of that and hit the ring on the other side. Trying to make sure I was slow enough that I could hit the timing while still keeping enough speed to not get left behind was tricky, but I managed it, howling with joy as I made the leap.

Of course, there are safer routes for that path, but I spied this one when I watched Nightwing swoop down during her run and I knew I had to take it. A lot of Pokemon, even some of the people on this team, didn't get how observant I was. How observant I had to be. Shaping illusions was a tricky art to begin with, and it needed clarity of vision to work well and fool our foes. And there are so many of them.

My dear Trainer thought otherwise, but was too kind, too slow to react with anger. Sometimes you need to bare your fangs to make a predator back off. Nemona waits until their jaws are about snap on her before lashing out. I couldn't be angry with her, for that, or basically anything. She was the one person in the world that the rage bubbling under the surface couldn't be drawn out for. I did a little flip through one of the rings as I zipped through and my keen ears caught her cheers.

Nemona had the entire team out, with the rings spread across the entire Canyon Biome. Our Trainer was placed just so that with her sharp eyes she could follow pretty much every step of the course. Originally, she had tried running it with multiple at a time before getting halfway through the first race and cancelling it.

It's not my fault! Nightwing shouldn't have started it with that sneaky Knock Off when I was hanging onto a wall, those things hurt a lot! Making an illusion so she'd ram into a cliff was only fair.

Regardless of fairness, Nemona had decided that the best way to keep the match up 'un-crazy' was to have us run the course on our own and then compare times afterwards. Okay, she didn't say we were to compare times, but if she's gonna announce them then that's just what we're going to do.

I put those thoughts away as I neared the toughest part of the course. This was a harsh turn that had tripped up Athena as she had to go from shooting up diagonally through a higher ring to shooting down to another cliff below and at a different angle from the first. To pass through the ring just beyond that cliff at the correct angle to speed along to the next, I'd need to do a sharp pivot there and bound off.

Leaping just through the first ring of the maneuver, I twisted mid-air with a reverse direction Quick Attack to get on solid ground again. Pushing off the peak, I rocketed down, hitting the ground with a roll to absorb the shock and get my feet back under me, pushing off again through the next ring.

With that part cleared it was a hop, skip, and a jump (in that order) to make it clear through the finish line.

["1 minute and point 6 seconds,"] Nemona declared, pressing the stop button on her phone app as I completed the course.

"Ha! Hahaha!" I laughed, pointing at Athena, who was now fuming over her time of 1 minute and 32 seconds. Nightwing joined in, cackling, until Athena pointed out that I'd beaten Nightwing's time of 1 minute and 15 seconds. That nearly started a fist/pincer fight until I laughed at them and they turned on me as one. Only a quick illusion to distract Nightwing and Detect to dodge Athena got me out of the way (and safely nearby Nemona).

['Good job, you did great out there.'] Nemona told me, running a hand through my mane, despite the chills it would give her, and I leaned into the contact.

"Went even faster than that cheater Nightwing, flying through the rocks and all." Nemona smiled indulgently at me, letting me have the moment. Off to the side, Nightwing pouted, but I thought it only fair; she had gotten plenty of Nemona's attention when she had finished her circuit after all.

The moment ended too soon and we settled in to watch as Radiance took their place at the starting line. "What do you want to bet they beat Phantasm's time?" Nightwing asked no one in particular, sticking her tongue out at me as I growled at her.

"No bet," Dun declared authoritatively. "This is about testing our own speed and agility; view this as setting your own record for you to beat down the line." That would have been well and fine, but of course Nemona's Starter had to ruin it by continuing to speak. "Also, Radiance will win, obviously, so there's no point in making that bet."

Before I could snap at him, Nemona gave the signal and Radiance was off like a bolt of lightning. They blazed through ring after ring in record time. With fire burning off of six wings, she left a white-hot streak blazing through the air over the Canyon. Unlike the other winged fliers, she could adjust her positioning by moving a couple wings and seemingly ignore any necessary aerodynamics and change directions on a dime (whatever that is; Nemona mentioned them once or twice before).

I wanted to complain about the unfairness of it all, and part of me (even if immediately quelled), hoped that she'd fail a turn, smack into a wall, or even get struck down by a bolt of lightning. None of that happened however, and they easily cleared the course, nearing the finish line. I think they'd be faster than me even without flight. And that was already considering that the 'lightning-in-a-jar' thingie that gave them a massive speed boost wasn't allowed. No speed boosting Moves like Agility or Rock Polish were allowed before or during the race either.

["58 point 5 seconds! That was incredible!"] Nemona rushed over to congratulate them and I did my best not to pout. Given how Athena smirked at me, I didn't think I was successful. ["Alright, let's wrap it up-"] Nemona began before being interrupted by Torkoal bumping gently but insistantly into her side.

"It's my turn, next."

["Are you sure? You don't have to yet, being new to the team and all…"] Nemona trailed off, unwilling to say aloud what we were all thinking. It's so dumb how humans do that. Nemona is better than most at being direct and honest, especially with the Pack, but she still does that sometimes.

Torkoal gulped, taking in the heights, but shook her head, determination shining in her eyes. "I'm going to be a part of this team, so I'll compete too!"

Marching up to the starting line, the newest member of the Pack got ready and Nemona dutifully counted her in. "You can do it, go big sis!" Cheered Goomy, the youngest of our Pack. Ever since he heard he'd evolve and get a shell 'like Torkoal's' he's taken to call the turtle 'big sis.' Even though his is supposed to be all snail-like and metal. Then again, he'll probably be happy no matter what his shell looks like, just so long as it happens soon. The little one had been growing up fast, but being surrounded by giants and having to stay here while we slept in the Academy dormitories did not make him happy.

["...Go!"] Nemona shouted, and Torkoal scurried ahead as fast she could go… which wasn't all that fast. She had the strength necessary for big leaps through the first two rings, but for the next one, path was going to be difficult, given how high up it was in the air.

She jumped forward, but clearly without enough power to make it. As she spun mid-air however, I heard gasps beside me and saw the way her shell shook. As her belly faced the ring, Torkoal used Eruption, a great blast of magma pushing out of her back through the vents in her shell, and propelling her forward through the ring. A bit unsteady, but with all four legs on solid ground, she landed. "Torkoooooal!"

There was much cheering from those of us at the start/finish (with one notable exception). We watched as she pulled off the Move again and again. ['She's come a long way in a short time, hasn't she?'] Notch commented placidly beside me.

"She has," I replied, my ears twitching towards Nemona, catching the girl muttering under her breath. "All of the new bloods are improving fast." Feels even faster than when I was the newest to the Pack, but maybe it's one of those things that feels different from the outside? Pack Leader was enthralled, excited, but also critical, noting ways in which the Move could be improved for combat and even situations like this.

That's why she's Pack Leader; always thinking of ways to help us get stronger. Though… "Do you think Nemona hasn't been training us as much lately?"

Notch was far freer with their expressions now that they were a Diance, and they adopted a disappointed mien, wagging a finger at me. I wanted to break it, but I knew such a thing would likely lead to me breaking my own claws or teeth instead. ['She has been busy, yes, but though the sun spreads her light far and wide, it can still only cover so much of the world. We must be patient and wait for her attentions to return- sun theming not working?'] They cut off their impromptu sermon to ask.

"Doesn't really fit Nemona, does it?" I pointed out, scratching at an itch at my side with my hind leg as I settled down. The rest of us were doing much the same, still watching Torkoal go, but getting comfy as we waited for her to finish. A little too comfy in some cases, I thought as I saw Athena snuggle up close to Dun. The Lucario had gotten Nemona to pick up some more of that weird medicine that meant she wouldn't be laying Eggs any time soon, so she was likely quite looking forward to tonight.

['What do you think would best 'fit' her gospel?'] Notch inquired. I liked that, they were always willing to listen to me. If I was being fair, most others would, but the pack had its own dynamics. I had my rivalry with Athena, and Nightwing and I would tease each other. Dun was great at giving advice but less good at listening to others. Miles was good at both, but I always got the vague sense that they felt superior to me. Or anyone not named Nemona. They think they're smarter than the rest of us.

(If I was being really fair, I'd accept that they probably were smarter than anyone else in the Pack but any supposed sense of superiority I sensed from them was more my own insecurities shining through. I did not feel like being that fair).

"Something storm based or… I dunno. Should be wild! She tries to act all polite with other humans, but she has a fierce side to her." And when she lets it loose, when she fights to her fullest, it's a glory to behold.

They rubbed their chin with a big, stony hand. ['True, but storms hardly fit the mythos of care and guidance I want to build for her.']

"Y̴͍̼̜̊͠o̴̺͋̿ų̷̓ ̵̮͋c̷̫̯͙͋a̷̳̭̋r̴̢̛͚͎̉e̵͇̩̣͊͠ ̸̗͔̥́̀͝a̴̢̩̖͒ ̸̺͈͈͌͝l̷̬͒̄͠ö̷̬̻ͅẗ̴̜̠̇͝ ̵͎̠̬͑f̷̙͛͠o̷̗̣̩̊͠ŕ̶͚ ̸̧̭͇̋̈́t̸̖͍̤̏̓͑h̴͉̉̉ḭ̵̑̄̂š̷̳.̷̘͉̙̋̂͗ ̵̣̈̈́̑W̴̛̥͛̅͜h̷̡͊y̴͖̣̿ ̶̞̋̚ḯ̴͔s̷̩̃̏̓ ̶̤̰̽̃̊͜i̸̛̫̲t̷̢̂ ̴̞͊s̵͔̤͙̅͋͝ò̸̺̋ ̷̢̦̂i̵͔͘ḿ̴͍̤̺̈́̑p̴̢̼̚ͅo̷͈̙̅̃͝r̷̡̘͘t̷͍͚̀à̸̳͓̯̕n̵͍̖̋t̴̝̪͔̋ ̵͉̍̔͑t̴͍̿o̴̜̍̌ ̵̹̄͊y̸̯̫͔͐̊o̶͚̐u̶̮̗̔͘͠?̴̙̊̏" Radiance asked, having drifted nearby us. I did my best to stop myself from raising my hackles at their 'words.' It's not a threat, just how they communicate, even if it sounds weird as... something really weird, like water falling in reverse or human mating rituals. I think I'm getting better at understanding them, but their voice is all distorted, at least to my ears. Like the radio went wonky sometimes when we explored through caves. Listening to the radio through Miles' phone body was a regular occurrence as we travelled through Paldea, both for some 'variety' in music (as Nemona dubbed it), but also to get any early warning about Ranger reports or trouble on the road.

['Theming is important for any religion, and when you are starting one is the best time to ensure that all of it fits and is appealing to prospective worshippers.'] Notch replied easily. Of us all, Notch understood the strange Pokemon the best out of anyone in the Pack. ['Of course, I wouldn't bend on the core tenets of the religion, but framing them in an easy to understand, elegant manner, is important to ensure it takes off.']

Those words sound like they came straight from Nemona herself. She was knowledgeable about religion and so much more, even if it was from a more 'academic' perspective - and certainly with no interest in being worshipped. That was not enough to deter Notch, however.

We sat around, chatting as we waited. Torkoal took far longer than anyone else, which was to be expected, even with her… unique, movement method. There was one section where Torkoal almost missed her jump, landing on the ledge of a cliff with only her forelegs gripping on. I could smell the fear on Nemona as she was about to order Radiance to swoop in and save the newest Packmate before Torkoal powered through, pulling herself up onto solid ground.

Nemona gave a sigh of relief, and I wondered not for the first time how I ended up with such a caring, amazing Trainer. Some days it feels like a dream, like I must still be back in that burrow in the ground, shaking from internal chills and all this is just some fantastic vision I conjured for myself before I died.

That was another point of kinship I felt to Nemona, though not one I'd ever bring up; we'd both died. Nemona was foggier on the details of her exact death, just like she was about her early childhood upon being reborn, but I figured that was just part of the human limitations. Nemona pushed herself hard, and could do so much more than the rest of these humans (a fact that had gone a long way to convincing me of Notch's faith) that I wondered how the rest of them could not see her and instantly understand the greatness that walked among them.

She might not be as large or angry as an Alpha, but still! Strength recognizes strength, or at least it does when anyone normal is involved. Despite all that strength, it was only relative to her frailty as a human. Which is why I get so worried for her, why I want to claw out the jugulars of those who would hurt her-

I closed my eyes, calming myself down with some breathing exercises Athena had taught me. I'd never thanked her for teaching me those meditation techniques outright, but I'd also never tried to swipe a bit of extra food from her since, so I was sure she knew how much it meant. Still not easy though, a constant struggle to keep my anger down and channel it properly.

Everyone on the team struggled though, like Torkoal, huffing and puffing, as she landed back on the starting cliff. The grass combusted with every step, her body running hot from all the Eruptions, and shakily, she approached the final ring, and with tremendous effort, hopped up, just over and past the ring.

['You did it! That was amazing!'] Nemona rushed over, wanting to hug her, but Torkoal was too hot to touch for the moment, so she settled for an air hug and pulling out a big bag of coal from that weird too-small pack she carried around everywhere. She didn't declare the time Torkoal took, but it must have been over ten minutes, not that anyone cared.

Well, anyone except her. Gothorita was off in the corner (okay, a nearby tree by the edge of this section of the clearing - it was hard to find corners to sulk in when you were on a flat, circular plateau), kicking rocks with her dainty feet, just waiting for the challenge to be over. She looked like she wanted to say something but had thought better of it. Insight or is her Future Sight getting better? Nemona got her that TM and she's been annoying to fight ever since.

The Psychic Type's mood didn't improve as Goomy wanted to take on the challenge too, and since there was literally no way for him to make it, Nemona picked him up and ran the course herself. "Goo!" The baby Dragon cried eagerly, wind whipping by him as Pack Leader jumped, glided, and occasionally flew through the target rings.

That little excursion also gave me the opportunity to talk to the little Psychic. "So. You need to get your shit together." Was that right? Probably not, I should have 'eased her into the discussion,' or whatever, but I'm not about to lose face by admitting it now.

I also made sure not to let those thoughts leak; a powerful Psychic would have been able to pick up my feelings of insecurity and wanting to project maturity, even amidst the 'buzz' of Distortion from my ghostly side, but I didn't need to worry about that from Anya. Not yet, at least.

['Excuse me?!'] Anya replied telepathically, looking scandalized.

"You heard me. Sitting in the corner, glaring whenever Pack Leader looks at Goomy or gives Torkoal advice on how to fight. Stop moping about her adding new Pokemon to the team. When you joined, you knew she'd have to split up her time amongst us." And she still spends plenty of time training you personally and giving you tons of attention- I strangled that line of thought. "It's just split a few more ways, and we've all dealt with it too."

Some of us less well than others. Dun was naturally always close to her and Miles handled Nemona's schedule and phone, but the rest of us had to make do. Athena stayed close to Dun whenever he was free, Bahamut with that Dragon he'd been eyeing up. Nightwing was bothering me more which helped distract me from that and Radiance was aloof from the get go, so didn't mind all that much. But they do mind telepathic conversations. I should tell Anya to not communicate with them that way.

The Gothorita naturally fell back to Psychic communications, which set things off with Radiance. Which is a shame, since I think they're the only one that Anya really looks up to among us. Exactly why, I forgot. She had mentioned something about how 'elegant' or 'majestic' or whatever that Radiance was, and it was clear she had taken a shine to the Paradox Pokemon, but their own biases meant those feelings weren't returned, with Radiance being purposefully difficult when they were paired together to fight.

The double battle system in general was a pain to learn. We'd been run through some drills, and we knew the basics of how to fight together, but a lot of our attacks would hit our partners or interfere. Some pairs, like Dun and Notch, went together swimmingly. Others, like Nightwing and Radiance, had ended in disaster and plenty of friendly fire for two not very friendly Pokemon.

I snapped my attention back to Anya as she spoke up. ['I didn't think it would be this soon,'] she admitted. ['I know she's busy but just- I didn't think it'd be this early. Didn't see it happening this fast.'] There was a pause, the girl stewing in her emotions before she burst out, "Why does everyone keep leaving me?"

That one hurt in a way I could deeply empathize with. Though that's why I'm the one having this talk to her in the first place - because I get it. I feel the same loss and pain and rage as Anya feels. I obsessed over Nemona; how could I not? When she's the shining star, the savior of our lives? I had died, somehow lived through that, and was then shunned by my peers, but she picked me up and saw me as the most precious thing in the world.

I changed tacks, deciding to come about the problem at a more circumspect angle. "Nemona doesn't get why Notch wants to start a religion around her. She understands, on a superficial level, that we think she's great but doesn't see the deeper picture. How so many of us were completely lost before she came, how radically improved our lives are because of her, in ways we couldn't even imagine." I paused, looking at the smaller girl with a keen eye. "You could though, couldn't you?"

She nodded, wobbling slightly from how large her head was compared to her body. She sent more a flash of emotions and images at me than words next. 'Cave is dark but secure, fields outside nice. Life peaceful. Then, mother/parent passes. Siblings leave, won't stay. Why go? Safe here, good here. All alone. Ability to keep others close, but no one else here. Am drawn to her. She's good, but feelings jumbled. Leaves, but See. A Vision. She will be back. I work, I plan. I try to take her with me. Stopped, but an offer given. Don't want to leave, outside world is scary. But I go. I trust her. I… believe in her.'

"I see" I said, nodding, watching as Nemona neared the end of the track. She's fast for a human, but so slow compared to the rest of us (save Torkoal and nearly as fast as Anya's time was). "Do you regret it?" I asked lightly, picking at a claw.

"I- no," she answers, for both ways the question could be interpreted. She neither regrets not leaving earlier and seeing all the wonderful things the world had to offer, nor joining with Nemona. She gets it.

"That's why Notch is creating their religion, because we believe that there is a grand plan, and Nemona is a huge part of it." The alternative, that this is all just random chance, that any one of us could have ended up with the pack or outside of it, feels unthinkable. I at least was confident in the fact that the existence of my kind of Zoroark only happened here because of Nemona, but I decided not to mention that to Anya.

Notch, having heard our conversation, drifted by. ['Then take solace in that. Know that in her grace, Nemona will never abandon you so long as you stay by her side. That same generosity might have her open her arms to others, but it will never diminish the love she holds for you.']

As they finished, Nemona landed back down and sprinted to jump through the final ring. "Woohoo! Again, again!" Goomy cheered, the rest of the pack moving over to congratulate them. Nemona let the Dragon down where he talked to the pack for a moment, excitedly babbling before going off to talk to the rest of the Goomys about how cool it was.

Many of them (the non-Dragon Tamer Clan ones) were very impressed by Goomy and how they had a Trainer. He was definitely the 'cool kid' of the group, to use human terms. Bahamut also wandered over, ostensibly to look after our pack mate, but in truth I saw the eyes he made at that Sliggoo. He even offers to stick behind some days when we're out with Nemona doing the quests.

Pack Leader then made her way towards us, wiping off some of the goo on her body. Even with specialized wipes, there wasn't much it could do (though they did make Goomy shrivel up like a prune one time he touched one, which was hilarious) and I suspected she'd be bathing as soon as she left the Terarium.

['Glad to see you're getting along,'] Nemona said, smiling at me and Anya. The Gothorita looked a little abashed but like she was quite happy with the praise, then elated with what Nemona said next. ['Why don't I give you a piggyback ride to the firepit? It won't be long till you evolve and then you'll be the one giving me a lift,'] she joked, chuckling. Anya gave her a withering look that was somewhat negated by the fact that Nemona couldn't see it because the girl had already eagerly scrambled up on top of her shoulders.

I clenched my claws, the sharp, self-inflicted pain reminding me of what I had just told Anya. "Hah. We really are too much alike," I muttered quietly to myself (with an auditory illusion on top to stop Pack Leader's keen ears from picking up). It did nothing to stop Nightwing however, who swooped down, bumping into me.

"That was a nice thing you did," she said, and I pushed her back. Whether for the first push or what she said, even I didn't know. Nightwing's yellow eyes locked onto me, eyeing up whether or not to turn this into a proper tussle, but as Nemona pulled out her guitar by the fire we instead settled down in a circle. Nightwing landed beside me with her long tail wrapped around me as we waited for the song.

Nemona liked to use this time to practice her music, 'working out the kinks' as she called it. Some nights it would be one song over and over, with slightly different variations. Other days, she'd play a number of different tunes, usually from half finished songs. I think they're all amazing. And that's not just because of how great Pack Leader is as a person.

There was a rage in me, constantly lurking under the surface. Nemona thought it formed when I evolved, but I knew it to be earlier than that, ever since I died. I just couldn't act on it back then. The part of me I channeled through Bitter Malice which wanted to hate and hate and hate… and I knew it to be destructive. To others, but myself as well. When she sang, it was like all of that just faded away, though. Feels… peaceful.

[~'Now,

Let worry fall away,

No fear allowed to stay.

My wish is now your dream and my hope neverending,

When clouds build up inside,

My song can clear the sky,

You know that I'm invincible

And everything is alright!'

'My voice carries birds in flight!

With every note they go higher and higher!

'See how I move with such grace,

Just like a dancer on the stage.

Your voice carries life within,

Calls me to action again and again.

If you're hurt and you need me,

I'll always be there and protect you,

I swear, I'll always protect you.'

'Will have the chance to go to brand new heights,

You and I,

Unstoppable, when we're together,

We can have it all,

A fire burns within our hearts!'

'Now, let us go hand in hand,

To a light that lies ahead,

All of our hopes and dreams,

Can bring happiness when we're in sync

I've always felt this warmth from you,

No one gives affection like you do,

You make me invincible,

When you're here by my side!'~]

Everyone clapped (or made other appreciative sounds if their bodies didn't allow for easy clapping) and Nemona played that one again a few times. By the end, most of us were singing along. My mind calmed, I started writing down ideas I had for my story.

It could be grim and gritty, but that made the bright points shine through even more. The main character was a tricksy young Zorua, making her way in a world that was strange and foreign, dominated entirely by humans. Other Pokemon were things of myth, yet the strange human world, of knights and kingdoms felt just as odd to Specter (the Zorua main character), as she disguised herself as one of them and tried to navigate the complex power struggles of that world.

My story was a bit unusual, but Nemona encouraged me to write what I believed in, and this was the story that called out to me. For now at least. Some of the technology I've seen here makes me think of some space-faring adventure crew, exploring the unknown and finding all manner of strange, alien Pokemon out there. I turned over the page of the stylized notebook and jotted down the ideas I had, so they couldn't slip away the next time I wanted to visit them.

That was some good advice Pack Leader gave me, I thought, glancing over at her and how she had drifted off, cuddled up next to several others on the team. I wonder if there were humans in her world who wrote about worlds filled with only Pokemon and few if any humans?... Nah, we were only one of those gaming fads there, I think this idea is pretty original.

Spoiler: A/N:

Finding the right song for this scene was tough. I wanted to tie it into the 'Champions' Album Nemona is making, but it also had to have a theme of togetherness and how much they helped each other. When I remembered Ado's 'I'm Invincible' I knew that it was perfect, even if there's another song from that movie already in the list.

Phantasm is a character we haven't seen a lot of in a while, so I thought she'd be good for the POV, and I think she was, but I did have some stumbling blocks in writing this at times in getting into her head. She can hold incredible anger and love in her, is quite cunning and insightful, but also blunt and uncaring. Very dichotomous (which I suppose is fitting for a Normal/Ghost Type).

Her POV should also give us a bit of an understanding as to the rest of the team and their dynamics. We've added a lot of new members recently, so things have been shook up a tad. Let me know what you thought down in the comments below or on the Discord. And if you want to read more and have a bit of money to toss my way, I have a a Kofi and a Patreon, subscribers to the latter get early access to the next ten chapters. Thank you, and I hope you're having a great day.

 

[Lillie Jones]

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

 

[Phili]

So, I just got to chapter 65, and I thought I should share some of my thoughts so far before I forget them.

Overall, I'm loving the story. I spent a long time not trying this story because I'm pretty much completely unfamiliar with Paldea and everything in it, and I'm happy I ignored this story for so long because now I get to read 600k+ words at once :3.

I'm curious about why Fredrick was wanting a Soul Dew, but I kinda hope he doesn't get a Latias/Latios unless he vastly changes his attitude/character (Latias is my favorite Pokemon, I love and adore her) as I don't see any way a legendary would put up with him as he is now.

I'm interested in a lot of the plot points, particularly if Hassel and Brassius and/or Tulip and Dendra are couples (I got that impression, but I'm not sure and am curious if I'm correct); along with if Nemona is romantically interested in the Ranch girl (again, I got that impression but I'm not sure).

I'm not super happy about the Wild Pokemon. Things just seem a little off, the wild Pokemon often seem to go directly after Nemona uncharacteristically and unreasonably (and Nemona herself mentioned early on that Wild Pokemon are essentially never at fault, it is almost always a human doing something that provokes them, and now she is on her journey, the wild pokemon sometimes seem way too easily provoked), along with Nemona's pokemon (and very occasionally Nemona herself) being absolute dicks to the wild Pokemon (mainly Nightwing, but a few of the others are also like that, some more often than others). The problem is, I don't think there is a solution to Nemona's pokemon being assholes to wild Pokemon. If they piss off a wild Pokemon too strong for them, they still won't change their behavior as anything short of death and permanent crippling will just make them angry instead of going "hey, maybe I shouldn't be a raging asshole to these random Pokemon of unknown strength that are minding their own business"; and Nemona is more concerned about keeping a good relationship with her Pokemon than she is about reining them in.

I also wasn't too happy about the reactions people had to the poachers. Everyone seemed to just sort of ignore that they planned to murder a nine year old girl, and that the poachers jumped to that as a solution so quickly there is no way it is their first time killing someone, especially as none of them even hesitated aside from the consideration of if they might be better off trying to hypnotize knowledge out of her first. And then the adults all just sort of ignored that they were murderers.

I have however, generally loved the interludes (generally because the Dun interlude gave me knowledge about Notch that I did not want O_O). Interludes are always my favorite part of any story; I love seeing other POVs in general, and I've enjoyed seeing how other people have thought of Nemona.

Okay, thoughts over, back to reading.

 

[Phili]

Just caught up to the latest chapter. Still loving it all.

I will admit to being somewhat baffled by the Yu-Gi-Oh GX characters (honestly, Atticus confuses me the most because he is completely different from the Atticus Rhodes in Yu-Gi-Oh GX while the other GX characters were pretty spot on), but I do think it would be kinda hilarious if Nemona invented Yu-Gi-Oh and made the card game popular among the academy students (maybe even starting on making the manga/anime of it). Inventing your own card game is the kind of thing that will get you an "in" with quite a few legendaries (namely the more playful and/or cerebral ones; I can absolutely picture Mewtwo getting really into playing Yu-Gi-Oh and find that image hilarious, and something like Celebi or Victini or Mew seem like they would be really interested in learning how to play a card game like YuGiOh as well). I'm also imagining her convincing the academy people to let her use their likeness for making a GX anime/manga by showing them sneak peeks of cool scenes featuring characters "based on them" (like when Crowler is facing Camula to defend the kids).

I am hoping Nemona will be assertive and stamp down on anyone trying to name Iron Moths as Radiances officially. Luckily she is working together on the new Pokedex Rotom phone app thingy, so she can ensure it is correctly named there. If necessary, I hope she will throw around her weight as a champion and academic to make sure all official (or sufficiently popular) sources have the species name correct. Doing so would (in addition to being the right thing to do ethically) also likely win her a lot of brownie points with various academics such as historians (which notably includes Cynthia), any Pokemon Professors, Colress (for showing academic integrity by recognizing that it had already been named for 200 years), and Heath's descendant (as well as Radiance themself).

 

[Skyfyre]

I'm not super happy about the Wild Pokemon. Things just seem a little off, the wild Pokemon often seem to go directly after Nemona uncharacteristically and unreasonably (and Nemona herself mentioned early on that Wild Pokemon are essentially never at fault, it is almost always a human doing something that provokes them, and now she is on her journey, the wild pokemon sometimes seem way too easily provoked), along with Nemona's pokemon (and very occasionally Nemona herself) being absolute dicks to the wild Pokemon (mainly Nightwing, but a few of the others are also like that, some more often than others). The problem is, I don't think there is a solution to Nemona's pokemon being assholes to wild Pokemon. If they piss off a wild Pokemon too strong for them, they still won't change their behavior as anything short of death and permanent crippling will just make them angry instead of going "hey, maybe I shouldn't be a raging asshole to these random Pokemon of unknown strength that are minding their own business"; and Nemona is more concerned about keeping a good relationship with her Pokemon than she is about reining them in.

I also wasn't too happy about the reactions people had to the poachers. Everyone seemed to just sort of ignore that they planned to murder a nine year old girl, and that the poachers jumped to that as a solution so quickly there is no way it is their first time killing someone, especially as none of them even hesitated aside from the consideration of if they might be better off trying to hypnotize knowledge out of her first. And then the adults all just sort of ignored that they were murderers.

Click to shrink...

That's fair. Some of it is Nemona's home being very placid in comparison to other, more wild regions she's travelling through now, where the Pokemon are more likely to take offense easier, some of it are moments where Nemona actively seeks out a fight. There's a lot of more peaceful moments as well, they just don't tend to get commented on, because they're peaceful.

As for the poachers, people were quite upset about that, but a lot of that (and the punishments those poachers faced) weren't really seen because that wasn't Nemona's view/focus

I'm curious about why Fredrick was wanting a Soul Dew, but I kinda hope he doesn't get a Latias/Latios unless he vastly changes his attitude/character (Latias is my favorite Pokemon, I love and adore her) as I don't see any way a legendary would put up with him as he is now.

Click to shrink...

What Fredrick assumes he can do and what he can actually manage are often two vastly different things. He has improved a fair bit since the prior encounter, but you're correct that he'd need to change a lot for that. That was the last we'll see of him for a while, though.

I'm interested in a lot of the plot points, particularly if Hassel and Brassius and/or Tulip and Dendra are couples (I got that impression, but I'm not sure and am curious if I'm correct); along with if Nemona is romantically interested in the Ranch girl (again, I got that impression but I'm not sure).

Click to shrink...

Hassel and Brassius are more casual, but yeah. And as you've seen now, Tulip and Dendra are officially together! Nemona was attracted to the ranch girl, but she's not really seeking romance at this point (not the least of which is because this story is cross-posted on several sites that makes writing such a thing difficult/impossible).

I will admit to being somewhat baffled by the Yu-Gi-Oh GX characters (honestly, Atticus confuses me the most because he is completely different from the Atticus Rhodes in Yu-Gi-Oh GX while the other GX characters were pretty spot on)

Click to shrink...

That's fair. Atticus was a result of several different factors, leading to him being confusingly named, haha. He's the (unamed) brother of Aliquiss from the Paldean Winds shorts. I picked the name Atticus as a reference to that, but it left him confusingly named, considering there's an Atticus on Team Star. As we started the Blueberry Academy Arc, I decided to give him a last name, and sinceI'm generally bad with names and was already introducing some GX characters, I decided to use Rhodes as another reference that way, though his character is quite distinct from the GX character (and we'll be seeing more of that soon).

thanks for the chapter
The Journey continues
Cheers!

Click to shrink...

Just caught up to the latest chapter. Still loving it all.

Click to shrink...

Thank you, I'm glad to hear it!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 53 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, and HanShotFirst, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means the world to me.

Atticus Rhodes POV

"Malamar, you need to switch up the Hypnosis with Psychic," I told the Overturning Pokemon briskly. "And do so mid-Move; you aren't dropping that Type Energy and picking it back up, it's one smooth, quick transition of kind." She gave a noise of displeasure, but attempted to do her best regardless, which was more than I could say for some of my team.

"Vivillion, you need to protect your team mates, guide the wind to surround and shield them." The Bug Type did his best but was clearly struggling. The fact that Golem is using Rock Blast on her probably isn't helping, but that's the point. With Rage Powder and Friend Guard, Vivillion can absorb the hits and let another team member set up. But he's too frail. Maybe I should discard him for a Clefairy? Their line loses friend guard when they evolve, but an Eviolite should just make them tougher. Hmm but I lose out on a solid Bug Type attacker, especially now that Durant is gone, and I do enjoy Vivillion's Quiver Dance setup and status effects.

Options flitted through my mind, almost settling on Masquerain before discarding it as my eyes caught on Overquwil running through a picture perfect Fell Stinger routine on one of the dummies I had set up. Perfection. I gave her a brief nod of approval before walking around the arena to inspect the others more closely. All around, my Pokemon were running through the rigorous drills I had set up to maximize their potential.

My Tauros was getting used to the Assault Vest I'd fitted him with, a blazing Raging Bull tearing up the field - almost literally, as his charge would have him pulling up rocks with his horns as he ran, tossing them up… and to the side. Hmm, that's not exactly what I wanted. The ideal plan was for the rocks to hem in the foes for the charge to hit them hard.

It's possible that my goal there is simply impossible - or at least untenable. If the Rock Throw ended up hitting Tauros, it would deal super effective damage to him, cripple his speed, and generally be an embarrassment, and I can see only too many ways in which that would happen. I'll switch it up so he uses it to target the other Pokemon in a double battle.

That would be less useful for the future, once I left Blueberry Academy, where Double Battles were no longer the norm, but I'd learned not to get too attached to one strategy. "Oh sure, the other students might complain or bemoan my methods, but who wins in the end?" I muttered to myself.

Weezing heard that and turned slightly to face me, only to get smacked hard by one of Toedscruel's Earth Powers. "Wasn't for you, but don't get distracted," I warned the Galarian Pokemon.

"Weez…" One of the heads said, and they got back to work, dodging the Earth Power while unleashing Heat Waves towards Toedscruel. For his part, I had him blasting the wave away with a Tera Blast, enhanced by the Water Terastalization he was using, getting Toedscruel used to the new Type and how to switch between attacks quickly.

I can get Vivillion to teach Toedscruel Rage Powder before I trade them away, a Mirror Herb should do the trick nicely. Not that I would be telling Vivillion what I was doing beforehand. Experience had shown me that the Pokemon would give it less than their all if they knew I was going to trade them off. Which is just self-sabotage, really. Any progress they make with me would only help them with their next Trainer, and I have changed my mind in the past.

Ferrothorn had been seen as a failure before her evolution, but afterwards had filled out my team nicely and was now a solid member of the Pokemon I owned. Idly, I wondered if telling her I had planned on trading her before her evolution would have changed things before discarding the thought as foolish. Some Pokemon are winners and some are losers. It might take a while to see which is which, but that's just the job of a good Trainer.

Finding the good Pokemon took a fair bit of work, which is why I was thankful for the people I had found online. Professional traders who emphasized discreet, expedient deliveries helped me expand my roster without the need to venture far and wide to track them down myself. Trading the Pokemon that didn't meet my standards to other traders kept the cost of such ventures low, though the Rhodes family was decently well off to support my career in this. And likely my little brother's as well, provided his passion for Pokemon battles continues as he grows older.

Ditto was copying Eiscue at the moment, the two of them attempting to freeze Barraskewda in a pool taking up one corner of the arena. Even with the two of them and the shallow water, Barraskewda was dodging around the ice, breaking it up and conjuring more water to swim on with Aqua Jet. Of course, that's with relatively slow foes to fight. I'll have to see if he can match up against faster attacks- wait, he's actually getting clipped by some of those blows. But with Type advantage he can just power through it.

I frowned before calling out "Freeze Dry, ratchet it up a step." The Eiscue and transformed Ditto followed my command instantly, and now Barraskewda was on the back fin, desperately struggling against the super-effective Move. He needs to learn how to deal with that better. Grass attacks often have just as large a coverage and Electric Types are even harder to dodge in the water. If he can't, well I'll have to look into a replacement for him too.

It would be a shame if I did though - there were few Water Types as naturally quick as he was, and none others that had his Ability to avoid Moves that could draw in attacks. Replacing him with another Barraskewda would be difficult as I'd gotten this one from the best Water Type trader I knew of. It was a conundrum I would think about deeply.

Speed vs. bulk. Power vs. trickiness. Technique vs. strategy. And all of these reversed and more. Battle Items and now Enhancement Effects. So much goes into battling well, so many different factors to consider. How to win at them all…

"Eureka!" I shouted suddenly as an idea struck me like a bolt of lightning. Shedinja Tera Electric! With an Air Balloon, they'd be invincible! Or close enough to it. Using up my Tera would lock me out of it in the future, and skilled opponents would just use Status Moves. But even then, it could cost them time and cause them to panic, or once the strategy is well-known, I could use it as a bluff. Hopefully the Shedinja I get won't have a difficult personality and will be easy to train up to my standards.

I was so excited by this possibility that I almost missed my Rotom Phone ringing. Motioning to answer the call, I saw Elsa's face on the other end. "Atticus, I'm calling a meeting of the Elites."

"Of course Champion. I was just trainin-"

"Now." She hung up. Isn't she in an awful mood. I wonder what Beedrill crawled up her butt? Even for her usual icy personality, this was noticeably frosty from her (I liked to think she got along well with myself, however). Still, there was only one thing to do, and that was answer the call.

***

Entering the League Club was always a breath of fresh air, and even more so at the moment, with none of the other members milling about, only the Elites and our Champion. The room was spacious enough, with lockers to one side, Macho Braces and other training equipment to another, desktops in the corner, and a large meeting table in the center. The entire room was painted in light blue and white, with faint silver snowflake designs painted all around. I remember how much work getting the remodel done was. Our dear Champion insisted upon each snowflake looking different, no easy staple work for the remodelling club.

I did take the time to make myself presentable at least, changing out of my tracksuit and into a nice Summer Blueberry Uniform. The only adjustment from the standard was a patch sewn in marking my rank as one of the Elite Four of the League Club. The others, who had already arrived before me, were wearing a much more eclectic set of 'uniforms'.

Cassandra had pale skin, but not nearly so pale as our Champion's was. Cass (as she was called by only her friends, so never) wore navy blue 'League Club' uniform, but had a black pleather jacket on top of the shirt. Combined with her new, bright neon blue dyed hair, she probably thinks she looks 'cool'. In reality, she's just the same poser she's always been - real power is felt by one's mere presence.

Ares, the buff boy a year my senior, sneered at me as I entered. His naturally red hair was done up in a mohawk, and he wore a punk shirt with some rude catch phrases on it. The ripped jeans and sunglasses he constantly wore helped sell the 'rebel' look I knew he had spent a surprising amount of Pokedollars on. Ironic, for someone who comes from one of the top 500 wealthiest Unovan families.

Charlotte Linlin was eating noisily at the table, barely paying attention as I entered. The girl's tan had faded slightly in her time away from Alola, but it was still visible. Her choice of dress was Blueberry tank top with a sheer, flower patterned overshirt, and a shockingly short skirt I did my best to steer my gaze away from. For all her… wildness, Charlotte is a powerful Trainer. I can't underestimate her.

Finally, there was Elsa 'Es' Death. She sat at the head of the table with a commanding presence. Her uniform was a paler white than usual, the top and long skirt going together almost like a dress. She had a short, dark blue jacket over top to cover her shoulders. Her icy white hair was done in a half-Kalos braid.

"Atticus, you're late," she reprimanded me.

"It was rather last minute this meeting you called, I was out in the field, running my sector." I replied, to take the bite out of any of the jeering glances or smirks directed at me from the rest of the Elites. Yeah, that's right, I know that none of you take anywhere near as much effort as I do to keep your biomes running smoothly. Charlotte barely even keeps up her arena!

Sitting down, I was about to ask why we were here until I was cut off.

"Can you stop eating like that? It's disgusting." Cassandra said waspishly, only for Charlotte to flip her middle finger up at her.

"The whole point of being in this club is getting to do what we want, so I'm gonna eat," the other girl said with a full mouth as she chewed on her sandwich.

"Enough." Elsa's icy tone brought the other two to a halt. "Yes, as an Elite Four you are granted certain privileges, so you can eat in this club room, but not while I'm calling a meeting. Put it away." The Champion ordered the highest ranking Elite Four. Charlotte gave her superior a baleful look before defiantly shoving the rest of it down her gullet in two massive bites. How Charlotte keeps her figure, I have no idea.

Elsa gave her a disgusted look, but since the pink-haired glutton brought out no more food, she clearly considered the matter settled. "I've called you all here to talk about a threat to our club." Her Rotom Phone floated up, presenting the Trainer ID/record page of Nemona Glitterati, the young girl smiling in her account picture.

Ares snorted. "That pipsqueak? She doesn't look like much."

Cassandra agreed. "She's so tacky, look at all those randomly colored Pokeballs on her belt." You idiot. Do you have any idea how much those things cost? Most of those are hand-crafted by masters - I've never even seen a Dream Ball in real life before meeting her. Clearly, they're a sign of someone who has so much money at their disposal that they can afford to buy random luxuries since all of even the most expensive pieces of training gear and battle items are at her disposal.

My thoughts were something Ares had no problem stating aloud. "Those 'tacky' Pokeballs cost far more than those cheap-ass luxury Balls you hand out to your Pokemon. A shame, but then again, you focus too much on shiny Pokemon, and not on real strength." His eyes were hidden by his aviator sunglasses, but the mocking tone was clear.

Before those two could devolve into another bicker-fest that derailed things further, I interjected. "Nemona's the strongest Champion of her region; I think regardless of our opinions of how she accessorizes, she's strong." I pointed out, and while Cassandra frowned, thinking it over, Ares just laughed.

"If she's so strong then why hasn't she challenged us?" His words were meant less for me and more for Elsa.

"Not challenging us is the point," the white haired teen replied. "She has students going to her for help on battle strategies, to her for training tips, to her for what they need." Elsa's control slipped a fraction, and I noted how my breath was making small puffs in the air from how cold it was. "If she was just a part of the club, then even if she was the strongest," the disdain in her tone made it clear how unlikely Elsa thought that was. "It would hardly be a threat to the club as a whole."

"We should make a lesson of her," Cassandra noted eagerly.

"You'd like that wouldn't you? No way you can lose your spot if this brat doesn't join us," Ares chortled and the blue-haired girl looked on the verge of snarling back. As much as he's a brute, Ares has some level of cunning when he needs it, and he's not wrong here. Cassandra is the weakest of us and if Nemona were to join, then she would almost certainly defeat her… though he misses how she would almost certainly crush Ares as well, making the boy's own position as tenuous as her own is now.

I didn't bring that up, as it would just start a fight, Ares' pride too brittle to take the obvious observation. Then he would challenge me to a fight again (and lose, again), thus taking up precious time from me preparing for my own, proper rematch against Nemona.

"Sides, why do we even care if weaklings go to her for help?" Ares noted, leaning back in his chair. All of us had our own, unique chairs around the table, as befitted our station. Ares' one was a plush swivel chair that could lean back a fair bit, while Charlotte had a big chair with a cupholder on one side and a fold up table on the other. Mine was a sturdy, plain looking, yet expensive and high quality office chair. Cassandra's solid oak chair with carvings of the moon and Noctowls in the side and above might have been the most ostentatious were it not for Elsa's chair. It was practically a throne of solid ice, kept constantly cool by a chunk of Nevermelt Ice stuck in the center of it, the whole thing too heavy to ever be moved from its place at the head of the table.

"Because," Elsa began slowly, as if educating a child (which is a few steps up for Ares, in my opinion). "Our club derives its authority, and Blueberry Points, from being the best. Our skills are a sign of our knowledge; people would pay good BP for a tutoring session from one of our members. People within the club pay to test their skills against ours and try to prove themselves. But if no one believes in us, then what good is our club? Then it all falls apart."

It's slightly more complicated than that. Realistically, most of our funding comes from the school, which is how we host tournaments and the like. Still, she's not wrong that if the school loses faith in us, we'll lose power and funding. Cyrano was happy to give the Elite Four Club BP so long as they produced results, but the man was sharp, and keenly in-tune with the feelings of the school. If the student body didn't believe in us, he wouldn't hesitate to cut funding, or even dissolve the club.

"Why don't we just invite her to join? If that's the only issue." Charlotte began, her hand inching down to her backpack only to be pinned by Elsa's sharp, frigid stare.

"We've made plenty of overtures. From the open tournament to attempting to challenge her directly and the girl has avoided them all. I even sent Atticus to scout her out after an unfortunate first meeting on my end and directly offer her to join us, and she rudely turned us down. After all of that, even Nemona can't possibly be a big enough git to miss all the signs." I resisted the urge to wince in guilt at Elsa's words.

Okay, so technically, I didn't do that. But I just got so angry at her trying to act like I was doing something wrong, judging me with her eyes- ah whatever. She likely wouldn't have joined anyways, so whether I made an offer or not didn't matter. It didn't matter outside of the battle footage I'd obtained at least, which was another reason why Elsa had sent me to battle her; to get a proper look at how she fared in double battles.

The Champion tapped her fingers against the table, one of the few tells I'd been able to discern from her, indicating she was thinking, angry, or both. Now if only I could get a table placed in front of her when I challenge her. Such an event would be a way off in the future, but it never hurts to be prepared.

Cassandra pointed out, "She might just be busy? I know she's got that Dragon enclosure in my biome, not too far from my arena."

I shook my head. "If that was the case then she wouldn't have time to help out others and be the threat she is. There was a… confrontation between one of our ex-members. She got Kai expelled from the club and possibly the school depending on how the investigation goes. He might not have been worth protecting, but it's still troubling that she'd-" That line earned a snort of derision from Ares. Didn't see you going to bat for him either when the official investigated his conduct'. And you had been so steamed when I had 'poached' one of your flunkies before. Though perhaps that was just anger at your underling for betraying you.

"Whatever," I snapped, a little flustered though I quickly recomposed myself. "More annoying than that incident is how I've heard she's been instructing other students. My investigations tell me she's been doing a number of BBQs, which must be how she's reaching out to people. I even suspect some of our own, low-ranking members may have started turning to her before seeking out us."

Elsa hissed. "How dare they? After everything this club is built on!" She was fuming and I saw her fight to regain that perfect control she strived to hold publicly. I can empathize. Before Elsa turned things around last year, this club was far too laid-back. Charlotte didn't care enough to run things properly, and I couldn't beat that damn cheating, extra-dimensional monster of hers to enforce my vision. "Arseholes!" She shouted, her Galarian accent slipping back, a clear sign she was losing that fight.

I might not have had the exact same vision as her (she put too much faith in the school itself for my liking while I recognized it as a transitory vessel, to propel us onwards to greatness in the wider world), but I could agree with her on much the same points. That: Trainers must do everything in their power to grow strong. Our goal of being the best, at any cost, was the foundation of the League Club. It's the source of our strength, and if it means we don't share quite as close bonds with each other, then so be it. We might brandish our strength as knives against each other, but we can recognize the usefulness each other member has, if only as whetstones to sharpen our own skills. There's more honesty there than in 'friendship.'

"Well," Cassandra began, stretching out the word. "You did make that one guy serve as a footstool for a day for messing up in a battle."

"Jeremy forgot that Steel Type is resisted by Water! How thick do you have ta be to make a mistake that simple?! He should count his lucky stars I let him off with a little humiliation and didn't kick him out of the club entirely." Elsa gave an imperious flick of her hair. "That doesn't matter, he doesn't matter; what matters is finding a way to bring Nemona to heel."

"And how do we do that exactly?" Charlotte drawled. "If she's not going to fight you, you can't make her." The ever-hungry girl let out a heavy sigh. "That was the biggest problem back home - they couldn't find someone to beat me among their stupid captains, so they kept up with the dumb tests that we couldn't just win at."

"And how did that work out for you?" I shot back. "Your parents got pressured to ship you off abroad mid Island Trial. By the time you get back, the Champion will almost certainly have returned to Alola, ready to smack you down."

Charlotte shot up. "You got a problem, punk? Me and Guzz will lay the Smack Down on you or anybody that gets in our way." The light on her bracelet gleamed an ominous light, and I remembered well the threat of her Z-Moves. But this time, I have access to my own Enhancement Effect. Terastalization will be the key to beating her and claiming my spot as the top of the Elite Four. I still wasn't keen to challenge her to fight without heavy preparation first, however; 'Guzz' was an absolute beast to fight.

"Great answer, but how does that help us deal with Nemona?" Ares asked with an irreverent wave of his hand, clearly eager to get this over with. Unfortunately, none of us had an answer, and silence settled over the room.

"She's a bleeding heart," I offered after a moment. "Far too willing to coddle her team, try to use the strongest members to lift up the weaker ones, when all they do is drag her down." This is hardly a plan by itself but perhaps one of the others will have something.

"Oh? Like how she was 'dragged down' by Notch?" Cassandra smiled viciously and I fought to keep a blush off of my face. I should have never told these people about that post, or invited them to watch Nemona's Gauntlet matches. But they had teased me over losing to her in the past and I wanted to show that she was a serious threat - it's not like anyone teases Elsa over losing to the Director!

Director Cyrano however, was a known quantity. While not super famous outside of the school or region, people still remembered his fight with Alder in his prime. How the former Unovan Champion might have faded in retirement, but Cyrano had kept on training strong, with a team of monsters that could easily challenge the best of the best.

"Hang on, as much as I enjoy dumping on 'Mister Square' here," Ares jerked a thumb at me as he spoke. "Maybe he's onto something. She's got those Goomys we aren't allowed to catch over in Cassandra's territory. Maybe if something happened to them…" he trailed off meaningfully.

"Are you an- oh what am I saying; of course you're an idiot!" I snapped at the blockhead. "If we do anything like that and she reports us to the staff we will definitely be done for, no need for minute erosions of our perceived power!" Before I could go off more on him, Elsa raised a hand bringing us all to silence.

"Both of you raise good points. Doing something overtly aggressive to the Goomys in her care would be foolhardy," Elsa began, having calmed herself down. "However, if I were to do some training that just happened to be nearby when she was around, well… Dragons don't like the cold. I can goad her into a fight with reasonable deniability. I'll stream the fight for the entire school as well, so no one will ever wish to seek her out for help again."

"Okay, cool. Great meeting, not really sure why we all needed to be here, but good luck. Are we done now?" Cassandra asked sarcastically while rising from the table.

"The meeting served as a useful exchange of ideas to get us on the same page and forward, so yes, everyone needed to be here. Fine though, you are dism-"

"Nah." Charlotte said bluntly, a serious look in her eyes. "Just beating up this one girl won't do enough. She's got all those buddies with her, doesn't she? Couple of them are captain's kids too."

"Gym Leader's kids," I corrected. "But yes. She's not the only one people seek out. Especially with how often she's out exploring the Terarium, many students go to Nemona's clique to ask for help or where to find Nemona. Part of why she's a threat to the club is that she's building a powerbase of her own. A single person couldn't supplant us, but a group of Leader's kids headed by a Champion…"

"It looks like you all are here for a very important reason then," Elsa said faux-sweetly. "You lot can divide her closest friends among you, find them… and crush them. I'll do the same with Nemona."

"We'll need to do it simultaneously, though." I pointed out. Don't want one of them warning the others." Cassandra, Charlotte, and Ares groaned at that, but stuck around to work out a plan that could see us catch them all at once. Methodical work is hardly exciting, but I think the results here will be spectacular, to say the least.

Spoiler: A/N:

And here we go, the beginning of the next arc! Still part of the 'mega-arc' for Blueberry Academy, though. I know this took a while, but I've been laying the groundwork for a while now (alongside worldbuilding and other future plans), so I hope it was worth the wait. We get our first look at the current Elite Four Club, and it's a very different bunch from what we'd get five-six years down the line.

Despite how Atticus frames things, these are still teenagers. They're rather emotional creatures and more than a few logical holes going on with their plans, but hopefully it makes sense why, given their biases, might be going ahead with this. It also very much influences his opinions here; Atticus is by no means an unbiased narrator or correct about everything.

As you can tell, most of these OCs have names taken from other characters in fiction. Those other characters might not be perfectly accurate to their character traits, but they should have some signs of that. In any case, I hope you like/are intrigued by them, and the plots we have ahead of us.

On that note, I'm going to be skipping next weeks' update. Don't fret though! The week after, you'll get two chapters. Generally, I just feel it's better for the flow and enjoyment of the story to have those chapters simultaneously. Hopefully, all the new Pokemon games in Pokopia and Champions will be enough to get you through to the next chapter. If they can't though, my Patreon is ten chapters ahead, and it will be updating next week as per usual. Let me know how you're feeling about those new games and these new story developments down below, or on the Discord Thank you, and I hope your next two weeks are wonderful!

 

[Strattos22]

Wow I'm sure this ain't going to backfire in anyway at all.

 

[Spearow]

nemona is going to spawn an evil team of haters, like a reverse team yell