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TEEN: Unpredictable

I am gonna kick your ass.

STOP TRYING TO BE EDGY YOU DICK!

*coughs* Okay, I think I left it out...probably. Anyways, ignoring the...big twist in this chapter, it was overall an easy to read, fun and melancholic chapter. There was this sadness and uncertainty in the air, whether from the fact that the group had to finally split off to just wondering what would happen from now on. It was pretty sad that we didn't get to say goodbye to Tim but I guess that was the point after everything that happened in the last chapter.

It was nice to, once again, get some information on Criss' backstory even if it's still in the last stride. Still it's been a while since we've had such a touching and sad moment between Keith and Criss and while I would've wanted more than a hug (coughcough) it was still a good way for them to say goodbye, I hope that it's only temporary and that they'll get to see each other again later on though, that would be nice.

Now, to address the elephant in the room. I didn't like Baron's death, not just cause I really liked Baron mind you, and the scene itself was written well. The problem is that it came kind of sudden, now I'm not saying that you had to telegraph it to everyone but the problem is that it feels kind of like it was meant to be there for shock factor, like just for the sake of throwing us off and for the sake of pushing Keith over the edge more.

And see, this is where I question it, now obviously you know what's coming later and you know how this will affect Keith or the story as a whole. But unless you decide to have Keith go through the same process Criss went through, I don't see why Baron's dying affect things. Sure, he's depressed now and has to overcome the death of his Pokemon, plus he's missing one Pokemon but even if he overcomes it and comes back he still would've gone through something that he's already gone through and I feel like it acts as an easy way to have his character regress.

Again, there's no problem with all this because, humans regress, even when we learn something we always end up taking steps back. But I feel like at this point, when the story is almost over, doing this feels like too much of a sequel hook that isn't for the story but for the character, it gives us a reason to keep following Keith even if the story ends and while it's not bad...I also don't really think it's the best way to do it, but that's probably just me.

Either way, I'll wait to see what Keith goes through and overcomes now, hopefully his Pokemon can help him out :(

See you later Baron, you will always fly in my heart.
 
whaddup betchu thought you'd never have to deal with my shit again

Chapter 46

Overall, I liked it. It was quiet and somber, and I think it was a moment of clarity and reflection that the fic needed. Seeing Keith finally get some of the struggles that his friends are going through was really refreshing, too--maybe it's been a while since I've last read, but this is the most empathetic I've seen him in a while, and it was a great way to jump back into these storylines. It's honestly a little weird to go from "let's save the country" back to "time to win battles for fun," but this was a good bridge.

Some of the lines about being consumed by vengeance came off as a little too hammy for my taste--seemed more in-line coming out of a Naruto episode than from Criss's mouth, but overall your dialogue was pretty much on-point with these guys. Answered a lot of questions I posed in my previous review, so thanks for that.

The bit where Psyke shows off his writing felt a bit out of place and rushed, as did the last-minute bonding with Baron. In hindsight, I can see why you chose to do it, but it felt very random here when it was wedged by between all the heavy conversations you've got going between the main cast. Cute, heartwarming, and ultimately more Keith-pokemon interactions that I definitely enjoyed, but it felt really, really oddly placed in this chapter.

The one thing I was missing was Rainer--the dude's been gone from the team so long it felt like he would've definitely been on the list of heavy heart-to-hearts, or at least a nice shell-hug or something.

Chapter 47
as per request,
Good things first: Criss interactions backstories are always welcome, the knife story was strong, and overall that goodbye was written very well.

But as for the back-half... sorry, fam. Gonna hop on the train here and throw in my chips for #Barondidnothingwrong.

I know it sucks when tons of people disagree with a chapter that you personally thought was great, so... these are just my personal opinions on it all.
=It came out of nowhere. Like Keith said this fight is over. I get what you're trying to go at here--that nothing is really over, that Keith was naive for thinking he could take down Team Rocket in a single fight, whatever, but it all felt so random. It was like an anti-deus-ex-machina moment of the absolute highest caliber, and unless this is hinting at a complete rebirth of Team Rocket rather than a League Arc, this will continue to feel completely out of left field.
=Baron was one of the few Pokemon on the team who had personality, a fact that becomes painfully clear now that he's dead and I can't even remember what other Pokemon besides Psyke are left.
=The awkwardness of the stick interaction from before makes tons of sense, but now it makes this whole interaction feel planned for dramatic effect -- more of a "I bet I can make you cry with sentimentality" in what should be a touching moment.
=As edgelord queen, some of those sentences felt 3 edgy 5 me, just a little, especially near the end when you started pulling out the ellipses.

Like everyone else said, it'll be interesting to see what comes out of this, at the very least. Seems like you've been planning this chapter for a while, so let's see where things will go.
 
Chapter 48 - Reflections
Responses:
I haven't been peaking in to the Workshop at all recently but am oh so glad I did today, since this is probably my favorite story on here.

Thanks for the feedback. I really appreciate your reviews. Chapter 47 was not my best, but I'm glad it was at least acceptable.

I am now genuinely interested where this goes. He needs a new Pokemon before Endgame, which is going to happen, and the Mewtwo thing still sort of maybe needs resolved. But now Criss is gone and it looks like things can maybe wind down. Strongly hope you finish this.

Oh I'll finish this thing one way or another. He still has six Pokemon, for what it's worth. I hope you like where I take the final arc. Thanks for the review!

I can't say I was really expecting this chapter to turn out the way it did, but... in the end, I had to stop and think about everything I had read, since it was all so powerful and well written. The tone is consistent throughout the chapter, which was really needed considering the events of what happened. I'm curious to see how the aftermath is going to turn out.

"well written"

Hmm... :p I'm glad you liked it at least. Thanks for reviewing, I always look forward to it.

It was nice to, once again, get some information on Criss' backstory even if it's still in the last stride. Still it's been a while since we've had such a touching and sad moment between Keith and Criss and while I would've wanted more than a hug (coughcough) it was still a good way for them to say goodbye, I hope that it's only temporary and that they'll get to see each other again later on though, that would be nice.

If you're looking for shipping here then you're in for a long, slow roll, my friend.

Thanks for the feedback. It's roughly what I expected of this chapter. I don't like the way I paced it either, but I think it plays an important part in Keith's development between now and the end of the fic. Not sequel bait, I promise!

But as for the back-half... sorry, fam. Gonna hop on the train here and throw in my chips for #Barondidnothingwrong.

Yup yup. I'm on board with you. I don't like how the chapter turned out in terms of writing or placement in the story, but it got to the point where it was just too damn hard to make it work so I had to compromise a bit. I'm not proud of it, which sucks given that it's kind of a big deal in the story. Thanks for reviewing, it helps a lot!

Here's hoping this one goes down a bit better.

This time: Keith has to brush himself off.

Chapter 48

We buried Baron. I didn’t know what else to do. This wasn’t the kind of thing they covered in those Pokémon League “Journeying With Pokémon” brochures. With the help of Psyke it was simple enough to hollow out a grave, lower him in, and cover him with dirt. Just underneath that tree.

You’re supposed to say “a few words” when that happens. Like someone’s entire existence, history, and legacy can be boiled down to a few fucking words. So I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t bring myself to talk. I just cried. Not like there was anyone around to listen anyway.

And that’s it. That’s a funeral. A simple, stupid ceremony to make everyone happy who only cares because they’re supposed to. An event that’s meant to mark the end of mourning and the beginning of “moving on.”

Fuck moving on.

When Dad died, after the funeral was when the emotional support began to dry up. Everyone else moved on. Not me. Not my family. When someone close to you dies, that pain doesn’t leave. Even when it begins to lessen, it never truly lets go. It lingers just around the corner. You think it’s gone, but then suddenly… The man on the street who looks like him from behind. The song on the radio that he used to love. You think you hear his voice in a crowd. It all comes back.

That’s grief. There is no truly moving on. Eventually you just forget until you remember again.

That was me. I sat on the ground next to his grave, closed my eyes, and cried. I cried until I forgot what I was crying about. Then I opened my eyes and remembered.

My Pokémon were equally spiritless. Rainer sat on his haunches in the shallows, staring out across the once bloodied water where he had dragged the remains of the Skyguard Flareth had killed. Occasionally he’d get up and stomp around, but then he’d go right back to sitting. Tesla floated behind him and stared, I eventually noticed, due north. It didn’t move at all. Even its magnets, which usually rotated slowly, were stock still. Psyke sat in quiet meditation not far from me, while Flareth and Dragonite paced around the pond. I think Flareth was trying to keep some kind of watch. Dragonite just seemed like she wanted to be helpful.

I don’t know how long I sat at the foot of that cedar tree, stewing in self-hatred and depression. A light rain pitter-pattered down on the forest around us, some of it making it through the leaves to make me even more miserable.

Suddenly, Psyke stood, looked at me for a second, then psychically picked up a stick. He took a few steps towards me and began writing in the loose dirt by the grave.

WE SHOULD GO

“Where?” I said dryly.

He smoothed out the dirt with a wave of his hand, then wrote again.

LEAGUE

I snorted. “Don’t you understand? I’m done. I fucked up. Baron’s dead. I was stupid in thinking I could ever do this. Maybe if I hadn’t left home in the first place Baron would still be happily flying around Route 1. Maybe you all wouldn’t have had your lives put in danger fighting Team Rocket.”

YOU GOT THIS FAR

I jumped to my feet, frustration countering the lethargy. “Yeah? And how the fuck do you think I managed that?” Not for the first time, I slammed the side of my fist against the tree trunk. The scabs from said previous times cracked open and blood began to flow. I didn’t care. I deserved to bleed. I needed the pain.

“It wasn’t me that got this far! It was Tim, and Criss, and Baron!” I shouted. “I’ve been trailing behind, carried onwards by greater people than me. This whole journey I’ve been helped along by others, and now I’m on my own for barely an hour, and look what happened. I know I can’t beat the League, because that will be my responsibility alone.”

I sank back to the ground, grief and disappointment with myself draining my energy once again. “Who am I to think I’m special and different? How could I ever have made it to the Elite Four? This was all a huge waste of time. And life…”

The tears came back. I squeezed my eyes shut to keep them in, but it was a losing battle.

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” I choked out.

When I finally opened my eyes again, Psyke had not moved, but the letters on the ground had changed.

NOT JUST ABOUT YOU

I rubbed the tears from my eyes to make sure I was reading it right. I looked at Psyke. He glared right back and twitched his head towards where Rainer sat in the water. The Blastoise was looking at me with a dead stare. After a second, he looked away.

Rainer had always been about the battling. He fought with ferocity and determination and loved winning. Before he had been taken, I’d always known that he wanted to finish the Gym circuit and go to the very top just as much as I had, but since he’d returned I’d forgotten about that fire. But more than that, he was from the League. That’s where he was born and where he was raised before I even met him. It meant something to him to return to where he came from.

AT THE LEAST

A brief pause, then he wrote more.

LET US SEE IT

I couldn’t meet Psyke’s eyes.

WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR

I looked at the tree trunk.

DO IT FOR US

Baron’s last words.

DO IT FOR HIM

I covered my face in my hands, the tears flowing more freely than they had since we’d buried Baron. I felt Flareth and Dragonite walk up behind me. Flareth gently nuzzled my shoulder. I slowly raised a hand to scratch his neck and looked back at the dirt.

PLEASE

I couldn’t bring myself to respond. It felt like my heart could hardly bear to keep beating. I had never felt this awful in my entire life. I was weak, incompetent, and a complete failure. I had failed myself and even my Pokémon.

I realized then just how very, very tired I was.

But then a strange force, like strong hands, lifted me to my feet. Psych was looking at me pointedly. Flareth knelt next to me, offering his back. I let out a long, ragged sigh, collected my things, recalled all my Pokémon except Flareth, and then clambered aboard.

I hugged him tightly around the neck. His fur was warm and soft against my face. It smelled like a campfire.

I’m not entirely sure what happened next. I think I slept some, but I was also awake enough to feel Flareth walking. I don’t know exactly how far we went, but where first there was a dense forest clinging to me as Flareth pushed on, suddenly there was nothing. Half asleep, I noticed we were in a city, maybe sometime around sunset.

There were people. And talking. I think I was involved, but maybe not. I was in a haze. We found a Pokémon Center. There was a bed. And finally, I slept properly.


*****


I woke up, having finally forgotten. Then I remembered again. Holding in the tears a little more successfully than I had been, I shuffled out of my bunk.

Flareth had taken me to Celadon. I suppose that was the closest civilized place. I reminisced briefly about the sleepless night I’d spent in this same room before challenging Erika.

A couple of trainers lay in the other bunks. One of them shifted when I got up.

I felt disgusting. My entire body was covered in sweat, dirt, and dried pond scum. I picked pine needles out of my hair as I made my way to the showers. It felt good to get clean. Good enough at least to finally pull myself together into a functional human being.

After the shower, I was still running on autopilot with my head in the clouds. I got dressed, packed up, retrieved my Pokémon from the nurse working the front desk, and got myself a bowl of oatmeal in the little cafeteria area.

Rather than sit at one of the dinky tables, I took my breakfast back into the lobby and plopped down onto a sofa, dropping my backpack next to me. It took me one bite to realize just how incredibly hungry I was, and probably two or three more before the paper bowl was scraped clean. I set the bowl on the end table and leaned back to stare at the ceiling.

Baron was gone now. And so was every hope I’d ever had of going to the Pokémon League. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Psyke’s words again.

Let us see it.

Please.

I sighed.

I heard one of the other trainers leave the dormitory area and have a brief, unintelligible conversation with the nurse. After a minute, I heard them come sit down in one of the nearby chairs.

I sighed again. I really wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries with a stranger, so I just kept staring at the ceiling. They didn’t say anything, but I heard the sound of sipping coffee.

Eventually I gave in to curiosity and looked at my companion. He was looking right back with a sense of gentle concern on his face. His eyes flicked down to my scars for an almost imperceptible moment.

It was him. The man from the Safari Zone. With the Flygon.

I think I stared at him a second too long.

A smile crept across his face and he reached out a hand. “Nolan,” he said.

“Keith,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Thought you might have forgotten me,” Nolan said.

“Not quite,” I replied quietly. “I kept my promise. I never told Criss about you.”

“Is she alive?” He spat out the question almost the second I said her name. His face went from gentle to panicked in an instant.

A little taken aback, I just nodded.

“Was she in Saffron?”

I nodded again.

“Is she okay?”

I nodded again.

“Is she here?”

I shook my head. “We… went our separate ways.”

Nolan gave a long sigh filled with emotions that I neither could nor wanted to comprehend, and took a slow sip of his coffee. “But she’s okay?”

I looked him up and down. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of this man. He was a friend; I knew that much. “She got hurt pretty bad, but she’s pulling through it like she does.”

He met my eyes and the smile returned. “Thanks.”

“Yeah.”

We sat in silence for a moment before Nolan spoke again.

“You were there too?” he asked.

I sniffed, then nodded. “I’d rather not talk about it, if that’s okay.”

Silence again for a few minutes. Part of me wanted to head to the dormitories and go back to sleep, not that doing so would actually help at all.

“You’re journeying, right? How many badges do you have?” Nolan said suddenly. He had a jovial tone that gave me the impression he was trying to get my mind on something else. Or maybe his mind too. I could get on board with that.

“Eight,” I replied.

“Nice! You headed to the League then?”

I paused before answering. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? What’s stopping you?”

I plucked Baron’s ball from my belt and looked down at it, turning the little metal sphere over and over in my hands.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I can do it.”

“You have eight badges, is that not proof enough?”

I didn’t respond, just stared.

Nolan looked at me for a second before speaking. Somehow I got the feeling that he understood. “You know I journeyed, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Hoenn. Got eight badges as well, although it took me almost the maximum allowed time. There were… some distractions. That was about three years ago. Never ended up challenging the Elite Four, though.”

“So you’re working for them?” I asked. Trainers who went on League sponsored journeys were bound by contract to work for the League for at least two years.

“No, I got out of that.”

“How?”

“Extenuating circumstances.”

Hold on. Did he say three years ago in Hoenn? “Wait a second, you were there for—”

“Yeah, Magma and Aqua.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah. You can see why challenging the Elite Four took a bit of a back seat.”

I looked at his face. I could see a bit of Criss in it. These were people whose lives had been upended by criminal organizations. People like me. Was I doomed to spending the rest of my life hunting, or being hunted by, Team Rocket?

“I’ve regretted it ever since,” he said with a sigh.

“Huh?”

“Not finishing what I started,” he said. “I could be Champion of Hoenn right now. I mean, I like to think I am where I’m meant to be, but… it could have been very different. It was a way out, and I didn’t take it.”

“That… makes sense.”

He locked eyes with me. I think he understood.

Nolan stood up. “C’mon, grab your stuff. Let’s go for a walk.”

A little unsure, I put on my pack and followed him out the door.

We walked a couple blocks down the street before he said anything else.

“You’ve got money?”

“Huh? Uh… yeah. A bit,” I replied.

“Good.”

He stopped walking suddenly. I looked around to see that we were standing outside a bus station. Nolan grabbed me by my shoulders and looked me in the eye, not something I was used to people doing. It felt a little silly since he was a few inches shorter than me.

“In that bus station you’re going to get a ticket to Saffron. From there your Trainer Card will get you a free train ticket to the Indigo Plateau. You’ll be there by lunchtime.” He patted me on the shoulder and began to walk back towards the Pokémon Center.

I just stood there blinking, looking back and forth between Nolan and the bus station.

At the end of the block he turned around. “Well? You got it?” he shouted to me.

I looked at the bus station. Finishing what I started… Yeah, maybe it was worth a shot.

“I got it,” I shouted back. Then, after a pause, “thanks!”

He smiled and gave a wave before heading down the street.

I took a deep breath and headed into the bus station.

*****

NEXT: The Pokemon League

Thanks for reading, friends.
 
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Woo, second arc done - and it only took me a little over a year to get around to it! I look forward to reading the final chapter sometime around my 50th birthday.

I am a bit at odds when it comes to your style here. As you know by now, I do like nice chunky blocks of exposition and description and moving very slowly along, so I wasn't a huuuuge fan of your way of skimming over several weeks and evolutions and such in a short space of time. It would be boring to read a bit, but having a bit more to hook into would be nice.

In saying that, the chapters are easy to read and once I got started it wasn't hard to breeze through a few very quickly, which is something I can't say for a lot of stories. And it is not as though you are missing out on any details Keith has a lot of personality and development to him despite it all, and you do an amazing job of giving each Pokemon little quirks and hints of personality. The only times it really bothered me I suppose was with Tim: his introduction lays down the bare bones of their relationship, but doesn't really expand much, and then his gym battle was quite quick and something that probably could have been skipped over almost entirely. I think he perhaps needs a bit more of an introduction, but for the most part, your style helps move the story along without bogging things down.

Little of Criss this time, but the scenes with Nolan made up for her absence. It's such a culture shift from Keith but it slots into the story very nicely thanks to being almost entirely separate at the moment. Your slight changes in style for those chapters helped to differentiate them, and I only hope that Nolan has as much chance to shine whenever he does come up in Keith's world. The intrigue of what he is up to and the mysterious Project Titan (Mewtwo?) helped keep me hooked (though I am wondering why Mewtwo was just casually wondering around), but there is currently a really good balance of typical trainer stuff and more mysterious going-ons.

I know six years later this review won't be terribly helpful, but if you do do any more rewrites, the one thing I would suggest is giving Tim more of an intro, but otherwise things work pretty well how they are.
 
When Dad died, after the funeral was when the emotional support began to dry up. Everyone else moved on. Not me. Not my family. When someone close to you dies, that pain doesn’t leave. Even when it begins to lessen, it never truly lets go. It lingers just around the corner.

This is... pretty painfully accurate. And from personal experience, it doesn't really matter who you are or what age you are or how close you were to the deceased - everyone else moves on and expects you to move on with them. Anyway, I thought I'd point out that you're portraying grief pretty well here.

I don’t know how long I sat at the foot of that cedar tree, stewing in self-hatred and depression. A light rain pitter-pattered down on the forest around us, some of it making it through the leaves to make me even more miserable.

Suddenly, Psyke stood, looked at me for a second, then psychically picked up a stick. He took a few steps towards me and began writing in the loose dirt by the grave.

This mgiht seem nitpicky, but are we talking hours or days here? There's instances where I think the latter, but... overall, I get the impression Keith only sat there for several hours.

But more than that, he was from the League. That’s where he was born and where he was raised before I even met him. It meant something to him to return to where he came from.

AT THE LEAST

A brief pause, then the he wrote more.

LET US SEE IT

I couldn’t meet Psyke’s eyes.

WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR

Beautiful. This gave me chills, honestly. Psyke's "dialogue" hit the hardest.

I’m not entirely sure what happened next. I think I slept some, but I was also awake enough to feel Flareth walking. I don’t know exactly how far we went, but where first there was a dense forest clinging to me as Flareth pushed on, suddenly there was nothing. Half asleep, I noticed we were in a city, maybe sometime around sunset.

There were people. And talking. I think I was involved, but maybe not. I was in a haze. We found a Pokémon Center. There was a bed. And finally, I slept properly.

This part feels slightly rushed, but you can still feel Keith's pain and his losing touch with reality as a result of his grief here pretty well.

“She got hurt pretty bad, but she’s pulling through it like she does.”

Yepp. Most accurate description of Criss's character ever.

“Yeah. Hoenn. Got eight badges as well, although it took me almost the maximum allowed time.

The time limit thing is a neat little worldbuilding thing. It's thrown in there pretty naturally, and I'm curious if it's a concept you're adding to the edits?

He locked eyes with me. I think he understood.

Short but effective sentences. There's another kind of sadness in not being able to be sure you really understand someone else or that they really understand you.

I took a deep breath and headed into the bus station.

Not entirely sure what Keith's feelings are now. Did Nolan really change his mind about participating? Is Keith just gonna go to the Plateau and see how he feels when he's actually there? Maybe the vagueness was intentional. Dunno.

At any rate, this was, by necessity, an emotional chapter, and you portrayed it all very well. I didn't mention it above, but the dialogue in this chapter felt pretty natural, more so than in past chapters. Looking forward to more!
 
trying out a new review format 'cause ace said it was the best format of all time

From the looks of it, you're skipping Victory Road (or I misinterpreted this bus ticket thing), which is probably a good call action-wise -- despite my qualms with the random Rocket return that I mentioned last time, I do think you've got a lot of good momentum as you approach the League and skipping the grindfest-maze-of-hell is a clever use of streamlining. This is honestly a unique approach to an endgame to me: we're jumping from the Saffron Arc to the Baron Arc to what looks like a Leage Arc, so it's kind of like reaching the climax of that plot triangle and then lopping it into a giant trapezoid. I don't really know what you're doing for the end but it looks cool.

That’s grief. There is no truly moving on. Eventually you just forget until you remember again.
I like this. I really do. It's been a long time since I've read the early stuff, but I think this chapter gives us the most depth to Keith out of the entire fic. I don't agree with everything he says here about mourning but that's okay because he feels like a real human being processing real feelings, and I can look back through his narrative arc of losing so many things in his life and see how he he would come to his conclusion.

I snorted. “Don’t you understand? I’m done. I fucked up. Baron’s dead. I was stupid in thinking I could ever do this. Maybe if I hadn’t left home in the first place Baron would still be happily flying around Route 1. Maybe you all wouldn’t have had your lives put in danger fighting Team Rocket.”
But is it actually done? Keith acts like these last two Skyguard are definitely the last Rockets to attack and there's no reason to move from this spot because no one else is coming back to make sure that those two Skyguard are okay. It made perfect sense for him to be this casual in the open after the Saffron Arc because it really did seem over, but after that huge "THIS FIGHT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OVER BUT NOW MY BIRD IS DYING" revelation last chapter, I feel like he shouldn't be this blase -- even when he's done grieving and ready to go to the League, it really feels like he's forgotten that there is potentially a murderous gang of criminals with non-trivial activity levels that might still be after him and it's reduced to a quick afterthought in his Nolan conversation.
if this is foreshadowing and the point is tha Keith is naive to a fault, ignore me

AT THE LEAST

A brief pause, then he wrote more.

LET US SEE IT

I couldn’t meet Psyke’s eyes.

WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR

I looked at the tree trunk.

DO IT FOR US

Baron’s last words.

DO IT FOR HIM
Not a specific comment in general, but I liked your departure from your standard tone here -- it's basically just dialogue with the bare minimum of Keith sprinkled in, and it fits the dead-inside tone that this chapter has.

“Yeah, Magma and Aqua.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah. You can see why challenging the Elite Four took a bit of a back seat.”
This is more of my curiosity than actual criticism, since it's so trivial -- why is there a time limit on League challenges, and why it doesn't get waived for when terrorists summon the creators of the planet?

I mean, I like to think I am where I’m meant to be, but… it could have been very different.
I also liked the parallels you outlined between Nolan and Keith here, both with this and the previous quote about how their lives got upended by their respective region's violence. And here they are thinking about how things could've gone differently and being all introspective, and that's really cool. And maybe Nolan is living vicariously through this kid and that's really cool too. Overall your characterization this chapter is on-point.

This was an interesting combination between a breather chapter and also dealing with the massive ramifications of everything that happened before, but I think you handled it well -- maybe a bit too fast, but this story doesn't particularly dwell on things, so I think it fit in pretty nicely.
 
Super ultra late review, but hey, it's here at least.

I liked this chapter a lot bette rthan the last one, I like that it was a bit shorter so it kind of made it easier to read through and process everything going on. What I enjoyed about it though were how little dialogue there was, but there also wasn't that much description aside from Keith's emotions, you were able to make them carry the chapter and his emotions as well as his actions were able to paint a good image of what was going on in my head.

I didn't expect to see Nolan making another appearance (hell, the last time we saw him I legit thought he had died), especially since it's been twoo years! (four chapters?), but it's good that he got to do one last thing before the end especially since Nolan always felt like a strange character whose place in the story wasn't as clear. We also got to learn a bit more about him and it tied well into Keith's plotline.

Overall it was an emotional chapter carried out by a quiet and somber tone, compensating for the sudden gut punch that was packed in the chapter before. I do hope that Keith's grieving isn't done just yet, since you killed Baron I certainly expect you to go full throttle with the whole thing, so I'd like to see how this affects Keith's battles in the Pokemon League and what he does about his team.
 
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First, for the story itself:

Being an older story, this can be forgiven for being one of the zillions of journey fics set in Kanto--it is how this Kanto is portrayed, however, that makes it very clear this is not the Red/Blue/Yellow you remember. It also makes an effort to expand on some of the R/B/Y mythos, giving already iconic locations a whole other dimension. So while the ultimate goal for the characters is to be the very best, like no one ever was, how that is accomplished is quite different from the games and the show. The setting also serves to make it very clear to the audience that this is not the R/B/Y you remember--from a thrilling encounter with a Gyarados to a white knuckle thriller in Saffron City, each location helps set the stage for each chapter, bringing each location to life.

Every one of the characters rises above their archetype--Tim is very obviously the "Ash", due to his excitable personality, particularly in the Gyarados encounter. Criss is the "Misty", but with a sharp wit and fiery spirit, but what makes this story stand out is that Keith, the "Brock", is the main character. The three of them have wonderful repartee, whether it is in the thick of an epic battle scene, or a quiet reflective scene.

The story moves quickly, and with plenty of action and adventure, but knows when to slow down so the audience and characters can catch their breaths. That said, even the slower scenes still have a sense of urgency and emotion, and it is in these quiet moments, when the characters stop to collect themselves and process just what is going on, when the story really shines.

There's a good reason why this story has won countless awards, and despite a rough start, the writing has matured as the author has, even though there are a few minor flaws. The breakneck pacing might overwhelm some, and the characters still hold a lot of promise. But overall, it is at its heart a journey fic, and what an amazing journey it is!

And then Keith's breakdown:

Keith is far from your typical hot-headed Ash clone that we often see in journey fics. That being said, there is still plenty of room for him to grow and change, even though he has been through a lot through the course of the story, including the loss of people close to him. He may come off as a quiet person, but that belies his thoughtful and sometimes emotional demeanor, which adds to his side goal of avenging his father. He can be ruthless when he wants to be, particularly when standing up for the people he loves.

Quiet and wise mentor characters have been done before, but this works to Keith's advantage when we get a glimpse of his very methodical battling style. He may be soft spoken, but he can also be emotional, and at times ruthless when he has to. Judging from his thoughts we see in his match against Criss, Keith reminded me a lot of how I play Pokemon--very tactical, using a variety of types to fluster the opponent, and doing whatever it takes to win. But we also see that he is very close to his Pokemon, and just seeing his thought process as he battles also gives us a glimpse as to who he is as a person. It makes seeing the flood of sadness and anger when he loses to Criss that much more poignant, and I wanted to see more of that.

Even though I did not see much of him in the recommended chapters, this is still very much Keith's story, and well on his way to being a well rounded character.

Overall, Keith manages to rise above his archtypical beginnings, and has grown into a deceptively complex character. There's still plenty of room for him to grow, and I look forward to seeing how he continues to develop.
 
It feels, first and foremost, like standard Journey fare: get the badges, travel with friends, something rotten spoils the fun, all of it loosely modeled after the scenario of Red/Blue in Kanto, but sans Red/Blue the characters entirely in favor of Keith. I'm kind of shaky on the concept behind Saffron City. It kind of felt a little weird in the back of my mind, that most of the story there was this... thing going on that nobody knew quite what to do with. It was characterized as something like a military occupation, but with considerably less tension and internal chaos that such an occupation might actually be present in such a situation. The Reason for Rocket to be there were fairly well handled: there was a project they were working on, and then decided to move on. I'm a little wary though on how it was carried out by the story itself.

After that's all done though, it's gear-up for the League, with an extra snafu thrown in that kills Baron. I love the idea, love the situation Keith was put in with him losing his balls and having to scramble for them: that's a great way to get the tension of the situation going. I also love how Keith has to deal with the fallout of it afterward, and how he is still going through with the League with the help of his Pokémon. The only thing about this situation I'm wary of is how it basically came out of nowhere, how the Skyguard attack itself wasn't part of some other arc, how it wasn't connected to or foreshadowed by other parts of the story. It's a prime example of something I've heard termed “Deus ex Wrench”, where a problem springs of from nowhere. This is a real shame, because I love everything about that situation, all the character moments all the scrambling that came out of it, except for the “Deus ex Wrench” quality of it.

It takes place in Kanto Classic, minus a few familiar faces. Not much is laid out in a lot of the setting, with some notable exceptions. Some of the depictions of the battle festival were a nice touch. The way the occupation of Saffron City was characterized had quite a bit of thought put into it, but some things still felt a bit off. Is it a true military-style occupation, or is it an upscaled criminal turf-war?

Character is one of those items that really shows its age here. The better part of the early story, and much of the mid, is relatively slim on the characterization. This includes Keith himself, especially notable because it's written in 1st person, which is often a great way to get to know the principal character/narrator. At these early portions. Criss has an interesting allure of mystery with her closed-off representation. Tim is there to be the clown, the silly one to Keith's straight man role. Tim has his moments, but is often left by the wayside. What's really telling I think is how minor or one-off characters are handled at various points in this story's lifespan. Early on, they were seriously cringe-worthy, and I just wanted to finish their bit and move on. Like so many things in Unpredictable, this got better and better with time. Midpoint characters still had a few awkward moments, but they were alright. Once we hit late story though, most of the characterizations were fun/interesting and entertaining to read.

Also Nolan, what purpose does he serve in all this? It's like an extra little story attached to this bigger one, and he really doesn't have much impact on the plot or characters beyond some references. He has some interesting anecdotes about the nature of revenge in a few places, but otherwise, what's he doing in this story?

It's very battle-heavy, especially early on, and again in the tournament arc. That's fine, if it can be made interesting to watch. What are the stakes, what are the consequences of win/lose? Is there something being represented in the battle? Is there characterization opportunity? Usually there is. My point being, if we are to bear witness to the battle, what will us readers receive about story/character/(setting?) that we didn't have at the start? I bring these points up because there are a LOT of battle depictions throughout the story, and a great majority of them are not especially perilous, being gym battles or tournament setting. Particularly in the early story, I found one of my greatest challenges was the reading endurance necessary to get through the battles and into the stuff in between, where the rest of the story is meant to take place.

The narration is also remarkably dry for a story written in first-person, where there is so much potential for the protagonist/narrator to leave their flavor. At many times, I felt like if all the 'I's and 'we's were replaced with 'he' and 'they', it would read more smoothly. In fact, the times where the story fully transfers into 3rd person (when another character was chosen as the focus character), I felt I had an easier time reading it.

Again, like so many things in Unpredictable, things got better with time. By the most up-to-date chapters, I felt like they were reading so much smoother and engaging.

This is a story that really feels its age: the original first chapter was laid down in 2010. That being said, it has come quite a long way since then. The latest chapters in particular show fantastic strides in characterization and tension-building techniques. The overall plot was definitely a bit tenuous at first, but as the story grew up over time it found ways to work with it, and the threat still looms, if in the distance for now. The great strides this story has made lately still has to contend with the heavy baggage of its past.
 
Chapter 49 - The Pokémon League
Thank you everyone for your reviews. I promise I read and appreciate them, even if it takes me a year to respond. I should probably start responding as they're posted rather than waiting until I'm done with the next chapter.

(Not a lot to say anyway, so I'll keep these short) Responses:
This mgiht seem nitpicky, but are we talking hours or days here? There's instances where I think the latter, but... overall, I get the impression Keith only sat there for several hours.

Was meant to be a bit vague. Keith probably doesn't know how long he sat there either. I'd imagine it was around several hours, yeah.

The time limit thing is a neat little worldbuilding thing. It's thrown in there pretty naturally, and I'm curious if it's a concept you're adding to the edits?

I'm pretty sure it was actually a concept I introduced in the original draft, but didn't explain or dwell on very much. In the rewrites I think I spell it out pretty well back in Chapter 3:

After I graduated and turned sixteen, I had signed a contract with the Pokémon League to sponsor my journey. The contract basically says that the League will give me a starter Pokémon, a Pokédex, and monthly allowance of cash to go on a journey. In return, I have to travel and challenge the badge circuit. I’m allowed seven weeks between badges before the money stops coming and I’m forced to go work for the Pokémon League for at least two years. Not a bad deal, especially for a kid from a not so well off family like me. Not to mention, if you win eight badges from either Kanto or Johto, challenge the Elite Four and the Champion and win, the contract terminates completely.

Thought I'd paste the whole thing here because it's kind of important now.

From the looks of it, you're skipping Victory Road (or I misinterpreted this bus ticket thing), which is probably a good call action-wise -- despite my qualms with the random Rocket return that I mentioned last time, I do think you've got a lot of good momentum as you approach the League and skipping the grindfest-maze-of-hell is a clever use of streamlining.

To be honest, Victory Road is kind of a dumb concept when you think about it realistically. I lampshade that pretty hard in this chapter.

But is it actually done? Keith acts like these last two Skyguard are definitely the last Rockets to attack and there's no reason to move from this spot because no one else is coming back to make sure that those two Skyguard are okay.

This mistake is a consequence of Chapters 47 and 48 going through about a half dozen major rewrites. Basically Nolan was supposed to get a bit more involved and assure that TR is gone for good, but I cut that for a bunch of reasons and left a massive plot hole. I probably should go back and mess with the chapters to fix that.

This is more of my curiosity than actual criticism, since it's so trivial -- why is there a time limit on League challenges,

see above response to DP

and why it doesn't get waived for when terrorists summon the creators of the planet?

It probably could have been, but I imagine Nolan went through the exact same conflict as Keith is right now, it's just that no one told him to buck up and challenge the League anyway. And he might have a very personal reason to stay involved in the whole anti-terrorism business that may or may not rhyme with "piss".

Thanks to everyone else for your reviews as well! I'm just kinda tired right now and I want to post the chapter before I pass out soooo...

This was a challenging chapter to write. Over the past year I graduated college and had to figure out what I wanted to do/should do with the rest of my life. My mental state has been all over the place, and writing Keith coming to the end of his journey and figuring out how he would react to that hit a little too close to home. It was hard to divorce my own struggles from Keith's, which made writing this akin to swimming through molasses. Hopefully it's not as sticky to read.

This time: What you've waited all year for... another shitty filler chapter!

Chapter 49

I slept for most of the train ride to the Indigo Plateau, and I was still groggy when I staggered out onto the platform. Tightening the straps on my backpack, I made my way through the station and stepped into the sunlight.

And there I was.

I had been to the Indigo Plateau before. We’d had the occasional field trip here for school, and I’d forced my Mom to take me several times. Don’t know why. It’s not like there’s a lot to do besides the little museum in the old League headquarters building. I think I just liked the concept.

But this time it was something more. I could feel an energy in my bones. This was it. I took a deep breath of warm spring air to calm myself, and headed down the street.

The Indigo Plateau is essentially a small city. It started out as a little village where the old Monster Battle League made their headquarters. When training started to pick up popularity, they joined with other branches around the world and became the modern Pokémon League. Then they worked with the government to make the Ranger Corps, and eventually founded Indigo Pokémon University. Basically, a bunch of buildings shot up really quickly. Nice buildings, too. Red brick with towering arches and columns. It kind of reminded me of Pewter City.

I knew where I was going. I walked past houses, restaurants, businesses, and breeding centers. The people here seemed different. They hadn’t been a part of Saffron, which made all of them seem so much more ordinary. Gone was that sense of companionship in shared suffering. I didn’t mind. I also couldn’t help but notice how many Pokémon were wandering around. In other cities, seeing a trainer with their Pokémon wasn’t an odd sight by any means, but here almost everyone had one or more at their sides.

I took a side path that lead out into a large flower garden. At the far end was the main administration building for the League, but that’s not what caught my attention. A massive statue stood in the middle of the garden. Bronze replicas of a Venusaur, a Blastoise, and a Charizard were locked in combat. I stopped as soon as I saw it, making a girl walking behind me stumble to the side and give me a glare as she passed.

After a moment, I plucked Rainer’s Poké Ball from my belt and let him out.

Rainer straightened up a bit when he noticed our surroundings, then looked at me.

“Here we are, buddy.” I put out a hand and stroked his shell.

He let out a huff that might have been pleased and stared up at the statue too.

“I’m going to do it,” I said softly. Then a bit louder, “I’m going to do it.” A rush swept through me as I said the words. My heart was pounding. The adrenaline made me shiver.

Rainer could have been smiling, but his expressions were always hard to read.

“This wasn’t how I imagined coming in to the League,” I said, my voice shaking as I thought about Baron. “Always figured we’d fly in.”

He leaned into me a bit. It almost knocked me over. I had to lean back. I guess it was his way of showing affection.

“Remember when I caught him? You weren’t too happy. Didn’t seem you liked the fact that I might want or need another Pokémon besides you.”

Rainer huffed softly.

“It worked out, though, didn’t it?”

We stood in silence for a minute, looking at the sun reflecting off Rainer’s bronze doppelganger.

“I remember running along the bayou near Route One. You swimming through the water and Baron flying low over you. The three of us together. I couldn’t help but laugh as I ran alongside. It was the first time I really felt like a Pokémon Trainer.

“It’s going to be tough to do this without him. Gideon will have to do. But it won’t be the same.”

Rainer gave me a hard look that nearly brought me to tears. I didn’t need Psyke to translate. It was the same look Baron used to give me.

‘If you can’t do it. I will.’

This time, I took the next step myself.

I strode through the garden towards the massive, shiny, modern-looking League administration building. Rainer kept pace, but as soon as I reached the automatic doors, I recalled him to his Poké Ball. I wanted to do this for myself.

The main atrium was large and well lit. The ceiling was a few floors up, with balconies looking down. To the left, a pair of escalators led to the next level, which had a food court, while to the right a set of stairs climbed to the other floors above. I headed towards the semicircular reception desk near a set of elevators.

A variety of different people and Pokémon milled around, but it wasn’t too crowded. They had about a dozen receptionists, so it wasn’t long before I was beckoned over by a young bald man with thick framed glasses.

“Hey, how can I help you?” he said jovially.

“Umm, I’m here to apply to challenge the Elite Four.”

The man raised his eyebrows. “Alright then. I’ll need to see your Trainer ID and all eight badges if you have them.”

I took my ID out of my wallet, taking a second to wipe off the grime that had accumulated over the past year before handing it to him. He scanned it.

“League sponsored, huh? Excellent. I have some paperwork for you to fill out.”

While he began to gather up forms for me to sign, I dropped my backpack and removed the bit of fabric with my badges that I had packed near the top. I set them on the counter. They looked underwhelming. Just some stylish bits of metal attached to a dirty rag. Somehow that was supposed to represent a year of blood, sweat, and tears.

The receptionist grabbed the badges and began looking them over. He lingered on the Cascade Badge, which was still cracked from back in Lavender Town when Rainer had been kidnapped.

“Hmm…”

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

“There’s an RFID chip in each official badge that helps us verify authenticity. With this broken, the chip isn’t likely to work anymore.”

“Well if you doubt its authenticity, just call Misty. She probably remembers me.”

He smiled. “Actually, that’s pretty much what we’re going to have to do. I’ll get this verified, but it might take a little while.” He slid my ID and a bundle of paperwork towards me. “Why don’t you go get this filled out and come back in an hour or so?”

I thanked him, took the forms and a pen, and headed up to the food court. It wasn’t much, just a coffee shop, a sandwich place, and a pizza joint. But most importantly, they accepted League credits. Real food, not Pokémon Center food, and on the League’s dime. I happily took them up on this, knowing that this would likely be the last time I would be able to get free stuff from the League.

Well equipped with a sandwich, a coffee, and a slice of pizza, I sat down at a little table by the windows overlooking the garden.

The first form was a simple non-disclosure agreement. The League had always been pretty secretive about how exactly a challenge works. It’s meant to preserve the purity of it all. A trainer goes in knowing only that he’s about to be tested to the fullest extent of his abilities, and if he succeeds then he becomes the new Champion. No expectations, no specific preparations, no publicity, no outside pressure. It wasn’t even confirmed if this actually involved battling each member of the Elite Four, but that was still a pretty safe bet.

I happily began signing and dating, glad for the menial work as I ate. It felt nice to have such a straightforward task put in front of me after the last few days.

As I progressed, the forms began asking about things like skill sets and job experience. A lot of it was the same information over and over again to be sent to different divisions of the League. It was clearly so that they could place me in an appropriate job if I lost, but it was a lot of work for something that wasn’t even a sure thing yet.

I put my pen down, thinking about that. For them, it was a sure thing. Not a lot of people actually get the badges necessary to challenge the League, and David was the first one to actually win in my lifetime. To them, I was just another wannabe pro who’ll fail on the first day.

The shriveled remainder of my old arrogance woke up at that thought. These people didn’t know who I was, who my Pokémon were, what we could do. I picked up the pen again, gripping it tightly. I wanted to win. I needed to win.

I feverishly finished the paperwork and headed back down to the reception area. The man I had talked to was on the phone, so I decided to wander the building a bit. A bank of videophones caught my eye. After a moment’s hesitation, I approached them. My fingers habitually found the numbers without even thinking too much about it. After a couple rings she picked up. No image appeared on the screen, we didn’t have a camera.

“Hello?”

“Hey Mom, it’s Keith.”

I heard a sharp intake of breath. “Oh, it’s so good to hear your voice. How are you doing?”

“Just wanted to check in. Probably should have given you a call after the… whole Saffron thing. You talk to Spencer yet?”

“Yes, he called a couple days ago. He’s coming home this weekend. It sounded like he was right on the frontlines. Did it affect you at all?”

I let out a breath that I didn’t know I had been holding. Spencer didn’t tell her.

I imagined her leaning against the kitchen counter, staring out the window. Phone in hand, probably chewing on a fingernail in worry. All alone.

“Uh… a little bit yeah. Lots of police around…” I struggled to structure a lie, but after a pause she kept talking.

“I saw you got to the finals of the tournament, that’s so great! It was such a good battle. I wish I had gone.”

A tiny little itch formed at the back of my throat. I coughed. “Thanks.”

“You’re not getting a cold, are you?”

“I’m fine, Mom.”

“Where are you now?”

“That’s uh… kinda why I’m calling. I’m at the Indigo Plateau.”

Silence.

“I’m about to challenge the Elite Four. And David.” I laughed slightly. “It’s a weird thought.”

“Oh Keith…” My mom’s voice was shaky. “Your dad would be so proud.” She was crying.

I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing my own tears were still lingering just beneath the surface. “I know.”

“I’ll be rooting for you. And so will he.”

I swallowed. “Thanks.” There was a pause before I continued. “I’m sorry I don’t call more.”

“Keith, it’s your journey. This is what you’ve been excited about since you were little. I’m here to help you, not hold you back. Besides, I worry about you boys too much for you to be worried about me.”

I laughed sadly. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“I’m serious, Keith. You go and finish your journey. You can win. I know you can. If you don’t, then it’s not the end of the world. Either way, I’ll be here waiting for you.”

I sighed. “Thanks, Mom.”

“I love you, Keith.”

“I love you too.”


*

VICTORY ROAD – A RITE OF PASSAGE

For a hundred generations, Lake S’uylu has been the gathering place of great heroes. The lake was believed to be the dueling grounds of the gods themselves, with tales of the legendary Moltres and Suicune vying for territory. The spiritual power of such a place made it sacred to ancient warriors, who would travel there to train, compete, and win the favor of their gods. To even make it to the lake was a remarkable feat, as only the worthy would survive the treacherous Victory Road.

Over seventy miles of rocky mountain passes. Dense pine forests. Rutting Tyranitar. Territorial Onix. It is impossible to know how many ambitious warriors perished on this path to glory.

Today, Lake S’uylu is the home of the Champion’s Complex, where the top five Pokémon trainers in Kanto and Johto live, train, and face challengers. The Indigo League Champion and the Elite Four.

Although Victory Road is now closed to public access, these gates stand as a reminder of the grand tradition we carry on even today.


- THUYTHUT ȚLUMQUN -

- ȚUYUM ‘UŃ SȚLULÍḾ SHUNUḰWS -

I looked up from the informational plaque at the gates in question. They had the rough, slipshod look of something straightforwardly practical trying to come off as elegant. Thick stone pillars stood on either side of the road, with sturdy iron bars stretching between them. The pillars and bars were covered in bas-relief carvings and flaking gold paint. The only truly impressive part of the gate was the two incredibly lifelike statues of Charizard wearing some kind of ceremonial armor, alighted atop both of the pillars. Real flames flickered on their tails. A stern-looking man stood guard in front of the gate, eyeing me.

A thirty-minute walk north into the mountains from the Indigo Plateau was hardly seventy miles of rocky mountain passes, but I supposed it made sense to discourage getting eaten by an angry Ursaring. My badges had been safely returned to my posession, my paperwork was squared away, and I was ready to face the Elite Four.

Or was I?

I started walking up to the gate guard. It was only about fifty feet, but it felt like miles. Each step I took, I wanted to turn back. I could go visit home, maybe meet up with Tim. Gideon probably needed some training after all. No one would begrudge me putting it off a few weeks after everything that had happened. But I didn’t stop. I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I knew that if I didn’t do it now, I would never do it at all.

The guard cut an imposing figure. He wore a long dark coat with the League insignia emblazoned on the chest. Long black hair hung loosely past his shoulders and his face was covered with a green bandana. But none of that was the imposing part. What I had assumed was a large walking stick in his right hand was actually a stylishly carved spear. He had a fucking spear. We had learned about the ancient traditions associated with the League and the challenge, but I hadn’t figured they were taken so seriously. It was odd to think that I was playing a part in history like this. The thought reignited a bit of the flame that had burned in me as a little kid. I was going to battle for the Championship, just like I had always dreamed.

I blinked at the late afternoon sun glinting menacingly off of the spear’s steel tip. I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Name?” the guard asked slowly. His deep voice was slightly muffled by the bandana.

I coughed. “Uh… Keith Anders.”

“Very good. They told me you were coming. I will be your escort to Lake S’uylu.”

“We’re not… walking, are we?”

“No,” he said simply. “This challenge will take one to five days. You will not be allowed to leave until the challenge is over, be it by victory, defeat, or forfeit. Shelter and supplies will be provided. More details will be given when we reach the lake. Are you ready to leave?”

I gulped. “Yeah.”

“Do you have a flyer?”

That was a Baron-shaped punch in the gut. I tried not to choke. “I… no… er, well…”

The guard interrupted me by pounding his spear twice on the asphalt.

Turned out the Charizard “statues” were not statues at all, just incredibly disciplined. I tried not to shout in surprise as they leaped forward in perfect unison off of their pedestals.

The gate guard climbed aboard the Charizard on my right. “Take Yuqw,” he said, gesturing to the other Charizard with his spear. “He will follow to the lake.”

I nervously approached the Charizard. It was much larger than Tim’s, and clearly impeccably well bred and well trained. It was wearing this strange armor on its body and head that at first looked like a dark metal, but as I clambered into the seat on its back, I realized it was probably some kind of lightweight plastic. Just like the gates, practical, just made to look fancy.

I realized as we took off that I did actually have a flyer: Dragonite. But I’d never flown with her. It had only been a couple days after all. A couple days since…

Since…

The swooping feeling in my stomach that accompanied the rapid climb in altitude was familiar, but now carried with it an onslaught of unpleasant memories. My heartrate spiked and I began to sweat. I closed my eyes and leaned forward into the crook between the Charizard’s shoulders.

It seemed to notice my discomfort, because it immediately smoothed out the flight with longer, slower beats of its wings.

About ten minutes in, I finally managed to calm down enough to open my eyes. Most of the view was obscured by clouds, but a dark mass that I assumed to be Mt. Silver loomed to the west. Below us, green and grey mountains streaked by like monstrous ocean waves, their tips speckled with what few snow drifts had survived the spring warmth so far.

We flew for over an hour. Beads of moisture gathered in my hair, but the Charizard’s natural heat kept me from getting cold. I was beginning to get drowsy when a change in altitude jerked me awake.

The Charizard took a steep dive until its toes were barely tracing the tops of the trees as we sped downwards towards the shimmering grey-blue expanse of Lake S’uylu. The cold wind tore at my face. I had to squint to see where we were going. A second later, we were out over the water. A tiny island sped by below us. I could barely make out the markings of a Pokémon battle field decorating its otherwise bare surface.

So that was where it would happen.

I looked up to see where we were headed. A jagged brown cliff face towered thousands of feet above the north end of the lake. Built into its surface was the Champion’s Complex. Enough steel and glass and granite to make Silph Tower jealous. My heartrate picked up again. This was it. This was the place I had dreamed of. The place so few got to see. The place where dreams would be fulfilled… or left to die. The end of my journey. I could feel my heart pounding in my throat.

The Charizard sank lower and lower towards the water as we neared the shore. A few small boats were moored at some docks that snaked out onto the lake from the bottom of the complex. A small group of people awaited us on the beach nearby.

The two Charizard landed in perfect sync, wings flaring outward, kicking up sand and pebbles as we skidded to a halt. My ride leaned over to let me off. I slid off its back onto the gravelly beach, clutching to the straps of my backpack.

I heard the crunch of footsteps drawing near. The Victory Road gate guard that had guided me here stood at attention next to his Charizard. Five figures approached. The Elite Four, heroes of my childhood, and the Champion. A spark of excitement jolted through me from head to toe. I smiled despite myself.

David stepped forward. Somehow he looked out of place next to these legendary trainers. Just some awkward kid from Pallet Town. Just like me.

“Keith.” He smiled at me. “It’s about time.”

*

NEXT: Keith's toughest battles yet...

Thanks for reading, friends.
 
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After I graduated and turned sixteen, I had signed a contract with the Pokémon League to sponsor my journey. The contract basically says that the League will give me a starter Pokémon, a Pokédex, and monthly allowance of cash to go on a journey. In return, I have to travel and challenge the badge circuit. I’m allowed seven weeks between badges before the money stops coming and I’m forced to go work for the Pokémon League for at least two years. Not a bad deal, especially for a kid from a not so well off family like me. Not to mention, if you win eight badges from either Kanto or Johto, challenge the Elite Four and the Champion and win, the contract terminates completely.
Gotcha! I, too, feel your struggle of tweaking the worldbuilding in rewrites long after everyone's read them. As a system, this seems like a neat scholarship-esque program that fits in really well with the world you've already established, so I like this addition a lot. And you're right, it does give a nice sense to this forced timeline for Keith to go to the League so quickly.

The rest of the chapter is somber, and you call it filler, but I think it needed to be in the story. It has been an admittedly very long time since I've read the earlier chapters, but I remember one of my complaints being how events didn't seem to have any weight because Keith didn't dwell on them; things that were supposed to be sad (losing the tournament, losing RAINER THE OG), didn't really hit because the narrative went beyond them.

Here, you've gone in the opposite direction, and I like it (the past few chapters have had that feel too, which is good, but I don't think I complimented you enough on it SO HERE). Bits like “Remember when I caught him? You weren’t too happy. Didn’t seem you liked the fact that I might want or need another Pokémon besides you.” almost feel a bit too forced, but they're well-balanced by the tone of the rest of the chapter. Details like the non-disclosure agreement and the RFID chips in badges give a bit of gravity to what is a relatively simplistic view of society designed for a kid's game, which I loved. I particularly like the work you put into making the League challenge feel more organic and unique than how the games present it, and "rutting Tyranitar" probably made me laugh a lot more than it should've.

Sorry I don't have much to say here -- it's a quiet, well-written chapter, leading up to what I can only assume will be a shitton of action, and I'm looking forward to the rest.

time to go back to chapter 26 and remember who David is
 
I've been over the picky bits in beta, so there's not really much need to repeat it here. But a few things I forgot in an attempt to be concise:

It's rather cunning to have the League challenge a secret. Even though training isn't a megastar sport in this story it does remove the problem of a) Keith reasonably being able to do his homework, and b) spectators, which can so easily get in the way of battled.

The chapter seems shorter looking over it a second time. I don't know whether that's because I've already read the previous version twice, or because you've streamlined it. I won't be surprised if the next few chapters are tough. I wonder whether it might be smart to write a catharsis piece or something to exorcise some of those emotions getting in the way of the story.
 
Sup, sweetie. Here for chapter 49.

I like the history of the League here, and the details of the Victory Road (a game location I'm not sure I've ever seen a satisfactory description of before now). It's all believable and explained succinctly, without a lot of detail to dress it up as a huge thing that delays readers getting into the meat of the chapter. There's a lot of other little details scattered throughout the chapter, too, like the Charizard/Blastoise/Venusaur statues and prompting Keith to release Rainer from his ball. The conversation with Rainer is heartbreaking, to say the least. Keith's been through so much that now that he's reached his dream, he's not exactly sure he even wants to be here. And it shows in all his words and actions; you write the somber tone damn well.

The somber tone works well in the more mundane scenes, too, like with Keith getting his badges checked. A chip in the badges as trainers earn them makes a lot of sense for authentication purposes, and I really like the idea. But despite all the security measures Keith has to go through, he just considers the badges he and his 'mons earned as pieces of metal that suddenly mean very little. You kinda just wanna shake him by the shoulders and tell him it was all worth it, really, then hug him because believing that is something far easier said than done.

The conversation with his mom is bittersweet. It's been a long time since I remember her showing up... but her being supportive is pretty refreshing, adn it emphasizes how far Keith's come when you bring a reminder of the home he left behind to travel in like that.

“Do you have a flyer?”

That was a Baron-shaped punch in the gut. I tried not to choke. “I… no… er, well…”

The guard interrupted me by pounding his spear twice on the asphalt.

Turned out the Charizard “statues” were not statues at all, just incredibly disciplined. I tried not to shout in surprise as they leaped forward in perfect unison off of their pedestals.

The gate guard climbed aboard the Charizard on my right. “Take Yuqw,” he said, gesturing to the other Charizard with his spear. “He will follow to the lake.”

What a punch in the gut indeed. :( And even further, you bring David in at the end. Here's to hoping Tim makes a reappearance by the end as well, as the more prominent childhood friend of the two in this fic, I think. And Criss, of course. They all deserve some kind of happy ending. Not everything good from the past has to be overshadowed by the bad.

Looking forward to the Elite 4 challenge. I already know it's gonna blow me away. <3
 
Okay, it totally hasn't been months since this chapter came out. Nope.

First thing's first. What language are you highlighting there? that made me really curious.

Second of all, about your lack of updates. I totally get it. It's hard to really hone in on your character's development and them overcoming their problems and insecurities when you yourself still aren't able to do the same and it just makes you feel even worse when you realize that your story's just on hold indefinitely. But don't worry, it's completely understandable and you have to do it at your own pace.

Now for the chapter itself. Your main focus here was to take a deeper look at Keith and how far he's come, and in general the chapter feels really melancholic, and not just because of the stuff that happened in the last couple of chapters. More interesting is when you realize how Keith's changed when compared to who he was when he first started, he's really gone through a lot and seen a lot of stuff and this is highlighted even more with the call he has with his mom. While his mother is worried sick about him all Keith can think of is how he can even begin to tell her of everything that he's been through and it really drives home the fact that, for as cool as everything's been, Keith's journey had a lot of ups and downs.

I also liked how you gave a bit of a refresher on how trainer journeys worked and what the League does to facilitate traveling for other trainers. Actually, don't mind if I steal a couple of those ideas for myself.

Other than that I don't have much to comment on except that I enjoyed how you added that extra dash of culture to the Indigo Plateau, instead of just being a closed building you really made it feel like this rite of passage that's held for powerful warriors and it seems like it'll be more of a survival challenge than a straight out battle. I'm really curious for what'll happen and I hope we can see it soon.
 
Chapter 50 - Lorelei
I realize just about everyone who remembers this fic is long gone at this point, but to those of you who are here and care: Hello! I hope you all have been well these past few years.

I know a lot of people assumed this fic was dead, but that was never the case. I just took a long time. I have always been a slow writer, and I’ve been distracted a lot by real life and other projects. But I was never going to abandon this. In fact, working on this the past couple years has been an attempt to reignite the childlike glee with which I used to approach Pokemon and writing. As such, it's a little campy, a little self-indulgent, but hopefully fun. So without further ado, welcome back to the story about a boy fighting to finish what he started, and accomplish a goal that he set out for a long time ago.

This will update weekly until the end.


Chapter 50

“Rules are pretty straightforward. One battle per day. If you lose you’re out. We’ll only get three Pokémon each, but you’ll have all six. First up is Lorelei, then Bruno, Agatha, Lance, then me.” David pressed a button and the elevator jolted upward.

I looked out the window across the lake. Even under a steely gray sky, it was a beautiful view. I tapped on the glass, looking out at the island in the middle of the lake. “The battles take place out there, I assume?”

“Yep, every one of them.”

“Is there… basically a Pokémon Center here? For between battles?”

David gave me a mischievous smile. “There’re medical facilities, but that’s part of the twist. If one of your Pokémon is declared knocked out, it’s sent to the center and you aren’t allowed to use it in the rest of the challenge.”

“Even between days?”

“Even between days.”

The elevator jerked to a halt about a dozen floors up. I took one last look out over the choppy waters of the lake before following David down the hallway.

The parts of the facility I had seen so far had looked like a cross between a hotel and an office building, but this floor was more like a hospital. Or maybe a prison. White, stark, bland. David led me to a door all the way at the end of the hall.

“This is it.”

He showed me into a tiny, but well-equipped kitchen. It was windowless, and just as sparsely decorated as the hallway.

“This is it?” I said skeptically.

David laughed. “If you’re feeling claustrophobic, the gym’s through there. Then there’s the bedroom and the supply closet.” He gestured at each doorway. “Plenty of food for you and your Pokémon in the cupboards. My assistant will be here at eight a.m. sharp tomorrow morning to take you to your first battle, or you can use the phone to call him if you need anything.”

I took a deep breath, a little overwhelmed.

David put his hands in his pockets and looked at me. “I’m not really supposed to say much. Hell, my assistant’s supposed to be the one showing you around. But… good luck. I’m looking forward to our battle. I know you’ll get there.”

“Thanks…”

With that, he left, closing the door behind him.

I stood alone in the silence for a minute, unsure what to do. I felt oddly relaxed. There wasn’t anything more for me to do at this point besides wait. Or was there? I could check on how my Pokémon were doing. I could start thinking about tactics…

Never mind, I wasn’t relaxed.

I chucked my backpack into the bedroom, a cramped little space with a bed that looked way too small, and opened the door to the gym David had mentioned.

“Oh wow…”

He was right about this being a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the suite. The floor was mostly polished wood, with the exception of three separate gravel battlefields that stood between me and the other end of the room: a massive window overlooking the lake. It looked like there was even a door leading to a small balcony. The room was huge, with a high vaulted ceiling. It was big enough for a team full of Steelix to train together, which I realized could very well have been exactly what it was designed to handle.

I let my Pokémon out one by one, starting with Dragonite. It felt so strange to see this Pokémon standing over me. I’d dreamt so long of having one of my own. She looked at me with huge dark eyes full of some unreadable emotion. I reached out with my hand to stroke her golden-brown scales, and with my mind as Sabrina had taught me. For the first time in days, the psychic connection came to me. Her mind felt more focused than I remembered. I touched upon it gently, just trying to get a read on her feelings. As she stood gazing at me, she felt a distinct sadness, but mostly… love.

Something caught in my throat. “I’m proud of you, girl,” I said quietly. “I’m proud of all of us.”

She gave a soft coo in response.

I let out Rainer next. He looked around the gym and hummed in contentment. Then Tesla, who simply orbited around Rainer, indecipherable as always. Psyke and Flareth sat down on the floor and watched me, as if waiting for me to say something.

I was almost surprised to see Gideon pop out of the final ball. His eyes nervously flitted between the rest of us before he went to go trace lines in the gravel with his blades, one eye always on Psyke like he was afraid he would be chastised.

I sighed and returned the ball to my belt. The sixth position, where I normally kept… no. I couldn’t think about him.

It didn’t work. Tears welled up anyway.

I took a deep breath and looked at each of my Pokémon.

“Let’s do this one for Baron, yeah?”

*****

Not long past sunrise the following morning, I was on board the League’s trawler, cruising towards the island where the first battle would take place. I stood alone on the top deck, leaning against the railing and watching the unassuming landmass grow closer and closer. Growing up in Pallet, I’d been on plenty of boats in my life, but something felt off about this one. It took me a moment to realize that it was the smell. The cool morning mist lacked the distinct saltiness of seawater.

The moment that slight distraction faded, my nerves began building again. I kept telling myself I was ready. My Pokémon were ready. But it didn’t matter whether or not we were ready. It was happening. The ball was already rolling. Win or lose, in a week’s time all of this would be over. Then what? I tried not to think about it. Some distractions were just too distracting.

I heard steps behind me and turned around to see Lorelei climbing the ladder up to join me. She was a pretty redheaded woman that dressed very prim and proper compared to the… eccentricities of some of the other Elites and Gym Leaders. She gave me a curt nod and walked up to the railing a few feet away, where she wiped the mist from her glasses on her sweater and stared thoughtfully at me.

“Hey,” I said, lamely.

“Hello.”

I blinked. “I’m looking forward to our battle.”

“Me too.” She kept cleaning her glasses and staring.

“Right…” I looked back at the island, only a few minutes away now, and tried to ignore her. Why’d she come up here? Clearly not to talk. Was she trying learn something about me? Or maybe she was just trying to get in my head. If so, it was working. I took a deep, shaky breath.

She kept staring in silence until the boat finally pulled up to the island. Wordlessly, Lorelei and I followed three referees out onto the jetty. Apparently, David and the rest of the Elites would watch from the boat. I caught his eye as we walked by them, and he gave me a smile and a little salute.

The island was sparse and empty, possibly man-made. A short gravel bank ran around the whole island, but the rest of it was a couple acres of flat grass. In the very middle was a standard size dirt Pokémon League battlefield.

The chief referee turned around and clapped his hands; he was a fit man with a neatly trimmed beard. He and the rest of the referees wore thick red jackets with the Pokémon League insignia emblazoned on the breast. The jackets seemed a little like overkill. It was cool out, but not that cold. “Alright, brief review of the rules. This is the first match of five. Challenger gets six Pokémon…” The chief referee spoke clearly and briskly.

I almost immediately got distracted. A noticeable wind was whipping across the island, but that would hopefully fade as the day progressed. It was gray and overcast overhead, but not too cold. I hoped that the wind would be at my back. Otherwise flying tactics would be significantly weaker. But Lorelei was an ice-type specialist, so Dragonite was probably off the table anyway. Who should I open with?

“Any questions?” The chief referee was looking at me.

“Oh… um, no.”

“Alright then, good luck to both of you.”

I followed one of the line referees to my side, which I noted was unfortunately downwind. As I took my position in the trainer box, my heart was pounding louder than ever. I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself.

“She’ll reveal first, then the match starts as soon as your ball hits the field,” said the referee at my side, taking her own position off to my left.

Lorelei didn’t hesitate. She pulled a Poké Ball from her belt, straightened her sweater, and tossed the ball out onto her side of the field.

A pop and a flash later, there stood my first obstacle of the challenge: a Slowbro. My mind immediately went to Sabrina. This Slowbro was a bit bigger than hers, but the ‘Shellder’ on its tail looked narrower than the one I remembered. This one might be faster than I was used to. I’d need to keep an eye out.

Fortunately, she’d made my choice easy. I plucked Tesla’s ball from my belt and tossed it out onto the field. They emerged, magnets spinning and electricity already humming.

Somehow, my heartrate was slowing. I was here now, and there was no reason to worry anymore. All I could do was battle like I had a hundred times before, and give it all I got.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on Tesla. Their thoughts and feelings, what the world might look like through their eyes… and made the connection.

Thunderbolt. Sustain it.

Electricity crackled between Tesla’s magnets and arced towards Slowbro. It barely missed as Slowbro lurched lazily out of the way. The thing was tottering around like it was drunk, but I knew better. Every step was intentional. The continuous arc of electricity snapped and hissed as it chased after its foe. Eventually, Slowbro twirled, scuffing the dirt with the shell on its tail and accepting the attack on its rock-like extremity. It broke the arc, but didn’t appear to receive much damage besides a black mark on the conical shell. Slowbro’s face remained calm and unchanged. A second later, it let out a low groan and blasted a jet of water from its mouth.

Take it.

Magneton used magnetism to move. Dodging an attack could be just as tiring as launching one of their own. In situations like this it was better to let their natural defenses shine.

The stream of water gushed around Tesla’s orbs, causing my Pokémon to stagger backwards a bit. Tesla let loose another blast of white lightning that scorched the soil where Slowbro had been standing only a moment before. I could feel their excitement. They were eager to fight, to dominate, to show their power. Tesla’s normal calm, cool, single-track mind was alight with the same electricity that danced around their body. I could feel the energy through our link, but it just made me nervous.

Careful. Don’t be overzealous. We’re in this for the long-haul.

Another blast of water hit Tesla straight on, dousing me in a cold mist. I didn’t move, instead looking closely at my opponent. Lorelei wasn’t audibly ordering these attacks. She wasn’t using hand signs either… just standing there calmly stroking her chin. Slowbro blocked another Thunderbolt with its tail. Was she psychic too?

Tesla took a third blast of water before I could get my wits about me to form any kind of strategy. This one hit harder than the others and sent a spray of rain across the entire field. The water kept up, slowly pushing Tesla backwards. Slowbro got down on all fours for stability and opened its mouth even wider, strengthening the jet.

This was our opportunity. Electrify it.

Tesla’s magnets spun up again and electricity sizzled along the hose of water, sending a cloud of steam into the cool air. Slowbro immediately shut its mouth, as if it was expecting just such a maneuver. The electricity crackled around Slowbro, with only small tendrils of lightning actually making contact. It was like the attack was being kept away by an invisible bubble.

I groaned. Light Screen. When the hell did they get that up?

As always, Slowbro seemed totally unaffected, it just stared blankly at Tesla. Its unblinking eyes slowly dilated.

A psychic attack! Concentrate, bud. Move closer. Stay focused and don’t let it confuse you. Just get close. The disorienting waves of Slowbro’s psychic assault radiated through our connection, making my head swim. I could see the faint purple aura, but the attack had a hard time getting to Tesla through its thick steel armor. Tesla bobbed haphazardly towards our opponent, taking a page out of Slowbro’s book. Movement like that could be attributed to the confusion caused by a psychic attack, but I could still feel Tesla’s laser-sharp excitement. There was nothing confused about it.

Now, Thunderwave!

Thin blue bolts of lightning flickered between Tesla and everything in a ten-foot radius, including Slowbro. The all-encompassing onslaught of electricity was not what the Light Screen was made for. Tiny arcs of lightning crawled across Slowbro like a swarm of insects. Slowbro didn’t react. Lorelei didn’t react. She just stood there scratching her chin. My nervousness doubled.

Something’s up. I’m withdrawing you. I’ll need you later in this fight and can’t risk a surprise. I ignored Tesla’s disappointment and recalled them to their ball. The chief referee pointed at me, waiting for my substitution. I only had ten seconds before I would get a delay penalty, and yet I had no idea who to send out next. I glared across at Lorelei. I couldn’t shake the feeling she was strategizing on a totally different level than me. If she was playing 4-D chess and had some kind of trap to spring, then I all I could was force her to spring it on a Pokémon that wouldn’t ruin the integrity of my team. As the chief referee began to reach for his whistle, I plucked Gideon’s ball from my belt and threw it onto the field. If Lorelei was surprised to see a long extinct Pokémon materialize across from her, she didn’t show it.

I closed my eyes and tried to connect with Gideon’s mind. He was always a tricky one, but something felt exceptionally slippery this time. I envisioned the world from his point of view on the field, his emotions, his defiance and stubbornness. But it was like stumbling around in the darkness. I concentrated even harder, blocking out thoughts of anything else, even the stakes of this very battle. Suddenly, someone flicked on the lights. I found the connection and felt Gideon’s subtle acknowledgement.

It was time for a plan. But Lorelei wasn’t giving me any respite. Gideon narrowly avoided a blast of water.

Okay, we need to learn from the last fight. Approach slowly.

A barely visible purple aura began to form around Gideon’s head. No! Concentrate. Disorienting psychic energy washed over Gideon, and through him, me. I shook my head and tried to follow my own advice.

You have to get close. Do not strike first. Watch for a tail slam or something. Dodge it and counter with an Absorb.

Gideon screeched and sprinted towards Slowbro, creating the swirling water of an Aqua Jet around his body. I swore out loud. Slowbro stood tall and watched Gideon recklessly approach. A shimmering shield appeared in front of it. Gideon’s Aqua Jet bounced harmlessly off the Protect, leaving my Kabutops sitting bleary-eyed in the mud.

“Damn it…” I muttered.

Slowbro’s tail smashed into Gideon, sending him flying. He crashed into the sodden dirt, but before he could recover, a bright pink aura formed around him, lifting him into the air. The Psychic attack slammed him back into the ground.

There were only two outcomes for Gideon at this point, and one of them was unacceptable this early in the challenge. I recalled him to his Poké Ball before Slowbro could beat him senseless. I was done playing these games. I needed a Pokémon with speed and strength overwhelming enough that Lorelei wouldn’t be able to pull any fancy tricks. Fortunately, the most recently evolved member of my team fit that bill perfectly.

“Dragonite. Let’s get ‘em.”

As the light from the Poké Ball coalesced into the form of Dragonite, Slowbro immediately sent a Hydro Pump straight towards her. Dragonite spread her wings and let the wind carry her upwards, comfortably dodging the attack. This was her post-evolution debut, but I felt perfectly comfortable. I easily linked with her mind, just as I had the night before. Your greatest strength has always been your flexibility. Try to get in close with some quick hit-and-run physical attacks, but if it keeps you at bay you always have lightning. Let’s show Lorelei what we’ve got.

With three swift beats of her mighty wings Dragonite flew upward, then dove down at Slowbro. At the last second, she spun and slammed it in the head with her tail. Slowbro fell to the ground and struggled to get up as Dragonite quickly took to the sky again. It hadn’t even tried to dodge.

I looked at Lorelei. She was as unfazed as her Pokémon, still scratching her chin. I grumbled. What was she even doing? Growing a fucking beard?

Dragonite dove down again, but this time Slowbro was ready. It ducked Dragonite’s tail and sent a blast of water after her as she flew away. Lorelei’s hand shifted slightly. That’s when it hit me.

She wasn’t psychic. She was just giving commands quietly and covering her mouth. There was no way I’d be able to hear her over the wind if she made an effort to stay quiet. And Slowbro… I noticed it grimace slightly as Dragonite made a third pass and was once again successful with slamming him into the dirt. It was almost like he was… paralyzed.

Because of course he was. Duh. How could I be so dense? I knew Thunderwave had hit, but Lorelei and Slowbro’s nonchalant attitude had thrown me off. The whole thing was a charade. My plans were working. All of them would have worked. Except Gideon, maybe… but that was just it. She had forced me to show my hand, to try out different Pokémon and different strategies, to tire me and my Pokémon out, hoping I would make a mistake. Slowbro were famous for being slow and hard to read. I had nearly thrown away one of my Pokémon just out of nerves. Lorelei had used my anxious mindset against me.

I realized I was dealing with a very different level of trainer here. I was used to type matchups, combos, short- and long-term strategies, well-practiced routines, contests of strength, but not mindgames. Not like this. Lorelei was good. She was very good.

Stop.

Dragonite plopped down in the wet dirt on my side of the field. Lorelei seemed to consider for a minute before Slowbro began to concentrate on another psychic attack.

You can take it. I concentrated on the image of Slowbro as much as I could in the hopes of helping Dragonite focus. Zap ‘em, but don’t push it.

Lightning flashed from Dragonite’s spindly antennae and lashed out at Slowbro. It scattered mostly harmlessly off of a Light Screen, but the psychic aura around Dragonite faded away.

Again.

This time the electricity coursed through Slowbro’s body. It twitched slightly as the attack hit it. It didn’t counter.

Again, with feeling.

I could hear Slowbro groan faintly as the lightning shuddered around it. Lorelei’s hand dropped, revealing a tight-lipped expression. Slowbro teetered slightly, and finally fell face first in the dirt.

The line referee on Lorelei’s side blew his whistle and waved an arm.

“Lorelei’s Slowbro is unable to battle!” the chief referee cried.

I smiled, a giddy feeling that I hadn’t felt since the tournament in Viridian rushing through my veins. The first obstacle was down. Dragonite alighted in front of me, still fresh and ready to go.

I kept a hand at my belt like a cowboy ready on the draw, in preparation to recall Dragonite depending on what Lorelei’s next Pokémon was. I stared intently at the flash of red light.

What appeared was nothing I had ever seen before. It was… a Sandslash? But wrong… It’s hide was a dull blue and its spines were icy spikes far longer than those of any Sandslash I’d ever seen. I hesitated, unsure of what to make of this. We’d learned about regional variations among Pokémon species back in school, but I didn’t have any experience with something like this. I didn’t think it was from Johto… maybe Alola?

Lorelei didn’t give me time to gather myself. Sandslash spun quickly, launching a barrage of icy shards at Dragonite. Dragonite dropped to the ground and took a tight defensive posture, trying to protect her fragile wings. She grunted in pain as the ice shattered on her scales.

I recalled Dragonite, knowing that I would have to think quickly. This Sandslash was an ice-type, that much was obvious. But did it have any other tricks? I decided to play it safe. Like I had with sending out Dragonite against Slowbro. A strong enough Pokémon wouldn’t have to worry about types. Or so I hoped…

I tossed forward an Ultra Ball, and Psyke appeared with a flash. I suppose in a way I was revealing my hand, but I’d had to register my team. There was no way the Elites didn’t know what I had in store. Not like Psyke could do anything especially fancy for his species. Alakazam were just straight up powerful.

I dove easily into the connection with Psyke. Grab it with your telekinesis. Immobilize it.

I saw Sandslash struggle for a moment, but it quickly broke free and sent more shards of ice flying at Psyke. He deflected them with a fast-thinking Barrier.

Come on, you got this.

Psyke concentrated again, and again Sandslash appeared to struggle for a moment before launching more ice shards. Psyke took the attack straight on, still trying to gain control.

What’s wrong? I could sense his frustration over the connection. Psyke had something he wanted to tell me, but without the conveniences we’d been enjoying recently, he had no way to communicate with words. He scuffed his foot on the ground.

Sandslash hissed and got down on all fours. A cold breeze swept across the field, and tendrils of icy mist began to crawl up from Sandslash’s spines as it dropped its body temperature. It was about to do something big. The ground around it, still muddy from Slowbro’s attacks, began to fade to white as it froze over. The ice creeped across the field, blanketing Lorelei’s entire side and quickly encroaching on mine.

Do you need to get closer? I’m not sure that would be worth it. If you touch that ice you could be frozen in place. Psyke grew even more frustrated. He was trying to draw my attention to something. He slid his foot across the ground again. The mud looked like it provided poor footing. Slippery! You can’t grab Sandslash because it feels slippery… it’s resisting your psychic abilities! Psyke seemed relieved that I had gotten his point. I quickly tried to reason through what I was supposed to do with that information. The ice was approaching Psyke fast. It could be part dark-type, maybe? No that doesn’t make sense. Sandslash’s front claws dug deeper into the now frozen earth. Steel!

I immediately made perhaps the fastest switch of my whole career.

Less than two seconds later, Psyke was gone and a battle-ready Arcanine was in his place.

Alright Flareth, no messing around. Get close as quickly as you can. Fire fang. This won’t last long.

Flareth leaped across the field in two, maybe three bounds, heavy claws digging deep into the ice. Sandslash seemed to panic. It stood up straight and took a defensive stance, ready to dodge out of the way. Four hundred pounds of Arcanine slammed into the earth, just barely missing. This Sandslash was quick, but not quite as quick as Flareth. As it spun out of the way, Flareth pivoted and managed to grab the tip of Sandslash’s tail in his fangs.

Sandslash squealed as Flareth swung it around and smashed it into the ground, flames already spilling out of his mouth. Flareth pinned his opponent with two mighty paws and went for the throat. It was over. I knew it. Flareth knew it. The Sandslash knew it.

Lorelei’s line referee blew his whistle. He knew it too.

“Lorelei’s Sandslash is unable to battle.”

A non-native subspecies of Sandslash was not what I had expected, but that had been an easier fight overall than Slowbro. Two of three were down with minimal injuries to my team. I was in good shape so far. Lorelei looked unperturbed. She wasn’t smiling, but she definitely didn’t seem terribly bothered to be down to her last Pokémon. Now, if I knew anything about Lorelei’s reputation, I knew what Pokémon she was going to finish with. And regardless of her apparent confidence, I knew exactly how I was going to counter it.

I recalled Flareth and sent out Tesla at the same moment that Lorelei’s Lapras took the field.

I’d fought against plenty of ice-types before, but none quite like Lorelei’s ace. The temperature dropped almost immediately upon the red light of our Poké Balls fading away, and a wind began to pick up, carrying a cold mist in from the lake. Lapras craned her neck upward and gave a songlike cry. I realized right away what would happen if I let this fight drag out. The temperature would fall farther and farther, the clouds lower and darker, until finally we would be immersed in a blizzard. As if on cue, the referees pulled scarves out of their pockets and put them on, the chief referee pulling his all the way up to cover his nose and mouth.

Noted. It was about to get very cold.

But until then, Lapras was a sea creature on land. And I had a Pokémon that was very good at electrocuting the hell out of a fixed point. Nevertheless, I decided to play it safe.

Thunderwave. Let’s make sure it doesn’t go anywhere.

Tesla floated forward, magnets spinning idly. Blue sparks flickered around their screws with an increasing intensity as Tesla began to get close to Lapras. Lapras appeared completely still and calm, possibly just concentrating on summoning this storm. I pulled my jacket tighter around me. I wasn’t about to be fooled by the same trick twice. This was going to work.

When Tesla got close enough the energy discharged, sending thin ribbons of blue lightning scattering across the field. A pale green barrier appeared in front of Lapras, shielding it from harm. Safeguard. I muttered some rude words about defensive techniques under my breath.

Fine, just zap it. The thing can’t move much anyway.

Tesla acquiesced, pulling back and spinning up their magnets even faster. An audible hum filled the air. Electricity crackled around Tesla’s body, and then lanced outward in a white bolt.

Lapras nearly effortlessly slid to the left, completely dodging the strike.

“Son of a bitch.” I hadn’t even noticed. The entire battlefield was now covered in a thin layer of ice. Not only were Slowbro and Sandslash effective fighters that had made me reveal my strategies and tire my Pokémon out, but this whole time they had been setting up the field to help counteract Lapras’s mobility issues.

Lorelei was no longer covering her mouth, but I still couldn’t hear her commands. Her lips were moving almost imperceptibly as she whispered to her Lapras. She was still on the ball, still moving, still strategizing. I needed to keep her on her toes.

Lock-on. Then hit it.

Tesla’s eyes glowed as they zeroed in on Lapras’s position. But before they could strike, their concentration was interrupted by an Ice Beam from Lapras. The beam lashed out at Tesla, freezing one of their magnets into place with a layer of ice. It seemed weaker than it probably could have been given that Lapras was spending most of its energy on summoning this storm, but I could feel Tesla’s pain and disorientation through the psychic connection. Type effectiveness or no, freezing solid is freezing solid. This was bad news.

Thunderbolt again. Rapid fire. We have to keep up the pressure.

Tesla’s movable magnets hummed loudly and a bolt of lightning struck out at Lapras, but splashed off the telltale hexagonal shield of a Protect. I could still feel the wind picking up. It was getting colder. I shoved my hands into my pockets and bit my tongue to avoid swearing too loudly.

Again.

This time Lapras tried to dodge, but was just barely too slow. For all that effort, we managed to score a tiny hit on Lapras’s front right flipper. The scorch mark wasn’t even visible from this distance, and while I was sure the hit had hurt, it clearly wasn’t much.

Again.

Another Protect. And the wind was still growing stronger. This was taking too long. The clouds seemed low now, and a fog was beginning to fill the air. Tiny droplets of moisture turned to snow before my very eyes. The discipline needed to manipulate the weather like this while also fending off our attacks was incredible. Tesla and Lapras danced about, trading Thunderbolts and Ice Beams, blocking and dodging. Another one of Tesla’s magnets got frozen in place. Their attacks were getting noticeably weaker.

This was ridiculous. I had no idea what to do. Lapras so clearly outclassed any Pokémon I had seen or trained with in terms of multitasking ability, strength, and reflexes. And Lorelei had set up such a perfect environment for it. I watched Tesla land another hit with a weakened Thunderbolt. I thought back to that time at the Spring Battle Festival in Viridian where Tesla had roasted Anna for making a snide remark about Rainer. And how could I forget when they had evolved in the basement of the Rocket casino and incinerated one of the grunts that had abducted Rainer. Tesla had always been a fairly independent Pokémon, with their own motivations and purpose, but never disobeyed. It always fought with intent and a flat acceptance that when we fought together, we would succeed.

Tesla would never let me down. There was no way I was going to be the one to let them down. I needed a strategy, and I needed it fast.

I knew Tesla could knock out Lapras if they had the chance to score a big hit. We could try overwhelming Lapras with Thunderwaves… It could only Safeguard so much, and then it would be a sitting duck. But that would be too slow. The blizzard was growing stronger, and paralysis was no guarantee. For all I knew, Lapras would still be able to shake it off long enough to avoid or block whatever kind of nuke Tesla could manage.

I began to shiver. This was unbearable. I was already looking forward to curling up with some tea and taking a nap with Flareth as a big fuzzy warm pillow.

I snapped my fingers. The biggest advantage I had was the size of my team and ability to switch. It was a risky play, but it would have to work. I reached for my belt and made as quick of a swap as possible, sending out Flareth and giving Tesla a moment to breathe.

As soon as Lorelei saw the switch, she seemed to know what I was doing. The wind subsided almost instantly and Lapras reared its head, no doubt summoning some kind of water attack. I didn’t have time to connect with Flareth.

“Fire, everywhere!” I said out loud as Flareth solidified out of red light.

He obeyed, but not before Lapras was able to fire off a Hydro Pump. A stream of flames poured from Flareth’s mouth, colliding with the jet of water and sending steam billowing around the battlefield. It certainly warmed up the area, but it wasn’t enough as a defensive measure. Flareth took the hit directly, tumbling backwards towards me, his fur matted with water.

I took a deep breath and connected with him. He felt weak and injured. C’mon buddy, you just need to melt the ice. Then I’m taking you out for the rest of the fight.

The referee at my side leaned forward and reached for her whistle.

Up and at ‘em. You got this. We got this.

Flareth slowly pulled his feet underneath him and shakily stood up.

Barely visible through steam, I could see Lapras preparing another attack.

Dodge, then cover this whole place in fire.

The next Hydro Pump missed wildly as Flareth leaped to the side, his mouth already pouring over with flames. The water sprayed off the ground where it struck, splashing straight into the trainer’s box and soaking my legs. This time it was the referee next to me that swore, having also caught a fair amount of the rebounded Hydro Pump. She blew her whistle. “Foul!” she cried, “Indirect attack on the opposing trainer. Watch your angles, ma’am!”

The chief referee nodded and raised one finger, indicating the first of two possible fouls before Lorelei would be disqualified. She waved a half-hearted apology.

I didn’t have time to think about being dripping wet, even as the chill began to set in. Flareth had continued as if nothing had happened, whipping his head back and forth, covering himself and the ground around him in flames.

Feint Flare Blitz, then just surround Lapras with Flamethrower.

Flareth dashed straight at Lapras without hesitation, the fire around him burning brightly. Lapras confidently stood its ground. Then, just as I had suspected, a shimmering shield appeared in front of it. Flareth skidded to a halt just meters short of the Protect, and sprayed flames all around Lapras. Although Lapras was protected from the fire, the ground around it was not. Ice turned to water and water to steam. Waves of warm air buffeted my face, a testament to the heat of Flareth’s fire.

As soon as Flareth’s Flamethrower began to falter, I recalled him. A Hydro Pump blasted through the air where he had been moments before.

“Alright Tesla,” I whispered to their ball. I could tell I had shaken Lorelei. That foul was sloppy. There was no way a Hydro Pump would hit a Pokémon as fast as an Arcanine when you were aiming through that kind of fog. Despite her calm and controlled demeanor, she was slipping. “Let’s finish this.”

As Tesla took the field, Lapras wasted no time in returning to summoning its blizzard. A powerful wind billowed past me, making my jacket whip in the breeze. My teeth chattered. The steam from Flareth’s gambit dissipated almost immediately, as did the brief warmth from his flames, but the field was no longer slick with ice.

Thunderbolt.

Despite its still frozen magnets, Tesla responded with gusto, sending a Thunderbolt sizzling straight across the field. To my great surprise, Lapras took it head on. No dodging, no blocking. It grimaced as the electricity coursed through it, but did not falter in its concentration. The winter storm it had been summoning picked up, worse than ever. Clouds hung low and dark. Snow billowed around us. I shook out my legs to try to keep the blood flowing.

Thunder.

Tesla seemed to have the same idea. Its four remaining magnets spun up and electricity began to crackle around it. According to what I had read in my Pokédex long ago, Thunderbolt simply alters the electric potential between the user and the target and ionizes the air to allow electricity to arc between them. Thunder, on the other hand, charges the clouds overhead with electricity until a bolt of lightning strikes the target. I wasn’t sure if that was always the case, since I had seen people use the term “Thunder” to describe a technique that arced between the two Pokémon, but the latter was what I was going for. It was markedly less accurate, but significantly more powerful.

A thin tendril of lightning leaped upward from Tesla’s magnets, charging the clouds. Thunder rumbled, but did not strike. From my understanding, that was effectively a misfire. But when the attack hit, it would be big. Lapras appeared to be focusing on its own finale. I just had to trust in Tesla’s ability to hit first and hit harder.

Electricity sparked all around Tesla. The wind and snow grew even more intense. I could barely see Lorelei through the blizzard, but Lapras’s unmoving silhouette was apparent. Looking at Tesla, something seemed off. Their magnets were spinning to a blur, and a distinct electric hum was audible even over the wind. I swore I could see Tesla’s orbs begin to twist ever so slightly, as if they were being shifted by the very magnetic field they were creating. It was like their three orbs were beginning to collapse in on each other.

Careful Tesla. This just needs to be strong enough to KO. It’s not worth knocking yourself out over.

As if in response, Tesla began to glow a bright white. I was startled out of my psychic connection.

“Well, son of a bitch.”

Tesla’s form shifted as their orbs twisted into each other, creating more of a saucer shape. The chunks of ice around two of their magnets cracked and shattered. The magnets melded into the glowing white form, then three reappeared larger than ever on the left, right, and back of the saucer. The light began to fade as the hum grew even louder.

“Alright,” I said to my new Magnezone. “Let’s finish this up.”

But an evolution takes time and energy. And this was Lorelei’s ace we were talking about. One of the Indigo League’s Elite Four. Possibly among the best trained Pokémon in the world. The temperature dipped even farther. My next breath felt like it was going to freeze my lungs. Lapras gave a loud cry. A concentrated blizzard of freezing wind and ice and snow blasted across the field, striking Tesla straight on. I raised my arm to cover my face from the billowing snow.

A moment later, it began to fade. I lowered my arm.

In front of me was a pillar of ice. It stretched from the ground to almost three meters in the air. Trapped in its heart was a fully evolved Magnezone, encased entirely in ice.

“No…”

The line referee next to me reached for her whistle.

One down already. And we had been so close.

Before the whistle could touch the referee’s lips, she was interrupted by a rumble of thunder. The storm had not dissipated.

Then came a brilliant flash of light and a sound like a cannon. I covered my head and dove to the ground as a bolt of lightning struck the pillar in front of me. Chunks of ice exploded outwards. I noted that I had fallen slightly out of the trainer’s box. I think one of the referees tweeted a foul at me, but I wasn’t paying attention. I struggled to get back to my feet.

Tesla sat hovering over a shattered stump of ice. Electricity crackled all around them with furious intensity, tracing lines along the ground. Tesla let out a deep, resonating hum. The chaotic electricity began to convene, wrapping around towards Tesla’s magnets. The bolts formed into a single clump in front of Tesla, glowing brighter and crackling louder. Suddenly, Tesla’s magnets stopped spinning and the electricity was gone in the blink of an eye.

There was a split second of complete silence and stillness. Then, a massive bolt of lightning struck out from Tesla’s antenna right at Lapras. The attack caught Lapras by surprise as much as it did me. Supercharged with their own Thunder, Tesla’s electricity hit harder than I had ever seen before. Lapras cried out in pain, shaking as tiny arcs sparked all over its body. Tesla held the electrical connection, hissing and snapping, for two or three seconds, then let it go. Silence returned.

Lapras crumpled to the dirt. The wind stopped. The air grew warmer. The clouds began to disperse.

Lorelei adjusted her glasses.

The line referee on the other side of the field blew his whistle and waved his arm.

The chief referee whistled three times. “Lorelei’s Lapras is unable to battle. Lorelei is out of usable Pokémon. The victory goes to the challenger, Keith Anders.”

Thunder rumbled faintly in the distance, but the clouds were already starting to lighten. Somewhat dumbfounded, I stepped forward onto the field. Tesla turned to face me. I put a hand on them, feeling the smooth cold steel.

“That… was amazing.”

Tesla hummed softly. I could feel the hairs on my arms stand on end.

“I’m proud of you, bud. Thanks.”

*****

I was left mostly to myself on the boat ride back. David had shaken my hand, but seemed dedicated to maintaining an air of professional impartiality.

My mind was racing with thoughts of battle. The way I had acted and reacted, the strategies Lorelei had used, and the way my Pokémon had fought. I was already forming strategies for the next day’s fight. For the first time in a while, I was truly and properly excited.

I looked around and spotted Lorelei standing by herself, leaning against the port railing and watching the water go by. I approached her. She looked up at me with a smile. Apparently no longer attempting to be deliberately unnerving, she was genuinely warm and friendly.

“That was well fought,” she said. “Your Pokémon were most impressive.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it, especially coming from you.” I leaned on the railing next to her and stared at the cloudy mountain peaks that walled in the lake.

“Something on your mind?” she asked.

“Yes, actually. Although I don’t know how much you can say without influencing the challenge.”

“I’ll do my best,” she said slyly.

“Alright then,” I said. “When you’re fighting a challenger, what’s your intent?” It was a question that had been bothering me ever since I had learned the rules of the challenge. “Do you fight to win as best you can? Or do you accept that being down to three Pokémon means a loss? In which case are you just trying to cause lasting damage so that one of the other Elites can win?”



Lorelei took a moment before responding. “I used to be a gym leader, you know. All four of us were at some point, though I can only speak for myself on this. When you’re a gym leader you’re instructed to give your badge to those you deem worthy. The rules say if the challenger wins a battle you have to give them a badge regardless, but a lot of leaders like to add in other little challenges or adjust their battle style. All to test the challenger and see if they really are worthy.”

“And you carried that philosophy to here?” I asked.

Lorelei nodded slowly. “I believe there is more to being a trainer than winning battles. How you win, and the obstacles you overcome along the way are usually better indicators of the skill of a trainer. We all have different things we value in trainers, so I think we all put up different obstacles.”

“So what were you testing me for?”

She looked at me with a faint smirk. “What do you think?”

I was worried she would say that. I continued staring at the mountains and reflected on our battle. The mind games with Slowbro, the surprise of a Pokémon I had never fought before in Sandslash, and finally Lapras.

“Adaptation, maybe? I’ve never fought a battle quite like that. So much of it was new territory for me. Where even was that Sandslash from?”

“Alola,” she said, but did not confirm my guess.

“Well… if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my journey, it’s how to adapt to new situations.”

“And a good lesson that is,” Lorelei said sagely. “Those who rely on predictability do not last long as trainers.”

Figuring I had nothing to lose, I tried my luck. “And what will the rest of the Elite Four test me on?”

“Even if I knew, I don’t think I’d tell you,” Lorelei said. “The time for learning lessons is over. This is a trial.”

“Fair enough,” I replied.

Tomorrow I would face Bruno, a master of fighting-types. I looked around. I’d seen him earlier talking to David…

Bruno was hard to miss. He stood alone on the other side of the deck, staring directly at me. A thick mane of dark hair whipped in the wind, but it didn’t appear to bother him. Despite the slight chill in the air, he had opted to go completely shirtless, showing off his thick, rippling muscles. That couldn’t have been pleasant in Lorelei’s blizzard. I was glad our Pokémon would be the ones doing the fighting and not us.

“You’ve got him on edge, I think,” Lorelei whispered.

I turned back to look at the mountains again. I could practically feel Bruno’s eyes boring a hole in the back of my head. “Yeah, he looks terrified,” I said dryly.

“Normally he’s not this quiet,” Lorelei said with a slight smile.

Despite my doubts, her statement bolstered me. One down, three to go. Then David.

*****

Thanks for reading!
 
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Chapter 51 - Bruno
Chapter 51

I awoke the next morning on the floor of the gym to the faint sound of knocking. I groaned and sat upright. Flareth, who I had been using as a pillow, echoed my groan and rolled over. I scratched the thick fur on his belly. “Up and at ‘em, boy.” I must have fallen asleep while watching the sunset the previous night. Sleeping on a wooden floor hadn’t been kind to my back.

The knocking sound repeated from the kitchen. I immediately jumped up and looked at my watch. “Damn.”

Desperately trying to smooth out the wrinkles in my clothes and almost tripping on a half-full mug of cold tea sitting on the floor next to me, I staggered to the front door.

“Morning, Andrew,” I said as I opened it.

Andrew Thompson, David’s assistant and my wakeup call, stood in the hallway. Well dressed and neatly groomed, he was unassuming and professional. Apparently, he was pretty new to the job. Fresh off a journey and only a year older than me. “Good morning, Keith,” he said. “You ready to head down?”

“Uhh… any chance I could get five minutes?”

He scrutinized me briefly, then laughed. “How about I give you ten? Blame it on the elevators being slow or something. Not like David’s gonna get upset.”

“Thanks man, you’re the best,” I said, heading for the bathroom. “I’ll call it my strategy to put Bruno off balance.”

Flareth padded slowly into the kitchen, claws clacking on the linoleum. He yawned widely, showing off his impressive fangs. “Keep Andrew company, bud. I’ll be back in a minute.”

As I took a quick shower, I thought about the upcoming battle. Bruno wouldn’t be a pushover. Presumably he was at least as tough as Lorelei, and yet… I felt confident. Strong. After Lorelei I somehow felt more ready. I knew what was coming and I knew I could handle it.

I exited the shower and quickly got dressed with a few minutes to spare. When I left the bathroom, Andrew was waiting by the door in the same position I’d left him, looking intently at his phone.

“Forecast’s for rain today, by the way,” he said.

“Thanks,” I replied, dipping into the bedroom to grab my raincoat. This guy was good. I could see why the Champion would like having him around. Why I might like having him around. No… it was too early to be having those kinds of thoughts.

My hand bumped something hard in the pocket of my raincoat. I pulled out a plain Poké Ball, scuffed and dull. Baron’s. I must have left it there and forgotten… I refused to let the tears come. I gripped the ball tightly and gave it a gentle kiss. “Wish me luck, Baron,” I whispered to it.

Andrew looked up from his phone as I set Baron’s ball on the kitchen table and recalled Flareth. “Alright, let’s go,” I said.

Both of us were silent as we went down the elevator, out of the building, and headed out onto the wharf where everyone else was waiting.

“You’re late,” Agatha growled. They were the first words she had spoken to me since I had arrived.

As promised, Andrew started making excuses, but David waved him off. “It’s fine,” he said. “Let’s just get going.”

Andrew wished me luck and headed back down the wharf, leaving me once again with the strongest trainers in the region. But this time I had proven I could stand among them. That didn’t stop Agatha from glaring daggers at me as we boarded the boat. I put as much distance between myself and her as I could. Despite being about half my height and dressing like, well… a little old lady, she had a nasty air about her. She had a knack for making me feel ashamed and embarrassed by everything I did.

Climbing the stairs up to the top deck, I found Bruno sitting at the bow, meditating. Still shirtless. One of the referees, who I recognized as the young woman who had been stationed at my side the previous day was leaning casually against the railing and eyeing Bruno with what I’m sure was nothing more than professional curiosity. She nodded hello to me when she saw me.

I noted her distinct lack of a scarf. “Not expecting it to get as cold today?” I said.

She smirked. “Nah, I don’t think so.”

"You could have warned me about that," I teased. "I felt like my fingers were going to fall off."

"Hey, you're the one who's supposed to foresee stuff like that. I just make the calls."

She was younger than most referees I had seen, maybe only a few years older than me. Since I figured I was supposed to avoid being too friendly with David to keep the favoritism accusations at bay, it was nice to talk to someone closer to my age. I'd felt the same around Andrew. Something about being surrounded by all these seasoned adult trainers put me on edge.

"I'm Keith, by the way."

"Olivia." She shook my hand.

"How long have you been a ref?" I asked. "This seems like a pretty prestigious position for someone your age."

"It is," she said. "I dipped out of my journey a few years ago, three badges in."

"Kanto?"

"Johto. One of the gym leaders said I had a good eye for keeping track of a fight, so when it came time to get my League job I opted for ref school. Hobbs was one of the teachers there. He's the chief ref."

The name vaguely rang a bell, which probably meant he had introduced himself to me at some point the previous day when I was freaking out and not paying attention. "He took a liking to me, so when a position opened up here a few months back, he poached me from tourney duty."

"How do you like being a ref?" I asked.

Olivia shrugged. "Sometimes I miss being out on the road, travelling around, and actually calling the shots in a battle. But honestly, I could do worse. I'm a better ref than I was a trainer. And I still get to be involved with the sport, just from a different angle."

It felt odd running into so many people recently who had done a journey, but it made sense. A job at the League was the end destination for everyone who did a sponsored journey. One way or another, that destination was right around the corner for me.

"Any idea what you're going to do if you lose?" she asked.

"Honestly, I haven't really thought about it. Becoming the Champion has been my dream for so long. Since I was a kid. It's like any other outcome just isn't an option."

A voice came from behind me. "That attitude will take you far."

Bruno was done meditating, apparently. He stood with legs wide and arms crossed, staring down at me. Not something I was used to. The man was towering. "But defeat... failure... it is always a possibility. In a fight, standing tall may intimidate your opponent, but it is a weak stance."

He squared off, putting one leg back and bending his knees. "Lowering your center of gravity makes for a stronger stance. One which cannot be shaken even by an attack you do not see coming." He stood back up. "As such, humility is your greatest defense against the unexpected."

"Uh... got it," I said hesitantly. I looked at Olivia. She smiled slightly and waggled her eyebrows.

Bruno gave me a short bow. "I will see you on the battlefield."

With that, he went down to the lower deck.

"I'm going to be honest," I said, "from what I knew of Bruno, a lecture on humility is the last thing I expected."

Olivia laughed. "Oh, don't worry. When the battle starts you'll get exactly what you expect in terms of boisterousness. He's a pretty intense dude, but once he takes the field he really cuts loose."

"Noted."

The boat was pulling up to the pier on the island in the middle of the lake.

"Well," I said. "Wish me luck."

Olivia made a face. "I would, but... I think that might be against the rules."

I laughed.

*****

The field was in immaculate shape. There was no sign of my battle with Lorelei yesterday. There must be a team of people making sure all damage gets fixed overnight. I realized that was probably why the battles all took place in the morning.

I took my position in the trainer's box, heart pounding just as it had the day before. But this time I was confident. This time I was ready. Whatever test Bruno had for me, I could pass it. Whatever lesson he wanted to teach me, I would prove to him I already knew.

Chief Referee Hobbs pointed at Bruno, waiting for him to send out his first Pokémon.

Bruno held a single Poké Ball out in front of him. "Keith Anders!" he cried from across the field. "You have shown great promise getting this far. Show me your strength, for I will not hold mine back!" His Poké Ball bounced once on the dirt and popped open.

The red light quickly formed into the four-armed humanoid shape of a Machamp. It punched its fists together and glared at me with an identical intensity to its trainer.

Son of a bitch. Bruno was opening with his ace. No allowing time to adapt to fighting styles, no drawn-out multi-Pokémon strategies, just raw strength and ferocity out of the gate. This guy was insane.

I took a deep breath. I could do this. For most of my Pokémon, raw power was where we excelled. If Bruno wanted to start with his best foot forward, then so would I. I made my choice.

Machamp was moving before Psyke even fully formed.

I didn’t have time to make a connection, so I had to resort to verbal calls. “Stop it!”

Psyke lazily pointed a spoon towards the charging Machamp. A blurry aura of psychic energy formed around Machamp’s body, but it barely even slowed down. It just kept running. A note of panic struck my heart, but I stuck to my plan and tried to connect with Psyke. It was significantly harder without closing my eyes, but too much was happening too fast for me to miss out.

Machamp was quicker than me. In what seemed like only a few strides, it had crossed the field and closed the gap with Psyke. Machamp swatted Psyke’s outstretched arm out of the way and landed a devastating two-handed punch right across his face. Psyke went down hard. Before he could even begin to scramble back to his feet, Machamp kicked him in the chest and raised its arms above its head, clasping its four hands together into one giant fist.

I made connection with Psyke right as that fist came down. Fortunately, he had already come to the same conclusion I had.

There was a brief, dull flash of light, and Machamp struck the ground hard enough for me to feel it tremor under my feet.

Psyke reappeared on Bruno’s side of the field. Teleporting was risky. If Psyke had appeared outside the bounds of the field and not re-entered before a set time, he would have been counted as knocked out. Teleporting with enough precision to guarantee that wouldn’t happen meant expending a lot more energy. Energy we did not have to spare.

Bruno let out a loud laugh. “Ha! Yes! Run, boy. Run until you are exhausted. My Machamp and I will still be able to beat you senseless.” Machamp shook the dirt from its hands and turned to face Psyke once again.

Before I could even form a new thought, Machamp had already sprinted back across the field. Still dizzy from taking a hit directly to the face, Psyke had barely recovered from the teleport in time to slow Machamp’s advance. It wasn’t enough. Not even close. This thing was 300 pounds of pure muscle. Mind over matter, my ass. It pushed through Psyke’s attempt at slowing it through sheer strength and momentum.

Again. Machamp was too fast, too strong. It was all I could manage. Psyke teleported again before Machamp could strike. Psyke was barely quick enough to keep up with Machamp, but he’d never be able to go on the offensive in a way that would deal lasting damage. That’s when I realized it. I didn’t need raw power. I needed speed.

I plucked Psyke’s Ultra Ball from my belt when he appeared in front of me once more. Two flashes of red later, I had replaced Psyke with Flareth.

“A new challenger!” Bruno laughed. “Let us see what this one has to offer.”

Machamp hesitated for a moment, seeming just a little surprised by my sudden switch. I took advantage of the brief lapse to connect with Flareth.

Dodge and stall.

Flareth had once pulled me out of the ocean off of Cinnabar. I knew he could pull me out of this.

Machamp charged again, arms wide and ready to block any fancy footwork by Flareth. Flareth responded by charging right back. He spat a tiny flame directly at Machamp’s face immediately before collision, forcing Machamp to protect his eyes, blinding it just enough for Flareth to slip by untouched.

Machamp was just too strong and fast. Strong enough to push through Psyke’s psychic control. Fast enough to maybe even catch Flareth if we ran out of little tricks like that blinding flame. But I hoped… I knew Flareth had a few more tricks in him at least. I just needed to find some kind of advantage I could exploit. Thanks to the rules, my Pokémon, my situation, my psychic abilities, I knew I had advantages. I just didn’t know how to make the most of them.

Flareth dodged yet another attack, continuing to run and spitting flames as a diversion.

What about weaknesses then? I knew Machamp were strong Pokémon, but they weren’t supposed to be particularly fast. And yet, this one was. Once again, I was up against one of the best trained Pokémon in the world. Bruno knew his weaknesses better than I ever would. Trying to take advantage of them was a useless endeavor. He would have a counter for every strategy I could come up with. I was the wild card here. I was the unknown variable. If I was to win, I had to play to my own strengths.

“I wonder,” Bruno said as Flareth dodged another attack, “if you and I were in the ring, you would employ equally cowardly tactics. I don’t know what you’re waiting for, boy. Some miraculous stratagem to come to mind? Ha! Or maybe you hope I will decide to take pity on you…” He held up a closed fist, and Machamp stopped in its tracks. We were once again back to our Pokémon glaring at each other from opposite ends of the field. Machamp was breathing heavily, but so was Flareth.

“Wait for him to come to you, my friend,” Bruno said to Machamp. “We will show no mercy. Give no quarter.”

I was unsure what do to. The only real progress I’d made so far was tiring Machamp out. If I let it take a breather while I figured out a strategy, everything so far would be for naught.

Fine. Flare Blitz. If they’re just going to stand there and wait for an attack, let’s make them pay for it.

Flareth growled so deeply and loudly that I could feel it in my chest. Flames began to drip out of his mouth as the growl grew in volume. He crouched, ready to pounce, and gave a roar that echoed off the mountains. Fire coated his body, flickering red and orange, sometimes indistinguishable from his fur. Machamp stood unflinching, two arms out and two arms protecting its chest in a defensive position.

Flareth took off sprinting.

“Lock, takedown, and hold,” Bruno said, more calmly than he had this whole battle.

At the instant before impact, Machamp lurched forward, meeting Flareth head on. Fire flashed so brightly I had to look away for an instant. But in that blink, Machamp had made its move. It caught Flareth by the shoulders, taking the brunt of the flames. But with momentum on its side, Machamp managed to snake one arm around Flareth’s neck and tackle him to the ground. The flames faded as quickly as they had come. Writhing in the dirt, Machamp quickly immobilized Flareth with its arms and legs, holding him tight in a powerful headlock. Choking him.

Recalling Flareth would be illegal here. Pokémon in the hold of another are not allowed to be switched out. Doing so can result in a foul if it’s borderline, but in a clear case like this, I would simply be forfeiting Flareth. I couldn’t do that, he still had fight in him.

“Struggle all you want, child. This contest is over,” Bruno yelled. “Were this a true fight, a battle of life and death, you would have failed not just yourself, but your Pokémon too.”

It felt like every nerve in my body reacted to that. My mind’s eye saw Baron’s limp form splash down into the pond. An almost physical sting needled my whole body. The sudden furor tore my connection with Flareth. I clenched my teeth, shoulders shaking. Tears burned behind my eyes, but I refused to let them out. What did he know of life and death? I looked at Flareth. He stared right back; his eyes full of determination. Almost without thinking, I had re-established my connection.

Flamethrower.

Machamp had freed a single arm from its grapple in order to punch at Flareth’s head, but it was interrupted by a massive stream of flames. Machamp jerked away and rolled onto its back, letting the flamethrower spray into the air. The pillar of fire formed a fountain of bright yellow. A wave of heat rolled over me. This couldn’t be comfortable for Machamp. But it wouldn’t be enough to break its hold.

The ground.

Flareth squirmed and bucked against Machamp’s arms, managing to roll over enough for the stream of fire to blast into the earth. Tiny flames skittered and bounced away from the flamethrower as scorched the dirt. The heat wave grew even stronger. I noticed Olivia take a cautionary step back. I stood my ground. Machamp was sweating and straining, trying to choke Flareth’s fire away, but his fluffy mane provided a cushion. Eventually though, the flamethrower began to die down, leaving a line of cherry red coals spanning the field.

Cook ‘em.

Flareth shut his jaws, dug his claws into the dirt as best as he possibly could, and flipped Machamp over him. I could hear the sizzle of Machamp’s shoulder pressing into the glowing hot earth. Machamp grimaced in pain. It was enough.

Flareth sprung free of Machamp’s hold, quickly putting distance between them before Machamp could even get back on its feet. We were back to a stare-off. Bruno was uncharacteristically silent. I clenched my fists, heart still pounding, unwept tears still burning.

Life and death…

Anger swept through me. I could play to my own strengths… or I could beat him at his.

Give him a taste of his own medicine. Feint a Flare Blitz. Go for the head.

Flareth rushed forward, flames beginning to grow in his mouth. Anyone with experience with fire-types would be able to tell this wasn’t a full-on Flare Blitz, but I was banking on Bruno assuming I was being rash and amateurish.

Bruno laughed. “Bring it on!” Machamp squared off in the same way it had before. A large burn was clearly visible on its arm.

But this time, Flareth skidded to a halt right as Machamp lunged to catch him. With some of the fanciest footwork I’d seen Flareth pull off, he snuck around Machamp’s clasping grip and leapt up right into its face, jaws wide. Machamp jerked back in surprise, enough of a slip to lose its balance. Flareth bowled Machamp over to the ground. Before Machamp could react, Flareth had his entire mouth around Machamp’s head, fangs pressing gently, yet threateningly into its neck. Machamp struggled, but forcing Flareth off could cause his teeth to sink into its throat.

“Life or death, Bruno,” I said as calmly as I could manage. My voice still shook with anger. “I don’t tap out.”

“Easy, dude,” Olivia said at my side. “You’re real close to an excessive force foul here.”

“Just doing what he did to us,” I growled. I glared at Bruno. He glared back. Machamp continued to squirm. Smoke drifted from Flareth’s nostrils.

Never breaking eye contact with me, Bruno recalled Machamp.

Bruno’s line ref whistled. “Withdraw from grapple! Machamp has been forfeited!”

Sloppy!” Bruno shouted. “Even in victory you show weakness. This fight has only just begun. Ready yourself! I have done this a hundred times, but this is your first and only shot. Show me your real strength or you will fail like so many before you!”

I had no idea what true strength he was talking about. Was that not enough? I thought back to my conversation with Lorelei the previous day. What was Bruno testing me on? Raw strength? Endurance? It didn’t matter. This guy was full of shit.

Flareth trotted back towards me, panting. I desperately wanted to pet him, but I couldn’t leave the trainer’s box. “You did a good job there, boy,” I said. “Everything I could ask for and more.” He looked me in the eye solemnly. He looked tired. I realized then that I had lost my psychic connection at some point without noticing. Maybe I was tired too. All of the anger I had felt at Bruno simmered just beneath the surface. “You can take a quick break then, at least for now.”

A light rain began to fall, gently pitter-pattering on my raincoat. I welcomed it. The battle so far had gotten my blood pumping, and a cool respite felt nice. Bruno seemed to like it too. He raised his arms and looked at the sky, laughing.

“Very well!” he shouted. Whether he was talking to me or the sky, I wasn’t sure. “Let’s see how you handle this, boy!”

I watched the spiraling red energy from his ball form into a squat, round biped. Poliwrath. I’d faced a Poliwrath before. Spencer’s best Pokémon was a Poliwrath that he’d raised ever since we were kids. I’d struggled against it back in the tournament, but had triumphed in the end.

Poliwrath let out a low growl that rumbled across the field. It took a fighting stance, thick muscles rippling under its translucent skin.

I could win, but not with Flareth. I reluctantly recalled him and considered my options. Psyke was supposed to be my answer to Bruno. Meet physical brute force with psychic brute force. But that initial bout with Machamp had been taxing. If Bruno was able to pull off something similarly unexpected with Poliwrath, I would be risking losing Psyke. I couldn’t afford him getting knocked out now.

I had other answers for a Poliwrath. I gritted my teeth and tossed Tesla’s Poké Ball out onto the field. Their magnets began spinning as soon as they appeared. An electric hum filled the air just like the day before. I didn’t even have to connect for them to understand how to make the most out of the current situation. The rain may make Poliwrath feel at home, but we could use the gathering clouds to our advantage as well.

Bruno and Poliwrath seemed to be waiting for us to make the first move. I took advantage of their hesitance to connect with Tesla. There was a flash. Thunder rumbled overhead. Whether that was nature or Tesla, I wasn’t sure.

“Rash!” Bruno shouted angrily. “For every strength you show a weakness.”

Poliwrath bounded across the field again, looking ready to dodge anything we could throw at it.

We’ll show him ‘weakness.’ Thunder will probably miss, but should throw it off balance. Follow up with a quick Thunderbolt.

Poliwrath struck first. It jumped into the air and landed a devastating downward punch onto Tesla that drove them into the dirt. Tesla let out an audible whine of pain, bouncing back upwards with levitation. That whine quickly morphed to a growl as electricity filled the air. I could feel my arm hairs standing on end. A bolt of lightning struck from the heavens, exploding on the dirt in front of Tesla. I was braced for the blast, but the sound of it still made my ears ring. Poliwrath barely managed to backflip out of the way. Fortunately, Tesla had followed my advice. As soon as Poliwrath had its feet under it again, a white bolt coursed out from the antenna on Tesla’s head and struck Poliwrath directly in the chest. It groaned and fell to one knee, eyes squinted in a grimace. We had hurt it, but I could tell it would take more than that.

“Show them you are more than you seem,” Bruno commanded. “Ascend, and strike with the power of a waterfall!”

Waterfall? Bruno had such an odd way of giving orders. Surely a waterfall attack wasn’t what he was going for here. Poliwrath crouched, like it was ready to strike.

Thunderbolt again.

Electricity lanced forward, but Poliwrath was gone the instant before it hit. Springing upwards into the air, it tumbled neatly, like it had done this move a thousand times.

Then it struck me. Bruno wasn’t using the names of moves as they were commonly known. Whatever words he was using were describing strategies and predefined plans of attack. Dodge backwards!

Tesla bounced backward as quickly as they could. It was, to be fair, not very quick. But it was quick enough.

Poliwrath slammed into the ground, its clenched fists missing Tesla by only a few inches.

Zap it!

“Continue the pressure,” Bruno shouted.

Poliwrath landed a quick punch right into Tesla’s eye, but paid for it with another Thunderbolt. It recoiled in pain, but recovered far faster than Tesla did. It followed up with a quick one-two right where its first punch had hit. Tesla was sent spinning backwards, losing altitude until it scraped along the wet earth. I blinked. They were slow getting back up. Slow enough for me to think for a split second that it wasn’t going to happen.

Suddenly I could see the scuff marks on Tesla’s shiny steel body from their fight with Lapras the day before. I could hear the faint whine in the hum of their magnets. I could smell something smoky in the usual ozone tang of their electricity. All of my anger at Bruno dissipated, morphing into concern.

Before Poliwrath could close the gap and finish the job, I returned Tesla to their Poké Ball. I cursed myself. Tesla had not been ready to fight again. Not even close. My Pokémon were exhausted. Tesla wasn’t the only one. We were only on the second fight of five, and every one of my Pokémon had seen battle so far. Wait… that wasn’t true. How could I forget? It had been so long…

“I said show me your real strength!” Bruno yelled. He sounded genuinely angry. “Everything you can put up, I will break through.”

I snapped back. “You think so? Well, let me show you something unbreakable!”

Rainer hadn’t been in a single battle since I had found him in Silph Tower. When I say he was ready to fight, I mean he was ready. I didn’t even have time to connect before he was on all fours and force-feeding Poliwrath a Hydro Pump from all the way across the field. Poliwrath spluttered and fell over backwards, desperately scrambling for footing as the torrent of water blasted over it.

Bruno let out a deep belly laugh. “This is more like it! Never mind types. This will be a true measure of power!”

Rainer already seemed to be as sick of Bruno’s loud mouth as I was. He was not a fast Pokémon out of water, but he could cover a surprising amount of ground in a surprisingly short time when he really wanted to give something an ass-kicking. Poliwrath was on its feet by the time Rainer had scuttled over, but neither it nor Bruno really had any time to react to what was happening.

Poliwrath landed a reflexive punch into Rainer’s chest, but it had no effect on his thick shell. Rainer grabbed ahold of both of Poliwrath’s wrists and lifted it into the air. Poliwrath squirmed and bucked, kicking Rainer in the face multiple times, but he didn’t let go. Rainer twisted and slammed Poliwrath headfirst into the dirt.

Poliwrath was dazed, dirty, and still steaming ever so slightly from Tesla’s thunderbolts. It dizzily tried to get back into a fighting position, but another Hydro Pump from Rainer sent it sprawling once again. Rainer quickly closed the gap and fell on top of Poliwrath, pinning it beneath his weight. There were a couple seconds of struggling, but eventually the line referee by Bruno blew his whistle.

I whooped. As always, my good old starter knew how to handle himself.

Rainer waddled back to my side. I made eye contact. “I’ve missed you, bud. So much.” As if to congratulate us on our victory, the sun peeked briefly between the clouds for the first time that day.

“You put up a good fight, boy. I am always pleased to see a spark like that,” Bruno said. He pointed at me accusingly. “But I still sense a weakness that cannot be covered by the strength you have shown so far. What you cannot prove to me, I will be forced to teach you.” A distant roll of thunder added an ominous note to the moment.

Bruno’s third and final Poké Ball bounced once before exploding in a massive flash of red light. The light unfurled, coalescing into a snakelike shape the size of a building. There was a clamor of banging and scraping of metal as Steelix uncurled and reared up to glare down at Rainer. I’d never had to fight a Pokémon this big before. It towered even taller than Brock’s Onix had all that time ago in Pewter City.

“Smash that turtle!” Bruno cried. “Show them that nothing is unbreakable.”

Steelix’s tail swept towards Rainer, digging a massive gouge in the earth. Rainer had no hope of dodging. But he had a technique I had never seen him use before. He turned to the oncoming tail and lowered his cannons. A powerful stream of water blasted into Steelix’s tail, spraying mist through the air. The tail slowed. Rainer dug in and intensified his attack. The tail stopped. Steelix roared, a terrible grating sound, and tried to push back against Rainer’s Hydro Pump. It couldn’t.

“Smash!” Bruno yelled again, barely audible over the thunderous hose in front of me. I watched Steelix’s tail closely, but it made no headway against Rainer’s stream.

A shadow flittered in the corner of my eye. And before I could react, Steelix’s huge head came slamming down on top of Rainer with a sickening crunch.

I desperately connected with Rainer, which I hadn’t even bothered to do yet. He was hurt. Another hit like that would be devastating. He just didn’t have the speed to get out of the way of Steelix’s giant range of motion.

Steelix lifted its head, revealing Rainer laying a couple inches deep in the dirt. Rainer stirred, slowly pushing himself up. I recalled him before Steelix could slam down again. Despite Bruno’s constant rambling, strength wasn’t what I needed at all. Once again, I needed speed. I looked at Steelix’s metal plates reflecting the dull clouds overhead. Once again, I needed fire.

Flareth had been a gift from the Celadon Police Department after Baron and I had rescued that officer. In a way, he was like Baron’s legacy. How different his life would have been if he hadn’t come with me. He would have fought in Saffron either way. But here… the Pokémon League… the Elite Four… He had come so far. We had come so far. I plucked Flareth’s ball from my belt and turned it over in my hands. He had bailed me out multiple times over the last two days, but I needed one more. I tossed the ball in front of me.

“I know you’re tired, boy,” I said quietly. “But you’re my best shot.” I dove into the psychic connection. Play it safe. Let’s find a weakness.

Steelix’s tail came down like a missile, shaking the earth. But it was far too slow. Flareth nimbly dodged to the side and counterattacked with a Fire Fang. His flaming teeth dug into the tip of Steelix’s tail. Steelix shrieked in pain and tore its tail from Flareth’s mouth. It was impossible to see if Flareth had been able to penetrate, but there was a glowing orange patch on the spear-like tip of Steelix’s tail.

We were given no time to regroup. Steelix struck mouth first this time, its giant jaws opening wide enough to swallow Flareth whole.

Flamethrower.

I had commanded it, but the speed of Flareth’s response told me he and I were on the same page, fighting in perfect sync. A stream of flames flew straight into Steelix’s gaping mouth. The giant beast recoiled with a hacking, coughing roar. The tail came around again, impaling the ground near Flareth. It was a hasty attack and didn’t even come close to making contact.

Climb.

Flareth jumped on top of Steelix’s tail. He seemed to be standing on tip-toe, trying and failing to dig his claws into Steelix’s armor for traction. Steelix flailed and Flareth leaped to the next segment of Steelix’s body, spitting a haphazard Flamethrower up at the beast’s face.

I had to find some kind of weakness. If Flareth could concentrate his fire on one part of Steelix’s body, I was sure he could overheat it until it had to tap out, but it was constantly moving. It was so damn big. Maybe the joints between body segments would be weaker…

There, Flamethrower.

Flareth blasted fire directly into the joint in front of him, but it wasn’t enough. Steelix contorted, nearly crushing Flareth between two of the boulder-like segments of its body, but he jumped free. We were back to our starting positions, with Flareth glaring up at our massive opponent.

The face again.

Another Flamethrower burned upwards, but Steelix caught this one on the underside of its jaw. It wasn’t going to give us another free shot directly into its mouth. We were doing damage. I knew we were. But a single hit from Steelix would spell the end for us. Playing safe wasn’t giving us the openings we needed. I wasn’t even sure what an opening would look like…

“Bring them to their knees!” Bruno commanded.

I didn’t have time to decode what he meant before Steelix’s tail impaled the ground in front of Flareth. Steelix’s whole body seemed to be thrumming with energy. It roared and twisted its tail, causing the entire battlefield to shake violently. The Earthquake tore the field apart, cracks spreading from where the tip of Steelix’s tail pierced the ground. I was barely able to hold my balance, quickly losing the psychic connection to Flareth as I instead focused on keeping my footing. Across the field, Bruno stood firm.

Flareth was having trouble moving with the earth under his feet shifting and bucking. The ground under me may have been shaking, but the true damage from the Earthquake was contained perfectly within the boundaries of the battlefield. And that was despite the epicenter only being about ten yards in front of me. This level of precision could only be the result of years of practice.

“Sweep and bind,” Bruno said loudly, but calmly.

Tail still stuck in the ground, Steelix lunged at Flareth once more. It was a sloppy strike, and even off-balance, Flareth was able to side step it. I didn’t realize what was happening until my view of Flareth was blocked by Steelix’s body. Flareth was now caught between Steelix’s head and tail.

Oh. Bind.

“Look out!” My shout was too little too late.

Steelix curled around Flareth before he could escape, pinning him between three huge segments of its body. His head was barely visible as Steelix tightened around him.

No…

“Now, boy… Yield!”

I ignored Bruno, instead concentrating on Flareth and re-establishing the psychic connection. I let Flareth’s feelings flow back to me. He was tired. Hurt. Badly.

We can still do this.

No, we couldn’t.

Just try to wriggle free.

Flareth struggled. I knew it wouldn’t be enough. It felt like he didn’t even have enough energy left in him for more fire.

“Yield, boy. You’re only making your Pokémon suffer!”

It was like every muscle in my body was deflating. He was right. I reached for Flareth’s Poké Ball at my belt.

You’ve fought hard, buddy. You’ve done more than I ever could have wished for. But it’s over now.

One of Flareth’s eyes met mine. Through the connection I felt a wave of defiance. Of passion. He wanted to win this as much as I did. To prove to the world what our journey had forged us into. Figurative fire began to burn in Flareth’s eye. Literal fire began to take light beneath his fur.

You don’t have to do this… But I’d never been very good at stopping my Pokémon when they wanted to make a point.

I’d tried Overheat with Flareth once when we were training back when we visited Pallet, but I’d quickly decided it wasn’t worth using. Too tiring to be helpful it in a battle. None of that mattered now. Steelix groaned in pain as smoke began to drift up from Flareth’s body. A second later, smoke became fire. Every bit of Flareth’s desire to win took physical form in the shape of bright, searing flame. Fire erupted from Steelix’s grip, completely hiding Flareth from me. The metal of Steelix’s body was beginning to glow.

Sweat prickled my skin as the wave of heat washed over me. Bruno had crossed his arms and was frowning.

Steelix roared and began to thrash about. I winced, feeling Flareth’s pain through the connection, but the fire kept growing brighter and hotter. An entire segment of Steelix’s body was now visibly glowing. The flames kept coming. Finally, Steelix lurched and unfurled, sending Flareth flying across the field to slam into the dirt off to my left. In the same movement, Steelix fell backwards, crashing to the ground.

I looked at Flareth, worry building in my heart. Tiny flames still burned on his fur and his breathing was ragged and shallow. He didn’t get up.

Olivia blew her whistle.

“The challenger’s Arcanine is unable to battle.”

It was my fault. A lump formed in my throat. If I hadn’t lost the connection during the Earthquake, I could have warned him in time to avoid getting caught. I shakily returned him to his Poké Ball. He didn’t have to do that. He shouldn’t have needed to. I was pushing my Pokémon too hard. It still wasn’t enough. It was my fault. Flareth may have been the first to fall, but I knew it would be a domino effect from here. My Pokémon were too tired, too weak to continue. Without their strength, I would lose. It was my fault.

The sound of another whistle stirred me from my reverie. Had I taken too long to replace Flareth?

“Bruno’s Steelix is unable to battle. Bruno is out of usable Pokémon. The victory goes to the challenger, Keith Anders.”

I looked back at Steelix. It still lay on its back where it had fallen, smoke rising from its body.

I didn’t feel the same rush of joy at winning that I had the day before. It took the edge off of losing Flareth, but not by much. Not by enough.

*****

As we set off back to shore, I glanced around the passenger cabin on the lower deck. Agatha glared back at me from where she sat, cane clasped in her gnarled hands. I sighed and went back to my usual spot on the top deck, where I stewed as a light rain began to fall. The boat ride back to shore was silent and uneventful. Agatha, Lance, David… I would have to face all three of them without Flareth if I was to win. My numerical advantage had already seen its first loss. And there would be more. Where had I gone wrong? I knew that there was something I could have done differently and Flareth wouldn’t have been knocked out. The battle played through my head again step by step. It wasn’t until the boat pulled up to the pier and we began to depart that I was pulled from my reverie.

“Hey, Keith,” David called out to me. “Come on, I’ll show you where the medical clinic is.”

I followed him wordlessly, keenly aware that Bruno was not far behind us.

“That was a good battle today,” David said.

“Thanks.” It hadn’t felt like one.

David led me through the big reception area on the first floor to a set of propped open double doors that I had never been through before. Inside, a man sat at a desk among scattered machinery that I recognized from Pokémon Centers. It was a bit disorganized, but there was a clear path to another set of doors that I assumed led to the rest of the medical facility. The man looked up as we entered. David nodded to me and left. Bruno loomed over my shoulder, waiting his turn.

“Ah, you must be the new challenger,” the man at the desk said. “Given I didn’t see you yesterday, you must be doing pretty well. How many we got today?”

“Just one.”

He whistled. “Let’s see ‘em.”

I handed the man Flareth’s Poké Ball and he plugged it into a machine on his desk.

“Arcanine, nice. One of my favorites,” he said, looking at his computer. “We’ll take good care of him. You can pick him up once the challenge is over.”

“Thanks,” I said. “He’s one of my favorites too.”

I left to find David looking at the photographs of Champions and their teams that lined the walls of the reception area. In particular his predecessor, Redd McMahon.

“What was he like?” I asked.

David looked at me like hadn’t noticed me walk up. “Oh… he was pretty cool. I actually met him once before I even got here. Gave me some good advice.”

“Kinda wish I got to meet him,” I said. “My dad loved that guy; he would have been over the moon if I had the chance to battle him.”

“Eh, I think your dad would be pretty psyched for you anyway.”

I sighed. “Yeah… you’re right.”

David looked at me, but I stubbornly kept looking up at the portraits.

“I uh… I noticed you made some changes to your team,” David said. “I know you just got Rainer back, but I’m surprised you replaced your Pidgeot. I thought he was one of your best.”

“He was.” I took a deep breath to steady myself. “He’s gone.”

David didn’t say anything, and I continued to avoid looking him in the eye.

“He um… he died,” I finally said. “A few days ago. Some Rockets attacked me after I left Saffron.”

“Oh my God.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m so sorry…” David seemed like he hadn’t expected the conversation to go this way. I’d encountered it plenty of times before in discussions about Dad. What are you supposed to say? Sympathy is nice but doesn’t really help all that much. Especially when you’re supposed to be over it. “And you… still came here? That soon?”

“It’s what my Pokémon wanted.”

“Huh.” He didn’t question any more past that.

A voice from behind us interjected. “David, might I have a word with the challenger?” Bruno had left the clinic and joined us.

“Uh… yeah, sure. I need to head out anyway,” David said. “I’ll send Andrew to escort you back to your room, Keith. See you tomorrow.”

I nodded goodbye and he left me alone with the man I felt a burning hatred for that had only just began to dissipate. I decided to hear what he had to say, but I was secretly hoping Andrew would show up sooner rather than later.

“I made a mistake,” Bruno said.

Well that was unexpected. “Don’t worry about it, I got a little heated too.”

Bruno continued as if I hadn’t said anything. “At first, I saw your safe and defensive style as naïve, maybe even cowardly. I was trying to force you to make a sacrifice. To show that you were willing to do what it takes to win. To pay the cost.”

Sounded like kind of a shitty thing to test, to be honest. I wasn’t looking at him, opting to continue perusing the portraits. Oh look, this guy had a Pikachu. Like, it wasn’t even fully evolved. Crazy.

“I see now that I was mistaken. You were not afraid of what it might cost, but all too aware of what it would cost. What it had cost.”

So he’d overheard my conversation with David about Baron. I looked at my shoes.

“By way of apology, let me give you some advice,” Bruno said.

I perked up at that. I needed every edge I could get, especially now that I was down to five Pokémon.

“Agatha is your next opponent. She has already seen two of your battles in person. That is more than enough for her to know everything about you that she needs. Every single one of your weaknesses has been laid bare to her in a way that I have never been able to fathom. Not just the weaknesses of your team, but the weaknesses of you. Your mind. Your thoughts.”

“I’m pretty well aware of my weaknesses myself,” I said.

“Then steel yourself. She will take every advantage you give her. Every trainer I have seen beat Agatha has had to go further beyond anything they thought possible. I have seen your strength. I believe you can do that without sacrificing more than you need. If you can do that… I believe you will win the Championship.”

*****

Thanks for reading!
 
Chapter 52 - Agatha
Chapter 52

I spent most of the rest of the day sitting out on the balcony outside the gym in my quarters and watching a work crew toil on the island off in the distance. I couldn’t see them very clearly, but it looked like they were using Pokémon to help clean up the damage Bruno’s Steelix had caused.

After spending a few hours thinking, I was still torn about the battle. It seemed like everyone was optimistic about how I was doing. Like I was performing better than average. It boded well for the rest of the challenge and almost made me excited, but something was wrong. Every time I thought about Flareth my heart sank. It wasn’t just about what I could have done differently, it was also how much I relied on him to be there. He was always the Pokémon I called out when I needed some company. When I needed someone to lean on. He wasn’t the only Pokémon that I relied on emotionally, especially since Psyke and I had our conversation, but he was who I always defaulted to in times like these.

I sighed and plucked Psyke’s Ultra Ball from my belt. He materialized next to me with his usual unreadable face.

“You feeling okay?” I asked. “That was a tough battle today.”

Psyke stretched out his limbs and nodded.

“Ah, screw it.” I got up and walked back inside to the kitchen, gesturing for Psyke to follow. I rooted through the drawers. As promised, the kitchen was reasonably well equipped, and Andrew had even told me I could request anything that wasn’t already provided. That said, I didn’t feel like bothering anyone, so I’d probably be having ramen again tonight. But right now I was looking for something else…

“Here we go.” I pulled a box of toothpicks out of one of the drawers and dumped them on the kitchen table. “Now we can talk.”

The toothpicks floated gently into the air, swarming to form awkward letters like on a seven-segment display.

RELAX.

I looked at him quizzically. “I’m fine.”

The toothpicks dropped lamely to the table. Psyke looked at me skeptically.

“I’m fine!” I consciously let my shoulders relax and took a deep breath. “I’m just thinking about Flareth.” I sighed and slumped down into a chair. The only chair. There was only supposed to be one person here in this suite. Challengers had to stand alone. They had to fight alone. Win alone. I ran a hand through my hair. I couldn’t do anything alone.

This whole journey was supposed to be about me proving myself. Leaving my home town alone to grow and fight and become the greatest I could be. But from the very beginning I’d only found disaster. Until I met Criss. She had dragged me out of so many terrible situations, and forced me to learn from them. While she had pulled from the front, Tim had pushed me from behind. He was my constant rival, keeping me competitive, keeping me uplifted, keeping my eyes on the prize.

I put my head in my hands and rubbed my temples. Both Criss and Tim were gone now and I was left to fend for myself. Just me and my Pokémon. That was supposed to be enough. They had won almost every battle I’d put them in. My job was supposed to be strategizing, preparing, keeping them battle-ready… keeping them safe. I stubbornly refused to shed more tears for Baron, but they burned in my eyes anyway. I couldn’t do my job as a trainer. I’d already failed in that aspect.

I’d already fought two of the hardest battles of my life, and another one waited for me in the morning. I’d lost Flareth, so it was only going to get harder. Every time I tried to come up with strategies for Agatha, it felt like I wasn’t playing with a full deck. Because I wasn’t. How was I supposed to beat Agatha and Lance, and then still be able to battle David? Without Flareth. Without Baron. My Pokémon were my strength, and they were crumpling around me. I really wanted to be able to talk to Criss. She always had ways of coming out ahead in situations like this. Sure, her advice was often pithy one-liners that amounted to “deal with it,” but somehow, they always helped.

I looked up at Psyke. He looked back; gaze unwavering. The toothpicks fluttered to life again.

WE CAN WIN

It hung in the air for a second before the middle word scrambled.

WE WILL WIN

I looked down at my hands. “I feel so… isolated.”

WE ARE HERE

“I know.” I choked back tears again. “You always are. I just… I hope you need me as much as I need you.”



*****



Agatha was the last to arrive to the pier the next morning. Part of me wondered if she was trying to make some sort of ironic commentary on my tardiness the previous day. She scowled at me as she walked by, her cane tapping loudly on the wood of the pier.

“I know Bruno told you about me,” she said.

I followed her up the gangplank. “He told me you look for weaknesses,” I said. “I’m not too worried about that.” I tried to keep my voice from shaking. My confidence was coming from a place of honesty. I felt like I knew enough about myself and my team that there wouldn’t be any real surprises coming from Agatha. But I still felt nervous. My Pokémon were tired. I’d lost one yesterday and I knew I’d be losing more today. Maybe all of them… I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Agatha was the kind of person to capitalize on self-doubt. I couldn’t show her mine. “I know my weaknesses.”

Agatha hobbled into the passenger cabin and took a seat by the door, grunting slightly as she sat down. The rest of the passengers noticeably gave us space. She looked up at me. “Good for you. But that’s only the first step on a long road to fixing them, and you’re far too late for that.”

A bit of that smoldering anger from yesterday crept up in my chest. I was tired of this condescension. “Yeah, why’s that? What do you think my weakness is?” If I could get something out of her, it might help me in the battle. I still didn’t have any concrete plans. Once again, I’d have to rely on my Pokémon to keep me in the fight long enough to formulate a strategy.

Agatha fixed me with a stern gaze. “You, boy.”

I stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

She smirked slightly. “You.” She didn’t say anything more. Instead, she pulled her Poké Balls from a pouch on her apron and began turning them over in her hands, eyes closed and whispering something unintelligible.

Uneasy, I retreated to the upper deck until we reached shore.



*****



I looked at the sky as I followed Olivia to my side of the field. Blue sky was visible for the first time since I’d arrived, punctuated by a fleet of huge puffy white clouds, remnants of yesterday’s rain. It was looking like it might actually be a warm day. But that would take some time. A cool wind blew lazily off the lake, making me glad I had brought my jacket. Weather would be a non-issue for this battle. That was something at least. No reason to be afraid of ghosts in the light of the sun.

I took my place in the trainer’s box and watched Chief Referee Hobbs jot something down in a notepad. “So,” I said to Olivia, “Agatha’s a bit of an ass.” I was trying to keep an air of joviality to convince myself I wasn’t nervous.

“You’re not wrong,” she responded.

“Any tips on bringing her down?” I asked hopefully.

She tutted and shook her head. “I keep telling you, dude, that’s your job. I just make the calls.”

“But the call is that she’s an ass, right?” I said as Hobbs finally blew his whistle and pointed at Agatha.

Olivia laughed. “Opposing official seconds.”

I assumed that was a sick referee joke, but I didn’t get it. I needed to focus.

Agatha was famous for using primarily ghost and poison-types. Her signature Pokémon was a Gengar. Normally I’d assume I wouldn’t be seeing that until last, but after yesterday I was unsure. I would need to keep Psyke in mind, but I couldn’t always rely on him. I had already decided to either open with Rainer or Tesla depending on what Agatha sent out. They were my two most defensive Pokémon and would hold up well to any ghost or poison-types that I might see.

Agatha lazily tossed a Poké Ball out onto the field. Out of it popped a strange lizard-like Pokémon that I almost didn’t recognize at first. It straightened up onto its hind legs and brandished a long bone in its hands. Marowak. That was unexpected. But it was darker than most that I had seen, almost a charcoal color, and it had a strange mark on its forehead. A rare coloration? No, it had to be a regional variant like Lorelei’s Sandslash. As the Marowak twirled its bone, the ends burst into blue flame.

Fire, then. Or ghost. Maybe both. Rainer was my strongest option anyway. I trusted him to win no matter what, and an early victory would help put Agatha in her place. I plucked Rainer’s ball from my belt and threw it out onto the field. Rainer flashed into being, rolling his shoulders and growling. Ready to fight, as always. He was already charging forward by the time I connected with him.

Let’s see what she’s got. I knew nothing about Agatha’s style. A full-frontal attack should be helpful in gathering some information at least.

Marowak swung its bone, sending a gout of flame at Rainer. It was clearly a distraction, easily dispersed by a quick blast of water from Rainer’s cannons, but it was enough for Marowak to reposition. It danced to the side, halfheartedly swinging its burning club past Rainer’s face, reveling in the cover provided by the swirling steam from their colliding attacks.

Rainer skidded to a halt and sent another blast of water at Marowak, spraying a stream quickly from left to right in an attempt to prevent dodging. Marowak responded by digging one end of its bone into the ground, dousing its flame and vaulting upward over the stream of water. Midair, it twirled its bone in front of it, creating a ball of fire that flew towards Rainer and exploded across his shell. Mostly harmless, but the steam rising from Rainer’s shell told me that fire was no joke. Burns were bad, regardless of type advantage. Any notable injury would stick around the rest of the challenge.

The two Pokémon repeatedly exchanged attacks, each trying to find an opening to land a real hit and gain the upper hand. I left Rainer to his own capable devices and turned my attention to Agatha. Near as I could tell, she hadn’t moved a muscle since the match had started. Both hands clasped the top of her cane. Even her face was frozen in a sneer of mild disdain. Was it a sneer, or was she just wrinkly? It was hard to tell from this distance. If she was giving any kind of commands to her Pokémon, they weren’t discernible to me. Nothing to gain from her, then. What about her Pokémon?

I thought for a moment about what I’d seen so far. Rainer, try to make it jump up again. It’s a flashy move, but the movement is predictable. Then charge. I trust you can win if you can get close enough.

Rainer took a couple slow steps towards Marowak and lowered his cannons. He let loose two short blasts of water, forcing Marowak to dodge and keeping it from properly getting its feet under it. Then, Rainer fired a steady stream, sweeping from right to left. They fell for our trap. Marowak bone-vaulted into the air once more.

Rainer pounced forward, taking a face full of blue fire, but catching Marowak right before it landed. He punched it in the face, and followed up with a close-range Hydro Pump. It was a direct hit that sent Marowak sprawling to the ground.

Then one of those puffy clouds I had been looking at earlier moved in front of the sun. A dark shadow was cast over the whole lake, like an early twilight. I strained to look through the quickly dissipating mists from Rainer’s Hydro Pump. Marowak was gone.

A ghost. Capable of turning invisible so long as it was hidden in the shadows. It had been a while since we’d sparred with Tim’s Haunter, but I should have seen this coming. I swore quietly, cursing my bad luck. Rainer looked around anxiously. I’d just have to wait out the cloud. It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was all I could think of. I squinted up at the sky. The clouds were moving slowly, so it was hard to tell how long we’d have to stall.

A burst of blue flame sprung from seemingly nowhere behind Rainer, washing over him. He growled and spun around, blasting a Hydro Pump at empty air. Marowak was already gone. Damn. If I’d been paying attention I might have been able to warn him. Not that it appeared to have done much damage.

“You lack focus, boy!” Agatha’s voice was surprisingly loud for such a little old woman. “One of your many weaknesses. Your strengths, on the other hand, are few. And unreliable.”

I glared at her. Her words had a strange way of digging under my skin. Like she knew exactly where my insecurities lie and when they were at the forefront of my mind.

Another burst of blue flame. Rainer responded with another whiffed Hydro Pump.

She wasn’t visibly or audibly ordering these attacks. Maybe she just relied on the training of her Pokémon. Like I did with Rainer.

The flames struck again, this time from the front. Rainer threw up his arms to cover his face and groaned in pain as the fire washed over him. As he lowered his arms to counter with another fruitless blast of water, I could see they were red and inflamed. My heart dropped. Type advantage didn’t matter in a fight as one-sided as this. Even if Rainer got ahold of Marowak, injury was injury.

We need a new strategy. I clenched my fists, thinking furiously. Wet the ground and spray mud with rapid spin.

Rainer kicked off the ground, pulling into his shell. He spun, spraying water all around. He also slid across the field closer to me. It was a smart play that reduced the number of angles Marowak could approach from without going out of bounds. Although I wasn’t sure if the referees would be able to call an out of bounds foul on an invisible Pokémon. A fine mist soaked my clothes, but I stood strong. As the dirt became equally soaked, Rainer tilted, digging his shell into the earth and spraying mud.

The globs of mud scattered across the field, but all fell to the ground with a series of lame splats. They didn’t hit anything.

“Invisible, but also incorporeal. Really, my boy. Your inexperience is all too apparent.” I couldn’t tell what expression Agatha had, but if I had to guess it was either a smirk or a look of disdain.

Agatha was beginning to remind me a lot of Bruno. I knew that it would be incorporeal, but I had tried the mud spray anyway. What was I thinking?

A dark shadow formed underneath Rainer as he slowly emerged from his shell. I started to warn Rainer, but it was too late. The blackened silhouette of a Marowak leaped up from the ground beneath Rainer, swinging a shadowy bone in a powerful uppercut that struck Rainer right in the chin. Rainer stumbled and hissed in pain, but Marowak was gone again before he could counterattack. I could tell he was frustrated. I tried to calm him.

You’re okay, buddy. Just breathe. If they try that again I know what it looks like and I’ll warn you. I promise.

Rainer gave me a look, as if he was skeptical.

Something in his eyes cut me. Look, I know I’m not exactly-

A shadow beneath his feet. Agatha was playing on my distractions again. But this time I was ready. Jump back!

Rainer dodged backwards without even looking down. Another phantom bone swung through the air where Rainer had been only moments before. Blue fire ignited on the ends of the bone as the ghostly form of Marowak glared at Rainer in annoyance.

At that moment the sun returned, lighting the field up in full daylight. Marowak phased back to reality, fully physical legs kicking awkwardly in midair. Rainer reacted instantly, grabbing Marowak by the throat with one of his burned claws and slamming it into the earth. He held it down as he punched it two, three times, then finished with a Hydro Pump that sent Marowak tumbling across the field, leaving its bone weapon behind. Rainer kicked the bone aside and began to approach Marowak’s limp form.

A whistle sounded. I breathed a sigh of relief as Agatha’s line official announced Marowak was unable to battle.

Nice one, buddy.

Agatha calmly returned Marowak. “And there is the first of your unreliable strengths: luck. Do not deceive yourself into believing you deserve that victory. Happenstance is an inconsistent ally at best.”

I didn’t reply. She was right. It pissed me off, but she was right. That was lucky. And Rainer would need a rest now, leaving me with a team full of Pokémon that weren’t quite at full strength. The length of the challenge was beginning to take its toll. I couldn’t ignore that anymore.

“How about something a little more basic?” Agatha said as she tossed a new ball out on the field.

The flash of red light formed into an exceptionally large Crobat. This one I knew at least.

I took a deep breath. I could do this. Her comment on this being a more basic matchup made me think it might be a trap, but I couldn’t think of any response other than the obvious one.

“Come on back, Rainer. Let’s give Tesla a shot at this.”

Agatha patiently allowed me to recall Rainer and throw out Tesla’s Poké Ball. Crobat fluttered about, beating its wings wildly to stay aloft. Tesla appeared in front of me, humming quietly.

On paper this should be an easy fight. Tesla’s typing made it immune to any poison attacks, and flying attacks wouldn’t do much either. What Agatha was planning, I wasn’t sure.

She waited for me to make the first move. I watched Crobat frantically bounce about in the air. It moved a lot given that it was essentially staying in one place. Maybe if I just waited it would get tired and have to land? I half-considered the idea, even if it wasn’t an entirely serious one. It wouldn’t be worth it. I had the clear advantage here. I couldn’t figure out what kind of trap she might be springing, so I opted for the blunt method. I dove into a connection with Tesla.

If that thing isn’t going to move, then go ahead and hit it with a Thunder.

Tesla responded quickly, spinning up their magnets until a jolt of electricity cracked between the antennae on their head and the clouds far above.

Right when it strikes, send up another.

Now fully aware of how loud Tesla’s Thunders could be, I braced myself, even looking away to avoid the flash of light. The bolt of lightning slammed into the ground with an earth-shattering crack that sent dirt flying through the air. Crobat kept on flapping a few feet to the right of where it had been before. Dodging that hadn’t even taken any effort. But Tesla had timed their next Thunder perfectly, disguising the initial trigger jolt behind the flash of the first Thunder. I looked Agatha straight in the eyes, unwilling to give any indication that a second attack was coming.

I only blinked when the lightning bolt cracked down directly at Crobat, sending another clap of thunder echoing off the mountain range. Dirt scattered in the wind once more, but after the dust cloud quickly settled, Crobat was still fluttering there, now flapping about over the blackened crater of the first strike.

Agatha cackled; a sound that made me feel weirdly nauseous. “You wield your Pokémon like hammers. Blindly pounding them into anything in your way. You lack finesse. Strategy. Skill.

Crobat’s eyes glowed red and its wings slowed to a more rhythmic, powerful beat. A faint purple aura emanated from its body, almost immediately followed by an identical aura appearing around Tesla. Crobat’s aura quickly faded, but Tesla’s did not.

I knew what this was. Mean Look. Tesla was now shrouded in a field that would block a Poké Ball recall laser. Agatha wanted to keep me here. Despite the odds being massively in my favor, she didn’t want me to switch out. But why?

“You are blind, boy.”

My anger at the woman swelled. I almost shouted a retort, but quickly calm myself. I couldn’t lose focus. Not here. Not now. I took a deep breath and pushed my anger down. Get a bit closer. Then Thunder Wave.

As soon as Tesla began to move, Crobat leapt into action, swiftly flapping its wings to gain some elevation and summoning a whipping whirlwind of air. Tesla loosed their Thunder Wave right as the Air Slash struck them. The pulse of blue electricity washed over Crobat, causing it to flinch and drop several feet before catching itself. The Air Slash, on the other hand, slammed Tesla into the ground, sending them spinning and bouncing back towards me. We’d landed the Thunder Wave, but that Air Slash had hit a lot harder than I was expecting.

I cast a concerned look at Tesla and cursed myself. For the second day in a row I had made the exact same mistake. Despite our victory, Tesla had never really gotten a chance to recover from their battle with Lorelei’s Lapras. Then it had taken a beating from Bruno’s Poliwrath. Type advantage was irrelevant when Tesla was this worn out to start. How could I be so stupid? I had been relying heavily on the style I had learned from Criss: look for an opening, and then end the fight with one big punch. It required powerful Pokémon and a bit of luck, but it was brutally effective. At least it was in one-off gym battles or even a tournament, but those were the equivalent of short sprints. This was a marathon. I had pushed Tesla past their breaking point, and now it was too late to backpedal.

Another Air Slash crashed into Tesla. They took a couple seconds to hover back into the air, listing slightly.

I unclipped Tesla’s Poké Ball from my belt. I wouldn’t be able to recall them until they were knocked out, but that wouldn’t take long at this rate.

I’m sorry. This is supposed to be a two-way link, but I haven’t been listening to you enough. I could feel Tesla’s exhaustion. You’ll be able to rest soon, I promise. You’ve done well. Really well. But what do you say to one last big punch?

Tesla’s magnets thrummed and they steadied themselves in the air. Despite the damage, I was certain they could take a couple more hits.

Lock-On and Thunder. We’re nearly there. In reality, I doubted a single Thunder would knock out this Crobat in one hit, but I wanted to give Tesla the motivation.

Tesla’s eye glowed red and a bright dot appeared directly in between Crobat’s eyes, staying perfectly targeted even as it fluttered about. Crobat began to beat its wings even more fiercely, somehow staying at the exact same altitude. A flame-like blue aura began to flicker outward from its body. For a second, I thought it was the remnants of our Thunder Wave, but it was far worse. The aura grew, encompassing Crobat in bright blue light, leaving its silhouette barely visible. I recognized this one.

Thunder’s too slow, Thunderbolt! Thunderbolt! I commanded Tesla frantically. Although we’d never used it, I’d practiced Brave Bird with Baron a few times. My theory about Tesla being able to take a couple more hits didn’t seem plausible anymore.

Tesla reacted quickly, but Crobat was frighteningly fast, even after taking a Thunder Wave. It darted forward, blasting right through Tesla’s Thunderbolt and slammed into them with a loud crack! Tesla crashed into the ground, tumbling over backwards and skidding to halt upside down in front of me. They didn’t get back up. My heart sunk.

Olivia blew her whistle. I returned Tesla to their ball and watched Crobat return to its starting position in front of Agatha. It was flying a little more awkwardly now. We’d done some damage at least. Was it worth losing Tesla? I tried not to think about it, knowing perfectly well how quickly I could fall into a pit of despair. I traced my hand over the remaining balls on my belt. I could try to end this quickly, but I didn’t want to make the same mistake again.

“By all means, send out your Alakazam!” Agatha cried, jabbing her cane at me. “You are already well on your way to defeat. Might as well make it flashy. Lord knows that’s all you’re good for.”

I growled. Adrenaline fueled anger bubbled up in my chest. I concentrated on my breathing and shoved it back down, doing my best to form a sort of mental dam to keep it in place. I couldn’t think about Agatha’s jabs. I couldn’t think about losing Tesla. I needed to focus on the here and now. I plucked Psyke’s ball from my belt, brushing aside any worries about falling into a trap. My Pokémon could fight their way out of anything. We’d show her that.

I dove into my connection with Psyke as soon as he appeared.

This one shouldn’t be so slippery. Don’t make it flashy, just finish it.

Crobat flapped its wings, kicking up dust as it began to summon another Air Slash. But suddenly it was gripped by a seizure, and fell a few feet before catching itself. Thunder Wave was doing its work.

Psyke reached out a clawed hand and clenched it. Crobat froze in midair, wings stuck at awkward angles. Its eyes went wide.

“Typical,” Agatha muttered, barely audible over the wind off the lake.

Crobat slammed into the ground face first, giving a brief screech of surprise. Psyke made a pulling motion with his outstretched arm, and Crobat began to slide across the field towards us. It skidded to a halt a few feet in front of Psyke. He lifted it off the ground and slammed it back down. Once, twice, three times.

Finally, Agatha’s line referee blew his whistle.

I rolled my shoulders, trying to relax. That had been quick and easy, but it was always going to be that way. Crobat was already hurt, and Psyke was fresher than Tesla had been, so we could easily win with type advantage. I cursed myself again for losing Tesla. I was now down to only four Pokémon. They would have to take me through not just this fight, but the rest of the challenge as well.

Psyke, Rainer, Gideon, and Dragonite. That’s all I had left. Rainer was wiped from fighting Steelix and Marowak, and I still didn’t quite trust in Gideon or Dragonite’s experience. At this point, I couldn’t afford to lose a single one. To do so would mean burning through my biggest edge in this challenge. I would have to go forward and win two whole battles without a numerical advantage.

I tried to be mindful of my thoughts. I still needed to focus. I was doing my best to stay in the present, but deep down I knew I was on the brink of breaking. There was too much in my way. Trainers better than me. Pokémon stronger than mine. And at the end of it all: a lifetime spent knowing that I’d failed at the one thing that I had built my entire life around.

No. No. I flexed my fingers and rolled my shoulders again. I couldn’t get distracted. This battle right here was what mattered. Nothing else.

Agatha didn’t speak as she dropped her final Poké Ball in front of her. I knew what would be inside before it even appeared. The red flash formed into a round, purple Pokémon about the same height as Psyke. The Gengar had a pair of pointed ears, deep red eyes, and an unsettling grin. Its smile made me feel the same way that Agatha made me feel, fittingly. Like they were so sure of how worthless you were that they couldn’t take you seriously.

I took a deep breath. It wasn’t the best matchup. I scanned the sky. If the clouds kept moving at the same rate, I would have mostly consistent sunlight, but that could change quickly. It was worth trying the physical approach. I reached for my belt, trying to think of strategies for Gideon, but I was too slow. Gengar’s eyes glowed, summoning a vague purple aura around itself and Psyke. Mean Look. Again.

What was Agatha’s play here? Why force this fight specifically? Tesla had been a risky target of this tactic, even if it had ended up working in her favor. Would she really rather fight one of my strongest Pokémon than any other? I had put my odds at about even, but that wouldn’t be enough for her to win the battle.

Be patient, Psyke. I’m not sure what she’s up to. Let’s play defensive for now.

Gengar’s grin widened and it summoned a Shadow Ball.

Light Screen and try to dodge. Gengar was quick. Despite the Shadow Ball being hampered by the Light Screen, it slammed into Psyke before he could sidestep it, making him stagger backwards.

Confusion. Let’s start picking away at their mental defenses. Psyke waved a hand. Gengar stumbled in the middle of summoning another Shadow Ball, its smile faltering slightly.

“I don’t need to win, boy,” Agatha said. “Lance can do that well enough. All I need to do to stop you from taking the Championship is cripple you enough that my colleagues can clean you up.”

The barb dug into me, but I ignored the sting and pushed it down with the rest of my growing frustration at Agatha. My emotional dam was now straining, but I could still stay calm. That explained that, I suppose. She wasn’t going for a victory; she was just trying to hurt me. It justified a number of her tactical decisions so far. But why tell me that?

Psyke and Gengar traded attacks again. This time Psyke just barely managed to dodge out of the way of the Shadow Ball, teleporting the extra few inches to safety. Teleporting to dodge wasn’t the best strategy given how tiring it could get, but it was better than getting hit. At least he didn’t have to teleport all the way across the field like we had against Bruno.

I tried to compare Agatha with my previous two opponents. Bruno had been aggressive, loud, and bombastic, disguising his commands with banter and hyping up his Pokémon. Lorelei had been much the opposite, patient, reserved, practically whispering her commands to her Pokémon to avoid me hearing. I stared across the field at Agatha as our Pokémon continued to trade blows. I trusted Psyke to handle himself while I came up with a strategy. Agatha was stoic and unmoving. I still couldn’t tell how she was commanding her Pokémon. Unless she was psychic too…

I thought back to Flareth’s gambit against Bruno’s Machamp. Maybe I could try something similar, taking advantage of the fact that Agatha thought so little of me.

“Recover,” I said out loud. Don’t focus on it too much. Trust me, buddy.

If Psyke was confused, he didn’t show it. He lowered his hands to his sides and stood up straight, concentrating his powers on healing his wounds rather than offense. Gengar grinned and charged another Shadow Ball.

“Psycho Cut!” I cried, right as Gengar launched the Shadow Ball. Dodge and Psychic.

Psyke played his part perfectly. He spun out of the way and slashed his hand through the air, but no blade of psychic energy sliced across the field. Gengar would be so focused on dodging that his mental defenses would be weak. Or at least, that was the plan.

It didn’t work. At all. The Shadow Ball spun itself into nothingness before it even reached Psyke. Gengar stood perfectly still and closed its eyes, presumably concentrating on resisting the telepathic attack. A flickering pink aura formed around its body as Psyke tried to strike at its mind, but it didn’t flinch. We may have done some damage, but not as much as I had hoped.

How?

“I have no reason to hide my hand,” Agatha said, grinning cruelly. “As I said, my victory is irrelevant.”

My mouth dropped open slightly. How could she…?

Sabrina’s voice echoed in my head from long ago. “With training, you may be able to detect the emotions of others, but I doubt it. I have that ability, and combined with some experience and observation, it can be incredibly similar to reading minds.”

My powers were the one thing I always had in my back pocket. The one thing that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt made me an exceptional trainer. But here… Agatha’s psychic abilities didn’t just match mine, they eclipsed mine by an amount I hadn’t seen since the last time I’d battled with Sabrina in Saffron. I had the ability to feed my Pokémon strategies without the knowledge of my opponent. Agatha had the ability to read my thoughts. The artificial confidence that I had been so carefully fabricating all day to keep me from giving in to anger and despair began to erode.

Agatha laughed out loud. Gengar sent another Shadow Ball careening towards Psyke. He teleported out of the way, but got hit by a second one only a moment later and fell to one knee. He looked at me, eyes questioning.

No, she couldn’t read my thoughts. Sabrina had said she had the ability to pick up on emotions. Well in that case, I could give Agatha emotions. I glared at her and dropped the dam where I had shoved my reactions to the various insults Agatha had hurled at me so far. My heart beat rapidly and adrenaline pumped through my veins. I let the anger consume me. My connection with Psyke dropped as I lost focus. I could almost feel my body temperature rise as I thought about how much I wanted to crush Agatha. All of her goading, all of her cackling and mindgames…

See through this you crusty old bitch.

Agatha just laughed again, her soft, wheezy, cackle nearly being carried off by the wind. “You think yourself special, child?” she cried. “Your righteous fury betrays you. A small-town hero with a dead father, taming mighty beasts and fighting evil? You are just a boy. Capable? Perhaps. Lucky? In spades. Your Pokémon form a powerful façade, but one day that will fail, revealing you for who you really are.”

That comment cut deep. I clenched my fists and fidgeted back and forth.

Gengar loosed a Shadow Ball. Psyke summoned another Light Screen to block it, but was still sent sprawling by the hit. He was hurt. Badly.

Agatha spoke again. “You are nothing. Any trainer with a team as powerful as yours could have made it this far. A trainer as inept as you will make it no further.”

My anger wasn’t directed at her. It was at myself.

She was right.

What was I even doing here? I didn’t deserve this. My Pokémon did, but not me. Part of me just wanted to give up. I couldn’t keep up with this. Psyke was one of my best Pokémon, and if he got knocked out here, I would have an even harder time beating Gengar. Not to mention the rest of the challenge. I was finally being faced with world class battling, and I couldn’t compete. I was tired. It would be so easy to just throw in the towel. I might regret it, sure, but I wouldn’t have to put up with this. I wouldn’t have to put my Pokémon through this fruitless fight. I wouldn’t have to worry anymore. I could go home. See Mom again. Maybe find Tim and help him prepare for his challenge.

Everything I’d ever been or done relied on other people. On my Pokémon. Or Criss. Or Tim. But here I was trying to prove myself. Myself. Like there was anything I could prove.

I looked at Psyke desperately pushing himself back to his feet while Gengar cackled in a manner eerily similar to its trainer.

Psyke locked eyes with me. I couldn’t bring myself to look away. I needed to see his disappointment. I deserved it.

But Psyke didn’t look disappointed. He looked determined. He jerked a thumb at Agatha and waved his hand as if shooing away a fly.

My anger faded to numbness. It wasn’t much better. “What does it matter if her bullshit is on purpose,” I said out loud to Psyke. “It’s true.”

Psyke’s eyes narrowed. He dug a spoon into the earth, hastily carving out five letters.

NEED U

Suddenly, I was back in the Saffron City gym with Sabrina. Rainer, only a Wartortle then, had just won a battle against Sabrina’s Venomoth. Our first victory against her, even though it was just a training match. I’d used every trick that Sabrina had taught me, and we’d finally come out on top. I was elated.

“Very good. That’s a powerful Pokémon you have there,” Sabrina had said.

“I’ve been training him hard,” I’d replied.

“You’ve been training yourself hard.”

I just looked at her. At this point I could tell when she was about to give me a new lesson.

“Battling has always been about the connection between Pokémon and trainer. One cannot grow without the other. It is a mutually beneficial relationship. Your Pokémon rely on you, Keith. You are blessed with the ability to deepen that connection in a way few others can. Most of those that can often don’t. It is challenging, but I will teach you methods to fight alongside your Pokémon. Figuratively, if not literally.”

I hadn’t understood what she meant at the time, but that was pretty normal for Sabrina’s lessons. One of the last things that she had taught me was a technique that truly fulfilled that promise, but one that had been so challenging and uncomfortable that I hadn’t bothered to attempt it outside of Sabrina’s gym. I wasn’t even sure if I could do it anymore. I never mastered it by the time Tim had arrived and I left Saffron. And since then, I had never really needed that kind of connection.

Now here I was. Against the best that the Indigo League had to offer. Every lesson mattered. Every edge I could manage would be worth it. I had to try. Because my Pokémon needed me just as much as I needed them.

I nodded at Psyke as every emotion in my body except determination drained away. We connected.

I closed my eyes, but I kept the image of Psyke in my mind. The mountains towering all around us. Agatha and Gengar poised menacingly at the other side of the field. Psyke stood in the scuffed dirt, still somewhat damp from Rainer’s fight with Marowak. I imagined myself in his place. The dirt would feel wet and rough against his bare feet. The constant breeze off the lake tickled my cheek. It tickled Psyke’s cheek as well. The sound of water gently sloshing against the pier in the distance played in our ears. The smell of dirt and blood and musk filled our nostrils. I concentrated as hard as I could. Not on just one of these things, but all of them.

I leaned in and fell forward into nothing. My stomach lurched. My heart skipped a beat. And then I was seeing, despite my closed eyes.

The specter and her trainer stood in front of me. The colors were all wrong, but every movement stuck out like a bright light. I could see intent, like a dozen possible future seconds playing out at the same time. The specter cackled and began to summon another ball of foul shadow. She was powerful, not to be underestimated.

I lifted my arms out in front of me. I could summon a shield again, at least temporarily, but that wouldn’t be enough. This time though… I had more than just my own abilities. Trainer was with me. We could be more than just Pokémon and human. My being was injured from past attacks. I could fix that with focus. So I did. But I didn’t have to drop my concentration on the shield. Together we could do both.

The ball of shadow fizzled as it traveled through my strengthened shield. It still washed over me, its coldness draining and uncomfortable, but it was barely substantial. I recovered far faster than the shadows could harm me. My wounds, physical and mental, began to heal. Pain disappeared and exhaustion was replaced with vigor.

The specter felt uneasy. Her trainer did as well. They weren’t sure what they were facing. This was unexpected to them. It was not unexpected to me. Trainer doubted himself often, but this strength was always there. It felt good to finally wield it.

A sharp tinge of pain struck at my temple. Not from the effort. No, this was trainer’s. He was not used to such a deep merging of consciousness. He was speaking to me without speaking. His thoughts were my own. Finally, he had learned to use my language as I had learned his. Together we were twice as fast, twice as smart, twice as strong. But he would not be able to keep this up for long.

The specter’s trainer said something. A long string of words I did not bother to process. She was full of bluster and spite, attempting to distract and intimidate. Not unlike the brutish trainer from yesterday.

The specter stomped, sending out a pulse of cold darkness. It washed over me, but I resisted it just as I had the ball of shadow. Her ever-present smile faded somewhat. She and her trainer were reconsidering their strategy. It didn’t matter. I had my trainer with me.

The specter grimaced and began to charge at me. So, this was to be a close-range fight. I wouldn’t let that happen. She was a being of shadow, difficult for me to comprehend, but she was also a being of smoke and venom, which I understood just fine. I squeezed my claws into tight fists, gripping at the specter’s ankles with my mind. She was concentrating, expecting another attack at her mind. Instead, her feet caught on the ground and she pitched forward. She was mine. I grabbed at her legs as she scrambled to her feet. She tried to walk but I did not let her.

The pain in my temple struck again, deeper and more intense than the last time. I was struggling to breathe. Trainer did not have much time. With our combined power, I morphed my attack from a purely physical one to a mental one. I formed a needle of pure thought, raw psychic power concentrated to a higher extent than I had ever managed before. I began to push this needle straight into the specter’s mind. She resisted. She wanted to beat me, to show me her true strength. But I wanted the same. And I wanted it more. All creatures have some natural defense against such an attack. This creature though, was also fighting my physical restraints.

Until she beat them.

The arena suddenly grew cool and dark. A cloud had covered the sun. It was unfortunate but inevitable. The specter dissolved into shadow. This was her element. It strengthened her powers, allowing her to do things that would be impossible in the literal and spiritual illumination of sunlight. I was not blind to her, but in this state I could not keep hold of her anymore. She floated up into the air, her eyes glowing, her body appearing as an incorporeal haze of darkness.

I tried to push the psychic needle in, but was distracted by another pain in my temple. This time it did not dissipate. Trainer was suffering. Meanwhile, the specter was trying something new. I could not stop her. There were too many things to focus on. I was losing our newfound strength. The specter’s plan soon became apparent. Nefarious shadowy chains shot from her body to mine.

Our destinies were bound…

Very well. We had been outplayed. It didn’t matter. I knew what I had to do.

I drove the needle home.

I couldn’t hold my breath anymore. My eyes opened. I fell to my knees, hands flailing about trying to find balance. I took in huge gasps of clean mountain air. A powerful ache throbbed in my head. Why was everything so bright?

We had… been together. Like Sabrina had taught. I felt like I was going to throw up. There was a reason I hadn’t bothered to even attempt this since leaving Saffron. I coughed and glanced at Psyke to see if he was okay.

But the battle wasn’t over. Something had gone wrong. My memory from sharing Psyke’s mind was fuzzy. Gengar had done something.

Psyke met my eyes. One hand made a fist in the air, like he was grabbing onto something. The sun emerged from behind its cloud, shedding light on the field and revealing Gengar floating in the air a few feet in front of Psyke. Psyke didn’t even look at it, instead maintaining eye contact with me. We weren’t connected anymore. I couldn’t feel anything from him. I shakily got to my feet, slowly recalling the last few thoughts we had shared.

Destiny Bond.

Gengar collapsed to the dirt. Immediately, there was a burst of ethereal energy between Gengar and Psyke, like black lightning. Psyke’s eyes rolled back into his head. He collapsed in kind.

I looked on in shock. It couldn’t be. We had fought together. I had done everything Sabrina had taught. I’d refused to give up. None of it had mattered. Every bit of despair that I had squirreled away came rushing back all at once. I couldn’t even bring myself to recall Psyke. I didn’t hear the officials’ whistles. I didn’t hear myself getting announced the winner. I didn’t hear Olivia’s congratulations or questions about what had just happened.

I did hear Agatha approach, her cane tapping in the dirt as she shuffled across the field. She scoffed. Her voice cut clearly through the air, like she had been practicing for this.

“Your Pokémon have given you everything, yet you offer nothing in return. This is not the first time you have failed them. It won’t be the last.”

Her words echoed in my ears as we returned to the boat. They drove themselves into my skull, exacerbating my headache while I handed Tesla and Psyke’s Poké Balls in to the medical center. And when I returned to my suite and slammed the door behind me, I found myself muttering them under my breath.

Every ounce of insecurity that had been burning within me ever since Baron died spilled over. I tore my belt from my waist and threw it violently at the table, trying to vent my anger and sadness with physical aggression. Two of the three remaining Poké Balls snapped loose. Dragonite’s Safari Ball bounced to the floor, while Rainer’s Poké Ball rolled slowly to the center of the table.

The tiny blue jewel embedded in the ball’s surface glinted brightly in the dull yellow light. It was like an eye, glaring menacingly at me. Rainer’s eye. The Pokémon who had wanted to win maybe even more than I did. The one that I had already failed so spectacularly once before in Pokémon Tower. The one who would be most disappointed by my inevitable defeat. I felt like I was going to be sick. My head still throbbed and my body felt weak and shaky. I turned away from the table, unable to keep staring at Rainer’s ball. Instead, I pulled a glass from the cupboard and poured myself some water. I chugged it all at once.

Tomorrow I would have to face Lance. Even after him, David still stood between me and victory. And all I had to fight them was an exhausted Rainer and my two weakest and least experienced Pokémon. Maybe it would be better to just give up now… Avoid the embarrassment…

I gripped the countertop tightly and leaned over the sink, squeezing my eyes shut. How could I be so weak? So ineffectual? It was an absolute miracle that I had come so far with so little to offer. The few people I’d had supporting me were gone, and now so were most of the Pokémon. Psyke had needed me. And I’d given him everything I had. But it wasn’t enough. I’d won the battle, but the victory was hollow. We were lost. It was over.

I vomited into the sink.

*****

Thanks for reading, friends.
 
Chapter 53 - Interlude
Interlude

Tim

“Good battle, man,” Tim told the other trainer, shaking his hand. “See you around.”

He sighed, turning back to look at Cubone absentmindedly swinging his club around like he hadn’t just manhandled a trainer’s entire team. It hadn’t been a good battle, really. Tim had made some sloppy mistakes, but the other trainer wasn’t nearly fast or observant enough to capitalize on them. Tim watched the other trainer walk away with his two travel partners, talking excitedly about the battle. He’d faced all three of them. None of them were very good. Nowhere near the level of Keith or Criss.

Tim beckoned to Cubone. “C’mon, let’s go for a walk.” Cubone happily trotted up next to him.

They left the Lavender Pokémon Center’s sole training field and headed west towards the border of the town. Cubone kept up pretty well. Tim used to have to carry him for any meaningful distance, but he’d gotten a lot bigger over the last couple months. Fuji seemed to think he was close to evolving, but Tim still felt like it was too early. Training or not, it was better not to push it with a Pokémon this young.

Nevertheless, Tim was proud of his growth. He’d saved the little Cubone from Team Rocket in this very village less than six months ago. Both of them had grown considerably since then. But it still didn’t feel like enough. Tim shaded his eyes from the sun and peered out over the trees as the street sloped downwards. Far off in the distance were the Alizarin Mountains, home of the Indigo Plateau. There Keith would be challenging the Elite Four by now.

Tim regretted leaving hastily. He wished he’d taken the time to give his friends a proper goodbye, but he’d felt too overcome by shame. Shame and a bitter resolve to get better. He missed both Keith and Criss, but he needed this. He needed time to himself. To train and focus out from underneath their shadows. They’d driven him to be better, but they wouldn’t always be there.

At some point Tim would make his way to the Indigo Plateau as well. There he would find either Keith or David, and he would have to face them. They would be obstacles, not supporters. It felt weird to think of his friends that way. Maybe that’s why he’d been procrastinating so much on serious training recently. He didn’t really want to face them. He didn’t really want to bring his journey to a final end. He and Keith had shared their dream, had shared their entire journey, but only one of them would get to be the Champion. It was a depressing thought.

The street wound downhill through a small neighborhood among the pine trees. Tim picked out his favorite dirt walking trail winding between some houses off into the forest. A soft breeze rustled the trees. A Spearow called somewhere. But mostly it was calm and quiet.

Tim was certain Keith would win. David was good for sure. He was wicked smart, he worked hard, and he was highly independent. But Keith… Keith just didn’t lose. He never gave up. He’d keep pushing forward to achieve his dream. Tim knew he would. That vigor had been what had inspired him to have the very same dream. It was a vigor that he’d have to face at some point. He hoped he’d be ready.

For now, Tim was just a traveling trainer walking down a dirt trail. Wind through his hair. The scent of pine needles in his nose. His trusted Pokémon by his side. One day he would be Champion. But until then, this was exactly where he wanted to be.


Spencer

Harry’s burial wasn’t the only one happening that day, and he wasn’t important enough for much of a ceremony. But he got a place in the rolling hills of the memorial cemetery alongside the other trainers, rangers, and police officers who died fighting Team Rocket in Saffron City. Spencer wasn’t sure how to feel. It was the first funeral service he’d attended since his father’s. He’d barely known Harry. Only a few hours. And yet he felt more personally connected to him than some of the vague work acquaintances whose funerals he would also have to go to today. Fighting alongside someone could do that. So could watching them die.

The volunteers and cemetery workers quickly moved on, as they were desperately needed at yet another service for yet another fallen hero. Spencer was left alone with Zach and Elizabeth, the other two members of Harry’s crew, to stare bleakly at Harry’s grave.

“So what’s next for the two of you?” Spencer asked.

They were silent for a moment. Elizabeth’s young son stood at her side, clutching his mother’s leg. “I’ll probably stay with my sister in Pewter, at least for a while,” Elizabeth finally said, gently stroking her son’s hair. “I had a flower shop once. I wouldn’t mind doing that again. But not here. I’m not sure I ever want to come back here.”

Spencer nodded. He understood. Trauma cut deep. It made the simplest of things casts shadows of terrifying monsters. He wasn’t too keen on having to spend a lot of time in Saffron either. Hell, he’d deliberately avoided ever going to Cinnabar since Dad’s death. When he’d heard Keith had gone there, he almost felt ashamed at his irrational fear. But the pain was too close. It was a scar you almost forgot was there until something innocuous gouged it open again.

“What about you, Zach?” Spencer asked.

Zach folded his arms and grunted. “Not sure. The bar I used to work at is at the bottom of a pile of rubble. Maybe join the force? They’ll be needing fresh bodies.” He shrugged. “I dunno. Fighting’s the only thing I’ve ever been any good at. Just need someone to point me in a respectable direction. Like Harry.”

Spencer dug his hands into his pockets and stared at the stark, simple, white gravestone. “Why did you follow him?” he asked.

Zach laughed. “Because he knew how to kick the Rockets where it hurt.”

“Because he had conviction,” Elizabeth said. “He knew what he wanted and he knew what he would have to do to get it.”

“It helped that what he wanted was pretty much always, well… the right thing to do,” Zach added.

Elizabeth’s son tugged at her sleeve and muttered something. She leaned down and picked him up. “I’ve got to be going,” she said. “Good luck to you both.” She headed down the path leading out of the cemetery.

Zach watched her go. “And like that, she’s gone. Kind of sad to see the crew disbanded.”

“Everyone has their priorities,” Spencer said.

“No one will know who we were. How hard we fought. What Harry sacrificed.”

“This battle saw a lot of unsung heroes.”

“What’ll you do next?” Zach asked. “Just Silph business?”

Spencer didn’t answer. Instead, he stared out at the cityscape, his thumb stroking the photograph in his jacket pocket. There was at least one person who deserved to know what happened to Harry. Maybe if Spencer could find Harry’s fiancée and tell her what happened, he’d finally find some closure. Harry deserved that much.

There had been others more suited to fighting the battles, but now that they were over, Spencer felt a responsibility to be part of the resolution. The clean-up. Making things better. It was all he could do.


Nolan


Nolan watched the rangers pour over the remnants of his latest strike on Team Rocket. Squads of Rockets unable to retreat with the main force had been trying to slip out of Saffron on a constant basis. There were only four in this group, all on foot, trying to flee through the forest north of the city. He’d had to kill one, as well as a Crobat, but had apprehended the rest and even gotten an idea of where they were headed.

Flygon, resting at his side, softly cooed a warning. Nolan looked over his shoulder. Blackston, the chief of police he had fought alongside in Saffron, walked up beside him.

“Appreciate you calling this in,” Blackston said. “It’s better than picking up bodies in the woods with no idea how they got there.”

Nolan nodded. “Speaking of which, there are some dead Skyguard south of Celadon. Near a pond, I think. Friend of mine got attacked.”

Blackston scoffed. “There are more of you?”

“He was attacked, not the other way around. He wasn’t the first and won’t be the last.”

Blackston didn’t respond, sensing the subtle accusation in those words.

“Surprised to see you here, I thought this was the rangers’ jurisdiction,” Nolan said.

“Well, I heard you would be here. Wanted to talk to you.”

“About?” Nolan gently ran his hand along Flygon’s neck.

“We appreciate what you’ve done. What you’re doing. We really do.”

Nolan looked at him skeptically, waiting for more. “But?”

“I’ve turned a blind eye to everything you’ve done so far. Made sure every mention of you in our records was wiped. I owe you that much. But I can’t keep letting this vigilante stuff go. At some point you’ve got to let the law handle it.”

“Because you guys have done such a great job of that so far.”

“Things are changing, kid.” Blackston eyed Nolan. “The force is upping our numbers, and so are the Corps,” he gestured to the rangers. “More people. More patrols. Better tech.” He paused for a second. “And that’s not to mention whatever else the council is cooking up.”

Nolan let out a long sigh. Blackston wasn’t wrong. Nolan’s current operating procedure was bound to land him in trouble sooner or later. Besides, if all he wanted to do was patrol the wilderness and run the occasional raid, he would have joined the Ranger Corps years ago. There was more he could do. More he had to do.

Blackston seemed unsure how to handle Nolan’s silence. “They’re building a statue for you, you know?”

“What?”

“Well, not you specifically, but all the trainers who fought in Saffron. Silph commissioned it. We’d be in a much worse spot if it wasn’t for people like you.”

“People like me…” Nolan whispered. Criss was people like him. She’d paid her penance, made a positive change, found friendship again… Maybe she’d finally take the chance to get back to her life. Nolan clenched his fist and took a deep breath. He’d gotten over his anger at his sister long ago. Now he just wanted her to move on. But he’d proven that he wasn’t worthy to accompany her in that. Not all of his anger was faded, and the changes it had made to him were permanent. He had nothing left to lose. No one to put in danger. Who better than him to fight on?

“I don’t do this for gratitude.” Nolan swung a leg over Flygon’s back, settling himself in the saddle. He patted Flygon on the shoulder. She knew where to go. She had been listening when he’d interrogated that Rocket. It wouldn’t be their final destination, but it was a lead. Inevitably a lead to another lead to another lead. He’d follow the trail wherever it went. There was nowhere else to go.

“Why do you do this?” Blackston asked.

“It’s all I have.” Flygon’s wings buzzed and took Nolan into the sky.


Criss


Criss sat on a rotting log by a campfire somewhere outside of Fuchsia City. The log wasn’t very big, so her knees were folded nearly up to her chest. She hugged her legs and pulled them close. She looked up, watching night begin to creep into the deep blue sky. A warm breeze made a wisp of dark hair dance in front of her face, but she ignored it.

Flareon gave a sigh of contentment where she lay, nestled up against Criss’s makeshift stone fire ring.

Criss rested her chin on her knees and chewed on her lip as she watched one of the first stars of the night disappear behind a small cloud.

Keith was probably at Indigo Plateau by now. He may even have started his challenge. Tim would be in Lavender, training. And here she was.

Alone.

Again.

But something about this time was different. Criss thought about the things that her friends had told her the last night they had spent together.

The little cloud continued along on its journey across the heavens, hurried by a light gust of wind. The star Criss had been watching appeared once more. Sometime in the past few moments, the sky had darkened enough to reveal another star next to it. It was faint, barely distinguishable against its neighbor.

Criss echoed Flareon’s sigh.

Maybe it had to do with all of the people she had killed. Maybe it had to do with all of the people she had saved. Maybe it simply had to do with making real friends again. Whatever the reason, Criss no longer felt the looming shadow of guilt that had possessed her soul for the last three years. She was free.

Keith was right.

Criss reached over to her backpack where it leaned against the log she was sitting on, and dragged it over to her.

The sudden movement made Flareon’s ears perk up. She turned her head, her big black eyes watching her trainer curiously.

Criss rummaged through her pack, eventually sticking her whole arm up to her shoulder into the main pocket. Her scrambling fingers finally found what they were looking for, and pulled out the blue bandana that she had hidden as deep as she could after Saffron.

She held the stained, wrinkled cloth out in front of her, over the fire. The firelight danced on the skeletal white insignia sewed into it. She looked at it, deep in thought.

Criss no longer looked at this symbol in loyalty or kinship, she hadn’t for years. She no longer looked at it in anger either. And now she didn’t even look at it in guilt.

She opened her fingers, releasing the bandana. It fell into the fire, shriveling slightly. A second later, flames began to lick at the edges, slowly turning the blue to a deep black.

No more reminders.

Criss sat in silence and watched the last surviving piece of her Team Aqua uniform go up in flames.

And she smiled.


Mom


Heather Anders rinsed off her plate and set it in the drying rack, looking out the window over the sink. Outside the sun was setting, casting golden rays over the acres of grass fields that spread from her backyard out to the forest. The silhouette of a lone Pidgey could be seen battling against the wind across the vibrant sky.

The backyard wasn’t much to look at anymore. A solitary maple tree that used to hold a tire swing. A vegetable garden that she hadn’t paid as much attention to as she should have, bearing nothing but dying tomatoes and green beans and some wilted lettuce. A small sandbox that hadn’t seen a child play in it in a decade. Spencer’s Gligarman action figure was likely still buried in there somewhere. Maybe the backyard never had been much to look at, but it had held happiness and love.

Heather sighed as she dried her hands. This was a train of thought she had gone down often in recent months. She couldn’t hold on to her boys forever. They had to move on eventually. That didn’t make it easy. She had fought so hard to keep them close. To keep them safe and happy. Especially after Daniel had died, she’d found a strength she never knew she had to help them keep going. And they had helped her in turn. They’d pulled through as a family.

Now… it was hard not to feel left behind. Spencer was a successful businessman, an essential figure in the rebuilding of Saffron City. And Keith was fulfilling his childhood dream of challenging the Indigo League. She was proud. More than anything she was proud. But they were out there, and she was in here. She couldn’t help them. She couldn’t guide them. She couldn’t protect them.

Heather put a kettle on for tea. Part of what was now a well-established tradition of tea and reading before bed. There was little else to do. She knew Keith had been keeping something from her about Saffron. He didn’t want her to worry. She loved him for that: his compassion and care. But she worried nonetheless. He was safe at least. He was okay… hopefully. For twenty-three years her life had been centered around her sons, and now there was so little she could do for them. They were adults. Strong, respectable, proud, independent men. She’d raised them to be that way.

Heather looked out the window again. The sky was growing dark. Somewhere out there Keith was preparing for a battle against a member of the Indigo League’s Elite Four. Spencer was probably tactfully navigating some issue for Silph. She’d given them everything she could. She gave them a sense of right and wrong, a strong work ethic, compassion and helpfulness. She gave them each other. She gave them love.

She just hoped it was enough.

*****

Thanks for reading.
 
Chapter 54 - Lance
I'm busy this weekend, so uploading early. Normal Saturday uploads will resume next week.

Chapter 54

“First one to the top is the champion!”

I took off after David and Tim, chasing them up the hill. The only way up was a winding path between clusters of impassable brambles. The two of them had a head start, but I was bigger and stronger. I always was. My feet furiously beat the dirt trail as I closed the gap. Suddenly David took a hard turn and slid through a clearing under some brambles, probably where a Rattata had scrambled through at some point. I hesitated, unsure if I should follow him on his shortcut or follow after Tim. I opted for the normal path behind Tim. My hesitation had bought him some time, but I was quickly gaining. I could win this race. I had to. I was supposed to, in my child mind, as the tallest and fastest. That’s who I was. If I couldn’t win something like this, what else did I have?

I started awake and blearily blinked the dream away. I couldn’t recall if it had ever happened. Maybe not explicitly, but Tim and David and I had spent so much time screwing around in the woods that something like it had almost certainly occurred on multiple occasions.

I still felt like shit. The clock said it was 8PM. I’d only been asleep for a few hours. I groaned and contemplated whether or not I even wanted to make dinner for myself. My headache had mostly subsided, but I was still a bit queasy from my stunt with Psyke. The nap hadn’t helped as much as I had hoped. Not that any of it mattered. I left the bedroom and poured myself another glass of water, quickly downing it.

Rainer’s Poké Ball still sat where I left it hours before. Still glinting accusingly at me. Anger and frustration at myself boiled to the surface. I clenched the glass, tossed it into the sink, and missed horribly. It banged against the counter and shattered on the floor.

“Shit…”

I slumped into the lone chair. Dragonite’s Safari Ball still lay on the floor, gently oscillating from my movements. I picked it up with a deep sigh and set it on the table. I didn’t want to do anything. I didn’t want to clean up this fucking glass. I didn’t want to eat dinner. I didn’t want to go to bed. I didn’t want to wake up tomorrow morning and have to face Lance with only three Pokémon. I put my head in my hands.

There was a knock at my door.

“It’s not locked.” At least not from the inside.

David entered and shut the door behind him. Well dressed, as always, but with a look of concern on his face. “Hey,” he said. “I’m not really supposed to visit, but it’s almost impossible for them to fire me so here I am anyway. How are you feeling?”

I grunted and put my head back in my hands. I wasn’t really feeling up to human interaction.

I heard him go to the closet and get something. I vaguely realized that he was sweeping up the broken glass.

“You looked pretty rough after the battle today. Still do. You sure you’re okay?” David asked. “Agatha didn’t do anything, did she? She’s not supposed to use her powers to directly affect a challenger.”

I looked up at him quizzically. “No. Has she done something like that before?”

David dumped the remnants of my water glass in the trash. “Nah, but if she did, I would love a good reason to force her to retire. I can’t stand that lady.”

I let out a pained laugh. “Me neither.”

“So… Lance tomorrow. How you feeling?” David returned the broom and dustpan to the closet.

“Terrible,” I couldn’t bring myself to lie. It was too much effort.

“How so?”

“I mean look at me.” I gestured at the Poké Balls on the table. I was still mad at myself, but I fought to keep it from showing. “I’ve got three Pokémon left. Two of them are my weakest, and the other is exhausted. I might as well give up now and avoid the embarrassment.”

David leaned against the wall and looked at me for a second, adjusting his glasses. “I think I mentioned I met McMahon before I even challenged him for the championship.”

“Yeah, you did.”

“It was in Cherrygrove City, in Johto. Not long after I set out, actually. I heard he was doing a book signing and wanted to pick his brain. Picked up a couple badges in the region while I was there too. We got to talking after I mentioned I was on a journey and he ended up taking me to lunch. Gave me some very good advice.”

“Oh?”

“He said that not all Pokémon choose to battle, and those that do, do it for different reasons. Each one has their own motivations and style, and it’s your job as a trainer to fan those flames. Work with them, not against them. After I heard that, I ended up totally revamping my team. I paid much closer attention to the Pokémon I caught, and the way I battled with them.”

“That’s great, but it’s kinda late for me to revamp my team,” I said.

“You don’t need to. Your Pokémon kick ass.”

“David, one of my Pokémon is a Kabutops that I had to personally beat in single combat in order to stop him from trying to kill me and my other Pokémon. Since then, he regularly disobeys my orders to the point where he nearly died at Silph Tower. The only ass he’s kicking is mine.”

“I know, I’ve seen it in battle several times now. Every time you’ve sent him out in the past three days, the right call was to play it safe and cautious, but instead he rushed in and got clobbered. It’s obvious to me that the reason he fights is to take out his aggression.” David was developing that sort of manic energy he got when he was explaining something that he thought was cool. I’d kind of missed it. Reminded me of home. Of how Tim and David and I used to stay up late talking about our future journeys.

I sat up a bit. “Ok, but that doesn’t really solve my problem.”

“Sure it does,” David said. “You just have to lean in to the aggression. It may not be the optimal way to fight, but it’s the right way for your Kabutops to fight. He’s going to be aggressive anyway, so if you decide to just give him defensive commands, you might as well not even be there.”

“I mean, that’s pretty much true for all of my Pokémon.”

David sighed in exasperation. “It’s not. If you really believed that then I don’t think you would have gotten this far. As their trainer you need to be a leader.”

“I still think it’s a little late to establish myself as a leader.”

“That’s between you and your Pokémon. They are giving you leadership of them, whether you want it or not. They’re just waiting for you to take it.”

I let out a long breath. I was reluctant to admit it, but the more I thought about it, the more what he was saying made sense. Rainer always won because he wanted to win, to prove his capability, to make everything he’d been through so far worth it. What David had said about Gideon seemed plausible. It was the first new idea I’d had in weeks for how to deal with his subversion, and that… made me excited. Like I used to get when I was training with my Pokémon. It was a new strategy that might just change the way I battle for the better. The thought of it brought a kind of relief. Suddenly tomorrow’s battle wasn’t just something to dread, but something to maybe, just a little, be excited for.

I chewed on my tongue for a moment. “This won’t be easy, one way or another.”

“It’s not just about your Pokémon. It’s about you too. You need to think about why you’re fighting. Why are you here?”

I thought for a moment before answering with the truth, just as it occurred to me. A glimmer of childish exhilaration grew in my heart. It was nostalgia and hope in equal proportions. “I’ve wanted this since I was a little kid. It was all I ever dreamed of. Everything I’ve ever worked for. The Elite Four. The Championship. The big time. I’m living it right now. Everything I ever wanted. Somehow… I got it. Or I almost got it. It’s right there. I can achieve it. I have to. My ten-year-old self would never let me live it down.”

David smiled at my visibly changed demeanor. “You’re not just learning to be a trainer anymore. You are a trainer, a good one. You’re learning to be a champion, a winner, the best in the region. It’s not easy, but if it’s what you want then you need to take it, not give up.”

I nodded slowly.

“Well, anyway… I should probably head back before anyone notices I’m up here,” David said. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

He left me alone with my thoughts, but not quite as alone as I had felt before.

*****

I had a rough time sleeping that night and ended up waking early the next morning to find my headache had returned. Nevertheless, I felt rested. Or at least awake and ready to go. I showered and got dressed still thinking about what David had said.

My last three Poké Balls still sat on the kitchen table. I snatched them up and headed out into the gym.

I let them out and surveyed my team. We were far from full strength. Gideon and Dragonite looked somewhat fresh, but Rainer was visibly tired from his previous battles. And then that was it. Everyone else was already out. Just me and the three Pokémon that I had frankly traveled with the least.

Rainer might have been my starter, but we had spent so much time apart after he’d been abducted. Looking at him now, though, it’s like that time hadn’t passed. Sure, he was bigger, evolved, even scarred… but I could still recognize him by the look in his eyes. His passion, his ambition. We were both here for the same reason, and that made everything easier.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about Dragonite from a battling perspective. She was strong, which was to be expected, but she had only recently evolved. It would take time for her to get used to her new abilities. And she wasn’t exactly the most experienced battler to start. Nevertheless, she represented the culmination of my childhood dream. It almost didn’t feel real to stand there in front of her. I looked up into her big brown eyes and stroked her neck. She was motivated by love and protectiveness. That much I knew. She had evolved to save me. To try to save Baron. She’d been weak and helpless for so long. But not anymore. There was a strength to her gaze now that I had never seen before the last few days. She had much to prove, to herself and the world. But not to me.

When I looked at Gideon, he crouched slightly and clacked whatever he had that passed for teeth. It vaguely reminded me of the way Locustod used to recoil from me. I’d never done anything more than yell at the Butterfree when he was causing trouble, but it had taken me a while to realize that discipline wasn’t what he needed. It wasn’t really what Gideon needed either. He’d bow to superior strength, sure… What David had said echoed in my mind. Gideon needed leadership. Strong leadership. Leadership that understood him. He was young, unsure of himself, confused by the world. Hot-blooded, but in need of someone to help him, not redirect him somewhere he’d never go.

“Well…” I said out loud. “This is it. The four of us against two of the best trainers in the region. I’m going to be honest, I’m not certain we can do it. Hell, for a while I wasn’t certain I even wanted to try. But I do. Do you? Do you want to win?”

Rainer nodded without hesitation. Dragonite stretched her wings and bowed her head. Gideon straightened up and looked me in the eye.

A yes from all of them, near as I could tell.

“Alright then. It’s now or never. Let’s win.”

*****

Agatha was once again late that day. I don’t know what kind of point she was trying to make, but I was done with her. I had more important things to worry about. More important things to look forward to. I distanced myself from the rest of the group as we waited, finding a spot on the pebble beach nearby where I could stare out across the water. After only a minute or so, my quiet self-reflection was interrupted by the sounds of footsteps crunching behind me. When I turned, I was surprised to see not David, but Lance.

“Uhh… hi,” I said awkwardly.

Lance nodded at me solemnly. As always, he was… enigmatically dressed. He wore some kind of old-fashioned red and black suit with tall boots and a flowing cape. On anyone with an ounce less charisma the outfit would look outlandish, but for Lance… somehow, he pulled it off. “Long way from Silph Tower, eh?” he said.

I recalled him and David rescuing us in that room full of Skyguard. My heartrate picked up at the mere memory of it. I shivered. “Yeah. Thankfully.”

He joined me in staring out across the water. “I will be forthright. Do you mind letting your Dragonite out here?”

What was he getting at? I hesitated for a second before plucking Dragonite’s ball from my belt and letting her out onto the beach.

Dragonite took an immediate fighting stance before realizing we were not yet on the battlefield. She stood up straight and relaxed her wings, looking curiously between me and Lance.

“Hmm… yes. Very odd.” Lance was whispering mostly to himself as he inspected Dragonite up close.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Lance stepped back from Dragonite and looked at me seriously. “She’s somewhat small, and very young. Much younger than most of her species that have fully evolved.” He hesitated before continuing. “If I didn’t know better… I would assume—”
I interrupted him. I finally knew what he was getting at. “Abuse. Coerced evolution.”

He looked at me flatly, his face hard to read. “Yes.”

“Not her. She evolved of her own volition. It was under incredible duress, but it wasn’t my doing. It was… well… Team Rocket.”

I hadn’t even thought about it, but now that Lance brought it up, it made sense. She had only been a Dragonair for a few weeks before evolving again. My reading said that was supposed to take at least a year even under strenuous training.

Lance softened a bit and pulled his cape around his shoulders. “I see. I am sorry. What happened? If you don’t mind telling the story.”

I made eye contact with Dragonite. I tried to say something, but I choked. “I’d rather not.”

Lance tilted his head. “I heard about your Pidgeot. Was it the same incident?”

So word was already getting around. Great. I nodded. “She evolved to save me. And the rest of the team.”

“Noble.” He turned to Dragonite and bowed his head respectfully. “I notice you have not yet named her.”

“Yeah.” I cleared my throat, glad for the change of subject. “Yeah. Never found or came up with anything that I liked. And unfortunately, she hasn’t had any ideas either.”

Lance smiled for the first time. “In Blackthorn, my home, we keep a close eye on the nearby colonies of dragons. There is much to learn from them. We have formed our entire culture around them. In turn, they have accepted us as part of their lives. Whenever a Dragonair evolves into a Dragonite, be it wild or a partner to one of our people, we hold a ceremony and bestow upon them a name. Sometimes even changing a name that has already been given. Evolution is a kind of rebirth. There is no real human analogy. Their life changes, and they deserve a name worthy of their new power, a name that describes the unique, vibrant individual they have become.”

I sniffed and looked at Dragonite. “I usually just took names from my favorite stories as a kid. None of them really seemed, as you said, worthy of her. What she meant to me. Now more than ever.”

“May I? She has more than earned it.”

My heart stopped. “I… would be honored.”

Lance turned to Dragonite and said something in a language I didn’t understand. Dragonite blinked slowly and bowed her head. Lance continued speaking in an even, rhythmic tone, almost like he was reciting poetry. I realized it probably had to do with that Blackthorn ceremony he referenced. I couldn’t tell what he was saying, but it sounded… comforting. One word stood out above all.

“Zyanya.” Lance finished and turned to me. “Her name is Zyanya.”

“Zyanya…” I reached out and stroked her neck. She seemed receptive.

“It is an old name. One that will get both of you the respect you deserve should you ever visit Blackthorn.”

“What does it mean?” I asked.

Forever. It represents the bonds between the two of you. Between you and all of your Pokémon. Forged in flames far greater than those faced by a typical trainer and their Pokémon.”

A raspy voice interrupted us. “He’s more temporary than you’d think, I assure you.”

Agatha had finally arrived. She stood a few yards away, leaning on her cane and scowling at me. Lance nodded to me solemnly and left to rejoin the rest of the group, now boarding the boat. I recalled Dragonite… Zyanya… to her ball.

I followed Lance, passing Agatha without giving her a second glance. She didn’t matter anymore. I had beaten her. All that mattered now was the battle with Lance. I needed to stay focused.

I took my usual place on the top deck as the boat left the shore and we headed for the island for the fourth time. I stared at the island, thinking about what Lance had said, what David had said. Thinking about Rainer, about Zyanya, about Gideon. Olivia came up and tried to make small talk, but I think she caught on pretty quickly that I was trying to concentrate.

By the time we docked, disembarked, and took our positions, the battlefield was my whole world. Me, Lance, our Pokémon. That’s what mattered now.

Lance’s cape billowed in the breeze off the lake. Chief Referee Hobbs called for his first Pokémon. Lance gave me a casual salute and a Poké Ball appeared in his other hand like magic. He tossed the ball forward, shouting a battle cry in that same language he had used to Zyanya. The form that took the field was draconic, as expected. Dark gray skin, wide angular wings, and a crooked snout. I’d fought against Aerodactyl before. I’d fought alongside one even more. I could almost see Criss’s wry smile on Lance’s face. I could do this.

Rainer would be too obvious. I needed to make the most of my team. My whole team. I picked Gideon’s ball from my belt. Just as good, I assured myself. I had to believe, no one else would.

Gideon formed in front of me, stretching his limbs and glaring at his opponent. I took a couple quick breaths and psychically leaned into his consciousness. He was always tricky to sync with, but this time it came fairly quickly. Even still, my temple throbbed uncomfortably, reminding me of yesterday’s pain.

A connoisseur of rare Pokémon, Lance seemed pleased by my choice. He grinned widely, his calm, understated demeanor immediately overcome by the joy of battle. “Ascend!” he cried to Aerodactyl.

Aqua Jet. We had to be aggressive. That’s how Gideon fought. That’s how we would win. Gideon blasted across the field in a spray of water, but we were a second too slow. Aerodactyl leaped skyward, getting out of Gideon’s reach just in the nick of time. Gideon shrieked in frustration and dug his blade into the wet earth, lobbing a haphazard Mud Shot. It missed horribly.

Aerodactyl climbed twenty, thirty, forty feet, then began circling the field. According to the rules, flyers had pretty free-reign without being out of bounds, but if he didn’t engage for one minute then he’d forfeit Aerodactyl. Nevertheless, this was a tricky spot for me. The last time I had been in a position like this was with Psyke against Criss’s Aerodactyl back in the tournament finals. That hadn’t ended so well for me. I contemplated switching out for Rainer. Gideon lobbed another Mud Shot. It missed again, arcing awkwardly through the air and splatting unceremoniously in the middle of the field. Keep that up, I’ll keep an eye on Lance and see what I can learn. If Gideon gave a damn about reading the opposing trainer, he didn’t show it.

Lance’s eyes were following Aerodactyl, he didn’t seem to care about the raging Kabutops in front of him. He flicked his wrists free of his sleeves, like he was preparing to conduct a symphony, and chopped his right hand into his left. Aerodactyl turned sharply and dove. Hand signals, then. I could deal with those. Erika had relied on hand signals heavily, and I’d managed to beat her… with Baron.

Ice Beam, before it gets too close. We had only had a limited time to practice Ice Beam in Pallet. He’d never quite gotten the hang of the move, but I thought it would be nice to have in our back pocket.

Gideon completely ignored me. I could tell through our connection before he even did anything. He was focused on Aerodactyl alone, his blades thirsting for violence. He waited for Aerodactyl to get close and slashed ferociously. He even appeared to get a good strike in, but caught Aerodactyl’s horns directly in his chest. He tumbled to the ground as Aerodactyl took back to the sky. I could feel Gideon’s frustration, mirroring my own. He didn’t want to use any ranged techniques, he much preferred to be up close and personal. Problem was that wasn’t really going to work here. Unless… If they do that again, don’t slash. I want you to grab on and let it carry you back up. Once you’ve grappled, then you can cut it up freely. The strategy was a little too late, but they’d have to keep attacking. We’d get our chance. Gideon seemed pleased with my idea. I think it was the first time he’d been really receptive to a command since we’d started training. He stared at Aerodactyl unblinkingly and repositioned towards the middle of the field.

I watched Lance as he gave another flurry of hand signals. It looked like he was trying to hide the command in a bunch of other signs, but I saw the chop in there again. Aerodactyl turned and dove once more. Get ready. Aerodactyl swept downwards, but it wasn’t preparing for Iron Head. I swore. Same plan, it’s still gonna-

Aerodactyl’s wings suddenly flared outwards. It swooped over to its starting position in front of Lance and jammed its claws in the ground.

-make contact… Aerodactyl roared and shards of stone erupted from the earth beneath Gideon, jutting harshly upwards and sending Gideon spinning towards me. Stone Edge. Or not. Gideon scrambled back to his feet and slashed through the earthen blades now standing between him and his foe. I know they were simply compacted dirt and not really stone, but seeing the ease with which Gideon shredded them gave me new respect for the sharpness of his claws. It didn’t help. By the time Gideon got through them, Aerodactyl had taken off once again. Gideon’s frustration grew, radiating through our connection and triggering my own emotions. I swore again.

I was missing something. I watched Lance go through a series of hand signals again. It brought me back to my days playing baseball. I’d watch the third base coach make a bunch of meaningless gestures, my eyes only ever on the lookout for one. Once he made that sign, the next sign would be what he wanted me to do. Lance flicked his wrists again. That was it. I recognized the sign he made next from his previous flurry. I had it.

It’s Stone Edge again. Gideon seemed skeptical. Please, trust me. Aerodactyl turned and dove once more. I didn’t have time for words. I closed my eyes and concentrated as hard as I could on visualizing the memory of Aerodactyl’s previous maneuver. But this time when its wings flared, Gideon would summon an Aqua Jet and shoot towards Lance, catching Aerodactyl right as it hit the ground. I couldn’t immediately tell if Gideon understood. I warily opened my eyes.

Gideon took a few steps back towards me, the claws on his feet digging furrows in the dirt. Aerodactyl was only ten to twenty feet up and its wings flared again. Gideon knelt low, water dripping over his blades, and shot away from me. The Aqua Jet caught Aerodactyl just as I had predicted, although maybe a little too early. Wreathed in water, Gideon slammed directly into Aerodactyl, who was so focused on following Lance’s commands that it wasn’t even paying attention. The attack hit before Aerodactyl even landed and nearly knocked it into Lance. Gideon skidded to a stop. Lance staggered backwards to avoid his somersaulting Pokémon, barely staying within his trainer box.

“Yes!” I pumped a fist.

“Thin ice, Keith,” Olivia said from next to me. “That was close to endangering the opposing trainer.”

I didn’t respond to her. Didn’t have time. That was a good hit, but it was just a start. We had to press the advantage. Now grapple before it takes off again. Not a moment too soon. Aerodactyl recovered quickly and tried to take to the sky, but Gideon leaped on its back and began hacking away. His blades left only shallow gouges in Aerodactyl’s thick, stonelike skin, but I knew it was having an effect.

“Ascend!” Lance shouted again. And sure enough, somehow Aerodactyl managed to take off. Slowly, falteringly, it ascended. Gideon held on desperately, but without hands I could tell it was tricky. His slashes became more like frantic scrabbling than actual attacks. Aerodactyl was tougher than I had anticipated. It flew higher and higher, spinning and flapping to try to unseat Gideon. Finally, about sixty feet up, it succeeded. Gideon was knocked free and began to plummet. Panic echoed back across our psychic connection. My heartrate skyrocketed.

Hand shaking, I hurriedly grabbed his Poké Ball from my belt and tried to recall him. I missed the first shot. My heart skipped a beat, but I tried again. The second laser made contact when Gideon was only a few feet off the ground.

I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself. I looked at Olivia, realizing I wasn’t sure what the rules were in a situation like that, given that Gideon surely would have been knocked out if he had hit the ground.

Olivia gave me a lopsided smile. “Nice shot.”

“That was legal? Gideon’s still able to fight?”

“Short answer’s yes, as long as you send out a different Pokémon. Speaking of which, you’re on the clock.” She jerked her head towards Chief Referee Hobbs, who was pointing at me and waiting for my next Pokémon.

Fine. I could finish this with Rainer. Then we’d re-evaluate depending on Lance’s next Pokémon. I fastened Gideon back onto my belt and grabbed Rainer’s ball. Now that I knew Lance’s signal system, we could do this quick and easy.

When Rainer took the field, it was obvious he was still tired and hurt. He was hunched over a bit, and his shell was scuffed and dirty. He deserved a good long break once this was over. But it wasn’t. Not yet. I dove into our connection. Body notwithstanding, his mind was sharp.

Lance made another series of hand signs. I caught the wrist flick again, but this time it was followed with a sign I hadn’t seen before. I looked up at Aerodactyl. It had gained quite a bit more altitude than before, and was making use of that to build up speed. I couldn’t quite see in the glare of the sun, but I had a hunch as to what was coming. High dive against a slow, nearly stationary target? I knew what Criss would do here. And I knew how I would respond.

I think it’s Giga Impact, I told Rainer. It’ll come at you in a straight line. Fill that line with water. Rainer got down on all fours, aimed his cannons directly at the Aerodactyl barreling down on him, and let loose a Hydro Pump. Aerodactyl was solid, aerodynamic, and fast. It plowed through the water, not slowing down as much as I had hoped, but its own speed would make that water hurt all the more. I still couldn’t tell what the move was. Giga Impact, Wing Attack, Iron Head, Take Down, it didn’t matter. Our response would be the same.

Aerodactyl hit Rainer hard despite the water. I could feel the pain of the collision through our connection. Ribbons of orange and purple light flared, confirming my initial guess. I raised my arm to shield my face from the burst of water and heat. Peeking above my elbow, I saw Rainer bear-hugging Aerodactyl in a cloud of steam. It frantically flapped its wings to no avail, each beat sending a spiral of steam spinning into the air. Rainer spun and body slammed it to the ground. Two or three follow up punches were all Lance’s referee needed to whistle the knockout.

I took a breath as Lance recalled his Pokémon. My ears were ringing from the crashing of water and sounds of fighting. We’ll see what he sends out, then I’m giving you a break. Maybe for the rest of the match. I’ll need you tomorrow. Rainer looked at me and nodded, understanding the promise implicit in my words. I would win this battle. I rolled my shoulders and tried to relax as Hobbs called for Lance’s next Pokémon. That was an awkward fight, but we had come out on top. I knew some of Lance’s signs, I knew what to expect, I hadn’t lost a Pokémon. Things were going well.

Then Lance sent out his Dragonite.

It was smaller than I remembered, not much larger than Zyanya. Lance didn't even have to give a command before its wings flared and it leaped into the air towards Rainer, electricity dancing between its antennae. Rainer anticipated the Thunderbolt and deftly sidestepped it, then braced for impact as Lance's Dragonite barreled into him.

Rainer caught Dragonite fairly well, clearly having it beat in terms of weight, but they both tumbled to the dirt in a ball of flailing wings and claws. Somehow in all of that, Rainer managed to level his cannons and blast Dragonite away with a Hydro Pump, sending it rolling away spluttering and growling. Before it could recover, I recalled Rainer.

I needed a moment to breathe, and Rainer was not fit for this fight. Dragonite was aggressive, far more than I had anticipated. I could meet aggression with aggression perhaps? I fiddled with Gideon's ball. No... Dragonite had too many more options than Gideon, he would struggle in a straight fight. I was running out of time to choose.

Lance's cape flapped dramatically in the wind. He stood stoically, arms crossed, waiting for me to make my decision. His Dragonite stood in front of him in a ready stance, eyes narrowed at me. Together they were a picture of the strength and splendor of the Elite Four, an image that I had dreamed of time and time again. Perhaps I should meet dream with dream. Dragonite with Dragonite.

"Zyanya," I whispered to myself. Forever.

Hobbs's whistle had nearly reached his lips when I finally threw forward Zyanya's Safari Ball. I dove into her mind as quickly as I could. Without even meaning to, my emotions flooded our connection: nervousness, and a desperate desire to prove ourselves. Only they weren't just my emotions, that was exactly how she felt too. As unlikely as it might be, if we could beat Lance's ace, we would show we were worthy of Lance's confidence in us, worthy of the championship, worthy of each other.

Lance's Dragonite opened with the exact same maneuver they had used against Rainer. A hasty Thunderbolt, followed by a reckless charge into close range. I recognized the electricity between its antennae once again and showed Zyanya through our connection how Rainer had responded. She decided to do things a little differently.

Unflinching, Zyanya caught the Thunderbolt directly with her own antennae, focusing on its power and refusing to let it dissipate. A flashing, jittering ribbon of lightning linked the two Dragonite together. Lance's Dragonite tried to fly forward and engage at close range again, but as soon as its feet left the ground, the electricity overwhelmed it and sent it shuddering back down to earth. The lightning crackled and faded as Dragonite shook off the hit.

I was impressed. That was some power and quick thinking that I hadn't fully expected from Zyanya. She seemed pleased with herself. I hadn't spent as much time training with her as I should have, but she'd always been keen on bettering herself. Maybe I'd underestimated how much she had learned and how far she'd come.

Alright, if you want to match them, let's match them. Toe to toe.

Lance's Dragonite came at us again, this time wreathing itself in water for an Aqua Tail. Zyanya countered with a Thunderbolt of her own, but it was barely slowed. Rush, I ordered. Zyanya leaped forward to meet her foe head on. There was a spray of water as they slammed into each other. Fire, water, and electricity flashed and sputtered as the two Dragonite went at it. One more ferocious and experienced, the other passionate and with everything to prove. Both unflinching.

I tried to participate, to come up with counters, give advice, anything at all to give Zyanya an edge. It was a futile gesture. They were too quick. But in a battle like this, I wasn't sure Zyanya could pull it off. If it all came down to strength and determination, Lance's ace would come out on top. Any other outcome felt like wishful thinking. Lance’s Dragonite hit Zyanya with a flurry of lightning infused punches and spun, slapping her hard with his tail. I grimaced and looked at Lance as the brawl continued. For some reason he was no longer doing his hand signals. He just stood there, arms crossed, glaring at the fight before him. Perhaps that was the trick, his Dragonite got by on simply being so well trained that it didn't even really need commands. That seemed like a distinct possibility. He looked... unimpressed.

When I looked back at our Pokémon, something caught me by surprise. It was almost like déjà vu. Lance's Dragonite spat a tiny Flamethrower in an attempt to blind Zyanya, threw two quick Thunder Punches, and finally swung its tail around. Zyanya easily shrugged off the elemental attacks, but the tail slam hit her hard. I recognized it immediately as the series of attacks that had hit her right before I looked away. I watched them continue to scramble for almost a full minute. Slowly, like I was learning to read for the first time, a pattern emerged. What had once been haphazard attacks begun to be recognizable as a series of combos. A limited series of combos, at that.

A brief flash of fire made Zyanya jerk her head back. Lightning crackling around Dragonite’s claws as it made two quick jabs at her chest... Jump. Zyanya followed my command without hesitation. A single flap of her wings and the tail swipe swept under her, kicking up a cloud of dust. Lance's Dragonite next came in wings first, buffeting away at Zyanya. Wing Attack. Simple. I recognized this one too. The real power move at the end of that combo was grabbing Zyanya and throwing her to the ground so that it could land a few extra attacks while she recovered. Step back. Zyanya deftly dodged just out of range of Dragonite's reaching arms, ruining their strategy. Zyanya roared and willed the electricity within her to pulse through her scales, charging her claws, and gave the other Dragonite a Thunder Punch to the face.

I looked back at Lance. He was smiling. It was slight, but he was smiling. He uncrossed his arms, flicked back his sleeves, and proceeded to give a series of commands that I didn't recognize. I tried to have Zyanya force Dragonite's attention so that it couldn't see Lance's commands, but that was a tough ask.

The brawl continued, full of fire and water and electricity, but the easy-to-read patterns disappeared. Zyanya was beginning to look bruised and battered. I had to find a way out, and soon.

Lance's Dragonite was too ferocious, too aggressive. We needed space. A thought occurred to me. One of the first times I trained with Zyanya as a Dratini was in Pallet Town before the tournament. In an attempt to make use of her flexibility to overcome her relatively small size and limited speed, I had concocted a simple plan. Thunder Wave to slow down the opponent, tie them up with a Wrap, and force her to get thrown off, at which point she would fire a Dragon Rage. I could feel Zyanya tracking my thought process through our connection, even as she was barely holding out against her current opponent. We had some different tools in our toolbox now, but it was worth giving it a shot.

A nagging doubt kept me from ordering the attack. Any attempt to slow down Lance's Dragonite would be easily blocked with a Safeguard. Lance's Dragonite was well known for its defensive capabilities. I'd even seen them in action myself. A second, stronger nagging doubt came with that last thought.

Lance's Dragonite is supposed to be defensive. Not this.

On a second look, Lance's Dragonite appeared like it was almost in as poor shape as Zyanya was. My own doubts had prevented me from realizing it. Doubt became a glimmer of hope. Just try it.

Electricity flared between Zyanya's antennae once again, this time a neon blue. The Thunder Wave caught Lance's Dragonite in the middle of a Dragon Rush that jolted to a halt. No Safeguard flashed into place. I doubted this particular Dragonite even knew how to use Safeguard. Zyanya jumped on it, wrapping it in her arms, legs, wings, and tail. With that move, it was easy enough to keep it from being able to see Lance and follow his commands. He would have to go verbal.

To Lance's credit, he tried to be subtle. I barely heard him over the sound of the fight. "Fire," he said very simply.

A Flamethrower spewed from his Dragonite's mouth into the air. I immediately recognized my gambit with Flareth against Bruno's Machamp.

Aqua Tail.

Zyanya's tail unwound from her opponent's and slapped the ground, water spilling from her scales and sending a spray all around them. It probably wasn't even necessary; the ground was already far too muddy from the fighting so far for their attempt to work.

"Tail," Lance commanded.

That'll be Dragon Tail. Fly up and drop it. We weren't even really communicating in words at this point. Zyanya just knew what to do. She unfurled her wings, giving Lance's Dragonite a little bit of breathing room, and began to fly upwards. Dragonite lashed its tail around, but the sudden change of angle made it miss terribly. Zyanya let go of her flailing opponent only a few feet off the ground and took to the sky.

Dragon Rush. That should finish it.

Zyanya flipped in the air and tucked her wings, diving claws first straight down on top of her opponent. Lance’s Dragonite didn’t have the energy left to defend itself.

Lance’s line referee whistled and Hobbs called the knockout.

Well done.

Zyanya had defeated Lance’s Dragonite. It was a feat to be proud of. But it was not that simple. Not for the first time in this challenge I took a deep breath and tried to stop myself from shaking. I don’t think Zyanya understood why I was so nervous. She would in a second. Lance recalled his Pokémon and with some kind of sleight of hand, a new Poké Ball appeared in his grip as if by magic. I knew what it would contain and I was dreading it, especially after how hard that last fight had been.

Specializing in a specific type was a risky path to take as a trainer. It allowed for incredible depth of knowledge and specialized training, but it sacrificed the strength of diversity. The teams I had fought so far in this challenge had far more variety than those of any gym leader, who were the only type specialists I was used to. But Lance was different. Dragons were different. Dragons as a Pokémon type were inherently diverse. The varied elements and powers that they could call outdid all but the most well-trained psychic-types. Lance didn’t need diversity in type like the other Elites, or even other trainers I had come across. He didn’t even need diversity in species of Pokémon.

When the flash of red light began to coalesce into Lance’s final Pokémon, I wondered why I ever thought that the Dragonite we had just defeated was his ace.

Lance’s second Dragonite was everything I had ever expected. He was a good two feet taller than the previous one, or Zyanya for that matter. His scales were a darker shimmering gold, as opposed to the dandelion yellow of the younger members of the species. Powerful wings capable of producing hurricane-force winds stretched out in the cool air. His dark eyes told tales of the hundreds of battles he had fought beside Lance ever since he was my age. Hundreds of battles that they had won.

On the wall of my room back in Pallet Town was a poster of Lance and his Dragonite. This Dragonite. I had stared at it many times while daydreaming about my future journey. That was who I wanted to be. I wanted to have that confidence. That flair. That strength. To see the two of them standing before me in the flesh struck a powerful chord in me. I sensed a slight hesitation in Zyanya. Hesitation born from pure reverence. Once again, it matched my own emotions. It was hard to tell where my feelings ended and where hers began.

I concentrated on my breathing like Sabrina had instructed me when she was teaching me to meditate. I couldn’t become too star-struck. My body slowly calmed and my mind began to focus. Nervousness was replaced by determination. Well… most of it was. I had seen this Pokémon in action before. He was a defensive powerhouse. A good way to start would be to test those defenses.

Almost intuitively, Zyanya caught on to my intent before I even ordered an attack. There was a flash of blue as a Thunder Wave splashed harmlessly across a Safeguard that I hadn’t even seen Lance’s Dragonite conjure. Zyanya charged forward, throwing some quick slashes and jabs. Lance’s Dragonite deftly deflected them. And then with single beat of his mighty wings, a blast of air buffeted Zyanya backwards.

Feint Wave, use Bolt.

Blue electricity flickered between Zyanya’s antennae for a brief second, then flashed yellow and a bolt of lightning leapt towards Lance’s Dragonite. He caught the bolt with his own antennae, creating an arc that crackled and danced between the two. I clenched my fist as the arc grew in strength. No use, break it. Zyanya twisted her head and broke the connection before it could damage her, as it surely would have. Lance’s ace was a lot sturdier and more capable than Zyanya. We couldn’t face him in a direct test of strength. We’d have to be clever.

Without my command, Zyanya immediately followed breaking the Thunderbolt arc with a Flamethrower. The fire broke and flared a few feet in front of Lance’s Dragonite, repelled by a well-timed Protect shield. Our two opponents both stood with nearly identical stoic expressions on their faces. They had faced worse attacks. Perhaps some more aggression was due.

A thought occurred to me. Try his own style. See how they react. I envisioned the previous Dragonite’s Flamethrower to tail slam combo. Zyanya rushed forward again, reigniting her Flamethrower to cover her advance. Her first Thunder Punch shattered the Protect, but Lance’s Dragonite deflected the second punch with a flick of his arm, and deftly jumped over the tail with a cursory beat of his wings.

Lance laughed. “Touché, my friend!”

I smiled at him and mock bowed as Zyanya was repelled once more by another blast of air from his Dragonite’s wings. Internally I was growing annoyed. Zyanya’s own wings caught the wind too easily. She wasn’t used to them. Didn’t know how to tuck them in properly like Baron used to in order to break headwinds. It was too late to teach her. Too late to train any more. We’d have to find a way around it.

I gritted my teeth and gave Zyanya a few brief commands, just to test the limits of their defenses. They were extensive. Every blow, every blast of fire or lightning, was easily deflected either by a shield of energy or well-trained agility. As Zyanya let loose a series of quick bursts of lightning, all scattering weakly off a Protect and fizzling in the wind, I recalled Silph Tower. The sound of this Dragonite’s song in the air, harkening a rescue. His unbeatable shields as he protected us while we spoke with Lance and David. This Dragonite saved my life just as well as Zyanya had. Defeating him, even harming him would be no easy task. We needed aggression. We were too easy to read. Too predictable. We needed to take a risk. Could the challenge afford it? I wasn’t sure. But if we couldn’t even land a single hit, we would never win. And that would mean going home without winning the championship. That wasn’t an option.

Close the gap. Stay close, whatever you have to do. We have to start landing some hits.

Zyanya shot forward once again and slammed against yet another Protect shield. She battered the shield with her claws and wings, eventually shattering it. This time she opted for a Flamethrower as a follow up. It wasn’t so easy for Lance’s Dragonite to deflect, but he instead ducked underneath the flames and engaged Zyanya at close range. This was the most aggressive I had seen them get so far. Take advantage of this!

The two Dragonite crashed into each other in a very similar way to the previous matchup, but this time it was Zyanya who was the violent one. She sent electricity coursing between both of them and slashed and slammed as ferociously as she could. Lance’s Dragonite took the blows unflinchingly. He seemed mostly keen on keeping Zyanya at arm’s length, perhaps just trying to tire her out.

Hit hard. Make it count.

Zyanya attempted to swing her tail around, but Lance’s Dragonite moved into the attack, catching her tail in his chest… and in his arms. His great wings billowed outward and beat twice as he took to the sky, dragging Zyanya unceremoniously upwards. I felt her panic through our connection, so I tried to assuage her. They can’t have that good of a grip. Tear yourself free and fight in the sky.

Despite Zyanya’s weight dragging them down, they got a good ten to fifteen feet into the air before Zyanya managed to jerk her tail free. Her wings flared as she attempted to right herself and chase her quarry upward. But Lance and his Pokémon seemed to be waiting for this. His Dragonite stretched his wings wide and beat them ferociously, causing a powerful gust of air to catch Zyanya’s wings and slam her into the ground. She was barely even able to react or move.

I could tell I was looking at a lost cause right away. My fingers scrambled at my belt for Zyanya’s ball. I barely managed to recall her before Lance’s Dragonite pounced onto the empty earth where she had been struggling merely seconds before.

Rainer was too exhausted to continue. Zyanya was quite simply weaker than Lance’s Dragonite. That left me with only one option. The one option that I was still most nervous about. I held Gideon’s Poké Ball in my hand for a moment, just looking at it. I almost didn’t want to throw it out. How could he succeed where Zyanya had failed? How could I lead him to victory? But I had no choice. I threw the ball.

Connecting with Gideon went a little easier this time, although in this case I think Lance would have waited for us to be ready anyway. His Dragonite had taken up his position in front of him, tensed and ready, but patient. They were letting us choose the pace of the battle. That’s how they fought, I just had to find a way to turn that to my advantage.

Unhinged aggression was how we fought. I watched Gideon’s claws dig into the dirt as he prepared to dash forward and engage. I didn’t have time to come up with a proper plan of attack, but I also didn’t want Gideon to start this fight by ignoring my orders. And thanks to David I knew the best way around that. Order him to do what he wanted to do anyway. Cut loose. Get close and pick at their defenses, but try not to get hit. I’ll tell you when I see a weakness.

Gideon eagerly blasted forward, his Aqua Jet spraying water across the field that had barely dried after Rainer’s attacks. He collided unceremoniously face first with a Protect shield, the yellow bubble shimmering into view a few feet in front of Dragonite. Gideon shrieked and began slashing away at it.

I watched and contemplated. Ice Beam was still on the table. It was probably our ace in the hole: the only thing that could really bring down Lance’s strongest Pokémon. But they were smart, they’d come up with some kind of counter for it. So it had to be a surprise… If I told Gideon how effective Ice Beam would be, he’d probably get over his obsession with melee attacks long enough to try it out, but I didn’t trust him to hold it in reserve. I’d need to wait for the opportune moment.

Gideon finally crashed through the shield, descending on Dragonite with a flurry of blades and water. Dragonite took the hits, but protected himself as best as possible. His wings flared wide and beat powerfully, the same technique they had used to force Zyanya backwards. It didn’t work quite as well. Gideon tried to rush back in, but Dragonite took to the sky, trying but failing to zap Gideon with a Thunderbolt as he flew over him. He alighted on my side of the field, facing Lance. Gideon spun around furiously and charged again, but I knew he’d just hit another Protect.

I thought for a moment. Gideon’s small stature and hydrodynamic form made him far less susceptible to the huge gusts of air that had pushed Zyanya around and ultimately locked her in place. That made it much easier for him to get close and stay close, so long as Dragonite was on the ground. Fortunately for us, they didn’t seem too keen on using their aerial advantage. Probably because they wanted to conserve Dragonite’s energy while Gideon tired himself out against all of their defensive maneuvers. I had an idea, I just needed to figure out how to get it across.

Commanding Gideon was like fighting two battles at once. I had to choose how to command him, convince him to try the strategy I wanted, and then also adapt to our actual opponent. He was so much less responsive and receptive than Zyanya or Rainer. When I was connected with Zyanya, it was like our minds flowed on currents in a shared sea. We pushed and pulled alongside each other, navigating the same space together. Our thoughts came in tandem, our emotional reactions identical. With Gideon it was more like he was a powerful current and I was just a fish. He pushed and pulled me, but I had so little ability to influence him. He was too single-minded.

I just needed to be a part of that single mind. He had reacted fairly well to nonverbal communication against Aerodactyl… perhaps that was the way to go. As Gideon closed in once more, bashing his way through Dragonite’s numerous defenses, I recalled the image of Gideon jumping onto Aerodactyl’s back.

The Protect shield shattered and Dragonite flared his wings in preparation to relocate. Whether Gideon knew it was my command or thought it was his own idea, I wasn’t sure, but when Dragonite took to the air, Gideon leaped up and latched on. The claws on his feet dug into the scales of Dragonite’s tail, and he scrambled up to the middle of his back.

Lance made a series of rushed hand signs. I had no idea what they meant, but in this situation, I knew they’d almost certainly climb and try to shake Gideon off. Frankly, it was their only option. There was no way to summon a Protect with Gideon literally attached like this. Sure enough, Dragonite flew up into the air, spinning around and lashing his tail. Gideon slipped, just slightly. I felt the swooping feeling of brief fear through our connection. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. Our nerves.

I visualized my strategy. Ice Beam. I could immediately tell that Gideon liked my idea. It was hard to see in the flurry of wings above, but there was a dull flash of white-blue light. Dragonite called out in surprise. I shielded my eyes from the sun and squinted upward, trying to see if Gideon had succeeded. Sure enough, his feet were now frozen onto Dragonite’s back. The dragon spun quickly, trying desperately to shake Gideon off, but it was no use.

Nice job. Go to town.

Gideon slashed away gleefully at Dragonite’s back, and even took a few cheeky slices at Dragonite’s wings whenever they came close. Dragonite was quickly losing altitude. Lance gave a few more unrecognizable signals. I didn’t need to be able to read them. I knew what I would do in his position, so that’s what I would prepare for.

I think they’re going to try to smash you on the ground. Freeze the wings and dismount when you feel like it, then re-engage once you’re on foot.

For perhaps the first time, Gideon followed my directions to a T. A thin white beam surged from Gideon’s mouth like a laser scanning across Dragonite’s left wing, leaving a trail of ice crystals in its wake. Dragonite shook and folded his wing to break off the ice, but they had already begun to drop from the sky. When they were just about to hit the ground, Gideon slashed at the ice at his feet, breaking himself free. He leaped away from Dragonite and broke his fall with an Aqua Jet. Dragonite hit the ground hard, but shook his wings free of the last of the ice and turned to face Gideon on all fours.

Another Ice Beam lanced out, freezing Dragonite’s foot to the ground. Dragonite growled and yanked it free, shattering the ice. To his credit, Gideon wasn’t charging in just yet, instead firing off another Ice Beam, this time freezing Dragonite’s tail to the ground. Dragonite roared in anger as he yanked that free as well. The next Ice Beam came straight at Dragonite’s head, catching him off guard and freezing his mouth shut. Dragonite clawed away at the ice around his jaws as Gideon charged forward.

They’ve been trying to tire you out this whole time. But you don’t get tired, do you? You like to fight all the way to the end. So do it.

Red and yellow flared behind the ice crystals around Dragonite’s mouth and they shattered. A mighty Flamethrower spewed into the air, quickly getting redirected at Gideon. He took it head on with an Aqua Jet straight into the fire. Steam billowed across the field. Lightning flashed from Dragonite’s antennae, but he couldn’t see Gideon through the mist. He managed another Protect, but this one didn’t stand up to a single slash from Gideon’s blades. They were getting weaker. And like that, Gideon was upon Dragonite once more, blades dancing in the steam. Another Ice Beam charged in Gideon’s maw.

Enough!” Lance’s voice came from the far end of the field. As the steam was blown away by the wind off the lake, I could see him holding up his hand. “That’s quite enough. I concede.”

I almost didn’t believe my ears. Lance’s referee blew his whistle as Lance returned his panting, begrudging Dragonite to its ball. Hobbs blew his whistle three times.

Gideon turned to look at me, satisfaction flooding our connection from both directions.

Well done, my friend. I recalled him.

Lance strode across the field, his cape billowing in the wind and a sly smile on his face. “Couldn’t afford to let you embarrass me any further, I’m afraid,” he said, offering his hand.

I shook it, and tried to keep my voice steady and free from nervousness, excitement, and awe. “Thank you. It was an honor…”

“You are something else, Keith.”

I felt a hand slap me hard on the shoulder. Turning, I saw David with a huge grin on his face.

“I knew you could do it,” he said. “And tomorrow, we finally get what I’ve been looking forward to ever since I won this challenge myself.”

Tomorrow… the championship.

*****

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