Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Jump Einatz]

Kalos Badlands, Five Years Ago

Moze sputtered to life on his back, looking up at the desert night sky. It wasn’t clear and starry; light pollution from the bordering cities drowned out the stars, and sandy winds obscured them even further.

His head was pounding, like something had caved it in. Gingerly he reached up to make sure that wasn’t actually the case. It wasn’t. He tried to stand but he felt weak, out of control. Even though his throat ran dry, he sputtered out, “Why am I here?”

No one answered. He was all alone. The wind could not topple him as he struggled to his feet, using a rock to clamber up. With his headache still pounding, Moze took a Potion out of his sidebag, fumbled with its cap, and poured the contents into his mouth. He became falsely invigorated, but the pain was only numbed a little.

The last thing he could remember was leaving Lumiose City towards Route 5 to continue his League challenge. Then why am I here?

Nothing was coming to him. There was no memory between then and now. It was a black gap. Just trying to think about it hurt his head. The sun was just out…

He reached for his Pokémon, hoping they could help him understand. But where there should have been three Pokéballs, there was only Banksy’s. Moze spun around and dropped to his knees, sifting through the sand looking for his Pokéballs. “Xavier? Prou?” There was nothing but sandy stones. “Xavier?! Prou?!”

Moze gulped. He had always prided himself on his natural ability, and that included an attention to detail. Memory. Something was missing, stripped away. He knew it was gone, but he didn’t know what it was. And being alone for it was terrifying. Again he screamed out the names of his Pokémon. No one answered.

Why am I here?

Lumiose City – Prism Tower, Present

When the Prism Tower was first constructed, long before it was considered to be used for a League Gym, its architect had constructed a private apartment for himself at the very top. After the tower’s conception people flocked to it and begged for access to the apartment, but the architect would only allow the most prestigious guests. Over time the excitement winded down, Prism Tower became home to the Lumiose Gym, and the apartment was all but forgotten.

Moze was one of a few people who did not work at Prism Tower and knew that the room was in fact real. As a young lad he had snuck in himself to discover if the rumors were true. Last night, he had paid off a custodian to let him secretly stay over.

The room was a luxurious old oak, small with paisley wallpaper and oil paintings. A one way window allowed Moze to watch over all of Centrico Plaza as he yawned himself awake. It wasn’t a bad place to crash, and it was also his only option. He had lied the day prior when he said an employer paid to shack him up at Hotel Richissime. Moze had booked that room himself to keep up appearances and show Mia a good time.

The guilt gnawed at his chest. Lying to Mia became easier over time, but it never became less painful. He tried to focus on the mission he was given to complete today, but he kept finding himself judging the distance between the secret room and Gotengo, hoping that he could find Mia.

“Wheeeee~” Shepard Fairey cooed, spinning around on a tiny whirlwind in the middle of the room and kicking up dust. Moze’s shaggy hair waved in the artificial breeze.
“Can you cool it? If we don’t leave this place as it was, we’ll have to find another place to stay.” The Whimsicott shrugged, uncaring, but obliged.

Moze propped the window open, wide enough that he could step through if he felt like falling hundreds of feet. On his bed was his knapsack, which he rummaged through for a pair of sunglasses and a baseball cap. He put them both on, tipping the brim to obscure most of his face. The less people saw, the better.

In the mirror, he barely recognized himself. It wasn’t just the easy disguise. He looked tired. These days he felt like a shadow of the young man he used to be. In some ways, that suited his current purposes. Nobody looked twice at a shadow.

Lumiose City – South Boulevard

A cup of coffee in hand, Moze walked down the street like he had never lived there. As part of a crowd he was just another bobbing head. The busy pace of the commuters was waking him up, though most of the time he felt like he was walking through a dream. Or a nightmare. Sometimes it was both.

The job he had been asked to do wasn’t to take place until the evening. It was half a day away, yet Moze felt a sense of impending dread as if it were only minutes. His mind was telling him not to worry about it. His heart sang a different tune.

With his head in the clouds he didn’t notice that he bumped into someone, knocking them over. The bag the Youngster was holding dropped, spilling out its contents on the sidewalk. “Oh no…”

“Sorry,” Moze said sheepishly with a forced smile, kneeling down to help clean up. “I need to watch where I’m-“

For just a second, Moze got a quick look at the Youngster’s face. It had been years, but there was no doubt about it. This was Youngster Carter, a boy who frequented Gotengo. More importantly, he was someone who know what Moze looked like.

“It’s okay, it was my fault,” Carter said even more sheepishly, tucking away his belongings quicky. That’s when Moze caught sight of what looked like a Potion bottle with the label stripped away, and a liquid inside much thicker than a normal Potion.

Before Carter could stand, Moze did first. “Sorry again,” he mumbled as he walked away, keeping his head down. He slunk behind the corner of a building and watched Carter. The Youngster pulled himself together and headed in the direction of Gotengo.

“Shepard,” he whispered. The Whimsicott, who had snuck up behind him like the wind, pouted. He should have been proud that Moze could detect his casual attempt at stealth, but he preferred when the trainer could not tell. “I’m skipping morning recon. There’s something I have to look into.”  

[Marsuru]

Lumiose City - South Boulevard Pokémon Center

'Alright then,' Zack said, cycling through the menus. The PCs at the pokémon center had a helpful team management app that let him reorganise the pokémon kept in his storage. Right now it was useful for releasing pokémon safely into the wild. Rather than Zack needing to physically return Fletchinder to her home on Route 3, or else carelessly introduce her to an unfamiliar location, he could remove her from his team on the computer.

Through some kind of magic, the system recorded where Fletchinder was captured and released her from captivity at the nearest possible pokémon center. Beamed through the internet and popped out safely on the other side. Zack had no idea how it worked, and found it best not to ask because the explanations weren't half as interested as he'd have hoped.

'Adios,' he said quietly, pushing the holographic release button and watching the icon representing Fletchinder move from where it said "Lumiose-S" to "Santalune" before taking flight and fading from view. And that was that.

He needed one more thing before his return to training. Zack went back a couple of menus then ran a search for Clawitzer, bringing up its move list. He took out his notebook and started a new page, jotting down the techniques that interested him. According to the list, Lethal should be able to use Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse, Dragon Pulse, and Heal Pulse.

The last one interested him the most. With a quick heal technique on his side, he could push his team harder for longer. They'd hate him for it, but who cared about that?

Lumiose City - South Boulevard

'Look, I- I'm sorry, Wayne, but I've moved on!' Gremlin said, turning his head to the side, eyes scrunched as if to block out the sheer sorrow of it all. Wayne looked a bit put out.
'But… but dude,' he said, pulling something out of his coat. They were a bit squashed, but mostly intact. 'I bought you bananas.'
Gremlin's eye opened a crack. 'You- you did? Oh, uh.' He cleared his throat and sprang onto Wayne' shoulder like nothing happened. 'Well that changes things. Zack, I'm hanging out with Wayne for a bit.'

'Whatever,' Zack said, walking out of the center and turning down the road. The Aipom waved him off dismissively.
'He'll understand one day,' he said. Then paused, yelling. 'Oh, make sure you give us your number so we don't lose you again!'

Wayne frowned as Zack carried on walking because he apparently didn't hear them. Then Wayne grinned. 'Huh? Nah that won't be a problem. If we need to find him, all we need to do is look him up on the PSS. It's easy as P-S-S! Or so the commercials tell me.'
'The what?' Gremlin started as realisation slowly dawned. 'You mean you could've looked him up any time you wanted and you didn't?'
'Pfft. Duh, where's the adventure in that?'

The monkey stared at him for a moment, then thrashed around wildly. 'Zack! Zack, I've changed my mind. Zack? Zaaaaaaack!'

Lumiose City - Route 16 Gatehouse

It didn't take Zack long to cross the city. After so many days, he'd started to familiarise himself with its layout and shortcuts. He liked the walk; it gave him time to think. But he didn't think he'd walk into a mob outside the Route 16 gatehouse. Curious, he wondered where they'd come from, and soon found they all wondered the same.

'Settle down, settle down!' barked the lead guardsman, his Clauncher dangling threateningly from his belt. 'Access to Route 16 is being temporarily restricted until we can find the vandals responsible for blowing it halfway to smithereens. The city-yadda-yadda anyone with information should come forward at once.'

Guess I'm not going back that way, thought Zack as he walked off. According to a map at the center, the next Route down was Route 14, which he could access by going north. With any luck, the other trainers who needed to use Route 16 would have the same idea and pass him on the way. He just hoped his team was ready for it.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Route 8:

[Wake up.] Something soft pushed against his face. [Hey, it's daytime. Wake up.] The pressure became more insistent and Benedict groaned.

He'd already spent way too much of his life being woken up by other folks that loved to jog and bike early in the morning. Whatever was speaking gibberish at him and poking his face wasn't that important.

[WAKE UP!] The soft pressure suddenly became a soft smack in the face, and Benedict's eyes opened to see Essence standing over him. One of her rose-hands had been pressing against his face until his eyes shot open, and he saw her pulling it back.

"Wha-? Oh. Wow. Did we fall asleep out here?" He mumbled, glancing around. A hand moved up to rub at his eye, but the youth stopped himself. "Way more comfy than I thought it'd be. Thanks Essence." Slowly, he pushed himself up. Comfortable, but his muscles still felt like they were all in knots or something now. Maybe not so comfortable then.

"We need to deal with Ricard today." He said, looking at the pokemon. "I have a plan, but... I mean, it's not the sort of thing that I think you'll like." She stared at him expectantly.

[I never understand your weird plans. But they worked yesterday.]

"You... probably won't like this one. I'm pretty sure of it." With a sigh, he put a hand to the pokeballs at his belt with pokemon in them. "I'm not sure they're ready even with it. But we need to try, I have to see what he can do. Don't know enough yet to trap him with some perfect plan."

[You'll get him.] The roselia patted his leg with as much reassurance as could be mustered.

"Thanks. You know I don't understand what you're saying, right?"

[Yup.]

The two started on their way, then, to the pokemon center.

Cyllage City: Pokemon Center
It was easy enough to get his pokemon to the nurse, the quick machine would deal with them really. What was a little harder was most important, though, was a place to fight. Anywhere normal and the dragonite would have the air. Not just the air, but a way out if things went south for him.

Benedict didn't intend to let Ricard run.

"I know this is a weird question, but does the center have somewhere I can go to battle a pokemon that might try to get out through the ceiling?" The woman gave him a look that said he was crazy. He grinned through it.

"Why would this pokemon be trying to get out through the ceiling?"

"Ah... well... Trades. You know? Never know what, ah, you're gonna get."

"Riiight..." The woman frowned at him for a moment. "The gym might have a room like that. You can ask there."

The grin became more genuine then. "Thank you Nurse Joie. Thank you very much." Once his pokemon were handed back to him, Benedict backed away from her. So he just had to go to the gym. And avoid Grant.

Maybe the gym leader wasn't even in that day? Would make sense.

Cyllage City: Gym
"You already won your match yesterday, what are you doing here?" The receptionist who reserved numbers for the trainers asked.

"I need a room to fight a pokemon in. One that might try to fly away through the ceiling. I heard that this gym had the sturdiest rooms around."

"Look, you really shouldn't be here. If Grant sees you-" The receptionist was cut off as he tried to find the right words for explaining that the breakdown from yesterday might start again if one of the challengers showed up.

"I can see how many people are battling for a front spot from here, and it's still morning. Grant will never know I was here if you just give me a place I can go."

For a moment, there was only silence. For a moment, it seemed like the receptionist might turn him away. When he got the directions he wanted, Benedict released the breath he'd been holding.

------------------------------------

Cyllage Gym - Sturdy Room

The arena seemed like the sort you'd find in the pokemon centers, where trainers often went to pit pokemon against each-other in cities. Those were nice, of course, but the gym's seemed so much more official. The walls were rock, as one might expect of Cyllage Gym's decor, Thick, uneven, obviously meant to look natural even if they weren't.

Essence, Jerath, Cal, Madeleine, and Francis were all waiting. Preparing, really. Mienfoo was meditating, Essence was using growth, and the other three were stretching their muscles. Getting ready for a fight.

"Cal. Set up a reflect." The pokemon would oblige as Benedict released Ricard. The team was protected, then, as the dragonite appeared.

Ricard took a moment to look around when he was released, uncertain at first where he was. It was a box. His eyes narrowed at the realization. He was in a box, because some human put him there. His eyes landed on the human in question. A human and his pokemon.

Ricard's wings began to move. "Start!" Benedict cried.  

[Marsuru]

Route 14 - Laverre Nature Trail

Youngsters Cedric and Toulouse made the long trek along Route 14. Even in the morning sun, the route looked dark. Its dead and dying trees laced their long, bony fingers above a narrow trail, blocking out all but the tiniest speckles of sunlight.The ground was wet and boggy, each step accompanied by mud sucking at their shoes while thorns and nettles grew like cobwebs, snaking along the trail. Toulouse shivered when a cold wind passed, and he looked back the way they came, but the road vanished into woodland's twists and turns. He saw nothing but trees and freezing darkness.

'Are you sure this is the right way?' he asked, doubling his step to keep in line with his brother.
'It's the right way,' Cedric said. 'Papa said we just have to keep following the trail.'
'I can hardly see the trail,' Toulouse said quietly, looking at his feet. The ground was overgrown, and the trail only distinguished by balding patches of dirt. 'I've had enough of this. I wanna go home.'

'Quit being a baby,' Cedric sighed.
'I'm not a baby! You've heard what people say about this place. They say it's haunted.'

Cedric snorted. 'You'll believe anything you hear.'
'Will not!'
A dark grin spread across Cedric's face, but Toulouse couldn't see it. 'Well, I suppose it can't hurt to tell you.'
'T-tell me what?'

Cedric stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Toulouse with wild, glaring eyes. He hissed lowly: 'There is one ghost, not far from here, actually. She was once a little girl who'd gone out picking berries in the forest, and she loved picking berries so much she soon lost track of time. Before she knew it, the sun had nearly set, so she hid inside an old log cabin. She was so scared as she sat in that cabin. So she started to sing an old lullaby her mother sang for her. She sang it long into the night, and long after they came.'

'T-they?' Toulouse whimpered, shaking in the chilly breeze and holding himself tight.

'Nobody knows what they were exactly, but they do know what they did. The next day, the little girl's parents combed the woods for her. They heard her song through the trees, singing over and over and over again. By the time they found her body, if you can call it a body, it was too late. They say she still sings to this day, luring people to her log cabin, only for them to meet the same grizzly fate.'

'B-bullshit,' Toulouse cried, 'you made that up.'
'You think so?' Cedric said, a smile spreading across his lips. 'Listen. Shh shhh...'

They stood like statues, barely taking a breath. Cedric's lips trembled, straining against his urge to laugh. He couldn't keep it up much longer.

But then something snapped, like a dry bone cracking in two.

'What was that?' Toulouse shrieked, covering his mouth with white, trembling hands.
'I-I don't--' Cedric started, but another snap, closer and from the opposite side of the trail, sounded again.

Then they heard it. The faint humming that sent hairs crawling up the back of their necks. The humming grew louder. Closer. It sounded like a song.

A strained peep escaped Toulouse's lips. 'Cedric...?'

The forest came alive all at once; tree branches cracking, thorns and weeds ripping out of the earth, closing in on them. Something ice cold and dead passed through Cedric and Toulouse, something just outside of their vision, poking between their heads. And it howled in their ears, frantic and louder than anything they'd heard before. Flame exploded overhead, transforming the mummified forest into a frenzied sway of light.

The boys screamed louder than they had ever done before. They screamed until their lungs ran out of air and their voices died in a strangled gasp. They screamed and they ran, as fast as they could, far and away, running until their legs burned and their hearts thundered in their chest.

As the boys' cries faded into the far distance, the laughter began. Hazard and Malis fell over themselves, giggling furiously. Malis rolled on his back, clutching his gut, and kicked his legs in the air, while Hazard banged her fist against a tree trunk and buried her face, willing it to stop.

They rolled over, quaking with renewed giggle fits, and made their way back to camp, fighting the grins that kept creeping onto their faces.

---

'You're back,' Zack said as the two pokémon emerged from the trees. 'Find anyone?'

Hazard and Malis glanced at each other then shrugged. Zack sighed, missing the smirks the pokémon shot at each other.

'Ah, god dammit. Guess people don't come through here after all.' He stood up from the fallen tree trunk he'd been using as a seat and brushed himself off. He fought a losing battle in trying to keep clean; he was still finding bundles of dirt from the horde battle earlier that morning, but a token effort was better than none. He took out Antiq's ball and looked for an open space big enough to call her. 'If they're not gonna come to us, I guess it's time we do a little sightseeing.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City – Pokémon Center

“Okay how’s this?”

Wearing a red summer dress that came down to her knees and cork sandals, Salieri spun around. Moze’s blue bandanna was resting on the bed, and her hair was down around her shoulders. Being without her Pokédex or gear or bandanna made her feel naked and unarmored.

Her Pokémon sat on the bed, a panel of judges. Dune gave Sal his equivalent of a thumbs up, eager to support her even though to him, a Pawniard, she was unattractive. In the corner of the room, Banksy sighed a puff of smoke, uncaring.
Biz folded his arms, puzzled. [It’s not very badass…]
[Not bad,] said Lupin, rubbing his chin. [I didn’t think you were capable of cleaning up.]

Sal looked down at herself, unsatisfied and distressed. She checked out her face in the mirror and took a long look at the scar next to her nose. In her opinion it looked bigger and uglier than ever, although nothing had changed. “This isn’t going to work. I should’ve trained for this....”

She clapped her hands together, cooking a eureka moment. “Cram session! Dune, stand up, you’re going to be Matheson. Don’t worry, it’s just a role play.”

Dune was very worried but stood up anyway. Salieri looked him over, shook her head, then picked him up under the arms and put him on top of the dresser so he stood as tall as Math. “Better. Okay, you’re going to be Math and we’re meeting up. Got it?”

He picked up a handtowel and stabbed his forehead blade through it so it draped down the back of his head. Sal assumed it was meant to imitate hair. “Okay. Here we go.”

She stepped back and pretended to stroll in, bouncing in her step like a cartoon character and holding out her hand for a handshake. “Hello, pleased to date you. ********, I’m starting over. Okay.” She stepped back, walked up to Dune, and curtsied. “Some morning, huh? What? Nevermind, starting over. Here we go.” She stepped back, walked up to Dune, and pointed finger guns at him with a wink. “Ready to do this? No, no, starting over.”

Biz Marquis cringed in embarrassment for her and Lupin buried his face in his hands. [Oh my god.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Beep boop. Vaporeon is in the farmer’s market.”

Salieri, halfway through a marginally more successful twenty fourth attempt, getting all the way up to the third sentence, but lost all focus when Ivan chimed. “Where is that?”
“Three blocks south in a parking lot.”
She checked her watch. “Bon dieu, I don’t have time for this.” Sal paced back and forth, hands on her hips. “Okay…you know what? I’ve got it. You guys are gonna catch Vaporeon!”

Her Pokémon all looked at each other, then looked back at her. [Seriously?] Biz asked, hoping she was.
“I’m totally serious, this is happening.” Salieri took her Pokébelt off the bed and latched it onto Dune like a bandolier. “Remember to Paralyze her and get her down to low health before you throw Pokéballs like crazy. Don’t let her near any drains or pipes, keep her away from water if you can. Dune, Ivan, you’re both in charge.”
“Okay,” Ivan chimed as his cradle was also strapped to Dune. “Question: Who has more authority?”
“Question denied. Biz, grab the corn starch. Dump it on her when you get a chance, it should slow down her melted mode.”

Biz shuffled off the get the corn starch sacks, disappointed that he wasn’t put in charge. Lupin snickered. [You kids have fun now.]
“What’s so funny, Lupin. You’re going too. All hands on deck for this one.”
[What!?] The Kecleon went more bug eyed than usual. [But-]

“Ready to go? Good, get a move on, she won’t be there all day!” Salieri practically shoved them out the door. “Good luck!” They turned to her for further instructions, but she closed the door. “Banksy, can you give me a ride to the end of town?”

The Torkoal nodded reluctantly and stood up. Sal looked into the mirror again. “Pull yourself together girl, you’re Salieri ******** Soledad. You show him you’re the best goddamn date under the sun.” She was amped now, ready to take on the world with this self pumped up high.

Excited, she punched the mirror, and it shattered. Banksy flinched and Sal jumped back with a squeak, covering her mouth. “Eep! Bad luck!”  

[Jump Einatz]

Gotengo, Five Years Ago

Light flooded out the windows into the night from inside the dilapidated building that housed Gotengo’s treehouse. Moze could hear music and cheer from half a block away. It was instinct that brought him to his old hangout instead of his home. Right now he felt the need to be surrounded by people. Not the strangers that walked the streets, the people that knew who he was. He needed to be reminded. He needed his sister, he needed Mia.

Banksy walked right behind him. She tried to give him a ride but he had refused, holding onto her neck for support. “I need my feet on the ground,” he had told her. The Torkoal didn’t understand until she saw how he looked at Lumiose City like he was on another planet. The way he held her tight reminded her of when he was just a child, and he had a bad dream. It broke her heart to see him this way. But she couldn't explain why it was this way either, for her memories were gone as well.

His clothes were in shreds, and before he drank two Potions he had been covered in scratches and bruises as well. There must have been a fight. Xavier and Prou were gone. Did they remember what happened? If they did they would have looked for him, unless they couldn’t because something happened to them…Where he once had memories, there were only fuzzy silhouettes like shadow puppets. A Sniper, a duel, a betrayal, and a Malamar wrapping its arms around his head, squeezing.

There was a party going on in the courtyard, teenagers drunkenly dancing. As Moze got closer to the treehouse, people stopped what they were doing and stared. “Is that Moze?” A few tried to come up to him and see why he was there, what was wrong, but he was unapproachable in his trance as he looked for Salieri and Mia. As he passed through like a ghost the party put itself on pause.

His search brought him inside and up the spiral staircase. Three sets of footsteps came tumbling down the stairs from the crow’s nest. The first one he saw was Rosario, his sister’s Lucario. Rosario came to a stop as Salieri and Mia stumbled after him. Salieri seemed too drunk to notice Moze’s stress right away, so she tackled him with a hug. “BRO!”

Moze braced himself on the stair’s guardrail, absentmindedly returning the hug. “Salieri…”

At first, Mia struggled to hide her pleasure at his surprise visit, but that little smile reversed as soon as she caught a good look of him. “Are you okay?” she asked, breaking her flat tone with concern.

Salieri stepped back and she too fell into unease, looking over Moze’s clothes. His blue bandanna around his neck was stained with blood. “Moze, what’s wrong? What happened?”

“I-I don’t…” Moze felt hot all of the sudden, and could feel the eyes of the partygoers down the stairs on his back, looking at him through the first floor’s ceiling. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he was too tired to hold them back. “I don’t know, Sal, I don’t know.”

He found himself crying completely, currying his face against Sal’s shoulder and heaving with every sob. Salieri pulled him in tightly. He felt Mia come up to his side and hug him too. “It’s okay, Moze,” Mia whispered. “It’s okay.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That’s all you remember?”

The Soledad Siblings, Mia, Banksy and Rosario were alone in Mia’s workshop, a shack on one of the higher branches with a big table, two computers and crates of electronic supplies. Moze sat at the table with a glass of water, nodding slowly and looking at the wall. “That’s all.”

“Rosario,” Sal said from her corner of the room, where she leaned against the wall with her arms folded and darkness in her eyes. “Go with Banksy back to the Badlands, sweep it over for Xavier and Prou.”

Her Lucario curtsied. “Of course,” she said, her English being much better than the last time Moze had seen her. Or at least the last time as far as he knew. Rosario put a hand on Moze’s shoulder. “I’ll comb the whole desert.”

Banksy wasn’t in the business of receiving orders from Salieri, even in this time period, but she accepted. Rosario jumped onto the Torkoal’s shell, and Banksy flew them out the window in a trail of smoke.

Salieri could no longer hold in her anger, and punched a hole through the wall next to her. “Those bastards,” Sal growled. “I’m gonna go ask if anyone’s seen them in the city. Will you be okay here?” Moze nodded. Sal stepped to the door, where Mia stood.

“You should stay with him,” she whispered to Sal. Moze could still hear their conversation.
“They could be in the city, I have to look-”
“He needs you right now-”
“THEY need me right now.”

Mia grabbed Sal’s arm, but she shrugged the weaker girl off and stormed out. “They won’t be in the city,” said Moze.
“Are you remembering something?” Mia asked, trying not to perk up with false hope.
“No, I just…feel like I’ve lost them for a long time.”

She sat down next to him in silence. She knew that sometimes it was better not to force a conversation. This was one of those times until Moze spoke up. “I should be looking too.”
“No, you need to rest.”
“I can’t sit here. I hate sitting here, I should be out there too. My little sister shouldn’t be the one taking care of me. I’m the one who’s supposed to be looking out for her, and Arnaud, and I was supposed to win the league...how am I going to save him now, Mia?” His voice cracked. “My family is counting on me, I’ve let them down and I can't even tell them why. Salieri shouldn't have to do this, she should have a good regular life like anyone else. I know that's what she wants. She isn't supposed to be that person out there, I am. Stupid, so stupid...I should be out there too...”

Mia waited a bit before she spoke again. “You’ve helped so many kids with so much, it’s okay to let them help you. We’re just glad you’re safe. Salieri loves you and I…” She looked away, cheeks pink. Mia shifted her hand, and slowly put her hand on his. It meant the world to him.

They sat in silence for a while longer. “I remember a name.”
Mia turned to him, adjusting her glasses. “Who?”

Just like his sister, his amber eyes shined with rage. “Nicolette Nostrad.”

Gotengo, Present

As Carter entered the courtyard, Moze kept his distance near the entrance unseen with Shepard Fairey behind him. The place looked about the same as he left it. There were two new shacks on the higher branches, a pulley system with a bucket, and a grill in the courtyard now. The moment Carter entered the door, Moze pointed at it.

The Whimsicott, with his face frozen in a soulless smile as usual, flicked his wrist and generated a Tailwind. The gale was adjusted to be short lived and explosively fast, propelling himself and Moze’s dash at Quick Attack speeds to the treehouse. Moze stopped at the doorway and flattened himself against it, peeking inside.

There were few people present, since most of them slept in late. He could count on one hand the number of teens sleeping off hangovers from the night before on beanbag chairs and couches. Carter was heading up the stairs, from where there was music playing. Moze could hear someone singing along to it in a soft, pained voice.

“~She’s walking so fast, she’s walking so fast,
She walks like a ba~be
Her image it lasts, and I know
She floats along as she goes, she owns their eyes as she
Flies right through the sound, moving her body all around.
Hey, hey mami, hey, hey, hey mami,
I know what you want, I know what you want, I know what you want~”

It was Mia. Moze wasn’t sure how many people on earth had heard her sing. Surely the number could also be counted on one hand. The only other time he’d ever heard it was when he had once come to her home unannounced and heard her in the shower. She was mad and embarrassed for a week. The sound was heaven to Moze’s ears.

He tiptoed up the stairs, following the unsuspicious Carter from a safe distance. On a curve he leapt up, grabbed a stray branch, and climbed the side of the tree towards Mia’s workshop. Moze made his way to the windowsill and pulled himself up.

Mia was inside, air rolling a spliff in only her t-shirt and underwear as she sang and swayed to the music like no one else existed. All Moze wanted to do was to knock on the window and talk. But the more he saw her, the more he was in Lumiose, the hard it was to leave. And on the path he was walking, he couldn’t take them with him.

Carter passed Mia’s workshop on the stairway and began to open the door. Before he could be seen, Moze lowered himself and hung onto the windowsill with his fingertips. “Morning Mia.”

The Youngster startled Mia, who instantly stopped singing, lost her cool and spun to the door. “Don’t come in, I’m naked,” she told him in a hurry.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Carter closed the door. Mia shook her head and lit her spliff, red faced. It was all Moze could do not to laugh. As much as he wanted to see her, Mia was not why he was here.

Shepard Fairey didn’t have that compunction, so he giggled with his bizarre two toned laugh. Mia spun to the window to see the noise, but Moze had grabbed the Fairy and dropped back down the staircase.

He continued up until he saw Carter inside one of the shacks taking the Potion bottle out of his bag. As Carter hesitantly tried to take off the cap, a stone faced Moze pointed to the bottle. Shepard Fairey snapped his fingers.

In the next second, Carter found himself inexplicably holding onto a clump of cotton instead of the bottle, which was now in Moze’s hand. Moze came up behind the Youngster and pressed his face against the wall in a submission hold. “Don’t. Scream. Understand?”

Terrified, Carter only nodded. “Is this Potion Extract, yes or no?” Moze’s voice was firm and quiet.
“Y-yes.”
“Where’d you get it?”
“F-from a man named Pascale in Rogue Plaza, behind Café Lysandre.”
“What does Pascale look like?”
By now Carter was a trembling wreck. “He has a moustache and a gold earring and he’s creepy. P-please don’t hurt me, that’s all I know.”
Moze felt shameful for having to do this, but if he was going to find a source this was the only way. Sorry again, kid. “Have you ever used Extract before?”
“No, no, I got it for me and a friend. I just want her to think I’m cool-“
“If I ever hear you or anyone else in this treehouse gets your hands on another bottle, I will come back for you. Do you get it?”
“Yes, yes, it’ll never happen! I promise, never!”
“Tell no one about this.”

Moze let go, and with Shepard Fairey’s Tailwind, blurred out of the room.  

[Spinne Biss]

Helena groaned as conciousness creeped in to her senses. Of all of the things that she could be aware of, pain was the first. She felt it in her joints and the base of her skull, her skin felt uncomfortable but mostly just gross and the groan caused her to be aware of her dry throat and chapped lips.

When her eyes opened, the light washed a new sense of pain over her.

"Here," came a voice she recognized immediately as Grant's. She looked at him through squinting eyes and took the bottle of water. She also noticed the second bed, sheets and blankets a mess.

"Tell me we didn't share a room," she said, her voice sounding more like a groan.

"We did. it's okay, I swear I didn't do anything besides notice that you snore. It's not like gross snoring though, it's cute and quiet." As he spoke Helena opened the bottle of water and, once she started drinking it, she didn't stop until the bottle had been drained. When she finished a feel of revitalization washed through her. The gross feeling faded and the pain dulled to a minor inconvenience.

"Good to know." Helena recalled a time that Zack had said the opposite about her snoring and frowned at Grant. "This is a hangover, isn't it?"

"It is. What do you remember from last night?"

Helena thought back, but only one scene came to her through the haze that was her first time alcohol consumption. "Bridgette."

***

"Taming powerful Pokemon can be a lot of work," Grant said as the five of them sat in a circle with the meteor shower backdropping them, the meteors gliding across the sky to the west.

"Yeah, I don't think my Pokemon are up to the task," Helena said.

"Why not?" Bridgette chimed in. "Team work can make you several times stronger. It sounds like you had almost none. If you just go in one at a time, of course you're going to lose."

"That was," Grant studied his Bridgette for a brief pause, "a lot more wisdom than I expected."

Bridgette huffed. "Listen, I'm a very good trainer! Helena, let me see your Tyranitar, I'll show you!"

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Helena said, the reluctance clear in her voice.

"Don't worry," Grant said, looking curious. "If anything goes wrong, I'll take it down. I do, after all, have four badges."

"Yeah! Pleeaaase?" Bridgette gave Helena her best pouty face and the teen sighed.

"Okay, just be careful, okay? He's learning pretty quickly how to fight all of my plans, or other people's plans. He honestly scares me."

"Yeah, yeah, gimme the monster," Bridgette, who was already on her feet and walking to a more open area of the route, said.

Helena released Tyrant to face Bridgette once she had gotten several dozen feet away. A Kabutops and a Drifblim stood behind her, but they only made motions to power up. Sword dance, calm mind, etc.

Tyrant charged, and Bridgette waited. She stood there, quietly waiting, even as the beast was upon her. Helena cringed, Grant reached for a Pokeball, and then a blinding light crashed into Tyrant.

As the light took shape it carried Tyrant upward and into the sky. The massive form of Wailord was present for only a split second before it was brought back into the pokeball, but it was enough to throw Tyrant backwards, sending him crashing more than a hundred feet away.

Helena watched, mouth agape, as Kabutops and Drifblim finished their preperations. Rock polish, sword dance, harden, calm mind, substitute, and finally - baton pass.

Tyrant had not even returned to his feet when Kabutops, armored to the teeth in stat boosts, was upon him.

The ancient pokemon's scythe blade severed the tendons of Tyrant's right leg in an instant, and the beast fell to a knee. The great maw of the beast moved to open when Kabutops drove a blade through the muzzle and pinned it closed as Tyrant's head fell to the ground - pinned by Kabutops arm.

"See?" Bridgette shouted, waving her arms for attention, "easy as pie!"

***

"And then what happened?" Grant asked.

"Then she showed us her badge and you told her it was fake and she took off saying something about getting her real badges back."

"And that's it?"

Helena nodded. "That's it."

"You want a shower?"

Helena looked from Grant to where he pointed and the realization that she wasn't in a pokemon center room began to dawn on her. The door was beautiful, spotless. The floors, the beds - this was a hotel and not just any hotel, it was one she'd never dream of affording.

"I'm pretty sure the water here has more value than everything I'll make during the league," Helena said, a touch of bewilderment in her voice.

"That's quite the statement if you're doing this to afford school."

"How do you know that?"

"You mentioned it. Do you want a shower?"

"Sure. I better live it up, I'm pretty sure I'm a washout." It was hard to hide how she felt about her current progress. She noticed Grant's expression - sympathy marked with disappointment. Zack would probably have anger in place of sympathy, but it was just how he showed that he cared.

"You're a logical trainer. I noticed that when we battled. The longer the battle went on, the harder you became to fight. A good trait to have if you can draw out battles, not so good if your Pokemon aren't up to bat. Ultimately you need balance. The more logical you are, the more intuitive your Pokemon need to be, and vice versa. The more intuitive you become, the less you have to rely on your Pokemon, and the more they can rely on you. Teach your Pokemon to battle with you, not just for you, and then the more you learn, the better you'll be, but if your Pokemon only ever battle for you, then you're never going to make it very far.

"Here's a tip, try getting to know your Pokemon more. You'd be surprised how much you can imprint on each other. Learn their natures, and they'll learn yours. If you spend all of your time training and not enjoying yourselves, it's gonna be a long road."

"Thanks," Helena said, nothing else coming to mind. She caught Grant's eyes, and saw the wisdom in them. She could picture his bond already, how they came up with the ear piece communication, how they practiced strategies, and how it was likely that they spent a lot of time together between leagues being friends. Helena felt a pang of jealousy as she got up and made her way toward the bathroom.

Helena closed the door behind her, dropped her bag, and was about to remove her new communication device when it pinged. Curious, she clicked the screen on to see several notifications under the social media app.

Even more curious now, Helena opened them up. If she'd been aware that trainers could find you by name, or that they made fun of bad trainers, she never would have. Instead, she found a long list of nasty messages. The first few caused her heart to sink, the next dozen forced her to sit on the toilet. Despite how bad she felt, she couldn't stop.

'Why do people this bad even become trainers?'

I'm not that bad.

'How do you have a Tyrantrum and still fail the gym battle?'

Hey, he's just not trained yet.

'I really ****ing hate it when gym leaders give away pity badges. Why does she even have one?'

Shut up.

'Yeah, she's not even that attractive.'

That doesn't have anything to do with training.

'I'd still *** her.'

Ew.

'Ha, yeah, I'd like to 'sponsor' her, if you know what I mean.'

Shut up!

'She'd probably be way better at it than training.'

Shut up!

Helena couldn't tell why the messages had gone down that path, but it only continued. She felt her face grow more read as she continued to scroll through them. By the end, she was crying, but she couldn't place when she'd started.

'Hey guys, check this out! Apparently she has an older brother. I'm gonna ask him why she sucks so badly, maybe it runs in the family.'

With that final message, Helena pulled the device from her wrist and flung it onto her bag, where it concaved into the material and rested - intact.

"I don't ******** care," Helena said. It was a few more minutes before she gathered the energy to climb into the shower.

Under the running water, Helena fell deep into thought. From the bullying messages, to her fight with Zack, to the creature Ratio, to last night, training Tyrant, conneting with her Pokemon - each thought and idea creating an urge to take longer than she had originally intended.

Washing, shaving, washing her hair, blow drying it, trying out various hairstyles before she settled on one long braid down the back, make up, brushing and flossing her teeth, trying on clothes - it was a full two hours before Grant knocked on the door.

"You're not dead, are you?"

Helena opened the door, looking him in the face. She was frowning, and he was blushing.

"Uhh, you look good," Grant said.

Helena didn't think so, not after all of those messages, but she'd dressed in her favorite clothes. Comfy flats not built for walking, black stockings, a black skirt that reached her knees trimmed red, a black short sleeve shirt that tied around the back, and a red camisole that covered any cleavage her shirt would offer.

"Thanks," Helena said, suddenly with an urge to get out of there. The shower had been introspective, and she'd built up her confidence to move forward. Her dreams were more important than bullies. As if on cue, her holocaster pinged and Helena opened the app and turned herself to 'invisible to everyone'.

"I gotta go. Thanks for the room." If Helena was going to connect with her Pokemon, she needed to meet their needs. Ecarlate was the easiest - she just needed to see Alice. If the girl took back the Scizor it would be terrible, but Helena could at least live with that. She didn't want to carry around a Pokemon that didn't want to travel with her.

The teen was two steps out the door, Grant in the doorway holding it open, when a memory flashed. He was asking if she'd call him later, and Helena looked at the boy.

A flash of softness, warmness, electricity, and tingling. "Oh my god," Helena's face turned a shade of deep red. "We kissed."

Helena had never witnessed anybody close a door that quickly in her life.  

[Marsuru]

((Ohohoho damn, Grant just slammed that door in her face. He ain't got time for feelings and s**t))

Route 13 - Lumiose Badlands

Sunlight shone over the Lumiose Badlands, AKA the Butthole of Kalos, as Antiq arced across the sky. There, Zack thought, noticing black dots struggling to traverse the arid plane, actual trainers. He signalled Antiq to dive, and the Aerodactyl went into a spin, ice cold wind biting Zack's flesh. They turned up at the last second, hitting the ground with an almighty boom. Antiq stood on her hind legs, wings spread wide, and screeched.

The majority of trainers ran in the opposite direction, frightened for their lives, but some actually ran closer. Stronger than the average scrubs. Zack jumped down and sized them up one at a time.

While some slack-jawed gawkers shot him ignorable questions, Zack set his sights on one trainer at the back, who watched Antiq impassively. They looked like some kind of noble based on their smart clothes and the stylish travelling robe strewn over their shoulder. Zack singled him out.

'Hey you,' he said. The other trainers turned around, some jumping when Antiq thrashed her tail unexpectedly. The noble trainer didn't even flinch. Good. Truly experienced trainers didn't get startled like that. 'I need a battle. Got time?'

The noble glanced around the expectant faces of the other trainers and closed his eyes, sighing. 'Yes, alright.'

He unbuckled the clasp on his robe and threw the lot to the nearest trainer, who nearly tripped trying to catch it, and stepped into battle distance from Zack. He let out the first hint of surprise when Zack recalled Antiq and took out another ball. Half the trainers in attendance let out moans of disappointment.

'How's two on two sound?'
'Like a short fight.'

Zack couldn't help but grin.

'The name's Zack Redgrave,' he said, getting into position.
'Luthar Bullion.'
'You a noble, Bullion?'
'No. Can we get on with this?'

Straight to business, then. The noble held out his ball and released his pokémon. A Gabite, who seemed every bit as silent and focused as its trainer.

Zack lobbed his ball, unleashing Malis. The Charmander hit the dirt with a skid and took in his surroundings. The air was clear, with little in the way of hills or declines for miles around. It was kind of like a landlocked beach, and nothing like Malis had seen before, yet he felt strangely at home. He growled at the retrained laughter of the onlooking trainers; the one holding Luthar's robes had to switch hands to put his fist to his mouth.

'That? Are you sure?' Luthar asked flatly. He was checking his pokédex to get an idea of Malis' level, in case Zack was trying any tricks with a high level, unevolved pokémon. He wasn't.

Zack smiled. Battling a disadvantage was just another part of his training. The point wasn't to throw Malis into a battle he couldn't win; it just had to seem like he couldn't. If he was smart enough, the Charmander would triumph. If you could win fights like these, you could win anything. 'Ball of fire in the air. Go!'

Just like yesterday, when Malis created a ball of flame to light Mia's joint, he span and released fire from his tail, which shot into the sky light a miniature sun. Only this time, as real sunlight filtered through, it seemed to magnify the light reaching the battle. And Malis' tail flame roared with new intensity, becoming almost as big as the Charmander himself.

Malis took a moment to stare at his Sunny Day in wonder, and Zack said nothing as Gabite rushed him. His team had to learn to think and move for themselves; if they got hit by simple attacks, it would be their own fault. Malis snapped his attention back to the battle at the last second, and reflexively avoided Gabite's vertical 'Dragon Claw.' The spectators performed a chorus of impressed 'Ooooh's at what they must've thought was an impossible dodge.

It split the dirt as Malis performed a backflip. As the Charmander righted himself, Luthar called for another 'Dragon Claw!' and this time Gabite slashed sideways. This was a good opening. Zack called for 'Fire Spin' and Malis opened his maw, blasting flame at Gabite, flame that the Charmander used to push himself out of range of the dragon's attack.

Malis skidded backwards as Gabite became trapped in a vortex; the fire spin circled around him like a corkscrew, licking at him for damage over time. It also impeded his movements, for when Gabite moved, the fire spin automatically followed, slowing him to a crawl. It transformed the surrounding sand into glass with each whirling pass.

Zack called for 'Dragon Rage.'

Malis opened his mouth again, this time unleashing a violet flame, which crashed into the immobile dragon type and sucked away his health. The onlookers were cheering at this upset, and Zack let himself smirk.

Luthar, meanwhile, kept his voice steady and commanded 'Sandstorm.'

Gabite swiped sideways with his claw, and the Sunny Day died in an instant. Great winds picked up, blowing sand across the battlefield. Great, thick sand. Fire Spin weakened without Sunny Day, its powerful blades of flame fast becoming pinpricks that did little to impede their captive.

As dark brown sand filled his view, Zack lost track of Gabite. Even wreathed in flame, the dragon had the ability to vanish in sand, and became a thin shadow. This was where his team's independance became vital; without Zack to shout warnings, they had to be able to function solo.

Malis was lost, spluttering in the new conditions, his tail flame reduced to a flicker. He felt his way through the sand, unable to see very far in any direction. He spotted a shadow and, without waiting for instruction, shot at it with Flamethrower. One of the onlookers let out a panicked cry and hit the deck to avoid the flame, and by the time he realised he had the wrong target, Malis was trapped.

Gabite zipped past, his scales singed and marked by fire. He scraped the floor with a claw, and it fell apart beneath Malis' feet, trapping him in a whirlpool of sand that lashed at his body. A Sand Tomb.

He's mocking me, Zack thought angrily. For Gabite didn't need Malis trapped to hit him with his next attack: 'Dragon Rush.'

Zack heard rather than saw what happened next. With a dull, sick crunch, Malis was blown out of the sandstorm cloud and bounced as he landed, his limbs folding under him awkwardly as he rolled to a dead stop.

As the spectating trainers cheered for Luthar's victory, Zack spotted him through a gap in the cloud looking anything but pleased. He seemed more concerned about brushing sand off his suit's sleeve than relishing victory. Zack recalled Malis and sent out his next pokémon without waiting for Luthar to be ready.

He threw the ball into the air over the cloud, where it released Lethal. The Clawitzer took a moment to key into his orientation, then fired an 'Ice Beam!' at the sandstorm.

The beam blew through it, and Zack knew from experience that the ground would get frozen into an icy block. Earth acted as a good conductor for ice type moves, Zack believed it had something to do with type weaknesses. Still, despite the sandstorm still raging above ground, everything below its sight would be a bitter wasteland. And if caught sufficiently off guard, that went for Gabite too.

Lethal span as he fell through the air, landed, and fired another 'Ice Beam' into the sandstorm, swiping sideways until he hit his target. The sand got cleaved apart as the beam blasted it, allowing Zack to see what was going on. Sure enough, Gabite was frozen to the floor, and now took a full Ice Beam to the chest, which took him out with ease.

With the last ounce of power coming from the beam attack, the ice freezing Gabite's legs cracked and the pokémon got thrown onto its back. Luthar flexed his jaw and recalled the pokémon, looking annoyed at what he probably saw as a low blow. He brought out his next pokémon, holding the ball in his palm and releasing it from there.

White light flashed, summoning his Umbreon. Zack grit his teeth, ready for round 2 to begin in earnest.

((Gotta cut it short guys, hope you can handle all these battle posts))  

[Jump Einatz]

((It was actually Gym Grant. Freaky Friday switch))

Cyllage City – River Bridge

Matheson, dressed in a white tuxedo, paced back and forth at the bridge connecting Cyllage City to Route 10. There was an Artist painting a picture on the side of the bridge, but otherwise he was alone. When he saw Banksy flying Salieri over he attempted to stand at ease. The closer Sal got, the more he saw that she was holding onto Banksy with a sloppy grip thanks to a pair of five inch heels.

White Jet hissed out clouds of smoke and Banksy landed. Salieri wobbled her way off of the tortoise. The only items she had on her person were her Pokégear, Banksy’s ball and a holster for her stun baton. The two of them straightened themselves out in the wake of the smoke. Sal raised a hand for a high five. “Yo what’s good, dude?” What am I DOING AAAHHH!!!!!!

Math flat out laughed and high fived her. “Haha uh, you know. The usual.” He cleared his throat and became more serious. “Uh, there’s something I have to tell you-“

“What’s with those cops?” Sal asked, pointing to a blockade of police officers forbidding access to Route 10’s Pillar Field. They were all systematically doing angular super sentai poses in front of a caution tape fence.
“I have no idea. I asked them what was up, they told me there was a crime scene being investigated and no one could pass. Not even nobles…they did it all in rhymes, so that was weird, but anyway-“
“Crime scene?” Sal gulped, wobbling on her high heels. “What kind?”
“Twelve car pile up. And icky Victreebel vomit. That is literally what they told me. I can’t see it from here.”
“Oh okay, good. Not that that’s good, I mean, good cause I thought you were talking about my battle with Faust. I got sniped yesterday right where you’re standing,” she explained in an almost nostalgic tone. “It was…well, it was terrible, I’ll be honest.”
Matheson took a step to his side. “That is kind of morbid. Anyway, Sal, I need to tell you-“

“Am I underdressed?” Sal asked, anxiously pinching the sides of her dress. “Why are you wearing that? Is this like a shrimp beach thing?”
“No, no I’m way overdressed. I didn’t know what we’d be doing so I thought I’d be prepared for anything. Kinda panicked.” Matheson was a blond white guy, making him look like a big popsicle to Sal. She thought she shouldn’t tell him that.
“You look like a popsicle, man,” she told him, barely maintaining her balance.
“…are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Sal insisted, and after almost tripping on nothing she reached out for Math’s outstretched hand for support.
“Have you, uh, ever worn high heels before?”
“Like twice. I hate them. I was just feeling really…short. And you’re really tall, so…this is so dumb.”

Math bent his knees self consciously to appear shorter. “Geez, what are we doing, Sal?”
“We are trying to have a date like actual adult people and clearly we are incapable of that.”
“Do you wanna call this off, change outfits and meet back here?”
“Yes! Ahem, I mean yes that sounds perfect.”
“Cool,” Matheson said as he ripped the tuxedo pants off his body. Turns out they were snap-on’s, hiding a bathing suit underneath. Before Sal could ask, Math explained, “Like I said, prepared for anything.”
“Weird. I’ll be back in twenty, okay?”

She popped off her heels, jumped back on Banksy, and flew back to the Pokémon Center.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Half an hour later, Sal flew back in the same outfit with her heels swapped out for sandals. Matheson simply wore jeans and a red t-shirt this time. The Artist was still painting his picture, and cops on Route 10 were still posing. As Banksy landed, he waved away the smoke and approached. “Okay, before we start, I really need to tell you-what the hell happened to your face?”

A huge deep red blotch stained one side of her cheek. “I, uh, got into a fight. Well like six fights, it’d take at least six fights for this to happen to me.”
“You got in six fights in half an hour?”
Sal nodded. A sweatdrop popped on her forehead. “Yep. You know me, always punching stuff and being violent and things.”

Math narrowed her eyes at the red, then peered closer. Sal tried to reel away, but he reached out and smudged the blotch on her face with a thumb. “…is this makeup?”
“…okay you got me.”
“Please elaborate.”
“I, errr….” Salieri cleared her throat and looked straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. “I didn’t want you to stare at my scar.”
Matheson was confused. “I’ve seen your scar literally every time I’ve seen you.”
“Yeah, I realize I didn’t think this through.”
“Like, I’ve known you to be exclusively without makeup.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s so hard not to stare right now.”
“Okay, Math, I get it.”
His voice became more tender. “You look great no matter what. I never cared about your scar.”
Sal folded her arms, trying not to smile at that comment. She barely buried it down. “Yeah, well, I do.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“…I know…”

They cleared their throats at the same time, so neither one knew if they should speak first until Sal said, “I’m gonna go take this off.”
“Sure, that’s cool.”
“I’ll, uh, need a mirror. This is really thick, actually.”
“It looks like it. Do you wanna call this off, clean up, meet me back here?”
“Yeah, I’ll be right back.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another half an hour later, Salieri arrived at the rendezvous spot. A text from Math told her he’d be right back, so she waited at the edge of the bridge next to the Artist. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

The Artist shrugged. He hated it when people phrased a question that way. “I guess?”
“What do you think of that blond guy that was here half an hour ago?”
“He’s okay?”
“Yeah…I didn’t think this would be so hard. I just thought I’d meet him and we’d go somewhere. I really don’t want this to suck.”
“Okay, I have to ask,” the Artist said as he stood, fed up, “This would now be the third first date you’re both going on in one day, right? I have never heard of that before. No one has heard of that before. So, honestly, do you really think you can work this out?”

Sal was dumbfounded by that question. The Artist sighed and flipped his painting around. It was a picture of Sal and Math’s two first dates, with a blank space in the corner, presumably for their third. “Finish it yourself, I’m out of here.”

He handed her the painting, took his easel and walked away, passing Matheson as the noble came back to the meeting spot. “Hey, Sal.”
She quickly flipped the painting around so he couldn’t see it, making sure the paint didn’t touch her dress so she’d have to change again. “It’s nothing, this painting is nothing-“
“There’s no easy way to tell you this, so I’m just gonna say it. I’m engaged.”

Sal nodded, reacting slowly to this breaking news. “That’s…hmmm….” She checked her Pokégear. “Well that’s now officially our shortest first date. Goodbye, Matheson.”

She stomped away, pissed off and red with embarrassment. Math chased after her. “Sal, wait, I didn’t finish.”
“You’ve said enough.”
“It’s arranged! It’s an arranged marriage! I didn’t arrange it!”

She stopped and spun, looking at him impatiently but saying nothing so he could have his piece. “My father’s arranged for me to get married to a noblewoman from another house to bring our families closer together. Everyone knows she and I don’t want to do it, but our father’s…it’s very hard to say no to family, when you’re a noble.”
Sal bit her bottom lip, trying to focus through this. “Who is she?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why? Afraid of what I’ll do to her, cause she’s a noble?”
“No, I’m afraid of what she’ll do to you. Well, what you’d do to each other. Maybe I’ll tell you later.”
“If there is a later.” Salieri shook her head, then flailed kicks at his shins. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this before, Math! That’s really important! Merde!”
He backed away from her tiny assault. “I’m sorry! It was really hard, and I like you! I had to ask you out, I didn't want to miss my chance!”

She stopped kicking. “Aren’t you gonna get in trouble? Am I getting into trouble?”
“Maybe? You’ll be fine. I don’t know about me, but I don’t care, I wanted to do this. I really want this date to actually happen.”
“Ugh! I can’t tell if that’s sweet or stupid! Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated?”

Sal put the painting down and rubbed the sides of her temples. “No, you know what? This date is still on, I’m not just some, some three-first-date-no-first-date floozy. I'll show that butthead that I'm mature and I can make adult decisions. ******** your wedding, let’s see where this goes, right now.”

Matheson couldn’t tell if she was forgiving him or if she was still angry. With Salieri it was hard to tell if her excitement and anger were ever truly separate. “You mean it? Okay, we’re going to have the best date under the sun, I will make up for-”
“Just shut up and tell me where we’re going.”

“I think you’ll like this.” He grinned and took the Magic Door Key out of his pocket, nodding to a nearby bathroom building with a locked door. “I’ll choose where we get lunch, you choose where we go after?”
“I have to admit, that’s a cool first date gimmick,” Sal relented, still sounding a little angry. “Did you do that with your fiancé too?”
“How long are you gonna throw that in my face, dude?”
“I'm not putting a time limit on it.” She picked up the painting and stepped towards the bathroom door. “After you.”

Matheson put the key into the lock and twisted the knob. Before he opened the door, he looked at the back of the canvas she held. “Is that a painting? What is it?”
“….uhhhh….”  

[Spinne Biss]

Route 14 - Laverre Nature Trail

Helena rested against a tree as her Pokemon warmed up for the day. They'd been informed of the journey to Anistar City. Ecarlate, who was usually rather stoic, seemed more energetic that morning. Or was it already noon? Helena hadn't thought to check the time.

Ecarlate was able to handle himself on the route. Agility increased his speed, and he was practiced in using it to move, never touching the ground as he battled opponents while moving from tree to tree.

Loki, Feather, and Metric had to work together though. Helena didn't want to push them too hard with such a long journey ahead, but she'd also relented that it was likely they wouldn't be winning any trainer battles without solely using Ecarlate.

Their battles weren't bad, Helena noticed. Grant's advice came back to her as she watched them battle. Loki and Feather were distractions for Deino's Dragon Rage, which dealt decent enough damage to make them victorious.

Salieri's voice message went unheard, even as Helena looked at it. "I cannot deal with that right now," she told herself. The stress of the last few days weighed on her, and her self esteem pretty much didn't exist. Even the first time she ever kissed a boy was a drunken haze.

I'm sure that'll come up later, too.

For now she had to compartmentalize. Get her Pokemon stronger, more in sync, make it to Anistar.

What troubled her most, despite how she tried to set her priorities, was Tyrant. The Pokemon was still a terrifying beast, but she watched him now, calmer. The wild Pokemon didn't stand a chance against him, and he wasn't even fighting them. They were food, picked up in those powerful jaws and crushed. The more he ate, the less agitated he felt.

Makes sense if he'd been sleeping for that long, the teen noted.

Tyrant looked at her now, even when he wasn't trying to eat her there was a fire in his eyes. Rage, a rumbled growl held in his throat. When he breathed, it emphasized the scar that the one armed Pangoro had given him.

Helena took his ball in one hand and rose to her feet. Tyrant eyed it and made no move against her. He's figured this out, too.

Helena made sure not to get too close, but she still approached the beast. He'd stopped feeding to look at her.

As if realizing the potential danger, her Pokemon appeared at her side, on by one. They were a team, standing against something they all knew they couldn't beat.

"I'm gonna take you down," Helena said, trying to sound as bold and confident as she could.

Tyrant's eyes moved from one member to another of her team. Then the monster chuckled, deep in his throat, but booming all the same to the teen's ears.

He snatched up a Skorupi and paid her no further attention as he turned away to continue hunting.

Helena's heart raced after that. It took her a minute longer before she said, "okay, back to training everyone." It wasn't a warm up anymore, they needed to be more serious. Uneasy about giving the Tyrantrum her back, she recalled him and turned to her team.

"We need to learn how to work together," she said. The four of them were her Pokemon, but the only one she really knew was Loki. "But we also need to get to know each other." Helena paused, having no idea where to start.

Oh god, I'm doomed.  

[Marsuru]

Route 13 - Lumiose Badlands

Oh great, I'm doomed.

Water Pulse collided with Umbreon and just bounced off, but that was to be expected. Not only had it raised its defences with Curse, it had piled on Sand Attacks until Lethal was nearly blind and started blowing holes in the Clawitzer's offensive power. Whenever Lethal did manage a solid hit, Umbreon used Moonlight to heal itself.

'Swords ******** was going nowhere. Zack hated these kinds of battles, especially when he couldn't just switch out. Umbreon was just standing there; too slow to dodge but that was cancelled out by Clawitzer being too blinded to hit. Each attack shot past while Umbreon glanced at them lazily, occasionally sidestepping or not even bothering to dodge a move it could easily heal. If Lethal had more explosive attacks, then he might have a chance, but since that wasn't the case...

Zack shot out the recall beam and brought Lethal back into his ball. Luthar didn't seem surprised, just disappointed that he'd wasted his time. The surrounding trainers booed that Zack was chickening out, but he didn't care. It wasn't the first time.

'It seems I've won,' Luthar said, as if remarking on the weather.

Zack didn't reply. Deep in his backpack, his trainer card's balance was plummeting from the defeat.

'Oh s**t, man. That was amazing!'
'Awesome battle.'
'Nice Umbreon, dude.'

The onlookers piled on their praise, crowding Luthar. The trainer didn't seem very comfortable being the centre of attention. Zack had seen this dance before; pretty soon their congratulations would turn to incessant battle offers. It was always the way with trainers. He saw the look on Luthar's face and sighed.

'Hey,' Zack said, 'good battle.'

The crowd parted and looked around, while Luthar registered Zack's open palm waiting for a handshake. He took it quietly, and Zack pulled him away from the other trainers before he let go.

'I'll see you around, but I'm kicking your a** next time,' Zack said, taking out Antiq's ball. Luthar nodded, and Zack thought he saw a smile before climbing on the Aerodactyl's back.

Still remembering the boos, Zack smirked when the flapping of Antiq's wings blasted sand at the onlookers, who all ducked and ran for cover. Then they were off, the onlookers' retaliatory swearing in the far distance, soaring the skies of Kalos once more as Zack formulated a plan.  

[Spinne Biss]

Between Route 14 and 16

Pokemon were not all children. In the majority of cases, trainers found young Pokemon that had wandered away or migrated from others. Deep in routes were the older, wiser Pokemon, that were smart enough to avoid the routes. In most cases, trainers were also smart enough to avoid these areas.

Even skilled trainers would face difficulty traversing the routes, akin to constant battle against other skilled trainers. It was rare that someone made it through to the other side, in most cases trainers had to retreat. For some, this was a thrill - an ultimate form of training. For others, it was an impossible task, even compared to facing gym leaders.

Helena wasn't aware of any of this.

It was a lesson that came swiftly as she moved into their territory. An endless sea of battles that she could not have predicted otherwise - at least not to this scale.

"Keep moving!" Helena called to her Pokemon.

The tree next to her exploded from the force of a Shadow Ball and Helena was forced sideways, stumbling until another tree caught her.

[Don't stop,] spoke Loki, blasting the Haunter from behind. He took up the rear with Metric.

The Deino nodded. Timid, terrified, not prepared for any of this. His Dragon Rages were running low, and they were significantly less effective against these tougher Pokemon.

Haunter cried and twisted around to face Loki, who had teleported to appear behind it. The second blast of Psybeam was no more effective than the first. Even super effective, it didn't make up for the difference in level.

The Dragon rage that blasted the Haunter was more effective.

[I said keep moving,] Loki said.

[But-]

[Move!] Shadow Ball exploded where Metric had once stood, the little dragon barely moving to avoid the direct hit. The blast launched him away and Loki turned to see a Gengar, flanked by several Haunter, emerge from the foliage.

Loki fired a psybeam behind him to launch himself to Metric, who was barely able to pull himself to his feet.

Gengar, anticipating the move, launched another Shadow Ball. It exploded where the two had been - dissipating the flash of light that was teleport.

Caught back up with the others, Loki maintained his teleport movements, stopping every few seconds until Metric said, [I can run.]

[Are you sure?]

Metric nodded, unsure but not wanting to slow the other Pokemon down.

Ahead of all of them, Tyrant carved the path. It wasn't by Helena's choice, but by manipulation. After their first encounter, which had taken all hands on deck to blow through, she'd decided to instigate Tyrant's rage by throwing him into a horde of Klefki. Now he charged, assailing his attackers, but even he was beginning to slow down from the constant barrage.

Feather tailed behind, Fairy Wind and Razor Leaf building up the defense from their sides. It wasn't enough to take anyone out, but it helped keep them safe. Ecarlate was carving the path through obstacles, claws cutting through branches and roots as the forest came alive by the chants of a Trevenant and several Pahntumps

As Loki finally caught up to the rest with Metric, narrowly avoiding being dragged back into further battles, it was to the sight of Tyrant soaring back towards them.

He crash landed in the circle of Helena and her Pokemon as they moved to dodge.

The swarm of Pokemon that had chipped away at their stamina made to attack. An action that would have been fatal if not for Tyrant's Roar. Hesitation born of fear caused the younger, less evolved Pokemon to flee, but the olders ones stood their ground.

At the end of their path, as the forest ended and Route 16 fell into sight, was Goodra.

From their sides, and from behind them, stood other powerful Pokemon. Some alphas - taking over Pokemon in an area with forms that were impossible in the wild. Gengar, Trevenant, Victreebel, Honchkrow, Escavalier, Accelgor, all stood around them.

Ammongus, Floatzel, Drapion, Quagsire - all fully evolved Pokemon, were among the crowd in abundance.

Helena looked at Tyrant. She wasn't sure why the thought came to her head, but there it was. What would this ancient predator do, surrounded by so many foes? She knew that answer, because it was what she would fear him doing if they were fighting.

"Loki, take me up!" Helena shouted, quickly making an effort to recall her other Pokemon. The sight below them, as they appeared in the sky, was of the trees falling around them, as the ground broke open and quaked with Earthquake.

Intuition. That word came back to her. It wasn't natural, but it felt obvious when she thought about it. The Pokemon she had most analyzed, the one that had most learned from her and she had most learned from was Tyrant. The thought made her uncomfortable, but it also gave her an idea.

Honchkrow shot after them and Helena released Ecarlate. The Scizor met the bird in the air as Helena thought of brutality.

"Grab its wings!" The Scizor complied, snapping his claws around the Honchkrows wings and eliminating its flight. Even as the beak of the Pokemon stabbed into his gut, they fell. More versatile with his body, Scizor brought his feet into the Honchkrows chest, and pulled on the wings. It wasn't enough to remove them, but it was enough to snap them. When they crashed, and Scizor extended his legs as he released the wings to jump away - quickly caught by the light of his pokeball, it was with one less aerial threat.

Helena could better survey the battlefield this way. Tyrant was ripping Trevenant from the ground, pulling the roots of ingrain with it, as the forest tried to pull him backwards. Victreebel added to this, with a vine around Tyrant's throat. Neither of them could match the beasts strength as he ripped Trevenant's face off with his powerful jaws.

Then he let himself be pulled back, kicking backwards into the motion and crashing into Victreebel, who let out a scream at the sudden assault.

Escavalier and Accelgor charged Tyrant, to prevent his assault and Helena felt herself torn between jumping in, and helping out, or just escaping.

The other Pokemon were also moving forwards now, likely with the realization that attacking one at a time would only force them into the same fate at Trevenant.

Tyrant didn't even flinch as the first two Pokemon struck him, instead he finished ripping Victreebel in half, and slinging the poison filled Pokemon across them, the acid that could dissolve entire Pokemon, slinging across them. Escavalier didn't flinch, but Accelgor cried out in retreat.

Then Gengar and Goodra were upon him.

Get to know them. Be their friend.

Helena was giving the order before she even completely realized why.

Loki appeared before the two beasts, Metric and Ecarlate emerging first.

Dragon Rage blasted Gengar as Ecarlate moved to grapple with Goodra, dodging his powerful fist and slamming a Metal Claw into the extended joint. It didn't break, but the damage was visible in Goodra's face.

Feather emerged next as Honchkrow charged at them, wings mutiliated beyond repair.

Helena was only concerned about one thing before starting this next phase of their battle. She looked back at Tyrant, whose foot crushed Accelgor as he faced down Escavalier.

Tyrant caught her eye. Helena nodded, hoping he'd understand the gesture, or at least her intention. Tyrant looked away from her and snapped at Escavalier who had attempted to make good on the opening. The maw caught the tip of one of his lance arms, and he drove the other into Tyrant's shoulder to try and free himself.

Turning back to the battle, Helena could see it was a losing effort without some direction.

Gengar and Goodra were their strongest opponents by far.

Feather could handle Honchkrow in its crippled state, but she couldn't deal enough damage to take him down.

Ecarlate, Metric and Loki struggled against the remaining two, but it was still a losing effort.

"Loki, they can hit each other!" Helena shouted as Loki barely avoided a Shadow Ball. Gengar looked at her, recognizing her as a trainer, and her plan, and shot a look to Goodra.

But Loki hadn't picked him. Earthquake had cut down many of the trees in the way of Shadow Balls trajectory, letting Loki grab him, get a sight on it, and teleport them in front of it.

The blast exploded in the opponents face.

Back on the battlefield, Goodra slammed Metric to the floor, as Honchkrow proved more resourceful than previously anticipated, taking down Feather with an Aerial Ace.

Helena felt the line push back to Scizor. After that, it was just her between the two and Tyrant.

Tyrant, Helena realized with a sudden rush of fear, whom she had turned her back on. She turned back to see him jump and she flinched, arms raising only for the Tyrantrum to fly over her and crash into Goodra.

The two wrestled and Scizor moved away from that battle, turning to the injured Honchkrow as he stood over Feather's unconscious form.

It didn't take much to bring these battles to conclusion. Crippled, Honchkrow was too vulnerable to take on Ecarlate, speed boosted bu Agility.

Goodra, while putting up the good fight, also couldn't stand up to Tyrant's massive jaws around its adorable head.

As the conflicts ended, their attention turned to Loki's battle.

Masked by the explosion of another Shadow Ball, it slowly cleared to reveal Gengar, Loki at his feet. The Gengar looked smugly back at them - until he realized he was alone.

Tyrant turned to face Gengar, who disappred under the earth.

Helena took the moment to recall her fainted Pokemon, and then turned to Tyrant.

Slowly, he turned to look at her. They were mere feet apart.

"Friends?" Tyrant roared, blowing her hair back, and getting saliva all of her face. She recalled him immediately.

"Not friends. Okay."

Helena looked to Ecarlate. "We should go before they realize how vulnerable we are." Ecarlate nodded, and the two dashed for Route 16.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

The very first move was fake-out. Madeleine moved faster than anyone else, and to the weaker pokemon it seemed like she was there instantly, striking at the Dragonite before he could respond. It was akin to a fly charging a window expecting it to budge.

Dragonite's inner focus surged, and rather than flinch his fist moved down in a fire punch. Francis was there a moment later, striking at the dragon pokemon's arm to redirect it with quick attack. He wasn't strong, not strong enough to phase the opponent really, but the first was redirected, and struck just past Madeleine, who had barely had time to register that anything was happening.

A psywave struck out as Ricard followed through, and Madeleine was backing off. He glanced in the direction that the pain came from, pain that ignored his defenses even if it didn't do much, and he saw Cal. The dragon pokemon bared his teeth...

And then he was gone in an extreme speed.

Inkay would become the first casualty of the battle as the dragonite smashed into her. It was faster than she could react. Faster than any of her team could reach her, even with Francis' quick attack.

But the flying pokemon did reach him a moment later, and struck him in the face. This time, with his stance damaged, the dragon pokemon stumbled for a moment, and set his eyes on the bird.

"Paralysis leaf!" The human cried, and the inkay vanished in a burst of light. The magical leaves scattered into the air, coated heavily in stun spores.

Just before he could start moving, the leaves struck from all sides. He would be affected by the spore, then. He hadn't expected that. It had seemed like a normal magical leaf skill, although it hit much harder than it should have if that were the case.

Ricard's attention immediately went to this threat. The leaves had hurt, even without the paralysis added in. Extreme speed went through, and he was rushing towards her...

Until a mirror-moving Pidgeotto struck one of his wings and offset him, sending him flying into the wall. The bird was faster now, thanks to the paralysis. Ricard looked up at the opponents. The fighting type hadn't even gotten close to him a second time. The bird was playing annoyingly, striking him and stopping his attempts to hit any other opponent. The flower hurt, but he couldn't take her down without dealing with the bird first...

With a shout of defiance, Ricard launched himself into the air at the pidgeotto, which allowed him to narrowly avoid the giga drain the flower sent out. "Knock it down!"

Something struck him from behind, then. A smack down struck him, and he realized his mistake. There were four things there, one of them was a big stone thing that was making trouble.

The dragonite hit the ground hard, and activated roost. A moment's respite from the first barrage that came through.

"He can't be down that easily. We barely hit him." Benedict called, and gestured to the dragonite.

Several moves went out, then. Magical leaf shot out, along with a gust. Jerath charged to use horn attack, and Madeleine was rushing in to pound...

And when Ricard stood up, twister exploded outwards. The magical leaf fought its way through, and struck with reduced power. The gust tore a small safe space that kept Francis from taking too much damage, though it was barely enough to keep him afloat. Jerath was tossed aside, and pushed into a wall. Madeleine had used detect, just in time to save herself. She moved with the air currents, minimizing the damage until she was left standing on her feet when the attack ended.

Jerath was returned, vanishing in light.

"Damn..." Benedict whispered, and glanced to Essence. She had torn her way through the twister with rotating magical leaves to keep her standing. Her special attack was enough to compete with the dragon type for now, but...

"Tear it up!" The youth called to Francis, who immediately began his own twister attack. Dragonite wasn't completely dull, and charged the bird with extreme speed....

Only for his muscles to lock up before he could reach her. The twister would throw him into the ground once more.

"Giga!" Gigadrain would shoot out, towards where the dragon-type fell. It would strike, the full force of the grass-type's power behind it.

"Smack him!" Double slap would go through once the dragonite landed, and the mienfoo would strike his face with her meditate-enhanced strength. Four slaps went out before Dragonite's eyes shot open.

The thunder punch was too slow, and Madeleine flowed around it, then struck the dragonite in the face with a pound. The dragon-type's tail would catch her, then, in a wrap. He'd push himself up, as Pidgeotto started coming down with a quick attack.

"Back off! It's a trap!" Benedict shouted, just in time. The quick-attack allowed Francis to dodge, as slam came down with Madeleine, and instead of driving both into the ground, only she went.

Ricard prepared to roost once more, and once more his muscles locked up, rather than allowing him to rest.

"Leech-leaf!" The leech seeds went out then on the magical leaves. The paralyzed pokemon had no choice but to let them hit, and his eyes went to the grass-type. Extreme-speed activated, and he was moving.

Francis came down with his own extreme speed via mirror move, but the dragon move quickly, avoiding the strike...

And he came down on the grass type with a fire punch, just after a giga drain struck him in the chest.

The dragonite roared triumphantly, and turned his attention to Francis.

The bird was on his last legs...

Sure, the dragonite was on a timer, thanks to the seeding, but that wasn't really important now. He just had to put down one more, and then make this human let him out.

"Keep ahead of him." The human called to his pokemon.

It wouldn't help. Dragonite activated agility...

And his speed was once again enough to keep up. Extreme speed activated, and he was moving at the bird.

Mirror move activated, and rather than run, the Pidgeotto charged.

They were on a collision course, like a game of chicken. Dragonite was confident. He would win something like this against a pokemon so weak.

When Francis passed under him instead, moving just enough that he barely missed, The dragonite was caught with surprise. His muscles locked up, and he smashed into the ceiling.

Suddenly he was falling. "Twister!" was used, as he came down, the dragon-type move more effective for him being in the air. That, and it being super effective. Ricard started to push himself up, eyes searching for the bird. Francis stared back, not far away.

He wasn't going to lose to some bird.

He was stronger than that.

Leech seed drained the last of his strength away, and Ricard collapsed.

"Well. That did it." Benedict said and sat down on the ground hard. "He's too strong for me. I can't really control him right now, and I still don't know enough about what he can do."

[Yeah. Let's not fight him again.]

"He probably wont' listen even if we beat him up again, huh?"

[Right, so let's not]

"I'll have to have a talk with him later. When, ah... You guys don't get fainted easily. Also, maybe release him into the spore next time?"

[Whoa whoa, next time? We shouldn't fight him again.]

"Yeah, that's a plan. Hey, thanks a bunch for the help Francis. You're probably tired, right? Here." He would return the pidgeotto then, just as the pokemon started to protest again.

"Let's get you guys healed up."  

[Marsuru]

Kalos - Graveyard, Who Knows Where

Lord Nostrad's machines ripped the earth apart. He stood over the pit, still as a gargoyle, sprays of dirt not daring to reach him. The coffin revealed itself like a fossil in excavation, first at the worm-bitten edges, then at its simple blank front. It hadn't been decorated. It could easily have contained work tools as a human body.

The coffin had taken a while to locate, and Nostrad already knew what he would find. But he had to be sure.

'Open it.'

One of the digsite workers broke from the group of scientists surrounding the grave, and jumped into the pit. He worked at unbolting the locks on the coffin edge, taking each key in turn, working the mechanisms with heavy clacks. Then he prised a crowbar between the sealed wood lips, hammering it down. The wood split, but the seal broke. When the lid cracked open, it unloaded a scent like melted rubber that made the worker gag.

'My lord, it's...' he coughed, covering his mouth. 'It's him.'

He stepped aside and Nostrad saw a body. But not the body. Very similar, yes; its features were marked by Jean, but not by time. It could've been a waxwork doll, an exact double, but it most certainly wasn't Ratio's corpse.

'I think I see something,' the worker shouted out of the pit. He touched his palm to the body's face and turned it to the side. 'There are cracks along the back of the skull, as if something has oozed out. It looks pink?'

The worker pulled his hand away and jumped. Ratio's face lifted away from its skull, glued to his palm, connected to bone by thin tendrils of bubblegum pink flesh.

'He did it,' Nostrad said to himself quietly. He had seen Ratio's dead body buried with his own eyes. Today he had expected an empty coffin, but this was worse. He'd been tricked.  

[Marsuru]

((For the record, Zack would totally approve of Benedict's 'beat it until it's broken' method of taming a pokémon))

Route 13 - Lumiose Badlands

Malis lay on his back, dazed, confused, and utterly, undeniably pissed off. The sun swam as if underwater, booms and quakes rocketing around the fire type's head as he saw the occasional teammate jump over him, engaged in battle. Fatique plagued his bones from a morning spent challenging trainers so far beyond him, he may as well have beat his head against a wall for all the good it did. His early wins on Route 4 hadn't prepared him for a succession of crushing defeats.

Gritting his teeth, Malis shook his head and rolled onto his feet, roaring back into the fray.

Zack had taught Lethal to use Aura Sphere, concentrating the Clawitzer's inner energy into a ball that would forever track its target, yadda yadda. All Malis cared about was the underground cave an Aura Sphere had exposed, which now leaked a torrent of subterranean dickwads that he and the rest of the team were charged with containing.

A cloud of Golbat rushed the Charmander, who had reached his limit. Blaze made his tailflame blow up, and he unleashed hot fury, dragging it across their bodies. But the Golbat were stronger than Malis, and they broke through the flame, charred and angry. He sighed.

As they swooped in to attack, Malis dove into the ground, spinning like a drill. He used Dig to avoid the assault, slipping into the earth as the Golbats' shrieking fangs chattered overhead.

'No no, it's more like a wave than a blast,' Zack said, some distance from the battle. He went through his notebook, trying to explain Heal Pulse to Lethal. The Clawitzer nodded eagerly whenever his trainer spoke, but struggled to keep up with the explanations. Serene sat on a nearby boulder, kicking her legs quietly and watching the carnage with vague interest. 'It's positive energy, you know? Look, says here your mental focus is key, so that means you maintain an image of your target in a healed state and, uh, shoot them.

'There,' he said, pointing. 'Try Malis.'

The Charmander launched himself out of the earth, bitten and bleeding from an unexpected underground assault. His arm still played host to a Trapinch, which he ripped off and lobbed into the dirt. Just as the fire type took a breather, Lethal shot him between the eyes and blew him off his feet.

'Hm, not quite,' Zack rubbed his chin. 'Try doing it softly. Use less force.'

Malis sat up and growled, rubbing his head, fighting the sudden urge to lose his s**t. As loathe he was to admit it, the Heal Pulse had done its job and given him some strength back. The Golbat swarm were turning for another pass, and he knew a second Dig would be pushing his luck with all the Trapinch swarming below. Malis looked around for an edge, something he could use to even the odds.

Not far away, Fatass lay atop a blanket of Dugtrio, who battered his underside with a constant assault of pulverising heads. The Snorlax seemed to think it was a massage because he'd fallen asleep, snoring loudly. Whatever. He'll do. Somewhere along the way, Malis had naturally figured out how to use his next attack. It made as much sense to him as any other move, like a lightbulb going off. All he had to do was survive long enough to use it.

He sprinted to the Snorlax as the Golbats dived at him, blasting Confuse Rays and Screeches in his direction. The rays blew apart the floor, barely missing him, purple beams ripping the air beside his head. The Screeches sent shivers all the way to his tail, turning him fragile, but despite staggering once or twice, the Charmander's legs were a blur. Malis jumped, bounced on Fatass' belly and launched himself skyward. The Golbat cloud arced upwards to meet him, intent on surrounding the fire type mid air and gorging on his blood. They nipped and clawed, and Malis tucked his limbs in. He summoned a flame, his inner fire, which ignited his skin as he threw his arms and legs outwards. The flame burst like a bomb, engulfing his attackers in a white-orange blaze.

Malis span acrobatically as he fell, but fumbled the landing, slipping onto his side with a hard crack. Black bats rained from the sky, thudding onto the dirt around him. The earlier Flamethrower hadn't been enough, but it had weakened them for his Flame Burst, which took advantage of their close proximity to incinerate them simultaneously. Pain shot up his leg, and he lay on his back once more. But instead of enraged, he felt elated, riding high on the thrill of battle. It didn't last long, not in the face of a sudden, bloodthirsty screech.

A lone Golbat had survived, eyes pinpricks and teeth shining, fur black and smoking. It tore at him faster than Malis could respond. The fire type tried to twist onto his belly to aim a Flamethrower, but the pain in his leg made him lurch and the Flamethrower went wide. Weakened as he was, Malis wouldn't survive the Golbat's ravenous assault, and he braced for the worst. A crack sounded through the air, and Golbat was struck down, hitting the dirt and grinding to a dead stop a foot away from Malis.

The pokémon sat up, looking around frantically. Zack apparently hadn't noticed, still trying to teach Lethal to be less lethal, pelting the snoring Fatass with Heal Pulses of varying intensities. Serene sat on her boulder, still kicking her legs and looking miserable. Hazard was a short way away, cackling, and had apparently used Lethal's lessons in Aura Sphere to concoct an Energy Ball attack, which she used to blow apart wild Graveller the moment they poked out of the cave. Malis looked for the Aerodactyl, and didn't see it anywhere.

But Antiq appeared a few seconds later, bursting out of the cave mouth, and ripping an even larger hole in the ground. Of course, Zack had sent her inside at the start of the fight, and judging from the red smears on her scales and the trickle of terrified cave-dwellers who were immediately picked off by Hazard, the fight was over.

[What the ********?] Malis said under his breath, looking around a few more times for his saviour. He climbed to his feet, and almost lost balance on his weaker leg. He saw Zack point him out to Lethal, who looked determined to get it right this time, frothing a little with his cannon. Malis hunched up, but Lethal didn't get a chance to fire.

Instead, Serene had stepped off her rock and waved her hand at him, releasing a perfect Heal Pulse. It washed over his body in warming waves, and he felt his injuries mending at once, skin tingling as cuts and scratches knitted together. His leg buzzed and felt refreshed. When the pulse ended, it left the Charmander feeling cool and complete. Malis shot Serene a thankful grin, but it fell from his face. She was already back on her rock, staring at the floor. Hazard floated over, her gases flowing unevenly from where she'd taken excessive damage, but she winked at Malis all the same.

'See, that's how you do it,' Zack said to Lethal, who went a deeper shade of blue. 'Serene, you're gonna coach Lethal until he gets it right.'

Serene nodded. Malis frowned.

'I get you're all tired,' Zack began, 'well, except for that fat ******** over there. But we're not done just yet. If things are too easy now, you won't be able to handle it when it gets tough later. And believe me, things will get tough. The next lot of training might seem unfair but suck it up, and have the sense to not be born a pokémon in future.'