Like No One Ever Was (Pokemon SI)

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yes?"

"No."

"Nemona!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"How so?"

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

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

Spoiler: A/N:

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

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

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

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Thank you," I told her.

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Sure, what's the problem?"

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lacey laughed, I laughed, the wall laughed.

…

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

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

"Gotcha."

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

Spoiler: A/N:

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

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Vantula!" She snapped back.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"11376120," He rattled off after a moment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"How'd you know?"

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

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

***

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

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

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

"Nemona. And you are?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Behavioral patterns:

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Umm, do you know a Vance Hawthorne?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

"So this is what you meant,

When you said that you were spent,

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

Right to the top,

Don't look back.

Packing my bags and giving the academy a raincheck,

I don't ever want to let you down,

I don't ever want to leave this town,

Cause afterall,

The city never sleeps at night!

It's time to begin,

Isn't it?

I get a little bit bigger,

But then I'll admit,

I'm just the same as who I was,

Oh don't you understand?

I'm never changing who I am."

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Tork!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Thank y-" I began before Atticus continued.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What is it?" He hissed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spoiler: A/N:

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

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

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

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

POV - Phantasm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"It's my turn, next."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[~'Now,

Let worry fall away,

No fear allowed to stay.

My wish is now your dream and my hope neverending,

When clouds build up inside,

My song can clear the sky,

You know that I'm invincible

And everything is alright!'

'My voice carries birds in flight!

With every note they go higher and higher!

'See how I move with such grace,

Just like a dancer on the stage.

Your voice carries life within,

Calls me to action again and again.

If you're hurt and you need me,

I'll always be there and protect you,

I swear, I'll always protect you.'

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

You and I,

Unstoppable, when we're together,

We can have it all,

A fire burns within our hearts!'

'Now, let us go hand in hand,

To a light that lies ahead,

All of our hopes and dreams,

Can bring happiness when we're in sync

I've always felt this warmth from you,

No one gives affection like you do,

You make me invincible,

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

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

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

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

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

Spoiler: A/N:

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

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

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

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

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

Atticus Rhodes POV

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Of course Champion. I was just trainin-"

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

***

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

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

Cassandra had pale skin, but not nearly so pale as our Champion's was. Cass (as she was called by only her friends, so never) wore navy blue 'League Club' uniform, but had a black pleather jacket on top of the shirt. Combined with her new, bright neon blue dyed hair, she probably thinks she looks 'cool'. In reality, she's just the same poser she's always been - real power is felt by one's mere presence.

Ares, the buff boy a year my senior, sneered at me as I entered. His naturally red hair was done up in a mohawk, and he wore a punk shirt with some rude catch phrases on it. The ripped jeans and sunglasses he constantly wore helped sell the 'rebel' look I knew he had spent a surprising amount of Pokedollars on. Ironic, for someone who comes from one of the top 500 wealthiest Unovan families.

Charlotte Linlin was eating noisily at the table, barely paying attention as I entered. The girl's tan had faded slightly in her time away from Alola, but it was still visible. Her choice of dress was Blueberry tank top with a sheer, flower patterned overshirt, and a shockingly short skirt I did my best to steer my gaze away from. For all her… wildness, Charlotte is a powerful Trainer. I can't underestimate her.

Finally, there was Elsa 'Es' Death. She sat at the head of the table with a commanding presence. Her uniform was a paler white than usual, the top and long skirt going together almost like a dress. She had a short, dark blue jacket over top to cover her shoulders. Her icy white hair was done in a half-Kalos braid.

"Atticus, you're late," she reprimanded me.

"It was rather last minute this meeting you called, I was out in the field, running my sector." I replied, to take the bite out of any of the jeering glances or smirks directed at me from the rest of the Elites. Yeah, that's right, I know that none of you take anywhere near as much effort as I do to keep your biomes running smoothly. Charlotte barely even keeps up her arena!

Sitting down, I was about to ask why we were here until I was cut off.

"Can you stop eating like that? It's disgusting." Cassandra said waspishly, only for Charlotte to flip her middle finger up at her.

"The whole point of being in this club is getting to do what we want, so I'm gonna eat," the other girl said with a full mouth as she chewed on her sandwich.

"Enough." Elsa's icy tone brought the other two to a halt. "Yes, as an Elite Four you are granted certain privileges, so you can eat in this club room, but not while I'm calling a meeting. Put it away." The Champion ordered the highest ranking Elite Four. Charlotte gave her superior a baleful look before defiantly shoving the rest of it down her gullet in two massive bites. How Charlotte keeps her figure, I have no idea.

Elsa gave her a disgusted look, but since the pink-haired glutton brought out no more food, she clearly considered the matter settled. "I've called you all here to talk about a threat to our club." Her Rotom Phone floated up, presenting the Trainer ID/record page of Nemona Glitterati, the young girl smiling in her account picture.

Ares snorted. "That pipsqueak? She doesn't look like much."

Cassandra agreed. "She's so tacky, look at all those randomly colored Pokeballs on her belt." You idiot. Do you have any idea how much those things cost? Most of those are hand-crafted by masters - I've never even seen a Dream Ball in real life before meeting her. Clearly, they're a sign of someone who has so much money at their disposal that they can afford to buy random luxuries since all of even the most expensive pieces of training gear and battle items are at her disposal.

My thoughts were something Ares had no problem stating aloud. "Those 'tacky' Pokeballs cost far more than those cheap-ass luxury Balls you hand out to your Pokemon. A shame, but then again, you focus too much on shiny Pokemon, and not on real strength." His eyes were hidden by his aviator sunglasses, but the mocking tone was clear.

Before those two could devolve into another bicker-fest that derailed things further, I interjected. "Nemona's the strongest Champion of her region; I think regardless of our opinions of how she accessorizes, she's strong." I pointed out, and while Cassandra frowned, thinking it over, Ares just laughed.

"If she's so strong then why hasn't she challenged us?" His words were meant less for me and more for Elsa.

"Not challenging us is the point," the white haired teen replied. "She has students going to her for help on battle strategies, to her for training tips, to her for what they need." Elsa's control slipped a fraction, and I noted how my breath was making small puffs in the air from how cold it was. "If she was just a part of the club, then even if she was the strongest," the disdain in her tone made it clear how unlikely Elsa thought that was. "It would hardly be a threat to the club as a whole."

"We should make a lesson of her," Cassandra noted eagerly.

"You'd like that wouldn't you? No way you can lose your spot if this brat doesn't join us," Ares chortled and the blue-haired girl looked on the verge of snarling back. As much as he's a brute, Ares has some level of cunning when he needs it, and he's not wrong here. Cassandra is the weakest of us and if Nemona were to join, then she would almost certainly defeat her… though he misses how she would almost certainly crush Ares as well, making the boy's own position as tenuous as her own is now.

I didn't bring that up, as it would just start a fight, Ares' pride too brittle to take the obvious observation. Then he would challenge me to a fight again (and lose, again), thus taking up precious time from me preparing for my own, proper rematch against Nemona.

"Sides, why do we even care if weaklings go to her for help?" Ares noted, leaning back in his chair. All of us had our own, unique chairs around the table, as befitted our station. Ares' one was a plush swivel chair that could lean back a fair bit, while Charlotte had a big chair with a cupholder on one side and a fold up table on the other. Mine was a sturdy, plain looking, yet expensive and high quality office chair. Cassandra's solid oak chair with carvings of the moon and Noctowls in the side and above might have been the most ostentatious were it not for Elsa's chair. It was practically a throne of solid ice, kept constantly cool by a chunk of Nevermelt Ice stuck in the center of it, the whole thing too heavy to ever be moved from its place at the head of the table.

"Because," Elsa began slowly, as if educating a child (which is a few steps up for Ares, in my opinion). "Our club derives its authority, and Blueberry Points, from being the best. Our skills are a sign of our knowledge; people would pay good BP for a tutoring session from one of our members. People within the club pay to test their skills against ours and try to prove themselves. But if no one believes in us, then what good is our club? Then it all falls apart."

It's slightly more complicated than that. Realistically, most of our funding comes from the school, which is how we host tournaments and the like. Still, she's not wrong that if the school loses faith in us, we'll lose power and funding. Cyrano was happy to give the Elite Four Club BP so long as they produced results, but the man was sharp, and keenly in-tune with the feelings of the school. If the student body didn't believe in us, he wouldn't hesitate to cut funding, or even dissolve the club.

"Why don't we just invite her to join? If that's the only issue." Charlotte began, her hand inching down to her backpack only to be pinned by Elsa's sharp, frigid stare.

"We've made plenty of overtures. From the open tournament to attempting to challenge her directly and the girl has avoided them all. I even sent Atticus to scout her out after an unfortunate first meeting on my end and directly offer her to join us, and she rudely turned us down. After all of that, even Nemona can't possibly be a big enough git to miss all the signs." I resisted the urge to wince in guilt at Elsa's words.

Okay, so technically, I didn't do that. But I just got so angry at her trying to act like I was doing something wrong, judging me with her eyes- ah whatever. She likely wouldn't have joined anyways, so whether I made an offer or not didn't matter. It didn't matter outside of the battle footage I'd obtained at least, which was another reason why Elsa had sent me to battle her; to get a proper look at how she fared in double battles.

The Champion tapped her fingers against the table, one of the few tells I'd been able to discern from her, indicating she was thinking, angry, or both. Now if only I could get a table placed in front of her when I challenge her. Such an event would be a way off in the future, but it never hurts to be prepared.

Cassandra pointed out, "She might just be busy? I know she's got that Dragon enclosure in my biome, not too far from my arena."

I shook my head. "If that was the case then she wouldn't have time to help out others and be the threat she is. There was a… confrontation between one of our ex-members. She got Kai expelled from the club and possibly the school depending on how the investigation goes. He might not have been worth protecting, but it's still troubling that she'd-" That line earned a snort of derision from Ares. Didn't see you going to bat for him either when the official investigated his conduct'. And you had been so steamed when I had 'poached' one of your flunkies before. Though perhaps that was just anger at your underling for betraying you.

"Whatever," I snapped, a little flustered though I quickly recomposed myself. "More annoying than that incident is how I've heard she's been instructing other students. My investigations tell me she's been doing a number of BBQs, which must be how she's reaching out to people. I even suspect some of our own, low-ranking members may have started turning to her before seeking out us."

Elsa hissed. "How dare they? After everything this club is built on!" She was fuming and I saw her fight to regain that perfect control she strived to hold publicly. I can empathize. Before Elsa turned things around last year, this club was far too laid-back. Charlotte didn't care enough to run things properly, and I couldn't beat that damn cheating, extra-dimensional monster of hers to enforce my vision. "Arseholes!" She shouted, her Galarian accent slipping back, a clear sign she was losing that fight.

I might not have had the exact same vision as her (she put too much faith in the school itself for my liking while I recognized it as a transitory vessel, to propel us onwards to greatness in the wider world), but I could agree with her on much the same points. That: Trainers must do everything in their power to grow strong. Our goal of being the best, at any cost, was the foundation of the League Club. It's the source of our strength, and if it means we don't share quite as close bonds with each other, then so be it. We might brandish our strength as knives against each other, but we can recognize the usefulness each other member has, if only as whetstones to sharpen our own skills. There's more honesty there than in 'friendship.'

"Well," Cassandra began, stretching out the word. "You did make that one guy serve as a footstool for a day for messing up in a battle."

"Jeremy forgot that Steel Type is resisted by Water! How thick do you have ta be to make a mistake that simple?! He should count his lucky stars I let him off with a little humiliation and didn't kick him out of the club entirely." Elsa gave an imperious flick of her hair. "That doesn't matter, he doesn't matter; what matters is finding a way to bring Nemona to heel."

"And how do we do that exactly?" Charlotte drawled. "If she's not going to fight you, you can't make her." The ever-hungry girl let out a heavy sigh. "That was the biggest problem back home - they couldn't find someone to beat me among their stupid captains, so they kept up with the dumb tests that we couldn't just win at."

"And how did that work out for you?" I shot back. "Your parents got pressured to ship you off abroad mid Island Trial. By the time you get back, the Champion will almost certainly have returned to Alola, ready to smack you down."

Charlotte shot up. "You got a problem, punk? Me and Guzz will lay the Smack Down on you or anybody that gets in our way." The light on her bracelet gleamed an ominous light, and I remembered well the threat of her Z-Moves. But this time, I have access to my own Enhancement Effect. Terastalization will be the key to beating her and claiming my spot as the top of the Elite Four. I still wasn't keen to challenge her to fight without heavy preparation first, however; 'Guzz' was an absolute beast to fight.

"Great answer, but how does that help us deal with Nemona?" Ares asked with an irreverent wave of his hand, clearly eager to get this over with. Unfortunately, none of us had an answer, and silence settled over the room.

"She's a bleeding heart," I offered after a moment. "Far too willing to coddle her team, try to use the strongest members to lift up the weaker ones, when all they do is drag her down." This is hardly a plan by itself but perhaps one of the others will have something.

"Oh? Like how she was 'dragged down' by Notch?" Cassandra smiled viciously and I fought to keep a blush off of my face. I should have never told these people about that post, or invited them to watch Nemona's Gauntlet matches. But they had teased me over losing to her in the past and I wanted to show that she was a serious threat - it's not like anyone teases Elsa over losing to the Director!

Director Cyrano however, was a known quantity. While not super famous outside of the school or region, people still remembered his fight with Alder in his prime. How the former Unovan Champion might have faded in retirement, but Cyrano had kept on training strong, with a team of monsters that could easily challenge the best of the best.

"Hang on, as much as I enjoy dumping on 'Mister Square' here," Ares jerked a thumb at me as he spoke. "Maybe he's onto something. She's got those Goomys we aren't allowed to catch over in Cassandra's territory. Maybe if something happened to them…" he trailed off meaningfully.

"Are you an- oh what am I saying; of course you're an idiot!" I snapped at the blockhead. "If we do anything like that and she reports us to the staff we will definitely be done for, no need for minute erosions of our perceived power!" Before I could go off more on him, Elsa raised a hand bringing us all to silence.

"Both of you raise good points. Doing something overtly aggressive to the Goomys in her care would be foolhardy," Elsa began, having calmed herself down. "However, if I were to do some training that just happened to be nearby when she was around, well… Dragons don't like the cold. I can goad her into a fight with reasonable deniability. I'll stream the fight for the entire school as well, so no one will ever wish to seek her out for help again."

"Okay, cool. Great meeting, not really sure why we all needed to be here, but good luck. Are we done now?" Cassandra asked sarcastically while rising from the table.

"The meeting served as a useful exchange of ideas to get us on the same page and forward, so yes, everyone needed to be here. Fine though, you are dism-"

"Nah." Charlotte said bluntly, a serious look in her eyes. "Just beating up this one girl won't do enough. She's got all those buddies with her, doesn't she? Couple of them are captain's kids too."

"Gym Leader's kids," I corrected. "But yes. She's not the only one people seek out. Especially with how often she's out exploring the Terarium, many students go to Nemona's clique to ask for help or where to find Nemona. Part of why she's a threat to the club is that she's building a powerbase of her own. A single person couldn't supplant us, but a group of Leader's kids headed by a Champion…"

"It looks like you all are here for a very important reason then," Elsa said faux-sweetly. "You lot can divide her closest friends among you, find them… and crush them. I'll do the same with Nemona."

"We'll need to do it simultaneously, though." I pointed out. Don't want one of them warning the others." Cassandra, Charlotte, and Ares groaned at that, but stuck around to work out a plan that could see us catch them all at once. Methodical work is hardly exciting, but I think the results here will be spectacular, to say the least.

Spoiler: A/N:

And here we go, the beginning of the next arc! Still part of the 'mega-arc' for Blueberry Academy, though. I know this took a while, but I've been laying the groundwork for a while now (alongside worldbuilding and other future plans), so I hope it was worth the wait. We get our first look at the current Elite Four Club, and it's a very different bunch from what we'd get five-six years down the line.

Despite how Atticus frames things, these are still teenagers. They're rather emotional creatures and more than a few logical holes going on with their plans, but hopefully it makes sense why, given their biases, might be going ahead with this. It also very much influences his opinions here; Atticus is by no means an unbiased narrator or correct about everything.

As you can tell, most of these OCs have names taken from other characters in fiction. Those other characters might not be perfectly accurate to their character traits, but they should have some signs of that. In any case, I hope you like/are intrigued by them, and the plots we have ahead of us.

On that note, I'm going to be skipping next weeks' update. Don't fret though! The week after, you'll get two chapters. Generally, I just feel it's better for the flow and enjoyment of the story to have those chapters simultaneously. Hopefully, all the new Pokemon games in Pokopia and Champions will be enough to get you through to the next chapter. If they can't though, my Patreon is ten chapters ahead, and it will be updating next week as per usual. Let me know how you're feeling about those new games and these new story developments down below, or on the Discord Thank you, and I hope your next two weeks are wonderful!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Skyfyre Note

Not the author note, as I'm not the one who wrote this. This piece was done by King crimson, the wonderful author of Lex Sedet in Vertice, a Quest on SV following Lex Luthor's rise to power. Its an awesome story that I've really been enjoying reading, and I love the crossover idea they pitched about Cassandra Luthor from that quest, in my story (who is very different from the Cassandra from the League Club, btw). They've already written another part of this before, so go check it out if you haven't (and if you've got the time, maybe check out their quest too)

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A/N: So it took a fair bit to get things done but here's the second part of this battle/omake. It's a doozy but I had a lot of fun writing this crossover omake.

I'm not going to talk too much about things as I want to let the omake speak for itself but I did want to note that you'll start to get to see a bit more of Cassandra's issues. I also want to comment on her issues with mega-evolution a bit.

Obviously people familiar with pokemon know that people aren't lying about bonds being necessary for mega-evolution. That being said Cassandra doesn't have the outside perspective of knowing the truth.

To kind of put yourself in her shoes, imagine you're a young girl without much social interaction with peers your age and a bit of a nepobaby. You have a super special pet that's been with you for a very long time. This pet was made just for you and you love this pet. This pet is arguably your best friend in the whole wide world and you do everything to make sure the pet is happy and healthy. You don't doubt that your pet loves you as much as you love it and it's the closest thing you have to a partner.

Then you find out that there's a super special secret involving this pet/partner. You buy the necessary materials and attempt to access the secret. Only you fail and you can't do it. When you ask experts they tell you that you failed because you don't have a close enough bond with the thing you are arguably closest to in the whole world. Isn't that utterly infuriating? Isn't it much easier to conclude that said experts are lying to you and keeping secrets rather than that either you or your pet/partner don't love each other enough?

That's kind of Cassandra's situation with mega-evolution. I'll leave further speculation on her character for later but suffice to say I do plan on explaining the situation and the dynamic by the time this omake series is done. Hope you guys enjoy!

Like No One Ever Was Crossover omake Part 2
Nemona Glitterati
I was honestly having a ton of fun with this battle. I had no idea who Cassandra was but she was really good for her age. It felt a bit weird saying that, but she genuinely was a cut above most kids our age. Unfortunately it wasn't enough.

It was easy to write Cassandra off as being just some rich kid throwing around the best mons money could buy with no idea what she was doing, but she was genuinely pretty good, I'd been forced on the back foot and she'd legitimately managed to lock down the best responses to her intended moves.

She'd caught me off guard with the use of the move roar to forcibly switch out Notch, and while Athena had come out on top, she'd taken heavy damage and needed to mega-evolve. When Nightwing and her Scizor battled, Cassandra's strategies had completely prevented me from using fire fang, the ideal counter to a bug and steel type pokemon like Scizor. I was winning but it would be a mistake to say that I wasn't working for it.

That being said I was still confident I was going to win this. Cassandra didn't seem to have a ton of experience in pokemon battles. She was good but she tended to panic when her plans got disrupted and tunnel visioned too hard on what she wanted. She was too complacent against Athena, figuring she'd sealed the deal, and when Nightwing and the Scizor clashed, she'd completely neutralized fire fang as an option at the cost of leaving herself completely open to earthquake instead. I was pretty sure that if she got a bit more practice or I was less experienced the match might go another way, heck I was still cautious of what she might try and pull after having been caught off balance with Bahamut, but I felt pretty confident in saying that Cassandra's lack of experience was going to cost her the match.

The other thing that I picked up on was that Cassandra seemed to take things personally. If I hadn't had aura to enhance my hearing, I might not have caught her apologizing under her breath to her Pyroar about how it was her fault that they lost, essentially blaming herself for it. It put a few things into perspective.

Cassandra didn't blame me or her pokemon or insist that something was wrong, she blamed herself when things didn't go her way. She took the time to tell her pokemon that she was sorry. Maybe I was reading into things too much but I couldn't help but see that as a sign of her being not that bad. She didn't seem particularly friendly, but neither was Amethio and I got along with him just fine. I could afford to have fun with this match and hopefully Cassandra would take this as a learning experience. Win or lose you were supposed to have fun with a pokemon battle and it seemed like Cassandra was having a hard time with losing.

As Cassandra sent out an absolutely massive Gyarados, maybe an alpha Gyarados of some kind, I couldn't help but grin wider. I could use U-turn to pivot out of this match-up but I chose not to. Cassandra used pokemon in wierd niche ways, a special attacking Scizor was not at all normal, getting a sense of how she was going to use her Gyarados would give me a better sense of how to counter it.

"Smash them to pieces!" Cassandra said, her voice rising in both tempo and fervor even as she did her best to stifle it. She seemed to be really getting into the battle. I wasn't sure quite how that was going to play out, but considering how previously she'd been either stoic or smirking, I could expect a change of pace. She was off balance and I was going to make use of that.

The Gyarados let out an enormous bellow as it surged forth surprisingly scary. I wasn't too worried but there was some animal part of my brain that couldn't help but get a little freaked out when a massive sea serpent started flying at me.

I didn't lose my cool however and promptly ordered Nightwing into the sky directly over the Gyarados, hoping to make use of flight to catch it off guard and hit it from a potential blindspot. The Gyarados wasn't quite quick enough to catch Nightwing and the momentum had turned in my favor.

"Coilspring" Cassandra commanded, catching me off guard as her Gyarados promptly landed on the ground and coiled itself like the worlds largest, bluest, angriest rattlesnake. I didn't have much time to think before the Gyarados promptly launched itself up into the air, shaking the ground with the force of its jump.

The massive Gyarados was already on top of Nightwing before I could get another word out.

"Aqua Tail!" Cassandra shouted, the Gyarados responding to the other girl's order by swinging the full force of its massive tail, now coated in a watery aura, downwards onto Nightwing like a hammer onto a nail.

"Protect!" I cried out, hoping to shield Nightwing from the hit. Hopefully Cassandra's commitment to this attack would leave an opening when the aqua tail was blocked. A green orb of energy shimmered around Nightwing mere moments before the attack could connect.

The green orb cracked but didn't quite break under the weight of the blow. I was stunned. I'd specifically trained up Nightwing to be able to block a big hit with her protects and the Gyarados was already cracking it in just one hit. Just how powerful was this Gyarados? I knew that dynamaxed pokemon could pop protects but this was just an abnormally large Gyarados, not a dynamaxed one. This discovery tilted the whole usual pace of the battle, where normally Nightwing could use protect to stall, now it was clear that Cassandra could break protect if given the opportunity. Still this fight wasn't over by any means and I still was going to hold onto u-turn a bit longer.

"Time for spite, Drakul" Cassandra aggressively stated as the massive Gyarados then let out a black wave of ghostly energy. Nightwing didn't have time to react as the black wave washed over her and she seemed to grow ever so slightly more tired. It didn't seem to do any damage but from what I knew of the games, spite would make it so that using protect would tire Nightwing out faster. Almost no one in the competitive circuit used spite at all so it was another weird niche attack.

I felt like I had a sense of Cassandra's strategy now, Gyarados had a type advantage so in a fight with Nightwing the only issue would be protect. The Gyarados would've popped a normal protect and even when Nightwing's defenses still held spite would ensure that I couldn't use the move to block hits for long. It was similar to her previous plan to prevent Nightwing from using fire fang against her Scizor, a multi-step plan to pick apart the seemingly most optimal option. However I wasn't going to panic just because I had my best path forward cut off. I let out a smile instead, this battle was fun.

The obvious solution would be to u-turn, but then Cassandra would either dragon dance, use roar or dragon tail or some other forced pivoting move, or use her remaining switch. I knew exactly what her Gyarados would be going for and so I could battle around that and overcome the strategy.

The next strategy I came up with was going to be dependent on what I'd observed. Cassandra had made her Gyarados jump at Nightwing, instead of flying which suggested to me that doing so was easier and faster than flight. Furthermore, the jump had been straight up. I'd thought that by positioning Nightwing in what was a typical blindspot, I'd managed to put her at a disadvantage where she couldn't hit me. However, it seemed that if she used the spring trick that counter intuitively, placing Nightwing low to the ground would actually make it harder for Cassandra to hit her. It was way easier for a coiled spring to fite off of a flats surface instead of an angled one, so by keeping Nightwing low to the ground I'd actually make it so that Cassandra was less likely to be able to have her Gyarados close the distance in an instant.

"Nightwing, fly underneath the Gyarados and fling!" I ordered, hoping that my observations were right and looking forward to seeing what move Cassandra would make next as Nightwing glided directly under the massive sea serpent. Nightwing barely managed to get off hurling her toxic orb at the Gyarados when an aqua tail slammed into her like a massive hammer blow, sending her tumbling down to the earth.

The hit was powerful enough that I was confident that even with the passive healing of Nightwing's ability, Nightwing wouldn't be able to take another hit like that. I briefly mulled things over. I thought I managed to get the toxic orb to connect, which would've badly poisoned the Gyarados. Now I needed to play for time since Nightwing couldn't eat another hit. Still it wasn't like Cassandra was going to give me a ton of time to come up with any clever plans beyond just stalling.

"Waterfall" She ordered and the Gyarados shot straight down. I had a moment to react and I wasn't going to waste it.

"Time to dig to get out of there!" I told Nightwing, who promptly complied, managing to easily make it into the earth before the Gyarados slammed into the ground with all the force of a freight train. The ground shook and I caught myself before I stumbled and fell.

Cassandra appeared unphased but when Nightwing popped out of the ground unphased a scowl briefly flashed over her features before she once more attempted to set the pace.

"Scald hole" Cassandra ordered and the Gyarados promptly unleashed a blast of boiling water straight into the hole Nightwing had created. I immediately ordered Nightwing to fly towards me. Cassandra's trick was clever but it wasn't good enough. Using the tunnel Nigtwing had dug as a tube to redirect an attack so that it came up from beneath Nightwing to make it less easy to intuitively dodge was clever but it wouldn't work if it didn't catch you off guard. Furthermore, it left her Gyarados open for a few seconds.

I promptly ordered Nightwing to use gunk shot, and she near instantly followed through, launching a large dripping ball of toxic sludge at the Gyarados's head. I wasn't sure if the toxic orb had connected or not so I figured I might as well try to guarantee that the giant pokemon was poisoned.

The Gyarados lifted its head just in time for the attack to land right in its eye. The Gyarados roared in pain as it was half blinded.

"Waterfall!" Cassandra yelled, "Focus on hurting them back!"

The Gyarados promptly surged forwards and like the world's greatest matador, Nightwing promptly rolled to the side, skillfully avoiding the raging pokemon's attack.

"Aqua tail!" Cassandra followed up, seemingly eager to connect with the attack. I wasn't going to use protect this time.

"You know what to do Nightwing, dodge it with dig"

My Gliscor let her mischievous grin grow wider as she dug into the ground, easily avoiding the blow. However I noticed that Cassandra was also smiling, an ear to ear intense rictus grin spread across her face the moment she heard my command.

"You made my mistake" She giggled before composing herself again, a smile still on her face "Earthquake, Drakul"

The Gyarados let out a roar as its tail smashed into the ground, sending out a powerful shockwave of ground type energy that promptly launched Nightwing out of the earth and into the air. It'd actually been a while since I'd been caught up in a situation like this, it hadn't been since the very start of my career that this situation had occurred. In the games the flying type pokemon would take no damage even while underground but I'd since learned that in actual battles the submerged pokemon did still take some damage, albeit reduced from what you might expect. It was actually kind of funny that it seemed like my first battle and what I suspected was Cassandra's first battle would share a moment like that.

Nightwing quickly righted herself as the Gyarados came barreling down towards her.

"Sand attack then a quick attack escape!" I said. Nightwing hurled sand into the Gyarados's eyes and promptly shot off, avoiding the attack. Even with the situation turning somewhat in my favor, things could still swing back the other way. The Gyarados was a threat that needed to be handled carefully.

I could still have Nightwing u-turn out but that would require getting close and risking an attack from that oversized Gyarados connecting. Any direct water type attack would knock out Nightwing if it connected. I couldn't block hits with protect, and I couldn't dodge hits with dig. The hits with earthquake would have their damage reduced but with the damage Nightwing had already taken, I couldn't afford to eat many more hits for free. It was genuinely tricky.

As Nightwing narrowly dodged another attack I came up with a plan of action. Nightwing was hurt but she was healing over time, and the Gyarados seemed to be shrugging off the poison damage for now but it would add up over time. Cassandra was grinning, seemingly happy that her plan was working. My best bet was to play along with it for now, let Cassandra think she'd won and let the toxic damage rack up over time. Then an opening would present itself.

"Nightwing use stone edge and keep your distance" I yelled. Nightwing promptly flung several stone shards at the Gyarados and backed away. The Gyarados merely batted them down with an aqua tail and then once more attempted to close the distance to Nightwing.

I promptly ordered Nightwing to use sand attack as cover as she dove away from the Gyarados and continued to lead it on a chase.

"I'm tired of your sand cover, and your running away" Cassandra growled "I'd like some scalding rain, Drakul!"

The Gyarados promptly began undulating as it fired up a massive geyser of steaming hot water into the air. clouds gathered round the apex of the water blast's arc. Then droplets of boiling water promptly began falling from the sky.

The forcefield protections for both myself and Cassandra promptly began flickering to block the boiling rain and I could see Nightwing let out little winces as the droplets landed on her. It wasn't enough to do significant damage but Nightwing wasn't healing any more. Worse yet with all of this water in the air, sand attack was almost certainly not going to work as it normally would as the sand would near instantly turn into mud and fall to the ground.

Cassandra smiled and the Gyarados charged forwards once again as it's tail glowed with a watery aura. I let out a command for Nightwing to use quick attack to get under the massive tail swing. Nightwing managed to weave around it but it was still far too close for my liking.

"Quick attack towards its head!" I ordered, hoping that the plan would work. It might've seemed counter intuitive, but the head was actually the point where it would be hardest for the Gyarados to swing its tail around towards.

"Muddy water" Cassandra replied back, seemingly ready with an answer to this latest move as the Gyarados immediately let loose a massive flow of dirty brownish water from its mouth. Nightwing wasn't going to be able to dodge in time so I needed to gamble. Gyarados typically was a much stronger physical attacker than it was a special attacker. As such protect should work against a move like muddy water.

"Protect" I called out, to which Nightwing immediately reacted, cutting her attack short and forming a protective barrier to block the oncoming attack. The move seemed to hold but when Cassandra immediately called for a waterfall, I once more had to call for Nightwing to avoid it with quick attack.

The pattern continued for a while, the Gyarados unleashing devastating attack after devastating attack, and Nightwing either barely avoiding them or blocking the special attacks we could afford to take. The boiling rain had dissipated but it had kept Nightwing from healing. The only relief was that the Gyarados was slowing down as the poison seemed to be ticking away and dealing more and more damage.

Cassandra seemed to be noticing this as well if the way the scowl grew on her face was any indication. This match was going to turn on the next few moves and so I intended to use u-turn to change things up and hopefully throw off Cassandra even more. I'd seen enough of how the Gyarados was going to be used that I felt confident going for it.

"Nightwing, time for-"

"Drakul final venture!" Cassandra called out interrupting me. The Gyarados immediately responded, charging at Nightwing. It didn't seem like a water type attack so I made the call to try and go for a thunder fang. I hadn't used it all match and Cassandra seemed to have gotten confident that I wouldn't ever contest the Gyarados.

There was a genuine chance that Nightwing might go down here. Cassandra's Gyarados was a major threat and while I had other pokemon that might match up better into the giant sea serpent, Cassandra had more switches then me. If I pulled out now, there was a good chance that Cassandra would switch out the Gyarados and bring it back in when Nightwing hit the field again and after both sides were more whittled down. Plus there was the fact that Cassandra very clearly wanted this match-up in particular. She was aggressive with the Gyarados, confident she'd come out on top. I likely wouldn't get another opportunity to trade like this again. There was an unfortunately high chance Nightwing would go down, but I wasn't confident switching out now would prevent me from being in the same position as I was now, only without the opening to make the trade. I didn't like it but I made the call to try and bring down the Gyarados, at the potential cost of Nightwing also going down.

"Thunder fang!" I shouted. The two pokemon collided in the air. Nightwing fell to the ground, tumbled a bit and slowly but surely righted herself, getting steadier on her feet before rising into the air. The Gyarados meanwhile finally collapsed, spent from the slowly ticking toxic poison, the few scattered hits I'd landed and the final super effective blow.

Cassnadra returned the Gyarados back into a luxury ball. It might've been a little rude but I used my aura to enhance my hearing to listen into what she was saying.

"I was stupid, I missed the toxic orb and didn't close things quick enough" Cassandra muttered "I'm supposed to be better than this, I'm not going to lose this. You did everything you could and I won't throw that away."

Cassandra seemed to really be taking the fight personally. I got that it was a battle and I knew full well that sometimes when you got competitive you could beat yourself up when you made mistakes but Cassandra had to learn to relax a bit. I was having fun and since I was probably her senior in terms of battling, I figured I could try to teach her a thing or two. I was no Hassel, but I figured that I knew a thing or two about battling.

"You're Gyarados was really impressive" I said, causing the dark haired girl to glower at me "I almost thought you had us"

The other girl took a deep breath before responding.

"So did I" Cassandra ground out "I'd planned on beating your Gliscor with her, and yet I still lost"

I was of the opinion that she needed to loosen up a bit. Yeah her plan hadn't worked but she'd done serious damage to Nightwing. On paper I was ahead, but both Athena and Nightwing didn't have a lot of gas left in the tank. It was probably frustrating to come up short twice, but if she played things smart she might still be able to turn things around. I wasn't going to let her win but I did at least want to encourage her a bit.

"Battle's not over till the last pokemon" I jubilantly stated, hoping to try and convey to her that it wasn't over yet. I was having fun still and I didn't want her to take it so personally. She was actually doing really good, this was the first time someone my own age had really pushed me like this and I wanted to see just how far she could go.

"You're right" The other girl placidly stated as she readied herself once more. "It's not over. Don't think you're going to win just because you've surprised me once or twice"

Cassandra promptly sent out her next pokemon, a Roserade named Ivy. The grass type pokemon trilled a bit as it stood atop the now thoroughly torn up ground. While the stealth rocks and spikes had by and large been scattered, I didn't miss the minute wince that it let out. It probably wouldn't continue to effect the fight much longer if the battlefield kept getting torn up but it was nice to know that Notch's work had paid off.

Regardless, I was excited. Roserade weren't pokemon native to Paldea, which meant that it might try things I'd never seen before. In general Cassandra liked using weird out of the way strategies that denied intuitive answers to the match-ups she chose to fight. I was looking forward to seeing just how far this could go.

Cassandra Luthor
Cassandra was absolutely livid as she saw Nemona still smiling at her, enjoying the battle like it didn't matter at all, like she wasn't overturning every plan and studied stratagem Cassandra had overcome. It infuriated to see the seeming carelessness with which all of her work was being overturned.

Cassandra had always been exceptional at body reading, she could tell when someone was lying or what they might be thinking from the minute twitches in their body language. It was far more applicable to a fight than a pokemon battle, being able to read the direction of a punch was easier and more actionable then knowing that the opponent was going to shout a command, and yet it was still useful. Everything about Nemona Glitterati's body language screamed that she was having fun. Fun!

Cassandra was throwing everything she had at Nemona, had actively studied the other girl's teams and tactics and devoted her time, effort and resources into ensuring she came out on top and Nemona was having FUN ruining everything again.

At least what the other girl said was true, the fight wasn't over yet. Cassandra did her best to stay calm and composed, at least outwardly, as she prepared herself for the battle to come. It wasn't over yet. Not by a long shot.

The battle began with Cassandra promptly calling for an energy ball barrage as Nemona in turn instructed her Gliscor to dodge and make its way closer. The bat-like pokemon had fire fang so Cassandra was going to hold off on setting a sunny day, even if it would allow Ivy to freely fire off powerful solar beam attacks with minimal charge-up time.

Ivy happily complied with the order letting out happy cries as she freely fired off countless balls of glowing green energy. The Gliscor swooped around and managed to avoid the attacks for the most part. Annoying but Cassandra could deal with that in its own time. Drakul had done enough that all it would take was one good hit. One good hit and Cassandra could begin to turn things around. It'd need to be a powerful blow to prevent the Gliscor from healing, anything less than a knockout blow would give the gliscor time to heal up, but if Cassandra could land that devastating blow she'd be able to come out on top.

"Nightwing, quick attack!" Nemona commanded, seeing some kind of opening in Ivy's attacks. The Gliscor swooped forwards but Cassandra saw it coming. Maybe she didn't need that powerful devastating blow. With Nemona oh so conveniently closing the distance, Cassandra could command Ivy to make use of a move that would prevent the Gliscor from healing up.

"Leap and Leech!" Cassandra retaliated. Ivy promptly leapt over the charging Gliscor and fired off a series of seeds directly into the Gliscor's back. Cassandra's Roserade grinned primly as the leech seed attack began its work and sprouted into a series of vines which drained energy from the Gliscor. Whatever healing it might've managed to get was now completely cut off and Ivy would be the one recovering over the course of the fight.

"Get in close Nightwing!" Nemona shouted. Cassandra didn't have time to think, instead ordering Ivy to fire off a retreating bullet seed. The attacks connected and Cassandra could see that the Gliscor was weakening but wasn't slowing down. Cassandra assumed that Nemona was going to try and get off an extremely powerful acrobatics to do as much damage as possible before letting the Gliscor go down.

The Gliscor closed the distance when Cassandra heard three words that made her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach.

"Gliscor use U-Turn" The black and green haired Glitterati called out as the Gliscor finally got close to Ivy. Cassandra didn't have time to react and the move hit allowing the injured pokemon to return to its ball and escape the trap Cassandra had thought was completely inescapable. Again Nemona ruined everything.

How did that Gliscor have U-Turn? Why hadn't she used it at all during the fight with Drakul? It didn't make sense, the stupid girl in front of her didn't make sense! Cassandra wanted to scream at the other girl but kept herself composed. She had an image to maintain and she wasn't going to lash out just because that stupid airheaded, worthless little plan-ruining, nonsensical moron kept overcoming her every move and was having fun doing so!

Cassandra was meant to be the best! Father had adopted her solely because she was the best. Cassandra had proven it time and time again. Science, business, diplomacy, everything and anything related to being the perfect Luthor heiress and worthy daughter Cassandra had excelled at and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Even pokemon battling was something she was good at with every tutor praising her skills and calling her a prodigy. And yet when it came to battling Nemona, Cassandra just wasn't good enough.

Even if Cassandra won, this match was a humiliation, showing only how Cassandra wasn't good enough. She'd had every advantage, she should have been better than this! Cassandra was glad she'd decided not to record the match as she'd fantasized before the battle. Far from showing Cassandra as the dominant superior, it would've shown Cassandra trying her hardest and losing or getting outsmarted far too often for her liking.

Cassandra calmed down. This was fine, Father didn't have to know the details. Cassandra was just going to win the match and report that. Then he wouldn't have any doubts about adopting her and no one would question the best. People might question if she'd actually beaten the Glitterati girl, but Cassandra would shut them up by crushing them totally and utterly. Yes, Cassandra could work with that. She had this.

Cassandra almost came back to an equilibrium when Nemona sent out her next pokemon.

"Go Athena" The other girl called out. Cassandra seethed as she saw that the stupid mega evolving Lucario was back. Cassandra didn't think that Nemona was making fun of her, but she still couldn't help but imagine a little mocking voice behind the grin plastered on the other girl's face.

"Look what I can do that you can't" the mocking little voice said "Look at all the ways I'm better than you."

Cassandra did her best to shut out the voice but it still kept on mocking her.

"After all you can't mega-evolve can you?" The voice mocked "The best Luthor heiress would've figured out the secret to it by now, maybe your father made a mistake adopting you"

Cassandra clenched her fist so tightly that her nails began to dig into her hand. If she hadn't been wearing gloves, Cassandra probably would've drawn blood. Cassandra growled as the fight started back up. She wasn't going to lose. She wasn't. She refused to.

Cassandra immediately used her tera orb to change Ivy's typing. A large crystalline candelabra sprouted atop Ivy's head as the Roserade changed to a fire type . She wasn't going to give Nemona and her Lucario time to ruin anything.

"Surprised?" Cassandra taunted, hoping that her voice hid exactly how angry she was "I might not be from Paldea but I managed to acquire one of these handy little terra orbs you all came up with."

"A little bit" Nemona guilelessly admitted. Couldn't the other girl have been a little bit taken aback? Cassandra had needed to put in a good amount of work and burn a solid amount of resources to get a tera orb as a foreigner to Paldea well before they were in common circulation. It would've been nice if the other girl could've at least been impressed by what Cassandra managed to pull.

"But I'm more excited than anything else" Nemona said "You're really good so I look forward to seeing how you make use of the type change, especially with a pokemon like Roserade"

The other girl was so annoying, just a happy fun loving smile and a declaration that no matter what Cassandra pulled she'd knock her down. Fine then. Cassandra would prove that she wasn't second best.

"Well then it looks like it's all sunny days from her on out!" Cassandra snarled, doing her best to keep a smile on her face as covertly ordered Ivy to change the weather using the sunny day attack. Cassandra privately wondered why she even bothered, it didn't matter what she seemed to do, the other girl would probably keep that dopey happy-go-lucky grin on her face regardless.

The other girl seemed to take this as a signal to refocus entirely on the battle as Ivy launched a bright ball of energy that hung high in the air and shone like a miniature sun.

"Athena, extreme speed!" Nemona called out. The jackal looking pokemon blurred forwards and struck Ivy but that was fine.

"Weather ball" Cassandra respond as Ivy rolled with the blow and near instantly righted herself before launching out three massive high speed fire balls.

The Lucario managed to roll passed the first weather ball but wasn't ready for the second which clipped it and set it up to be hit by the third.

"Endure!" Nemona called out right as the Lucario was once more engulfed in fire. It was an unfortunately familiar sight but Cassandra wasn't going to let Hunter's loss be for nothing. She'd learned since then.

"Leech seed, pronto!" Cassandra commanded. The Lucario was winded enough that it didn't have the strength to avoid the seeds and Cassandra was thrilled when she saw them sprout. The same trick wouldn't work twice, Now if Nemona wanted to try and stall the fight, she'd still lose due to the leech seed.

Nemona seemed to realize this as her next move was to call out for an earthquake attack. Cassandra promptly ordered Ivy to jump into the air to avoid the shockwave that would've been a super effective hit otherwise, thanks to Ivy's type change via terastalization.

"Force whip, reel it in!" Nemona ordered. Cassandra quickly put together the intended plan. Roserade was not a pokemon that could fly. With Roserade now in the air, it should theoretically be a sitting duck for the force whip attack. By then pulling Ivy into melee range from the air, Nemona's Lucario could land a drain punch, which would now be neutral, and recover enough health to keep on fighting.

Cassandra felt jubilation at finally being able to get one over on the other girl. She hadn't prepared this trick for the Lucario, but she could pull it out now to blindside the other girl.

"Ivy, two point solar rocket" Cassandra gleefully stated as Ivy let out her own grin at finally getting to cut loose.

Cassandra's Roserade promptly fired off a solar beam from its left hand, sending it flying backwards due to the recoil and out of range of the force whip. Then with its right hand it fired a another solar beam at an angle to use the recoil to further reposition itself, this time right behind the Lucario's head. To the naked eye, it locked like Ivy had rocketed around the battlefield in an instant using energy beams and now it was directly behind the Lucario which was turning around too slow to avoid the next hit.

"Weather ball" Cassandra cheerfully demanded and the ensuing fireball connected with the pokemon right as Nemona called for the Lucario to use endure one more time.

After the smoke cleared, the Lucario was still standing. It was clearly in pain and its fur was singed, but it remained standing. Cassandra was more than a little irked but unlike with Hunter, this time the Lucario was going down. The Lucario took one trembling step forward. Then another. Then another.

And then before Cassandra needed to make another move, the Lucario promptly collapsed, the Leech seed having done enough chip damage over time that even with the constant use of a move like endure, which would prevent a knockout via a direct attack, the pokemon still ultimately went down. Nemona recalled her Lucario without much fanfare

Cassandra bared her teeth in joy. She wanted to run up to Ivy and give her a hug but she had to maintain decorum. Besides it would be both rude and foolish to celebrate victory early. Nemona had surprised her too much for Cassandra to want to call this a win, but she'd finally managed to turn the tide. Things were in her favor.

Nemona returned her pokemon, seemingly unshaken by the loss of her mega-evolved pokemon and prepared for the next fight, sending her Carbink Notch back onto the field. This was why Cassandra couldn't relax. She might've beaten the Lucario, but in her eagerness to crush it, she'd set things up so that what was previously an advantageous match-up for Ivy was now one slated in the Carbink's favor. Still Cassandra wasn't going to let up even a little bit.

Nemona was better than even Cassandra's research had indicated, but that didn't mean she was unbeatable. Someway, somehow, Cassandra was going to prove herself superior.

"Alright then" Nemona calmly said, still smiling despite the fact that her mega-Lucario, the pokemon that had ruined Cassandra's plans went down. "Notch you're back up to battle!"

The dinky little Carbink once more popped out of a pokeball with a flash of light. Quickly Cassandra realized the issue. Normally Ivy would've had the advantage in a fight like this. Carbink's were rock and fairy type pokemon, which mean that Ivy's natural types, poison and grass, would naturally resist attacks of the type said Carbink was most proficient with and have an offensive advantage via super effective grass type moves. However because Cassandra had terrastalized Ivy and changed her type to fire, Cassandra's Roserade was now vulnerable to rock type attacks.

Cassandra didn't regret making the play to put down that stupid plan-ruining Lucario, but she was realizing that Nemona might've outmaneuvered her. It was incredibly annoying. Cassandra was supposed to be better than this.

She'd studied Nemona and by all metrics Cassandra should've been able to run circles around her. The other girl wasn't stupid by any means but she shouldn't have been able to outmaneuver Cassandra even half well as she had. Cassandra had put herself through the most intense coursework possible on tactics and strategy and worked hard to succeed. Nemona meanwhile had seemingly faffed about and done nothing. So it didn't make sense that she was able to outmaneuver Cassandra so consistently.

It all came back to that stupid irritating grin. Nemona hadn't broken when she should've and she was irritating enough that she'd managed to throw Cassandra off her game. She wasn't outmaneuvering Cassandra because she was better than her, she was doing so because Cassandra wasn't good enough. Well then, that meant Cassandra could still win this. It wasn't over yet. She might've made some mistakes but she was still going to win this.

"Notch, power gem!" Nemona ordered, starting the battle back up again.

"Solar sweep to intercept it" Cassandra ordered in immediate retaliation.

The Carbink's launched stony projectiles were immediately shattered as Ivy let out a sweeping beam of light that obliterated anything it came into contact with. The little geode-like Carbink was forced to duck out of the way of the blast. Still this exchange was a loss for Cassandra. Sunny day wouldn't last forever and then Cassandra would be relying on the far weaker energy ball for damage and her solar rocket trick wouldn't work. It meant that she needed to make an opening now.

"Close the gap" Cassandra ordered, which in turn prompted Ivy to promptly sprint at Nemona's Carbink.

"Psychic!" Nemona called out. The stony little Carbink began glowing but Cassandra wasn't going to let that move connect.

"Solar rocket three points" Cassandra commanded and Ivy complied, firing enough solar beams to rapidly reposition and effortlessly avoid the psychic attack that no doubt would've increased the distance between Ivy and the Carbink. However this time Nemona seemed ready for the trick.

"Notch, set up the sandstorm and cut out the sun" Nemona shouted. That was a rather simple counter. without sunny day active, Ivy would need to take time to charge each solar beam and thus wouldn't be able to use them to rapidly reposition by firing off several in succession. It was irritating even if Cassandra had a counter for it.

"Keep the sun shining Ivy" Cassandra snarled, irritated at this match not going quite how she would've liked it as she was forced to abort the three point solar rocket early. The sandstorm was promptly extinguished as Ivy's artificial sun ensured that the Carbink wasn't able to have the sandstorm self-perpetuate but now Ivy was hovering in the air and hadn't gotten much closer. This merely meant Cassandra might have to switch gears.

"Sludge bomb" Cassandra retaliated, hoping to keep the momentum. Ivy promptly launched numerous globs of thick viscous poison. Cassandra's grin didn't fade even as Nemona had her Carbink intercept the blows with a power gem attack. The stones tore through the sludge bombs but this just resulted in the clumps of poison shattering into many little droplets that rained down on the field below. The ensuing attack was underpowered, but it meant that the Carbink would still take damage.

"Light screen!" Nemona ordered, even as Ivy twisted in the air to avoid a few of the oncoming rocks. The Carbink promptly set up a screen of energy upon which the splatter of the sludge bomb promptly fizzled out. Ivy landed neatly, even if she winced a bit as she landed on one of the spikes that had been scattered, but Cassandra was irritated at how things were going. She was losing this battle.

"Iron defense!" Nemona called out, likely wanting her Carbink to exploit the fact that Ivy still hadn't closed the distance in order to raise its defenses. Ivy's change to a fire type via terrastalization meant that Cassandra would likely have to be far more wary of body press attacks now as well.

"Growth" Cassandra retaliated. Ivy took in the energy and promptly enhanced her offensive capabilities. On paper this was a stalemate but Cassandra didn't intend to keep it that way. It meant she had to use a different kind of attack.

"Magical leafstorm" Cassandra commanded. The trick was relatively simple, combining two moves into a single attack. Magical leaf was a traditionally low power move that traded raw offensive potential for a homing property. Leafstorm meanwhile was an incredibly powerful attack that usually weakened the special attacking capabilities of the pokemon that used it due to the exhaustion it generally induced. By combining the two moves, Ivy was able to create a massive swarm of leaf-like projectiles, that while weaker than a traditional leafstorm despite having the same offense reducing drawback, could home in like a magical leaf attack despite being significantly stronger even if their homing wasn't quite as good.

A torrent of leaves shimmering with irridescent energy promptly bloomed out of Ivy and then in a moment surged forwards. Cassandra though wasn't going to let up on the offensive pressure either and promptly ordered Ivy to close the distance. This way even if Nemona wriggled out of this attack somehow, Cassandra would still be in position for a follow up. Yes Ivy's special attack had been lowered by the attack, but the earlier growth attack had ensured that Ivy had at most reset back to where she was the start.

Cassandra was completely unsurprised when Nemona called out for the Carbink to use protect. After all if you couldn't dodge an attack it only made sense to block it. However Ivy was closing the distance more than quickly enough while the Carbink was pinned down in a glowing green bubble as the magical leafstorm attack shattered against it.

It took five whole seconds for the attack to drop. Five whole seconds in which the Carbink was forced to expend energy and effort to ensure that nothing went wrong. It didn't sound like much but five whole seconds was a long time in a pokemon battle, even more so when it came to the duration of protect against a powerful move as that required power and concentration. It was impressive that Nemona's Carbink had managed to hold the protect for five whole seconds. But it was also five whole seconds in which Ivy was able to close the distance, and Cassandra doubted that the Carbink would be able to block or dodge this next attack.

"Power whip!" Cassandra screamed. She probably broke decorum but her plan had finally worked. She'd managed to trap Nemona and there was no way for her to avoid what came next. Cassandra caught the slight hint of panic on Nemona's face. That was what she wanted to see. It had taken a while but the other girl wasn't unbeatable. Cassandra would inevitably come on top.

Unfortunately Cassandra didn't get to bask in the moment as Nemona swiftly composed herself.

"Stone edge" The girl with the two-toned hair called out, turning the attack into a trade. Green tendrils extended out from Ivy's flowers as they slammed into the Carbink but an instant later, a series of rocky pillars slammed into Ivy dealing massive damage right back. Unfortunately for Nemona though, Ivy was faster than Carbink and in much closer range.

"Solar beam!" Cassandra followed up. Nemona relied on another protect to block the attack but she and her Carbink were definitely on the back foot.

As soon as the protect dropped Ivy once more began to pummel the Carbink with power whips, this time getting two hits in before a stone edge connected and forced her back a bit.

Both pokemon were taking damage, but Ivy was far better at dishing it out than the Carbink was at taking it and could move faster. For every blow the Carbink scored, Ivy managed to land two or three more and was hitting harder. Normally power whip would have the drawback of being inaccurate due to its unwieldiness, but at this range that drawback had more or less been mitigated. The match was Cassandra's. Of course as per usual Nemona wasn't finished yet.

"Trick room!" Nemona ordered commanded. The Carbink let out a cry of determination and the dimensions of the nearby area promptly warped. This was bad. Trick room created an area of unusual space. Father had studied the physics of the area but the exact details of how it worked were beyond Cassandra. What she did know was that broadly speaking, faster pokemon became slower and slower pokemon became faster, likely due to some kind of inversion. Where before the advantage had been Cassandra's due to Ivy's superior speed, now that dynamic had been flipped in favor of Nemona's Carbink.

That being said Cassandra had specifically prepared for trick room strategies. She was well aware of her own preference for fast, aggressive, overwhelming pokemon and even an amateur would see trick room as a natural counter to that. Considering the fact that Nemona's Carbink was known to have trick room as a move it could use, Cassandra had prepared multiple counters for such an eventuality. Ivy's counter involved two little considered technical details of how trick room worked.

"Solar rocket, sky-high bombardment!" Cassandra commanded, right as the Carbink launched a power gem attack. The Carbink was incredibly fast under the conditions of trick room and it was close enough that there was next to no time to dodge, while Ivy moved like she was buried in some thick viscous liquid. Despite that Ivy was able to avoid most of the attack, at most getting clipped in her foot.

This was because the speed and strength of projectile attacks themselves didn't have their speeds altered in trick room. In other words something like the beam of a solar beam attack wouldn't have its speed affected. Furthermore, because of this Ivy's method of propulsion using solar beams wouldn't be slowed down at all. After all if the speed and force of the beam was unaltered, then the kinetic energy imparted to Ivy's motion via simple physics of equal and opposite reactions remained the same and she moved at the same speeds.

There was still a delay on how long it took Ivy to aim, and such a tactic wouldn't work with a pokemon that couldn't self-propel itself with its own attacks, but after a good amount of training Ivy managed to get it to work and it allowed her to move at incredible speeds even within trick room. Admittedly though it wasn't that effective as Ivy would only be able to move in linear directions and with the increased amount of time it took Ivy to move her hands to aim the solar beams, her movement would be erratic and somewhat predictable for any opponent with sense. That was where the second exploitation of a technical detail came into play.

Nemona recovered quickly from her surprise and had the Carbink launch more power gem attacks, but Ivy managed to aim her flowery hands directly downwards and fired another solar beam to launch herself even higher into the air. Ivy rose to such heights where even Cassandra struggled to see her with the harsh sunlight of the sunny day attack streaming in. At such heights, Ivy was outside of the trick room and could easily fire off solar beams to counter any projectiles launched back at her.

The exploit was simple. Obviously trick room had a range limit, otherwise a single use of the ability would affect every pokemon on the planet. Furthermore while Cassandra was fairly certain some psychic type specialists could alter the properties of the move, trick rooms were locked in place and not on the pokemon. A simple experiment found that pokemon who used trick room and moved around within the altered space did not shift the trick room, as it would have if the trick room was an effect affixed to everything within a set radius of a pokemon. Further testing involving pokemon on a moving vehicle showed that it had not fully locked into a set coordinate, if it didn't account for some degree of relativity than a pokemon using trick room on a moving train would have the move immediately become useless as the train moved out of the location.

Putting all of that together, Cassandra understood that outside of a few talented specially trained, most pokemon using trick room, mentally designated a set area as the room, and then once they set it could not move it. The move was tied to the pokemon's mentality as many psychic attacks were, hence why relativistic physics didn't wreak havoc on the move, but broadly speaking, once the room was set it couldn't move. And since there was a range limit in turn, a pokemon moving fast and far enough could escape the trick room simply by staying outside the set range.

Such a trick wasn't relevant in most official pokemon battles with closed off arenas, and Cassandra doubted Nemona had ever had to consider something like this, but in an open air environment, pokemon could easily ascend outside of the trick room's range.

Cassandra had debated the use of the tactic, anyone with sense would decry someone who set up a challenge and then exploited the field condition to have their pokemon run away at such a distance where the battle couldn't be conducted effectively, but Cassandra felt this was different. After all Ivy was still remaining in the designated battle area as best as possible and was only going to such heights to avoid an attack from an opposing pokemon. And besides Ivy was still going to be fighting.

Beams of blinding light struck the ground every so often as Ivy remained airborne. They weren't well aimed at the Carbink, and as such it was able to avoid them, but Ivy was at such a height where aiming an attack from such a distance was difficult.

"I hadn't planned on doing things this way" Cassandra stated, hoping to distract Nemona. Cassandra couldn't issue commands to Ivy anymore but Nemona still could issue orders to her Carbink. Drawing her into a conversation thus meant that it would only negatively impact Nemona.

"I would've preferred not to rely on such a trick that wouldn't work in most official formats, but trick room is too big a threat to take lightly"

Nemona seemed to mull it over before responding.

"I don't mind much" Nemona said "A battle's a battle and it's not like you're cheating or something. Weird tricks and tactics are all fair game in a friendly match like this"

Cassandra couldn't find any lie there. It irked her a little bit but apparently the other girl didn't see Cassandra as a threat. Even though Cassandra was trying to undermine Nemona's reputation as a young prodigy by proving that she was a more skilled battler at a younger age, the older girl appeared to view Cassandra's challenge as "friendly". Cassandra didn't view this as "friendly". Friends could only be friends when they weren't threats. Someone who pushed Cassandra so far in a battle when by all means Cassandra should be the greatest meant that Nemona as she currently was, was a threat.

It didn't matter that Cassandra had superior scientific knowledge and had been excellently trained to take over the most important company in all of Unova and was certainly Nemona's superior in any actual martial art. The world placed value on pokemon battles and so Cassandra needed to also be the best battler. Without that extra bit of legitimacy, people would always look at her as weak and seek to exploit such weaknesses. As such Cassandra needed to win.

She'd already failed enough that she wasn't going to show the results of this battle to anyone else. She'd made too many mistakes for this to be anything but a humiliation. It didn't matter that Nemona was skilled or clever or a prodigious battler, Cassandra should not have been second best.

"Well then far be it from me to disappoint you" Cassandra mocked as more solar beams tore up the ground and the Carbink occasionally ineffectually launched power gems or set up light screens to try and lessen the blast. "Just don't cry when you lose"

"I've lost before, it's no big deal" Nemona fired back, irritating Cassandra with how the other girl dismissed her. Cassandra wanted the other girl to take her seriously! She wasn't a friend or some worthless fangirl, she was a threat! Nemona should feel challenged or intimidated or something, not taking things so lightly that she was able to brush off Cassandra's potential victory as no big deal. This should have been a very big deal.

"It is a big deal" Cassandra hissed. "Don't you want to be the best? To show the world that you can take on anything they throw at you? Where's your pride in yourself and your pokemon? Are you telling me that seeing all of the grueling hours of training and studying and struggling and overcoming be wasted when you're not good enough is no big deal?"

Cassandra probably should have kept her thoughts to herself, but Nemona was absolutely infuriating. How dare she say that a loss here wasn't a big deal. That Cassandra's struggles and feelings and efforts to match her weren't worthwhile. It was disgusting seeing someone who had pushed her so hard and managed to put Cassandra on the back foot so many times spew such mediocre worthless sentimental tripe. This was important!

"I'm not sure if you've heard this before" Nemona quietly retorted, "but there's always someone better. Even if you're the greatest trainer ever and you've never lost a match before, eventually someone'll challenge you for your spot and if you don't know how to handle defeat, you'll never come back from a single loss"

"You don't get it" Cassandra angrily responded "I'm not going to lose. I'm not here to be your friend and to smile and shake your hand after everything is over. I'm here to prove I'm the best. I worked hard for this. My team worked hard for this"

Cassandra struggled to get her thoughts out.

"Stop trying to tell me how I need to learn how to lose. Stop smiling at me like my best isn't worth taking seriously. Stop insulting me and acting like I can't win just because you caught me off guard a few times" Cassandra screamed.

"Take me seriously already and fight your hardest!" Cassandra continued "Spout whatever nonsense you want when the battle's over, but until then, stop treating me like a little kid you need to teach a friendship lesson and take me seriously, because I'm here to prove I'm the best"

Cassandra calmed down for a second. The other girl had a frown on her face. Good. Cassandra hopefully hadn't gone too far but the other girl had seriously pissed her off. This wasn't fun, and Cassandra didn't want the other girl to have fun. This was a fight and treating it as anything less than that was disrespectful. Cassandra wasn't going to tolerate that.

"I'm sorry to hear that" the other girl somberly answered "I'll save the advice for the end of the match then. I hope you know I genuinely wasn't looking down on you or trying to make fun of you"

Cassandra stared at Nemona.

"Even if I'm having fun or smiling that doesn't mean I'm not taking you seriously" Nemona stated. I'm having the most fun when I get pushed to the edge in a battle. You've managed to do so in a way barely anyone else has up until now."

Cassandra didn't care anymore. She turned her attention back to the field. The Carbink was holding up alright. While the conversation had distracted Nemona, it hadn't turn the tides all that much. Unfortunately it also meant that Ivy was likely growing tired and things had turned in Nemona's favor.

The artificial sun created by sunny day began to wink out. Ivy had trained extensively to make the artificial sunlight last as long as possible, but eventually it was going to run out. Ivy began to plummet as the solar beam took longer to charge up. This was bad

Cassandra cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted at the top of her lungs "USE SUNNY DAY!"

Ivy complied but as soon as she did Nemona and her Carbink retaliated.

"Sandstorm!"

This time the clouds of sand smothered the artifical sun and ensured that the sunny day attack was smothered before it could alter the weather in any meaningful manner. It was problematic as it meant that there wasn't anything Cassandra could do to counter it and Ivy would keep falling down into the trick room, where the Carbink could pummel her with long range attacks.

"SOLAR ROCKET DESCENT!" Cassandra commanded. She couldn't avoid the trick room any longer so she'd run out the rest of its time by going on the offensive.

The trick to the solar rocket descent was relatively simple. Since there was a sandstorm up, Ivy needed to charge up her solar beam attacks rather than being able to fire them off instantly. However unlike basically every solar rocket beforehand, Ivy was falling in the air and working with gravity rather than against it. Ivy would already be accelerating downwards due to gravity and the ensuing solar beam propulsion would add to that speed, making it arguably the faster than more conventional solar rockets that worked against gravity. Admittedly it wasn't the instantaneous meteor strike it would've been if sunny day was still active, but it was still fast and the greater acceleration meant that the solar rocket descent actually hit harder.

After a few moments of charging, Ivy rocketed downwards to wards the Carbink at blistering speeds.

The Carbink threw up a protect, only possible due to the delay caused by the sandstorm forcing Ivy to charge her solar beam rather than firing it off instantly, and blocked the blow but Cassandra had a follow-up ready.

"Magical Leafstorm!" Cassandra cried out as the sandstorm raged and Ivy was buffeted by the heavy winds and hurt by the ensuing scraping sand. The Carbink's protect flickered out and the leaves launched at the Carbink.

"Notch, stone edge, finish the fight!' The Carbink launched its own move and promptly both moves collided with the opposing pokemon. The Carbink remained upright, hovering a little bit above the ground.

Ivy meanwhile collapsed to the ground as the crystalline candelabra above her head shattered into countless pieces, a clear sign that she would not be able to continue fighting. Cassandra promptly returned Ivy to her ball, promising Ivy that she'd done well enough.

"It's not over" Cassandra murmured "I'll prove that we're the best, Ivy"

The trick room was still up, though it'd be going down soon. As such there was only one option left on who to send out.

Nemona Glitterati
I felt kind of bad about how things had gone. I was still having fun, but somewhere along the way it appeared Cassandra had stopped having fun. She'd dropped some of the more formal stuff and just gotten mad. I hadn't meant to be demeaning or mocking or anything but apparently in attempting to give her advice while we were battling, the other girl had felt like I was looking down on her.

I didn't mean it and I still felt like my grasp on Cassandra was pretty accurate and the advice was warranted, but she wasn't taking it well. She had some messed-up views about battling and respect and I didn't agree with her, but watching a little kid freak out and get angry because they felt like they were being mocked wasn't exactly what I was looking for.

Cassandra was good. She was really good and I had fun battling her. At the same time though she felt like I was making fun of her and her efforts when I didn't take her 100% super seriously or told her that the match wasn't a big deal. It genuinely wasn't a big deal, I doubted this battle was going to affect either of our futures in any meaningful way, but Cassandra was a little kid who wanted to be taken seriously so she reacted badly to my comments.

She was kind of a brat but she wasn't malicious or anything. I wasn't going to stop having fun, but I'd at least try and tone down the advice till after the battle was over. Hopefully she'd learn something from this match and grow from it. I was kind of hoping she could be a rival later on down the line. I'd certainly learned a thing or two from this match and hopefully as Cassandra grew she'd only be able to push things even farther. Despite Cassandra's anger and annoyance, this battle was still fun.

Cassandra recalled her Roserade and sent out her Scizor again. The match up more or less made sense. I was tempted to say something but decided to bite my tongue. Cassandra was kind of emotionally unstable right now and while I wasn't opposed to some banter, I also didn't want to set her off accidentally. It was a downside of battling a genuine child genius I guess, they were going to be a little immature, especially when it seemed like I was the first opponent whom Cassandra didn't immediately roll over and win against. I kind of wondered if someone like Poppy might've also acted like Cassandra before she got more experienced.

"Notch, power gem!" I called out. This was a bad match-up considering how vulnerable Notch was to steel type attacks, but I was out of switches. The best I could do was lay some screens and deal some chip damage to set up for the next round of the battle.

"Ravager, bullet train" Cassandra ordered, causing the Scizor to begin rapidly moving around the trick room in a somewhat jerky fashion. It was a similar trick to what she'd done with her Roserade to counter the trick room.

Priority moves like bullet punch retained their speedy property even in the trick room. As such the attack could be used to rapidly reposition, even if the Scizor should be slower than Notch in the trick room. It was a clever trick.

Suddenly the the trick room flickered out of existence and the speed advantage was back in Cassandra's favor.

"Bullet punch" Cassandra growled out.

"Protect then screens!" I responded. Notch blocked the punch and then promptly set up both a light screen and a reflect to try and prevent anything from occurring. I would've normally gone for another iron defense, but Cassandra's Scizor had proven weirdly proficient at using special attacks rather than the more typical physical attacks. Hopefully, by throwing up both screens I'd be able to reduce the effectiveness of Cassandra's Scizor even if it behaved atypically like it did before.

"Brick break" Cassandra fired back. The Scizor's right claw glowed with fighting type energy as it shattered both the light screen and the reflect and landed a solid blow on Notch, sending them tumbling back. I pointedly didn't grimace as things went wrong. I'd made the mistake not knowing Cassandra's Scizor had brick break, but it was still annoying to know that I'd overthought things and would've been better off going for iron defense rather than trying to cover all options and failing anyways.

"Bullet punch" Cassandra commanded once more. I called out for another protect but Notch wasn't quite able to right themselves in time. The fight against Cassandra's Roserade had taken a lot out of them and Notch was still mid tumble when Cassandra launched her follow up. As such the Scizor was able to land a bullet punch before Notch could get off the protect.

I grimaced a bit as I recalled Notch. There was no point in dragging this out. Cassandra was grinning jubilantly. I was tempted to say something but figured I could let my pokemon do the talking. This was far from over after all.

"Nightwing, you're up!" I called out. Cassandra immediately scowled. Apparently she didn't like this match-up all that much. I didn't mind that she'd stopped keeping her poker face, it made her easier to read. Nightwing was still a bit injured but she wasn't so badly injured she'd be liable to get knocked out in a few hits from a normal pokemon and she could heal over time. Maybe if the Gyarados was still around it'd be a one touch fight, but against the Scizor, Nightwing could take a few hits and keep fighting.

Without much more waiting the battle resumed once again. We'd both seen what happened before so we weren't eager to replay that song and dance.

"Nightwing, quick attack!" I commanded, causing my bat-like pokemon to leap forwards, hoping that Cassandra.

"Air slash to interrupt" Cassandra retaliated, causing the Scizor to fire off razor sharp blasts of wind as it rose into the air. Nightwing managed to weave past the attack this time and the quick attack connected. It didn't do much, but that wasn't the point of this move. Now that Nightwing was in close, I could pile on the pressure to Cassandra.

"Fire Fang!" I calmly ordered my Gliscor. Panic briefly flashed across Cassandra's face as she made her own response. That seemed to clear up why Cassandra hadn't gone in for the knockout immediately with the Scizor, she was very afraid of a fire fang crippling her Scizor.

"Bullet Punch behind it!" She cried out. The Scizor promptly shot around Nightwing, managing to rotate to get behind Nightwing such that my Gliscor couldn't connect with a fire fang. Cassandra's Scizor was remarkably fast for the big red bug pokemon. Admittedly some of that was likely based in how Cassandra seemed to be using bullet punch not for offensive purposes but to rapidly reposition in incredibly fast bursts of speed. It was abnormally fast as a baseline and every time Cassandra called out for bullet punch, it's speed grew exponentially for a few moments, making it even harder to pin down and hit. Still though that was fine.

"Breaking swipe" I called out. Cassandra had her Scisor promptly block it with its claws and didn't take much damage but its offensive output would be reduced due to the attack connecting. Cassandra notably didn't call out for her Scizor to dodge it via bullet punch. I'd seen it use bullet punches consecutively to navigate Notch's trick room at high speeds, but such a trick was likely tiring. The Scizor had been battling long and hard enough that it was likely already a bit fatigued and couldn't simply spam bullet punch to reposition anymore.

"Aerial ace" Cassandra responded, causing her Scisor to lunge forward before tackling Nightwing. The blow slammed Nightwing into the ground. Nightwing tumbled back and quickly righted herself but the damage had been done and Cassandra had regained some space, pushing Nightwing away from her Scizor with that aerial ace attack. "Now swords dance"

Apparently Cassandra wasn't going to let me weaken her Scisor through debuffs to her offensive capabilities. Well then that just meant I had to catch her off guard a different way.

"Quick attack!" I called out hoping to get Cassandra caught into a similar pattern to what had happened before.

"Air slash" Cassandra calmly commanded "Then rise into the air"

It appeared Cassandra was wary of a follow up earthquake or something. Not quite what I'd been planning on setting up, but it did show that she was wary of some kind of trick. Nightwing didn't manage to avoid all of the air slashes this time, taking a hit or two, but she did manage to close the distance.

"Fire fang!" I called out once we were close. Cassandra appeared to get really annoyed that she couldn't figure out what I was doing.

"Second verse same as the first, bullet punch behind" Cassandra ordered. This time though I was ready.

"Flip over!" I yelled. See Cassandra's tactic of positioning her Scizor behind an opponent using fire fang was a good one. Most pokemon couldn't rotate their heads 180 degrees to connect the attack and thus so long as her Scizor stayed in that position, the most dangerous attack couldn't connect. However Nightwing could fly and was maneuverable enough that she could flip upside down in mid air.

Something like a Skarmory or a Noivern, big pokemon with massive wingspans that could fly, needed too much space in order to flip upside down quickly. Completely grounded pokemon couldn't do something like this at all. But Nightwing was fast and maneuverable enough as a Gliscor that she could near immediately flip upside down, which in turn meant that she could practically immediately land a fire fang even if Cassandra's Scizor remained directly behind her. Cassandra's Scizor meanwhile was tired enough that it couldn't whip out another bullet punch, and wasn't fast enough to stay in Nightwing's blindspot unaided by bullet punch once Nightwing didn't need to fully turn around.

The Scizor let out an immense shriek of pain as Nightwing latched on with a powerful fire fang. There likely wasn't enough space for Cassandra to use U-turn either. Nightwing wouldn't be able to hold on forever but the longer the fire fang could last, the more likely we'd be able to score a burn and thoroughly cripple the Scizor.

"Ravager, return!" Cassandra called as a beam of red light emerged from her luxury ball, returning Scizor to it.

"I'm using my last switch" she mulishly grumbled. Using U-turn probably would have been better practically speaking but breaking free of Nighting's grip might've taken long enough that Cassandra wasn't willing to risk Scizor going down and went for the guaranteed but suboptimal play.

"Snowy, it's up to you" Cassandra called out as she sent out her Annihilape.

"Nightwing fly high up" I ordered. Cassandra grimaced as she quickly realized what I was doing. Annihilapes typically didn't have great ranged options. As such by having Nightwing sit outside of the range where Annihilape could comfortably fight her, I could let the poison heal build up over time and restore Nightwing's health.

The Annihilape quickly howled and screamed with rage as it realized that I was denying it a fight entirely. I let Nightwing do a few loop-de-loops and laugh at the Annihilape as she healed, hoping that taunting the ghostly monkey would exploit its naturally raging tendencies and cause it to make mistakes.

"Smack down" Cassandra bit out. The Annihilape shrieked with a malicious sort of glee as it began tearing up the ground and hurling chunks of earth at Nightwing after imbuing them with some rock type energy.

Smack down wasn't an incredibly offensive move but it was capable of temporarily grounding a pokemon that it connected with. Preventing Nightwing from flying would make the ensuing fight far easier.

I decided to continue to stall things out. Where before Nightwing had been on her last legs, now she seemed to have recovered somewhat. She wove around most of the attacks before eventually one of the rocks connected and knocked Nightwing down.

"Ice punch" Cassandra angrily demanded, as her Annihilape charged towards Nightwing.

"Protect!" It called out and Nightwing managed to get up the shield in time. However it quickly wavered. It appeared the spite attack from Cassandra's Gyarados had taken its toll and now Nightwing wouldn't be able to use protect anymore. Still I'd gotten what I needed.

"U-turn" I ordered, as Cassandra screamed in frustration for another ice punch. Nightwing was able to connect first though and promptly returned to her ball. The Annihilape was utterly enraged at having been denied a fight thus far and promptly beat its chest in rage. Howling and screaming but not moving.

Despite it being a berserker of sorts it appeared pretty well trained. Unfortunately that wasn't going to be enough.

"Phantasm, you're up!" I stated as I tossed out Phantasm's pokeball. Phantasm didn't bother with a disguise this time as she howled up to the air. The battle resumed in an instant.

"Shadow ball!" I called out, hoping to keep making use of the distance between our two pokemon to wear down Cassandra's Annihilape. Phantasm launched an inky black sphere of ghost type energy.

"Phantom Force" Cassandra responded, her eyes slightly manic "We're not going to let them win!"

The Annihilape promptly disappeared, allowing the shadow ball to continue on unimpeded before colliding against Cassandra's forcefield projector. The other girl appeared unmoved, though she looked slightly manic now. I didn't want to say anything for fear of setting her off further but she didn't seem that well put together. Where before she'd been somewhat calm and put together, now she was glaring at me with wild eyes and appeared a few inches away from screaming her head off. It was more than a little uncomfortable but hopefully it was just her being really competitive and not anything more concerning.

The Annihilape promptly reappeared behind Phantasm and launched a brutal swing attack. Phantasm promptly ducked it before using double team to create numerous illusory copies. Phantasm also used the opportunity to turn herself invisible as the Annihilape charged towards her double team after images.

"No illusions!" Cassandra shouted "Rage Fist for a dust cloud"

The Annihilape let loose another rage filled shriek as it slammed a glowing fist into the ground, kicking up a massive plume of dust. If there were any spikes or stealth rocks left, they'd probably be thoroughly cleared by now.

"Shadow Ball" I called out. If Cassandra was going to figure out Phantasm's position the same way she had at the start of the match then I figured it might be better to launch an attack while the Annihilape was still likely blinded to some degree.

"Phantom force to dodge" Cassandra responded, getting her Annihilape out of the dust cloud and able to avoid the attack. However this time when the Annihilape reappeared it was in front of Cassandra.

"Shadow sneak" I followed up, causing Phantasm to shoot forwards and connect. "Bitter Malice to follow up!"

Phantasm let out a ghostly wail of energy that promptly connected with the Annihilape. However instead of weakening the Annihilape as expected, it appeared to get even more enraged and powerful. The Annihilape probably had the Defiant ability.

"Brutal Swing", Cassandra commanded gleeful at the opportunity to turn the tide. The Annihilape managed to connect a vicious hook directly into Phantasm's gut and slammed her into the ground, creating a crater. That single hit was enough to do massive damage.

Phantasm wasn't out of the fight yet, promptly launching a shadow ball directly into the Annihilape's face when it attempted to follow-up before retreating with mincing steps. Phantasm didn't seem to be too badly hurt but I couldn't afford to have her take another hit like that.

"Smack down time Snowy" Cassandra called out, causing her vicious monkey pokemon to once more tear up the ground and launch massive chunks of rock. Phantasm wove around them, before shattering one with a shadow ball.

"Shadow sneak" I ordered. Phantasm followed through and rushed forwards. The Annihilape took a half step back.

"Brutal swing" Cassandra retaliated.

"Detect into Icy wind" I replied in return. Phantasm dodged the Annihilapes vicious attack and promptly blasted it with icy particulates.

The Annihilape grew angrier and and angrier, launching attack after attack after attack. All it got for its troubles though were more icy winds as it slowed down further and further. Every blow got stronger and stronger but the Annihilape was now too slow to connect even a single blow anymore.

Cassandra it seemed had grown deeply irritated by this as she realized that her Annihilape couldn't land anymore attacks.

"Snowy" Cassandra seethed "Curse"

The Annihilape let out a baleful howl before promptly collapsing. Still the Annihilape had done its job as I saw Phantasm wincing from pain. The curse had gone off. The battle wasn't over yet though and I had a three two lead.

"Ravager" Cassandra bitterly snarled, seemingly out of energy. The Scizor came out but it was clearly worn down. It winced a bit it looked at the area where Nightwing had landed the fire fang. Apparently the bug had been burned. For a second Cassandra looked mournful.

"I'm sorry, I messed up" She whispered, seemingly holding back tears. I wanted to say something but also didn't want to set her off or let her know I could hear her with my aura enhanced hearing.

"Do your best" Cassandra continued. "I just need a little more. A little more and me and Nibbler can finish this. We're going to win and prove your the best. I won't let our hard work be for nothing"

The Scizor seemed to trill in affirmation. Cassandra steadied herself and let out a vicious glare.

"Flash cannon" She ordered and the Scizor promptly launched brilliant beams of metallic energy from its claws. I was ready for this however and promptly ordered Phantasm to dodge it.

"Bullet Punch" Cassandra commanded, waiting for the exact moment when the curse kicked in and Phantasm flinched from the damage it dealt. The red bug rushed forwards and connected a gut check against Phantasm. Phantasm promptly rolled one the ground and created an illusory copy that got up just a little bit faster in front of her.

When the Scizor followed up with another bullet punch, the blow faded right through it. Unlike before where Cassandra had her Annihilape kicking up dust clouds to help her figure out what was and wasn't an illusion, her Scizor didn't seem suited for that.

"Hex" I called out and Phantasm promptly complied. The move did massive damage to Scizor thanks to its burn. Things were going to be over soon one way or another.

"Bullet punch Ravager" Cassandra now that she had Phantasm's location. I had Phantasm launch a shadow ball, but the Scizor plowed right through it, connecting the blow and managing to stand above it.

"Steel Beam" Cassandra commanded and the Scizor promptly gathered energy in both of its claws before firing downwards with barely a moments hesitation. A blinding silver light fired out and by the time it cleared up, Phantasm laid on the ground before Cassandra's Scizor, knocked out cold completely.

The Scizor took a stumbling step forwards and then collapsed as well, knocked out by the recoil of the steel beam attack. I recalled Phantasm, who thankfully wasn't too injured.

Cassandra was getting desperate and she was down to her last pokemon. Whatever came next it was going to be rough.


Cassandra Luthor
This was all wrong. Everything was wrong. It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Cassandra refused to lose. She couldn't give up now. She couldn't stop. She was going to win. She was going to win. She was going to win! The battle wasn't over yet. Cassandra felt the anger flowing through her. She hated Nemona in this moment. Every move was countered, every strategem disarmed. The other girl was looking down on her calling her a failure.

"You are a failure." The voice in Cassandra's head whispered. "I'm not smiling anymore but that's because you've gone from being a funny joke to being just kind of sad. Your father would be so disappointed."

Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!

Cassandra let the emotions buoy her. Rage, desperation, and more. All of it fuel for what she had to do next. She was going to win no matter what it took. Cassandra wasn't supposed to do this, but she didn't care anymore.

You're not good enough, you're not good enough" The voices laughed "You're a failure because you're not good enough"

Cassandra abandoned thoughts of the future. She abandoned thoughts of the past. None of it mattered anymore. All her plans, her schemes, her composure. It was all worthless right now. None of it was enough to let her win and she was going to win. She was the best. She was Cassandra Luthor. Cassandra abandoned everything about herself that she didn't need for this fight.

The voices went silent. The rage flattened into a dull throbbing burning background. There was only the instant. No more talking. No more thinking. No more pain or worry or fear. Only violence and the goal.

Cassandra tossed out her luxury ball and in a burst of white light, her first partner emerged with a vicious roar. Cassandra echoed him, letting instinct overtake her.

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Skyfyre Note

Hello, this is another omake from the wonderful King crimson! Enjoy

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

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

Cassandra, the youngest of the group, had pale skin, though not nearly as pale as our Champion's. Cassandra was the daughter of the wealthiest businessman in Unova and apparently she felt the need to show it off with how she dressed, wearing not a uniform proper but instead some kind of business casual outfit composed of black slacks, a purple collared shirt and black vest alongside combat boots. She even had a ridiculous black and white tie with motifs of the two legendary dragons on them. The junior CEO look honestly made her seem more ridiculous than anything else. And frankly if anything the fact that she was perpetually uninterested in doing anything but the bare minimum to hold onto the weakest seat in the Elite Four proved that even if money could take you far it couldn't make you the best.

Ares, the buff boy a year my senior, sneered at me as I entered. His naturally red hair was done up in a mohawk, and he wore a punk shirt with some rude catch phrases on it. The ripped jeans and sunglasses he constantly wore helped sell the 'rebel' look I knew he had spent a surprising amount of Pokedollars on. Ironic, for someone who comes from one of the top 500 wealthiest Unovan families.

Charlotte Linlin was eating noisily at the table, barely paying attention as I entered. The girl's tan had faded slightly in her time away from Alola, but it was still visible. Her choice of dress was Blueberry tank top with a sheer, flower patterned overshirt, and a shockingly short skirt I did my best to steer my gaze away from. For all her… wildness, Charlotte is a powerful Trainer. I can't underestimate her.

Finally, there was Elsa 'Es' Death. She sat at the head of the table with a commanding presence. Her uniform was a paler white than usual, the top and long skirt going together almost like a dress. She had a short, dark blue jacket over top to cover her shoulders. Her icy white hair was done in a half-Kalos braid.

"Atticus, you're late," she reprimanded me.

"It was rather last minute this meeting you called, I was out in the field, running my sector." I replied, to take the bite out of any of the jeering glances or smirks directed at me from the rest of the Elites. Yeah, that's right, I know that none of you take anywhere near as much effort as I do to keep your biomes running smoothly. Charlotte barely even keeps up her arena!

Sitting down, I was about to ask why we were here until I was cut off.

Charlotte's noisy snacking was immediately cut off as Elsa began to start her meeting.

"Enough." Elsa's icy tone brought the pink haired girl to a halt. "Yes, as an Elite Four you are granted certain privileges, so you can eat in this club room, but not while I'm calling a meeting. Put it away." The Champion ordered the highest ranking Elite Four. Charlotte gave her superior a baleful look before defiantly shoving the rest of it down her gullet in two massive bites. How Charlotte keeps her figure, I have no idea.

Elsa gave her a disgusted look, but since the pink-haired glutton brought out no more food, she clearly considered the matter settled. "I've called you all here to talk about a threat to our club." Her Rotom Phone floated up, presenting the Trainer ID/record page of Nemona Glitterati, the young girl smiling in her account picture.

Ares snorted. "That pipsqueak? She doesn't look like much."

"And you look like an incompetent troglodyte but somehow you've managed to prove halfway competent" Cassandra dully responded. Ares flushed red as he began to puff himself up to get into a fight. Really he should know better than to pick fights with a literal child but Ares was barely a step above one himself so I suppose it was only right he bicker with someone on his level.

Before those two could devolve into another bicker-fest that derailed things further, I interjected. "Nemona's the strongest Champion of her region; I think regardless of our opinions of how she accessorizes, she's strong." I pointed out, and while Cassandra frowned, thinking it over, Ares just laughed.

"If she's so strong then why hasn't she challenged us?" His words were meant less for me and more for Elsa.

"Not challenging us is the point," the white haired teen replied. "She has students going to her for help on battle strategies, to her for training tips, to her for what they need." Elsa's control slipped a fraction, and I noted how my breath was making small puffs in the air from how cold it was. "If she was just a part of the club, then even if she was the strongest," the disdain in her tone made it clear how unlikely Elsa thought that was. "It would hardly be a threat to the club as a whole."

"You've been completely incapable of getting her to battle?" Cassandra glowered, suddenly much more invested in the meeting. "I owe you an apology Ares, you're not the most incompetent person in the room"

Elsa scowled as Cassandra deliberately instigated a fight. I was quite curious to see how things would play out. Cassandra didn't normally pick fights like this and she'd never challenged any of the other elites. I'd considered that a sign that she knew her place amongst the pecking order and couldn't be bothered to push further but clearly something was off. Perhaps I could glean something from her style if it escalated further.

With my mind made up I didn't interject to try and deescalate things even though I could have.

"I'd remind you not to overstep your bounds" Elsa reminded, frustration leaking into her tone as her fingers tapped against the table, a clear tell that she was angry. Now if only I could get a table placed in front of her when I challenge her. Such an event would be a way off in the future, but it never hurts to be prepared.

"I'm only taking my rightful place" Cassandra dully stated as she stood up. "I joined this school solely for a rematch with Nemona. I deliberately took the lowest ranking elite position so that I could fight Nemona first and when I beat her, force her to challenge me again and again every time you childishly antagonized her and she wanted to fix things"

The room had gone silent as Cassandra fully stood up.

"And now I find you're too incompetent to even get her to want to battle? You've run out of use for me Elsa" Cassandra continued, her voice remaining placid "Consider this an official challenge for the title of champion and leadership of the club. When I'm done we'll be doing things my way"

Elsa angrily sputtered but ultimately accepted the challenge full of rage and bluster, promising to make Cassandra regret it. Cassandra for her part merely replied that she looked forward to having as passionate a subordinate as Elsa.

"Oh Charlotte, Atticus and Ares before I forget" Cassandra continued, a thin mocking smile on her face "When I'm done with Elsa you all better make sure you do your best to get Nemona to battle me, one of you will be losing their position regardless but I'd rather not have to purge more than one of you for incompetence"

Just who does she think she is? Just because daddy paid for her to have the best team money can buy doesn't mean she can come out on top. I did my best to calm down as Cassandra acted out while Charlotte and Ares joined Elsa in fuming at her. I was more than happy to push for a rematch with Nemona and if Cassandra didn't prove delusional I was confident I'd be better off than Ares or Charlotte. This was just another opportunity.

"You're all little Wishiwashi, thinking you're tough because you're the biggest in your pond" Cassandra said grinning from ear to ear "You're swimming with Sharpedos now. Get me my rematch or I'll make a meal out of you"

Eventually the others filed out of the room, though I stayed behind for a moment longer. Cassandra had never gotten this passionate before. She was lazy and content to coast and so I was curious what about Nemona spurred her to push this hard.

"You're not going to make any friends acting like this" I dryly state. Cassandra just laughed, the notes sharp and clear. It was the first time I had heard her laugh.

"You're not my friends" Cassandra responded "Why waste time with trash when I can befriend Nemona instead?"

"That's what this is all about making friends with a girl your age?" I fired back, not letting the insult get under my skin "I get that you're excited to have a talented classmate your own age but isn't this a bit much?"

"Nemona's actually a bit older than me" Cassandra responded before tutting.

"Atticus, Atticus, Atticus you really don't get it do you?" She mocked "Friendship is a phenomena that observably makes pokemon stronger and thus makes trainers stronger vice versa. Casting it aside is just making yourself weaker"

Cassandra deliberately stepped into my personal space as her eyes lit up with delight.

"Nemona beat me so she's worth becoming friends with. Prove yourself and you can be friends as well and I'll make you stronger. Fail or disappoint me and I'm sure I can help some other friend take your position as well" Cassandra happily threatened "Do we have an understanding?"

"Crystal" I responded. The meeting had not gone how I thought it would but this sort of shake-up could only be good. I didn't think Nemona was worth all the fuss but if Cassandra was going to start throwing around resources to satisfy her fixation then I'd be more than happy to take her for all she was worth. Far be it from me to teach a spoiled little girl about the real world.


A/N: Hello, I'm very excited to see where this goes. This latest arc holds a lot of potential in my mind and as I was reading the latest chapter, I saw we had an antagonist called Cassandra. She's very different from the Cassandra I write in the crossover omakes so I thought it would be fun to play with that a bit and write this. Hope you enjoy!

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

I'd like to thank my 63 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, HanShotFirst, and Garreon LeFay, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means so much to me.

"Nemona," A voice rang out across the canyon, and I snapped my head up to the unfortunately familiar sound. Stepping out from the shadows at the other end of the wooden bridge was Elsa Death in her pale League Club uniform. I feel deja vu for some reason.

Brushing a hand through her long hair, she strode towards me, meeting me in the center. "Elsa. Any particular reason why you're here?" I asked, trying to be as polite as I could be. The Blueberry Quests I'd done today hadn't been too tiring physically, but they had been a bit monotonous and I really didn't feel like dealing with this girl. Unfortunately, I could tell she was here with a purpose, and her next words confirmed it.

"To challenge you to a fight. Six on six, here and now," Elsa declared, her Rotom phone floating up beside her. "And we can stream it so the whole school can see your defeat," she finished with a malicious grin on her face.

Here? "And what if I don't feel like fighting you? Or just don't feel like it right now?" I asked rhetorically as I tried to get past her, only for the older girl to put her arm out to block my way. "What?" I snapped.

"That won't do at all. We worked hard to arrange it so all of us Elites could fight you and your friends at the same time."

"What? Why?" I demanded, my head snapping around on instinct. From what I remember, Kieran, Carmine, and Lacey are out in the Terarium right now. Maybe Drayton too. I don't know where Sally, Chumley, or Judai are though.

"I desired to see all of you humiliated simultaneously, and didn't want any of you to tip off the others. It rather ruins the shock and awe of it all, don't you think? As for why- why not? Why would I not wish to see the girl I've tried to challenge repeatedly, the one who has everything yet sees fit to take from me, utterly crushed and humiliated?"

There's a lot to unpack there. I wasn't sure how much of it was actually aimed at me; I didn't remember her challenging me repeatedly, but it was possible she took things like me not entering her tournament as a personal insult. "And if I say no to your offer of battle?" I challenged. How far is she willing to go with this?

Surprisingly, she retracted her shapely arm and shrugged. "I suppose I cannot force you to fight me. If you refuse, you refuse."

"Excellent," I began, starting to step past her, only to be stopped by her next words.

"Of course, I'm so wound up, I might need to train and cool down. But surely that won't be a problem for you or your little colony of Dragons?" She asked, mockingly.

Whirling around I snarled, "You bitch!" I can already picture it. Even if she never set foot on the Goomy enclosure, an Ice Type specialist like herself could easily torment and freeze the whole place over. If she's as strong as she is confident, it might even be doable even without it ever being directed their way. In any case, it'll make things hellish for the Goomys and any other Dragons there. I could complain about it after the fact, but it would still suck for them in the meantime, and with teachers like Dr. Crowler, I'm not sure I'd even be able to resolve it.

"Such language, I expected better from a vaunted Champion," Elsa jabbed, but I saw the delight in her eyes as she knew she had me.

"Alright, what are the rules?" Elsa raised an eyebrow at me asking something so basic. "Just to make sure there's no mix-ups. I'd hate for you to call foul after I win." The older girl laughed, and I noted how unfair it was that she was such a terrible person yet had such a pretty laugh.

"Don't worry, there's no chance of that, but I will explain the rules. Six Pokemon versus Six Pokemon, double battle style, Unovan standard." Which was to say 'Blueberry Standard' as the Academy had codified much of the Double Battle rules. "Each Pokemon can enter with one Battle Item, no outside items allowed. One Terastalization is available for the battle, but I'll let you use a Mega Evolution instead, if you feel you can't win without it."

I grit my teeth at the subtle dig there. While most people online had felt I'd used Terastalization well enough in the Gauntlet, there were still those who made questioning comments given neither Miguel nor I had used it in our final bout. She knows it too. Still, I won't let myself be manipulated; if I have to use Mega Evolution, I'll use it.

Elsa readied her Pokeballs and I did the same. On an unspoken signal, we released our four Pokemon. I sent out Nightwing and Miles (currently in Boombox form), while Elsa released a pale blue Sandslash, alongside a Vanilluxe. At the release of the double-headed ice-cream cone like Pokemon, the air turned chilly, not that cold seemed to bother my foe.

"I had hoped I'd get to see your starter, Vanilly had been looking forward to proving her might against him." Elsa's own starter chimed in with agreement.

"Vanill," The crooned, and snow drifted gently down all around us, making the cold worse.

"You'll get to see him too - if you make it that far." My boast was undercut by the chattering of my teeth. Elsa smirked but had nothing else to say, waiting for her Rotom to count us in. On the signal to start, we both leapt into action.

"Sing, loop around and Fire Fang!" I shouted to my team. Miles took the vanguard position, floating down along the bridge to get close enough to lull the enemies to sleep with their song while Nightwing went under the bridge and around to attack from the rear. And good thing she moved immediately or the Ice Beam Vanilly sent out would have struck my Gliscor hard. Elsa's Sandslash moved with incredible speed however, rolling across the wooden bridge and leaving great gouges in the wooden boards where her spines passed by.

"Shards and Blizzard!" Elsa's voice carried, echoing across the canyon. Her Sandslash fired out a flurry of sharp ice, pelting into Miles, while the Vanilluxe breathed forth a Blizzard, not at Miles, but over her own Sandslash! Of course, this was to carry past her Pokemon and towards Nightwing who was swooping in for another pass. Only my desperate signal for a downward Quick Attack and her own sharp reflexes got Nightwing out of the way, while the Alolan Sandslash weathered the friendly fire easily thanks to his double resistance.

Shivering from the cold, I called out, "Screens and Tailwind," changing up my strategy. Unfortunately for me, the Champion of the League Club was capable of doing the same.

"Taunt, focus fire," she ordered out just as quickly. Her Vanilluxe caught Miles before they could set up a Light Screen, sticking her tongue out at my Pokemon and enraging them, right before Sandslash's attacked slammed into Miles. Repeatedly. Icicle Spear hit five times, doing considerable damage, and as I looked closer, I saw the pair of icy blue colored slanted dice hanging on a thin string around the Steel Type's neck. Her Vanilluxe has an Icy Rock too, meaning this storm won't be put out any time soon.

On the bright side, Nightwing's Tailwind was set up without issue, so she'd be able to outspeed them easily now. Returning Miles, I ordered, "Up through the boards, grapple them close!" Nightwing followed with glee, smashing through from underneath the boards to latch onto the Alolan Pokemon. As they struggled in the air, I said, "You're up, Radiance!" While releasing Phantasm.

"Get in close and finish them!" Elsa shouted, looking desperate - but not feeling it. Everything about her Aura screamed 'smug confidence.'

"Back out of there!" I shouted, abandoning my gambit. And good thing I did, as Phantasm flipped herself through the ropes holding up the bridge and around to the other side, avoiding the Ice Typed Weather Ball Vanilly released where they had been.

Elsa laughed. "Did you really think that I'd be so desperate as to stop one of your little Legendaries with an Explosion? I hardly need that Move to beat you." I wanted to snap back, but then I saw our other Pokemon crash back to the bridge.

The Sandslash was covered in fiery gouges, clearly burnt and badly poisoned, but somehow, still fighting, struggling to his feet. A few meters away, Nightwing wasn't doing much better, her wings frosted over. Icicle Spear would cause that and he wouldn't have had room to use that as they grappled - Ice Punch then? Elsa must have given a hidden order to her Sandslash at the same time as she directed her Starter to use Weather Ball. I disliked the girl greatly, but could feel some grudging respect for her as a Trainer.

"Focus Punch," I told Phantasm on chattering teeth, trusting her to be able to fool the Vanilluxe with her illusions enough to land the blow. "Crabhammer," was my direction to Nightwing. The Move should be enough, but I wish I'd taught her High Horsepower. Earthquake is stronger, but would disrupt Phantasm here.

"Stealth Rocks," Elsa called out, accepting the hit on her already weakened Pokemon to toss out an entry hazard… that failed to land, no real space for the rocks to settle on the narrow bridge. The Sandslash was rocked back by the powerful blow from Nightwing's right pincer, but somehow stayed conscious, his naturally high defenses bolstered by the Snow enough for him to keep on fighting, despite all the damage he'd taken.

Vanilluxe failed to connect with a barrage of Weather Balls (though I noted a few of them were close things and might have hit were it not for Phantasm's Lax Incense), and my Pokemon leapt forward, landing a powerful punch that cracked the Ice Type's cone. She rebounded off the blow and back to the bridge, but Elsa followed the sound and shaking of the bridge as well as I did, ordering a final attack from her Sandslash at that spot.

"Steel Beam," she called cooly, and her Pokemon let out a blast that knocked himself out, but clipped Phantasm hard, breaking her illusion for a moment and had her clinging onto the edge of the bridge. Elsa's unconscious Pokemon was recalled before he could finish slumping over, and she sent out her next one, a Frosslass. Immediately, the Ghost type blended in with the snow, becoming almost impossible to pin point.

Elsa's Starter was harrying Phantasm, so I called out, "Poltergeist," trying to not sound as frustrated as I felt. Phantasm is a great counter against Froslass, but she's stuck on this end of the bridge playing keep away against the Vanilluxe. On the other end, I directed Nightwing to attack the enemy Ghost Type, but her Fire Fangs hit nothing but empty air and drifting snowflakes.

"Shield," Elsa whispered, but my sharp ears picked up on it nonetheless.

"Taunt!" I shouted, hoping Nightwing would be fast enough. Thankfully, it was, and Froslass couldn't lay down an Aurora Veil. But that just had them switching onto the offense, a massive Blizzard sweeping across Nightwing. She put up a Protect in time, blocking the attack, but I knew the onslaught would continue if nothing was done.

Phantasm was winning her fight against Vanilly, but oh so slowly. My Pokemon did her best to make up for the lack of flight with her illusions and impressive mobility, swinging around the ropes that held up the bridge, but it was still a challenge. The Ice Type was no slouch either, using her dual heads to launch an array of powerful Ice attacks to keep Phantasm at bay. Poltergeist was still used to great effect, however, tossing the Vanilluxe about (and through) the boards that made up the bridge by the item she held.

"Phantom Force," I called out to Phantasm, indicating with a jerk of my head for her to go after the other Ghost Type. Vanilluxe picked herself up from where she had been thrown around, laughing at Phantasm, which caused my Pokemon to snarl but she still followed my orders, disappearing into the Distortion World.

I expected Froslass to let up on her assault to protect herself or avoid the Phantom Force, and she did, but in a way that surprised me. "Nasty Plot," Elsa called out while holding a hand up and crossing her fingers. Her Ghost Type powered up, a smirk that almost matched Elsa's appearing on her face. As the portal opened up in front of her and Phantasm started to leave, there was a flash of psychic energy and suddenly Vanilly was in her teammate's place, taking the hit.

Nightwing didn't waste any time, latching on with a Fire Fang into the ice-cream like Pokemon, but quickly let go, howling in pain as a Blizzard from Froslass washed over all three of the other Pokemon. Both of my Pokemon were badly hurt by the attack, especially Nightwing, but with the healing she'd accumulated from the Toxic Orb, she just managed to stay in the fight.

Thinking desperately, I ordered a Shadow Sneak on Froslass, Phantasm zipping across the field to hit her, while drawing my Pokeball to switch her. Nightwing, I don't think I can afford to switch you here. I knew she'd understand as I ordered her to use, "Fling! Then Knock Off!" At Vanilluxe.

She did so with glee, tossing her Toxic Orb at the pure Ice Type, leaving a nasty purple stain that spread throughout her ice cream scoop heads, and then striking through to send the Icy Rock held within her body down far below. Vanilluxe weathered the blows with an almost manic glee, casting up a light that wove itself across the battlefield, shielding her Pokemon. Aurora Veil, like a Light Screen and Reflect while the Snow is up, which is already boosting their physical defense. Luckily, I had an answer to that.

"Sunny Day!" I called out victoriously as I switched Phantasm out and Miles in. They let out a glowing orb of light to bring forth an artificial sun… that fizzled out. "What?!"

"Did you really think that some simple TM taught Move was enough to overpower my Starter? You really are a fool, Nemona Glitterati. But I shouldn't expect much more from a child. Explosion," she added, almost as an afterthought, and I was a moment too slow to order a counter or stop it, watching in horror as Vanilly glowed with a bright let, then let out an enormous blast, one which knocked out both of my already weakened Pokemon… and snapped the frost covered bridge in two, the halves falling apart as we dropped down.

"Ahhhh!" I screamed for an instant before calling on my Aura, floating down to the ground hundreds of meters beneath us. Elsa, on the other hand, cackled maniacally, conjuring a curved slope of ice to slide down in a circle to the water and miniature islands on the ground. She landed on a ring of land attached to the other pillar, opposite of the side I had landed on. Around her, without much structural support, the icy ramp soon crashed around her, fading away into mist.

Froslass (who looked surprisingly injured, likely hit by an Overheat Miles must have gotten off at the same time as the Explosion), drifted down last, Psychically holding the three Pokemon for us.

"Are you crazy?!" I yelled as I recalled my Pokemon. "You could have killed us!"

Elsa exhaled dismissively. "Don't try to sell that malarkey; as if you would have died to something silly like that. You're fine, so there's nothing to get so upset about." At the end of her sentence, I noticed how she was breathing harder now. That ramp of ice wasn't as easy as she made it look. Ice has its uses, but it's not as equipped for gentle landings as Flying Aura is.

The older girl must have sussed out what I had figured out and frowned, clearly disliking me picking up on her 'weakness.' To distract from that (or possibly her actually being that impatient), she demanded: "Now, stop yer chin wagging and get ready to fight! Release your Pokemon in the next ten seconds or forfeit." She didn't send out her own next Pokemon, waiting to see what I would choose.

Her Rotom had floated down by this point and began counting down 'helpfully.' "Ten, bzzt, nine…" My mind raced, taking in the new environment. Vast pillars of stone jutted up into the air in the background, but much of the space down here was open and filled with water, though it wasn't deep. Both a boon in that it'll be easy to move around in and a bane in that she'll probably be able to freeze it solid easily too - we might be out of the snow zone and she's lost her weather setter, but I'm certain her other Pokemon can use Snowscape too.

Realistically, I knew which Pokemon to send out here, two of my strongest and the best equipped to take advantage of her Type specialization and who could fly and wouldn't be bogged down by the terrain. I hesitated however, as it felt like she had planned everything out up to this point, and yet, as the Rotom counted down to "Two, bzzt," I didn't have a choice. Releasing Notch and Radiance from their Pokeballs, I readied myself to take up the fight again.

Two things happened immediately after, before I could even give off my first command. Firstly, was Elsa laughing as she released her first non-Ice Type, a dopey looking Quagsire. Secondly, a number of sharp rocks burst out of the water, the first few slicing into Notch and Radiance until the former recovered from their surprise and stopped the rest with a flick of the wrist. She set up the Stealth Rocks for this from the getgo? That's crazy!

"Gambit four," Elsa called out, and her Pokemon leapt into action (though that might have been an overstatement for the Quagsire). Froslass conjured a ghostly flame that floated towards Notch, while Quagsire launched a glob of Toxic at them a moment after. Without hesitating, I held up my Keystone ring, Mega Evolving Diancie. In a show of light as dazzling as it ever was, Notch's gems grew larger and more ornate, the dress lengthened out, and we could all feel the power they had. Alright, I've got this now.

Elsa had a different reaction, turning her head slightly from the bright light at first before staring back with an eager grin. "Yes! Glad to see we're done with the tosh. Show me something Ace, I want a real challenge!" Big words from someone who's down just as many Pokemon as I am. I noticed her accent slipped up as she got more excited, but I didn't bother bantering with her any more, focusing my attention on the battle playing out before us.

Bursting with power, the Mega Evolution sphere had the unintended effect of dispersing their attacks, which normally would have been beneficial, but here stopped Notch's new Ability from reflecting the attacks. Radiance at least was able to land a powerful Fiery Dance that had Elsa's Froslass reeling, while powering the Paradox Pokemon up.

"Diamond Storm, Fiery Dance!" I shouted. That Quagsire is a problem, Diamond Storm will only do some chip damage against him due to his Ground Typing. But both of those Moves can do heavy damage to Froslass and might power up my Pokemon.

"Sword and Shield," was Elsa's next play, and a pretty simplistic, if effective strategy. Froslass covered herself with a Protect, the hivecomb, spherical barrier blocking out both my Pokemon's attacks, and the one sent by her partner. Quagsire flopped down to slap the water, making a large wave rise up and wash over all of the others.

"Quag," the Water Type said proudly afterwards, earning a glare from Radiance.

She can't shield herself forever so her next choice will be- right, that trick. "Radiance, bring the sun, Notch, Mega Punch the Quagsire." I wasn't one hundred percent sure in my estimation, but I breathed a sigh of relief as I heard Elsa's next call, a split second after mine.

"Destiny- no, blanket the sun in ice, Earth Power!" Radiance was the first to move, shooting up a burning orb of light, heating up the area faster than Froslass could respond. Notch moved faster than Quagsire or even the speedy Froslass, flying in with an arm pulled back and landing a hefty haymaker straight into Quagsire, sending the Water Type back a few meters and had him groaning.

"Solar Beam!" I shouted, triumphantly, pointing at the prone Quagsire. Radiance extended their wings, gathering energy from the fake sun on the tips of all six before bringing them together in a beam that cut through the earth before impacting the Water Type with a powerful attack that should have knocked him out, but somehow, he warbled and got back to his feet, just as snow started blanketing the field again. Did he eat a Berry just now? Could have been a Rindo, or maybe even a Sitrus Berry back when Notch punched him. Still, odd that it did so little even with that, given the boost Radiance has from their Fiery Dance.

My body was starting to feel strange, the sudden changes in temperature not feeling great, but I pushed through it, determined to finish this. "Sandstorm, chip away at them," I told Notch, my voice a little hoarse. "Fiery Dance!" I snapped a half beat later, pointing at Froslass, hoping my misdirect would catch Elsa off guard.

In a way, it did, with her going for another Surf from Quagsire, but it appeared she had given up on protecting her Froslass any longer, opting for an Icy Wind. The Move was fast enough to chip Radiance, slowing them down slightly, but Froslass then fell to their fiery wings. That drop is canceled out by the Booster Energy, and Radiance's base speed is incredible.

As they swooped back to my side, they easily avoided the Surf that crashed towards them, cresting just above where the water rushed by. Notch was ready too, but they were still clipped by the waves, which thankfully only lightly lapped at my feet as they hit the shore. There was one trick left though, as this attack contained a bubble which popped to the surface as the water died down, a yellow cloud drifting up to envelope Radiance from below.

Is she mocking me? Normally I wouldn't think such things of a trick my opponent used, but to hew so closely to the kinds of Moves I'd developed with Dun… I narrowed my eyes. Mostly because of the Sandstorm raging around us, kicking up motes of particulate matter, admittedly, but also to glare at the vague shape of Elsa across the ruined battlefield.

While her form was hard to discern, her words were not, and they sent a jolt of fear through my heart. "Belly Drum!" The teenager announced, calling for the Move and not declaring her next Pokemon. The sparkling, white furred and pale green gorilla like Pokemon was easy to make out, the Galarian Darmanitan cheerfully pounding her belly the moment she was released from her Pokeball.

"Sludge Wave, Diamond Storm!" The Darmanitan had already shifted forms, becoming an odd snowman like figure. There was a flame sticking out of the top snowball, showing off the King's Crown sitting there, with patterns like eyes on that top sphere. The real eyes however, where on the bottom snowball, highlighted by a magenta mask, two large hands, seemingly bereft of arms, stuck out on either side of this mound.

Elsa pulled out her own Tera Orb, tossing it above her Darmanitan's head, crystals forming around the Zen Mode Pokemon, then shattering to reveal an even more sparkling Tera 'hat' jewel in the shape of a fist. While the diamonds beat rather ineffectually against the now Fighting Type Pokemon, the Sludge Wave at least caused the Galarian Darmanitan to hiss in anger and pain (though it also did the same to Notch, but my Pokemon dealt with the attack much more stoically). Quagsire took the hits the best, Recovering from them and the damage he'd already been dealt.

"Earthquake!" Elsa called out, and I hastily recalled Radiance, both to avoid that attack and to deal with how they were already drooping in the air from the Yawn. The waves of earth rose up high, battering into Notch hard, only the layers of diamond armor they'd already accumulated enough to stop the super effective attack from taking them out. Once more though, I noticed that her Quagsire tanked the hit remarkably well.

How- dammit, he has Unaware! I cursed myself for not recognizing it earlier, but with Notch hurt and facing off against two foes, there was no time for self recrimination.

"Dun, you're up!" I called, tossing out his Pokeball. My Starter gave a fierce cry as he emerged from his Pokeball. At the same time, mentally I reached out to Notch. ['Trick Room, and rise out of Earthquake range.']

Notch did so easily, showing off their control by being able to set up the tricky Move even while moving. Dun tried to Glare at his opponent right away, but Elsa said "Eyes shut," and her Darmanitan closed his eyes tight.

"Earth Power, knock out that glittering eyesore. You know what your problem is?" Elsa asked, in between directing her Pokemon. "Icicle crash, 25 meters out, 44 degrees."

Dun flinched from the powerful spears of ice, and Notch wobbled in the air but remained standing (or well, hovering). "What?" I grit out, hoping she wouldn't notice the Trick Room going up.

"You're a predictable prat," she declared imperiously. "Glare as your quick fire debilitating Move when you're spooked, and now Trick Room," she declared as Notch's time-bending Move lit up across the open space. "'Cause you can't win with speed and power. Trick Room special," she called out, and Quagsire performed a little bow towards his partner, one arm pulled in, the other pointing out at my team. Suddenly, in defiance of the rules that should have governed the space they were in, Darmanitan raced ahead, blazing a trail behind her as she rushed up to Dun and began mercilessly smacking my Pokemon about with a strong Superpower.

"Dun!" I cried as my starter screeched in pain, the powerful attacks beating him hard. Scales were broken, and even his incredibly hard drill tail got cracked when he tried to interpose it between the attacks.

['Get lost!'] Notch screamed telepathically, lifting Elsa's Galarian Darmanitan up and tossing her hard with Psychic. I scrambled to try and recall Dun, but he surprised me, by managing to give out a loud, pained croak, that was as much a cry of pain as it was an attack, the Hyper Voice ripping across the air and taking down both of Elsa's Pokemon. Somehow, despite all the power, Terastalization, Zen Mode strength, everything, that she threw at him, Dun held on. As he finished, he gave a weak warble, turning to me and I was so proud of him.

There was a moment of silence after, and I huffed, breathing hard as the Sandstorm died down. Elsa, on the other side, had her hands over her ears but let go as the sonic attack abated, recalling her unconscious Pokemon, while I took the chance to look at Dun. He's certainly not doing great, but the crack sounded a lot worse than it was. I don't think he should fight any longer, but a week off and some calcium supplements and he'll be fine.

With that confirmed, I calmed down a little. "You done with this yet?" I asked, affecting a bored tone. In truth, she's not that bad, but after that stunt at the bridge and what she threatened me with, she doesn't deserve any resp- Elsa's pretty laughter echoed around the canyon, as if I'd just told the funniest joke she'd ever heard.

"Done? Not even close!" Elsa declared, drawing her last Pokeball. I wanted to shake it off as the deranged laughter, but her eyes sparkled too clearly for that. Does she really think she can pull it off? I have a Legendary and a Paradox Pokemon, plus Phantasm! Even without Dun I'd win-

"Time for your grand debut, Glastrier!" Elsa tossed the Pokeball up, high in the air, where it burst open to reveal an intimidating form. A pale white horse, with ice for their mane and hooves, spikes of the substance covering their face and lower legs, obscuring the details so all I could make out underneath it were the glowing golden eyes, balefully glaring out at me. On their body, covering their flanks and the sides of their legs was a set of white and blue barding, clearly a very customized variant of an Assault Vest.

Their presence was such that I would have known them for what they were even had I not vaguely remembered them mentioned online from a DLC I never played. Likely even if, by merely exiting their Pokeball, the ground did not instantly cover over with frost, what remained of the water and muck freezing, and then cracking from where the Pokemon landed, I still would have known this Pokemon for what they were (though all of that did add to the impact of their arrival). A Legendary.

I had a Legendary of my own, I had Pokemon as strong as Legendaries, so it shouldn't have been so shocking, but the sudden appearance threw me off for a moment, which was long enough for them to charge in, icy chunks of earth and water torn up by their hooves.

I recalled Dun out of the way in the nick of time, but they quickly (yet ungainly - a combination I expected was due to the Trick Room) swiveled to charge down Notch. Without needing an order, Notch pulled up a Protect to buy some time while I sent in Radiance. "Diamond Storm, Overheat! Give no quarter!" I would prefer to start with something like Acid Spray and weaken such an obviously defensive Pokemon but-

There was no time. In the Trick Room, Radiance moved so slowly Elsa had ample time to call out "High Horsepower," and see Glastrier literally stomp the Paradox Pokemon into the dirt. The Move dealt massive damage to Radiance, but Notch struck with dozens of diamonds, ripping into Glastrier while delicately avoiding hitting Radiance, who was just hanging into the fight. An explosion of flame and heat burst out from the Paradox Pokemon, enough that I had to shield my face for a moment…

… and when I looked again, I saw that Elsa's ace had finished the job, stomping on Radiance a few times and utterly defeating them. The Legendary Ice Type neighed loudly and I shivered. Part of me wants to hold out on sending in Phantasm, at least until Trick Room is done, but then Notch is stuck in the same spot. No, there's no point not going all-in here! We'll finish this with everything we have!

"Phantasm, Bitter Malice!" I called out as I recalled Radiance and released my Ghost Type. Phantasm gave a wild, hateful howl as she hit the field, glaring at the enemy. For a moment, I thought her rage was so great she wouldn't hear (or heed) the subtle call as I twisted the air to carry my voice only to her. "Protect," I told her, and she managed to pull up a barrier to block the horse's charge - mostly.

There were many different ways to train Protect (to train any Move, really). For my team, I trained Protect as an emergency 'get out of attack free' card. It wasn't very maneuverable when summoned, couldn't be used to trap others inside the barrier, and they couldn't spam it in a row often or it would likely fail. But I trained speed and power. So I was shocked when I saw the Icicle Crash Glastrier sent Phantasm's way cracking through the barrier, even a little bit.

I had no time to fret or worry though, as we needed to go on the attack, now that our defensive window had ended. Notch had pulled off an Iron Defense while Glastrier and Phantasm were busy fighting, and at my mental prompting, moved to land a Body Press on the obnoxious horse.

Her Ace had taken the other attacks fairly easily, but Elsa (rightfully) feared this one, so ordered her Pokemon to: "Dodge the Diancie, Lash Out at the illusionist." With the Trick Room still active, they did just that, prancing around Notch's attempts to pin them. Phantasm launched a Bitter Malice, the shadowy tendrils reaching up from underneath and sapping the strength of the Legendary. Almost immediately after they reared around blindly, and on seeming sheer luck, slammed out with a Dark coated hoof, knocking Phantasm out with a sickening crunch.

They neighed loudly upon their victory, and once again, I felt a deep chill strike me to the bone, one that had less to do with the weather and more with the power of that great beast. It didn't escape my attention however, that the temperature dropped down once again, a sign of the strength gathering within the Ice Type.

The faint purple tile-shaped gleam around the air showed that we'd finally run out the clock and Trick Room was finished. We have the edge, but is it enough? Notch has taken a heavy beating. Recalling Phantasm away from the field of battle, I called for, "Ancient Power, keep your distance!"

Notch attempted to do so, but it proved trickier than anticipated. Glastrier proved themself to not be slow, ramming through the ancient rocks Notch conjured and threw their way and slamming into them with a High Horsepower. Glastrier attempted to finish the job, much like they had with Radiance, but Notch grabbed onto the offending leg with Psychic, twisting it and throwing them off. Given the immense weight and power of the Ice Type, it was likely a Move that wouldn't have worked, had Notch not trained to be so precise with Psychic (most non-Psychics would have simply tried to grab the whole Pokemon, and failed because of it).

As Notch flew away, I adjusted our strategy. "Power Gem and strafe." Plenty of Pokemon that have a low 'speed stat' are decently quick, in a straight line at least, with build up time, but have terrible maneuverability. I'm betting Glastrier is the same. My prediction seemed likely to be true, as Elsa changed her strategy instead, rather than try and challenge us there.

"Glacial Lance." Glastrier bore a painful beam from the heart shaped diamond on Notch's head, and gave a broad grin showing their tombstone teeth as they retaliated with a volley of massive ice shaped polearms. I distantly noted that they were all different kinds of polearms, and that either Elsa or Glastrier (or both) were likely weapon aficionados. Most of my attention was taken up by worry for Notch as the extraordinarily powerful Ice Type attack hit them, and for myself, one of the lances landing half a meter away from my feet.

"Up high, beams and mirrors!" I shouted, my voice cracking. Glastrier was proving themself to be monstrously tough, but each hit we landed added up. So too did theirs however, Notch's body looking as chipped and worn as I'd ever seen it. My Pokemon flew up, conjuring planes of diamond, angled to let the Dazzling Gleams they fired off hit Glastrier. It's likely that the 'Glacial Lance' Move can still reach up here, but hopefully it won't have the same range of coverage, letting Notch slip through if they try it.

"Ascend, show them there's no escaping the bitter end!" Elsa declared dramatically, pointing a finger up to the sky. Glastrier jumped up high, the impact shaking the ground almost as much as an Earthquake would have. Notch expertly positioned the Dazzling Gleam to burn away at multiple points as the Ice Type soared upwards, but had to give up that angle of attack before long, darting to the open air.

Stuck in the air, an equine based Pokemon like Glastrier should have had no hope of pursuing Notch, but they were a Legendary for a reason. Our foe left my Pokemon with no time to escape, conjuring platforms of ice to leap off of towards their quarry. Notch raised a hand, pulling apart the diamond mirrors and into a hurricane of razor sharp rocks, flying up like a brilliant reverse waterfall at Elsa's Pokemon. The sharp gemstones sliced hard into Glastrier's fur joining a litany of other cuts and bruises that covered their body by now, but they pushed through, jumping through the air until they reached Notch, hitting them down hard with a Smart Strike in the form of a headbutt.

Icy head met diamond armor, and diamond armor gave way, shattering before the strike as Notch crashed into the ground. My Legendary wasn't defeated yet, despite all the punishment they'd taken, the Babiri Berry greatly helping in letting Notch withstand that last attack. Elsa was keen to see that determination undone, ordering another Smart Strike.

Notch was on the ground, Glastrier bearing down from on high, when my Pokemon pushed themself up on one arm. ['I- I can't lose. Not here, Nemona needs me!'] Notch declared defiantly, pivoting off the ground and swinging with the other hand. The powerful arm hit Glastrier hard in the side of the neck, knocking the Ice type away before they could land their finishing blow.

Elsa's Pokemon landed in a heap in front of her, and I thought that we had finally done it, but then, Glastrier's eyes snapped open. "Glacial Lance! Finish this! NOW!" Elsa screamed. Half rising, Elsa's Pokemon slammed a hoof against the ground, conjuring a vast spear of ice and sending it flying over. Notch attempted to rise, but they were exhausted and battered, unable to get away from the attack. It shattered into them, breaking into a million shards of ice and diamond, Notch reverting from their Mega Evolution as they fell back down with a sad chime. I dropped to my knees.

We lost.

Spoiler: A/N:

And here we are, at the fight I've been building to for a while now (twenty chapters or so, I think?). Originally, I had planned on splitting the battle into two parts, but ultimately decided that it was better to just have all the aftermath stuff take place in one chapter after and all the battle stuff here.

Unsurprisingly, there's going to be a lot of aftermath to deal with, what with this being Nemona's first loss in a long time. I knew in the Blueberry Arc there would be some controversial chapters, and I expect this will definitely be one of them. Not many people like to see the protagonist lose, but hopefully this battle and subsequent loss made sense and didn't come completely out of nowhere (Elsa had seen Nemona's battles, on video and first hand, and in the last interlude went into this believing she had a shot at winning this).

I understand though that it may be a bit shocking though, and that's fair, as Elsa's prowess comes as a surprise to Nemona herself. We generally see the world through her eyes, and for a couple of reasons, she was caught quite off guard by this. I do plan on revealing more about Elsa, her situation, and the rest of the League Club, in time. They are going to be important characters moving forward for the Blueberry Arc, and it should be interesting to get a bit more in-depth with what they're all like.

Oh, and because I anticipate some questions, Quagsire used After You to let Darmanitan strike before Nemona's Pokemon in Trick Room, and the attack that Glastrier used isn't actually Glacial Lance. It's a custom spread version of Avalanch. As for other questions, hopefully many of those will be answered in the next chapter, which will be up immediately.

Thank you all for reading, and for following me 100 chapters into this story (not including the Interludes). I never thought I'd get this far and it's awesome to have reached this milestone. I really appreciate all of you and the care you have for this story. I hope that despite having a negative moment here, you'll trust in me and this story you've followed so far and give me the chance to let it unfold fully. While I can't promise only happy moments, I can garauntee that most things will get a happy ending. Pokemon is a world filled with optimisim and joy, even through the tough times, and i hope to reflect that with my story.

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

I'd like to thank my 63 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, HanShotFirst, and Garreon LeFay, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means so much to me.

What could I have done differently? Where did I go wrong? Those thoughts plagued me as I trudged over to the central court. The few students there pointed and stared, a few snickering at me as they looked at their phones.

Clearly, word of my defeat has spread fast. Despite that, none of them came up to mock me directly as I walked up the ramp to the healing machine. Placing my Pokeballs within it I watched as they were healed, at least as best as they could be. None of the damage my team had taken was permanent, but the readings on the machine confirmed what I had expected; it would take a bit of time for some, like Dun, to be back in fighting shape.

With my team looked after as best as I could at the moment, I lay down on the edge of the platform. The Ditto Blocks were hard and not super comfortable to lie on, which felt fitting for the mood I was in. I let one arm dangle over the long edge, replaying every moment of the fight in my head.

A million different strategies whirled through my head in that moment, different tactics I could have tried. I didn't send out Athena even though she has a great Type match up against most of Elsa's team. Or would that have just prompted her to use her Darmanitan early? But I might have handled that one better if she didn't have Quagsire backing her up. I totally missed the Unaware Quagsire had, why did I make such a basic mistake? I should know this! And her Froslass was frail, I could have used Bahamut and perfect accuracy moves like Aerial Ace and just overwhelmed her! If Torkoal was strong enough, I could have used her to counter the Snow as well - but maybe if I'd spent more time helping train my current team they'd have the Moves to counter Elsa's team. Solar Beam took too much set up against Quagsire. Can Iron Moths learn other Grass Type Moves? I've focused on control and speed, but clearly I need power too…

On and on it went, different ways I could have fought, different ways in which she might have countered me. I was so lost in my own mind I barely noticed Kieran saying, "Hey Nemona," in a dull tone. Flopping my head over to the side, I saw the young Kitakami boy sitting in the corner with his arms wrapped around his knees. Lacy paced back and forth, hands clenched so tight into fists at her sides that I saw a drip of blood running out from them. Lying beside the ledge I was on was Drayton, looking almost like he usually would, if not for the tightness of his jaw and the fact that his hands weren't planted behind his head but instead lay rigid at his sides.

They clearly got thrashed just as badly as I did. I wanted to ask them how it went, say… something. Anything. But I couldn't muster the will to do so. What would be the point even?

Not everyone shared our gloom, or restraint, as Carmine strode up the ramp, a spring in her step as she approached the healing machine. "I just had an epic match- whoa, what gives?" She asked, the joy dimming slightly as she took in not just our presence, but also our miserable state.

"Didn't whoever fought you say? The League jerks came to fight all of us at the same time," Kieran spat out, an uncharacteristic venom in his voice.

"And they beat all of you? Even you, Nemona?" Carmine looked shocked, and I winced.

I think that's what makes this loss sting so hard. Perhaps it's egotistical, but I thought I was above this kind of thing. I beat the strongest Trainers in Paldea, back-to-back! Who could beat me in a fair fight? Oh sure, if I fought and lost against Ash Ketchum or some other character I knew from my past life, I might be able to rationalize it away, but Elsa Death? She was a nobody, in my eyes.

"Yeah, I lost." I said, perhaps a bit harsher than I'd intended. Clearing my throat, I acted like my aggression hadn't gotten the best of me and added, "Elsa was stronger than I imagined. Far stronger than any of the League Club members in class." But of course she is! Why did I suspect that the Champion, the best in the school, would be on the same level as any of the first years in my battle classes? Because I fought one of the Elites who was obviously holding back and I didn't find him to be that hard? Stupid, stupid Nemona.

Drayton chimed in next. "I fought Ares. He was a bit thick, but tougher than he looked. I- I really thought I had him beat for a moment there, but his Falinks just kept on going and rolled us. I didn't think they'd be that durable."

Kieran's head raised slightly. "The pink haired girl," he said, as if spitting out a vile curse. "She crushed my team. Dipplin fought so hard, but then she did this weird dance and her Dragon - never seen anything like it before, big and black and scary, with arms poking out of it's big mouth - did some kind of super move and wiped Dip out. I thought they were going to eat him!" He rubbed his Pokeball in a reassuring fashion which was shaking slightly.

The description was disturbingly familiar to me, and while not technically a Legendary, an Ultra Beast with a Z-Move backing them up was nothing to sneeze at. These other Elite Four don't sound like pushovers either. I- could I at least beat them? I wanted to think I could, but doubt lingered.

"Atticus said I should just give up on my team, that they were worthless!" Lacey suddenly shouted. "As if the fact that they're cute means they're weak! My Pokemon are strong and cute! Stupid, smug, bastard-"

"Whoa," Carmine said before Lacey could reveal some of the more inventive curses she had offhandedly mentioned (but never divulged before) she had learned from her father's miner friends. "Sounds rough." Carmine's yellow eyes caught mine and I turned away. What do you want me to say? I got my ass beat too?

"The girl I fought, she had bright blue hair, and a really strong Minior. She was talking a bunch of smack, something about wanting to 'put us in our place' because we were helping other students? I didn't really get it, but my team managed to beat her!" I saw the tall girl try to give us a reassuring grin, but when that failed, she slumped a bit and went over to the healing machine. A glance at the readout showed that her team was all in pretty rough shape too, indicating that even though she won, it must have been a near thing.

I felt like shit, doubly so for the loss, and the way I was behaving. Carmine doesn't need to be dealing with all of this. None of them do; I'm supposed to be an adult, for Arceus' sake! Why is this loss getting me down so hard?

Pulling myself upright to a sitting position, I focused, trying to think on why it was, rather than getting lost in could-have-beens. Okay, so first off, Elsa has been a bitch since day one. She's had a chip on her shoulder, constantly challenging me in subtle ways, and even when I'm not involved, she's just pretty rude. Losing to someone like that always stings more than a loss against someone you respect. There's more to it than that, though.

This is the first time I've legitimately lost to someone around my age. The few other losses I'd been dealt always came at the hands of Trainers who had decades of experience on me. Elsa was a bit older than my physical body, but not by much, and a lot younger than I was in mind. It made me wonder if what some detractors said online was true - that I was only a big fish in the small pond of Paldea's battling scene. That I won't be able to cut it in the wider world.

Apparently, Athena had enough of my wallowing, as she made her displeasure clear, popping out of her Pokeball. "Ario." She growled, her arms crossed, which basically meant 'How long are you going to sit here.'

"I dunno, as long as it takes for me to figure out what went wrong," I snarked back. My friends watched on with mild amusement, before she stomped a foot so hard it shook the landing pad we were on, jostling everyone.

"Ugh," Drayton moaned before picking himself up. "She's got a point though; sitting around here isn't doing us any good." That caused all of us to share in shock at the Dragon Trainer, Lacey even gasping.

"You are going to get up?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Only way to get stronger. I might prefer to lie around in the sun, but I want to make sure that if that jerk ever challenges Duraludon again, we give him a shock. And I think I know just the way to do so…" he trailed off, lost in his own thoughts before waving goodbye to us. This (or being disrupted by Athena) invigorated the rest of the group.

"I'm going to train as hard as I possibly can," Kieran said, a slightly crazed look in his eyes. "We're going to find out how to evolve Dipplin, and then we'll fucking crush that girl!"

"Kiki…" Carmine said, reaching out a hand to her brother, but he ignored it as he stormed off. Didn't he kinda go crazy at the end of the Teal Mask DLC? I thought it was supposed to be because of that mystery Pokemon that manipulated the Loyal Three but… maybe it's just Kieran. I should really check in on him later and make sure he's okay.

Lacey gave a fierce nod, determined not to be outdone by the boys. "I'm going to ask my dad for some tips."

"You didn't before?" Carmine blurted out. You might be a strong Trainer and sharp academically, but tact is not your strong suit, is it?

The pink-clad girl didn't take offense, however. "Dad is a Ground Type specialist. I- I wanted to be just like him, but lately, I've been adding more and more Fairy Types to my team. I was worried he might be disappointed or something," Lacey's voice dropped off as she said those last words. "But I was just being silly; Daddy will love me no matter what, and he's learned from tons of Trainers all around the world. Besides, he can help me with Drillbur - I might be training mostly Fairies, but Drillbur is always going to be a part of my team."

I was a little stunned by how bright and mature Lacey was. It might seem foolish to have been worried at first, but she's just ten, and she's handling it very well. Makes me wonder what I'm doing with myself.

As she left, Carmine turned to me, placing a hand on her hip. "So? What are you going to do?"

"I… don't know yet. But I'm going to keep moving forward," I said, standing up. "Thank you," I said sincerely, nodding to both Carmine and Athena. "I needed a kick in the pants."

"You can always count on me to kick your pants," the taller girl said, pointing a thumb proudly at herself. Athena and I stared for a second before she snorted and I laughed loudly. "Hey!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said, the words rather undercut by being between giggles. "It's just- who says that?"

"But I- you- you were the one who said I gave you a kick in the pants in the first place!"

"Yeah, but no one ever says they'll kick someone else's pants! Hahaha, oh man."

"Wha- you make up the weirdest sayings! I'm not weird for saying it, you are!" Carmine declared, blushing harder. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw her smiling faintly. It might not be an answer to everything, but this moment right here, it's a start.

***

The good feelings left from that meeting faded away as I was left to stew in my own thoughts. Admittedly, hearing the kids point and whisper in the halls doesn't help. The video had well and made the rounds by now and there was gossip a plenty to be had about my showing against the League Club Champion. I'd even heard students I'd helped before making fun of me. It burns, but kids can be cruel. Besides, maybe they're right, and I am only a 'Paldean Phony.'

Admittedly, there were also those trying to say nice things about me, commenting how far I'd gotten against Elsa, or cursing her. Some are pointing out how dangerous the video seemed, but many just seem to not like her in general (and I can see why). Hearing those comments should be nice, but I just hear the disparaging ones ringing in my head. Even the words that don't mean to be, like the ones worried about what will happen now that Elsa's won just seem to hammer home my defeat.

Sally was the first student outside my fellow defeated friends to approach me, finding me in the dormitory hallways as I trudged towards my room. "Nemona, I saw what happened and…" I didn't know how to respond as she trailed off. Say 'I'm sorry?' Or maybe warn her to stick clear of the League Club since clearly I can't protect her from the bullies and jerks there.

Luckily, I didn't have to as she opted to hug me instead. "That looked crazy Elsa was so scary and-"

"It's fine," I said reflexively, patting the smaller girl's shoulder. Behind her, I saw Chumley standing nearby, looking like he wanted to be supportive, but wasn't sure what to do.

"I just saw your match, and it was awesome," Chumley added, trying to be encouraging.

"Awesome is not the word I would use," I responded ruefully.

"Yeah, losing sucks," he admitted. "Take it from someone who knows what it's like. A lot. But the battle itself was amazing! I've never seen so many cool Moves before! Everyone said how cool it was you were a Champion but I didn't really get it till I saw that match."

"Thanks," I said, trying not to feel too rueful over my mistakes. Yes, there's things I could have done better. Before the battle, I could have recognized she was a larger threat and investigated, not gotten complacent and distracted with my own projects. And there's always ways to improve in a battle. But I can't let that drag me down.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Judai asked guilelessly, waving as he approached. If it was anyone else, I'd think they were just having a go at me, but no. He really must not have seen it. How though?

A bit of questioning revealed that his tablet was out of charge and he just hadn't been paying much attention to the gossip in the hallways. It also made him eager to watch the 'super cool battle' for himself, so I invited the three of them into my room and we began watching the whole thing.

It's so odd to see it from this perspective, I mused, watching the battle go down. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, though admittedly, having friends cheer me on from the screen helped a lot. And I'd have had to review this extensively anyways, if I'm to get better than her. Already, I can see that my Pokemon were stronger than hers, but she had more skill for double battles than us. Well, weaker except for that Legendary.

It had been so shocking before, and while I still burned with curiosity over how she got a Legendary on her team, I realized it wasn't so impossible. Plenty of people in the show had Legendaries, and it's not like Ash didn't meet a million over the course of his journey. The Explorers told me of how some great hero a hundred years ago had a Shiny Rayquaza, and he was hardly the first. Yeah, Legendaries are rare, but hardly impossible to obtain. Just because I hadn't heard of her before doesn't mean she couldn't do that. I did, caught two, by the perspectives of most people in the world. And I can plan a way to beat her too.

"You're gonna beat her?" Judai echoed, having caught the words I had inadvertently spoken allowed. "Sweet! Can't wait to see your rematch." The others cheered similar things, and I gave an awkward smile.

"Thank you, but I don't think it'll be any time soon. This match showed I have a lot to work on. Though… I do have some targets in mind to practice on."

"Uhm," Sally spoke up, fidgeting slightly. "Will you still have time to teach us? You offered some pointers, but Trubbish and I still have a long way to go… I understand if you'll be busy," she said with a forced smile on her face, likely from how I froze at the question.

"No, I can still do it," I said reflexively even as I worried. That'll take away time, time I could be spending training. But do I just discard time with my friends? I mean, I need to take breaks too so I could try to fit that in. Though there's my other hobbies, and other friends, and schoolwork, all to balance too…

"Hey, if you're too busy training up for your rematch, I can always take over for ya!" Judai said, pointing a thumb at himself proudly. He's also trying to give me a way out, recognizing my heart wasn't in it at first, which is kind of him.

"Thanks so much, big bro," Sally said to Judai before turning back to me. "But you aren't abandoning us, right Nemona? Judai is great but he doesn't quite have your drive… or scheduling capabilities." I don't get why she calls him 'big bro,' since they aren't related, but it seems to be a sign of respect. At least she doesn't call me 'big sis,' that'd be really weird, what with being the little sister of my family.

"I think Miles takes most of the credit for that, I said, letting go of some of the tension which had gripped me. "And I believe I'll definitely have time to teach you guys a thing or two. Might be less time and less hands-on than I thought, but I can make it work," I said, this time with more surety." Yeah, it'll be a lot of work, but I've got time. More of it now that the Goomy enclosure is set up and if I cut back on all the Blueberry Quests. It'll be tough, but I'm sure I can manage that much.

***

A day later I got a call into the Director's office over the PA system. Elsa got called in as well, so there's only one thing this could be about. The only real question is what is Cyrano's take on our fight? Some of the teachers clearly favored the League Club, while others were neutral, but it was hard to get a sense of what the founder of Blueberry Academy was feeling at the best of times.

Unsurprisingly, the Director's office was wall to ceiling blue. Different shades and varieties, all done very tastefully, but nonetheless, blue. The bookshelf to the side, painted a dark blue, with all the various books on it in different shades of blue jackets (save for a copy of the Violet Book, which merely had a very dark violet outer cover), including ones that I didn't think came in that color usually. The coffee desk near the entrance, a light blue, his computer and desk a rich blue. The cabinets to the side which must have contained important paper records, made of a blue metal alloy. Even the view outside his window behind his seat was blue, though given this was one of the few places within the academy above sea level, that one was probably more nature's fault.

"Nemona," Director Cyrano greeted me warmly. "Please, have a seat." He gestured at one of the two chairs placed in front of his desk. I did so, trying not to fidget. He doesn't sound angry with me, but he might just be waiting for Elsa to arrive to really lay into us. Not that I had done anything, but being called to the principal's office was always nerve racking, and some people in authority just liked to blame everyone involved in an incident.

It didn't take long for Elsa to arrive, the girl giving me an icy glare before settling down in the seat beside mine, tapping a finger impatiently. "Director," she greeted the man who had called us here.

"Yes?" He asked, and we both had an 'anime sweatdrop moment.' Did he seriously forget wh- "Oh right, why I called you here! Something came to my attention recently," he stated, his blue cased Rotom phone floating up and swiveling around to show us the fight Elsa had recorded. Expanding to tablet form, we saw in high definition the moment Vanilly exploded.

The scene was a bit confusing from the point of Elsa's Rotom which had been recording the battle, but it did float down in time to catch me yelling at Elsa and her brushing off what I said. The video paused there and Cyrano spoke up, his voice far more serious than I'd ever heard before.

"I love a good battle as much as the next Trainer, but this right here looks reckless, Miss Death. We have numerous battle courts around the school and in the Terarium for a reason. I'm glad to see that both of you appear uninjured, but why would you do something so dangerous?"

Elsa's lips twitched for a moment before she crossed her arms, saying, "Nemona had her Aura, and it's Flying aligned too. She was fine."

The Director didn't seem fazed by her mention of Aura or the implications of what mine could do, simply turning to me and asking, "Is this true? Did your Aura have enough strength to save you from that fall? Did Miss Death know that?"

This is it, my moment, if I want it. I could get her kicked out of her own club - heck, I might be able to get her expelled, if I press hard enough. It still depended on Cyrano's opinion in the end; I wasn't how hard I could press it given he was the ultimate authority here.

In any case, I could make life quite difficult for Elsa Death here, and from the way I saw her tightly gripping her chair arms, frost running down them as her Aura slipped, she knew it too. The tapping before might have been more nervousness than irritation too. Part of me was very tempted to do so… but I had another plan in mind, so turning my gaze back to our Director, I said:

"She's not wrong in that I was safe during the fall. I have some training in Aura, and she knew that. I can't say how great her knowledge of my skill was, but she had her Froslass hold my Pokemon and lower them down gently after they fainted from the Explosion. I suspect that even if I'd had some difficulty arresting my own fall, she would have been able to ensure I wasn't unduly hurt from that." Hmm, had Miles been in their phone case at the time, they could have stopped my fall too. I should talk to dad about training the Rotoms at the company to help people that are falling and stop them from splatting against the ground, I'm sure most of them would be fast enough to do so.

It was nigh imperceptible, but my ears did pick up the slight sigh of relief Elsa let loose. I'm not letting you entirely off the hook though. I quickly added, "I do take a bit of an issue with the lance that almost speared my foot, however," I pointed out, which caused the teenager to get defensive.

"Wha- you were fine, it didn't even touch you! Not like your Hyper Voice! My ears are still ringing," she crossed her arms and pouted. The Director decided to intervene here.

"Then it sounds like you both got a wonderful lesson on the importance of proper safety equipment while battling. I know it might not seem as dramatic, or 'ruin the mood' between young rivals, but it's for your own good."

"Right/Yeah," we both said and he clapped his hands together.

"Wonderful. And as the head of the League Club, you can go around and give lectures to the other students, reiterating exactly why they're important and where all the proper arenas are around the school." Cyrano declared, turning to face the other girl.

It may not have been stated directly as a punishment for her general conduct, but Elsa, the Director, and myself, all knew it for what it was (especially since I did not get any such orders), so the girl grit her teeth, but nodded her head. I can't feel too bad about that. Yes, we both went a bit far at the end, but she did start this whole thing.

"Yes, sir. May I be excused?" He nodded, and she turned on her heel and began marching out. Just as she reached the door however, she stopped. "I'm sorry."

"What?" I said, a little shocked.

"What I said at the beginning of the match, before I started recording it. That was… wrong of me." Then, without waiting for a response, she continued out the door, leaving me alone with the Director. She phrased it such that she could pretend it was just an insult and avoid harsh punishment for what she actually did, threatening the Goomys under my care. Still, at the end of the day, she is apologizing for it, and I sense true contrition in her tone. I'll keep an eye on her, but it does make me feel better about the path I've settled on.

"Was there anything else you needed me for?" I asked, not expecting there to be anything when the man snapped his fingers together.

"Ah, right! You applied for a permit to bring on a film crew to the Terarium for your music video." He stated and it took me a moment to remember I had indeed applied for that special request months ago, my mind occupied currently on Elsa and her ilk. "Consider it approved! Let the staff know the exact date and locations a week in advance and we can clear the area for you. It'll be uhhh, 300 BP, he said.

I'm kinda surprised that he dealt with this kind of stuff directly… then again, it is an unusual request. It's not anything standard you can apply for, and it's not a research related issue either, so the scientists wouldn't handle it. The number seemed quite low for what I wanted, and I wondered if he was trying to be kind to me because of what happened with Elsa, or if he just picked a number at random without thinking too hard about it.

"I- Thank you, sir." I wasn't sure if he could see the internal conflict I was feeling, and I ducked my gaze to avoid any further scrutiny from the Director. I'll figure out that later. For now, I have a plan to enact.

***

I discussed my plan with my friends, and it didn't take much convincing to get them on board - they were as keen for revenge as I was. With that settled (and a bit of surreptitious surveillance from my stealthier Pokemon to ensure that all our targets would be in the room when we entered) we arrived at the League Clubroom doors.

They slid open to reveal the Club, looking pristine as ever. The icy theme (and massive ice throne at the end of the large table in the center) made it clear who the (currently) undisputed leader of the club was.. A dozen or so lower ranked club members milled about, chatting, using the equipment here, or just generally hanging out. These were the first ones to notice the entrance of, Kieran, Carmine, Lacey, Drayton, and I.

The sudden silence caught the attention of the League Elites and Champion, turning their attention away from the Rotom Phone currently running a video of our defeats, likely to be arranged into a 'highlight reel' or the like, just to further rub our defeat in our faces. As they saw us, all of them got out from their chairs to confront the five of us, a mixture of wariness and anticipation written on their faces. Fighting in an environment like this would be risky, but it was clear they didn't fear us. Not nearly as much as they should.

"What are you doing here?" Elsa asked coldly, her eyes running over all of us, as it to gauge the threat each of us posed.

I stepped forward. "After some thinking, I decided that you were right; general battle advice should come from the League Club. You were just wrong about who should be giving out that advice."

"Huh?" Ares asked, clearly not getting the implication, so I spelled it out for him.

"We're going to kick your butts and take your place as the new Elite Four and Champion," I dramatically said, waving my arms out to gesture at my friends. The background club members gasped in shock, while Elsa narrowed her eyes.

Charlotte Linlin laughed loudly. "We just beat you black and blue, and you're ready for more? Fine then, let's go!"

"Bring it on you pink-haired-" Kieran began before Cassandra interrupted him.

"Whoa, whoa, why are we letting these losers into the club? I thought the whole point of what we did was to show them their place." The teal haired girl turned to Elsa, though it was Atticus who answered.

"It's rather bold of you to say what 'we' did, when you're the only one who lost," he said witheringly. "Besides, if they wish to join, that fulfills our ends too. Though," he added haughtily, "Given past performances, I believe only one of us will be at risk of losing their place among our ranks."

Slowly, Elsa nodded. "That's correct. If they think themselves strong enough and want to work within our system, then they can earn the right to challenge us, just like any member of the League Club." Cassandra scowled but didn't speak up against her leader.

Marching up to Elsa, I passed her the registration forms we'd all signed earlier today. She took them, quickly skimming through before placing them down on the big desk. Her elites had stepped up behind her, glaring, sneering, analyzing, and smirking at me, and my friends, who had stepped up behind me to match them.

The Champion of the club held out a slender hand, I shook it, each of us doing our level best to crush the other in our grips. "Welcome, Nemona Glitterati, to the League Club."

Spoiler: A/N:

So this was hard. Honestly, really hard. Went over a few revisions to get things so they feel right, and even now I'm not certain. I do hope that this explains most things that people had issue with from the previous chapter, or at least makes them more understandable.

I know it begins on a bit of a negative note, but it felt necessary with where the last chapter left off. She's in a better place now and with a new mission in mind. The future should have some catharsis, and epic battles. With this set up, I also don't need to do them one after the other like with the Gauntlet, so we'll get to have some breathers in between her big fights as well and have some time for school and character moments.

Oh, and I'm sure there will be some complaints about how Nemona is handling this too, and that's fair. It's not meant to be a perfect justice system or punishment for what Elsa did, even if she's planning on giving her (and all of the Elites in the club) their comeuppance. But it felt right for her, and as I said, should hopefully lead to some good moments. Thank you for reading, I really appreciate how much people care for this story.

 

[Skyfyre]

Spoiler: Patreons:

Thank you to my 65 Beginner Tier Patreons, and an extra special thanks to RageLord, Nodal_Gravity, ExaltedRequiem, HanShotFirst, and Garreon LeFay, my Ace Tier Patreons! Your support means a ton to me.

Cyrano POV

I took in a deep breath, letting the salty air wash over me. Opening my eyes, I looked out at the water, sparkling in the sunlight and stretching out to the horizon. Wingulls lazily glided in the distance, and I spotted a few Goldeens jumping out of the water only to land back with a splash. Behind me, I heard students chatting, talking about Pokemon, their tests, and general gossip as they walked to and from the walkway, happily going about their lives. Ahh, what a wonderful day this is.

It was an easy thing to not pay attention to, to almost forget, caught up in the minutia of day to day life, but I truly believed that life was incredible. A new adventure around every turn, if you were open to it. That was why I always took a bit of my day walking about and appreciating the wonderful school I'd spent so long building.

A familiar beeping sound had me reaching for my phone and holding it up to my ear. "Yello?" I asked before instantly recoiling as the voice on the other end started shouting.

"Don't 'Yello' me! You're late and we can't start the faculty meeting without you!" Abigail London shouted, and I winced.

"Whoopsie. I'll be over there in a jiffy," I replied. She muttered something I couldn't hear properly (but likely was just grumbling then - Abigail was a direct woman and when she wanted you to know something, she would make it clear) and I hung up before briskly walking back to the entrance of the school.

I made my way to the central chamber, then took the staff elevator up, not down, to the top of the dome which was above the water level. There, I walked down the hallways, past my office and into the staff room where the rest of the faculty was waiting.

Around the large, blue, circular table sat Dr. Velian Crowler, tapping his spindly fingers impatiently on the desk's surface; Abigail London, who had her hands clasped in tight yet controlled frustration; Colress, the head of our research department, and many others. Teachers, engineers, etc.

We had far too many staff members to have all of them in a meeting like this (and indeed, I wouldn't be needed for every such meeting), but this was the monthly checkup with all the heads of each department. "Sorry about the lateness," I said brightly before moving on. It's important to be upfront about your mistakes, my ma always said, but I don't see that as a need to let us get mired down in negative thoughts.

"Let's get started. What's first on the agenda?" I asked, briefly glancing at the papers in front of me.

"Budget concerns," Colress replied crisply. "The research department is looking to expand our work. We have several promising new inventions and techniques we could share with the world to help the cash flow."

"Promising, but nothing solid yet," Abigail pointed out.

"I'm certain they'll live up to their expectations. I haven't let this school down before," Colress responded, the edge in his voice subtle, barely noticeable unless you knew what you were looking for. He doesn't appreciate anyone 'getting in the way' of his progress, and while he is right, I can't back him here.

"No one's saying you have, but the budget for the department for the year has been set." Give someone a Caterpie and they'll take an Onix. At the same time though, you can throw a Marrowack a bone. "Hmm, that being said, we can work on making those projects earn us a bit more. I'm sure that Trainers all over will be Garchomping at the bit to practice in a place they can use Terastalization. We can lend them Tera Orbs to use temporarily while here to test it out for themselves." And battle against it as well. It's the latest Enhancement effect and with the achievement of the Tera Sphere, Paldea will be able to utilize that effect more in the international tournaments. Other Trainers are going to start taking them a bit more seriously on the competitive scene, if up and commers like Nemona weren't already catching their eyes.

"That might overload our facility. We can't just let everyone in, and picking and choosing could lead to accusations of favoritism or prejudice." Crowler raised a reasonable point, and we thought on it for a moment.

"Why don't we let the kids choose?" I suggested, earning several odd stares. Righto, might need to explain my thought process here. "We can give the students the chance to invite guests in, for a bit of BP. That will stop us from getting too many, but still give us the chance to get the word out."

There was another benefit to be considered there, in how by giving us BP, the students were effectively paying us a bit too. BP was earned by them working for the school in different ways, which helped (sometimes literally) keep Blueberry Academy afloat, so if they were spending some for the coaches, that meant they'd be working more for it too. I'll try not to make it too onerous on the kids part; the majority of the costs for hosting them will be paid by the person invited, and they get their BP back if the guest can't make it.

I didn't like thinking about things in such a transactional manner, but it was something I'd learned to live with as I'd made the school. My dream had started small, but grown beyond my wildest imaginings. I couldn't be upset about that, but as it formed it's own economy and the like, I'd gotten the hang of leveraging these factors to continue our growth, and give back to the people who made it so fantastic.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Dr. Crowler declared, clapping his hands together. "We can use the League Club as a trial ground for that, and they can invite special coaches from abroad to further their skills." I quirked an eyebrow at the phrasing but nodded. It wasn't a bad idea to have a test version first, and 'special coaches' was a decent way of advertising it.

That serves another goal of mine here. I can instruct any coaches that come here to help subtly guide the League Club in a better direction. I already made sure to tell my teachers to instill certain values, of care and compassion, into their lectures, but the League Club had clearly developed it's own subculture that was either twisting or ignoring those lessons. Doubling down on that message from the staff is unlikely to help, the teenagers stubborn enough to ignore it, but if they hear it from people outside the school might help. And if they ignore that, then they'll miss out on an edge that could improve their battling skills.

"Those are hardly the only matters to discuss, however." Devron Jolt spoke up, a file of papers in his hands. "While I disagree with the thrust of some of their points, the papers of some of our students have performed exceptionally well. I was wondering about bumping them up a year or two."

I laughed happily. "We've got a truly exceptional crop this year!" Maybe even some good enough to face off against 'Saffron.' "Who are the students you're thinking of?"

He passed me over the folder containing the mid-year grades as he said "Carmine Masque and Nemona Glitterati."

"Oh, I remember reading over their entrance exams!" Dr. Crowler pipped in. "They were both quite excellently written considering their age. Nemona's was good for any age, frankly. And I heard she even bested our Abigail despite her going above and beyond what would be regularly necessary for the practical."

The Ace Trainer glared at Velian. "She's a Champion Trainer already! Was I supposed to hold back against someone like that? I'd like to see you do better."

"Hmph!" Velian declared, while gesticulating grandly. "I would hardly need to resort to such means to beat a child - let alone lose to one."

I clicked my tongue noisily, bringing their attention back to me. "Sorry, but I don't think these two can be moved up. These two are already early admission students, don't think the change up in grades would do them much good. 'Specially not with recent activities."

"Oh, what do you mean?" He asked and I was a little surprised. Some teachers don't see much of the school outside of the classes they teach. A shame.

Before I could speak up though, Colress answered. "She's been of great assistance to me in the Tera Sphere project, and is currently running her own experiment around reintroducing Hisuian Sliggoos and Goodras to the world. I understand that she's quite bright, but adding more to her workload feels ill-advised."

"And that's to say nothing of all the Blueberry Quests she's been doing, or her scuffle with Miss Death," Dana Hardy added. I suppressed a wince as I saw Abigail latch onto that like a Granbull.

"Yes, I'd been meaning to bring that up with you, sir," she said, turning to face me. "Those two engaged in a reckless battle that broke a significant bridge in the Terarium, ruined the field beneath, and nearly caused serious harm to each other. And you've given them practically no punishment whatsoever."

"Elsa, as the instigator of the incident, recieved a BP penalty to pay off the reconstruction costs. Don't underestimate just how skilled those folks are at repairing things down in the dome, they'll have things fixed right quick!" My bit of levity fell flat, so I just added, "They were warned on the danger of battling recklessly, and as Champion of the League Club, Miss Death has also been instructed to host a number of speeches at the end of classes to help inform the student body on why that kind of behavior is unacceptable. Plus, I've limited the ability of her and the rest of her Elites to run special events with League Club funding and permision till the end of the year. I don't think any further punishment is necessary."

Hmm, come to think of it, did I tell Elsa about the penalty? I didn't bring up the limiting of League Club powers during my speech with her and Nemona since that was a personal punishment and not the one the Club one. A quick check of her account on my tablet showed that her account hadn't been penalized yet. Whoopsy daisy. Better fix that quick. I sent out a message to that effect and deducted the BP from her account as the rest of the staff stared at me.

"For what reason do you think that further punishment is not necessary?" Abigail asked in a low, dangerous tone. "Miss Death already has a number of questionable rumors floating around her behavior, and Miss Glitterati comes from a very rich family and has a high position within her home region. They might think they can get away with bad behavior unless we punish them hard."

I scratched my chin for a moment, thinking. "Well, I got a good feeling about them." Crowler slipped out of his seat and fell to the ground as I finished my sentence. Hmm, best look into fixing that. He's jumping back up but I'd hate to see someone seriously hurt by these chairs.

"Sir, I must object to this!" He shouted before scrambling back up. "I can see giving some leeway to Elsa as the Champion of the League Club, but Nemona actually hurt her during that fight and has no such extra curricular alignmen-"

"Actually, I just heard through the ol' Carnivine that Nemona has joined the League Club herself. Looks like those two are fixing to resolve any lingering disputes through those channels."

"Ah, well that's fine then," Crowler said in a far more subdued tone as he righted his chair and sat down calmly.

"Are you kidding me?!" It was no Abigail's turn to burst out, her eyes glancing between Dr. Crowler and myself before settling on me as a target to vent her rage unto. "Just because you're sponsor for the League Club doesn't mean you can let them get away with this reckless behavior-"

"-You overstep your bounds as the head of the disciplinary committee!"

"It's literally my job!"

"They're just kids being kids!"

"Then why does that never come out of your mouth when it's kids not from the League Club screwing up?!"

"Well those are clearly different circumstances! Different circumstances!"

I let the two of them bicker for a few minutes, lost in my own thoughts as I scrolled through the alerts on my tablet. To be honest, part of me really considered expelling Elsa. She might not have too much by way of substantive complaints against her, but I listen to the rumors that go around the student body. Just because someone can skirt around the rules or avoid direct accusations doesn't mean they're behaving properly.

Two things held me back from expelling her. First, was the fact that until now, I hadn't heard of anything too egregious from the icy girl. For all her sharp edges, it was clear she cared about the school, wanting to live up to its reputation. Possibly too much so at times, holding others to a standard they might not be able to meet and certainly isn't necessary all the time.

The second was my own feelings regarding rivalries and how they could help someone grow. Elsa Death and Nemona Glitterati looked to be well on that path, with the younger girl hopefully pushing the older to become more considerate and respectful. She was the only one to really challenge Elsa during the introductory tour. And likewise, I think Elsa has already pushed Nemona out of her comfort zone and will force her to grow stronger as a Trainer. The Glitterati girl was good and had a lot of potential, but she'd need a bit more polish if she was to make it to the very top.

I let out a wistful sigh, thinking of how my experiences with Alder had let us grow as youths and how I should call him soon, see how he was doing. Someone cleared their throat and I blinked, realizing that Velian and Abigail had stopped arguing. "Very good, glad to see that's settled," I said awkwardly. "Now what's next on the schedule?"

"Macro Cosmos has slightly lowered their energy prices, affecting the market," Brian O'Hansen, the head of the engineering department informed us. They had some new initiatives and staff brought on in the wake of the Darkest Day and all that noise, didn't they? Looks like it's paying off now. "Should we adjust our prices in return?"

It was a difficult question. On the one hand, lowering our prices would keep us competitive, but on the other, doing so would cut into funds used to run the school. Running a sprawling underwater school complete with its own Wild Zone-esque environment is a bit expensive, even for me. The massive geothermal energy we tap into is the only thing keeping us afloat.

I laughed at my internal pun, ignoring the odd looks I got before addressing the question. "Leave it as is for now. If Macro Cosmos continues to lower it, we'll re-evaluate, but for the time being, we'll keep the same price." Our main buyer is Unova, and I don't think they'll be looking to put the screws to us right now, at least not with our advancements in Terastalization technologies and a decent number of kids connected to their Gym Leaders currently attending.

"Next up was…" I scrolled through the itinerary on my Rotom Phone, idly noting a message saying that Snacksworth was back in town. "Rotating some of the specialty meals offered in the lunchroom?"

The discussion continued like that for quite some time, covering the little minutia needed to keep the Academy running properly.

***

"After ten-thousand years, I'm finally free!" I declared, pushing the doors to the conference room open and shoving my hands up in the air as I strode out to the hallway.

"It was only half an hour over what we had planned, and fifteen of those minutes you weren't even there for!" Abigail gave an exasperated sigh as she walked quickly past me. She was far younger and sprier than I was, so she quickly exited my line of sight as she continued on. Likely heading for one of the cafeterias, if I know my niece. She likes snacks after lengthy meetings- oh right, Snacksworth!

The guest tag I gave him had a tracker (which he knew of; given his track record, we both agreed it would be better to have an easy way to find him the next time a Legendary showed up) and that he was down in the Terarium, over by the Coastal Biome.

I made my way over there, taking note of the various students and staff going about their days. For the most part, it was the standard fare. Kids gossiping in the corners, maintenance staff hurrying about with various tools strapped to their belts, carrying odd bits of metal for whatever repairs or replacements were necessary, and teacher's voices carrying just out of their classrooms as they taught the next generation.

"I gotta try out this new strategy I worked out with Charizard, c'mon, let's go to the arena up top!" One boy said excitedly to his classmate. She was undecided, however.

"I dunno, I've still got a survey project to do."

"Let's battle in the Terarium then! You can get some uh… practical experience with Pokemon surveys and stuff. Plus, I think Terastalization works better in there anyways." The girl didn't seem too convinced by the first half of his argument, but her eyes lit up at the prospect of Terastalization, and the two were soon running down the hallway to test it out. I narrowly avoided them running into me with quick reflexes, catching a shout of apology as I caught my snazzy hat and kept it from falling off.

"Kids," I said to myself with a chuckle. Some things never really change, despite how much everything always changes. Case in point with Terastalization. It had been over a month, but the students and much of the staff were still excited over it. Can't deny that I'm hyped too. Been cooking up something spicy for the next time someone thinks they've got one over on little ol' me.

Continuing down, I made my way to the pavilion in the Coastal Biome, where my old friend was standing by. He greeted me cheerfully, waving as he saw me approach. "Cyrano! It's been too long."

"That it has," I agreed, shaking my friend's hand before pulling him in for a brief hug. "I didn't even get to see you last time you swung by here!"

"You need a vacation; I know a perfect spot over on Poni Island where I swear I saw a school of Phione swimming through a stream-!"

"I reckon that'd be the opposite of a relaxing vacation," I said, unable to hide my grin. "I thought that was why you liked to hang out here. No random Legendaries to run into in the Terarium." Snacksworth has the craziest luck of anyone I know, even including the wildest adventures Alder and I have been on.

He chuckled. "That's true, not quite as spry as I was back in my youth," my friend admitted, patting his slightly rotund belly.

"Might lose by more than a whisker if you had to race Raikou today," I teased and he shook his head.

"Oh, I might be out of practice, but I'm sure I could give that dog a run for their money." We looked at each for a moment before we burst out laughing.

After we calmed down, I noticed him tilting his head around. "Something the matter?"

"Hmm it's nothing but… well, with so many incredible Pokemon I've met, I felt like I had a good sense of when I might encounter another one. And you're right about me coming here to relax and that no Legendaries could just wind up here, yet I feel something there. Someone I haven't had the pleasure of meeting before…" his words hung in the air for a moment before Snacksworth snapped his fingers together.

"Oh, I know! This sneaky fella must be a Marshadow that slipped inside your Terarium!" Despite his proud declaration, I felt a discordant note in the air. No, that doesn't sound right.

"Speaking of Legendaries, wanted to pick your mind about two uh, interesting young students here."

"Elsa Death and Nemona Glitterati?" I blinked in surprise.

"You're familiar with them?"

"With the younger one, Nemona, at least. Though I knew about both of them by reputation at least; I'm not the one living under an oceanic rock at least," he ribbed me and I rolled my eyes.

"But what a nicely colored rock it is!" I said, stretching an arm out to wave at the rest of the Terarium. It's joking, but also very true. I am quite proud of this place, and even more proud of the students and who they could become.

Sensing this would be a slightly more sensitive talk, Snacksworth offered, "Why don't we have a race up to that there peak?" He said, pointing at the top of the large cliff that the firestone cave complex resided underneath.

"Oh, well, I do love a good challenge. Same rules as last time?"

"Of course!" I smiled thinking for a moment as to which Pokemon to choose. Serperior is the fastest, but she's badly suited to climbing a cliff. Mandibuzz is a sharp gal, but might make it too easy. Yeah, it's gotta be…

"Emboar!" I called out as I released the Fire Type. She gave out a sleepy yawn, blinking as she took in the scene. My fiery Pokemon adapted quickly, seeing Snacksworth stretching out to the side.

"Boar, emb," She complained, bemoaning our foolish challenges. She still easily let me piggyback on her, getting in position while Snacksworth leaned over in a runners stance by the edge of the road, serving as our 'starting line.' Despite her complaints, I think she's just upset over losing last time. But we'll show him this time. She's got a new Move that's going to work great here.

"On your marks, get set,... go!" I cried out and the two of them set off. My Emboar tore up the field, but despite his powerful strides, Snacksworth was off like a shot, his round frame belying the tremendous speed he retained in great part from his youth. He hardly stopped as he reached the cliff face, scrambling up it with alacrity and grace. He had practiced long and could instantly calculate the best route up such a rocky surface.

My Pokemon had to rely on other means. When she reached the wall, she drove up it with sheer strength, her Rock Climb tearing hand and footholds into the side of the cliff. With mighty muscles, she surged ahead, outpacing Snacksworth on the side. But as we neared the top, I realized that we had erred. Our path faced an overhang that would be difficult to climb around even with the strength of the Move Emboar had learned.

Course correcting to either side wouldn't work - to the left is open air, and the right would put us in Snacksworth's way, and send rocks tumbling down upon his head… head, that's it! "Head Smash, cleave right through it!" I shouted as we approached, pulling my body in tight against Emboar. She Recklessly charged ahead, slamming her head straight through the rocky edge and breaking it off. As we ascended, it tipped through the air and fell straight down to the ground.

"Woo! Looks like we win this round," I said, turning to face Snacksworth as he pulled himself over the edge. Emboar let out a self-satisfied snort of flames, and I rubbed the top of her head before dismounting.

"Ahh, so you do," he said, huffing and puffing slightly. He really has slowed down with age… which just makes it all the more apparent how terrifying his strength is. Snacksworth had never found a Pokemon partner of his own, and Alder had been the one to first half-jokingly point out that 'he never needed one.'

"Now, what did you wish to talk about? It's unlike you to be uncertain. Confused, maybe, but never uncertain."

"Bah, I've just got too much in my head, that's all," I said, waving him off as I sat beside him. My protest was weak as we both knew I had earned my reputation as a bit of a Driftloonhead. When it came time to lock in though, I could be laser focused, and I needed to be here.

"I wonder about Elsa Death's continuation at the school. If you know of her, then I take it you know of the circumstances regarding her family." He nodded. The Death name was not well-known outside of Galar, and even only in certain circles there, but Snacksworth was a well-traveled man. "She's a prodigal lass, and with that and difficulties getting a sponsorship, I suppose it's not a surprise that she would latch on to the school and the League Club." Moreso than she had to be; I've offered her a sponsorship to the Galarian Circuit once she graduates, and all she has to do is be a good student. "Lately however, she's been causing a right ruckus amongst the student body, pushing them around. The latest issue was a rather public clash with Nemona."

Snacksworth nodded. "That's the setting, but what's the problem? Surely you can handle her."

"Of course," I answered instantly. "When scouting her out, we had a little pow wow, and I still won, even with her Legendary horsie. She's improved a lot since coming here, but she's not that good. Not yet," I admitted with a grin, remembering that fight. A little girl with the soul of a frigid storm, and the power to reign in a wild beast like Glastrier… it was a good fight, but my team had faced Legends before and come out on top.

I liked to think that battle was good for her too; the Death family had been on the rise, bolstered by Elsa claiming Glastrier and refurbishing that ancient castle on the mountaintop. But it left them distanced from the common people. That, and the actions of her distant cousins, Swordweirdo and Shieldbob or whatever, left the people of Galar with disdain for the Royal Family. No one wanted to give her a chance at the Gym Circuit.

"Really?" Snacksworth said, looking surprised.

"She just might be. Elsa Death and Nemona Glitterati, they have the potential, and the drive for it. I'd hoped to foster that when I invited Elsa to my school, and I'd say I succeeded. I think at first it was just the offer of arranging a sponsorship for the Galarian Gym Circuit if she did well here, but Elsa's truly come to love this school, deeper than just about anyone I know. It pushed her to make herself stronger than ever before, and then after she joined the League Club, to raise the rest of her pals up too. But without any challenges, she's started to act out.

"Hmm, well, it looks like she has one now!" Snacksworth said, pointing at another clifftop off in the distance, where Nemona's unique, Volcano-looking Pokemon was darting above, clearly flying through some drills. "A good rival will help set her straight and curb some of her more reckless tendencies. Alder did you the world of good; I didn't have to keep on holding you back!"

"Bah!" I shot back. "Like you weren't right there with me and him, raring to get into trouble." He laughed alongside me, remembering the misadventures of our youth. Ah those days… They were good, but at the same time, I was happy where I was now (otherwise I would have been out there with him, when he went exploring around the world). That's why this latest disturbance upsets me so; I want the school to do well, and that means not letting Elsa run wild or smothering a young girl's ambitions. A fine line to walk.

"So," my old friend said as he took a more serious tone. "If I know you right, you gave Elsa a punishment, but you're not sure if it's enough and yet don't want to go too far."

"Correctemundo," I confirmed.

"Welp, I'd say all you can do now is keep a closer eye on things, maybe head things off before they get this heated again." I frowned at him, mostly for the pun he thought he could slip in without me noticing. That soon faded as I nodded, recognizing it was the best way forward. It's a good idea, and for more than just Elsa. Charlotte Linlin is a 'problem child' sent my way with her own, quite rare Pokemon, and while she's acted out less, I haven't been able to get through to her either.

"Thanks," I said, and Snacksworth waved me off.

"Please, I didn't do much. I'm just glad to see those dark thoughts bringing you down seem to have cleared up." Snacksworth declared, standing up. You might not think it, but being able to air my thoughts out to you helped a bunch.

Changing the topic, I asked him, "Now, where have you gone since we last met? Lay it on me; I don't want to miss a single detail, like the time you forgot to mention Kyogre when recounting a nice swim." He chuckled at that.

"Oh, such stories to tell! First, I went to Kanto, had a lovely brisk hike up one of their mountains, then down the other side to Johto where…"

My old friend rambled on, our conversation winding from those exploits to recounting tales from our youth, adventures we'd both gone on. I hope my students can share stories like these some day. Blueberry Academy should be a place of smiles, happiness, and growth, to let them become the people they were meant to be. Despite the troubles currently rocking it, I felt optimistic that any problems would sort themselves out.

Spoiler: A/N:

This chapter was one I realized had to happen and thought it worked best here, though it does mean we've had a lot of interludes in short succession. Still, I wanted to show how Cyrano is viewing things. He's a very interesting figure in the DLC, despite having minimal presence in the story. I forgot to mention the costs of the damages in the talk he had with Nemona and Elsa last chapter, but Cyrano's kinda airheaded so I think it works for him to remember and do it here.

Given how things worked with Kieran there, I figured he needed to be a more hands-off kind of teacher, but he always seems to have such care for the school (and such strength of his team) that I wanted to show the reasoning behind his actions here. It's always a hard line to draw with authority figures in Pokemon games - either they're useless, or they kinda stop you from doing anything interesting in the plot (Leon in gen 8). It's tough to deal with, so here I wanted to show some of Cyrano's internal conflict here, as well as the duties that distracted him from being as aware of what was going on with the club exactly.

Also, Snacksworth! He's kinda crazy, and I recognize that he's really just used by the DLC to give the players a bunch of Legendaries to access, but I do like having someone that outlandish in the story. If he isn't your cup of tea though, don't worry; since Nemona didn't believe him, he won't be having much more involvement in the story. Still, I found him kinda funny and I hope you liked him too.

Finally, please keep the comments civil. I really don't like having to ask this, but some comments last time were incredibly rude/demanding, and these kinds of comments greatly sap my motivation for the story.