“For security reasons, I have to accompany you!” The receptionist declared, charging in after her.

“We aren't turning the lights on though…” Lilith mumbled.

Wendell decided to wait outside as Lilith shut the door, having no light able to enter.

“Whoah, it really is dark in here.” The receptionist giggled.

Lilith walked past the bathroom and took in the room, ignoring the silly comment. A single bed sat on the far corner but looked unused. The room looked designed originally for human use, but would work as a temporary sanctuary for Pokemon in a pinch.

“Wait there.” Lilith said.

A small space for belongings was present across from the bed, but she ignored them. Lilith sat down on the floor and faced the bed, not even her being able to see underneath. Small crystalline eyes peered out at her, more curious than anything else.

Lilith closed her eyes and tried feeling the darkness within her. She had read anything about type specialists she could get her hands on, especially how they attracted Pokemon to join their team. Ignorance was her worst enemy.

Any trainer once strong enough could feel the energy given to them as a byproduct of the connection to each of their Pokemon. The exact point had a large variance, with the middle most being the elite of the Region.

Once that high bar was met, the next step was to harness it like a Pokemon would. No human had ever used a move, but instead allowed them to become stronger and faster. It was one of the only reasons top tier trainers could even watch earth shaking battles without dying.

All she had to do was move the darkness within her and let Sableye feel her intent. Despite practicing for a long time, she had yet to even achieve the first step. Other dark type Pokemon like Absol and the one before her were so easy to read it was like an instinct. They both shared the sentiment, having Sableye see into her unimpeded. It was enticing enough for him to investigate further.

The one caveat she had found when trying to catch Pokemon was when they evolved into dark types considering they were not originally. Being a rare occurrence, it hadn’t been anywhere on the internet. Thankfully, Shirley had been her fountain of knowledge.

In most cases, the Trainer would have to find and/or hatch an egg. The instincts of a newborn Pokemon, while there initially, aren’t as strong as later on in life. It was one of the main ways people stole Pokemon, taking young ones away before they knew any better.

Initially this was found to be a good way around the problem, but found problems in the future. If the Pokemon was unable to evolve after a long time, their dissonance would grow. The famous ‘wave theory’ described each Pokemon as a drop into a body of water with the impact growing the stronger the Pokemon became.

Each type had their own rate at which they expanded in the theoretical water, having them help fuel each other into a harmonic resonance. Trainers without a typing had so much noise already going on, that one small increase seemed quaint in comparison.

The only way around the problem was having the Trainer be strong enough to resist the ‘waves’ for longer before they could force a harmony. It would be a while before any Pokemon could be obtained through that fashion.

That didn’t matter at the current moment, seeing that Sableye was already a Dark type.

Lilith continued to try and advertise herself with little luck. The small Pokemon had crawled out of his hiding spot onto the bed. He looked down at her, their eyes meeting.

His body was humanoid, but on the shorter end. Arms extended out into claws, being sharp enough to dig through rock. Small gems adorned his body, forming from the specie’s habit of eating any minerals they could get their hands on.

Sableye as a species generally avoided conflict. They weren’t good fighters, and if opponents couldn’t find them, then they were safe. His body was a dark purple, letting him blend into his usual surroundings.

“Is everything alright?” The receptionist asked, a chill going down her spine.

She was starting to regret insisting on being there.

“Shh.” Lilith shut her up.

The sudden noise had the shadowy figure swinging back to safety under the bed.

“I don’t need or want you to fight for me. I have them already picked out.” She whispered.

Lilith held her hand out to the small Pokemon, a Pokeball in hand.

“I’m just looking for a little fun.” She smiled slightly.

Her focus had shifted away from Strength.

‘I want to do this right.’

His eyes practically glowed at the sentiment. Sableye knew she was telling the truth, feeling the darkness within her respond in kind.

She had no need for him to be a strong fighter. No, she needed a supporter. Someone who worked in the shadows to help her friends.

The sentiment was alluring.

He had been with Rick for his entire life, having been hatched from an Egg. He normally followed his base instincts, but had been years since he had truly grown

It wasn’t that disappointing, considering his main goal wasn't to grow stronger. No, he wanted a family.

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Sableye reached out and made a decision. He would be happy for a change, solidifying his choice with a touch of the Pokeball.

Her ultimate plan had succeeded.

A calmness washed over her, feeling strangely alive.

‘What?’ A dreadful feeling stirred inside her, replacing the sudden feeling.

Her past experiences played through her mind, rewatching her past experience like a movie. She moved through the events on autopilot, noticing slight differences in what she remembered.

“Ughh.” She shook her head, losing the unknown feeling.

Her head snapped back to more important matters.

It was indeed true that Lilith didn’t want Sableye on her final team. There were scarier dark types out there, just waiting for her to find. The one thing that her new reality taught her however, was the importance of support. Absolute Power seemed trivial to her newfound bond.

With only fighters, she would be left in a strange spot. How was she going to move around? She would need a mount if she wanted maximum mobility. A flying Pokemon would expedite that even more. How would she heal? Dark types in particular suffered due to the main healing move being Heal Pulse, a Psychic type.

‘Hmm, what’s my next move?’ She thought.

Silence filled the room with one less presence.

“Umm, are you ok?” The receptionist whispered.

She had been in the dark much longer than first expected, and had been so quiet in fact that Lilith had totally forgotten about her.

“Yeah, Sableye has accepted to join my team.” Lilith told her.

“Oh, that’s wonderful! We can leave now…” She said rather awkwardly.

“Yeah…”

Lilith got up and pushed past the woman to open the door for her. She really didn’t like the dark.

“Eapp! What was that?!” She screamed.

“Owee” She covered her ears.

Light poured in, now being able to move around freely.

“Oh it was just…” She paused briefly in recognition. “How about we get your new Pokemon registered so you can be on your way…” She spoke quietly.

“Yeah…” Lilith mumbled.

The two exited the room, only to be met with a strange surprise.

Wendell and his Partner, Pignite, stood side by side flexing their muscles in weird positions. That, however, wasn't the strange part. Gligar, the other Pokemon rescued alongside Sableye, stood on his tail while facing the duo. He tried mimicking the positions they went through. It was funny to watch his radically different try and contort into humanoid poses.

“Ah, Lilith! Guess who wants to join my team!” He shouted excitedly.

Wendell jumped with excitement.

‘Great… The last thing he needs is another muscle head.’ She thought.

It was a best case scenario if she was being honest with herself. Wendell had already proven to Gligar he could be a successful trainer by beating his previous team down a Pokemon while also being outmatched.

Now the League wouldn’t have to step in and relocate the Pokemon. It was a win-win for everyone. The only concern was if Wendell could properly raise his new Pokemon considering its origin outside the Region.

“Great, let's get them registered.” She said.

Lilith really wanted to get back on the road. All these setbacks were starting to annoy her.

She just wanted to go out and train.

***

“And you are all set. Thank you for your patience.” The receptionist said.

They had finally completed registration. Sableye was officially a part of the team. Wendell jumped up and down, excited to have another Pokemon.

“Thanks…” She mumbled

It was finally time to leave.

Wendell said his goodbyes as they set off. The sun was setting, and it was time for him to go to bed. He would be going to bed while Lilith left first. She was happy to return to her nocturnal schedule, which was the only good thing that had happened while locked up on bed rest.

It was her first time checking out Route 19 from the Floccesy side. Her initial visit was from a completely different angle due to unforeseen circumstances. It was nice to finally have a straight shot towards her destination, no winding challenges for them to face.

The first thing on the agenda was the integration of her new Pokemon. Absol had reached the upper first star while Sableye had tested into the middle first star. Their recent battles with Tropius and Magnemite had proved to be a good short term boost in power. It was a good starting point, boosting the confidence she had in crushing the Gym. The only hurdle would be getting used to his moveset and battle strategy. Even then, Absol could probably solo with her new moves.

Absol was in a good place, the only move needing work was Play-Rough. The fairy energy was still giving them trouble, but with Detect, her moves were finally starting to round out. The only way for her to grow was to battle a wider variety of opponents.

‘Back to Aspertia to challenge the Gym and then straight to Virbank.’ She reiterated her plan.

Training would have to be put on the back burner while she completed the first Gym, not being nearly as important. Hopefully she would meet Trainers along the way for some quick spars.

Challenges between Trainers were much more common than she initially thought. Money wasn’t exchanged, but the battles themselves were still important. They were the safest way to increase a Pokemon’s star level, albeit slower than challenging wild Pokmeon. The two star Pokemon in the area could be challenged, but there were no easy matchups. It ultimately boiled down to safety.

Lilith felt safe walking the route, being a reminder of how little she had actually progressed. The Routes were considered to be the safest areas, right after human encampments, with #20 being even safer than some of them.

‘This should be a good spot.’ She thought.

The new Pokeball stuck to her metallic belt, growing in size as she reached for it. Her mind swam as a blob left the capsule and gathered before her. The form morphed together until Sableyes' figure appeared. He looked around curiously, unsure how to feel.

Rick usually kept his Pokemon in their balls unless there was a battle. Training and hard work were a foreign concept with having little to overcome. His lavish lifestyle led to a weak mind.

“I want to see what you’re capable of.” Lilith crouched down before the Pokemon

The small Pokemon grew curious, tilting his head to the side.

“So, the PokeReader said you should have access to Fake-Out, Shadow Sneak, Disable, and Confuse Ray. I think some status T.M. 's could really help to round out your move set in the future. I want to focus on Disable and Confuse Ray, as they are both incredible disruption moves that will be vital to our next challenge.”

Lilith had tried her best to get over her fears of Pokereaders. The people in Floccesy Pokemon Center had proven to be upstanding people, both with their tournament experience and then rescue with Rick. She allowed herself the opportunity to trust once more and was rewarded for her effort.

A small nibble had been taken out of her defenses.