“Yes!” Lilith cheered.

A weight had finally been lifted off her shoulders, having been much heavier than initially thought. She could sigh with relief, knowing her immediate goal had been fulfilled.

‘My main problem now is numbers… I don’t have the skill to 1v2 anyone right now… I need more Pokemon, but the only options I have are when I reach Castelia. Virbank’s only option would be an Alolan Rattata, but those are bad… There are Purrloin, but those are even worse.’ She analyzed.

Overall her victory had been solid, more than solid even. Sableye was on his way to becoming a great supportive Pokemon. He didn’t like battling too much due to his previous circumstances, but he found that he enjoyed toying with his opponents like the previous match. Absol was well on her way to becoming a dangerous attacker, and while her defenses were minimal, her speed and power allowed her to take on any foe.

Lilith joined Absol as she released Sableye from his ball. The three celebrated their victory as the judge walked over to join them. The Helper had already run off, having been called to another battle in a different part of the Gym.

“Congratulations!” He said. “Your League card please.”

One huge difference from the games was the lack of a physical badge. If one had to be made for each Trainer that gained victory, they would need thousands of them a year. The logistics alone would be a nightmare, not to mention the physical materials needed. Instead, they printed the achievement onto the League card. It served doubly as advertising and displaying strength with no of the downsides.

“Well done.” The judge gave off a grandpa vibe.

He was polite and respectful, a generous host.

“Thank you.” Lilith said.

The Judge handed back her card, ready to leave, when the unexpected happened.

“Lilith!!!!” a shout stirred everyone in the arena.

The side door to the viewing area burst open. Both turned in surprise, there shouldn’t have been anyone in the spectators area. It would be a big deal if someone was spying on her battle. Instead, the intruder attacked her with hugs. A look of horror flashed across Lilith’s face as she attempted to flee. Before she knew what was happening, Bianca had her in her embrace.

“Ahh! You did so well!” She cried. “They grow up so fast!”

Bianca rubbed her face across her prisoner in tears. Cheren walked through the same door, moments later. The judge finally understood what was going on, his defensive posture relaxing.

“Hello sir.” He straightened up.

Despite being younger, Cheren’s reputation for his bravery and strength when it came to Pokemon was unmatched. He gained the power to be a member of the Elite 4, but instead decided to settle down and help nurture the younger generation. The deference was obvious.

“Bianca, calm down please…” Cheren tried to placate her as he walked closer.

Sableye disappeared in freight as the commotion began, being entirely too much for him. Absol, on the other paw, lifted none to help her Partner. She recognized Bianca instantly, being the second person she had ever met. Chuffs of laughter caught in her throat as she watched her partner struggle.

Lilith jumped up and down, any way she could conceive but couldn’t find a way out of her grip. Only until she gave into her fate and stopped struggling did her captor let go, finding the lack of struggle disinteresting.

“What are you guys doing here?” She coughed, ignoring what had just happened to her.

“I came to watch your second battle. I heard your first one ended in defeat, so I wanted to see your resilience. Well done, I might add.” Cheren smiled.

“And her?” Lilith questioned, tilting her head towards the orange hat wearing fiend.

“Ahh, I’ve no idea how she found out about your battle, just showed up and insisted she come along. I can’t really say no to her, can I?” His smile faltered.

Bianca pouted slightly, having overheard their conversation.

“Meanie.” She said.

It was becoming too much of a commotion for her, as Lilith tried excusing herself.

“Ah, if that’s all. I’ll be going now…” she mumbled.

Her body turned away, but before she could even move towards the door, another voice interrupted once more.

“Wait! Your rewards!” the judge called out.

Goodies always got her blood pumping. She turned faster than anyone expected, a gleam in her eyes.

“What kind of reward?” She asked in a dangerous, yet light tone.

Her body scuffled up close to the man.

“The Return T.M.” His voice shook slightly.

A bead of sweat formed on his brow as he took out the circular disk. Lilith snatched it from him before he even knew what was happening. She eyed the disk curiously before shoving it inside her bag.

“Thanks.” she said, before turning to leave.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

A Physical reward like the T.M. was much more practical as it allowed the Trainer to grow and invest in their potential. The more ability a novice showed, the more they were rewarded.

Bianca gave a slight nudge towards her friend before the young woman could leave.

“What?” He said, exasperated.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” She gave a sad expression.

“No, she will be fine.”

Cheren turned away and fixed the spectacles that sat abridge his nose, missing the dangerous look that flashed through his friends eyes.

‘She will be fine.’

***

Lilith exited the arena post haste, having already recalled Sableye and Absol. Her body slid down the hall as everyone else started to empty for the night.

Bianca had definitely been a surprise. Everything in her room had been gutted, it was like she appeared out of thin air. It was of little concern, ignoring the thought that she had missed the bundle of energy just hours before.

“Thud.”

Her mind drifted towards other things, not looking where she was going

‘I really have to stop doing this…’ She thought.

Lilith shook off the funk and inspected the other party. The young woman had casual jeans on with a business button up shirt. Her overall demeanor looked familiar, but couldn’t quite place where she had seen the young woman. The Pokemon beside her stuck out however. The human-like species was much shorter than the two girls with long droopy ears and a tail. His face was dog-like and had paws instead of hands and feet. She would recognize Riolu anywhere.

“Are you Lilith?” Loreen asked.

Lilith stopped in her tracks.

“Who’s asking?” She glared at her, still being distrustful of strangers.

The woman had obviously intercepted her once she cared to look, as the hallway was more than wide enough for her to move away before being hit.

“I am Loreen Williams.'' She said like it was supposed to mean something important.

“And what do you want, Loreen?” Lilith gruffed, catching her name.

“I wish to apologize for Rick’s behavior. I heard what he did and how you beat him single handedly. I must see the transgression appeased.” She stated assuredly.

Lilith paused and really took in her appearance.

‘Virbank tournament…’

“And how do you know Rick?” She growled, remembering who she had defeated prior.

Anyone who beat Levy was an enemy, picking sides would be easy.

Loreen grew slightly red, feeling there was no way she wouldn’t be recognized by her last name.

“From my battle with Levy!” she practically screamed.

Loreen tried her best to not snap. From asking around, she had heard that Lilith’s people skills were non-existent, just not to this extent.

“If that’s all, I’ll be going.” Lilith stated, not wanting anything to do with the callous rich.

She pushed past the young woman in her way.

“Wait, I wanted to buy you dinner!” Loreen huffed.

She wondered if it was even worth it, talking to her at this point.

“Food?” Lilith paused.

Lilith would always accept free food.

“Lead the way.”

That was an easy decision.

***

The food was only alright, but nothing worth mentioning. Loreen proved to be a generous person as she apologized once more and wanted to reiterate that the people of Virbanks weren’t all like that.

It seemed like a fair assessment, there were only a set amount of rich people that could be jerks. If they all went to Virbank’s school, that was yet to be seen. Loreen was obviously pushing for something, but decided to hold her tongue. It intrigued her, but not enough to ask.

With breakfast eaten, she walked out into the night. Her temporary companion said goodbye as they both left. Anything she would be able to do in the city was completed. The encounter was only a small blip in her plans. There was nothing else for her in Aspertia.

“Are you sure you want to leave at a time like this?” The security guard asked.

She had on the usual uniform, but couldn’t hide her tired behavior, having pulled the night shift the night before.

“Good night.” Lilith said in return, answering her question.

No one followed her out onto Route 19 as they trudged along.

There was no immediate plan, but she hoped there would be enough time to get some more good training in. Her realization to take the world more seriously hadn't hindered her much, still looking to develop her skills. Pokemon were her passion, and she would follow her drive but in a much more cognitive manner.

‘Absol is close to her second star.’ She thought, wondering about the next Gym already

Despite looking forward to the event, she hadn’t bothered to figure out the strength of the next challenge. It seemed reckless, but she wanted to take the next leg of her journey one step at a time. There would be opportunities later for information gathering and planning.

The group bypassed all Pokemon they came across, not wanting to bully the local population. They weren’t strong enough for a challenge, and they stayed out of the way so nothing happened. With both Sableye and Absol, Lilith felt much more safe. If needed she felt confident enough that they could fight off a lone two star Pokemon with relative ease. There weren’t any rules to teaming up in the wild against Pokemon, only in regulation matches. The experience one could steal was much lower considering both pirates would have to share, but the battle wisdom would definitely be worth it.

Familiar sights dotted the landscape, seeing similar locations before peeling off into the underbrush following a similar path as last. A unanimous decision had been made to bypass Foccesy town altogether and catch Route 20 from the south on their way to Virbank. It would allow her to find some more exciting Pokemon, the normal Route being too boring for her team.

Absol agreed immediately, with Sableye being much more cautious. Their interactions thus far had been low, but they both seemed to get along.

‘We’ll have to go over some team training some time in the future.’ She jotted down the short term goal

“Find anything yet?” She asked once done.

Sableye and Absol practiced their scouting, allowing Lilith to take her time. The trio was in such an easy zone that they decided to split off individually. The enhanced physique she was told so much about hadn’t shown any signs of developing, but it was the thing she most looked forward to. It wasn’t like she was out of shape, but she definitely wasn’t in it. Too much exercise and she would be huffing and puffing.

“Really, nothing?” Her shoulders drooped.

They had been walking for most of the night and nothing fun had happened. Some minor one star Pokemon were offed by Sebleye, increasing familiarity with his new battle strategy, but no informative battles occurred.

When navigating, the tema steered clear of the Sewaddle swarm, but also didn’t want to mess with the Tropius or Palpatoad. All three contained power much more than she wanted to tackle at the moment.

“Hahh, I guess we'll have to call it a night…”