CHAPTER 166

"You three have one common link, and that is your association to Team Galactic. Mira through Charon, Cecilia through Abel, and Grace through Mars."

Unwilling to interrupt the Champion mid-sentence, Cecilia paused and waited to see if Cynthia was done.

"Abel's joined?" She asked.

"All but in name. He's begun routinely working with them in Veilstone, and his Pokemon team is built to avoid capture, so getting a hold of him is impossible. We assume that he's getting paid a lot for his work, but that's simply semantics."

"I thought that he wanted nothing to do with her anymore? His reasoning made sense." I jumped in.

Cynthia smirked and twirled her pencil. "Cecilia's case is less straightforward than yours. People like Abel are tricky, Grace. You'll learn about them and how they function, think that you can predict their actions, and even think that you could use that to your advantage to work with him," she shrugged. "But at the end of the day, he remains an evil criminal whose sense of honor exists only as a front and is second to his greed. The moment Team Galactic offers them money to hit any of you, he will accept without a second thought."

She paused again, waiting to see if we had anything to add. No one did.

"The League is sure that you three will be targeted at some point in the future, which is why we're going to grant you protection along with your friends, but that isn't it. In case— and this isn't guaranteed, but in case this protection fails, since we know that you will be specific targets, the government considers you to be high-priority individuals. That means that if anything ever happens to you, we will prioritize your safety above all else thanks to how useful you may be to us in the future— if you'll excuse the term. I like to be straightforward with people when I'm giving them bad news."

"This is bad news?" Mira asked with a sigh. "Aren't you telling us that we're going to be treated like queens? No one's going to be able to touch a hair on our heads."

"It might look that way right now, but trust me, it is not," Cynthia said. "I'm a realist, but we'll need to at least keep the rules in mind. People will cry foul if we prioritize you and no one else. That means that you'll need to join the League Trainer Internship Program so we can justify this. People won't bat an eye if we're rescuing one of our own."

"No choice in the matter, huh?" Mira sighed.

"No. Let me explain to you what the program implies. There's a rigorous application process, but we can just skip over all of that and say you've made it in. No one but the League has access to the tests anyway, and I have a feeling you'd all manage to pass the knowledge section, although barely. The League knows that tying down young trainers is impossible, so the program's a lot looser than what it sounds like. De facto, it's a waiting list for an actual job at the League, but we don't expect you to go that far. In fact, you won't have to do much of anything. Normally, there would be a few opportunities to do some jobs to increase your chance of getting a position at the League, but that's not what you're after."

I frowned. "So why is it bad if we don't have to do anything?"

"The increased publicity, the theories, the noise will probably be crushing for all of you, especially with how young you are. There will be complaints of preferential treatment— you'd be the first time we put any first years in the program, let alone people with only four badges. People will talk down your achievements… it's a lot, especially for children your age."

"Whatever, I don't care," Mira shrugged.

"Neither do I," Cecilia said.

Cynthia stared at me and waited for my answer. It wasn't like I was able to say no anyway, but was she testing me? My conviction? It was hard not to overthink my words when the Champion was looking right into my eyes.

"Sure," I hesitantly said.

"Welcome to the League!" Aaron yelled, not even looking up from his papers. "Looking forward to working with you."

Cynthia rolled her eyes— which surprised me. I was a lot more used to her stoic, smiling self. She pulled out three pieces of paper from a drawer inside her desk and asked us to sign, which Mira did right away. Cecilia and I read it carefully though, but it was pretty straightforward and was exactly what Cynthia had told us. We were essentially a part of the League, but not really? It was weird.

"You'll get a few benefits, the biggest of which being you'll get to go past the six Pokemon limit early. You'll still have to go through an inspection and get your license for it, but I assume trainers of your caliber will pass without an issue. Grace, since you already have six, you might want to get yours at Veilstone just to get it over with."

I nodded. I knew I wanted a psychic, but it was probably time to really try to figure out which one I wanted. I wasn't going to rush for a seventh member right away. I didn't even know if I'd have one by the time the Conference happened. I wanted something that could Teleport, but Abra, Natu, Ralts, Drowzee… none of the usual candidates called to me.

"You'll get paid, although the salary is rather meager. It is an internship after all," she said. "Twenty-thousand per month. Nothing compared to what you two are used to," she finished, staring at me and Cecilia.

"Champion Cynthia, if I may ask a question," Cecilia said. "About your Spiritomb—"

"You want one. I'm afraid that's impossible, at least for the time being," Cynthia interrupted. "Talk to me again when your team is good enough to match Aaron here. You need an extremely high level of mental fortitude to be able to handle one."

My eyes snapped to Cecilia and I restrained a sigh. She did want one after all, and Cynthia hadn't even refused! Did that mean she knew of one's location? Denzel said that there were only a limited number.

"Are you calling me weak?" The bug type specialist laughed.

"You are the weakest of the Elite Four, and that is a fact." Lucian shrugged.

"I can still give you a run for your money, you smug bastard."

"Enough with the joking around, Aaron," Cynthia chided. "Now you'll be able to contact me, but understand that this is only to be used in emergencies," Cynthia continued. "Keep your journey going. Grow and learn, but most importantly, speak to someone about your anguish. We'll actually meet one last time in a day or two— Grace, I'll see you later today."

"Wait. If we're talking about Pokemon we might want and I'm a part of your fancy League, what can you do about a Porygon for me?" Mira asked. "Uncle Ernie used to be fascinated by them, and I've wanted one since I was a kid."

"You're not supposed to just be given Pokemon," Lucian frowned. "It would go against precedent. Cynthia?"

She nodded. "You're right. I won't be able to help you with that, but I've heard they sell them at the game corner at Veilstone, if you really want to train one. Either way, I believe our job here is done?"

Unfortunately, I didn't have a question regarding a rare Pokemon, so we all nodded and Alicia's Xatu brought us back to the Pokemon Center's entrance.

"Well, I have therapy after this, so I'll see you girls later," Mira said.

"Oh, you're already speaking to someone?" I asked.

"Maeve forced me to. It is what it is. It's not the first time I've tried and I doubt it'll change much," she shrugged.

She left soon after that, leaving only me and Cecilia. I wanted to fight her on her interest with Spiritomb, but I really had no right to do so. I knew that she wasn't the kind to simply change her mind or give up on a choice when she'd made it, and she seemed fascinated by the ghost. I used the opportunity to finally pick up Princess and Honey, although I wasn't going to release Togetic until Cynthia gave me the okay. At least that was the excuse I was going with. The truth was, I was scared of telling her that she'd influenced me all these months, and using Cynthia's warning as an excuse made me feel a lot better.

I could only handle one disaster at a time. Honey would be next. Cecilia's Pokemon hadn't been hurt at all during her fight, so she didn't have to pick up anyone. Still, she opted to go to her room and rest her leg. Standing for so long had hurt her a lot. I did the same and released Angel and Buddy. They helped me brace myself for Honey's return. It would be the first time I saw him since the dark's disappearance. Would he hate me? See me differently? Would things stay the same?

I couldn't delay any longer. I let him out of his Pokeball, and he stared into my eyes. He was looking for something.

We stood still for what seemed like an eternity. Then he hugged me so tight I thought I'd suffocate. Angel excitedly joined in on the hug.

He'd been seeing if I regretted my actions. I knew from one look into his eyes that he sure did, but the fault rested on me. I gave the final order.

"You're a good kid," I said. "I—It's my fault for making you do it."

The electric type sniffled and I felt hot tears on my neck. Instead of judging me like I thought he'd do, he judged himself most of all.

Like he always did.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

—

"Ms. Pastel, the Champion is ready to see you," Alicia said as I let her in. I nodded and Teleported again, this time on a field that I easily recognized as the Hunters' land— or the League's now. Cynthia sat in the grass in a position a lot less elegant than I expected. Her legs were splayed out and she supported herself with her hands.

Garchomp was lying down at her side, more docile than I expected the huge dragon to be. It was almost like she was… purring somehow, although the noises still shook me. Alicia saluted and Teleported away. That Xatu was working awfully hard these days. Powerful Pokemon or not, Teleporting such long distances and carrying people with them was exhausting for psychics.

"What are they going to do with the Hunters and their business?" I asked right away.

"Oh, the family members will slowly be rehabilitated, but it'll be difficult. Their entire lives have been a lie, and it'll take years for them to go back to normal," Cynthia said, the wind blowing her hair. Even though I considered myself good at reading people, I had no idea what she was thinking. "Believe it or not, we don't have the expertise they do in regards to Pokemon breeding, and we can't exactly hire them like we did like the Bianchi's lower-leveled employees, so the business will probably collapse. Solaceon will have to start from zero."

"All those Pokemon will lose their homes," I sighed. It was terribly sad, in a way. The Hunters had been evil, but I couldn't deny that they gave all of their Pokemon good living environments. "Oh well."

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At least maybe Solaceon might finally be able to expand in size now, but good luck finding anyone wanting to move here after what happened.

"How are you holding up, Grace?"

"I'm okay. Once we get past this type energy hurdle, I'll feel twice as good," I said. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you get over it? Your first… murder."

The Champion hesitated and began stroking Garchomp's head. "I never really got over it. I just learned to deal with it. The situation was a lot less clearcut than yours, let me tell you."

"I won't ask for details," I said. "Is it time then? For Togekiss."

Cynthia nodded and released the fairy type, who happily chirped at Garchomp. The ground type rolled to her side, shaking the floor, and Togekiss rubbed her belly with her fluffy wing. I was surprised to see that a fairy type and a dragon type got along so well, considering how Princess could barely tolerate Sunshine's presence. Cynthia's Togekiss was a majestic specimen, and just staring at it made me smile. I couldn't possibly get angry at that cute face, and it was as if my level of anguish was lower somehow.

"He was my fourth Pokemon," Cynthia said. "Lucario was my second."

"Did you hatch him?" I asked. "If I may ask!"

"I did. My grandmother gave me the egg when I left on my journey, and he hatched while I was on my way to Sunyshore."

So that meant that he also saw Cynthia as his mother then.

"Before you release your Togetic, I have to tell you something. She's probably the most aggressive one I've ever seen, and that's saying something."

"Princess isn't aggressive—"

"Oh, but she is," Cynthia interrupted. "Beyond what is normal. I believe that you were both… influencing each other somewhat, pulling each other deeper and deeper toward the ways of the most aggressive fairies. It was like a feedback loop. Your Togetic would make you act more fairy-like, and then she'd mimic you and act more fairy-like, and so on and so forth."

"But Princess is so sweet… I don't get it. Sure, she has her quirks and she's overprotective, but…"

"I know these things, Grace. Trust me."

"I guess," I bit my lip. "But does that mean you've been watching me?"

"A little in my free time, along with a few in your orbit. I've been looking at you, Lauren Goodwill, Mira, Denzel, Cecilia and Chase Karlson, really."

So Chase too? I wondered how he was doing. In all of this, I had completely forgotten about his quest to find his grandparents. Hopefully he was fine, although he hadn't sent a message yet.

"There isn't anything that unique about us," I shrugged. "You were better."

"I was. But it's not so much about skill, but also about your mindset and the way you react when things go wrong," Cynthia said. "Regardless, let's get back on topic. Just like you, even when we stop Togetic from leaking fairy type energy, she'll stay just as aggressive as she's been, which could be seen as a good or a bad thing."

"Prrrri!" Togekiss chimed in. I was surprised at his deeper voice— although not by much.

"Okay, we'll start," Cynthia said.

"Wait! I actually have another question before we do. My friends have often told me that I'm way too good at understanding my Pokemon. Could this type energy stuff have something to do with it?"

"Describe 'way too good'."

"I mean full-on conversations. Like I'm talking to a human."

"At your age? No amount of type energy would have made you able to do that," the Champion said. "I can do it because I've been with my Pokemon for more than two decades, but I don't have an answer for you, I'm afraid."

"Okay," I grumbled as I grabbed Togetic's Pokeball. If the Champion didn't know about it, then chances were I'd never figure it out.

I released Princess, who made a mad dash toward me and tackled me into a hug. Even after worrying so much, my worries couldn't help but melt away at the sight of my daughter. I held her tightly and checked her neck. Aside from some slight faded marks that could only be seen if I squinted really hard, it was as good as new.

Princess turned to Garchomp, and I felt her love evaporate. The dragon opened an amused eye toward her, but she was still relaxed. It wasn't like we were capable of hurting her in any way, shape or form. None of our attacks could penetrate her hard scales, and I assumed Dazzling Gleam would only tickle her. Togekiss worriedly chirped at Togetic, but she couldn't stop staring.

"Garchomp's a friend," I said. "It's okay."

"The fact that your Togetic wants to fight my strongest proves my point," Cynthia smirked. "Fairy or not, that isn't normal. I'll let you explain the circumstances to her."

The Champion stood and gave us some space. Togekiss happily flew in the air quicker than Cece's Talonflame, and I had a feeling that it was going at a leisurely pace. Garchomp stood tall next to Cynthia, and they spoke about something I couldn't hear.

"Listen, Princess… I don't know how to tell you this, but I have to. Cynthia says you've been releasing fairy type energy on accident, and it's been changing me."

The fairy type flinched as if she'd been struck. I knew immediately that Cynthia had been correct and that she had no idea what she'd been doing.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't control it, and I changed you too. We're both a little broken," I chuckled sadly. "And we won't go back to how it was before."

Princess began to sob and repeatedly apologize, putting herself down and taking all of the blame for our changes.

"You're not the only one at fault. I could have caught it earlier," I shook my head. "It's a part of who we are now, and that's okay. I don't hold it against you. Come here."

I kissed her forehead, and we stood in silence for a while. I desperately tried not to cry, but I couldn't hold it. I wanted to show her that I was strong and tell her with a smile on my face that everything would be alright, but it was too much.

I heard Cynthia's steps behind me.

"My Togekiss will teach you how to hold it back, little one," she said. Before she was even done gesturing with her hand, Togekiss landed next to us, but there was no sound when he hit the ground. The flying type led Princess away, leaving me, Cynthia and her Garchomp. "It should take from a few minutes to a few hours."

"That short?"

"I don't know the specifics, but the answer should be extremely obvious when she figures it out. It could be anything, really."

"Oh. Okay."

"Thinking of evolving her soon?" The Champion asked.

"As soon as I get the money," I shrugged. "Which… should be in two months now that I got my bonus from the Poketch Company."

"It'll be interesting to see what she turns into. Even if they do get overprotective when their trainers are harmed, Togekiss are meant to be spreaders of happiness and to stop conflicts," Cynthia said before her lip twitched upward. "I haven't seen one like yours yet."

I stared at Princess, who had been reduced a stuttering mess in front of Cynthia's Togekiss. It must have been strange to be in front of not only her future form, but the most powerful one in the world. Cynthia's Togekiss was known to be her second fastest Pokemon, and he was able to hit opponents with such a variety of moves— custom, known, and combinations— that he was impossible to plan against. Not only that, but he could use them better than their actual types. When it used Shock Wave, for example, it was more powerful than an electric type's.

"She'll be okay," I said.

"Her versatility with Ancient Power is quite impressive for a Pokemon her age. When I was just starting out, I used Togekiss with more of a brute-force angle. I find it fascinating how no two trainers will train a Pokemon of the same species the same way."

"What about your Roserade?" I asked. "Denzel uses Roselia's poison to win battles."

"Ah, I've seen a few of his battles. Mine used to specialize in spore attacks. She can do everything now though."

I swallowed. It was terrifying how nonchalantly she'd said that.

"Can I ask you for advice?"

"This is probably the only time you'll get me to yourself, so go ahead."

"I mean it's not really advice," I corrected. "My friends asked you for Pokemon help, right? I want a psychic type that can Teleport, but I want…"

"Something unique?" She smiled. "It's okay to be picky, especially when you'll be spending the rest of your life with your companions. As far as unique teleporters go… you could go with either Beheeyem or Claydol, but finding those can be tough. Beheeyem are mostly found in Unova and Hoenn, although finding one here wouldn't be unheard of. For Claydol, you'd have more luck, but you have to look for the remains of ancient civilizations. I wanted one when I was younger. Ancient history fascinates me."

My eyes widened. "That's— that's great, thank you!" I exclaimed. I wasn't going to find either of those any time soon, but it felt good to have something. "And uh, while we're here, could I have training advice?"

The Champion laughed. "There it is. I was wondering when it'd come up. Cecilia and Mira already asked me the same thing."

"Well, you're the best trainer in the region… sorry if I wasn't supposed to ask."

"I'll tell you what I told them. When I was your age, I punched up instead of down or sideways."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I battled trainers I had no hopes of winning against to learn," Cynthia said. "I'd go and find trainers with five badges when I had two, eight when I had six, you get the gist. Most of the time, I lost."

"You lost? I thought that—"

"That I never lost in my career? Come on, I'm not perfect. I've lost plenty, although it has been more than two decades…"

Was that bragging? I was too scared to offend her to ask.

"Battling people you have no hopes of winning against will expose your weaknesses faster than you'd be able to find them," the Champion said. "I believe Lauren Goodwill has done it a few times."

I nodded, absorbing each one of her words and taking it to heart. That was another thing added to the list when I got to Veilstone. The Poketch Company would probably hate it though. Maybe I could set up something private, although the possibility of 'exposing' me would probably make that impossibly hard.

"Can I battle you then?" I asked out of the blue.

"No, you cannot. There's punching up, and then there's punching at me. You would learn nothing from it, and most of my team hates to handle opponents with kid gloves. Garchomp over here might hold back enough, but even so, there isn't much point when it wouldn't even be a competition."

The dragon grunted, which sounded more like an aggressive snarl, but I couldn't tell if she was disagreeing or agreeing with her.

"You're sweet even if you like pretending not to be," Cynthia gently told her. "It was a fun idea though. Try to go for people with a few more badges than you first. You have to at least have a chance to learn."

"I will. Uh, thank you."

"Plus, the optics of me helping a trainer ahead of the Conference would be terrible. I can't look like I'm playing favorites."

I nodded. That was probably going too far. We were already going to be accused of favoritism due to being put in the League Trainer Internship Program, but having the Champion train me was an order of magnitude above that. They were meant to be impartial figures that didn't get involved in the Circuit, so we were already treading new ground. Me being able to get seven Pokemon before my eight gym badge was already pushing it.

Though I wasn't even sure I'd end up doing that.

I chuckled when Togetic's wings beat so fast that she knocked herself off balance and fell over. It'd be interesting to know what the exact problem was, but the concept was probably too abstract for me to grasp, and I couldn't understand Cynthia's Togekiss anyway. From the way they were behaving, it seemed to be going well at least.

"Say, Shiftry had a… job, right?" I asked, skirting around the Unown. "But it was only slightly older than a thousand years old. What came before him?"

What had contained the Unown beforehand?

"Oh, we don't know. Shiftry never told us, probably because he knew that we wouldn't stop him if we couldn't replace him, and Solaceon's recorded history doesn't know that far aside from the Lost Tower. Did you stop by on your way there?"

"Yes," I blanched.

"Ah. You must have met Ruth and Mathilda then. They helped me deal with Spiritomb when I'd just caught them," Cynthia fondly recalled. "Although Ruth did try to kill me beforehand."

"She tried that on us too… Mathilda defended us."

"She did? She changes quickly for a ghost," she said. "Either way, Shiftry made itself useful to the League for generations, but things changed when I came to power. He thought a young, inexperienced child like I was wouldn't fight back, but I did. He had a mastery of dark type energy second to none, but he was weak. His fighting instincts were dull."

"And you're sure the replacement will work…?"

"Let us worry about that," she smiled. That was probably confidential then. "You surprise me, Grace."

"In a good way?" I hopefully asked.

"Rare are the people that'll just ask me classified information to my face."

"I'm—uh."

Crap.

"I find it amusing," she smiled. She opened her mouth, but her phone rang and she quickly answered. "Yes… yes, I'm on my way."

She hung up and stared at me.

"Duty calls, I'm afraid. I'll have to cut this short."

"What about Princess?"

"Togekiss can stay," Cynthia said. She climbed on Garchomp's back and tightly grabbed onto the spikes on its forearms. "I will see you and your group one last time before you leave. Send Alicia a message when you're done and she will come to pick you up."

"Okay—"

Garchomp jumped and disappeared into the sky, sending me stumbling backwards into the grass. When I stood back up, she was already a dot in the horizon.

How did she hold onto Garchomp without falling? Craig was right, she really was crazy. It was only now that I realized that I had just had a conversation with the Champion without falling on my face and making a fool of myself, except when I'd asked to battle her. Now that she'd left, I got the same feeling of adrenaline leaving my body after a fight, even though we'd only been talking.

I hesitantly stepped toward Togekiss and Togetic, but Cynthia's Pokemon waved a wing at me, telling me to stand back. She might have still been leaking, so I supposed he wanted to protect me.

I really wanted to talk to him though. I knew Togekiss were large enough to fly on, but seeing one really cemented how large they were to me. Togekiss was taller than me while simply standing, and he was big enough to fit two of me. I was pretty sure he was bigger than usual though, so Princess would probably end up being slightly smaller when she evolved. After twenty more minutes, the flying type waved me over and allowed me to get closer.

"Is it… over?"

Togekiss nodded and let out a cute chirp, while Princess embarrassingly stared to the side. I couldn't tell if she had a crush or if she still felt too responsible to face me, but it might have been a bit of both. I dragged her into my arms and stroked her head.

"Thank you for all the help," I nodded. "Tell Cynthia that I… appreciate everything she's done."

Togekiss happily nodded, and I could have sworn I felt my worries disappear. For a moment, it was as if nothing had happened the last few days and everything was back to normal. It was bliss.

And the feeling left as fast as it came. Togekiss took off, and unlike Garchomp, he was completely silent and caused no disturbance.

Before I realized it, I couldn't see him with the naked eye.

Garchomp could go faster still.