CHAPTER 218

"Princess. Analysis time, get in here," I said.

The flying type chirped as she floated on my lap, and I opened my laptop so she could see with me. She hadn't given her input before, but she was just as smart as I was and I wanted her more involved in the process so we could bounce ideas off each other and she could get better at noticing weaknesses. I already had Volkner's Gym website open, and I felt a sense of pride when I clicked on the six badge battles. What I did see, though, was disappointing. Even at a level this high, Volkner still didn't fight in a lot of his battles and had a few League Trainers capable of standing in for him do so instead. I applied the seventh and eighth badge filter and saw that he was present for all of those.

"So six badges is your threshold?" I murmured. "Okay."

I wasn't sure if demanding to battle him when I signed up would work, but I'd make sure he wouldn't abandon his duties somehow. I also decided to study Volkner exclusively and not bother with any of his League Trainers.

At six badges, I was finally getting into the big leagues, and Volkner was a difficult opponent to make that transition with. I'd heard and said multiple times that he was a master of the field, but seeing him in action was different. All of his Pokemon at this level knew Electric Terrain— all of them. That meant that no matter what, I'd be fighting against boosted electric type attacks, but that was just the surface. Electric Terrain was simple to deal with compared to everything else Volkner had up his sleeve.

"Let me tab out for a second— actually, I'll just split the screen. Keep watching the battle for me and see if you catch anything."

Princess nodded, but her eyes had already been glued to the screen. I opened my notes and began to type. Volkner had many variations of Electric Terrain, each with different effects— but all of them would still power up electric type moves.

The first was something I'd named Static Terrain, although Volkner called it Electric Terrain Two. It was just as bad as it sounded. Any Pokemon that stood still for too long would eventually get paralyzed, and getting paralyzed meant that they'd struggle to move, which in turn meant that they'd get further paralyzed and then they'd enter a death loop while Volkner fired off Thunderbolts or whatever was needed to finish them off. Funnily enough, however, flying types or Pokemon capable of flight were immune to this and of course, so were any electric types.

With a small grunt, Princess brought the fact that she couldn't see any weaknesses to this move to my attention. Volkner could have his Pokemon create Static Terrain in mere seconds and it looked to require next to no concentration. Another electric type could possibly counter it, but Honey and I hadn't trained enough in that department and catching up to a Gym Leader with years of experience was next to impossible, so we'd have to adapt.

Not all of his Pokemon could use this variation. They were mostly kept to his heavy hitters that weren't as fast, but were endurant enough to sustain the effect. Of course, not as fast was relative with Volkner. Luxray, Manectric, even his damn Ampharos was fast somehow. This would not only be a battle against the element of electricity, but speed itself.

"Wait, Princess. I got a counter," I smiled. "Well, not a counter, but I noticed something. None of his Pokemon that float can use the damn move."

Magnezone, Eelektross, Vikavolt— all of the fliers were incapable of using Static Terrain. The only logical conclusion was that to sustain the attack, a Pokemon needed to constantly channel electricity through their feet like Zachary had done with his own Ampharos. If he hadn't battled me in Veilstone, I was sure it would have taken me some extra days to figure this out, so I'd have to thank him.

The next effect— which I donned 'Electric Fog' had no such limitations. Volkner would somehow create some kind of mist that he then supercharged, and the electricity would desperately jump at any Pokemon inside at random intervals and it'd reduce visibility, even if not by that much. This one was less annoying than the first overall, but it would destroy Princess if we didn't master her shielding in time. Almost all of his Pokemon could use this, but Volkner liked to keep it to his more frail Pokemon, along with his Pokemon capable of flight.

Now, these were the main two that he used, at least at my level, but there were a few more that he kept if he needed. Sometimes he'd flood the field with his Lanturn— that he had somehow gotten so good at water manipulation that he could fight on land by being submerged in floating water. Now, he wouldn't do it all the way. Volkner only created a massive, arena-wide puddle that was ankle-deep and then he electrified it. If he only had two Pokemon left, however, he'd flood it completely. Eelektross and Lanturn were very adept at navigating water, and any water types you countered with that weren't also either electric or ground type would be quickly fried in the water.

His electric types that knew the move Rain Dance could create a Thunderstorm that made Thunderbolt and Thunder strike from above instead of from his Pokemon, and the move would be quicker and almost impossible to dodge. Volkner's arena actually shared Gardenia's open skies, and it was the only one to do so. I shared some thoughts with Princess about countering it with Angel or Sunshine's Sunny Day, but I'd have no way to know if that worked until I was in the battle itself. Weather moves countering each other only worked if the Pokemon was better practiced with it than the other.

And for some reason, these were all called Electric Terrain with some number by the end. Volkner had a disappointing amount of inspiration when naming things.

"Speaking of Volkner's arena," I muttered.

On the surface, his didn't look that different from Maylene's, but that was only at first glance. There was a lot more metal in the rocks than the average arena, which meant that any chunks or debris could be moved and manipulated with incredible precision through magnetism, like what Zachary's Ampharos had done but with ten times the amount of control. Volkner mostly used those for defense, though. Offense by throwing rocks looked a little lame when you could summon a lightning strike from the sky itself and would serve next to no purpose.

Now, this was all… kind of overwhelming. To go from Maylene's simple but effective fighting style to this was difficult, but there was a silver lining to all of this. Volkner had practically no defense to speak of beyond rocks, and those weren't very good. No Protect, no barriers, nothing. Just like what I'd heard about his best friend Flint, Volkner was an overwhelming attacker who believed that offense was the best defense, which meant that his Pokemon would go down a lot easier than Maylene's. I watched as the slouched Gym Leader placed his hands in his pockets and a Raichu sliced up an Onix with an Iron Tail.

"He looks bored, don't you think?" I asked.

Princess nodded and told me his mug was also ugly and unpleasant to look at.

"Someone's been hanging out with Sunshine too much," I said, petting her head. "You're lucky you're a Pokemon and people don't understand you, you know? You need to be nicer."

The fairy type absent-mindedly nodded and was mostly preoccupied by my head scratches.

Unlike Fantina, Volkner didn't hate battling, he just hated battling at what he considered a low-level, which the sixth badge was still apparently a part of. What I did see, however, were glimpses of enjoyment from time to time. When he got hit by a tactic he didn't expect or a battle he'd been handily winning suddenly tightened, he actually smiled and got into it. What I needed was for him to feel like that for the entire battle, and Lauren would as well.

"Possible, but difficult. What Pokemon did you notice were tougher than the rest?" I asked. "We'll see if we came to the same conclusion."

While Princess shared some of my worries, she mostly picked Pokemon that would counter her terribly— so Pokemon that were fast and highly maneuverable in the air, and who could run circles around her.

"Don't be biased. Looking at the team as a whole, the biggest problems are… Toxtricity, Heliolisk, Lanturn, Zebstrika, Galvantula and Eelektross, I think. Raichu looks easy, but Alolan Raichu isn't. He's the only one that can do barriers, even if they're weaker than yours. Think you'll have your new ones mastered by the battle? I'd probably give it a week and a half or two weeks."

The fairy type nodded firmly, letting me know that there was no doubt in her mind.

Toxtricity was a poison type, and I had very few counters for those, so he was on top of the list. Lanturn and Eelektross for reasons already outlined, Zebstrika because she was so fast that she was nearly impossible to hit. Heliolisk and Galvantula were also quick, but their way of fighting was more gimmicky. Galvantula was quick, and she liked to wrap your Pokemon in a thunderous web and knock them out while they couldn't move. Despite being so tiny, Heliolisk could dish out incredible attacks from afar, and his dragon and ground type moves would actually be able to counter Sunshine even if he was one badge level ahead. Plus, he was like Gardenia's Lombre since he could take advantage of both the rain and the sun with Solar Beam, but Solar Power meant that he wouldn't be able to fight for long under the latter even if his attacks would be boosted.

And I couldn't forgo the possibility of Volkner using a seven-badge Pokemon to counter Sunshine.

Either way, these were just the ones that jumped at me. At this level, everything Volkner brought out would be a threat, and I'd be a fool to underestimate Pokemon like Luxray and Manectric even if they were more of a jack of all trades.

Now, that wasn't it. This battle was two-fold. One, impress Volkner. Two, there was the question of how to make Honey shine the brightest. I didn't only need to impress Volkner, but I needed to show him that Honey was worthy of the knowledge he held. Thunder would no doubt help with that, as the move was so intensive that I was sure Volkner had almost never seen any six badger use it against him. In fact, it was so powerful that it would deal a decent amount of damage against electric types without abilities that rendered all electric type attacks useless.

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But that wasn't it. He couldn't just hold his own. He needed to excel.

He needed to be my ace for the battle.

"Looks like we have our work cut out for us like usual," I said as I stretched. "I'll start outlining the moves I see. You just observe for now, okay? And use the opportunity to get better at reading letters."

—

I probably would have kept studying all night if Cecilia hadn't knocked on my door to check if I was still awake. She knew me too well at this point and had forced me to go to sleep since I was waking up relatively early tomorrow to meet with Lauren. I fell asleep right as I hit the bed and morning came in a flash. I did feel stupid because we hadn't actually decided on where to meet. After a quick call, we quickly realized we were actually staying in the same Pokemon Center by pure luck. We decided to meet downstairs in the lobby, but it took me a while to find her because she was wearing a face mask, sunglasses and wearing a hoodie. She was the one who actually waved at me.

"Lauren, what's with the getup?" I frowned. "You alright?"

She was the same as always, but it looked like some of her skittishness had disappeared, at least.

"It's my disguise. I did what you told me yesterday, Grace… I tried scaring them off. They liked it."

I let out a scoff and leaned in as I began to whisper, "Okay, I'm sorry. I guess they're a lot more rabid than I thought. Have you considered putting out a statement online? I know you already walk around with Sirris everywhere, so you should be fine security-wise, but maybe you should be straight with them."

"So I should tell them that they're fucking annoying wastes of space and that I'd be happy if they died?" She shyly whispered back.

"Maybe something less extreme?" I said. "Like, 'hey, I'm happy I have fans, but please stop waiting for me outside of my Pokemon Center because it makes me feel uncomfortable'. If you want to keep working with Silph Co., you can't seem too violent or extreme. It sucks and it's unfair, but walking around with a Pokemon is kind of the limit of what you can do."

"I see. Sirris said the same thing, which is why I tried to hide."

"No, that's just common sense," I said. "Want to go to the Boardwalk? Eat some ice cream?"

"It's pretty hot today," she nodded. "Ice cream sounds fine."

I felt my lips creep upward when I imagined Sunshine screaming that no, fifteen degrees Celsius wasn't hot. I feared his standard had forever been altered by Alola. We left the building with Lauren's disguise, and we quickly hopped on a bus.

"I wonder why your fans are so extreme?" I asked her. "I mean, we all have some, but yours are something else."

"I don't know. At some point, I thought it was because of my brother, but—"

Lauren froze when she spoke of Craig.

"What's going on?"

"Craig… uh, talking about him made me remember he's here."

"By here, you mean here? In Sunyshore? I thought he was training on Mount Coronet!"

It was at times like these that I regretted not being as online as some of my other friends. It meant I could miss easy information like this.

"Well, he's been there for a few months now, so he's taking a break," Lauren said. "I'm surprised he hasn't come to see me."

"Why? You said you didn't want anything to do with him," I shrugged as I watched the city pass us by. "He probably learned to respect your wishes."

"Maybe… I guess…"

"You know, it's alright to want to see your brother," I said.

"I don't want to see him, I was just wondering."

"Well, it works out for me. I haven't been able to thank him in person since he kind of secured my deal with Poketch for me. I wonder if he'd be willing to meet."

"I mean, he's quite busy. The Poketch Company was getting antsy about him going missing for so long, and they want to use him as much as they can before he disappears again. Or at least I think so!" She exclaimed.

I turned toward her with a smug smile. So she did like her brother after all.

—

We'd made it to the boardwalk, which was even more packed than yesterday now that the city was warming up. A few brave souls had decided to enter the waters of the beach too. I waited for Lauren to complete her order as I ate some of my ice cream from the small paper cup the stand gave me. I'd never been a fan of cones. Lauren, meanwhile came back with a yellow ice cream.

"What's that flavor?"

"Ginger pineapple ice cream," she said before licking the base of her cone. "You should have one too."

"I'll stick to strawberry, thanks," I said. "So, Lauren. What do you know about Volkner so far?"

"That he's tough," she grinned. "He can make the battlefield extremely difficult to even stand on for anything that isn't an electric type. I'm confident I can handle him, but I know this is going to be harder than Maylene."

I resisted the urge to start rambling on everything I'd studied up on last night. I knew Lauren functioned differently than me, and she did have two ground types. Even if Volkner had ways to counter them, she was in a good spot to win.

"What Pokemon do you have on your radar?" I asked. "By the way, I have to say, I fucking love your sunglasses. Sorry if that comes out of nowhere."

"Oh. Thanks," she smiled. "I bought them the other day, I can show you the store if you want to."

"Sure!"

"And for his Pokemon, well, uh, Lanturn looks annoying. Then there's Zebstrika, Alolan Raichu…"

I nodded along with her list. Even if she didn't study as much as I did, she was able to scope out threats with the little amount she had, which proved her instincts were on point. Of course, some of her answers differed from mine. Toxtricity wasn't as much of a problem against her team, for example. I finished my ice cream, threw it in the trash and we kept talking.

"Now, to impress Volkner, it won't be enough to just win. You'll have to bring out your A-game."

"I always bring my A-game."

"Just making sure," I innocently raised my hands. "He loves twists and turns he didn't expect, so try to think outside the box. If the battle is predictable, he'll hate it even if you're throwing powerful attacks around or fucking up the field. So, we should share what we plan on doing and make our tactics different."

"I don't have a plan. I think I'll just wing it."

"Oh Arceus," I shivered. "People like you terrify me."

"Am— Am I scary?" She whimpered.

"Well, the fact that you're as good as you are while winging things is scary, yes," I said. "Anyway, do you plan on using lava in any way shape or form? Or just using the sun in general?"

"You're thinking sun team?" Lauren mused. "Interesting."

I shrugged. "Sorta kinda."

"Well, I'll probably use Lava Plume with Mags, but that's it in the lava front."

I nodded. Magmar's Lava Plume wasn't as hot as what Sunshine was capable of, so I thought Volkner would still be impressed with us. We kept sharing some insights for Volkner until Lauren brought me to the store she'd bought her sunglasses in. It was nice to finally hang out with her. We were friends, but until today, it was like she didn't feel the same way.

"And don't forget, your Magmar needs to leave a mark on Volkner. That means you need to do everything in your power to make him an unstoppable force. Taking down multiple Pokemon with him would be ideal."

"You've seen Mags battle. I have no doubt in my heart that he'll do it."

"Good. The question is, how do we guarantee a battle with Volkner?" I asked as I stared at myself in the mirror with a pair of sunglasses. "Think they'll agree if we ask? We're among the best first years."

"I don't know. I thought you would know."

"I guess I can call Candice," I whispered. That was one of the levers I could pull. "She might be busy working, though."

"You have Candice's number?"

"Oh yeah, we're friends," I said. "Want to know what she's all about? She'll be your eighth badge, right?"

"I would like that, yes," Lauren nodded.

"Okay, let me call her first. I'm going to buy these sunglasses and a matching pair for Cece, so I'll be right back."

I walked up to the counter with a giddy feeling inside of me. Was I buying too much stuff for her? Honestly, I wanted to shower her with gifts, but this was already my second— or my third, if I counted the video Emi had agreed to edit. Cecilia didn't have a laptop yet either… but she'd probably feel uncomfortable if I gave her too much, and I had explicitly told her not to do the same for me. I dragged Lauren into one of the changing rooms as I scrolled through my contacts to call Candice.

"Hi Candice. You're on speaker," I said.

"Oh! Grace, you called me? I'm so moved!"

"We spoke the other day. You called me to say happy birthday when it wasn't my birthday yet? Remember that?"

"Oh, yeah, right," she said. "Who else is here? Is it your giiiirlfrieeeeend? Cecilia! How're you doing! You should call me more often!"

"It's not Cece, it's my friend Lauren."

"Lauren? Oh, Craig's sister?!" Candice yelled before freezing. I ignored Lauren's annoyed expression and waited for Candice to continue. "Yes. Hello, Snowpoint's Gym Leader Candice here. Please keep this short, we're extremely busy."

"Lauren's fine, you don't have to pretend to be working," I rolled my eyes. "We had a question regarding Volkner."

"Oh, grumpy old Volkner? Shoot."

"You know how he lets his Gym Trainers battle for him? Could we somehow prevent that for us? And you know, my friends who may not want to have it easier too?"

Candice laughed and I heard her slap her knee. "Don't be so oblivious, Grace. You don't have to worry about that!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well first, you brought Maymay to tears, so Volkner won't pass this chance. You're lucky he's a good Gym Leader, or he would have sworn revenge against you or something and made your win impossible. It would have been funny, though. Craig's Volkner's buddy and he gives him the best battles, so I'm pretty sure he'll battle his sister—"

"Let's stop with the sister stuff," I interrupted. "Sensitive subject."

"My bad, I seem to be very good at stepping on landmines. And I doubt Volkner will pass up the opportunity to fight the best first years, so your friends should be fine! You were worrying for no reason. You're lucky we're friends, or I would have charged you for this. I'm very busy, there's mountains of paperwork—"

"You let all of your League Trainers handle that, Candice," I said. "And Snowpoint's still frozen over, so trainers haven't started arriving yet. You're probably bored out of your mind."

"I am!" She screamed with a fake cry. "I wanna go to Sunyshore and hang out with Volkner! He got this new girlfriend and I haven't met her yet, I want to embarrass him in front of her so badly! Like, what if I told her all of his deepest secrets?"

"You're the worst," I smirked.

"The best. Anyway, no joke, I actually have to go train some of the little guys, so I'll be off. Say hello to the others for me. Bye Lauren, it was nice to meet you even though I'm pretty sure you hate me!"

I stared at Lauren, but she didn't answer.

"Sheesh, that's awkward. Bye Grace!"

"See ya later, Candice. Thanks for the help."

I hung up the phone and grinned. It looked like I'd been worrying for nothing.

"I don't like her," Lauren muttered.

"Yes, I could tell. But this was good news, right? We're basically golden, now we just have to not fumble the opportunity."

"We won't. I never back down from a tough challenge."

—

I spent another few hours with Lauren going to different shops on the boardwalk, but we separated after that. I made sure to warn her that since she also had a Pokemon more powerful than the rest of her team in Rhydon, Volkner could possibly amp up the difficulty. When I asked her what she was planning on doing to figure out how the hell Rhydon evolved, she told me she was planning on going to the Battle Frontier to speak to Barry Lane's father after the Conference. In a way, it was weird to see everyone so interconnected.

Before I went off to borrow one of Mira's psychics to train, Louis and Maeve were finally free to meet. I didn't know what had gotten them so busy, but it was apparently some kind of intense training regiment that meant that they had an intense battle every few hours and limited their Pokemon to potions unless they really needed to go to the Center. As a result of that, they'd battled the most out of everyone in the group, and their Pokemon approved. Especially Gabite.

I met them in one of the many arenas dotting Sunyshore, although this one was quite far away from our Pokemon Center since they were staying in a different one. I was greeted by a Ninetales battling toe-to-toe with an Infernape and Louis and Maeve standing at two opposite sides of the battlefield. Not only that, but a Gligar clung to Maeve's head and tried to eat her hair while she battled.

It seemed like we hadn't been the only ones moving forward.