CHAPTER 220 - The Mountain

Sitting next to two trainers way stronger than I was in such a public setting sure was… something. Craig called one of the bartenders over, and the woman immediately dropped everything she was doing to get his new order— or, well, my order, in this case. She looked nervous as hell to be handling Craig.

"Do you have some, uh, cranberry juice please?" I asked. I was also nervous, obviously, but I managed to soothe my nerves quickly. I shot the man a friendly look. "So, Craig. Thanks for meeting me, I guess. Was I interrupting something?"

"Not at all," Craig said.

"We just got stood up by my boyfriend," Jasmine sighed. "Canceled at the last minute."

"Well, you know how it is, Jasmine. Work's a bi— work's just like that," Craig said. I noticed he still hadn't lost his habit of stopping himself from swearing in front of younger people. "He can't put one of his trainers to fight for a kid's eighth."

"Well maybe if he kept better track of his schedule, then this wouldn't have happened," Jasmine said before sipping on a giant mug of beer. Sipping… actually she was practically downing the entire thing.

Craig's lips went flat. "That's just Volkner for ya. Oh, Grace, how'd you two meet each other, by the way?"

Volkner, I thought to myself. Candice's mention of a new girlfriend. It all made sense now. Volkner was dating Jasmine.

"I met her on the beach," I answered, desperate to hide my surprise. I wanted to fit in. To belong with these incredible trainers. "Behind the rocks."

"Oh, she likes that spot," Craig grinned. "So yeah, we were just drinking here—"

"And I was venting," Jasmine grumbled.

"And she was venting," Craig repeated with a nod. "Then you messaged. So, what's up?"

"Well, originally I just wanted to thank you. For the sponsorship thing, I mean," I said. "Without your input, the Poketch Company wouldn't have contacted me and I'd be in a worse spot right now."

"Ah. Don't worry about it," he smiled. "You're a great kid, you're going to be a great replacement. Plus, you're my sister's friend. How is she, by the way? I'm keeping my distance, but I'd like to know."

"Here he goes again," Jasmine cringed. "Let her spread her wings."

"I am, which is why I'm not asking to meet her. Just, you know, I'd like to know what's new."

Just as I was about to answer, my juice came and I took a sip.

"She's doing great. We're going to be meeting a lot more since we're planning something for our Gym Battle. And I'm pretty sure she—"

I was about to say that she missed him, but in retrospect, that was a pretty terrible idea. He doted on her way too much to ignore that, and he'd probably fly off to see her immediately.

"—sold a TM to Silph Co.," I added without missing a beat. "So financially, she's doing well too."

"I saw that! Fire Pillar, right?" He grinned. "I bought… a few, even though I don't really need any. Don't tell her."

"I won't."

Jasmine slammed her glass against the counter and yelled, "Another beer!"

"Are you— are you okay?" I whispered.

"Me? Oh, I'm perfectly fine," she said. I could tell it was a lie. "What's this plan with Volkner you're doing?"

"Oh, nothing much. Lauren has a Magmar and I have an Electabuzz, so we just want to impress him in hopes that he can give us some information regarding their evolutions. Volkner and Flint are best friends— well, I guess you know that."

There was a glint in her eye. "I've met him once. This is an ambitious plan. Volkner's not easily entertained, so I wish you luck."

The conversation slowed for a little bit, and I saw Craig message Volkner on his phone. I knew it was bad manners to snoop, but I couldn't help but see him typing 'fumbling the bag,' before I turned toward the television and sipped on my juice while I swayed my legs in the air since they dangled from the stool.

"You know, I'm sure he'll apologize," I muttered to Jasmine. Part of me said it was none of my business. I didn't even know them, after all, but I couldn't help but want to soothe things over.

"He's apologized many times already," Jasmine sighed. "I don't want to break up or anything, I just wish he was a little bit more thoughtful, you know?"

"Well, Gym Leader work is busy," Craig tried.

"You think I don't know that?" Jasmine said. Even when she raised her tone, it was as if she was incapable of speaking past a certain volume. "I left for a reason. I'm not asking him to do the same, but keeping track of his schedule is the bare minimum."

Craig stared at me and restrained a grimace. "Let's change the subject. Did you know Jasmine was from Johto, Grace?"

"Yeah, she told me when we met," I said. "I don't know much about the region."

"Yeah, she's from Olivine. I hear it's a nice little coastal city. She's the Gym Leader there."

My hands around my glass tightened. I was speaking to a foreign Gym Leader? I had already spoken to her and not known!

"I'm so sorry," I stammered. "I didn't know, I—"

Jasmine placed a hand on my shoulder, although I didn't miss her amused smirk. "You're alright, Grace. Right now, I'm not a Gym Leader. Just a humble tourist."

"She loves to drop that knowledge on people," Craig said. "She enjoys their reactions."

"You dropped it this time. I wanted to see how long it took her to realize it on her own," Jasmine said with a smug expression.

"I guess I gave you what you wanted anyway," I grumbled. "But wait, how do you two know each other?'

"Volkner's my friend," Craig said, turning to Jasmine. "He introduced us a few months ago when they just started dating. You know, I couldn't believe Kanto-Johto just let you go back then."

"Oh, it was this entire process," Jasmine groaned. "I had to grovel at Lance's feet for months to even start it. Fucking self-aggrandizing asshole."

Oh, she just dropped Kanto-Johto's Champion's name like it was nothing. And called him an asshole. Great.

"Kanto-Johto's got a tight leash on their leaders," she continued. "I had to go through intent assessment, get my travel plans a security clearance, then since I'm a foreign national in a position of power and have a lot of destructive force available, they had to negotiate with Sinnoh's government to make sure I wasn't coming to be the world's most obvious spy or terrorist. And I have two agents with me that are supposed to be following me at all times. I'm good at losing them though," she smirked. "I'm under a lot of restrictions, and I have to call every three days. Sometimes dear old Lance will even pick up the phone."

"Agents from Kanto-Johto, might I add. They're scared she'd defect," Craig said. "They're a paranoid bunch."

"Don't start talking shit about Kanto-Johto now," Jasmine warned. "You know how I get."

"Right, right, my bad," Craig said, raising his hands innocently.

My head was spinning, but I just nodded along to whatever they said. If I remembered correctly, Jasmine's vacation would last a whole year. What would happen to her relationship with Volkner then?

Maybe that was why she was so saddened beyond the obvious fact that he'd ghosted her for work. Every day they didn't spend together was a day they would never get back unless she did decide to defect, and that would probably create an entire diplomatic crisis between her region and ours. And with Team Galactic around, Cynthia wasn't going to let a Gym Leader resign, and I didn't even know if Volkner had even entertained moving back to Johto with her. Their relationship was basically on a timer.

I exhaled as I bit the inside of my lip. That was a depressing thought.

"Who's replacing you? At your Gym?" I asked.

"My father. He used to run it before me, and he's not as good as he was in his prime, but he's still good enough to run the Gym," she said. "Anyway, enough about relationship stuff. It depresses me."

"Sure," Craig nodded. "Hey, Grace, check this out."

He pointed at the television, and the battle was still going on, although Tauros had gone down and been replaced by a Kricketune that could slice through the trees like paper.

"Here we go again," Jasmine said.

"You know who those two are?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Not at all. I mean, I can read the names on the bottom of the screen—"

Craig interrupted me. "The guy with the Kricketune. He's Archie Wright. Decent battler, but where he shines is the fact that he has twenty Pokemon, and almost all of them are good enough to stand their ground at the Conference. He's a bi— he's almost impossible to plan against."

"But?" Jasmine asked. "There's always a but, right?"

"Just standing your ground at the Conference level isn't enough to win," Craig continued. "I battled him once, but I blew him wide open. He's improved slightly this year, but if I had to guess, he stalls out right after the group stages."

"Harsh," I whispered. And it was especially harsh when I knew this guy could wipe the floor with me. If my Pokemon ever got there, I was confident I'd be able to plan against him, though. "What about the girl with Liligant?"

"That's Mikaela Acevedo," he said. "Grass type specialist, and the winner of this battle."

I nodded. It wasn't over yet, but she'd been dominating from the start, so it was obvious she was going to win bar any extraordinary circumstances.

"As you can see, her trick is growing forests out of nothing. She's so good at it that she could grow trees during a damn fire," he smirked behind his mug. "The thing with her is that you've got to fight not only her Pokemon, but the forest itself, but her problem is that she's a bit of a one-trick pony. She can do other things, but none of them are as effective as this."

I finished my juice as Kricketune took flight with his thin black wings, but one of the trees stretched to unbelievable proportions and high into the sky, slamming into the poor bug type as neon green light surrounded its bark.

"That was Wood Hammer," Jasmine said.

"So she can make the forest use moves?" I asked, trying to hide my surprise.

"Yeah. Told you that you had to fight the forest. Tricky opponent for sure, but easy to beat when you figure her out. I battled her twice. The first time I nearly lost, the second I won handily. If I had to guess… I'd say top 64, but no further."

"You sure are nice," Jasmine mocked.

"I'm just saying it how I see it," he shrugged. "There are a lot of people better than her."

"But no one better than you?" Jasmine asked.

"Now that Sarah Newman left, you would be correct, at least if you don't count the Elite Four and Cynthia," he said as a matter of fact. "When I finish up Poketch business here, I'm going to swing around the region to try and see if I can get any info on the people that pose a threat."

I stood at the edge of my seat. "Like who?"

"Ammar Halimi. From Orre," Craig said. "Brutal in fights because he's seen nothing but brutality his entire life. Nearly killed his opponent's Pokemon on multiple occasions. His ace is a Fearow that'll fight until every bone in its body's broken. I don't say this often, but I'm sure that it would beat Roxie in the air. I'd say he already has the makings of a potential quarter-finalist, but he still has months to improve, so he might get to finals."

"Fearow's interesting," Jasmine mused. "Underestimated a lot of the time because it's not as fast as some other fliers, but it can be very versatile."

"Then there's that younger kid from Galar with a Glimmora. The problem with him is that I know nothing about that Pokemon. He hasn't used it in any Gym or tournament fights, and the rest of his team is powerful too. He mostly has Galarian and Paldean Pokemon. I'm starting to think I'm going to have to look up fu— freaking Geeta to see what it's all about."

Jasmine snorted. "Okay, you know that you can swear, right? She's not ten."

"I don't swear in front of children."

"I'm not a kid," I protested. "And a Glimmora? I saw someone who said he had a Glimmora and who was from Galar. He was in Veilstone looking to get some documents updated. We spoke a little, and he seemed nice enough."

Craig's eyes widened slightly. "That was probably him. You've got a knack for encountering important people."

"I'm just lucky," I said.

"Luck is one thing, but taking advantage of that luck is another," Jasmine said. "Connections are important."

"Oh, come to think of it! Jasmine, I didn't ask what your specialty was. I saw you had a Metagross, so I'm guessing steel or psychic," I asked.

"Steel is correct, but I dabble in electric types as well," Jasmine said. "My dad spent countless nights yelling at me for deviating from the beaten path, but I didn't care. I've had enough men telling me what to do my entire life."

Craig spoke up, "Kanto-Johto? Sexist? I never would have guessed—"

A glare from Jasmine shut him down pretty quickly. Every person had their own biases about every region, and Craig was no different.

"Who's the strongest Gym Leader there?" I asked excitedly.

"In Johto? That would be Clair, the dragon type specialist and also Lance's dear cousin, even though they despise each other since Lance was exiled from their clan," Jasmine shrugged. "Volkner told me about that little kerfuffle you had with Maylene—"

I shrunk in embarrassment. She knew about that too?

"—No need to be that scared, I'm not going to eat you. I wanted to say, if you thought Maylene was bad, Clair is ten times worse. Did you know she refused to give out a badge when she got beaten once? It was years ago now, but it created this whole scandal."

"Refused? Like, flat out said no?" Craig asked.

"Yes. When the public pressure got to her and Lance started breathing down her neck, she made up this new challenge. The trainer had to navigate the Dragon's Den— it's this cave that belongs to the Blackthorn clan."

"The city's named after the clan?" I asked.

"The clan founded the city," Jasmine nodded. "The kid was called Gold. He beat that challenge too, and he went on to beat Lance that year, but he refused to take on the mantle of Champion."

"Isn't that the second time this happened?" Craig asked.

"Oh yes," Jasmine laughed. "It's a bit of a running joke, and Lance hates it, so I always make sure to tell it once every time we meet. Unfortunately, he's also the only one that seems to be able to run the damn country, so I still appreciate him in a way."

"If we ignore the human rights abuses, then he's pretty good at his job," Craig muttered under his breath.

"You Sinnohans are so soft," Jasmine mocked. "Why don't you move to Galar so you can be done with it?"

"Ha, ha, very funny," Craig rolled his eyes. "Barkeep, another beer please!"

"What about you? Where do you place?" I asked.

"Well, there's this huge gulf behind Clair. She's good enough to be in the Elite Four, and she was even propositioned when Agatha retired."

"The woman who refuses to die?" Craig said. "Heard a lot about her and her ghosts. How old is she now?"

"One hundred and two," Jasmine said. "But she always tells me she feels twenty, so make of that what you will. The only way Lance convinced her to retire was to offer her Lavender. He'd wanted to push her out of power since becoming Champion."

"Offer her? Meaning?" I probed.

"She rules it with an iron fist. It's a de-facto independent country within Kanto, and everyone knows it despite pretending otherwise," Jasmine explained. "Anyway, Clair would rather be the ruler of the kiddie pool than be in charge of the entire country and have to share her power. She's the strongest by far. Then I would have said Pryce, but he died recently, so… I guess it's me or Morty. We haven't really battled in a bit."

She went on to list every Johtohan Gym Leader and their specialties, and then I remembered that Sunshine must have battled her too. I knew Gym Leaders battled a lot of people, but maybe she'd remember him with how unique he'd been to the region. I made a mental note to ask her later. She'd already given me her number.

"Kanto's different than Johto," Jasmine said. "A little bit more modern, and with no care for tradition. Just power. The Gym Leaders there have the biggest egos. You have Blue, Sabrina, Koga, Surge, Misty, and there was Blaine before he died, it's a fucking dick-measuring contest and I want to die every time I'm in a room with them. Sabrina, Blue and Surge even have a policy of fighting at a six-badge level at minimum, so trainers know to avoid their Gyms before they get good enough, or their Pokemon would get beaten to the ground. But the strongest Gym Leader is definitely Blue. He's a Champion-level trainer."

"Champion-level? So stronger than Clair?" I asked. My mouth was faster than my brain, because I remembered that Cece had told me about him in Veilstone.

"Oh, yes. He was Champion for a little bit along with his dear old rival he hates so much and he hasn't seen in more than a decade. He's a little weird because he runs his Gym as a generalist Gym. Lance hates him."

"Is there someone Lance doesn't hate?" Craig asked.

"Anyone who's bruised his ego gets put through the wringer, but Blue likes to remind him he could take back the Championship any time he'd like. It's not pretty when they butt heads. But as we all know, it's one thing to win the position and another to actually run the two regions. Lance is good. A stable, steady hand."

"Seems like Kanto-Johto's a nice happy place," Craig said without bothering to hide his sarcasm. "I hope Sarah's doing well here."

"He liked Sarah Newman," Jasmine leaned in and whispered to me. "She beat him in the finals last year and then left for Kanto. Volkner tells me he spent months down in the dumps."

"He told me about her when we were traveling up north, but he never told me he liked her," I whispered back.

"Yeah. He never had to guts to tell her."

"Stop whispering about me," Craig complained.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jasmine shrugged. "People like to call Kanto-Johto dysfunctional, and I'll admit it's true. We even spy on each other sometimes even though we're supposed to be a part of the same damn country."

She laughed as she finished her second beer.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"But we've got each other's backs against any threat. Someone comes knocking, and we'll unite to take them down. Like Team Rocket."

"Shit. Yeah," Craig said.

"I had just started my tenure when we brought the fight to them," she continued. "Then when Giovanni disappeared, the Kanto branch fell apart and they fortified in Johto. I saw a lot of death. It wasn't a good time for us."

A heavy silence settled in, and we all drank as we turned toward the TV.

"Damn it, I ruined the mood," Jasmine said. "I'm feeling a bit tipsy, Craig. Want to cheer me up with a battle? I'd like to see how far I could push you, and you said no last time."

"Well, last time, I wanted you to fight Volkner instead," Craig shrugged.

"Yeah, but I beat him," Jasmine said. "So now I want you."

The raven-haired man sighed. "Fine, but it'll have to be in a private setting. No leaks, and no recording."

"Who do you take me for?" Jasmine scoffed before her lips turned into a mischievous smile.

"Someone who's drunk."

Jasmine thought for a few seconds and then her lips turned into a mischievous smile. "Only if you use mega evolution against me. And you have to release first."

"See? This is what I'm talking about," Craig groaned.

"Just get us out of here already."

"Can I watch?" I asked.

"Obviously," Craig said. "Follow me, kid."

I hopped off the bar stool and followed them onto to boardwalk. Thankfully, his hotel wasn't far from the beach, and he led us into his luxurious room that reminded me of the places we used to stay back in Eterna City. I'd never been in a hotel since then. There were too many bad memories associated with this place.

"Um, can I message my girlfriend about this?" I hesitantly asked. "She'll be so excited, it'll be really cute."

"Cecilia? Yeah, go ahead," he said as he grabbed a Pokeball. A seventh Pokeball that had been hidden in his bag, I noticed as I texted Cece.

She messaged me back right away asking for a video, but I unfortunately told her it was impossible. I'd tell her all about it, though.

If Craig had a weakness, it was that he'd limited himself to six Pokemon for nearly ten years. That meant that people always knew what he brought to the table, but it looked like he'd changed that. Craig released a small bug-like Pokemon with an oversized head that levitated in the air. She had seven spots on her bright red head, and she had multiple white rings in her pale turquoise eyes. I'd never seen this Pokemon before, so I scanned her with my Pokedex.

Orbeetle, the Seven Spot Pokemon. It is famous for its high level of intelligence and possesses immense psychic power. It can observe and study the world around it through psychic energy up to ten miles away.

Type: Bug, Psychic.

"This is Dot. She's my new Teleporter, and I'm trying to get her up to speed for the Conference. Spring a little surprise on people," Craig smiled. "I figured I'd keep her hidden until the semis, maybe."

Well met, the psychic spoke into our minds.

"Thank you, Dot. Could you bring us to… let's say one of the mountains on route 205."

Right away, Craig. Would you like some coffee with that? A nice massage, perhaps? Since you're so obligated to demand things of me and not say please.

Jasmine and I restrained our laughter, and Craig sighed.

"Please Teleport us to one of the mountains on route 205, Dot. I would greatly appreciate it."

The air felt thinner and it was instantly colder as we appeared on a mountain's peak. This place was a plateau with conveniently just enough space for two trainers to battle in. I squinted, and I could see Eterna Forest in the distance, sprawling all over the land. From up here, I could see that the trees grew taller the closer to the center I looked, and I remembered Bellatrix telling me about a Pokemon thousands of years old that slept at its center. My eyes drifted across route 205 and settled on Floaroma. The memories seemed so far away now.

"Six-on-six, no switches so we keep it fun and straightforward," Jasmine said. "Are we doing this without a barrier? That's always fun."

"You are clinically insane," Craig said. "Dot will take care of the barrier. She's strong enough for that already, and I won't use her in the battle."

"Aw. We have this traditional game we sometimes play in Kanto-Johto where we battle without barriers. The Pokemon fight each other and protect the trainer, and the one who chickens out first loses. I'm very good at it."

"Do me a favor, Grace. Tell my sister to never go to that hellhole," Craig said as he dropped his bag on the ground.

"Come here, Grace," Jasmine said, beckoning me with a hand. "I'll show you what Olivine's Gym Leader is all about."

"Oh, I thought I'd just watch from the side—"

"No, you're with me," she said. "Come."

I nodded and followed her, and since I wanted to release my team so they could watch with me, I figured now would be a good time to bring up Sunshine instead of later.

"Say, do you remember fighting a Turtonator last year's Circuit? And an Alolan trainer?"

"A Turtonator?" She hummed. "Yes, yes I do remember. Why?"

"Well, uh, he's with me now," I said. "His trainer died."

"Oh. That's a shame," she said, her eyes dimming. For a second, it was as if she sobered up.

"Yeah, I wanted my Pokemon to watch the battle, so he''ll recognize you, that's all."

"No problem," she nodded. "Here we are."

I released my team as Craig stood on opposite sides of Jasmine. I explained what was happening to them, and Sunshine obviously couldn't keep his eyes off Jasmine, but I asked him to keep anything he wanted to say for later. Craig pulled a necklace out of his shirt and grabbed his first Pokeball. The orb-like jewel seemed to change and shift colors every time I looked. Jasmine simply grabbed her Pokeball as well. Dot the Orbeetle's eyes shone, and she summoned a transparent rectangular barrier around the field. I could tell she'd gotten the exact dimensions of a Gym's battlefield from muscle memory.

It felt odd, to be standing next to Jasmine. I'd never had this view of a field if I wasn't the one fighting. Craig was in front of me. In a way, it was kind of like I was fighting him. There was no sound except for the howling winds.

Craig yelled with his hands around his mouth. From this far and without a microphone, his voice barely carried over, so we didn't hear anything he'd said. He released a Gyarados that let out a thundering roar that shook the inside of my body like loud bass. The sea serpent floated a few feet above the air, clumsily bumping against the barrier.

"This is going to be fun," Jasmine muttered. "What do you think is unique about this battle, Grace?"

"I— uh— I think the sound? You can't hear what he's saying and he can't hear what you're saying."

"Yes," she nodded. "And that changes things. Craig knew it when he picked this place. It's harder to react for both trainers, so it's kind of a double-edged sword. I love those. Some people are good enough at lipreading for it not to matter."

I stared at Jasmine, who slowly sorted through her assortment of eleven Pokeballs as she decided who to send out.

Craig is asking for you to, and I quote, get a fucking move on, Dot spoke into our minds.

"Yes, yes, I will," Jasmine said. "Tell him to fuck off, but nicely."

Will do.

Jasmine led with a huge Skarmory that put any previous ones I'd ever seen to shame. The steel type bore many scars in its metallic hide, and it let out a screech that resonated throughout the mountain.

"Whirlwind Spikes," Jasmine ordered, not losing her soft tone.

Skarmory screamed, beating his wings as hundreds of small spikes fell from his body. A gust of wind as powerful as a hurricane sent them flying toward Gyarados so quickly that the majority of them stabbed into his huge body while the rest fell to the ground and began to levitate a few inches above it. Craig said something, and Gyarados inhaled. With a primal roar, he let loose a Hydro Pump toward Skarmory, but the winds were so strong that the jet of water weakened and curved before making it to the flying type. Even now, wind strong enough to lift everyone but the heaviest members of my team off their feet was swirling around the arena.

"Metal Sound to distract, Sand Attack in his eyes," Jasmine said.

Skarmory dove down from the sky and sped up as he manipulated the wind behind him. Electricity shone around Gyarados, and the water type let loose a Thunderbolt that hit Skarmory's wing. For a second, the steel type looked like he was going to fall to the ground, but a whistle from Jasmine snapped him back to reality and he sped up toward Gyarados. Another Thunderbolt was coming, but Skarmory opened his mouth and a horrible sound like nails on a chalkboard so powerful that I could see it slammed against Gyarados, who thrashed around to stop the pain. Skarmory continued on his path and threw sand into the water type's eyes before turning back and hitting his tough hide with a Flash Cannon.

In a normal battle, that wouldn't have worked. Not when Craig would have known that they were targeting the eyes beforehand.

This was like they were both fighting blind and while I would have hated it, Jasmine loved it.

"Okay, that's enough warming up, I think," Jasmine continued. "Light Ray."

A light brighter than the sun appeared in Skarmory's mouth, and we were all blinded by its brilliance. It condensed into a singular point and then flew toward Gyarados faster than anything I'd seen. The water type roared in pain as the laser burned and melted his impenetrable scales. When Gyarados thrashed, some of the laser impacted the ground and turned the rocks into lava instantly.

"What is that?" I muttered.

"A concentrated Flash, bounced and magnified over and over inside of Skarmory's body. The steel type is not only metal, but light as well," Jasmine quickly answered. "Again."

Another bright light appeared inside Skarmory's mouth. This time, however, the wind around Skarmory sped up, and it wasn't his. The flying type struggled to stay afloat as the wind intensified and slammed him against Dot's barrier. It was some kind of flying move, but I couldn't tell what. Then Gyarados lunged forward as electricity surged through his body.

Jasmine pursed her lips. "Damn it, he's got me."

The Thunderbolt ransacked through Skarmory's body and wounded the earth around him until the steel type fell unconscious. I had no idea Gyarados could even learn electric type moves. His own Thunderbolt was stronger than Honey's Thunder. The fight had just begun, but the field was already a mess. Lava, chasms and overturned chunks of earth lay across the floor.

"Not to cast doubt on your judgment, I mean you're a Gym Leader," I started. "But you have electric types, right? Why use Skarmory?"

Jasmine smirked as she grabbed her next Pokeball. "It would have been really funny if I won that round using Skarmory."

Oh. Right, they were having fun, and she was slightly drunk. This wasn't a battle for a badge or a tournament. They weren't even going all out. Jasmine sent out a Magnezone next. It was slightly smaller than Mira's, but I knew not to underestimate it.

"Zap Cannon."

Both of our hair stood up, but the attack had already hit its mark when our hair reached its apex. It hadn't even been a ray. The electricity between both Pokemon had simply formed in a split second. The attack was so quick I couldn't even begin to think about how to counter it. The lightning went straight for Gyarados and lit up his entire body. Protect or barriers would have been too slow. This lighting wasn't yellow either. It was blue. Pure.

Surprisingly though, even if its scales were a darkened husk and smoke emanated from his body, Gyarados did not faint. Water poured out from his still-burning scales and Gyarados lunged toward Magnezone. The steel type buzzed, and Gyarados nearly stopped in his tracks. The water around his head contracted and moved as if he was pushing against an invisible force, but I knew that this was no barrier.

"Zap Cannon," Jasmine said again.

It was a testament to her strength that something that would have been an ace in the hole— a finisher that could only be used a few times under normal circumstances— seemed to be her bread and butter. Craig quickly swept his arm, but Magnezone had already sent out the blinding electric ray. When I opened my eyes, I saw Zap Cannon breaking against what looked to be a Hyper Beam. The two moves exploded upon contact and I flinched when Orbeetle's barrier broke apart like shattered glass. The psychic quickly reformed it, and Gyarados once again rushed toward Magnezone with water surrounding him. The hulking flying type slammed his entire body weight against Magnezone, knocking him away like a damn cannonball.

"Zap Cannon."

Somehow though, after tumbling for a few seconds, Magnezone came to a complete standstill as if he'd been gripped by an invisible force and immediately fired off another Zap Cannon. This time, Gyarados couldn't stand against the sheer amount of energy poured into him. The water type collapsed onto the ground, his tail burning on the lava that remained. Craig recalled him and didn't hesitate to send out Typhlosion. The lava that had slowly been cooling thanks to Gyarados' water suddenly came back to life and began to spread. Skarmory's spikes converged and stabbed into the fire type, who groaned in pain. Her wounds were cauterized before blood could even seep out of them.

Jasmine sighed as she placed her hands on her hips. "Dot?"

Yes?

"Tell Craig that I thought we were having fun," Jasmine said. She ran a hand through her hair and called out to Magnezone. "Light Screen, keep away from all fire. Twin Hyper Beam."

I saw Craig visibly scoff as he ordered Typhlosion. The fire type got on her forelegs, roaring as the flames on her back stretched higher and higher.

Then, she quite literally exploded.

The light hit us a split second before the sound. All of the lava surged upward, along with more flames and globs of molten rock exploding out of Typhlosion's corona. The entire field was overtaken by lava so hot that I could barely see what was going on. Small mounds of earth rose from under the ground erupting, kicking up the molten rock until they hit and clung to the barrier's ceiling, and I soon realized those were mini-volcanos. Each eruption, a subsequent explosion. My ears rang, but I couldn't help but grin at the sheer destruction Typhlosion had wrought. She'd done more than Sunshine could ever hope to do right now in seconds.

Two orange beams appeared in front of Magnezone's magnets and destroyed everything in their path as they beelined toward Typhlosion. The fire type grunted, and a wall of lava erupted in front of her and solidified into a ten-foot rock in an instant as Typhlosion appeared to drain all the heat out of it. The two Hyper Beams destroyed the wall, and shards of rock and debris pierced into Typhlosion's skin, but she returned the attack tenfold. A giant pillar of lava bubbled, rose from the floor and levitated toward the steel type.

It didn't even have to touch Magnezone. Even through the shimmering Light Screen, the steel type could barely handle the heat. He was no psychic, I told myself. Jasmine tried to retaliate with Zap Cannon, but they seemed to veer off-course and weaken the closer they got to Typhlosion. When the first bits of lava clung to Magnezone, Jasmine recalled her Pokemon and clicked her tongue.

In front of us lay a field full of erupting volcanos and lava, and at its center stood Typhlosion.

How was a steel type master supposed to fight against that?

I got my answer when a Pokemon even larger and longer than Gyarados appeared on the field. Steelix. The same Pokemon that had destroyed Chase's hometown. Each of her segments spun independently from the other, and despite letting out a grunt that resonated through my body when she began slithering on the lava, Steelix appeared fine.

But that hadn't been enough for Jasmine.

"Magnet Rise and Head Smash," Jasmine whispered before turning to me. "He's lucky I can't use Earthquake here. It would collapse the entire mountain, barrier or not."

I let the words sink in as Steelix began to float. More lava converged and tried to drag the ground type down back to the ground, but despite all that weight clinging all over her metallic skin, Steelix didn't look like she cared.

And then in a flash and a lot faster than what I had expected (faster than even Sweetheart when she was flying), Steelix rushed toward Typhlosion, her head shimmering with a dim light. Craig said something and somehow…

Somehow,

The air around Typhlosion grew hotter. So hot even Sunshine wouldn't have been able to stand near her.

The world around Typhlosion turned bright white. Everything shone white. The lava, the rocks, the volcanos, Typhlosion herself. The air itself combusted and burned to smithereens as Steelix and Typhlosion turned into smudges of silver, blue and red. I heard the impact of the Head Smash, but the sound itself was weird. Like everything was… lower-pitched, somehow.

"W—what is that?" I asked.

"Oh, just Overheat," Jasmine said. "It's annoying how quickly he deals with my Pokemon. He's not even savoring the fight."

Steelix was— Steelix was unconscious when the air returned to normal. And by normal, I meant with the forever erupting volcanos and the relatively cooler lava. With how hot it had been, the lava was actually less viscous now, even though Typhlosion still stood on it like it was a platform. Jasmine recalled Steelix.

"The Head Smash connected. She's on her last legs," she mused.

Any other trainer, and that move would have killed their Pokemon. Despite being weak to fire, steel types were naturally tough. I couldn't imagine Craig ever using Overheat against Candice, personal team or not. Jasmine sent out her Metagross next, and the steel type immediately began to float above the lava with Magnet Rise. Typhlosion tried to melt them with another Eruption, but Metagross' psychic barrier was too good for that. Even the heat wasn't slipping past their defenses.

"Starve her," Jasmine said.

Metagross let out a metallic, clanging sound, and something around Typhlosion changed. The fire around her neck winked out like a candle subject to a gust of wind. The fire type tried to use flames another way, standing on all fours and spitting out a Flamethrower— no, that was a Fire Blast. The flames split into a star-like shape, but they died out immediately as well.

Starving… were Metagross starving out the flames of the oxygen?

"Hyper Beam," Jasmine continued.

Metagross opened their mouth, and a bright glob of energy formed at its edges. When the attack flew forward, Typhlosion attempted to counter with the walls of lava, but she was too weak now and the Hyper Beam simply broke through each layer. Next, she quickly used the last seconds she had and spat out another Fire Blast—

Metagross' eyes shone, and the Hyper Beam disappeared.

A second later, it struck Typhlosion from the heavens. The beam split the clouds and created a massive explosion, heating up the lava further and kicking it up high in the sky. The Fire Blast died before it could even reach Metagross' barrier and the fire type finally went down.

What a monster she had been.

Craig recalled her, but what now? The floor would be lava for a long while unless he had something to cool it down. I got my answer when he sent out an Eelektross and clouds began to cover and rain down the battlefield. It would be slow, but it would cool faster now, and Eelektross could float, even if the heat would hurt her. The raindrops pattered against Metagross' barrier as the spikes once again hurt Craig's Pokemon.

"Cut," Jasmine ordered.

At first, I expected it to be the move Cut, but the air in front of Metagross… vibrated until it rushed toward Eelektross. They were too fast to dodge, even for Eelektross who had to simply take the attack. The invisible air cut her and blood seeped out of the wounds, evaporating in seconds. The electric type coiled her body around herself and shimmered slightly before she quickly floated toward Metagross. She was continuously speeding up, and at some point, she began to move straight as an arrow, not undulating even an inch. Electricity charged around her, but I saw that her fangs also grew dark.

"Miracle Eye," Jasmine muttered.

I had to blink to stop myself from looking at Metagross for a few seconds, as if my instinct were telling at me not to stare. It felt wrong, forbidden, even. I could see it at the edges of my vision. An eye made out of energy above Metagross' head. Craig seemed to have caught on, because Eelektross changed plans and spat out a glob of acid instead. Metagross quickly grabbed it and threw it back toward her, but Eelektross bent in an extremely unnatural way to dodge the attack and coiled around Metagross' barrier. She stuck to it like glue.

Metagross attempted to peel Eelektross away from themselves as best they could with Psychic, but the electric type was somehow stuck to the steel type's shield. She burped, belching out more purple acid that somehow melted the damn barrier and harmlessly washed onto the steel.

Then, Eelektross let loose a Zap Cannon that shattered the rest of the barrier and fried Metagross to the bone. The psychic type's fist turned bright white as they slammed Eelektross away, but the electric type was just so slippery. She wrapped around one of Metagross' arms instead and continued delivering shocks and using Crunch whenever she could.

"Deactivate Magnet Rise and burn her," Jasmine said.

Without a moment's hesitation, Metagross fell to the hot rocks below, slamming Eelektross under their feet and burning her tough skin in the process. Water surrounded Eelektross' tail, evaporating in the same instant as the electric type repeatedly slammed it against the ground where she stood and kept using Thunderbolt over and over.

But it was the next order that sealed the deal.

The rain was a deluge now. A small storm atop the mountain. Eelektross let out a high-pitched scream and a blue bolt of Thunder dropped from the sky like a hammer. Metagross buckled under the force, allowing the electric type to slip away and wrap around another leg and continued shocking Metagross with as many electric type attacks as she could. The steel type, meanwhile, clumsily tried to pull their opponent away with Psychic and started punching her— and sometimes themselves with Meteor Mash.

Metagross went down first.

Eelektross followed seconds after.

"You didn't talk much this time," I noticed.

"Metagross are a better battler than I," she said as she recalled them. "When I tell them to do something, they've either already thought of it or disagree with me, but if they do disagree they do it anyway because they love me."

Craig sent out his Salamence. Finally, I could see Roxie in action. The huge, magnificent Dragon took flight and stayed stationary in the air as she waited for her opponent, the large necklace around her neck a mirror of Craig's.

"Here goes," Jasmine said as she sent out a Forretress.

I braced myself for what was to come.

Craig gripped his necklace and light overtook both the jewel around his neck and Salamence herself. The dragon grew in size, and her wings fused together into a crescent moon. Her front legs retracted into her body and she stared down at Forretress like a bug as she hovered there.

Eelektross' rain finally came to a stop.

"Zap Cannon!" Jasmine yelled for the first time.

Forretress let out a grave sound as electricity exploded outward—

A sonic boom hit the arena's barriers, and Salamence tore into Forretress with a Fire Blast that rivaled Typhlosion's. A shimmering barrier appeared in front of Forretress, but the steel type still grunted against the attack's power. Salamence circled around him so fast that a hurricane had formed. Every time the dragon type sped up, a shockwave would rattle the arena. She could fly at the speed of sound. The only other Pokemon I knew capable of such a feat was Cynthia's Garchomp. She was too fast for any of Forretress' attacks to hit— even the blindingly quick Zap Cannon because Forretress' was slower than Magnezone's. Pin Missiles flew out of the steel type's four holes by the hundreds— or even thousands, the few that hit barely scratched the dragon type.

Another shockwave, and Salamence bit into Forretress, her mouth wreathed in flames as she dragged him toward the ground.

"Explosion," Jasmine smirked.

In less than a second, light overtook the bug type and he blew up, shattering Dot's barrier for a second time. The steel type fell down, an unconscious, smoking husk while Salamence roared in fury at what had just happened. Her mouth was fucked. There was no other way to say it. It hung open as if she was unable to close it and blood and loose teeth seeped out of the opening, and she had slowed, even if slightly.

Craig would like you to know that that was a low blow, Dot spoke.

"I might have underestimated Roxie's speed, so it was the only way to score a hit. Tell him that he got greedy coming up close and that it's my revenge for bringing out Typhlosion so early," she responded.

Jasmine sent out her last Pokemon. An Ampharos. The light on the electric type's tail shone brightly as he stood over the cooled field.

"Rain Dance, Amphy. Cotton Spore when she comes."

Salamence roared, and she exploded forward with another sonic boom, her wings shimmering with draconic energy, but cotton surrounded Ampharos and allowed her to absorb the brunt of the attack. Of course, that didn't mean much, and she was still sent flying backward into the barrier. Since something was wrong with Roxie's mouth, it looked like she was forced to stick to attacks she could use without it. Craig swept his arm, and a Hurricane formed around Amphy that soon overtook the entire arena. Salamence seemingly rode the powerful winds, but Ampharos had to anchor herself to the ground with more cotton.

"Focus, Amphy!" Jasmine yelled so her voice could get through the wind. "Zap Cannon!"

Ampharos bleated, and a ray of electricity immediately tore through one of Roxie's wings. I hadn't known how the hell she had even aimed that attack, but Salamence nearly fell to the ground. A strong updraft carried her far above Ampharos, and she managed to regain her balance. At this point, the ground that had been formed by the cooled lava was now a mess again. A single Zap Cannon from Ampharos had created a crater where she stood, and more fissures formed on the ground.

The Hurricane was still going, and it now carried chunks of rocks with it. Some of them hit Ampharos' cotton while Salamence was too high to be affected. The problem for Jasmine now was that Ampharos couldn't see Salamence due to all of the debris-filled wind, and she was slowly taking more damage from Hurricane.

Or it would have been a problem for me, because Jasmine didn't seem to care one bit.

"Eerie Impulse!" She yelled.

A small pulse of light rang out of Ampharos' body and ran through Salamence. It went further than Discharge could ever hope to, but it dealt no visible damage, and Roxie appeared completely fine.

But then, another Zap Cannon tore through the dragon's chest and neck, burning across her scales as she let loose another garbled roar due to her broken jaw. And then another. And another. Ampharos could now somehow track Salamence at all times, and she couldn't retaliate because her jaw was completely broken.

Craig said something, and Roxie dove back into the Hurricane. Ampharos was on her last legs now, and they were determined to finish her off. The dragon's eye shone turquoise, and the light soon overtook her entire body. They were like green-blue flames constantly surrounding her, and they disappeared for a second as Salamence broke the sound barrier and then reappeared again.

"Zap Cannon," Jasmine ordered.

The entire hurricane lit up, and a thundering boom rang out.

When I opened my eyes, Ampharos was unconscious, surrounded by cotton and bleeding from her gut. Salamence had torn through her Cotton Guard with whatever move that was. I wasn't sure it was known, even. Salamence was on the ground, her hurricane ended and now incapable of flying, but she was still rearing to go. Craig gripped on his necklace again, and she changed back to her normal form before Craig recalled her. The wounds did carry over. Jasmine did the same and stretched.

"That was fun," she said. "I'm rusty."

"Are you?" I laughed.

"Well, the only person I've battled the last six months is Volkner, and we only did so three times. He won once, I won twice," she shrugged. "I still would have lost, but it would have been closer if I was in top form."

I gazed at the battlefield as Craig released his Hippowdon to fix it up, and the reality of what I'd just seen finally sunk in.

This was a battle at the top level. What I needed to reach in order to have a chance to reach the top sixteen at the Conference. It wasn't just the power they brought to the table that was mind-boggling. It was also the sheer amount of times they could pull on a move like Eruption, Hyper Beam, Thunder or Zap Cannon. Jasmine had used it so many times, and it put my three Thunders to shame. And even then, they didn't even reach close to the move's power. Moves I didn't understand or know, turning the entire field into a damned volcano.

And they hadn't even gone all out. This was just a battle for fun, with no stakes involved. Jasmine was drunk, spoke to me during the battle on multiple occasions and looked relaxed until Mega Salamence came out, and they'd even been bantering through Orbeetle!

Craig drew upon heavy breaths as he made his way toward us. He was pale, sweaty, and looked like he'd run through a triathlon.

In front of me and my Pokemon stood the strongest trainer in the Circuit.

Everybody knew his name, and the fact that he'd let me see this battle meant that he did not even consider me a potential threat.

He was Sinnoh. An impossibly vast mountain I needed to scale.

And yet, a mountain's peak wasn't close to the skies.