CHAPTER 228

Two days had passed since Grace had gotten a mentorship from Jasmine, and even more since Denzel had gotten his from Craig. Cecilia stretched, getting up from her bed as Slowking greeted her with his usual, slow nod. The side of her bed felt empty without Grace here, but she and Honey were giving it their all, so she always left as soon as Jasmine called her. That could be five in the morning, midnight, or in the middle of the afternoon. The steel type Gym Leader had no schedule to speak of and just called on a dime.

Good morning, my lady, Slowking said.

"Morning," she yawned. "Today is…"

Training with Lauren, and watching over Erin, he spoke. Perhaps some experimentation with Future Sight and work on Disable and Yawn on my side of things. We have been neglecting those moves too much, and utility is always a good tool to have, especially when three of us are going to be weak against Volkner's electric types.

"Very well," Cece nodded as she got up.

She glanced outside her window and opened it without a moment's hesitation. No longer did her fear hold her from keeping it open. It had been months since Abel had broken in, and no one had heard of him since Mira had almost captured him.

"It's somewhat hot today," she muttered.

The water type nodded as he stood next to her and spoke, Spring is coming.

"I will shower, and then we can be on our way. Text Lauren for me, please."

Of course.

As Cecilia stepped into the hot shower, she wondered about her future. Things with her Pokemon were progressing smoothly even if she was still looking for her sixth and starting to worry about that. Even if she caught them now, it would take the rest of the Circuit to get them caught up to an adequate level. She had heard Croagunk were easy to find in the swamp near Pastoria, but that was so far away, and she had had no luck with Mienfoo so far even though she went on route 214 nearly every day. Still, she was set in her choice. It would be one or the other.

Cecilia was looking forward to this year's Conference, but she already looked beyond that. She needed to, if she wanted to succeed next year. But even before Unova, there was a slew of things she would need to finish up in Sinnoh. Grace's Poketch Company gala in Jubilife, her request to Cynthia about Spiritomb, visiting the Battle Frontier at least once, and her fated, private battle with Sinnoh's Champion where she would no doubt lose.

She at least wanted to take down one Pokemon if possible, but even that was probably a pipe dream despite the fact that she'd be much stronger than she currently was at the end of the year.

And she was already thinking about an eighth member of her team, but that would actually wait until she made it to Unova. She didn't want to overwhelm herself when she would most likely have a murderous ghost on her hands to take care of. Grace still disapproved of that choice, but the power a Spiritomb brought to the table couldn't be denied.

Cece stepped out of the shower and thanked Slowking when he told her that Lauren was already ready for her. Due to Mira having forgone much of her training to plan for Grace's party, she actually needed her psychics these days, so they never stayed for long after Teleporting them to route 214. Alakazam bid them goodbye as he Teleported back. Cece was interested in him possibly teaching the move to Slowking at some point instead of spending the money on a TM. She was relatively rich, but the TM was so expensive that even she would have to think twice before spending that much money.

"Are you ready to start?" Lauren asked more upbeat than usual. "How about Mags against Talonflame. It'd be a nice rematch from our battle in Veilstone and Mags' been wanting to fight her. He loves trying to take down fliers."

"Why not? But we have to do Golett against Seismitoad next. I want to see how he would fare against a water type Pokemon since Wake is next after Volkner."

"Sounds good. By the way, do you know if… um, if you could teach me how to do that dark type thing you do with Scyther?"

"Lauren, come on. You look like I'm holding a gun to your head," Cecilia sighed. "Of course I'll teach you. We're friends."

They had gotten much closer since they spent so much time together these days. Lauren wasn't one to start a conversation beyond anything regarding Pokemon battling, but Cecilia had found that if she led their talks, her friend could actually be quite the conversationist. Yesterday they'd spent nearly an hour talking about Canalave city— her and Craig's home town and everything there was to do there.

Slowking brought up the psychic barrier and they both released their Pokemon. For a while, Talonflame just circled overhead and easily dodged all of Magmar's blows and pestered him from afar. She was too fast now to be caught off-guard by Fire Pillar or some of Lauren's other moves, but this was training, not a battle, so she dove down at the fire type, who looked on with glee as he squared himself and clapped his hands, sparking blue flames all over his body.

Cecilia had heard about the plan to evolve Magmar. His personality was already almost unmanageable. He disliked any Pokemon that wasn't on his team and liked to mock the ones he won against in fights. She couldn't imagine him as a Magmortar. His evolution would no doubt accentuate those traits.

What Talonflame currently lacked was ways to hit from afar. Yes, Air Slash and Heatwave was well and good, but Cecilia wanted more. Flamethrower and Razor Wind would make perfect additions to Talonflame's arsenal while Cecilia thought of custom moves to give her beyond Air Burst.

Magmar grabbed onto both of her wings and became fire itself, engulfing both Pokemon in blue flames that stretched high into the sky, but Cecilia called out for Air Burst and they all disappeared for an instant and sent Magmar flying back. Her smile widened as they cornered the fire type and relentlessly struck at him from every angle with Air Slash. After exhausting Magmar, Lauren conceded and gave her the win.

After healing the fire type up and recalling him, Lauren was visibly upset. Before having spent entire days together, Cecilia would have thought it was because she lost, but she knew better now. Lauren was never upset when she lost. Instead, she kept her head down and asked for a rematch.

"What's on your mind?" Cecilia gently asked, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I feel like I'm not progressing fast enough with Mags. Like he's hitting some sort of bottleneck," Lauren said. "I don't know how to get past it. He used to be my most powerful Pokemon besides Rhydon, but his progress has slowed, even if it picked up again with this training. I don't think it's enough for our plan to evolve him. To impress Flint."

"Well…"

Cece was no fool. She knew that a trainer was the best person at assessing their Pokemon's progress, and if Lauren said Magmar wasn't doing so as fast as her others, then she was most likely correct.

"It's okay," Lauren muttered. "I'll get through this slump. It's just slower without a mentor, and Grace keeps talking to me about how awesome Jasmine is."

Cecilia winced. Her girlfriend could be a little… enthusiastic about things, and she probably hadn't figured out that Lauren was somewhat jealous of her circumstances. Hell, even she was jealous to some extent. Who wouldn't be envious of someone having a trainer as good as Jasmine or Craig teaching them? Grace had actually asked Jasmine to help Cecilia as well yesterday, but the Gym Leader had vehemently refused.

"Sorry about her," Cece said. "She doesn't mean any harm, she's just genuinely excited. You know you can tell her to stop, right?"

"I don't want to be mean. I'll deal."

"You're right about one thing. Masters won't fall from the sky to teach us," Cece muttered as she felt Talonflame's warm Pokeball on her palm. "We have to make it happen, and the opportunities are rare."

Cecilia didn't state the obvious: that Craig would be fully onboard to teach Lauren if she ever asked. She knew that was off-limit and a sensitive topic. Cece had Mark, but he wasn't at her beck and call and had only said he would help with Zweilous once they evolved, and tutoring on the phone would be a lot less effective than in person.

"Keep your chin up, Lauren. Eventually it'll be our turn in the sun," Cece said. "It's up to us to step out of the shade once the moment is right."

The raven-haired girl smiled thinly. "I'll try. Mags is going to be pissed."

"He's always pissed when he isn't fighting something, is he not? Now, let's move on to Golett against Seismitoad. Go hard on us."

"Are you sure? We have the type advantage—"

"Yes," she interrupted. "I am sure."

Cecilia released Golett, and the ground type's head rotated toward her. She crouched next to him and held out her hand. Golett did the same and felt at her fingers. His hand felt rough, like a mixture of rock and hardened clay. The soft hum of machinery rang out from inside of his body and smoke hissed from his neck, legs and armpits.

He was growing more aware. More sentient. His personality had grown tenfold since visiting Lake Valor. He had likes and dislikes now, and even though Slowking couldn't translate what he said, Cecilia knew that he tried to speak often. A mess of beeps and hums that were impossible for other Pokemon to understand, as if he was screaming into the void.

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It must have felt lonely.

"Hi, Golett. Are you up for a battle again today?"

Cece rubbed her thumb against his palm, and his eyes lit up with joy. Golett liked a lot of things. Playing with Zweilous, battling, punching rocks to see what would happen, and he liked to make music.

It had surprised Cecilia, Slowking and Talonflame so much the first time they'd heard that they thought their brains had played tricks on them, but no. Golett used the machinery inside of his body to make music sometimes. Clangs, clicks, hisses— everything at his disposal. It wasn't very good, but it was still wonderful to Cecilia's ears. It was hard to believe this was the same Pokemon she'd caught at the lost tower who had barely been able to move without her voice commanding him.

Now, Golett stopped to look at the flowers. He stared at the sky in awe at the size of the world. He had food that he hated. Pokemon he wanted to spend more and less time with.

He was alive.

Today was his. She could feel it in her bones.

Cecilia recalled him and sent him out inside of the barrier again, and Lauren sent out her hulking Seismitoad. The water type had grown since their battle in Veilstone, as had everyone's Pokemon, but the difference with her was how quickly she was growing. Golett looked like a little kid in front of the water type. Lauren liked to think she was in her growth spurt. Slowking counted down into their minds and the battle began.

"Prime, get up close and Water Punch!" Lauren snapped.

Cece knew that they were at a type disadvantage, but the fact that Golett was a construct meant that much of Seismitoad's arsenal was useless. Supersonic, Uproar, Hyper Voice, Toxic, all of those would be heavily weakened or useless. Water leaked out of Seismitoad's feet, mixing with the earth to become mud as the water type slid across the ground. More and more water slipped out of her mouth and began to flood the arena. All of their techniques with Scorching Sands to keep opponents away wouldn't work against Prime.

"Resonance!" Cecilia yelled.

Something loud boomed from inside Golett, and a purple pulse reverberated through the battlefield. Seismitoad froze in place once it passed through her, and Cecilia snapped her fingers.

"Phantom Force and Shadow Punch!"

The ghost type disappeared, flickering in the wind as he slid into another plane. He reappeared seconds later in front of Prime, shadows screaming around his fist as he punched her right in the gut. His already massive strength was compounded by his Iron Fist ability and sent Prime flying back, but dirty water rushed to cushion her fall.

"I guess you really meant it when you said go hard," Lauren said. "Muddy Water!"

This time, Prime flooded the entire field. Brown water gushed out of her pores, and an Aqua Ring formed around the ground type. Cecilia didn't want to use Stomping Tantrum, especially when they had nothing to fix up the mountain now that Grace wasn't here, so her mind quickly raced to find a solution—

Too late. The water already reached Golett and hammered into the little ghost type like a truck. Seismitoad swam at full force, catching a ride from the current as she rushed toward Golett.

"Ice Punch!" Cecilia yelled.

A light shone from below the water as ice formed around Golett's fists, but the attack wouldn't be enough for him to create a floating island. What it did do, however, was use the Muddy Water around him to create an absolutely massive block of ice around his fists. Cecilia didn't exactly see what happened, but she heard Seismitoad slam against Golett and slam him against Slowking's barrier to her left.

Damn it, I should have called for Iron Defense, she thought to herself. "Resonance!"

The ghostly pulse was much weaker now, but it still allowed them a moment of respite. Golett slammed a fist against Seismitoad, freezing her stomach over. Resonance was a move she'd come up with after listening to Golett's music, and it was what happened if he infused it with ghostly TE. The energy would make a Pokemon freeze for a few seconds the first time, but once their opponent grew used to it, it would have very little effect.

That meant that she'd probably just used it for the final time.

Prime grunted as she wrapped a sticky hand around Golett's arm and kept the Muddy Water going at full force.

"Toxic!" Lauren yelled.

Seismitoad spat out noxious liquid that caused the water itself to evaporate, and it clung to Golett and dripped inside of him. His eyes dimmed a little, but the move only slowed him down. A Shadow Ball appeared in front of his face and directly exploded on Seismitoad.

But it wasn't enough.

Water burst from the surface as Prime punched Golett with a Water Punch, and the light in the ground type's eyes turned off as he sunk to the lowest depths of the Muddy Water. Cecilia blinked as her hand wrapped around his Pokeball. She waited, waited and waited until thirty seconds had passed.

Nothing.

She sighed as she recalled Golett, and Lauren did the same with Seismitoad. Cecilia released Talonflame so she could Heat Wave and evaporate all of the water before Slowking pulled down the barrier.

Once she got to see Golett up close again, she realized that the poison did actually affect him more than she had thought. He just hadn't shown it because of the way he functioned. It had slowed down his inner mechanism and weakened him severely. Cece had thought Toxic to be in the same realm as Acid since Prime had just learned the move yesterday, but it was way above what she had expected. Only slightly weaker than Roserade's poison, by her estimation. It was truly an attack worthy of a poison type despite Prime being water and ground. Slowking washed away the poison with a powerful jet of water, but there was still some left inside of him.

Golett slowly popped his head open, exposing a gaping hole that led to his insides, and Cecilia poured an Antidote inside of him and sprayed him with a potion. The ground type's eyes 'blinked', repeatedly flashing as he let out a sad hiss of machinery. She'd learned to recognize his sad, happy, angered, and many other sounds.

"You did great," she smiled as she rubbed his arm. "It's hard to counter attacks like Surf and Muddy Water. We'll work on your ground manipulation soon. Scorching Sands isn't enough. You need something to stop sweeping attacks like that. Even Stomping Tantrum wouldn't have been enough."

There are many applications to sound, Slowking mused. Perhaps we can pull from Electabuzz's screech with his music. Only Golett has no lungs, so no limit on how long he can emit the sound for.

"Screech did work for Sludge Wave," Cecilia said. "What do you think, Golett?"

The golem answered with a slow thumbs up.

"We'll get started on that as soon as you're ready to battle again. Take a break for now," Cecilia said as she grabbed his Pokeball. She stopped when the ground type grabbed her sleeve and pulled on it. "What's wrong?"

His words confused her, and yet he was desperately trying to say something. It was at times like these that Cecilia wished Grace was here, but alas, she was busy. Cecilia could tell he was growing frustrated.

"Are you ready for the next battle?!" Lauren loudly asked.

"Hold on, just one second!" she yelled back.

Golett pointed to Zweilous' Pokeball, and at least Cece could understand that. She released the dragon type, who both licked her hand affectionately. Golett pointed to Zerst, and then to Sol, alternating between both at different intervals.

"Do you want to speak to them alone?" She asked. "Battle them? Just stay with them?"

Each time, Golett answered by shaking his head. It wasn't until five minutes later that Slowking finally understood.

He wants a name, Slowking said. He wants you to give it to him.

Cecilia's eyes widened. "Is that… is that true?"

Golett's head spun around as he let out a happy hiss that released more steam in Zweilous' face. Both heads tried to drink the steam, and they grinned as the moisture stuck to their tongue.

A name? Cecilia hadn't even thought about it. She had never been one to nickname her Pokemon, and the only reason Zweilous had one was so that the two heads could distinguish between themselves when she called on them. She was planning on merging them when they evolved because she'd grown attached, but…

If Golett wanted a name, then she would give him one.

"Lehmhart," she whispered. The ground type's eyes dimmed for a few seconds. "Do you not like it?"

Cecilia frowned when the dimming didn't stop. And it wasn't only his eyes. It was the rune at the center of his chest as well. Soon enough, he had completely turned off, which never happened unless he fell unconscious.

How strange, Slowking said. Maybe he exerted himself too much during the battle?

"I don't think so—"

A barrier immediately appeared in front of her, but it was for naught. Slowking had thought Golett was malfunctioning, but it was just light.

Lehmhart was— Lehmhart was evolving.

He stretched, stretched and stretched until he topped thirteen feet tall. His hands became massive, and so did everything else. Old wood wrapped around his ankles and wrists while the one rune at the center of his chest had become four, with two being on his hands and the other two on his shoulders. His chest wasn't bare, however. A crack brimming with a bright yellow light was covered in a thick layer of wood that barely contained the power within. He was so tall now that Cecilia couldn't even see his face properly. She turned toward Lauren, who was watching with her hands in her pocket and a slight smile. Zweilous snarled— but it was one of their happy ones, and they tippy-tapped on their feet as Lehmhart finished evolving.

Golurk shifted in place, and the hum of the machinery inside of him appeared twice as loud. A constant sound in the background that kept the ground type going. Lehmhart slowly lowered himself, and just that sent a small gust of wind flying into Cecilia's face and caused her hair to go all over the place. She held onto her hair as the golem held out a hand toward her.

She silently did the same, wrapping a hand around a single one of his fingers. He gently grabbed her and placed her into one of his hands, lifting her up to his face.

"I don't think you'll fit inside of the Pokemon Center rooms any longer, Lehmhart," Cecilia said with a nervous chuckle.

That, he will not, Slowking said.

The ground type lowered Cecilia to the ground back again as if he was handling porcelain and terrified to crack the precious glass. He handled her with so much care that even Cecilia was moved. Lehmhart fixed up her hair with two of his fingers and stood back up at full height.

It hadn't been battling that had pushed him over the edge.

It had been learning to become an individual.

"Can we test something?" Cecilia asked. "Why don't you try to use Hammer Arm on the side of the mountain—"

I do not believe that to be wise.

"Come on. We need to limit test this," Cecilia said. "Lauren, get Sirris to create a barrier around you!"

"Got it!"

"Slowking, you do the same," she continued.

Golurk seemed just as eager as she was for this. He quickly turned toward one of the steep slopes and trudged toward it. What she hadn't expected was for him to trip and faceplant into the ground, creating a mini-earthquake.

He was not used to being this big yet. And they hadn't even tried out his flying capabilities yet!

Lehmhart picked himself up, stumbling as he did so, and he finally got close enough to use Hammer Arm. His four runes lit up and energy leaked out of the large fissure on his torso. Power hummed out of his very being. He slowly raised a fist that shone bright white, and with a swift, earth-shattering motion, his hand descended upon the mountain—

A deafening boom echoed across the mountain and a flock of Pidgeys escaped in the distance. The surroundings shuddered in response to the attack. Cracks formed against the facade and the ground like an Ariados' web and fragments of stone flew in every direction, some crashing against Slowking's barrier. Even through the psychic bubble, Cecilia felt the shockwave ripple through her body. Dust and debris quickly filled the air like a chaotic storm of destruction.

When the dust settled, a large part of the mountain's facade had collapsed, becoming rubble at Golurk's feet. Deep cracks sprawled across the surface like shattered glass, and a large crater had formed at the center of the web. Golurk still stood there, his fist still pressed against the mountain as he stared at his newfound power.

"One hit of that, and it's hard to see something surviving," Cecilia muttered with a smile so wide it hurt. That was power. "You're amazing, Lehmhart."

Golurk finally lifted his fist from the zone of impact and stared at his own hand, flexing and clenching it repeatedly. He turned to Cecilia and gave her a thumbs up as his inner mechanism reached a crescendo of excitement that she had never heard from him before.

Should we call Grace to fix this up when she's free? Slowking asked. I don't think it's responsible to leave the mountain in such a state.

"Are you kidding? I'm going to show this to her. She'll be over the moon," Cecilia quickly answered. "Arceus, I can already imagine the look on her face! Maybe I should keep it secret until we go on our date."

Cecilia hummed as she turned back to Lauren, and their training session began anew. She had no mentor, but she would not fall behind.

None of them would.