CHAPTER 230

"Hey Volkner. Want some Vodka?"

The blond man frowned, his eyes drifting to Jasmine's bottle.

"No," he sighed. "And give me that."

He snatched the bottle out of her hand to keep her from drinking, or at least that's what I assumed. Jasmine didn't fight it at all and just let him have it. I could barely look him in the eye, let alone speak. I was too scared and embarrassed to say anything, so I opted to let Jasmine talk in my stead. Honey hid behind me even though he was bigger than I was, and he couldn't even bear to attract any attention to himself.

"Can you tell me why Grace Pastel is in my Gym, Jasmine?" Volkner asked in a semi-aggressive tone.

"I was training her," Jasmine answered. "I apologize for the transgression. No need to come up with an excuse, by the way. I know you weren't working."

"Perceptive as always," Volkner said after a pause.

"Nancy called you and woke you up as soon as we left the security room."

The Gym Leader nodded. Upon closer look, it was noticeable. The getup that looked like he'd just gotten out of bed, the barely open eyes, the slowness of his speech, the yawning and the subdued anger went beyond Volkner's usual laziness. He was tired.

And it was why Jasmine had lamented not going for that Gym Trainer's throat, whatever that meant in that context.

"She did," Volkner answered. "I know I've given you plenty of privileges, but you can't just do whatever you want, Jasmine. Do you realize how humiliating this would look for me if this came out? The last thing people want with Team Galactic running around is hearing that breaking into a Gym is this easy."

"Gyms don't have anything of importance beyond you," Jasmine countered. "All of the Gyms could be destroyed tomorrow and it wouldn't matter so long as the leader lived. The Porygon you made would delete all the important data, which is why you only have a bunch of kids guarding the place."

Volkner groaned, staring at the ceiling with his eyes closed. "It's not just about me, it's the kid too."

"I'm sorry," I spoke for the first time "I shouldn't—"

Volkner repeatedly snapped his fingers at me until I shut up. He was irritated with my mere presence here.

"She's starting to become a big name. Not only because she works closely with us, but because of her skill and her sponsor. This could have torpedoed her career, Jasmine. Training in a Gym Leader's arena before a battle is an unfair advantage, and that's not even counting the breaking and entering."

Jasmine sighed as she squatted. "Could have, could have, could have. And yet it will not. I don't work in hypotheticals, Volkner. Your government thinks her too important to incarcerate her, and you don't want to rustle any feathers or deal with the consequences of this. Plus, you've never been one to care that much about rules."

Volkner's lips went flat, and he tried to rebuke her, but he knew she was right.

"I apologize for breaking your trust, but her potential goes beyond mere badges or sponsors. I see it clearly, and she deserves all the tools I can give her."

"I'm taking away your keycard."

"That is fair," she said.

"How drunk are you? I thought you were doing better."

"Not much. Check the bottle."

Volkner lifted the vodka and saw that it hadn't been emptied much.

"Have you been going to your…" he stopped when he glanced at me. "Thing?"

For the first time since I'd met her, Jasmine hesitated when she spoke. She stood back up, her fingers fidgeting and her lips trembling slightly. She was like a child that had been caught hiding their report card, and I felt like it was a glimpse at who she'd once been.

"No?" She said in a meek voice. "But I only missed two meetings. Maybe three or four—"

"We'll talk about it later," Volkner said. He approached and wrapped her in his arms, kissing her forehead as he did so. "Sorry for not being there. Work's been a drag lately, and I was visiting Maylene too."

"Don't worry about it," she said.

"As for you," Volkner menacingly said when he turned back at me. "Your Electabuzz interests me, and I don't think children should be punished for the things adults rope them into. But, you still need to be punished in a way."

I bit my lip, bracing myself for the worst.

"Your assessment will start early," Volkner declared, all of his laziness and tiredness melting away, leaving way for the person that lay under: someone that lived for Pokemon battling. "Your Electabuzz will go against my Electrivire right now. Hit him three times with whatever attack and you'll win, even electric type moves. We won't strike back— or we will, but not in any serious manner. Electivire will focus on dodging and you'll have ten minutes to win."

"T—that's a punishment?" I stammered.

"Jasmine suggested the idea to me and I was going to do it after your Gym battle whenever your Electabuzz was ready so you would have had more time to prepare, but we're doing it now," Volkner said. "You can't refuse. Either you battle me right now, or you kiss Electabuzz's evolution goodbye. Don't misunderstand, though. This isn't a battle for your badge."

"I accept," I instantly said.

Volkner exhaled and reflexively shoved his hands in pockets that weren't there.

"Follow me to my office. I've got to get Electivire's Pokeball."

"Oh, uh, what about Jasmine?" I asked.

"Jasmine can wait here. It'll just be you and me," Volkner said. "Keep your Electabuzz here too."

Honey finally found his voice and protested, but I told him I'd be fine and to stick with Jasmine. Volkner motioned at me to follow, and I quickly scampered toward him while Jasmine mouthed an apology at me. She had probably genuinely expected for me to get off scot-free because she was dating Volkner. The Gym Leader let out a loud yawn as he stepped inside an elevator next to his waiting room. He pressed on the fourth floor and stared me down.

"So."

"So…?" I hesitantly muttered.

"How's the training with Jasmine going?" He asked.

"It's, um, it's going very well. Honey's been progressing leaps and bounds—"

"Good, good. I appreciate someone training an Electabuzz," he interrupted. Even when he was complimenting me, there was still lingering dislike in his voice, possibly due to what I'd done with Maylene. He had said he'd visited her recently too. "But about Jasmine. I heard that you brought her home drunk a few days ago… never mind, that was a week ago now. Thank you for that."

The elevator dinged, and Volkner's office was just in front of the doors. That was convenient when he needed to alternate between battling and paperwork, and that was probably why he'd battled Erin in what were obviously lounge clothes.

"Yeah. It was nothing."

"Jasmine's a great trainer, but don't let her string you along to whatever she wants," Volkner warned. "She's got a few problems. Her upbringing was rough, and it's pushed her toward certain ways… just watch out, alright?"

I silently nodded as Volkner emptied the vodka bottle in his trashcan, then grabbed a Pokeball from his desk. There were eight of them lined up in small, circular molds that fit them perfectly. He turned on the lights and then spoke into a big microphone next to the PC.

"Good evening, this is Volkner speaking. To all trainers on the night shift, there is going to be a battle happening. If there are any sudden noises or explosions, it is business as usual. Uh… Rika, would you bring one of the Kadabra downstairs to make a barrier? Thank you. And bring two battling microphones too."

"Thanks for hanging out with her though. She's drank less since she started training you," Volkner said. "We can head back down."

"Um, I actually have something to say really quick," I said. "My friend Lauren—"

"Ah, Craig's sister," Volkner said. "Magmar, right? Not much I can do about that other than send the footage of her battle to Flint. I'll try to nudge him in the right direction because I owe Craig a favor still."

I breathed a sigh of relief. By being tested now, I was kind of screwing Lauren over, but I had at least salvaged her an opportunity to evolve Mags.

Volkner spoke up again as he turned off the lights to his office and we entered the elevator.

"Flint's interested in her too," he said. "Only two people have a Magmar here, and Lauren's one of them. Can't guarantee anything, though, especially with how busy he is. Becoming an Elite Four member really sounds tiresome. So much work and so little battling… Arceus."

"Can I ask one last thing?"

"Shoot."

"My friend Erin Atwood—"

"Ah, the fidgety kid," Volkner spoke over me. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," I repeated. "I just wanted to thank you for battling her. She was over the moon about it."

The Gym Leader shrugged. "It was pure coincidence. I recognized her name and remembered that she was one of the people that couldn't take down fliers, so I figured I needed to test her."

"Well, she was very happy about it, and she's really passionate now, so thank you."

Jasmine was whispering some last-minute pointers to Honey when we walked back. Volkner swatted the air, motioning me away like I was some kind of pest so I could leave him to speak alone with his girlfriend. I didn't even try to eavesdrop. It would be a serious breach of trust and incredibly disrespectful with the chance I'd just been given.

"Nervous?" I asked Honey. There was still a way to go until we reached our side of the arena.

The electric type nodded, but he said he was determined to win no matter what. He asked me what strategy we'd employ given how strange this battle was going to be.

"It is strange. All we have to do is hit him three times and he won't seriously fight back— well, I say 'all' like it's going to be easy. It isn't."

The electric type agreed.

"Remember what Jasmine said? Your opponent is like an engine. The more the battle goes on for, the faster and more powerful Electivire gets until he… overheats, for lack of a better term. Us outlasting him is a pipe dream, so we have to go in quick and fast and hope to land our three hits before Electivire becomes unstoppable."

Honey grunted, saying that the Railgun attack wasn't advanced enough yet to hope to hit Electivire, but Radiant Leap would be useful.

"Yeah," I nodded. "And Discharge too. Attacks with a large area of effect that can maybe get to him and leave him no options to dodge."

We reached our side of the podium and kept talking strategy until a woman who must have been Rika entered the arena from behind me with a Kadabra in tow. Anger emanated from the psychic. He was pissed, and if I had to guess it was because he was working so late. The girl outfitted me with a microphone and did the same for Volkner after sprinting toward him to not waste any time. Honey quickly jumped into the arena before Kabadra could put up his barrier, landing with a loud thud.

And Volkner sent out his Electivire.

Electricity hummed around Electivire with each step he took. He dwarfed Honey's size, coming in at around eight feet tall. His two, red-tipped tails lashed out and whipped the ground, leaving behind scorched marks from all the electricity packed in them. Muscles bulged all over his body under his thick fur. Two red eyes looked right at us, alternating between me and Honey. Electivire was sizing us up, and he didn't like what he was seeing. We were weak.

"This isn't a normal battle, Electivire," Volkner started. He paused, sitting cross-legged on his podium. "Your only job is to dodge for ten minutes, but feel free to attack a little if you want. No electric type moves or electricity in general. No Protect. Rika, go ahead and start the battle."

No electricity, I thought. Did that mean no Motor Drive?

Electivire responded with a chortle, which sounded like an engine struggling to start. He thought us to be ants that he could crush. A fun way to pass the time at best. Honey whirled his arms around and began charging up electricity while Rika counted down. Even she was excited to see Electivire in action.

"Radiant Leap!" I immediately barked out.

There was a flash, and then Honey vanished, blurring forward with a trail of electricity behind him that burned the ground he walked on. Volkner didn't even bother ordering Electivire. The electric type answered our challenge with a jubilant scream and pushed a foot against the ground, creating a small crater where he had just stood.

"Discharge!" I yelled.

Electricity exploded out of Honey as soon as he was in range, but Electivire's eyes flashed—

And he Teleported out of range.

My eyes blinked, and I slowly realized what had just happened, but Honey was quick on his feet. He continued with Radiant Leap in a desperate attempt to reach and hit Electivire, but the electric type kept disappearing as soon as the attack got anywhere close. I'd known the Elekid line was capable of learning Teleport via TM along with the Magby line, but I hadn't studied Volkner's personal team at all. After all, I'd never expected to actually be in this situation.

Speaking of Volkner, he yawned while he was looking at his phone and Jasmine was silently rooting for me behind him. Honey snarled as he desperately tried to get a hand on Electivire, but his reaction speed was always just enough somehow, and he always dodged by a hair with Teleport as if he was challenging himself to do so. The electric type laughed as he hid behind a rock and Electabuzz broke it apart with a Cross Chop. Electivire tapped Honey on the shoulder, showing that he'd Teleported behind him, but he was gone before we could even strike back.

We had no dark type moves to work with to stop him.

"Railgun!" I ordered.

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Electricity coiled around Honey, and the rocks from the destroyed spire began to float around him as they glimmered with electricity. Even though his hold on them was clumsy at best, Volkner's eyes widened slightly. Some bumped around each other, fell on the floor or were accidentally pushed outside of Electabuzz's orbit, but at least half of them stuck around. Honey grunted, crushing the rocks in smaller shards until they were mere pebbles and he rushed forward with Radiant Leap and carried them with him. His sheer speed made him drop some more, but it was fine.

"Push!" I yelled with all my might.

He'd noticed as I had that even though Electivire could Teleport, he was no psychic. His range was pitiful. Just enough to get out of Discharge's range if he really pushed himself. Long distances were too much for Electivire, even after probably having trained with the move for what was most likely years and he was too far away from any spires to take refuge there.

The electrified rocks burst outward all around Electabuzz, and Electivire grinned. His eyes flashed once and a thin barrier appeared around him. Honey bared his teeth and immediately sent out a Thunderbolt forward. It was a crisp ray of electricity with barely any energy wasted, and it barrelled toward Electivire with the electrified rocks.

The barrier stopped the Thunderbolt, but it weakened it enough for the barrage of electrified rocks to break through. The barrier shattered like glass and the pebbles slammed into Electivire's chest. Since we weren't great with the move yet, the damage had been a joke, but a hit was a hit. Volkner's Electivire was a true threat, but they had handicapped themselves so much that hitting them was actually possible.

Two more.

"Electric Swift!" I grinned.

Honey summoned a dozen stars, infusing them with electricity before he brought an arm forward and sent them flying toward his opponent. Electivire Teleported—

No, he wasn't Teleporting. He was just moving quickly. So quickly that I could barely track him save for the blur of yellow and dark fur. He was slower than with Teleporting, of course, but that didn't mean much considering he was faster than Honey was using Radiant Leap with no moves and no electricity. He easily outran the stars and led them to crash into one of the spires.

Yeah, that would have been too easy, but I thought I might have been able to catch him off-guard. Honey let loose another Thunderbolt that Electivire easily sidestepped, and then he rushed toward us immediately after.

"Discharge—"

Electivire blinked forward and placed his huge hand around Honey's face. He threw him in the air, and the Discharge only activated when Honey had been halfway to landing. He crashed into the ground, rolling until he reached the barrier. I was about to protest and say that he'd said he would only be dodging, but that hadn't been what Volkner had said. He had said no electric type moves and that all that was required of Electivire was to dodge.

Electivire had other ideas. He was having the time of his life.

Honey scrambled back to his feet, and I ordered him to gather enough rocks for Railgun again. He zipped toward one of the spires, his hands glowing with Cross Chop—

And Electivire reached it before he did, even with Radiant Leap and him not actively speeding himself up with electricity. This was his base speed. The Motor Drive ability that Jasmine had spoken to me about wasn't even in play.

Honey immediately unleashed a Discharge, but Electivire blinked behind the Spire to hide. Then, he Teleported back and threw Honey toward the center of the arena. Honey grunted in frustration as he landed face-first into the ground. Red dust from the shattered rocks clung to his fur like glue.

"Just Thunderbolt the ground!" I ordered.

He executed it before he had even stood up. The electric energy broke the ground apart, creating shards of rocks that levitated around Honey. The electric type grunted as he stood, then rushed toward Electivire with Radiant Leap.

"Don't use them yet!" I yelled. "He can just hide behind the spire. Break it apart with another Thunderbolt!"

Since Volkner had said no electricity, he'd be forced to dodge the attack and let us destroy the small spire. If he had a non-electric type move to counter us or used his half-baked barrier, then we'd just move on and destroy every single rock formation he could hide behind. This would just be a distraction.

My theory materialized when Electivire stomped a foot against the ground with gleaming eyes and another barrier appeared. Since they weren't the most defensively-minded battlers, their barrier was actually quite terrible. Worse than Princess' or the other psychics I had seen. It was comforting in a way to see such a powerful Pokemon still have holes and flaws. The barrier struggled against the Thunderbolt, but it didn't break through.

"Thunderbolt every other spire," I said. "Use Railgun or Discharge if he approaches."

Electricity instantly shot out toward all of the rocks jutting out of the ground, and Electivire simply observed with the same grin it had sported the entire battle. He was using the last remaining stone as an anchor, and he would never abandon it, because if he did the same tactic of combining Railgun and Thunderbolt would break through his barrier. I leaned against my knees and contained a smile.

"Radiant Leap back."

Honey spun, turning in less than a second, and he blurred back until I signaled him to stop. This distance… was perfect. If one attack could break through the barrier on its own, it was this.

"Thunder everywhere," I ordered.

Electabuzz whirled his arms, gathering so much electricity that he lost control of the rocks orbiting him. He charged it faster than before, and more energy crackled through him and caused his fur to stand on edge. Honey let loose the massive Thunder, and it looked more like a Discharge than anything else. Electricity flew everywhere, lashing out against the world.

A focused Thunder would have dealt more damage, but all we needed was a hit. Electivire put both of his hands up and the screen shimmered and cracked under Thunder's weight.

"Keep it going!" I yelled.

It would tire him out, but we needed to force the barrier to break. After six seconds of struggle, it finally did. The electricity singed Electivire's fur, but another electric type would feel very little from an electric type attack, especially at our power disparity. The spire had broken down, and Electivire had nowhere else to hide from Swift. All he had left was his psychic barriers.

One more hit.

"Electric Swift," I continued as sweat dripped into my eyes.

More stars barrelled toward Electivire, whose smile widened as he waited until the last second to sidestep Swift. He rushed toward Honey, who quickly countered with a Thunderbolt. Electivire blinked to the left, easily avoiding the move. The Swift slowly drifted back and began to chase down Electivire.

"Discharge! Keep him away!" I yelled.

I almost celebrated when the electricity engulfed Electivire, but bit my lip when I realized that he'd simply plunged inside Discharge with a barrier surrounding him. He clasped Honey's throat and threw him up in the air. Before Electabuzz could land, Electivire kicked him toward his own Swift. The stars rammed into him, and he groaned in pain while he tumbled into the sharp rocks.

"Thunder again!" I quickly said.

Honey got up, pushing a hand against his knee as he gasped for air, but Electivire blinked forward, leaping across the floor and grabbing a handful of rocks across the way. He threw it at Honey at full force, knocking the electric type back and knocking him off his feet and back on the ground. The rocks shattered against Honey and blood started seeping out of his shoulders, torso and legs, but he didn't stop. The Thunder hummed and exploded out of Honey thanks to all of our training, destroying everything around him. Electivire narrowly backstepped and jumped to get out of the attack's range. As Jasmine had warned, an unfocused Thunder was not only not as powerful, but the range was also a lot worse.

I was fighting for my life here and Volkner wasn't even looking at me. He was speaking to Jasmine instead and had deactivated his microphone.

Look at me! I internally screamed.

If we wanted to win, we'd need to combine everything we had at our disposal. I didn't know how much time was left, but I was certain at least five minutes had passed by now. Honey gasped for air as he awaited my next command, and my eyes narrowed toward the grinning Electivire.

He had speed, Teleportation and barriers to avoid getting hit, although he'd largely stopped Teleporting and was mostly just running quickly now. Throwing rocks or throwing Honey himself was a way for him to reset the tempo in his favor.

"Swift," I muttered.

Bait him into either being forced to run or gunning for Honey to use him as a shield. Of course, he had his barrier too, but I had noticed that Electivire was having fun here. He wasn't fighting optimally, even by barely using any moves. I supposed that the restrictive parameters of the fight were something new for him and it'd be unfair if he didn't give us at least a chance.

Honey lifted an arm, and fifteen stars shot out toward the electric type all at once. Electivire let out a gleeful, engine-like laugh and ran forward. I waited for a single second, and he had already closed half of the distance.

"Give me a constant Thunderbolt!" I said.

Electricity crackled through Honey's fur and rose toward his hands until it flew at Electivire, who simply side-stepped to the left. Electabuzz tracked him with the attack, and Electivire kept circling around him, sliding under or jumping over the Thunderbolt when needed.

"Railgun!"

Nearby stones shook against the ground until they rose and flew toward Electivire in an attempt to cut him off. We finally forced him to put his barrier up, and the rocks simply slammed against it. Electivire suddenly cut in and beelined toward Honey, having decided that he was done playing around. Perfect. Now I could finally reveal our trump card—

"Screech!" I snapped.

Electabuzz gasped, his chest doubling in size until he bellowed it all out. Electivire squinted, and his barrier faltered. I didn't even have to speak. Honey immediately used Thundershock so the attack could come out as fast as possible.

My heart sank when one of Electivire's tails instantly wrapped around Honey's ankle. At first, I'd thought the contact itself meant that he'd been electrocuted, but the outer, black part of Electivire's tail was apparently made of some kind of insulating material because even when Honey's Thundershock turned into a Thunderbolt, it had no effect on the electric type. I quickly ordered him to use Discharge, but his electric type attacks were all being channeled inside of Electivire's tail.

Not a move, I thought through gritted teeth. Just biology. Electivire's tails were longer than they looked, and Honey was out of range of any punching moves.

"Screech then Swift!"

As soon as Electivire heard Screech come out of my mouth, he slammed Honey against the ground like a rag and then threw him back again. Somehow, his tail threw harder than his arms and Honey slammed against Volkner's side of the barrier. He struggled back to his feet with ragged breaths, and erratic sparks of electricity danced through his fur.

Electivire didn't stop there, however. His muscles bulged as he threw rocks with both his hands and tails. Honey put up a Protect, and the green barrier shimmered as he slowly trudged forward. All of his Radiant Leaps and Thunders had tired him out. Only Angel would still be able to keep going at this point, and yet Honey was still standing.

But what else did we have in the cards? Static Shield wasn't ready yet, and I wasn't sure it would even constitute a win.

"Thunder," I muttered.

It was a gamble. Everything else had failed, and this was the last hope that we had. A focused Thunder that'd be able to catch him off-guard. All of our Thunders so far had been unfocused. The kind that Jasmine hated. They struck in a wide range, but they were slow enough for Electivire to react and step away. He hadn't seen our quick, focused attack yet. It was faster than the other and I hoped that it would be enough. Honey let out a few raspy breaths as electricity coiled around his arms. Electivire snorted, opting to run in again.

Good. The only way this would work was if we were underestimated.

Stones rose and fell around Honey's feet, and he let out a defiant roar before unleashing the Thunder. The electricity rushed toward Electivire in a straight line faster than what he'd gotten used to.

The electric type's eyes widened, and he…

He sidestepped and barely dodged. It was so close that Electivire's hair puffed up.

Honey was already unconscious, with no way to keep going. I bit my lip and recalled him, and satisfaction radiated out of Electivire. He had a lot of fun with this battle, and he let Volkner know vocally, yelling so loudly that my eardrums shook.

I clenched my Pokeball and sighed.

It had been so close. So, so close.

Volkner motioned me to come back, and I followed suit, dragging my feet across the ground as I did so. Extra training might have made the difference in that fight, either through Railgun being stronger, Thunder being faster or Honey being able to last longer in battle. As it stood, I would have an easier time in the Gym Battle thanks to Honey experimenting with the rocks here, but that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

"You lost," Volkner declared.

"I did," I said.

He paused, looking to Jasmine and then frowning. "You're not going to ask me for another chance?"

"A deal is a deal," I said. "I feel terrible about it, but you can't change it after it's been forged. I'll be… I'll be okay, I think."

"Jasmine, show her to the door," Volkner said, waving a hand as he recalled Electivire. "I'll wait for you so we can talk about your stuff."

Jasmine nodded and pushed me forward. We walked in silence toward the lobby, and then outside the Gym. It felt a lot colder than it had been an hour earlier despite me knowing that it wasn't the case.

"Grace," Jasmine said. "I'm sorry for putting you through this. You know, I'm an alcoholic."

The declaration came out of nowhere, and I turned toward her. I had suspected it, but she hadn't drunk since starting to train me until tonight, so I thought that I was just being paranoid.

"I've tried to swear off alcohol, but I can't," she said with a sad smile. "Every time I walk near a bar or a restaurant, every time I see someone else drinking, it gives me to urge to do it too. I've never gone longer than a week and a half without drinking. It was my escape. It still is. Even Metagross say it's impossible to keep a bottle away from me, and trust me they've tried."

"I'm… sorry about that. I was wondering if you were or not," I said.

"I met Volkner at a support group meeting for addicts, actually," Jasmine said, leaning against the Gym's steel walls. "I was hoping to use this vacation to rid myself of my addiction. There was never enough time with my work."

"He's an addict?" I asked, not hiding the sheer shock in my tone.

"No, he used to be one. Smoking addiction," Jasmine said. "He was giving the meeting to help others. At first, I thought it was Sinnoh's way of spying on me, but he was just a genuinely good guy. He's my rock, you know. He keeps me grounded at my worst. I was making progress again, but I relapsed today… and I made you do this."

I nodded. "What's done is done. I still appreciate all your help. Honey would be nowhere near as strong as he was without you, and there are other ways I can have him evolve."

Although begging Cynthia for help would not make me happy, and Honey would be extremely disappointed in himself.

"It's not over, Grace," Jasmine said.

I stared at her, and for a second, it was as if she glimmered in the moonlight.

"Volkner never expected you to even land a single hit, let alone two," she said. "You actually managed to get him to run out of Teleports and showcased Railgun extremely well, even though it's still barely useable as it is right now. He was impressed. I convinced him to give you another chance during your Gym Battle. That means yours will be a four-on-four with Electabuzz vs Electivire as the final act if you agree. Even if you win the four-on-four Volkner won't give you your badge if you lose the last fight. It'll be the same parameters, except he upped the ante. Four hits instead of three. Will you take up the challenge?"

I beamed. "Yes! Yes, we will!"

"Good. My heart feels like lead no longer," she smiled. "Go on, now. We've kept your girlfriend waiting long enough. I'll give you some pointers in two days if you're willing to take them. I'm going to be busy with Volkner tomorrow. He's probably going to take the entire day off to make sure I get to my support group."

"I am interested," I said. "If I win the battle and you go to your meetings, you'll be forgiven."

Jasmine chuckled. "Good. I was beginning to think that you'd forgiven me already, and that wouldn't do."

"Well, you said it, right? Don't let powerful people walk all over me," I shrugged. "If I catch you drinking again, I'm snitching to Volkner and never seeing you again, by the way. I know you like me."

"Going for the throat, are you?" Jasmine grinned.

"Good night, Jasmine," I said after a short smile.

No matter what region you came from or how invincible or put-together someone seemed at first glance, humans were still vulnerable and flawed. All of them.

Another chance had been provided for me, and I wasn't going to squander it. We were close. All we needed was to iron things out, and a win would be possible even if it took four hits instead of three. I hopped on one of the nighttime buses and made my way back to the Center, handing Honey's ball to a tired Nurse Joy. Even though Electivire had barely fought, Honey had still fainted. The power disparity there was still mind-boggling. Had he used Motor Drive, he would have been impossible to hit.

I slowly opened the door to Cece's room and saw that she was scribbling on one of the notebooks I'd given her with her hair was tied back, exposing her neck. When she heard me come in, she turned toward me and beamed and shot up. Slowking was sitting in his usual corner and snoring while he slept.

"You're not sleeping?" I asked. "It's one in the morning."

"I was coming up with some custom move ideas and waiting for you to come back," she said. "How did training go?"

"Good and bad," I slowly muttered as I shuffled toward her.

My hands wrapped around Cece as I closed my eyes and she responded in kind, not minding how sweaty I was at all. She gently ran her hands through my hair. I probably needed another haircut soon with how long it was getting again.

"What's wrong?" She whispered.

"I'm recharging," I said.

I stayed there, hugging her and nuzzling my head in her neck for a good five minutes before I went and showered. When I came back in my pajamas, she was back to writing on her notebook. I stepped behind her and placed my arms around her neck, and she affectionately grabbed my right arm and caressed it. She'd written a bunch of moves for all of her Pokemon, but none for Zweilous.

"No love for Sol and Zerst?" I asked.

"They're too unfocused for the concepts I came up with," she shook her head. "When they're a Hydreigon, I'll try."

My eyes glanced over a name that caught my attention.

"Requiem?" I muttered.

"It's an idea for Lehmhart. A constant song that makes enemies take damage. Sort of like Sandstorm or Hail," Cece said. "Ideally, we'd reach a point where we'd be able to knock out low-leveled Pokemon en masse with the move while I stuck behind Slowking's barrier, which will absorb the TE while I only hear the song."

The fact that she'd also be able to kill non-protected humans in huge numbers with this was left unsaid between us, but it was understood.

"Woah. Tying it with his love for music is really cool, I'm sure he'll love it," I smiled. "Uh, I have to tell you about something important. Don't panic, okay? Everything worked out in the end, even though it almost didn't and it was a terrible idea to begin with."

"Now you're worrying me."

I explained how Jasmine broke me into the Gym and everything that transpired there, and she stayed frozen the entire time, only contributing through groans and sighs that progressively got more pronounced as the story progressed.

"So yeah," I said. "That almost went terribly."

"Why would you even agree to this in the first place?" Cece scolded. Her voice was level, but stern.

"Well, I'm going to be honest, I thought Jasmine would manage to get Volkner to ease off— and I mean, she did, but there were consequences, I guess. I don't know. I guess she's great at battling, but her addiction is screwing her decision-making in every other facet of her life."

"Yes, that's how addiction works. You need to call me before doing this stuff," she sighed. "What if Volkner hadn't given you another chance? If he'd reported that you had broken in? Hell, what if a Gym Trainer smells blood in the water, goes against his orders and leaks it to the press? We're so elusive that they would just love some controversy, Grace."

"Yeah… my bad."

Cece exhaled. "I can't stay mad at you for long, but you almost flew too close to the sun tonight. You need to think about these things."

"Yeah…" I said again.

"Go to sleep, Grace," she said after a pause. "I'll finish up here and join you in a bit. I still don't know how you can sleep with the lights on— what? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh. Yeah, uh, I'll go to sleep," I muttered. "I'm exhausted. I'll tell the rest of my team about this when I wake up."

"Then let's sleep in tomorrow!" She cheerfully said. "I'll wake up first and bring you breakfast in bed."

I got into the bed and sneakily watched her ticks as she thought up of concepts for moves. Tapping her pen against her lips, staring at the ceiling, that muted, excited squeal she did every time she got a good idea in order not to wake me or Slowking up. The little things that made her, her.

It was always the little things, wasn't it?