CHAPTER 236

The Voice was an incredibly powerful tool to use, but Mira had discovered it also had its limits. The longest amount of time she'd found someone could be put under Chase's spell was around one hour, give or take. She took longer to escape his grasp while I always took a few minutes less, but the fact of the matter was, it wasn't consistent whatsoever except for the fact that the maximum amount of time was always fifty minutes to an hour and ten minutes.

Next, the time was lower depending on how many people Chase affected. Two would split that hour in two, and we assumed it would keep going down as we kept going. Impossible orders like 'grow a third arm' would just have the person freeze there for an undetermined amount of minutes. Mira had told me that more testing was required to see if there was a possibility of it being linked with how hard the order was.

Of course, there were a bunch of things we just couldn't test out of fear of someone getting injured or killed, and we only had one try per day, so we hadn't gone too far yet. The Voice also worked on Pokemon, but just like with humans, the more we used it on them the less time they would be under Chase's influence.

We were making steady progress, and Cecilia wasn't giving us as much of a hard time as she had at the beginning even if she was still opposed to any kind of mind control. She'd teared up when Chase had ordered me around on the second day as if the worst thing imaginable was happening to me.

What Mira said had been true. When Chase spoke to me, disobeying was impossible. I always felt compelled to do whatever he'd said, and it felt like the most normal thing in the world for me. That was the most terrifying part. There wasn't even a single part of my brain that had thought something was wrong. Being freed from his control felt like waking up from a dream except I always remembered what had happened.

"Jasmine!" I waved at my teacher.

She waved back, although her usual smile was a lot more muted. Quitting an addiction was hard, and she was miserable. It wouldn't be sunshine and rainbows right away, but slow, incremental progress until she was freed from the hold alcohol had on her. She'd described not being at least slightly tipsy like the world had been drained of its color and everything was cold and dreary all the time.

I felt bad for her, but Jasmine shouldered on.

"One week sober, right?" I smiled. "Congrats."

"They say it gets easier after the first few weeks, but I can't help but feel like garbage," she muttered. "I have these cold sweats at night and I can't sleep, so I wake up tired every day."

I sighed. "It'll get better."

"That's what Volkner and Metagross say," she muttered. "Let's get to your training grounds."

Soon enough, we were back on the mountain near route 205 again. Metagross didn't go back in their Pokeball this time. They were always out when we trained these days so they could support Jasmine. Sometimes I'd hear her laugh at a joke or comment that I wasn't privy to. Most of the time their conversations were kept private. Metagross was no empath, but they somehow had a way of knowing what Jasmine was thinking, so they differed from most psychics.

Honey weaved on the plateau so fast that he was a constant blur of crackling electricity. The sparks singed the rocks whenever he stepped, jumping away from him at random intervals. Static Shield had been mastered, and we could combine it with Radiant Leap. He was even faster now than he had been, almost as if his feet hovered off the ground. I was sure that we'd be able to outrun and catch up to Electivire when the time came.

And that time was soon.

Railgun had improved as well. Honey was faster, more reactive and better at keeping control of rocks when he ran with Radiant Leap.

After four minutes of constantly running at full speed with Radiant Leap and having Static Shield on, Honey collapsed on the floor and desperately gasped for air with his chest rising up and down with labored breaths. I ran up to him as quick as I could. Even if I couldn't touch him after he'd used so many electric moves and my hair was standing on end, I wanted him to see that I was here.

"You've improved so much these last few weeks," I said, leaning next to him.

The electric type grinned, exposing his two sharpened canines and he let out a few tired groans. He was too tired to even talk back, but I knew what he was feeling. Pride. Accomplishment. Confidence. He'd shed the last remaining doubts about his skill and been born anew. Win or lose, he would be satisfied in himself.

"You've come so far, and yet we aren't even close to the heights your strength and skill can reach," I grinned. "I love you, kid."

Honey whispered the same to me just as I heard Jasmine approach from behind.

"He's ready," she said. "You've got the tools you need to win. Besides working on Railgun and ironing your techniques, you should be good."

"Hear that?" I smirked.

The electric type sat up and thanked Jasmine for all the help, which I translated for her.

"It was my pleasure," she smiled. "Maybe when we see each other again, you'll be an Electivire. And I'll be watching your battle."

Honey trembled in excitement and told her he hoped so.

We'd done everything in our power to strive to be the best version of ourselves, and the rest of the team hadn't slacked off either. We had all massively improved.

It was time.

—

"So I've got you for… this Thursday at 5:10 pm," the Gym Trainer spoke as she entered my name in her computer. "That works for you?"

"Yup. Thanks for finding a spot that was so soon."

"Later in the year people with more badges are higher priority," she explained. "Newer ones will complain, but we wouldn't want someone missing the Conference because of scheduling. It can happen, but most of the time, it's a skill issue."

She handed me my ticket and I was on my way out of the Gym and toward route 222 to see Louis and Cecilia. It felt weird to sign up for a Gym Battle so early. Usually I was the last to go since I loved to spectate my friends' battles in case I spotted anything I hadn't seen on video.

For this one, however? I would be the first, and it wasn't because of hubris. Yes, I did believe we were ready, but I would never actually pass up on some extra studying time. What I needed was my bonus, and I wanted it as soon as possible. That meant that Volkner needed to fall. If I could spend the remainder of the time we had in Sunyshore learning how to fly or starting that process and getting Princess used to her new body, I would be satisfied. Cece had already started to go to the theoretical classes after I'd told her she didn't need to wait for me, and Lehmhart was slowly getting a hang of how to fly without crashing into the ground.

When I saw Cece and Louis talking together in front of the gates, I couldn't help but smile. They hadn't spent time together in a while, and it was nice to see them being friendly again. Arceus knew Louis needed Cecilia's gentle disposition to emotionally recover from what he had done.

"Guys! How's it going?"

"Grace! We're doing great. How was training?" Cece asked.

"We're ready. I just signed up."

The air grew heavier for just a moment.

"I wish you good luck," Louis dipped his head. "We'll be in the stands cheering you on."

"I appreciate it. How's your Vespiquen training going? Is she spooky still?" I asked.

"It's like usual," Louis shrugged. "She isn't aggressive, but she's… well, she's different. I still see flashes of how she used to be, but most of the time she's silently staring at us. Zachary said she's still getting used to her new senses and that she'll slowly open up."

"Good, good," I nodded.

"Pressure's heavy," Cecilia exhaled. "After ten minutes next to her I can't help but feel exhausted. Both physically and mentally. The buzzing really does make you go crazy."

"But we've been building a tolerance to it," Louis added. "It's hard, but I've got to do it if I want to do right by her."

I turned around and stared at the route. It was the same as usual. Trainers, civilians, Pokemon all living in harmony and not one wild Pokemon in sight. I sighed, facing Cece and Louis spoke again.

"Justin's Corviknight is scared of me now," Louis muttered. "He doesn't want anything to do with me."

"It'll get better," Cece said.

"I think it will. It just… you know," he sighed. "On a brighter note, I was telling Cecilia about my long-term goal—"

"I've told you a million times you can call me Cece," she rolled her eyes.

"Sorry."

"What's your goal?" I asked.

He told me about his sanctuary idea, and I couldn't help but hug him in that moment. He froze at the sudden contact, not knowing how to reciprocate, and I grabbed his hands as I smiled at him.

"Any help I can give you, I will," I said. "And hey! Zachary's also from Floaroma and he wants to help improve the place. I'm sure a sanctuary would be right in his line of fire. Arceus, I'm so happy I put you guys in contact!"

Louis awkwardly scratched his cheek. "Thank you for your support. I've been telling this to everyone and even Pauline didn't laugh at me. All of this… it makes me think I could actually get it done."

"Of course you can! You just have to start saving."

"A bank wouldn't blink at giving him a loan if he grows as a trainer and gets some kind of income," Cece mused. "He has a business model all worked out. Denzel helped him make it on a napkin. Emilia and Pauline said that it was sound, and they're the best at money."

"I'll apply for a loan when the time comes," Louis agreed. "For now, I have to focus on the small."

"You're a great guy, Louis. I'll come visit sometime when we're old."

"Not too old, I hope," he said. "I want to get this started in a few years."

"Yeah, that's totally old," I dismissed. "Though my dad would kill me if I said that to him."

They both chuckled, and I sat next to them in the grass. We hung out for another hour, mostly reminiscing about old times. Louis explained to us how he convinced Justin to battle in the first place and I nearly fell over when he told me he'd had him sign a contract. Not only that, but he'd spoken in the same way he used to with that obnoxious, 'I'm obviously better than you at everything' tone. When I asked him to do it again, he reddened and refused.

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Eventually, he left to go see Justin. They were spending a lot of time together, even if these hangouts were some of the most awkward he'd ever had in his life by his own words. It was only Cece and I left, and we lay in the grass with our hands intertwined.

"You signing up soon too?" I asked.

"In a few days," she muttered. "I think I'm ready. I was planning on relying on my Night Slash trick, but with Lehmhart having evolved, I have an entirely new plan."

"He'll be a great fighter for the Gym."

"Hmhm. It's good that he can shine here. I won't be able to do much with him against Crasher Wake."

"Yeah, he'd just sink," I said. "That battle's going to be pretty tough for you."

"I considered trying to evaporate all of the water in his arena with Talonflame, but I figure he has tricks to counter that. It would be too easy otherwise."

"Well, you'll figure it out. I have a few ideas myself, but that's in a while."

I flipped to my side and placed a hand on her cheek. "We're going to need to test Chase's voice again later."

"Don't remind me."

"I'd rather we know its limits before we get in any kind of life-threatening danger," I said. "C'mere."

I brought her face closer to mine and I planted two soft kisses on her lips.

"It'll be okay," I said. "Chase is a friend. We can trust him with that power."

"I know! It's just the—"

"Principle, I know," I interrupted. "I'm trying to understand, and it's hard."

"I get it. You feel like I'm wasting your tries since we only get one use per day."

"Kind of."

She smirked. "You don't have to hold yourself back."

"Okay, yes I feel that way, but I won't press you on it."

"I appreciate that," she said. "By the way, I had a question if you don't mind. About Spiritomb."

She leaned in to whisper the name. Even if people knew the Pokemon existed thanks to Cynthia popularizing it (she was the only trainer known to own one of those horrors), it still felt wrong to say the name out loud. Like you were asking for something bad to happen to you.

"Go ahead."

"You've seen Cynthia's, and I haven't," she muttered. "I'm slowly getting used to Vespiquen's Pressure, but… what does Spiritomb's feels like?"

Memories that I had buried deep within me came surging back, and I felt my hands sweat around hers. She obviously noticed, because she spoke up again.

"Never mind."

"No, no, I can talk about it!" I exclaimed. "Uh, it's… well, there's the usual baseline. You become hyper-aware of every bodily process, down to your heartbeat and the blood pumping in your veins, but that's the same for Vespiquen. Where Spiritomb differs is— they speak. The souls inside of it, I mean. At first, you hear the pleas. People yelling in agony about… I assume whatever was happening to them before or during whatever ritual turned them into that. Then they latch on and speak to you. They tell you to do things like killing your loved ones or hurting yourself. Eventually they dig at every single insecurity you have, big or small, and even though they're all speaking at the same time, you understand all of them perfectly."

"And then?" Cecilia asked, slightly breathless.

"I don't know, the fight ended before then," I muttered. "Cynthia's Lucario stabbed Shiftry. I don't know how bad it would have been if I wasn't in his domain or if Spiritomb had actually been out of their keystone."

"That's—" Cece exhaled, "a lot."

"It is. Why'd you ask me that all of a sudden? You getting second thoughts?"

"No. Cynthia sent me a message saying that she had confirmed the location of the Spiritomb I would be… hopefully getting."

I felt my fingers tingle. "And?"

She leaned in to whisper. "Route 225 apparently has one that's rather old. Not as old as hers, but old nonetheless."

"That's on the Battle Frontier."

"Yes."

I sat up and stared at the sky. "I had no idea that place had one. Then again, I've never been. So the League knows of every location with one?"

"I'd assume so. If I had to guess, there aren't that many left."

"Does it being old mean it's more dangerous?"

"It depends. Cynthia says that the younger ones lash out more easily, but the older ones are more sinister. Less violent, but more…"

"Mind-breaking."

"That. And young still means more than a thousand years old. Old is… old. Like, before recorded history old. There's a reason no one's figured out how to make them again, and there were attempts. Horrible attempts. They all stopped after the Great War."

"Well let's hope yours is a good one," I said. "You'll be an absolute press magnet in Unova if you actually catch one this summer."

"Right?" She smirked. "But that's not the reason I want to do this. Is it wrong to want the power a Spiritomb could own at my fingertips? To desire the challenge of raising one? Cynthia was only one year older than us when she found hers."

I shook my head. "She was already the Champion?"

"Yes. A newly appointed one, but Champion nonetheless. She said she found hers down a well."

"A what?! You're fucking with me."

"I'm not! It was just there, apparently. I had a hard time believing it too."

"Well, I'm looking forward to when we get to that part of the autobiography."

Cecilia chuckled, and her hand clasped tighter around mine.

—

"Grace! Why didn't you tell me about all of the famous trainers you were with in that photoshoot?!"

I turned toward Denzel as I slowly chewed on my pasta. I'd been eating lunch alone in the Center cafeteria since everyone else was busy and I was taking a break, but he barged in and slammed the table with his hands.

"I didn't think it was important," I shrugged.

"You what—" He stopped himself and facepalmed. "You didn't think telling me about some incredibly skilled trainers was important?!"

"Yeah, man. It was just work. We did it and went home," I said. "I did get all of their contact info, though. Except Aubri. She hates me."

"Aubri Schneider hates you?!"

A few heads turned at Aubri's name. She really was famous.

"Yeah. And I can't do anything to fix it. She wanted to be the face of the company and I leapfrogged her when she's way stronger and has years of experience. To be honest, I thought someone as savvy as you would know that."

"Well I don't know everything," he grumbled. He dragged a chair back and sat in front of me. "I had no idea she wanted to inherit Craig's position. Aubri keeps away from people most of the time, so she doesn't seem like the type… then again, you don't seem like it either."

"I mean, we're all doing it for money at the end of the day," I shrugged. "I heard she's saving for a mega stone."

"Ah, yeah. That costs millions. Tens of millions, for the rarest ones," Denzel said. "There's a very limited supply and they only form in very specific conditions. Some young Kalosian Professor tried to make some artificial ones a while back… Syco… Sycamore, I think. He failed miserably and plunged billions of Pokedollars down the drain."

"Knowing her skill, she would have gotten paid a lot more than me if she'd gotten my position. I get it, I really do," I sighed.

"Yeah. I think she might not have been chosen though… her scars are really bad," Denzel winced.

"What's that got to do with it?" I scoffed.

"Think, Grace. If she's going to represent Poketch, they want her to look good, even if it's a dick move. A girl that's missing half a hand, has no skin on one of her arms and is missing an eye won't attract anyone. There's a huge stigma against people with that many scars. You're lucky your burns only go up to your cheek and the parts that are more visible aren't as deep as hers, or I doubt the Poketch Company would have picked you, with or without Craig's recommendation."

"How did she get those scars?" I asked after a short pause. "The burn is obviously Salazzle, but the rest?"

"It's quite tragic, actually. The eye was a really nasty accident in her first year. She was fresh out of Jubilife and got attacked by a pack of Spearow after she tried to catch one. The wound took her eye out and stretched to her forehead."

"Did she even have a badge?"

"No."

That new? And yet, she persevered, I thought to myself.

"The missing hand came much later. It got sliced by a Leavanny in Eterna Forest when she was training. Before she was strong enough to hang out in Victory Road all the time, she was always holed up in those woods. One day, she went too deep and…"

He motioned his hand getting cut off with a click of his tongue.

"Apparently her Salazzle snuck into a Cargo Ship from Alola and rode it all the way to Sinnoh. That's how she caught her," Denzel continued. "And she got that crazy burn."

I felt a twinge of sadness for Aubri, which I didn't think I'd be able to. It wasn't her fault. It wasn't my fault. It was the board who had done this.

But then again, even if they'd been willing to entertain her, I wasn't going to give up my spot. The money was too important to give up on.

Oh well.

"Not everyone's going to like me. No matter what I do."

"Well for what it's worth, I think you're a great gal," he smiled.

"I would hope so. We're best friends."

"Never mind, you're awful," he mocked. "Cece told me you signed up for the Gym already?"

I leaned up from my plate. "Yup."

"Look at you, taking the initiative. I was thinking of doing it today too, I was going to go later. Emi's been on my case about going to help her get that nose piercing."

I gasped. "She's getting it after all?!"

"Yeah, but she's scared it's going to hurt. Pauline's coming too."

"I wanna come!" I yelled.

"Well I'll tell her you're in, then," he chuckled. He grabbed his phone, but his face fell as he scrolled.

"What? Did she suddenly change her mind?"

"No… I got a popup about some news."

I froze. "Team Galactic?"

"No, no!" He stammered. "You don't have to worry about that. It's Pokemon poachers."

I dropped my fork, and it clacked loudly on the floor.

"Poachers?"

"Yes. They've been operating somewhere out of route 212 near the swamp, but the League is apparently too understaffed to deal with it, so it's up the the Rangers and they've been having trouble. They're trained to safely contain wild Pokemon, not fight people."

My shoulders felt heavier and there was a tingle in my eye. I wiped away a tear, biting the inside of my lip so strongly that I tasted metal. With all the manpower they had focused on guarding the lakes, the Lily of the Valley island, stopping any hidden operations from saboteurs and finding Team Galactic's base, their manpower was stretched thin. Of course, filthy lowlives would take advantage of it.

"A bunch of trainers got threatened and gave up their Pokemon in exchange for their lives, and it's made the news so hopefully the League gets going and deals with the damn problem," he sighed. "I wonder why Wake isn't doing anything."

They won't. They won't care when the world risks ending, I thought to myself. And Mudsdale— Sunshine's old teammate was right in the crossfire since he worked with the Rangers there now.

"What are they doing with the Pokemon?" I asked.

"I'm not really sure. Sell them in some kind of black market, maybe?"

"So what, they're basically LARPING as Team Rocket? Fucking pathetic," I sniffled, grabbing my fork.

"I guess. They don't really have a name from what I can see. Do you want a tissue?"

"Yeah," I cried.

He quickly got up and grabbed a bunch of napkins from the counter. I blew my nose and scrunched them up.

"I hate this."

"The world's a dark place, Grace. Whenever people sense the opportunity, they'll strike."

"I want to gouge their guts out."

"O…okay. Let's leave it to the professionals," Denzel said. "Want to finish your food?"

"I'm not hungry anymore."

"Okay. You still good with the plan? I can stick around with you until Cece comes back if you want."

"Thanks, but I'm okay. This piercing stuff will cheer me up."

"Okay. Emi's already ready to go."

—

"Oh Legendaries, Legendaries, Legendaries!" Emilia yelled. She was grabbing onto her leather chair and clenching the armrests as tightly as she could. So tightly in fact that veins were bulging out of her arms.

"Stop moving, I'm just making the spot with a pen," the piercer sighed. She was an older woman in her fifties with tattoos and piercings all over her body. A tiny Murkrow was perched onto a stick in the corner of her store and cackling wildly.

"Why did you say you wanted a piercing if you're this scared?" I sighed.

"It's to make a statement," she answered with a trembling voice.

"Relax. Apparently it doesn't hurt," Pauline reassured her.

"Well I've read that it can hurt—"

"Shut up, Denzel," Pauline said.

The piercer brought a mirror in front of Emi's face and confirmed the spot she'd marked was the right one. She disinfected her hands, put on gloves and wiped some kind of disinfectant wipe on Emi's nose. Our friend closed her eyes before she could even see the needle.

"Emi's always been terrified of needles," Pauline whispered to me. "You should have seen the face she made when we had to take that booster shot at the start of our journey. She was throwing a fit."

"So she's doing a lot better now," I said.

The older woman pricked her nose with the needle, and Emilia squealed a little, and in a few seconds, she had already placed the nose stud through the hole.

"Wait… it's over?" Emilia asked, opening a single eye. She closed it immediately when she saw that the needle was still in front of her face.

"Yes, it's over," the woman said. "Now, let's talk about aftercare…"

Emilia beamed, and she followed the piercer's words to the letter.

It seemed like she was going to get a lot more piercings in the future.

—

When I had started the Circuit, I truly thought I would grow used to battling in Gyms. The atmosphere, the crowd, the stakes. It all added up to being a nervewracking experience that would make even the most experienced trainers nervous. I wasn't dissociating for this battle, so the nerves were getting to me, especially when both Princess and Honey's evolutions rode on this battle.

I had a strategy. Now I just had to execute it.

"Grace Pastel, you're up! Just let me put your microphone on."

"Thanks," I smiled.

"Good luck out there! Jasmine has been a lot more manageable since the… event, so I wanted to thank you for that."

I snorted. "Thank her. She's the one putting in the effort."

I grabbed Sunshine's Pokeball and exited the waiting room. Spectators began to cheer for me. New Wave was up there too, and they decided to sit in the last row so they could have their banner of me and my team up. I knew my friends were up here too. All of them. Even Jasmine. I felt prickles up my nape and I moistened my lips. Volkner finished his break right on the dot and approached his own podium. He wore jeans, a black shirt and a blue jacket with yellow buttons on its sleeves. His grey shoes squeaked on the clean floor.

He was actually dressed up.

Volkner's words were like sparks in my ears.

"Welcome, Challenger," he spoke. "This will be a four-on-four battle with two switches allowed. If you win that battle, it will be followed by a one-on-one where you will be forced to use your Electabuzz—"

Murmurs ran through the arena. That had most likely never been seen before.

"—I reserve the right to use any Pokemon in my arsenal that I deem fit, and killing any Pokemon will get you disqualified from the Circuit."

Volkner paused, and I hungrily licked my teeth.

"Send out your Pokemon."

I released Sunshine onto the field, and the air immediately started to swelter.