CHAPTER 239

"Take it easy… uh, yeah, like that! Don't go too high yet, you'll hurt yourself! Arceus!"

It was hard to not feel nervous when your kid was learning to fly all over again.

Princess slowly hovered around twenty feet in the air, and she struggled to keep her balance. She'd nearly flipped over five times already (my heart had dropped to my stomach every single time), and we were all trying to hide our nervousness while encouraging her. It wasn't working very well, though, since apparently her evolution had made her a lot better at sensing feelings and she had complained that we should believe in her more because all of our doubt was making her slip up. Angel had prepared a bed of vines below her in case she lost balance and fell while Buddy hovered in the sky with her.

"Now you know what she was like when she just turned into a Togetic," I whispered to Angel, Sunshine and Sweetheart.

The dragon snorted, and a pebble burst from the ground, smashing into his arm. Harmless, but annoying nonetheless. A glow fainted from Princess' eyes as she huffed.

"See? You can already use Ancient Power while flying," I cheered. "Keep it up."

The fairy type smiled, satisfied with herself while Sunshine cursed at her.

The main problem we had with just hovering was that even if Princess only had to use fairy Type Energy to float, she still had to apply it in a careful balance throughout her body to not tip over, and now that she'd drastically changed, she would have to learn how to do it all over again. Princess was a smart girl, though, so I was sure that it would only take a week at most. Then, we'd be able to move on to real flight. Combine the two along with manipulating the wind to speed herself up, and that was a Togekiss' true potential.

Arceus, I couldn't wait to fly around the sky with her. Traveling had a charm of its own, but flying across the region with the wind blowing past my ears sounded awesome too. There was freedom there. No forest, mountain, river or swamp would be able to stop me.

I bit my lip as soon as I thought about swamps. I still hadn't forgotten about those poachers. Hopefully they'd be dealt with soon.

We ended up sticking around for as long as possible, but we needed to leave before the Flight School I had found closed for the day. After calling Alakazam, he Teleported me back to Sunyshore and I made my way to the establishment. I would have had Princess practice on the way there, but I didn't want her to accidentally fall on someone or even worse, in the middle of a busy road. When we got back to the Center, she'd be able to practice more.

Flight School was situated south of the city, where there was still enough space for a huge fenced yard to give students an appropriate area to practice. The building was similarly themed to every other in Sunyshore, but a lot bigger. I supposed government facilities didn't have to conform to the building code around here.

And it was government-run. Cecilia had told me that you could get flying lessons in Unova through private enterprises— although they were approved by the Unovan government and kept up with their standards. Even the theoretical and practical tests could be taken through private businesses.

Not in Sinnoh. Only the government could hand out licenses. Some people called government-run things inefficient, and I had no way of knowing if that was true or not, but at least it was free. I needed to save money for TMs, and there were also items for the Conference to think about, but I'd delve all into that after I finished up Pastoria and traveled throughout the region. It wasn't like I had the money to do anything anyway.

I'd need to buy a saddle for Princess soon enough.

A crowd of trainers were leaving the building as I entered. I assumed they were the last class of the day and hurried up to the front desk, which for some reason was incredibly difficult to find and not actually next to the entrance. Instead, it was in an office in the middle of a hallway to the left of the building. The man behind the desk looked exasperated when he saw me enter. He'd been in the middle of packing and had been about to leave for the evening.

"Good evening. Sorry for being late, uh I wanted to sign up for a license? So I'll have both theoretical and practical lessons, please."

"Sure thing," he exhaled. "Trainer ID, please."

The employee scanned it through a machine next to his computer and nodded.

"Togekiss. Alright, I'll put you down for lessons. You'll start with theoretical classes and then move on to the practical ones. Five of them, the first one tomorrow at…"

I quickly wrote all of the classes on my phone along with the classroom numbers. A few of them fell when my friends were battling, so I'd have to miss those battles, starting with Mira's tomorrow. Once my five classes were done, I'd take the theoretical test and move on to five practical classes that I didn't have the date for yet. I thanked the man for his time and left.

The next five days would be full of lessons, it seemed. Five days to get Princess able to float? I wasn't too worried, especially since it would take another day for the exam. Theoretically, all we needed to be able to do to pass my test was be able to sit on her while she floated around the sky.

Soon, I'd be able to fly. I felt giddy as I left the building.

—

The remainder of the evening had passed quickly, and it was morning now. Denzel's battle was first and we all sat to spectate. It felt odd to be here and not have to furiously analyze the battle for my own. I couldn't help but put myself in that mindset before remembering I already had my badge and I could relax. There was no pressure to perform. I didn't know when I'd take on Crasher Wake, but maybe not going last all the time could be a good idea.

It felt nice.

Of course, all of my other friends were focused on Volkner as he and Denzel approached their respective platforms. My best friend didn't look nervous, but it was easy to tell that he was with his clenched fist. I understood him completely. After getting tutoring from one of the best trainers in the region, what if you lost? You'd feel horribly inadequate. Not only would you potentially disappoint your teacher, but other people without the tools we had gotten who would win would make you feel inferior through no fault of their own. In a way, battling after getting a teacher was even more nerve-wracking than doing so without.

But I believed that he'd be able to get into the flow of battle like I had after a few minutes.

I figured I'd focus on Denzel today to see what he learned from his time with Craig instead of Volkner. His battle would be the standard 5 on 5 with three switches, and Denzel led with Lopunny. The normal type flexed her arms and anchored herself onto the floor with her feet. I had never seen her this determined. It was like she wanted to prove something.

I didn't know if it had to do with her unfortunate reputation online or something with Sylveon. Maybe it was both.

Volkner released his Luxray. Unlike the one on his personal team, this one was more like a jack-of-all-trades that didn't excel in anything, but could do everything well. It was a Pokemon Volkner liked to lead with a lot for his sixth-badge battles to see what his opponents would do when going against a 'blank slate' so he could better test them. The electric type's eyes shone as he stared down his opponent.

The referee counted down, and the battle began.

Denzel barked out an order, and like usual, Lopunny's ears, fists and feet all activated Power-Up Punch as she rushed toward Luxray. What was unusual was her speed— or maybe it was her footing? She had always combined her attacks with Quick Attack, so that was normal, but every step carried her just a little further.

Luxray's teeth glimmered with electricity as he opened his mouth and waited for Lopunny to reach him, and more electricity spread from his feet and onto the entire field. Lopunny grunted when she stepped onto the Electric Terrain, but she didn't hesitate.

Luxray struck as soon as she got close enough, and the normal type leaned into the attack. Luxray bit into her arm, and electricity burst out of the attack like a mini-explosion. Lopunny pulled him toward her and clapped his head with her two ears before she slammed a glowing green fist into the electric type's nose.

Drain Punch, I mused. Maylene had given us the TM, but it was notoriously difficult to master. Luxray kept trying to bite at Lopunny with Crunch and Thunder Fang, and while the Electric Terrain was hurting the normal type and speeding him up, he was still far slower than her, and she was growing stronger. Lopunny's stance was different as well. Small shifts that made a world's difference. Keeping her fists up to protect her face and throat from Luxray's biting attacks, squaring herself and digging her feet into the ground to stay grounded and stable. Punching Luxray in the muzzle, jaw or throat— targeting its weak points.

Volkner called out to Luxray, and the electric type began to run. Fighting Lopunny up close was growing more and more difficult, especially when Drain Punch was keeping her somewhat healthy. Lopunny followed as best she could, but with the Electric Terrain fueling Luxray, he was able to outrun her. Spires collapsed and turned to rubble as Lopunny destroyed them in an attempt to hit Luxray.

"Thunder."

"Mirror Coat!"

A thin barrier surrounded Lopunny, but the Thunder was too powerful. It stabbed through like a hot knife through butter and hit Lopunny right in the chest before growing and overtaking her completely. The normal type shook off the pain—

She shook off the pain from a Thunder and Bounced into the air, creating a crater where she had just stood. A quicker Thunderbolt struck her this time, but her foot started to shimmer brighter than a Power-Up Kick and the move split the Thunderbolt apart as she rushed toward Luxray in a blur. In fact, she was so fast that—

Luxray's head slammed against the ground from the sheer force of the impact. Had she missed, Lopunny would have hurt even herself and possibly broken her leg. Since when had Denzel taken this much risk? And she wasn't done either. Lopunny quickly latched onto Luxray's throat and threw him headfirst into the ground. Teeth and blood fell out of his mouth as he roared in pain.

Volkner opted to let his first Pokemon fall and released his Eelektross instead. The electric type sized up Lopunny and his circular mouth twisted into a smile as he began to levitate through magnetism, out of Lopunny's reach. Denzel ordered her to use Bounce, and she did go even higher than I thought she could, but from that distance, Eelektross had ample time to react. He spat out a Sludge Bomb that melted Lopunny's fur and had her tumble back toward the floor. Eelektross let out a gleeful slurping sound and followed her. Electricity sparked to life around her slippery skin and she blurred toward Lopunny.

Denzel switched her out before Eelektross could get a hold of her. He didn't study as much as I did, but Craig had an Eelektross and I was sure he knew that once they latched onto a Pokemon, they would never let go or be pulled away unless they were contending with something like a Machamp, and even then their suction cups would tear apart the skin. The Electric Terrain strengthened and spread throughout the entire sky now that Eelektross was on the field, and he sped up as he zoomed across the sky, a torrent of electricity whirring around him.

Denzel sent out his Roserade as soon as noxious air began to grow out of Eelektross' mouth and filled the entire arena.

Electrified poison would have been awful for me to face, I thought to myself. But Roserade thrived in poison. The grass type somehow stared down at Eelektross even when he was above her, and Volkner struck first.

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Rain began to fall.

Rain, poison and electricity mixed into one. Denzel didn't lose his cool and ordered Roserade to use Toxic Spikes. Sharp shards of solidified poison were littered onto the field and began to float as Eelektross gathered a Thunder above her. It struck fast, beaming down from the sky with a deafening boom that blinded me. A Synthesis was already forming around Roserade and she aimed up, and Poison Cutter cut across Eelektross' flank. The electric type screeched, thrashing as the poison dug through his sleek skin.

"Sludge Wave!" Denzel yelled.

Poison mixed with the water falling on the ground, and Roserade brought her arms forward. The poison spun, becoming a typhoon that rose up and up, but Eelektross glided past it—

And cried out in agony when a glob of poison blurred from the whirlpool to his skin. It was Poison Cutter, but remote. Not only that, but the sheer amount of control Roserade had on it was incredible. She was seamlessly using Extrasensory to make the poison do as she pleased. Again, just like with Lopunny there was very little that was new. Everything was just better across the board.

Another three Thunders struck Roserade, but Volkner realized he wouldn't win a battle of attrition. The Electric Terrain and powered up Thunders would have beaten her a long time ago had she not been so efficient with Synthesis. Even through the poisoned fog, she could draw upon the little light that made it through and heal.

"Go in and take her down," Volkner said.

Had Eelektross gotten stuck in the poison tornado, he would have been stuck, but he wasn't. He spun around it, Roserade's poison still eating at his white flesh. Roserade's eyes returned to normal, and she swapped from Poison Cutter to Seed Bomb. Eelektross rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding an explosion—

Wait, they were detonating mid air. Eelektross tumbled through the air, landing in Roserade's poisoned lake. He let out a savage screech as electricity jumped at Roserade, traveling through the poison instantly. Eelektross crawled across the floor, half of his skin disintegrated and wrapped around Roserade like a vise. Half of his skin was gone, and that meant his suction cups too, so he bit her with a Thunder Fang instead and stayed there. Thunder after Thunder struck Roserade down with deafening roars, and more of his skin melted away from the poison as Synthesis sputtered in and out of use.

I stood at the edge of my seat until Roserade fell. Eelektross was a ferocious fighter who seemed to not even care about pain. I'd have to figure out ways to fight Pokemon like that too beyond just hitting them hard.

Denzel thanked Roserade for her help and sent out Milotic instead. The poison immediately started to hurt him, although his scales were tough enough not to dissolve. That ended when a series of green lights appeared around him and the poison cleared from the water around him and pushed away. Everywhere Milotic swam, the water was clearer than anything I'd ever seen, and it was deep enough for him to hide in now. I imagined that this was what the beaches on Alola Sunshine had told me about were like.

But the Electric Terrain was still hurting him, and he wouldn't be able to resist for long even through Recover.

"Thunder," Volkner called out.

Milotic immediately sang, and a bubble of water wrapped tightly around his scales, lifting him up from the poisoned sea. He was flying, I realized. A clumsy version of what Volkner had done with Lanturn. Even the poisoned fog was blowing away from him thanks to his Safeguard. The Thunder struck down into the sea, electrifying the entire thing, but that didn't matter when Milotic wasn't in it. A Thunderbolt this time, faster and quicker to activate. Milotic winced as it slammed into his chest.

The two Pokemon exchanged a few blows, but Eelektross was content to run away and attack with Thunderbolt now that he could safely be out of range of any attack. Neither Dragon Pulse nor Hydro Pump were quick enough to hit him at this distance, so Denzel opted for another strategy.

The poison rose from the sea again, this time aided by Twister. It was a beautiful way of using the terrain Roserade had left for Milotic, and unlike her, Milotic knew how to create a tornado without Extrasensory. The advantage of it being an actual move meant that it rose faster and engulfed Eelektross, who thrashed as the poison, draconic energy and water all assaulted him as one. Volkner smiled, and Eelektross fainted.

I didn't miss Denzel internally fanboying at the fact that he'd gotten a smile out of Volkner. The Electric Terrain subsided, as did the Rain Dance, and the Gym Leader sent out his Magnezone. It was basically Milotic's perfect counter. Immune to the poison that still clogged the air, resistant to all of his attacks and undisturbed by the calm, poisoned waters below. The Toxic Spikes tried to penetrate Magnezone's steel hull but had no effect. Milotic quickly used Recover before the steel type could strike, and a similar version of Electric Terrain again took to the field.

"Lock On and Thunders," Volkner said.

I gulped as Denzel narrowly recalled his Milotic before the two Thunders could strike him. Magnezone's gimmick was that he would nearly always hit and that he could use two attacks at once, one through each magnet. Denzel sent out his Froslass next, and the poisoned water immediately froze beneath her feet. A snowstorm kicked up immediately. Not a Blizzard, nor a Hail, but something in between that cloaked her everywhere she went. It didn't overtake the entire arena, but Denzel was on top of things already.

"Blizzard!"

The snowstorm instantly spread, and a Blizzard snapped into place. It wouldn't do much against Magnezone, but the key strategy was for him to never see Froslass. If he couldn't Lock On to her, then he wouldn't be able to actually beat her. I leaned back against my chair now that the fight was impossible to spectate. One of the thing I'd noticed beyond Denzel's basic but extremely useful improvements was that all of his Pokemon had learned to control their elements extremely well. He was well on the way to figuring out pure TE manipulation, which was something a trainer needed if they wanted to stand at the top. Electricity began to mix with the Blizzard, and I had no doubt it was striking at Froslass.

The entire audience eagerly awaited to glimpse at what lay beyond the Blizzard. And this one was constant. There were no breaks. No way to peak at what was going on, or even hear because of the howling winds. In a way, this was a double-edged sword. Denzel had no way of knowing what was going on either.

I squinted toward him and noticed his twitching fingers. Nervous? No, where was the foot tapping and the fist-clenching? A way of communicating? I couldn't really see a pattern, but maybe…

After three minutes, I knew he must have had a way of at least knowing Froslass was okay, because his face twisted in joy or worry at different intervals. Something to watch out for, I noted. Another minute passed, and the Blizzard finally started to subside, much to the audience's pleasure. No one liked a battle they couldn't see.

Magnezone lay on the ice that had formed from the lake, and Froslass huffed cold air. She was barely able to float any longer, and her usual elegant look had been replaced with a feral, hateful one. It had been a while since I'd seen her give into her ghostly side like that. Clones from Double Team dissolved around her.

Volkner retrieved his Magnezone and sent out his—

I clenched my hands around my seat when I saw Jolteon.

He was speed incarnate, even at the sixth badge level, and the one on Volkner's personal team was the fastest Pokemon in Sinnoh period. Electricity hummed through his spiky fur as he tested his foothold on the icy floor. The Toxic Spikes stabbed into the electric type, causing him to grunt, but he shook off the pain.

Froslass had no more energy for Double Team or Blizzard, but she still had tools to pull on. The ghost raised her arms, erecting two walls of ice that stretched next to Jolteon and slammed—

A flash of thunder, the crack of lightning, and Jolteon was already next to her. The electric type slammed into Froslass with something in between Volt Tackle and Wild Charge and Froslass immediately flew back, crashing into the barrier and fainting in less than a second.

Milotic was back next, and water immediately surrounded him. Denzel hoped to use his floating capabilities to avoid Jolteon's horrifying melee tactics, but the electric type had ways to strike from a distance too. There was a reason his Electric Terrain was weaker than all of the others and only powered up his speed and electric type moves. Just like the one on his personal team, Volkner had focused Jolteon on offense and speed. Not field control, no fancy tactics, just sheer brutality.

"Pin Missile and get up there," Volkner said.

"Dragon Pulse!" Denzel yelled.

Electricity coiled around Jolteon's needle-like fur, and dozens of electrified Pin Missiles flew out of his back.

The Dragon Pulse morphed into a Twister that sent the Pin Missiles off their mark, but Jolteon turned into electricity and in less than a second, Jolteon was on top of Milotic. A point-blank Thunderbolt shook the water type to his core, but Recover allowed him to bear through the worst of it. A Hydro Pump sent Jolteon crashing toward the icy floor, creating a small crater, but the electric type rose and—

A flash of lightning. He was up there again. It hadn't even been a second.

I saw a glimpse of panic slip in both Denzel and Milotic, and this time Jolteon bit through Milotic's water bubble with a Thunder Fang that pierced through his scales. Another Thunderbolt cooked Milotic, and he cried out in pain as he desperately tried to shake off the electric type.

Denzel barked out an order, and Milotic's water bubble dispersed. Milotic and Jolteon fell to the floor and Milotic crushed the electric type with his full weight upon impact. Jolteon snarled as he let loose a Thunder now that he had enough time to charge the attack. Milotic fanned his beautiful tail as draconic energy wrapped around it and he slammed Jolteon away, but the damage was already done.

Jolteon had been so ruthless that he'd easily torn through Milotic's regeneration, and the water type had fainted quicker than even I had expected, and suddenly Denzel wasn't in such a dominant position any longer. Sure, Jolteon had gotten hit and he was poisoned, but with how quickly he could finish each fight, did it really matter?

This was Volkner's test. What would Denzel do in the face of overwhelming offense?

My best friend released Sylveon next, and the fairy type curiously eyed Jolteon.

The battle between the two began, and it was easy to see that Sylveon had improved the least out of all of Denzel's Pokemon. I bit my lip as the fairy type resorted to the same old tricks. Sylveon managed to wrap ribbons around Jolteon's neck, but he turned into electricity and freed himself before ramming into Sylveon—

Whose glamour barrier collapsed in a mere five hits. And it hadn't even been Thunder.

Sylveon slammed a glowing paw on Jolteon's head and kicked him away with Play Rough, but this was a problem. It wasn't that Sylveon was weak, even though he had only improved slightly. It was that his belief was lacking.

And I knew why.

Jolteon was slowing, but that didn't matter when he could turn into pure electricity that instantly zipped around the arena. Sylveon fought back, of course, but Jolteon took him out.

Denzel was losing.

Lopunny was his last Pokemon, and she was healthy thanks to Drain Punch. She immediately flexed when her trainer told her that she was the last line of defense. Volkner recalled Jolteon, using his first switch of the battle and sent out Zebstrika instead. Another Pokemon with overwhelming speed and offense. A Rising Voltage immediately snapped into place and leaked through the ice.

The electric type was slower than Jolteon, but she was faster than anything Lopunny could hope to achieve at her level. Zebstrika rammed into the normal type at full speed with a Wild Charge, but Lopunny stood her ground. Her feet dug into the ice, her ears blocked the worst of the attack and she immediately countered with a combined Drain and Power Up Punch to Zebstrika's neck.

Zebstrika neighed, rising on her hind legs, and she kicked Lopunny in the head— but the normal type twisted, dodging the attack by a hair as she bent backwards. Her ears wrapped around Zebstrika's feet and she slammed her face-first against the ice, ignoring the raging Thunderbolts as she punched her with another Drain Punch.

Lopunny was keeping Zebstrika close enough to regenerate but blocking or dodging most attacks, and it was working.

If she could sustain herself enough…

Lopunny cried out as Zebstrike kicked her in the thigh and her leg buckled, but before another kick could get her in the head, a point-blank Shadow Ball struck at Zebstrika's flank, leaving her an opening to regain the advantage. The fighting was so simple and yet so brutal.

But the tides turned when Lopunny let loose a flurry of punches that finished off Zebstrika. She thrived in long fights, and she was stronger now than she'd been thanks to Power-Up Punch. Every inch of her body was bulging muscle, and she looked like she'd grown a few inches.

Lopunny stood victorious over Zebstrika's body and wheezed. She was bruised, battered, burned, but not defeated.

Next came Jolteon. Had he been at full strength, the battle wouldn't even have been close, but it was. There was no way to duck out of Jolteon's way like Zebstrika, but Lopunny always punched back for every hit she suffered. The battle did not end with some grand technique. Both Pokemon were too tired to even hope to use anything but the simplest moves. Elemental Punches, Thunder Fang, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack… it was a slugfest.

It ended with a simple Fire Punch.

Lopunny raised a fist and screamed.

Denzel had won by a hair.

—

Beyond the usual celebration, I was the only one who knew Sylveon well enough to understand that there was a difference between a disappointing performance and a psychological block. Sylveon couldn't even bring himself to pull on glamour any longer. When our friends cleared the way and Denzel got his team back to the Center, I pulled him away to speak.

"Listen. When your team is healed, we need to speak to Sylveon. Both you and I."

My friend clenched a fist, but he nodded. He knew Sylveon better than all.

"He was doing well when we trained with Craig, but he completely collapsed during the actual fight. I don't…"

Denzel sighed. He couldn't even finish the sentence.

"He was doing well during training because you hung out with him more than Emi and Pauline," I explained. "You have to talk to him about this. And yes, before you panic—"

"You know?"

"I do know," I nodded. I wasn't about to throw Lopunny to the wolves, though. "I'm sorry, but Sylveon needs an intervention. Did you even talk to him about it at length?"

"I didn't."

"We can come to an understanding. I'll just be here to mediate and make it easier for you to understand him and your team. You need to speak. All of you. Ignoring the problem will only make it worse. Sylveon's a lot more sad than he looks."

"Okay," he exhaled. "We'll do it."

"Three days," I nodded.

Three days for his Pokemon to get healed.

—

Flight School had finally ended, and I already had ten pages of notes. It felt weird to be in a school-like environment after so long, but so long as it had to do with Pokemon, I had no problem paying attention. I hummed as I walked across Sunyshore's streets and decided to go out and train Princess again, since Mira's Gym Battle was over anyway.

"I wonder what the score was," I mused as I grabbed my phone.

The score was 4-5 in Volkner's favor.

Mira had lost.