CHAPTER 243

The blackout had barely been a blip on people's radar thanks to its short length. The next day, no one was talking about it, or at least no one online. I was starting to browse Chatter a lot more to get accustomed to something other than the forums for social media, and it wasn't even a trending topic any longer. It was hard to be more popular than current political happenings, and part of me was glad it was out of public consciousness so quickly. A day had passed since Honey's evolution, and other than telling my team about it, I hadn't spoken to anyone else. He'd stuck around in his Pokeball the entire time since releasing him in my room would be a disaster in the making.

"A day should be enough, right?" I whispered to myself as I browsed my phone.

Press Conferences from Leon with Macro Cosmos' CEO— who was also the League's Chairman— by his side, Clarence Obel restarting his duties in Unova and meeting with the Elite Four—

"Gah! I want Sinnohan stuff!" I groaned, scrolling past the headlines.

Economic news— Melody had already filled my head with those. The board was bracing itself for the worst, and they were not happy with Sinnoh's closeness with Kanto-Johto. They were apparently the antithesis of a free market, and Poketch had only risen to prominence when Cynthia opened the country up. Before she rose to power, Sinnoh was kind of in between the more liberal Hoenn and the draconian KJ government… a mixed economy was the correct term.

"Learning things not related to Pokemon battling is hard," I sighed. "Enough politics for now."

I had barely managed to sleep last night due to all of the anticipation I had built up. How could I not? Honey was in his new form, and I couldn't even do some limit testing. Asking a trainer to have some patience when a new evolution had just come to pass was like asking them not to breathe. Eventually, they would have to do so or they would pass out. For some reason, I sneakily left my room as if that made a difference. It wasn't like anyone could see Honey through his Pokeball.

Unfortunately though, Mira had taken her loss to heart and was getting wrung dry by Chase and Lauren in some new training regiment. Her Porygon was lagging way behind the rest of her team, and even though Haunter was no longer the murderous, blood-thirsty ghost he had been, he still lacked discipline in fights and liked to do whatever he wanted most of the time instead of listening to her.

Anyway, the point was that there was no way she'd let me waste Gardevoir or Alakazam's energy on Teleporting me away.

I hummed, reaching the Pokemon Center's lobby. The mood wasn't grim, but it was a lot more quiet than usual. Worried whispers about trainers' parents possibly losing their jobs, or being unable to pay mortgages, rising prices… trainer supplies would be relatively secure, but everything else was going to get worse very soon. Possibly by the time we got to Pastoria. The entire group was planning on leaving soon— although Louis, Justin and Maeve were going to leave today.

Denzel, Emilia and Pauline would stick together once again, and I assumed Sylveon would try to be a lot more involved. Chase, Mira, Cecilia and I would travel together to Pastoria too, while Lauren would stay on her own (mostly due to preference), so the groups were the exact same save for Justin. Very little of the groups that had formed today would actually matter in the long run, however. We weren't planning on staying in Pastoria for as long as we had in other cities, and everything would change as soon as we all beat Wake.

Some of us like Chase and I would leave on our own, but new groups would form and old groups would fragment. For some of us, it would need to be a desperate sprint to the finish while for others, it would be the final stretch. The year was coming to an end, I mused to myself. A strange thought to have when it was still March.

Since Mira's Pokemon weren't available, I figured I'd try to see Jasmine again. I quickly hopped on a bus and left for the Gym, and when I asked for her, one of the Gym Trainers called her over. It had been a while since I saw her, and she looked a lot better than she had before cutting alcohol out of her life. She offered me a bright smile and waved, reminding me of the first time we'd met on that beach.

"Jasmine, you look so good!" I exclaimed. "Your skin is brighter somehow."

"I do have better skin," she smirked. "Why don't we go somewhere we can speak in private? Metagross can bring us to route 205."

"Oh, that would be perfect," I said.

The psychic was released in the middle of the lobby, jump scaring many of the trainers there, and they walked out of the huge, sliding doors to Teleport us to the same mountain Craig and Jasmine had battled in— as well as where we used to train almost every day. We weren't at the summit, though.

"Congratulations on Honey's evolution. It's obvious the blackouts had something to do with it, but I promised Volkner to stay quiet."

"Thanks. I guess it's easy to tell if you had prior context that I was going to evolve him," I said.

"I still don't know the exact mechanics behind it, so it's technically still secret," the Gym Leader shrugged. "Let's have him show off, shall we?"

"Uh, can you put up some barriers, Metagross? Honey's still going to be unstable—"

Already done, they said. They've been there since we appeared.

"What?!" I scoffed, holding a hand out. The cold, invisible wall was indeed here. "Damn, you're fast."

It would be shameful if we were not.

I grabbed Honey's Pokeball and held it within my palm for a moment as I stared at it. I opted to release the rest of my team first— all of them within the constraints of the barrier except for Sweetheart since she was immune. Sunshine wouldn't be hurt too badly, but I didn't want him to feel pain for no reason. Princess nearly knocked her head on the barrier's ceiling before I called out to her. She'd become as addicted to flying as I was.

"We're going to see Honey for the first time," I warned. "Remember what I said? That he's still going to be dangerous to be around for a while?"

They all grunted or nodded. I had been the most worried about Angel. I felt like he would have hugged Honey without giving it a second thought, so Metagross' barrier was welcome. In fact, he was rubbing the steel type's head right now, much to their annoyance. A psychic cut sliced all of the vines making contact, and Angel blinked.

"So it sucks, but we'll have to stay far away for now. I don't even think Princess' barriers would be enough… we'll have to wait it out."

The fairy grumbled, but she knew I wasn't lying. Honey was still supercharged, and I didn't want to risk any accidents. I released the electric type in the distance— around twenty feet away, since there was less to worry about with Metagross here. Jasmine grinned as Honey stared at his hands, and then at us. Sweetheart excitedly crawled toward him and bumped her head against his shoulder now that he was taller again. Electricity crackled all around Honey, some of it reaching even us, but Metagross' barrier didn't even tremble. The rest of the team greeted him as loud as they could, and he grinned, exposing his flattened teeth. It felt odd to see him without his fangs, but I would get used to it.

"So tall already!" Jasmine exclaimed.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

He hesitated to answer but finally settled on better. He was still extremely tired, and his body felt like he'd just finished working out or coming out of an intense fight, but worse than that.

"Let's keep the limit testing for another time, then," I said. "For now, why don't you just try walking around? Get yourself accustomed to your new body."

Princess agreed, but couldn't help but add that he was lucky it would be far easier than what she'd needed to do to learn to deal with her new form, and Angel shook his entire body. He reminded her that Honey's evolution had been extremely painful and that now wasn't the time for that by signing with his vines.

Angel might have been… well, Angel, but his compassion was second to none. Togekiss quickly apologized, but Honey told her it was okay. The electric type hesitantly raised a foot, sending sparks of electricity everywhere. They were so powerful that they created fissures on the floor, and stones levitated around him without him even being conscious of it. Honey took a step—

And blurred forward, leaving a trail of electricity until he slammed his entire body into the mountain's slope. Along with the crash came an explosion of electricity that worsened the impact, and a huge crater formed in the wall. It was a deep hole at its center, and tiny cracks at its edges, like a spider's web, but a lot less even.

"Honey! Are you okay!?" I yelled, feeling my stomach drop.

Sweetheart flew over to him, and her propulsion cleared away most of the dust. Electivire was pulling himself out of the crater with much difficulty. He pulled out his arm and let out an exhausted sigh.

"Okay, just don't move!" I yelled. I recalled him and released him close to us again.

He couldn't even walk without going uncontrollably quickly.

"Fascinating," Jasmine muttered. "I'm sure Surge would love seeing this."

"From the stories you told us about him, I don't want to be anywhere near Surge," I sighed. "Okay, try sitting!"

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Honey plopped himself on the ground as slowly as he could, carefully supporting himself with a hand. When he moved his other one, a giant beam of electricity flew at us, but Metagross' barrier absorbed it without flinching. Every time, Honey kept apologizing.

"You'll be back to normal soon," I reassured. "Just relax for now, okay? Jasmine said she had some advice for you!"

My mentor crossed her arms. "I never said that. I said the advice was for you, not for him. I'm sure he'll figure things out. Maybe mortally wound a few Pokemon and children along the way."

"Not funny, Jasmine," I rolled my eyes. "For me, though?"

"Yes," Jasmine smiled, vaulting herself on Metagross' head.

Your bottom on our head is quite uncomfortable.

Jasmine laughed, patting the psychic on the head. "Sorry, it won't be for long. Now, Grace. You've obtained two evolutions in Sunyshore, and pivotal ones at that. The only Pokemon that you have left is Pupitar—"

The rock type clamored, her true body shaking in her cocoon.

"The power you wield is not yet great, but it is more than most will ever get to use in their lifetime. So the question remains, what will you do with it? Beyond the competition between you and your friends, the Conference, and your badges."

"Uh…"

"Me, for example? Before coming to Sinnoh, I used it to rule Olivine and protect my community. Most Gym Leaders will say similar things if you discount the fakes in the West," she snorted. "You want to battle every Champion, do you not? That is… admirable. But that is a child's dream. I am asking for something real."

"It's not a child's dream," I frowned. "It is real."

"Forgive me, then. I am asking for something that you can at least grasp."

"Well it's not like I haven't thought about it before," I muttered. My legs shuffled, and I shifted in place. "It's kind of lofty, though. I don't know if you'd say I could grasp it quite yet."

"If it's close enough," she shrugged.

"The picture isn't all clear yet, but I want to help wild Pokemon… uh, protect them from human encroachment, give them better rights. I also want to help owned Pokemon too, to prevent abuse and stuff like that. I know you'd disagree, but that's what I want."

"I will admit, I care more for human advancement than wild Pokemon, but we can just chalk that up to priorities. Either way, you know that you can't do that by being a social shut-in, right?"

I flinched back, and Princess protested while Angel soothed me with a vine. Buddy and Sunshine stayed silent.

"Harsh words, I know," Jasmine said. "But given that you want to go to Unova despite my warnings, you'll need to. Everything is politics there, Grace. You can't change laws in Unova because you have the bigger stick, and hell, you won't even have that. You need to actively work toward your goal, chip at it for a long time until something gives, and that means getting to be more outgoing."

"I, uh, did consider that."

"You'll have to be a public figure. Nuh-uh, don't look at me like that. You aren't a public figure at the moment. Not a proper one, anyway. Want to change laws in Unova? You have to play politics. Speak to politicians, give speeches, engage with local governments, make connections… and that's only on the human side of things."

I gulped.

"Overwhelming, isn't it?" She smiled.

"Cece was already talking about doing all of that months ago," I muttered. "I thought I wouldn't have to, or at least not that much. We have different goals, but the avenues are similar."

"Dreams are nice," Jasmine shrugged. "But you need blood, sweat and tears to make them come true. You think it'll be easy? That Unova— one of the most urbanized regions in the entire world will just play nice and let you change their laws without you gathering any kind of support? Without speaking your cause? Of course not. It'll be procedure, procedure, procedure until you want to kill all of them."

"So what should I do, then?" I asked.

"Why don't you start by not being a shut-in outside of your friend group?" she chuckled. "On a more serious note, meet like-minded people. Get to know the progress and the fighting that has been made toward your goal by others. You aren't the first one to have this goal, and you won't be the last."

My mind flashed back to Mallory, who I had spoken to during the interview with SGNC. I didn't care for her, but she had said that she'd been to multiple protests, so Jasmine was correct. There were probably plenty of groups in Sinnoh and Unova that were the same. It was unfortunate that this Plasma organization seemed so extreme. It could have interested me otherwise.

Jasmine continued. "You don't change society by being passive, Grace, and as it stands, you're a passive individual. You have to be proactive— and you are. Just for Pokemon battling and training instead of everything else."

"I understand," I nodded. "I'll try to look into some in Pastoria. It's a pretty small city, but there's bound to be something."

Granted, I'd have to ask Poketch, but they were quite preoccupied at the moment and with how I'd basically been the perfect sponsee during my stay in Sunyshore, I had a lot of leeway so long as the group wasn't extreme.

"Good," Jasmine smiled, hopping off Metagross. "Another warning. If these tensions are anything to go by and they keep rising, there'll be a stigma against Sinnohans when you get there, especially for one seen speaking with Cynthia on multiple occasions. Clarence Obel coming back might put a pin on things for a little while, but this didn't happen for no reason. The powers behind the Champion wanted this, and they won't change their mind."

"Oh, I knew that already," I said. "Cecilia told me. I don't think it'll be that bad with the general public, though."

"You underestimate the power of propaganda. Indigo is no stranger to it, but Unova uses it in more subtle ways. Now that we got the heavy topics out of the way, let's get back to Honey, shall we?"

Honey's antennae twitched when he heard his name.

"You were a wonderful student," Jasmine started. "One of the hardest workers I've had the pleasure of working with. Amphy, Electrode and Magnezone will miss you, but all good things must come to an end."

My teacher released the three Pokemon. Ampharos' tail swayed from side to side, knocking on Metagross' leg as she excitedly stared at Honey. Electrode's permanent saddened expression turned into his species' usual grin. Magnezone's magnets twirled, and he beeped above Electivire. It was their first time seeing him after his evolution too.

"We will miss you all."

My throat suddenly dried, and I wiped my eyes. "We'll miss you too."

Jasmine hugged me. "I'll be cheering for you at the Conference. Put everything I've taught you to good use and sharpen yourself. There is potential within you."

"Hmhm. And I'll remember the Rapier of Olivine," I sniffled.

"I've already willed the nickname into existence," she chuckled. "Now, let us bring you back home."

—

We decided to all get lunch together before Louis, Maeve and Justin left together. The entire ordeal ended up being very fun, even if most of it ended up having us asking Justin ridiculous questions and him coming up with answers so factual they ended up being ridiculous. We sent them off on route 222 and waved until they were dots on the horizon. Louis was somewhat apologetic that he didn't have a flier, so Maeve and Justin would have to walk with him and hold themselves back, but they'd made their choice.

Or Maeve had made her choice. Justin had signed a contract.

The next few hours were a flurry of packing and making sure we weren't forgetting anything. Stocking up on potions, just in case, buying food and supplies for the road. At least it was relatively hot now, so traveling would get a lot less cumbersome. My hands brushed over the three Hyper Potions that remained in my bag from Craig, and I thought back to the Darkest Day. Without those… half of Princess' throat, ripped out in a semi-circle. Almost all of Sweetheart's scales, gone and her flesh torn asunder, her small frame bleeding out in the darkness.

"I need to get myself some as soon as I get my paycheck," I whispered to myself. "Having at least six at all times would be nice."

One for each member of the family, in case they were ever mortally wounded. Still, even Hyper Potions had their limits. Full Restores were almost considered magic. They were restricted technology only available to the League. They were a lot more expensive than potions— a lot more. Up to twenty-thousand per Hyper Potion compared to the thousand that their less-effective model cost.

"Sculpture of me, check. Books… check. Arceus, I need a bigger bag."

A few minutes later, a knock sounded at my door. Cecilia. I quickly made sure my phone was charging and went to let her in.

"Is it time already?" I asked.

"Erin's waiting downstairs," she nodded.

We made our way to the lobby, and Cecilia's eyes widened when she saw Erin. The tall girl was already tearing up, and it wasn't even tomorrow yet.

"She was fine when I left to get you," Cecilia muttered. "Erin."

"Y—yeah? I just got something in my eye— both my eyes."

"It's okay to cry," I said. "I feel like crying too."

"I can't believe you guys are leaving already," she cried. "I always knew you'd leave, but in my head, I guess it was like… I guess I thought I had more time."

"You'll be fine," Cecilia said. "You've always been good at running New Wave. Now you just have the muscle to do it. And a badge!"

"And you have our numbers," I added. "It's not like we're never going to talk again. We can call all the time!"

"Yeah," she sniffed. "The compulsive part of me wanted to come with, but I know I'd just slow you all down. Plus, the club would flounder like a Magikarp without me."

"So you're stopping at one badge?" I asked.

"I'll try to go for two by the end of the year if I train up Sandy enough to run things while I'm gone."

"I'm sure you'll get it," I smiled.

"You two changed my life… I'm not sure you realize it," she sniffled. "Next year, I'll try to go on a journey. A real journey, even past Mount Coronet and into the west of Sinnoh. I'll have to convince my mom, but—"

"Oh, Erin, that's so wonderful!" Cecilia exclaimed. "We'll be rooting for you!"

Erin smiled, letting out a sad chuckle. "Thanks. I'll try to go for as many badges as I can, and maybe spread New Wave's wings beyond Sunyshore."

"Just try your best," I said. "As long as you do that, you'll feel fulfilled, win or lose. I promise you that."

"Of course."

"And call before you get into Mount Coronet or Eterna Forest!" I warned. "We'll have plenty of tips to give you."

Erin blanched and cleared her throat.

"Don't get cold feet now," I laughed. "You'll be stronger than we were when you enter. You'll be able to handle it."

"Or maybe I'll have a flier to skip both. A ton of flying types share the normal type too," the girl stammered. "Um, are you two still busy, or… could we hang out one last time? My mom made some cookies at my house for you, and you can stay for dinner too."

"Really?!" I yelled. "I'm done packing. Cece?"

"I'm done as well," she nodded. "Let's be on our way, then."

—

We all ended up crying when we told Erin goodbye for the final time. Her mother had practically attempted to kidnap us to get us to stick around longer, but we really had to go if we wanted to wake up early tomorrow. A good night's sleep was essential to traveling quickly, and we all wanted to get to Pastoria quickly, all for different reasons. Chase had floated the idea of 'getting a seventh Pokemon' for his team, although he had no idea which one. He thought the Safari Zone would be a perfect opportunity to find another Pokemon with enough drive to be on his team. Cecilia obviously wanted to find her sixth Pokemon and start training them as soon as possible as well. Mira, meanwhile, had heard of someone in Pastoria capable of upgrading her Porygon, which was something she claimed was impossible to teach herself.

We woke up the next day at the crack of dawn and rode a bus to the gate. Denzel, Emilia and Pauline would leave later, and so would Lauren. She was in one of her phases where inspiration had struck, and she would only focus on creating a new move until it failed and she gave up, or she succeeded.

The sky was as clear as it could be without a single cloud in sight. The sun bore down on my skin, and Princess raced through the air as fast as she could, desperately trying to keep up with Cece's Talonflame, who was tutoring her in manipulating flying TE. Slowking spoke to Alakazam, who rolled his eyes and facepalmed with an audible groan. Lucario strode next to Chase, and Houndoom rubbed his horns against his trainer's legs. Route 222 was full of trainers, but they would slowly filter out the further we got.

"Should we swing by the hotel again to check on Sergei?" I asked.

Chase groaned and threatened to fly to Pastoria instead of walking if I ever suggested wasting more time. It was true that we could potentially get him in trouble by being there, so I shrugged and agreed.

Maybe I'd tell Erin about him. It'd be nice if they could journey together. He was fourteen and planning on running away the next year.

Well, I'd try to put them in contact.

The endless road stretched in front of us, and the wind was at our backs. Our legs felt light, and we were content to stay silent for the time being. It would take six days to get to our destination— five if we were fast enough.

Pastoria City awaited us.