CHAPTER 268 - Remember

I buried any remaining doubts I had about my plan as Princess rushed toward Lake Verity. Tyranitar were rare enough not to have that much research done on them, but there were still people with the Pokemon outside of Sinnoh, most notably Brock, a Gym Leader in Kanto. He had, however, stayed tight-lipped about anything regarding his Tyranitar's evolution. It was actually Grimsley from the Unovan Elite Four, a dark type specialist, who had gone extensively over what triggered the rage within Tyranitar when they evolved. Unova actually had the largest number of people owning a Tyranitar at a whopping five if you counted Grimsley. The reason they were so difficult to catch was that first, normally a trainer would need to go deep into an incredibly dangerous mountain, like Mount Silver or Coronet, and even if they did, Larvitar were always protected by a mother. Pupitar, meanwhile, were usually buried somewhere deep underground to escape predators (although they almost never reached their final stages due to how common burrowing Pokemon like the Onix line found them), while Tyranitar were, well, Tyranitar, and they had so few children throughout their lives that breeders couldn't exactly work with them.

Good luck forcing two Tyranitar— which is a big ask in the first place— to breed if they didn't want to. I had a bone to pick with breeders in general, but that would come far later. I had to fix my own issues before looking outward again.

But I was getting off-track. Their issues essentially had to do with them gaining a new typing and being overwhelmed by it so much that a rampage was the result. Months ago, Roland Hunter had told me that dark TE was absence, and that was true, in the way he knew it. All of his life, he had only known Shiftry, and so it had molded his understanding of the energy. At its core, he had been right, but Sweetheart was no Shiftry. She would have no mastery of the dark, and so emotions would swell inside of her uncontrollably.

It was often said that it was anger, that pushed a Tyranitar to be violent after their evolutions, but that was wrong. It was fear. So many feelings surging to the forefront of their minds confused them too much to think, and that led to them being terrified. Combine that with having to learn how to stand on two feet again and having built up massive amounts of stress because of their final molt, and the picture became a lot clearer.

"I think it was around here somewhere," I muttered to Princess. "Keep flying northwest, I can feel the pull there."

My usual ACE Trainers were on break, although it would end very soon, and my new ones were even more elusive than them and had refused to show themselves even once. I had thought that they'd show me where the lake was, but then again, last time they'd tried to see if Chase and Cece could feel Valor for a while. Maybe they wanted to see if things were different, since I wasn't splitting my power with anyone.

And it was different. I could feel the pull closer, now, but before I could get any further, someone on a relatively small Pidgeot just appeared around five hundred feet in front of me. I told Princess to stop and wait for them… him to approach. When he saw who I was, his face instantly went from combative to understanding.

"Grace Pastel, right?" he called out. "My Commander said you'd be coming soon."

It took a second to realize that Commander was a League term and not just something Team Galactic slung around. They had probably pulled the term from there, thinking about it.

"That's me!" I yelled, remembering that no, most League Trainers still had no idea about the Legendaries in the lakes or why the hell their bosses were letting us in these fortified areas. I'd been about to say I wasn't here to meet Mesprit yet.

"Let's see some ID, just to be sure."

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes at the procedure as he got closer to Princess and pulled out my card from my wallet. Once that was done, he led me deeper above the forest. Just like Valor and Acuity, Verity was off-route. I held back a surprised gasp when four minutes later, I passed through a thin veil and the lake just revealed itself to me. Right, the League camouflages them with some kind of mass illusionary technique and turns back anyone before they can get close enough to see the illusion break. The entire lake was been surrounded by massive, dark walls, just like the other one, but this time I was allowed to fly over them instead of having to be identified at a gate. This one was a little bigger than the other two, if I remembered correctly. In a way, it felt odd to be back at the location of such a pivotal moment in my life. I'd met Cyrus here, and I'd nearly died. There was no anxiety, however. As soon as I had crossed the threshold, my body started to loosen and a gentle calm wrapped around me. It was like lying down and being covered by a warm blanket— just so comfortable. My worries about Sweetheart didn't wash away, but they weren't as debilitating.

This place was basically a small town, and there were far more people here than in Twinleaf, even. Rows and rows of dark barracks had been raised, and Sinnoh's flag flew everywhere. We landed beside the largest building, next to a couple of trucks driving on the asphalt road and carrying cargo. The last time I'd been in one of these, I'd been weaker than basically every League Trainer stationed here. Today? I could say with confidence I was on the upper end of that spectrum.

The base's headquarters was a formidable building. It stood as a sentinel of authority and command. Its facade, an unyielding monolith of reinforced concrete and steel, exuded an aura of invincibility. Massive, blast-resistant walls rose several stories high, giving the impression of an impenetrable fortress. Pokemon Centers were made of the same stuff, but the paint jobs and garnish made it hard to link the two.

The building's architectural design was a model of utilitarian efficiency. Sharp, clean lines characterized the structure, eschewing any form of unnecessary ornamentation. A symmetrical layout conveyed a sense of wrongness, with how neatly everything had been arranged. Rows of small, high-set windows, almost like narrow slits, adorned the upper levels, while a few larger windows on the lower floors allowed for essential natural light to filter inside.

The League Trainer led me inside, and I was glad to see that I wasn't the center of attention aside from passing glances. Most of them had work to do and wouldn't gawk at me like people had outside of Twinleaf. After a twenty-minute wait, the Commander was ready for me. I walked as quickly as I could with my crutch as I let the calm spread through me. Every lake had had just an intoxicating effect on the mind, it was really difficult not to get caught up in this feeling. By the time I snapped back to reality, we were already in front of the Commander in a tight room blasting with cold air conditioning. She was younger than I thought she'd be, but the League fostered talent over experience or age. A thin scar ran out the corner of her eye— almost like Louis' own scar— but other than that, she was as good as new. She donned short auburn hair and a classic military uniform.

What did surprise me was Aliyah's presence, along with her Chimecho hanging around her neck like a scarf. We'd had a nice session earlier this morning going over the basis of what I wanted for myself, so I hadn't expected to see her until tomorrow. Before I could even say something, she raised a hand and spoke.

"I currently live here, and Bethany decided it would be wise for me to be present," Aliyah explained. "Personally, I did not believe it to be necessary."

Bethany's her name, then. Bethany shot Aliyah a glare that was so fast I could have blinked and missed it. The League Trainer who accompanied me saluted and left the room, closing the door.

"Since you're here," Bethany grumbled, waving a hand dismissively at Aliyah.

Chimecho's eyes gleamed, and seven chimes rang out, just like before both of our sessions so far, so I assumed no one would be able to eavesdrop.

"You're here to meet Guardian One, then?" Bethany asked, turning to me.

It took me a bit to understand why she was so… displeased with me. Maybe displeased was the wrong word, but she certainly wasn't nice, which was fine. I hadn't expected to be coddled. Bethany was a Commander in the League, which meant she'd probably read everything about the raid. She was… unsettled about me. Was that why she'd wanted Aliyah to be here? The report certainly didn't make me look good, and I knew it was only a matter of time until the Gym Leaders got access to it. Gardenia wasn't a friend, but I had hoped to see her one day and connect with her. Candice was going to think I was insane, but not in a good way. She was going to despise me.

Don't think about it yet, I told myself. Let the lake flow through you.

"Not today, no," I said when I saw her stare grow worried. I'd been taking too much time to answer and just staring. "Also, Guardian One?"

"Can't say the Guardian's name out loud without going wild here," she explained. "The effect depends on the day, really. Sometimes it's just a burning feeling in the throat, other times the calm feeling you get turns into sorrow, anger, melancholy, anxiety— just, negative emotions for up to a week, so the people who know about its existence call it Guardian One."

Azelf and Uxie's official denomination was probably Guardian Two and Guardian Three or vice versa, then.

"It wasn't like that in the other lakes," I said.

"I know it wasn't," she deadpanned. "And it's not like that in Acuity either. This one's capricious."

Arceus fucking damn it, that did not bode well for me. Good thing I wasn't touching the lake until the day I was leaving. Honey had been right when he'd warned me off.

"Well, I'm not here to meet… Guardian One yet," I said, ignoring her sigh. "I have a Tyranitar who just evolved, and I'd like to use the lake's calming effect to aid in her adjustment."

Bethany raised an eyebrow. "We heard reports of people having heard some kind of roar around here and the wildlife having grown agitated. I had no idea it was you."

"There are reports already?" I scoffed.

"Young trainers from Sandgem like to travel the wilds around Twinleaf," she dismissed. "But to answer your request, I would be willing to accept so long as your needs aren't too extravagant. I can extend the help of a few of my trainers—"

"No trainers," I interrupted. "Just me."

She paused, and reevaluated the entire conversation in an instant. She'd probably thought I'd ask for too much instead of nothing. "Well, supposedly you have ACEs guarding you, so that's alright. We'll still have trainers on the ready to intervene, however. You're too important to be risked."

"I guess I can work with that."

I shot a look at Aliyah. See, compromise. That was progress, right? And I hadn't even gotten angry at her tone even in passing.

That was probably because I had other things to worry about and thanks to the lake, but still.

"We'll clear you an area," she said. "You'll just have to wait a while."

—

It was perfect.

There was a long stretch of land with no League personnel to be seen, and no infrastructure save for the wall around half a mile away. They had made me wait around an hour to clear the space for me, so no one would be coming here until I told them I was done dealing with Tyranitar. The lake's shores were just around fifteen feet away and I had to physically stop myself from plunging into it. It was like the pull of gravity, or someone tugging at my arm. Cecilia and Chase hadn't described the pull to be that strong. Was it because their power had been split, or because Mesprit was more enthusiastic about me? Perhaps it was both, but I wouldn't be touching the lake's surface today. I hovered above the ground on Princess as she kept a barrier around us. My Pokemon all had their positions, and I'd told them the entire plan while we had waited for the League to give me the okay.

Two things were most important. One, this was not going to be a battle with the goal of taking down Sweetheart. We needed to calm her down, which meant buying time until she got adjusted to the changes in her body. Angel and Honey would be of great use there, with powder moves and using Static to slow her down. In a way, we were going at this like we'd battled Sunshine in Mount Coronet, really. Buddy's Will-O-Wisp wasn't going to be used here because it would actually hurt her and possibly anger her further, but he was going to use the water from the lake to slow her down some with his new skills with TE manipulation.

Surely using water from a Legendary's domain wasn't blasphemous or anything.

Sunshine would stay in the back and be support, but he wouldn't be of much use here, unfortunately, save for giving Tyranitar words of support, and Mudsdale would stay even further back in order not to fight. I had asked the ground type if he wanted to stay in his Pokeball for this, but he'd said he wanted to be here to watch, at the very least.

The second important thing was that if this didn't work, well, I could just recall her and try again. The goal of this fight was to last as long as possible so Sweetheart could grow used to the swirling emotions in her body.

"Is everyone ready?!" I called out.

Affirming grunts rang out below, and I knew they all were.

I moistened my lips and released Sweetheart in front of Angel and Honey. Immediately, sand started to spin around her and spread as she let loose a bone shaking roar. The rock type stumbled as she tried to take a step, having not grown used to walking again, and that was the opening Angel needed. A dozen vines shot forward, blurring until they slammed onto Tyranitar's thick plates in an attempt to slow her. Buddy's eyes shone red and water crawled all over Sweetheart before solidifying into frost and ice and dulling her movements, but that didn't stop the sand from gushing out of her vents.

Jagged stones shot out of the ground, each one taller and thicker than I was, and Sweetheart hurled them toward Honey as the electric type blurred around her to find an opening. They buried themselves into the ground at an angle and kicked up more dirt, while some fell into the lake. Tyranitar grabbed onto Angel's vines and tore them apart with a single hand, pulling him forward in the process. Puffs of spores emanated from the torn-up vines, but we'd need much more to have a visible effect.

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Tyranitar stared into the sky and her eyes narrowed at Princess and I. I gulped as she redirected the tons of sand toward us and she obstructed my view. Princess' barrier shimmered with the impact of the sandstorm. The move was more like a Hurricane than anything else. The fairy type gained in altitude with a burst of air, but the entire area was full of sand, now. For a second, the sandstorm staggered, and the sound of earth being ripped out made it through the deafening sandstorm.

"Fairy Wind. We need to see what's going on!" I yelled.

Togekiss flapped her wings, and pink mist countered the sandstorm somewhat and allowed me to see that Honey was holding onto a bleeding shoulder. Electricity crackled around him as he sped up with Radiant Leap and placed a hand on the enormous rock type's back. Tangrowth wrapped vines around her tail before she could hit him, and electricity spread through her. Good thing she lost that ground typing, I told myself.

Where was Buddy? My eyes scanned the battlefield until I spotted pieces of him scattered around. Damn it.

"Sweetheart!" I yelled. "It's me! Grace—"

The only thing my voice did was have her remember that I was still here, and darkness gathered around her mouth. A pit formed in my stomach as I screamed at Princess to dodge. Rings of darkness interlocked with each other until they shot out toward us. They were slow, thank the Legendaries, but they still grazed against Princess' barrier and shattered it. I coughed as sand filled my throat, lungs, and eyes— fuck, it hurt. I fell limp to the side, but I was strapped in tight. Togekiss quickly put a barrier back up and I took in a deep, raspy breath before coughing up sand as I set myself straight on her back. The sandstorm was dispersing Angel's spores too, damn it. Luckily we'd been high and quick enough to avoid my breathing any in.

Suddenly, the entire area began to shake, rumbling with something akin to a Stomping Tantrum but stronger, and Honey put up a Protect to keep himself from getting too hurt. Angel and Sunshine, meanwhile, took the full brunt of the attack. The earthquake kicked up earth and rocks so high into the sky that it was hard to believe I was flying a hundred feet above the ground. Princess dodged them all, of course, but the sheer speed of them shattered any doubts I had that the barrier wouldn't have broken in one impact. Jagged rocks stood up like spikes and the ground grew uneven.

I clenched my teeth and ordered Princess to go higher. We couldn't afford to get caught by that dark type move again. Looked like Dark Pulse, I quickly noted. I hadn't expected Sweetheart to have already been able to pull on dark TE right after evolving, even if it was clumsy. Buddy had been reforming too slowly for my taste and had probably been hit by one of those, but he was back in form. Water coiled around the ghost and Shades materialized around him. A new trick we'd learned was that the shades could help him be more efficient with manipulating water, and a thin layer of liquid surrounded Tyranitar, freezing right around her vents and choking out the source of the sandstorm. Electivire tagged her with another burst of electricity before stepping back to avoid a backhand. They were longer than I thought they'd be, and a hit from those would be like getting hit by a truck.

"Keep up the pressure!" I yelled. "She's slowing!"

Another set of vines shot out of Angel's body, but then Tyranitar moved.

All this time, she'd stayed stationary. The rock type brought a foot forward, then another, but she tripped and fell, creating a giant crater in the earth and a billow of dust. Tangrowth's vines turned neon green as he sucked some of her energy with Giga Drain, but the rest of the team kept their distance. Tyranitar angled her head up, and a Dragon Pulse slammed into Angel and sent him rolling backward until the earth rose into a wall to stop him from falling into the lake. My eyes drifted toward Mudsdale and I mouthed him a thank you, but Sweetheart wasn't done with him. She'd designated the ground type a target, now. Another Dragon Pulse shot toward Mudsdale, but Sunshine moved in with a flaming Rapid Spin and took the attack in the chest to protect his friend. The attack knocked the air out of his lungs and he winced as he slid back and fell over.

Then, the floor split open.

It came as a fissure first, slowly spreading in a zigzagging line toward both Sunshine and Mudsdale. Then, it opened like a giant maw, twenty feet deep, and both Pokemon fell in. I snapped Sweetheart's Pokeball forward and recalled her before she could close it back again. The sandstorm let up after thirty seconds or so, allowing Princess and I to land. I used Turtonator and Mudsdale's Pokeballs to bring them back up to our level fast enough and had Togekiss fix up the ground, along with the enormous stones Tyranitar had wrought. After taking a mouthful of water and spitting the remaining sand out of my mouth, it was time for a group meeting.

"We're going at this wrong," I said. "I thought the lake would dampen the rage enough to have her not try to hurt us that badly, but she's still trying. Instead, it's just making her lose her confusion and fear quicker. As much as it hurts me, we need to be more forceful."

They all protested, of course, the loudest being Sunshine and Angel. I listened to their suggestion with a cool head, because despite being the team's leader, they deserved to have their voices heard. Sunshine said that even if we were more forceful, her defensive capabilities had grown so much that it would only serve to anger her and nothing else.

"I didn't mean, like, taking her down. Giga Drain worked well, but you're right on that front," I muttered. Draining moves were one of the few that could bypass Tyranitar's armor. "The only move that will have the biggest effect is Honey's Cross Chop. Do you think you can go in and out?"

The electric type nodded with a tired grunt. He'd been grazed by a giant Stone Edge to the shoulder and was growing tired, so I decided to heal him with a potion as best I could. Sunshine's Focus Blast would help a lot here, even more than Cross Chop, but I doubted he would ever agree to strike her that hard, and I was inclined to agree with him anyway.

"She's slowing, and she's clumsy," I said, biting my lip. Arceus, she must have been so scared and overwhelmed. "But this is the best spot to do this. It'd be far worse somewhere else without the lake to help."

Her strong emotions were subsiding, slowly but surely. Lake Verity was odd, really. Why was it that it made people calm? Mesprit was the herald of all emotion, after all. Either way, when her feelings stopped peaking so high, she would be well enough to communicate. Emotions were supposed to be far less erratic than this. Right now, she was like a storm. The transitions were happening too quickly, and they were too great.

"Angel, you were doing great, and Buddy, keep blocking those vents. I need to see what's going on in the battle and that sandstorm is way too powerful if left unobstructed. Sunshine, keep talking to her like you were. Our words are having an effect, we just need to keep pushing and break through. Mudsdale… thanks for the help. I really appreciate it."

The ground type inclined his head, and I mustered a thin smile. His fall in that fissure had given him a big scare. This was going worse than expected, but the plan was working, at least. I ran my hands through my hair to push away the sand and hopped on Princess once again. I'd have to see if Mom could give me a haircut before I left. Once I reached our desired height, I released Sweetheart again.

Her eye twitched, and darkness exploded out of her as she let out a mighty roar. Buddy instantly wormed himself below ground to avoid the attack while Honey put up another Protect. Instantly, he rushed toward Sweetheart with his forearms glowing white. He reached her in less than a second, his Cross Chop cracking the rock type's plates. She keened, but he was gone before she could retaliate with a Stone Edge or her spiked tail. Her proficiency with the move had grown leaps and bounds. The rocks spun around her with ease as if she was Princess using Ancient Power. Electivire weaved electricity through his arms and fingers, altering the path of the stones with magnetism until they struck around him and buried themselves into the ground like tall spires.

The sandstorm was still there, although abated thanks to Jellicent's help. The ghost had his Night Shades work on the water while he kept freezing it over and over far more efficiently and deeper than an Ice Beam ever could. Sunshine had started attacking, although his Dragon Pulses were far weaker than he could have made them and they only tickled Sweetheart.

"Sweetheart, please," I shouted.

This time, she looked at me and didn't instantly attack. She did fire that beam of darkness at us, however, and Princess had to dive down to dodge. The Fairy Wind carried her far until she swept over Tyranitar's head. The rock type grunted as the wind hurtled into her with enough force to sweep Sunshine off his feet. She was, unfortunately, too heavy to trip up and did not even budge.

"Angel!" I called out.

The grass type sprung into action, cutting off a few of his vines before throwing them forward as they glowed with Power Whip. I motioned at Princess to turn back, and she did so quickly that blood rushed to my head, and everything spun and throbbed for a second. Four walls surrounded Sweetheart as soon as the vines slammed into her. They barely lasted a moment, of course, and Tyranitar simply walked through them like they were nothing, but that small lapse of time left us an opening.

Angel attached himself to the ground with Ingrain, and his vines snaked across the floor like a mass of writhing Ekans. Sweetheart fired off a Dragon Pulse across the vines, but they slowly regenerated and regrew until they reached her. They wrapped around her legs and tail, slowing her down as Honey finally got a good Thunder Wave off. He didn't know the move, exactly, but he'd gotten good enough with electricity and Static to know how to work it anyway. As soon as he was gone, the vines below Tyranitar's feet glowed with Solar Blade until they blew up, kicking up more spores— mostly Sleep Powder. This was it. This was my opening.

"Lower," I told Princess.

I could feel the hesitation within her, but she instantly listened. She hovered around ten feet above Tyranitar with her barrier still in place. The sandstorm kept continuously thinning.

"Sweetie," I yelled. "It's me."

She tried to move, although she stumbled due to the huge amounts of Sleep Powder in her system, the paralysis, and the fact that she hadn't grown used to her body yet. Instead, she only screamed in frustration until she sat down on the ground, her arms and legs still twitching.

"Do you remember when I found you?" I muttered. "Our first days together deep below Mount Coronet?"

Her words were incoherent and nonsensical, but her eyes softened.

"You were so small," I continued. "Just a little baby who wanted to conquer the world. You've reached heights you've dreamed of your entire life, but you've got to wrestle back control. Focus on my voice, Sweetheart. I'm right here."

The entire team started approaching with heavy, tired breaths. Electivire hesitated, his hand hovering over her towering shoulder until I nodded and he touched her. Turtonator stayed silent, but his stare said a thousand words. Jellicent watched with dimmed eyes as he soothed her, saying that none of this had been her fault. Angel's vines retracted from the ground and back into his body until he petted the crook in between the spikes on her head, just like what she'd loved. Princess chirped, enunciating a soft 'baby sister' that cleared the last doubts Sweetheart had.

"Come back to us," I choked, tearing up even through the lake's calming effect. "Remember. Please."

Sweetheart's eyes flitted, and she could only muster a small nod. All of her remaining fear and confusion slid off her like water off a Ducklett's back. I sighed in relief. We'd made it, and without the lake, we maybe would have needed to spend hours doing this. Togekiss landed, and I hobbled toward Sweetheart, touching her for the first time. Her plates were scaly from up close and were as hard as steel. She kept muttering apologies and crying— although her crying sounded a lot more threatening than it had before. Even when she was sitting, she dwarfed me completely. I didn't know how much more she'd grow, but she was technically still a kid, and crossing eight feet was guaranteed, and perhaps even nine.

"Are you hurt?" I said, pulling out two potions. "Honey and Angel did a number on you, didn't they?"

Electivire scratched the back of his head and apologized for using Cross Chop on her, and I knew she really was back when she called him a stupid idiot. I let out a wet chuckle as I stood on the tip of my good foot to apply the potion to her back. Turtonator stared her up and down like he was the proudest he'd ever been. I hadn't even seen him this pumped when he had mastered our Shell Trap-Rapid Spin combo. He even laughed and said she was ready to become a true dragon, with how powerful her Dragon Pulses had been.

"Don't get too many ideas inside of her head," I said, much to Mudsdale's agreement. "I'll tell you guys what, what if we stick around here for a bit? It'll help Sweetie deal with her adjustments. Oh, and Princess, can you fix the ground again?"

Togekiss didn't complain, for once, and Honey watched me with a careful eye.

"Not meeting Mesprit yet, Hon—"

Stupid! My stomach dropped, and I flinched, expecting to be hit with some kind of backlash, but after five seconds, nothing happened. I took deep breaths and waited for my heartbeat to slow, which was quicker than usual thanks to the lake. Had Commander Bethany lied? No, no way. Maybe only I could utter the name. I stared out at the lake as I calmed down my Pokemon and told them it'd been nothing and that I was supposed not to be able to say Mesprit's name. Well, I wasn't going to take any more risks like that.

"Uh, yeah, I told you I'd wait to meet the Guardian, so you don't have to worry. This is just… you know, nice," I said as my eyes swept the crystal clear lake. "And it'll be good for your sister. I should have brought food here. Oh, right. Apparently, you can still sustain yourself off rocks and dirt, Sweetie—"

She interrupted me and yelled that she was tired of dirt so loudly that the inside of my body shook as she flashed her rows of sharp teeth each the size of my head. Okay, we were going to need to get used to the volume issue. She had always been loud, but I was pretty sure I was going to go deaf if this kept up.

"Shhh, don't be too loud, okay? You have big lungs now. How about this, I'll go buy a bunch of stuff in Sandgem later today and we can have Mom, me, and Honey cook for all of us. Princess will have to carry the groceries mid-air, though. You're so big now there won't be enough space in my bag if anyone else is going to eat." I stopped when the fairy type asked if she could spin them around. "No, you definitely can't do that. Let me text her to see what she can help us make."

With her size, she was definitely going to have to contend with earth and rocks while we traveled, though.

I lay down in the grass and against Princess' fluffy body while Honey, Sunshine and Angel coddled Sweetheart. The dragon couldn't help but notice the strength of her scales dwarfing his and expressing his jealousy over them. Supposedly, if his scales were that tough, he would have conquered Mount Wela by the time he was one year old.

He was, of course, horribly mistaken.

Buddy was floating at the edges of the lake. The waters brought him a calm he'd never felt before, so he was content to just soak in it and relax. I did warn him not to go too deep, though, just in case. Denzel's Milotic had swam in Lake Acuity as a Feebas and nothing had happened, but we were better safe than sorry. I turned toward Mudsdale, who was lying down a few feet away and watching the calm waters, as if they reminded him of something. I wanted to tell him that he could come closer if he wished, but he knew that already.

I still had sand all over my hair and inside my clothes.

I felt like sleeping, but I didn't let myself slumber out of fear that Mesprit would somehow pull me in while I was under, so instead I thought of Sweetheart's new capabilities. She was practicing walking, at the moment, and every step shook the foundation of the earth. Sometimes, she tripped, and that was a mini-earthquake in itself. No amount of vines would be able to prevent her from falling. Of course, at least they were here to soothe her when the frustration caused her to cry.

She was, without a doubt, now the most powerful member of my team in terms of both destructive and defensive capabilities. A Cross Chop had merely cracked her shell— or I supposed it was armor, now. She could have taken fifteen of those focused in the same spot before her armor broke, although I was sure moves like Focus Blast and Giga Drain could bypass her toughest defenses. The sheer power that she'd gained with Stone Edge was unparalleled, and having scanned her with my Pokedex, she'd learned Dark Pulse, which confirmed my suspicions even if it had been clumsy and slow to use. What she lacked now was precision. Like Sunshine, I was sure she already had the power to compete at the Conference, but she had to learn how to use it—

She tripped again, this time closer, and pieces of earth would have fallen down my face had Princess not blown it away without even looking. I snorted and decided to get up so I wouldn't doze off and walked up to Sweetheart, who was face-up, at the moment, having creating a small crater from her stumbling. I crouched next to her and brushed a hand against her face.

"You're doing great, baby," I said. "Why don't you take a break? Aren't you tired?"

She definitely was. Sweetheart might have changed, but these were still her eyes and I could tell how she felt even without my gift. I scratched her head as she decided to settle down for an afternoon nap. With how hard her plates were, it was hard to believe she felt anything from the touch, but she apparently did.

One thing was for sure, there was no way I was using her in a battle any time soon, although I'd have to start training with her to gauge her strength. She could hurt or kill a Pokemon by accident, if we weren't careful. A single one of her Stone Edges was sharp and large enough to wound Princess really badly. And that fissure-like move, earlier? We'd been lucky she had only used it once and slowly enough for me to react. It wasn't a move, really. She had just ripped apart the floor through sheer force of will, like what her mother had done to save her from that wild Rhyperior, but on a much smaller scale.

Yeah, I wasn't going to make a mistake and have her hit something way harder than she should.

"Oh," I muttered.

She was asleep already.