CHAPTER 282

Princess' Moonblast ripped through trees, earth and grass as she kept it hovering in the air for as long as possible, visibly straining from having materialized her moon for so long. It had been more than two minutes now, since she'd summoned the Moonblast, but Bellatrix was silent, content to observe her. The air itself vibrated, swirling around the moon and generating continuous waves of energy that rippled across the air. Bellatrix had refused to put on a barrier to 'check something', and even I was feeling the tug so hard that Nightstalker had to hold on to my shoulder so I wouldn't just fall into the moon and die a horrible death. It felt like I was about to fall sideways, which was horribly disorienting.

A few moments later, the moon winked out of existence like it had never been there, and all of the debris orbiting around it fell to the ground. A mishmash of tree barks, leaves, grass and earth, all crumpled to the forest floor and created a real mess that Bellatrix would no doubt have to fix, since she hated when things were disorderly in her fief. Princess heaved, and for the first time in a while, I could see her wavering while she floated. Honey and Sweetheart were back in the cave to paint some more, and Angel and Buddy still hadn't come back from their peacekeeping mission with the Budew. That left only Sunshine, who was recuperating in the distance from his fight with Nightstalker. The grass type still had some burned feathers from their spar, but he'd never really been hurt beyond those.

"Thanks, Night," I grunted, slightly pale. There was a reason I'd never allowed Princess to use the move outside of sports. The destructive potential posed far too great of a risk for me to use it in a real fight with lives at stake.

The ghost type patted me on the back, then asked Bellatrix what she thought.

My teacher turned to Princess with a satisfied look. You've progressed admirably in your training since we last crossed paths, baby sister. Your Moonblast isn't flawless yet and has many impurities, but it affects gravity as mine does. That is, of course, one of the few correct applications of the moon's power, as my mother instructed me during my early days as a fairy in training.

I snorted. "I'm sure your mother and you weren't biased at all." I ignored her threatening look, though I did make a note not to call her bias into question as a joke. "Anyway, so how does this help?" I asked, shifting in anticipation.

Moonblast essentially mimics the moon by tapping into its energy, Bella explained. The additional effects it manifests rely on glamour—essentially, they are fueled by belief.

Right, Denzel had told me this, once in Pastoria, though I hadn't expected Bellatrix to start Princess' lessons with something so… advanced. I just hadn't thought that it would be relevant to this process in any way, given the fact that the first time Bella had wanted to teach her about glamour, she'd pulled up a leaf for Princess to practice on, so we were obviously starting a little bigger. Togekiss grunted, hanging onto her teacher's every word.

"So she's been using it all along?" I frowned. "I mean, I knew that, but can we… extrapolate from that and do other gravity tricks?"

Recreation can only go so far; forging your path holds more power. What your daughter practices isn't genuine belief but mere pretense. It is as you say. I regret letting personal bias taint my initial teachings. Now, it's evident that what I witnessed was a good rendition of Moonblast, but that is currently its limit— a rendition, Bellatrix said. You need to tread your path, and find something you believe is true so strongly that it becomes real.

"Okay, so from Moonblast, we'll branch out," I said. "Yeah, smart. Moonblast is already something she's comfortable with. Right?" I turned toward Princess.

The flying type hesitantly nodded, though she didn't say anything. I knew she wasn't feeling that confident, with the way she'd struggled with glamour compared to Sylvi. These days, Sylveon was capable of using his ribbons as bludgeons, making them weigh far more than they actually did to relentlessly beat up his opponents while they couldn't even retaliate thanks to his emotional tampering— and that was Sylveon's speciality. Tampering with emotion, either through his feelers or Moonblast, but he could do other tricks, too.

I hold the conviction that the world revolves around me, and everything should fall into my orbit, Bellatrix smiled. Manipulating gravity, devoid of psychic enhancements, is within my capabilities— though, I admit, psychic abilities occasionally lend a hand, a fact I find somewhat disgraceful. My Moonblast emerges as a consequence of this belief, an assault impossible to ignore, commanding attention with awe-inspiring might. She observed Togekiss with a careful eye. You, baby sister, must find the strongest conviction you believe in.

And that was her test. To find something to specialize her glamour in, because even Bella was not capable of specializing in everything. Even belief and glamour had its limits, and no fairy would be able to simply will anything they liked into being. Togekiss stared at me, her eyes full of doubt, so I crouched in front of her and rubbed her cheek.

"Take your time, baby," I said. "We're staying here three days, and you're just getting started, okay?"

The fairy type chirped with a timid smile, telling me that she'd do her best.

"And that's all I ask of you."

She took off into the skies to focus, having learned to share in my own habits. I had really underestimated how much failing to learn to mess with glamour had affected her, and how it kept nagging her even today. Princess was no Buddy, but outside of it, she'd never struggled that hard on a move like Sunshine or Honey had. Nightstalker hooted, saying he'd watch over her and flew upward as well before I could even thank him.

Let her focus, Bella said, which I assumed carried over. Now, let us move onto the matters of your empathy, dear sister.

My heartbeat quickened in excitement. "Thanks. I've been fumbling in the dark for a while about it, and, uh, I really need some guidance. Someone to point me in the right direction."

Bella ran her claw through my hair— something I'd noticed she liked to do. She'd even commented on it being shorter than before, which she found was a shame, but did not comment on it any further.

I suppose we should start with how you perceive emotions, the fairy said.

"Colors," I instantly answered. "When I let the gift run through my veins and I actually see emotions, I see them as colors, like flickering flames at the edge of a person's skin. When the emotion is stronger, the colors extend further. Mesprit's own emotions went as far as the eye could see." I paused, remembering the sheer onslaught I'd felt from standing in the Legend's presence. "Different colors mean different emotions, and they can mix together to create entirely new feelings. I can kind of guess at what's what, but some colors, I have no idea what they mean."

And you can… paint with those colors, Bella confirmed.

"Yeah, for example, I could pull a feeling out of someone, mix and match it with something else, and shove it back in," I said. "Though that'd be way too noticeable and would tire me out really quickly. And you know, it'd also be immoral."

Bellatrix rolled her eyes, but did not comment or launch into an argument about morality, which was dearly appreciated. You sense emotions differently than I do, then. To me, emotions are sounds.

"Ah. I guess that's why you like it quiet, huh?" I said. Even now, my voice did not carry as far as it did outside of the route.

When too many beings converge in one place, I begin to experience a profound discomfort. Unlike your ability to subtly temper your gift, I lack the finesse to dampen my empathy to a significant degree.

"Yeah. I get headaches sometimes, but I don't hear them as sound. It's more like— a sensory overload," I explained. "I guess we're fundamentally different, then. Can you still help me?"

Helping you discern emotions will prove more of a challenge than I anticipated, she confirmed, but with the emptyfolk? The principles that afflict them remain the same, so I will prove helpful there.

I sighed, biting my lip. Damn it, it would have been too good to be true, wouldn't it? For everything to neatly fall in line and to work in my favor. Every time I could take a step forward, it felt like I couldn't stop myself from stumbling my way through. Bella noticed my grimace, and quickly spoke up again.

Sister, this information will be beneficial for you, no doubt. I'm confident you'll figure out ways to apply and practice it. It might just take more time than we expected.

My heels dug into the wet grass. "You know, fixing Justin will take days of continuously operating on him? Pulling and removing until he's himself again, like I'm some— some kind of damn heart surgeon," I whispered in a defeated tone. "I can't afford to make mistakes, because then I'd have to scramble and put him back together, and— well—"

Focus on the now, Bellatrix said. Let me teach you about the emptyfolk. What do you know so far?

I exhaled. "I know that darkness is absence, which is why you can use it to cancel out other attacks. It can also be used to dampen emotions, but it doesn't have to be every emotion. Shiftry was a fan of doing that because he'd been grieving his trainer for a thousand years, and that's why Justin got all of his emotions dampened."

Good. Very good, even, she said. And how do you think you'd heal him in detail?"

"I guess… put emotions back into him, but the right amount?" I muttered. "Like, this is the problem, I don't know what the right amount is, because I wasn't an empath when he was normal!" I raised my tone. At this point, it'd been so long since he'd been the Justin I used to know that I'd just be eyeballing it, and that was not something that would end well.

That is where you are wrong. Instead of drowning him in emotions, focus on breaking the chains of darkness that hold him back. Don't burden him with more feelings; help him shed the oppressive weight instead.

"But darkness doesn't feel like anything, it's absence. How do I remove absence?" I said. "And… I think you're right, but that probably sounds way easier than it'll be."

To me, the emptyfolk are quieter than silence, so I would not know how to go about this with your interpretation of emotion. Bella said, tilting her head. But your empathy has far more potential than mine. You will have to look into this yourself, the next time to see him and you can delve into his feelings. However,

The fairy paused, her smile turning fond.

Let us see what you can do, yes? I am quite adept at making myself feel emotions of my choosing, so I will train you to pick them apart. I owe you this, at the very least, so that our bargain stays equal.

"Okay, I'm going to… look then?" I hesitantly said. Part of me felt like I was doing something horrible— as I'd conditioned myself to think, but she had given me her consent, after all. Wasn't that how this worked? "Yeah, I'm going to look," I repeated, more sure of myself.

I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths as the sound of Honey and Sweetheart's bickering sank into the background. When I opened them again, there was a pressure in my head, slightly aching as I felt the emotions of beings inside of the forest, some looking at us, hidden from view. I pulled back, leaving the range to only a few dozen feet around me so I wouldn't be overwhelmed and be able to focus. My teacher was a gentle swirl of pastel lavender, both soothing and calm. It emanated from what felt like inner peace, and I allowed myself to sink into the sense of comfort it brought. There was a thick layer of fondness, hidden below her normal state, but I had not delved deep enough to see anything but the most obvious emotions.

We will begin with something simple like calm, then. Afterward, we will make the emotions more and more complex as we go on, Hatterene said. Ones like liberosis, kenopsia, or énouement come to mind.

"I have no idea what any of those mean, but let's do this, shall we?"

—

I dimmed my empathy again as I approached Veilstone on Princess' back. While I'd been training for hours, she'd been thinking hard about what she believed in, and we'd both needed a break, now that evening had come.

From the skies, the city looked even worse than it had when walking through it when compared to how pretty most cities in Sinnoh were. It was a forest of concrete with few windows— which, unlike Snowpoint, it had no excuses for— and with even more grids than Jubilife, somehow. I'd come here to pick up some more food for Sweetie. She was having a lot of fun back in Bella's fief, with how powerful her barriers were. She was able to let loose and train however she wanted, even if the ground itself would still get upended and destroyed. Supposedly, it would go back to normal if given enough time, according to Bella, due to the fact that her domain was to be kept a certain way. Before today, I'd never known that was how they functioned, but I learned more about domains every time I met a holder, and it made sense when you gave it some thought. They warped the world to their liking, and so the world would get back to how they wanted it to be eventually. Some wouldn't care about the destruction wrought by Pokemon on their lands, but Bellatrix clearly did, when it got to the level of what a Tyranitar could do.

There was a pang of guilt when I glanced to the south and saw the massive stadium that was Maylene's Gym in the distance. You should apologize, Cecilia had said, but it wasn't like I had the girl's number, and honestly walking into her Gym was a terrible way to go about things. I almost convinced myself to just go and get it over with, but changed my mind at the last second. Maylene was no longer on break, and was actually doing relatively well for herself, these days. She'd kept her style of shutting down status moves and other niche techniques, but had a good difficulty curve that actually made sense, or at least the way she was no longer being flamed as much online suggested as much. I did hope she was deferring tasks properly now, in order not to burn out again, though. Running a Gym and helping with the city was heavy work. Princess landed on the nearest landing pad, which was closer to the grocery store than the Pokemon Center, for some reason. We were mighty close to the Gym, now. My heart was racing, and not in a good way.

While Tangrowth walked me to the store, I opened my phone to check on my usual messages. His expedition with Buddy to help the Budew relocate had been a success, and he was far more cheerful than usual. Cecilia was traveling to Pastoria already, and so unavailable to talk, but I was keeping up regular contact with Ramon— and slightly less so with Bobby. I planned to connect with more Poketch sponsees when I got to Jubilife after my training with Bellatrix and my trek through the ancient city, and dare I say, I was actually excited to meet new people. They weren't all in Jubilife, but a lot of them would be there because a lot of things in the company were about to change, and Craig was going to be there. I was mostly excited about talking battles, but other stuff would be fine, too.

A wave of cold hit me as I entered the grocery store, leaving Angel to wait for me outside with Princess to watch over him. Staring at the ground hurt a little, with how the bright lights from the ceiling bounced back on the white tiles. My crutch clacked against the cold, white tiles. The paint from earlier had dried, leaving the crutch full of splashes of different colors. Honestly, I'd kind of grown to like it, and I had no intention of peeling it off.

"Meat aisle… meat aisle… man, my stove is going to be way too small to feed a Tyranitar," I muttered to myself. "The logistics just don't work. Maybe she can eat them raw? Wait, she's a predator, of course she can."

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I shivered when I entered the aisle, rubbing my arm and wanting to spend the least amount of time here possible. Beef would be nice for her, I thought. I passed by a few people, though the fact that it was basically only non-trainers here meant that I wasn't recognized beyond a few looks now that the raid was out of public consciousness. The media was mostly starting to hype up the Conference or talking about the economy, these days. My brows creased when I passed by a girl wearing only shorts and a T-shirt in this cold. She hummed cheerfully, leaning forward against her knees while I shimmied next to her to grab myself some packets of beef—

Oh.

I figured she looked familiar. Candice's hair was usually tied in some strange pigtails that were only in style in Snowpoint, but today, her dark hair was in a simple ponytail. Her skin was as pale as always, and she seemed to be in a good mood. Somehow, she hadn't noticed me yet. My grip around my crutch tightened as soon as I realized who I'd just been standing next to. Should— should I say something? Maybe it'd be a better idea to leave, but now that I was right next to her, I didn't want to move and possibly alert her. How did she not have a fucking crowd of people around her anyway? She was a Gym Leader! One of the most famous people in the country! If she'd had one, then I would have understood to steer clear. Calm down. I needed to calm down. Maybe she'd noticed me but was acting like she hadn't. It'd be easier that way, to pretend like we hadn't seen each other and going back to not talking. Candice settled on some sort of ground beef and rose—

Then, she saw me.

We both stayed silent for what seemed like an agonizing eternity. Her mouth gaped, and she stared up and down at me as if she was convincing herself that this was real and not some kind of hallucination. My chest tightened, and I bit my lip and the discomfort. It was one thing to imagine what you'd say if you met someone who had every right to be disturbed by your presence and another to actually come face to face with her. Legendaries, my fingers felt cold. Had they always been this cold? We hadn't spoken in so long that I didn't know how to begin.

I let out a little choked sound. "Candice, I—"

"Hi," she spoke over me. Her face changed to an awkward smile in a way that was obviously unnatural. "What're you doing here?"

I showed her the beef in my hand. "Shopping… the same as, um, you. Don't you have your… Gym?"

Candice shrugged— or was that a twitch? I couldn't tell. Part of me wanted to delve into her head and see what she thought of me, but I didn't need my empathy to see that she was displeased at our encounter.

"It was… Thursday, so I needed a little break," she said. Her eyes couldn't settle on where to look, evidently, with the way her eyes were continuously shifting. "I have my Gym Trainers running the show, and Gardenia and I are going to meet Maymay and hang out. We're making burgers and stuff, so…"

"Right. That sounds like fun, so don't let me keep you," I said a little more abruptly than I would have liked. "You go and do that. I'll go and, uh, do my own thing."

Fucking kill me already, I internally hissed.

Candice paused, as if she wanted to say something, but she ended up nodding when an older woman needed to look at all the products we were blocking. We moved out of the way, and it was then that I realized how heavy my body felt. Like I was carrying weights around my ankles and wrists.

"Candice, you read the… report, right?" I stopped myself from wincing.

The Gym Leader's eyes twitched. "Could we not bring that up right now?"

"…alright. And could you apologize to Maylene on my behalf? I didn't think it was a good idea to do it myself, given everything that happened since then."

"I mean, I can try. I don't think it'll do anything, though, but I'll do it," Candice nodded. "I'll wait until our party's done to not ruin the mood, though."

I smiled through the prickly feeling all over my skin. "Yeah. So…"

"I'll see you. Take care of yourself, okay?"

She patted me on the shoulder, squeezing before she left. Not wanting to see her at the checkout, I waited, wandering around the store with a caddy full of meat. I hadn't known Candice could be this serious, when the situation required it. Really, part of me had hoped she'd just make a joke about this whole thing and sweep it under the rug, but I knew that hadn't been how it was going to go. At the very least, she hadn't been completely hostile. Honestly, I could count my blessings that she had spoken to me at all.

Five minutes later, I went to pay for my food and left.

I had to keep moving.

—

"Nia, did you see this?" Maylene snorted. Her head jittered on Gardenia's lap. Excitement or anticipation, the grass type Gym Leader mused. Maymay lifted her phone, pulling her away from her gardening book.

"What is it— oh, yeah, I did see that," Gardenia smiled. "You'd think that the world wasn't on fire, with how he acts in his Gym Battles."

Wake had always been somewhat of a meme, within the tight circle of Gym Leaders that was Sinnoh's— so tight they felt like family— but his cheerful demeanor meant that he didn't mind being the butt of the joke. In this instance, he'd battled a trainer aiming for her second badge while continuously doing a handstand.

"That's seriously unhealthy, though," Maymay said, lowering her phone. "What if the blood rushes to his head?"

"It was only a three-on-three, and she won pretty quickly," Gardenia said as she went back to reading about eucalyptuses. "Honestly, I don't think he even expected to go that long. Wake's the kind of guy to randomly challenge himself to keep going for fun."

Maylene chuckled as she adjusted her position on the couch. "True. Arceus, I can't wait to see him again this summer. He told me he and Jean-Pierre would cook me something, and the seafood they make is the best. Plus, he deserves a break, after giving it his all for so long."

Gardenia looked into Maylene's pink eyes, and her friend averted them without hesitation.

"Maymay. How's therapy been?" she asked.

Maylene sat up, freeing Gardenia from her lap pillow duties. Her thighs had been going numb, so the relief was welcome.

"Honestly, it's relieving. Yep, relieving," she said. "I can finally get this… end of the world shit off my chest now that Cynthia's afforded me a League therapist and not some guy who isn't cleared to hear any of the things I need to talk about," she finished with a heavy sigh.

Gardenia wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "We'll be fine. And I'm glad you're doing alright, these days."

Her visage cheered up, though Gardenia knew it was real from the excited flaring of her nose, her quick blinking and the way she raised her tone. "Yeah, I'm doing a lot better, but y'know, I'm kind of worried. Where the hell is Candice? Should I call her?"

"She's probably lost. You know how Snowpointers are," Gardenia said with a mischievous smile.

Maylene faked outrage. "Is that prejudice I hear? Wait until I leak this online, they'll all be at your throat in less than a millisecond."

Ah, she still hadn't lost her hatred for the online trainer community, which was justifiable, after what they'd done to her. There had been death threats and worse. Even though Maylene was sturdy thanks to Aura and her team was nothing to scoff at, reading those emails would affect anyone regardless of how powerful they were, especially a kid as young as her. Fifteen-year-old and reading all of that crap? Legendaries, Gardenia hadn't believed half the shit she'd read after commandeering Maylene's personal computer to delete all of those emails.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Maylene said.

She slunk away from the couch and toward the washroom. Maylene's quarters were in her Gym, like almost every Gym Leader, though hers were a lot emptier than most. There wasn't much for decoration here, just furniture. A dining table, a couch, a television in the living room, which the kitchen was attached to, and a bathroom and a bedroom. The walls were plain beige, and the floors were smooth plywood. Maylene had always been a minimalist, but Gardenia still thought her room could use a little bit of life, especially compared to Candice's wacky apartment or Gardenia's garden.

The door swung open in the next moment, with Candice standing in a victorious pose and her hand still outstretched in the air. In her other, she carried two heavy grocery bags. Gardenia's eyes lingered on her old rival's exposed legs for a few moments, though she did not dare to hope. Candice was unfortunately as straight as an arrow and had a hopeless crush on Craig Goodwill, who still saw her as a kid anyway and that he would never return. She'd given up on her long ago, and these days it was mostly lust and not romantic, so it was hard not to stare when she wore such revealing clothing.

"I'm back!" she declared with a wide grin. She skipped into the living room, dropping the bag into the kitchen. "I got all of the burger stuff. The buns, the beef, the cheese, onions— every time I go inside of a grocery store that isn't in Snowpoint, I feel like I'm in a treasure trove. You guys get so much."

Gardenia turned, her arm slinging on the couch's back. "You should come down south more. Volkner hasn't seen you in a while."

"Blegh, I've got all of Sinnoh swarming up north to challenge me. I had to beg my League Trainers to allow me this day off, but thankfully I didn't have any important battles today."

"Maybe— and just hear me out here— but maybe you should be in charge of your own Gym," Gardenia said, letting sarcasm seep into her tone. "I mean, I've got Roro to help me around, but other than that, I always call the shots."

"Yeah, yeah, you and Roro," Candice sneered. There was some old drama, there. "Anyway, do I just put this in the fridge?"

"Yeah, we'll start cooking in an hour or so. Let me help you."

Gardenia rose, though while she helped Candice put the groceries away, she noticed the subtle twitches on her face, microexpressions that left uncomfort lingering for only a moment. The constant moving of her tongue below her lip. Moving slower and more deliberately than she usually did.

"What's wrong, Candice?" Gardenia asked.

"Huh?"

"Something happened when you were out," she continued, shoving a pack of soda into the fridge. "You're not very good at hiding it."

"Just not from you," Candice muttered. The judgment in her tone was not difficult to miss, meaning that her friend clearly wanted to bury this deep and never bring this up again. "You know what, sorry. It was—"

"Candice!" Maymay beamed. "What took you so long? Did you get lost or what?"

"You could say that," Candice said. She bowed in dramatic fashion, twirling her wrist more times than was needed. "But yours truly found the way back without a League Kadabra. Doesn't that deserve a little bit of praise?"

Maylene shook her head, though it was with that usual smirk of hers. "Whatever you say."

"I'd like to see you in Snowpoint in the middle of winter!" Candice protested, pointing at her. "You'd be waist-deep in snow, little lady!"

"Counterpoint: I would just punch the snow until it got out of my way," Maylene shrugged. "You got the goodies?"

"Yep. Gardenia's going to cook for us."

"I'm what?" Gardenia scoffed. "I thought you were cooking."

"Did I ever say that?" Candice tapped a finger over her mouth.

"You did! Yesterday when you messaged me!"

"I guess we can tag team it," she said. Then, she leaned in to whisper. "I'll tell you later about what happened, okay?"

"What're you whispering about?" Maylene squinted, though she was far enough away not to have heard.

"We're whispering about sumo wrestling," Candice lied as easily as she breathed.

"At least try to make the lie make sense," Maylene laughed.

—

So you've come to a decision, Bellatrix said, looking at Princess. Out with it, then.

It had been a spontaneous thing, and while we'd been flying in the air. We hadn't really bounced ideas off each other as much as Princess had just vented to me about what was it she wanted to do, and the answer had been laughingly simple, when it came down to it.

At the core of her very being, Princess wanted to cut and stab.

Hatterene grinned, glowing in the night and serving as our source of light. Simple, but effective. I can see it now, forming around you. Cutting, stabbing, gouging, piercing. Yes, that core belief will be your implement. She stopped, tearing a leaf away from a nearby tree. I'd wondered if she was ever going to bring back this exercise. Now, baby sister. I want you to believe until this leaf is cut to shreds.

The entire team was watching her, now. Jellicent hovered nearby, his red eyes shining through the night. Sweetheart actually had gained her night vision capabilities, now, and she too, watched silently in the distance. I could tell that Electivire wanted to cheer for his sister, though he stayed silent to allow her to focus, and Sunshine stood next to me, his breaths calm, but his eyes betraying his anticipation, and Angel already had a dozen vines primed to hug Princess both to comfort her if she failed or to congratulate her if she succeeded.

Togekiss squinted, the air around her going completely still and—

The leaf was torn to shreds. Already? I told myself, slightly disbelieving. That had been so quick that it basically hadn't been a challenge. Angel went in on his hug, and Princess basically cried for joy at how easy glamour had come to her this time around. I joined in on the fun, of course, making sure to praise her lots and to kiss her forehead.

Your belief was strong enough, Bellatrix smiled. Now you know how glamour feels, don't you? It is all about building upward from there, and perhaps one day, you will refine your own Moonblast in your image. Of course, you may use my own, when it is needed.

Togekiss couldn't contain her excitement. I'd rarely seen her this happy, and the way her wings quickly fluttered showed.

"We're all proud of you," I praised her. "What's the limit to the amount of Moonblasts she can use— or wait, I guess the correct question is what's the limit to this belief thing?"

Amongst the fae, convictions strong enough to manifest are rare. My mother, for one, was considered a genius amongst the fae and could only manifest three kinds of Moonblast. One akin to mine, although weaker in effect. A second that exploded upon contact with any being, and another one to freeze the world around itself. Her capabilities with glamour, therefore, extended to gravity, explosions and the cold. After all these years, I can still only manifest my own Moonblast. The fact that your daughter can use two is already a miracle.

My mouth hung open in awe. "You're— Princess, you're a genius!" I laughed.

Sometimes, a breakthrough was all that was needed to open the floodgates of progress.

—

Maylene was asleep, now. Gardenia knew she made it a point to always keep to a perfect sleep schedule, but tonight, she'd gone to sleep at two in the morning because she'd wanted to talk with her and Candice as much as possible. Now she'll be tired tomorrow, she internally sighed. Granted, they'd all be tired, but she was unused to working while exhausted, and Gardenia and Candice were not. Gardenia's friend lay splayed out on the couch like some kind of slob, happy to take all of the space now that Gardenia had carried Maymay to her bed, and complaining about how full she was every five minutes. Gardenia, for one, was catching up on today's work by answering important emails on her phone.

Candice's voice came as a whisper. "I guess I should tell you what happened earlier."

"Sure. It was weighing on you earlier," Gardenia said. "What happened, Candice?"

Her fellow Gym Leader kicked her head back, staring at the ceiling with an exasperated groan. "Gah! I hate this."

"Okay. That just worries me more, because you're usually straightforward about these things," Gardenia said.

"When I was at the grocery store, I—" she paused, finding her words. "I saw Grace Pastel there, buying stuff."

Gardenia let out an understanding hum, the reasons for Candice's strange behavior now easy for her to understand. They were— or they'd been relatively close long-distance friends, after Candice had met her in Snowpoint. Grace Pastel and her group's survival through Mount Coronet with only two badges had been a massive story, and she'd assumed it was why Candice had gotten close to them, at least at first. After all of the Gym Leaders received the report on the raid, though… no words had been exchanged between the two. She'd read it too, of course. Grace's behavior during the entire event had already been a tough pill to swallow for most younger Gym Leaders. Gardenia had never killed someone before. Neither had any Gym Leaders save for Fantina or Byron. The former deeply regretted what she'd done to get a Gengar and paled every time one brought it up, and the latter had been an act to save Oreburgh from a terrorist attack from a high level trainer gone rogue when he'd been the Gym Leader of that city. Hitting trainers with aim to disable them was more difficult the stronger their teams got, and this one had broken down after losing the Conference as soon as he'd made it out of the group stages, so he'd been good.

It was the nonchalance of it all, that had disturbed. The fact that Grace saw so many people die, killed a few more, and was able to act as if nothing had happened at all. That was the kind of thing ACE Trainers were made of. Still, it had been for a good cause and had Cynthia's seal of approval, so Gardenia had already been ready to forget, and she assumed Candice would have acted similarly had the Haunter incident not happened.

"How was she?" Gardenia asked.

"Nervous to see me, but I was the same," she muttered. "I don't know, I guess she's fine other than that? I didn't stay long, it was too awkward." Candice paused, shifting on the couch until she settled on a new, even more outrageous position. Her head hung over the edge while her legs were above the backrest. "I guess it's hard to imagine that nervous girl being the same one who cut a man's ligaments so he wouldn't run away and then who watched a Haunter torture him for an entire afternoon."

That was the crux of the issue, and though Gardenia was a pencil pusher who would do whatever Cynthia asked of her, she had to admit what she'd read had shaken her. Oh, they didn't know what Haunter had done in detail, but they did know the state of how both Mira Compton and Grace Pastel had been after exiting the mansion. Mira had been completely shaken, face pale and dried tears and snot running all over her face and barely able to stand up straight. Grace had a satisfied, rejuvenated look on her face, like watching someone get tortured had been lightwork for her. Backlot had been a worthless scumbag who Gardenia wouldn't mourn, but there was simply no ignoring that.

"Maybe it's the fairy stuff," Candice grumbled. "Cynthia says her Togekiss dosed her with TE for months."

Gardenia shrugged. "Might be. I don't know," she sighed. "But we only have a few fairy type specialists in Sinnoh, so it's not like we have a huge sample size to work with."

Candice was, Gardenia knew, looking for an excuse.

"Right. Anyway, she told me to apologize to Maymay for her Gym Battle, so I guess she felt guilty about her having broken down as a result, but I never found an opening during the party. She was just so happy, and I didn't want to ruin her mood—"

"I knew you were hiding something!"

From the shadows of the small unlit hall that led to her bedroom, Maylene emerged with a deep-set frown and a tightened jaw.

Candice innocently brought up her hands. "Okay, you win. Jeez, it's not like I was never going to tell you. I was looking for the right moment! No need to stare daggers at me."

"I don't accept her apology," Maylene deadpanned. "I acknowledge it, but I don't accept it. She's insane, and I want nothing to do with her. That's… fine, right?"

She was not hesitating because she was getting second thoughts, Gardenia knew, but because of Grace's capabilities and her being some kind of shard for a Legendary.

Gardenia nodded. "That's alright, she isn't owed anything from you," she said. "But you have to be prepared to work together if everything goes to shit."

Maylene bit her lip. "Whatever. I'm going back to sleep."

"And stop spying on us!" Candice yelled, cupping her hands.

Gardenia leaned against her palm and noticed that the day's activities had her exhaustion catching up with her. Cynthia had, unfortunately, warned them that if Team Galactic ever sprung to action before the deadline was up, then the Gym Leaders would probably be enlisted to help like Indigo had done against Team Rocket during their wars. Gardenia wondered if Cynthia knew how horribly unprepared most of them were. They had grown up in peaceful times, and so, beyond the occasional wild Pokemon attack on their city that the Rangers always dealt with and their Pokemon journey, they had never been in a situation that Cynthia was asking them to help in.

Oh well, Gardenia thought. If she asks, I'll do it.

Such was her duty as a Gym Leader, subservient to the League. That did not mean, however, that she would be happy about it.