INTERLUDE - GOODWILL

Mount Coronet's outpost to the west of Celestic Town was swarming with hundreds, and maybe even thousands of trainers, desperate to make the trek to battle Candice now that Spring had come and Sinnoh had warmed. Lauren didn't enjoy crowded places, and she never had, even before the Circuit had made her famous. School had been the bane of her existence as a kid, especially since Craig started taking off. People had kept swarming around her, asking what her brother was like or if they could meet him someday, and suddenly, she'd gone from having no friends to being the most popular kid in class. Lauren hadn't cared. Her lack of friends had never bothered her, and she'd been too busy studying battles to prepare for her career to bother with other people, along with keeping up her grades so her parents would let her go on her journey and 'follow in Craig's footsteps.' Arceus, she'd hated them when they told her that. 'Craig' was all that would come out of their mouths her entire childhood.

Well, at least that many trainers in one place let her battle as much as she wanted. Lauren watched as Mags pinned down a Floatzel and a huge glob of fire formed in one of his cannons. The flame did not hit the water type. Instead, it blew up as soon as it reached the apex of its size, creating a massive explosion of flames and magma that even a water type could not be able to handle. Her opponent eyed her with a mix of awe and frustration as she recalled her burning Floatzel. Lauren ignored the excited claps from the crowd around the arena. It had been a few days since she'd revealed her Magmortar, but people were still being annoying about it.

That had been a disappointing fight, too. Nothing worth even getting pumped up about. The girl had challenged her, but she couldn't even back up her words of Lauren just being successful because of Craig gifting her her Sceptile, and she'd let Mags run through her entire team, which was annoying given the fact that he needed to lose some of that ego he'd gained since his evolution. Lauren had dealt with bullies like her before, back in school, and usually she'd just ignored them to make them go away, even if that had rarely worked. These days, Lauren realized that they rarely actually had the power to back up their words, especially when she could blow them up. The nameless girl stormed off out of the arena, and Lauren recalled Mags, taking pleasure in the battlefield having been turned into a field of molten rock.

She placed her headphones back on her head, making herself small as she slipped out of the arena, bobbing her head up and down to her favorite rock band, Laughing Twins. They were Unovan and based in Virbank. Sinnoh's musical industry unfortunately left a lot to be desired, but at least it was better than that garbage they made in Kalos— and no, it was not just because they sang in a different language. It was a rainy day outside, so Lauren had a convenient excuse to put her hoodie up and release Sirris to keep her from getting wet. The Reuniclus let out a cute gurgly sound. Lauren lowered the sound on her wireless headphones and glanced at him. Though he spoke into her mind and volume didn't matter, it still helped her focus on what Sirris was saying.

"Stop dawdling and make a barrier, will you?" Lauren muttered.

You feeling antsy, Laulau? part of him asked. Sirris had two brains, and so talking to him was like speaking to two people.

She is, look at how she's brooding. Hands in her pockets? Pouting? Something must have happened, the other half of her best friend said as he summoned a thin shield above her head. It let the rain patter comfortably, just like she liked.

"Some girl was being bitchy about my brother," she said. "Mags dealt with her."

Goodness me, Sirris groaned. Don't tell me he destroyed her, please.

"He destroyed her," she smiled. "Could have blown off that Floatzel's head too, but he's learned self-control."

He's influencing her more and more, the other voice said. That isn't ideal, especially when he's mentally unwell.

"He just likes blowing things up. There's nothing wrong with that."

Lauren walked in no direction in particular, mostly looking for a good fight that would let her true self come loose. Maybe she'd find someone else with seven badges? That girl had only owned six, though she'd been a second-year, so Lauren had thought that maybe she'd get her blood pumping.

I will admit, there's a certain quality to destruction, Sirris said.

You're encouraging her?! We'll never hear the end of it if we start breaking and becoming insane like the rest of them!

Listen, me, you need to relax, okay? You can't deny that making a huge crater with Expanding Force is fun.

You're also the one who says filing Lauren's taxes is fun. We have until July to do those, dude.

Better early than late. And it is fun, and we get a tax refund if we do it early—

"You guys did my taxes?" Lauren frowned. "When?"

When you stopped by Solaceon, one of them answered.

"Oh. I didn't even notice my money going down," she shrugged. Sirris was the one who took care of all of her money stuff, and her emails too. In fact, they were basically pretending to be her when messaging Silph Co. representatives. When she had to talk to them in person, he told her what to say to bag more contracts and sell more TMs. "Well, thanks anyway."

You should learn to do other things than battling, Laulau.

"Not this again," she sighed, instinctively reaching to raise the volume on her music.

Sorry, he said as he shivered slightly in his goo.

There was a short silence, but the other half of his brain filled it. Anyway, at least Mags isn't as insane as Flint was. A real nutjob, that guy. It's a wonder the League even hired him.

"You wouldn't get it," Lauren smiled.

In a way, Flint had been just like her, but a lot more outspoken and… sleazy, maybe. So full of himself he had annoyed every member of Lauren's team except for Mags, who loved him to bits. During their few days together, Flint had always worn baggy pants that didn't fit around his waist, shirts with horrible designs and sayings, and slippers or crocs on his feet. Lauren didn't care either way. So long as someone was a powerful trainer, then she would accept all of their quirks and fight them. They didn't train together— not exactly, but he did accept to fight her after she'd begged for a while shortly before Mag's evolution. As a condition, he'd said that if Lauren didn't impress him, then he wouldn't have him evolve and just head back to the League instead. And while she had impressed him, his own Magmortar had completely and utterly destroyed her team without breaking a sweat by taking them on all at once. Recalling that fight, deep in the night inside of Volkner's Gym still made her shiver, and it kept her up when she tried to sleep.

"I like your gusto, kid," Flint had said after the battle. "Not many people call my Magmortar a 'piece of shit' while fightin' him. Let's get you a fucking Magmortar, shall we?"

He had, without a doubt, catapulted himself as her favorite trainer ever. The process itself had been hard on Mags and had lasted days. Flint had told her Stark Mountain could have worked by dumping him in the volcano's chambers and having his Magmortar trigger an eruption, though since he was a Magmar, too long in there might have killed him. He also explained that taking a trainer to the Battle Frontier before their eighth badge was too much red tape to cut through and that Cynthia would scream at him for it, though he looked quite pleased about that possibility, for some reason. Maybe her being angry at Flint meant that they'd battle soon? Lauren didn't understand why the prospect of her screaming at him would be so pleasant. Flint also complained about his younger brother in the frontier. The seventeen-year-old was called Buck— a weird name, in Lauren's opinion— and he'd been one of the few first-years to make it to the Conference during last year's Circuit. Now, he spent all of his days in the Battle Frontier working as a private contractor for the League.

Since Stark Mountain would have been too much, Flint's Magmortar did the job and blasted Mags with lava over the course of days until he evolved, almost getting him killed in the process. Flint had been adamant about saying that his Pokemon could actually more powerful than a volcanic eruption when they wanted to be.

Lauren walked around until her album ended, wanting to enter the Pokemon Center as soon as it did, and not one second sooner, because it felt right that way and wrong any other. Things falling into place neatly like this pleased her greatly. With a satisfied hum, she got herself lunch. Her team was pretty efficient, in terms of food intake. Sceptile could use the sun to gain most of his nutrients, even if it had to be supplemented with a little food. Aggron could just sustain himself on the metallic content he found in rocks, and just like Rhydon, he didn't need to eat very often. Reuniclus didn't eat at all, and Seismitoad and Magmortar were the only ones who actually consumed the bulk of the food she bought. It wasn't like she had any problems with money, though. She'd sold another three TMs to Silph since Fire Pillar, and Sirris was great at budgeting.

Laulau, is that…?

Her eyes drifted across the Pokemon Center's cafeteria until Sirris pointed toward her right. Mira was sitting there alone, fidgeting while she played with her food with her Gardevoir sitting next to her. Lauren smiled at the sight of one of her closest friends— and they had been, since connecting at Grace and Cecilia's birthday party. She had been wondering about where Mira was and why she'd stopped messaging. Lauren wasn't one to contact someone first, and she had never been, but sometimes that made her have huge lapses of time between contact with her friends. Maybe I should message people more, she thought as she approached Mira. Upon getting a closer look, she was a little… shaken, maybe? Paler than usual, at least, and she'd already been pale. Gardevoir shot Lauren a look with narrowing eyes before realizing who she was, and then her gaze softened.

You may come closer, Gardevoir said with a pained look. Had she needed permission? Sirris could beat her pretty easily in a fight. But I must warn you, she is unwell. Getting better slowly, but… still unwell.

"Mira?" Lauren probed as she placed her headphones around her neck.

Her pink-haired friend flinched, as if she had been sleeping with her eyes open. "Huh? What?" she muttered with a series of rapid blinks. Her eyes met Lauren soon enough, though. "Lauren! Shit, how long were you, um, standing here?"

"Something like four seconds. Maybe five."

Mira smiled as if she hadn't expected her to respond that way. "Not too bad, then."

"When I was a kid, some girls invited me out, and my parents forced me to go. I had to wait an hour and a half before they arrived, so it was really nothing," Lauren said.

Sirris spoke up. Laulau—

"What? That's… they were fucking with you, Lauren," Mira said. "They might have bet on how long you'd stick around."

Lauren nodded, frowning. "Right. That makes a lot more sense, thinking about it."

"Want to sit?" Mira said after a pause. "Sorry if I'm kind of out of it. I haven't been sleeping well, and I've been struggling with… stuff."

"Oh. I'm sorry for bothering you."

"No, no! You're good, really," Mira yelled.

Lauren sat opposite of her friend. "What brings you here? I thought you gave up on the Circuit."

"I'm heading up north, just like you," she said with a slight shiver. "It's private stuff, though. I don't want to involve you in my isssues. You seem to be having fun, and I saw your Magmar evolved, so congrats on that."

"Thanks. You should see what he can do now," Lauren dreamily muttered. "Though my entire team's awesome. I'd ask you for a battle, but you aren't that interested in that kind of stuff anymore, I guess."

Mira nodded. "Sorry, Lauren. I'm usually a lot more fun than this."

"You are," she acknowledged.

Mira laughed, dropping her fork on her half-emptied plate, and Gardevoir's eyes widened slightly.

"What?" Lauren frowned.

"You always tell it to me straight," she giggled. "I like that. I want to learn from you, really."

"I don't have much to teach, unless you want to blow stuff up," Lauren shrugged. "Anyway, I won't pry into your travels. I was just thinking, since you're here, maybe we could go together?"

"There's no need to be all embarassed about it," Mira snorted. "Can you… um, leave me a day to decide or something? I don't know if this is a great idea."

"Oh…"

"But it's not your fault!" Mira quickly added. "In normal circumstances, I'd say hell yes, you know? Just let me think for a bit. When were you planning on leaving?"

"Well, Barry Lane won against Candice earlier than I did, which is unacceptable," Lauren frowned. "So I wanted to leave tomorrow to get there sooner. I used to be as far into the Circuit as he was, but my detour with Flint and not having a flier screwed me over a little."

Sirris shivered in his goo. Way to call me useless. I've been working so hard on Teleporting you around.

Lauren ignored him. "I wanted to be first. He stole that from me."

"If I'm being honest, I don't think you're even on his radar," Mira said.

"Then I'll get on there," she growled.

"Oh, I fully believe that."

Lauren deflated, having expected Mira to fight her on this. Part of her was sad they hadn't gotten into an argument that would let her expose why her team could beat Barry Lane in a battle. She had imagined herself battling all of the prominent first-years already.

Denzel Williams, she would crush. Not enough firepower and too many gimmicks. There was no meat on the bone, so to speak, and it would probably be disappointingly easy. There was only so much stupid little fairy tricks could do, though she had to admit, his Roserade was a Pokemon she would mesh with well, and Volis would probably enjoy the fight. Cecilia Obel would be trickier now that she finally had her Hydreigon, and watching her battle with Byron had made Lauren very happy. She'd been so disappointed to hear about Cecilia's loss against Wake after they'd been peers in Veilstone that she'd nearly called to give her advice on her rematch before knowing she would leave to fight Byron instead. Sirris had told her it was a bad idea anyway. Her Slowking had grown more skilled at barriers than Sirris, Scizor fought like Mags and didn't care what happened so long as his opponent was taken care of, Talonflame could fly at the speed of sound. She had a lot to give, if it came to a battle in the Conference, and Lauren looked forward to the destruction they'd wreak on whatever field they fought on. Grace Pastel, she would have to judge once she fought Byron herself, but her having a Tyranitar and Electivire was good news, and the latter had taken down a Gyarados by himself against Wake. Chase Karlson was in the same boat as her, and there wasn't enough updated information on him, but she'd seen the way he'd lit Wake's arena on fire and created huge icebergs, and that boded very well.

And of course, that was not even counting the non first-years she would fight.

So many rivals to face at the Conference, Lauren thought with a surge of excitement.

"What are you grinning at?" Mira asked.

"At how I'm going to crush all of your friends."

—

It was a catastrophe.

Hours later, and even though the rain had stopped, Lauren had been watching some videos from last year's Conference with her headphones on when the rumors started. Whispers at first. People talking in hushed tones and staring at each other in disbelief before running out of the Pokemon Center. While Lauren was famous, much to her displeasure due to her annoying fans, few trainers in all of Sinnoh ever triggered that reaction. Trainers that scored high in the Conference— quarter-finalists, at least— Elite Four members, Gym Leaders, or the Champion. It would be just Lauren's luck, then, that the whispers were about her older brother and not someone else. What was he even doing here? Wasn't he training on Mount Coronet like always, or whatever? And why stop in the middle of nowhere instead of flying wherever he needed to be on Roxie?

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Damn it. Her phone ringing wasn't any better, either. Lauren considered letting it go to voice mail, but she knew there was nowhere to hide and that it was only a matter of time until Craig found her. They hadn't spoken in months, and she… did kind of miss him, but only a little bit— the tiniest of bits, actually. Him and his stupid little goofy attitude he put on whenever he was with her. Lauren sighed as she picked up the phone, much to Sirris' surprise. The sound of swarming fans filled her headphones, and she groaned as she heard Craig acting happy with them until he realized she had actually answered his call.

"Sorry guys and gals, I've gotta run," she heard on the end of the line. "I won't be staying here long, but I'll be in Hearthome soon, alright? Yep, yep, see you…"

Legendaries, he was being so fake. Most of the time he dealt with his fans, Craig didn't mind, but Lauren knew he hated being swarmed as soon as he landed somewhere and he had shit to do. He was good at hiding things, though. Lauren was terrible at hiding the way she truly felt from people.

"Hurry the fuck up," Lauren hissed under her breath. "I was busy."

It took another twenty seconds for Craig to respond. "Lauren! I didn't think you'd actually answer, I— Arceus, how are you? It's been a while, huh?"

"I'm fine. Why are you here?"

"Well, I was finishing up my training and swinging by civilization again, and I heard you got yourself a Magmortar, so congratulations, eh? I figured I'd swing by and see if you wanted to talk or not. Want to meet?"

"In private. You'll embarrass me if we're in public."

"Me? I'd never do that."

"You embarrassed me when you came to my school two years ago."

"Okay, in retrospect, that might have been a bad idea, but I thought you'd be happy about it," her brother said. "You were, even! Don't try to rewrite history here, you were smiling all day."

"Yeah, well past me was stupid. I'm at the Pokemon Center, come and get me already."

"Aw, she misses me. Which one?"

"The one the closest to the cave's entrance!" she snapped. "Hurry up."

She hadn't expected him to Teleport in front of her Pokemon Center, but he did, with some sort of… was that an Orbeetle? She vaguely remembered seeing one in a battle she probably looked at, but they all blurred together these days. Her brother, revealing a new Pokemon in public? She was almost convinced some abomination in Mount Coronet was mind-controlling him somehow. His hair was still as dark as always, and longer than usual, and he was unshaved, which was unusual, but then again, he was coming back from spending over a month inside of a mountain. Craig walked toward her, his arms wide open to wrap her in a hug, which she promptly weaved away from. After making sure to let people know to leave him alone, he turned back towards her.

"Hey, Lauren," he grinned. "How's my favorite sister doing?"

"Good, actually. How's my least favorite brother doing?"

"You were supposed to answer with 'I'm your only sister', but I'll take it. Oh, sorry, this is Dot, my new Orbeetle. Dot, meet Lauren."

"Let's head up to my room," she grunted.

"C'mon, say hello," Craig said.

"Nice to meet you."

They began walking toward Lauren's room, which thankfully was on the first floor and close by.

I've heard a lot about you, Orbeetle mused with a curious tint in her eye. Or Lauren assumed it was a curious tint. It was hard to tell, with the strange way they were ringed. And this is Sirris, I presume?

At your service, strange creature! Reuniclus answered back.

Goodness, never mind, I want nothing to do with you, Dot deadpanned.

Sirris made a sad face. Does no one know how to take a joke around here? You'd think I was talking to one of the suits at Silph Co.

As soon as they reached Lauren's room, she slammed the door behind them and looked at her brother with disappointed eyes.

"Why're you walking around with a new Pokemon instead of hiding her?" Lauren frowned. "You're losing your touch, Craig."

Her brother scratched the back of his head. "The plan was to keep her hidden until the Conference, but I got fu— I mean, I got screwed."

Lauren rolled her eyes at her brother's inability to swear around her, or any teenager or kid, really.

"So what?"

"Some Galarian kid figured me out. Jamie Pearce, from Motostoke. He owns a fancy Glimmora, but it was his Inteleon that got me. Sneaked up on me in the middle of the mountain and somehow made it past Dot."

In my defense, you did tell me to take a break, the Orbeetle chided. Her carapace lit up with every color imaginable in a way that made it difficult to look away from her.

"Anyway, he's pretty good. Found me out, and it's only a matter of time until it leaks, so I figured I'd get ahead of it and release the information in a controlled manner."

"So that's why you're back early," Lauren said.

"Part of it. I've got some business in Jubilife to attend to soon, and it looks like I missed a whole lot of drama there," Craig said, scrolling through his phone.

"Can't you turn off your phone when we're talking?" she muttered.

He instantly listened in a way that made Lauren feel a little bad. "The Conference is a real nest of Seviper, I tell you. Don't get caught off-guard when you get there," he warned.

"I won't," she grunted. "Say, you'll never guess what happened. I got— I asked my friend to travel with me!"

"Really? Which one?" Craig beamed.

"Mira Compton. She's around here somewhere, and I hope she says yes."

"Ah," he smiled. "Having friends is good, but if she ever asks you to do anything like that raid, you tell her to fuck off, alright?"

Lauren blinked. So much for not swearing. "...yeah."

"Good. You're only sixteen. All you should be worrying about is… whatever the hell sixteen-year-olds are into these days. Still battling and music for you, huh?"

"The Laughing Twins released a new album while you were out gallivanting in Mount Coronet," she said.

"Hoho, really? Did you buy it on the family account, or…"

"Legendaries, you're such a leech," Lauren rolled her eyes. "Yes, I did."

"Great, I'll give it a listen while I'm flying to Hearthome. I've got to meet some execs here who want to milk me for all I'm worth before I croak—" he stopped, seeing her reaction. She'd flinched without realizing it. "—figure of speech, Lauren."

"Right," Lauren nodded. She rubbed her hands on her pants with unease. "Sorry, sarcasm is—"

"I'm your brother, Lauren. I know, don't worry about it. Anyway, I'm glad you're going to be traveling with someone. You know, back in the day, Sarah and I, we'd go to Victory Road and train together…"

Arceus, when he started about Sarah, he never stopped. Lauren let him go on, though, because she knew he enjoyed talking about her to people. Craig liked reminiscing about his time as a kid, and Sarah Newman had been there for a long part of that childhood. Apparently, they had a fight at some point that had them not traveling together anymore, but he always spoke fondly of her, even if she was in Indigo now. When he was done, though, Lauren decided to ask something she'd always craved.

"Craig, I— can we battle?"

Her sibling's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes, really! Do you think I'd joke about this?!"

"Relax, okay? What, like a six-on-six?"

"That sounds good to me," Lauren grinned.

She was under no impression that she could win, but after how far she'd come… she was certain she'd be able to take down one Pokemon, at the very least.

"And you better not hold back, or I'll never forgive you," she added.

"Well, if you say so," Craig sighed. "Dot, could you take us to that spot?"

—

Dot summoned a barrier around the entire plateau. She had brought them somewhere near Floaroma, and even after Teleporting this far, she showed no signs of exhaustion. Sirris was exhausted after he had Teleported her from Sunyshore to Veilstone!

Still, Lauren was glad her brother had brought her to some secluded area for this battle. Had he not, then his fans would have swarmed him like flies. It was part of the reason she… well, didn't dislike Denzel, but was apathetic about him. It might have been unfair to him, but she didn't care. It was his fault for bringing up Craig every time he had a chance to. Lauren gripped her Pokeball until her knuckle was white and adjusted her glasses with her other hand. Now that it was time— that she was where she'd wanted to be since starting on her journey, the monumentality of this moment weighed down on her back so heavily that she had to consciously straighten it. He was just standing there, all worried about me, and still, there's this pressure. A vice wrapping around her neck that made it hard to breathe. Craig Goodwill was her brother. A goofball, when he wanted to be, an idiot who, despite her desperate attempts, she could not stop herself from loving.

What was it about her brother, that was so terrifying? Was it because he was an institution? The person everyone thought about, when they were asked to name a trainer? The epitome of what it meant to persevere through harsh times and a world that wanted to chew you and spit you out, and still make it? Lauren did not know, and yet when she released her Rhydon, she couldn't help but think she was facing a giant.

"Let's see how you've grown," Craig declared, sending a shiver down her spine.

Hippowdon materialized onto the mountain with her eyes closed. Bad matchup from the get-go. Had he known she would lead with Paragon? But how? She hadn't let anything slip! Lauren's mind raced with a dozen different scenarios. Her sibling was one of the best cold readers in Sinnoh, and the best information gatherer as well, and somehow, he had figured her out. At least he isn't holding back, she thought. Paragon sized up his opponent with a mocking sneer, but Lauren snapped her fingers.

"Stay focused. She will fuck you up," Lauren hissed, and thankfully that got his attention.

"Ippie. Battle," Craig added. "No Sand Stream, I'll need vision."

And just like that, the entire ground… broke down, turning into continuously shifting sands. Rhydon snarled in frustration in a desperate attempt to climb out, but he was sinking like the sand was water.

"Rock Climb! Get close!" Lauren yelled.

Somehow, Rhydon found his footing in the quicksand. The first step was the slowest, and the rock type stumbled forward, barely holding onto the ground with his massive hands. He began to crawl, and then sped up, running across the sands as if he could create stepping stones out of nothing.

"Fissure and close it up," Craig continued.

The plateau opened up like a hungry maw, and Rhydon fell into the depths.

Then, it closed.

"Finish him off with Earthquake, then drag him out."

The entire arena violently shook as slits of brown light appeared within the sand, which burst upward in massive columns of debris from the Earthquake. What was happening? Even with Flint, she'd felt a little more in control, but maybe this was how it felt, when it was a true one-on-one and not a six-on-one, and Magmortar had been holding back. She heard none of Rhydon's scream, while he drowned in the sand. After around fifteen seconds of Earthquake, Hippowdon grunted, sands continuously pouring from the holes on her back. The sands bubbled, and Rhydon was thrown back up to the surface through sheer manipulation of sand. There were long cracks running in his armor and Lauren could only see the white of his eyes.

"Good job, Ippie," Craig said.

Lauren recalled Paragon with a mixture of acceptance and disbelief. Craig had gotten even better. Ippie's expertise with ground TE had grown leaps and bounds. Not that she would have been able to win beforehand, but all of this time, Craig had been a static figure to Lauren. Like she was chasing the moon, forever the same, and that eventually she'd grow past him. But Craig was growing in tandem with her. He was not a static figure who would forever stay the same, and what she'd gotten out of his battling videos was now meaningless.

Think, Lauren. The entire floor was now a death trap, and the only Pokemon who might have had the tools to deal with it were Reuniclus and Seismitoad. Anyone else would suffer the same fate Rhydon had. Lauren shook off the stress and released Sirris, who hovered high above the shifting sands. She couldn't discount Ippie being capable of sending the earth up to drag Sirris into the sands.

"Drag him in with Crunch."

And that's exactly what happened. The ground erupted from below, swarming toward Reuniclus and forming into a maw. Lauren barely had time to comprehend what was happening before the remote Crunch broke through Reuniclus' two barriers with ease she'd never seen before and Hippowdon dug the teeth, which had now solidified into stone, into the psychic's gooey body.

"Acid Armor and Expanding Force!" Lauren yelled.

Sirris was still conscious, thank the Legendaries. The psychic dissolved in a pile of transparent liquid, slipping past the Crunch's grasp. This was, unfortunately, only one Crunch, and about nine more were coming. Light burst out of Sirris, and Lauren's ears popped as everything around him exploded, glassing the majority of Hippowdon's sand. It was replenished so fucking quickly it might as well not have mattered, but at least they had an opening.

"Energy Ball!" Lauren cried out.

"Dig."

His body still smoking with vapor, Reuniclus summoned six fluorescent green balls, speeding them up with Psychic. They had trained for so long, to not disturb Energy Ball's careful balance and accidentally blow it up with the move, and the six attacks homed in toward Hippowdon, who just sank under the sands. The ground above where she had just buried solidified into hard stone before Lauren could blink, leaving the Energy Balls to crash helplessly against stone and not hurting Hippowdon at all. Ippie's always been the most defensive of Craig's Pokemon, Lauren thought, and there was no way she had enough power to deal with her. Expanding Force might have worked, if she was capable of using it around… six times in a row in rapid succession, but that was madness. Lauren's mind was racing but for the first time since she'd begun this career, her mind came up empty.

She couldn't improvise any longer.

"Use Mud Sling," Craig said.

Craig's Hippowdon emerged in another spot as the sand around her turned solid again. Stone turned to mud that flew toward Reuniclus like bullets, cracking across the air every time a small explosion sent them up.

"Suspension Bubble!"

The psychic's eyes shone as a thin layer of air shivered, extending from Sirris until it reached ten feet all around him. The pellets of mud that passed through stopped instantly, hovering in the air as Reuniclus strained to stop the projectiles. The problem was that they never stopped, and eventually, he gave. Bullets of mud crashed into Sirris— dozens of them, leaving an opening for another Crunch. Five, thin tendrils of sand surged upward, their edges turning to stone and than fangs that absorbed all light.

Sirris went down, and Lauren hadn't even landed a single hit on Ippie.

Lauren's jaw clenched as she recalled the psychic, and she realized her hopes of taking down one Pokemon as she was now were simply impossible. Her hands went flat against her side, and the tension left her shoulders in a way she hated, because that meant she'd admitted defeat. There was just no point in fighting anymore, was there? Doubt crept up in her heart, eating away at every other emotion she felt.

"This is meaningless," she muttered. She crouched, hugging her knees. "I give up."

She didn't cry. Lauren just felt numb, like the joy from battling had been ripped out of her. She had lost before. Losing was fun, but losing when you couldn't even retaliate? Where everything you tried was clinically countered, leaving you no room to breathe like you were slowly being choked out? What was the point? Lauren saw Ippie's saddened look and Dot's barrier disappear from the corner. She'd known all of Craig's Pokemon since she'd been a kid, and Ippie was no different. The ground plateau turned from sand back into stone, and around a minute later, she heard Craig's footsteps approach.

"How'd you find it?" he asked.

When Lauren looked up, she saw that his expression had no traces of the pity she had expected. It was hardened, and proud, for some damned reason.

"Not fun," she whispered. "I didn't even get to respond to anything."

"Ippie's a menace," Craig smiled. "And you did ask me not to hold back, didn't you?"

"I did… I just hoped that I'd be able to take down one, or land a hit."

"I picked Ippie because the way she fights counters your entire team, Lauren," Craig gently explained. "Had I picked another Pokemon, you would have gotten at least a few hits in, but no, you would not have taken out a Pokemon."

The statement was ironclad in an infuriating way, but Lauren knew it was true.

"I wanted to beat you, when I started this," she said. "To surpass you."

Craig crouched next to Lauren, placing a hand on her shoulder. His hair had grown long, during his stay in Mount Coronet. It was messy in a way he usually didn't show in public. "I've been at this for ten years, Lauren. You can't surpass that in a single year."

"Cynthia won the Championship in a year."

"Cynthia's one of a kind," Craig smiled. "And look, it took me three years to get to where you are in less than one. I fully believe that you're getting in the Conference, and that took me even longer. You'll surpass me one day, Lauren."

"Do you think that if I sent my Magmortar, he would have glassed the sand faster than Ippie could make it?"

"No," he answered.

"Could Prime have flooded the field to throw her off her game?"

"No. We have contingencies against water types."

"Damn it. You're so fucking annoying," she tiredly exhaled.

Her brother flinched back as if he'd been struck. "Huh? Why?!"

"Shut up," she said, rising to her feet. "I hate you."

"Arceus, I can never win with you, can I?" Craig said with a saddened smile. He stood up as well and patted her shoulder. "I'll have Dot take you back to your friend. Watch yourself in Mount Coronet, alright? Keep Sirris out at all times— you really need to get yourself a flying type after you get your carry license. Mira Compton has her own psychics, too. You should be safe if you stay on the path—"

Lauren wrapped him into a tight hug and squeezed until he groaned and complained about her hurting his ribs.

"I missed you, you idiot," she sniffled.

She felt a hand pat her head. "Me too, Lauren. Me too."

"I'm sorry for pushing you away and never messaging first," she mumbled.

"That's ok. I know you," he said. "Just shoot Mom and Dad a text? They haven't heard from you in months."

"Uhuh."

"Want me to stay with you today—"

"Fuck off. If you tell anyone about this, I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth. Even when you're the Champion, or whatever. And you better become the Champion!"

He chuckled. "Alright. Dot?"

Lauren let go of the hug, wiping her eyes behind her glasses, now foggy from having rubbed on Craig's shirt for so long. The Orbeetle, seemingly unmoved by the display of affection, flicked her wrist, and suddenly, they were back at the outpost. Lauren instantly acted like she didn't know him, of course, though he was instantly swarmed by an army of fans. She ignored his wave and brought Paragon and Sirris back to the Pokemon Center.

Craig hadn't lied when he said he hadn't held back. It would take days for both of them to heal, but it would work out, since Mira needed time to think anyway.

"Well, time to go battle some trainers to pass the time," she muttered, suddenly missing Sirris' quips.

Winning again would improve her mood.

—

A day had passed since her battle with Craig. Lauren wished she could have called it fateful, or pretended like it had been important, but there was no other way to call it other than a one-sided beatdown. It was at times like these, that the gap between the top ring of the Conference and the group stages showed itself, and she wasn't even qualified yet. In a way, this had been a bigger wake-up call than when she challenged second or third years that had been more powerful than she was. The rift had never been so apparent, but instead of being depressed, she was just excited to get to the Conference even more. Before meeting Mira in her room, Lauren made sure she'd actually held conversations with multiple of her friends yesterday night on the phone and that it hadn't been some kind of dream, but it was true. She'd texted first, and they'd all been elated. Her parents too, though that had been expected. Her father was swamped with work, these days, with Sinnoh's economy down in the dumps, or whatever the problem was.

Lauren knocked on the door repeatedly for a minute until she heard Mira swear and run at the door.

"Arceus! Is someone getting murdered or what?!" Mira groaned, her eyes half-opened.

"No, you just weren't answering."

"Lauren, I was sleeping."

"You told me to come!" she said, feeling slightly defensive.

Her friend nervously scratched her elbow. "I guess I did. My bad. Come in." Lauren stepped inside of the… horrifying room. It was like stepping in a pigsty, really. How did someone live in this? "I haven't slept this well in ages, so I might have gotten too into it."

"You can't sleep?" Lauren asked.

"Long story, don't worry about it. I talked to my team, and they… all agree that traveling with you would be a good idea for me, except Exeggcute, but they're a rowdy bunch," Mira smiled fondly. "I'll go up with you until we reach Snowpoint, but then I'll head out to wherever I'm going."

Lauren silently nodded, mighty pleased with herself.

Mira raised an eyebrow. "Damn, no questions? Okay. I still need you to know a few things first, alright? First of all… my Haunter evolved into a Gengar."

"Oh. Can I battle him?"

"Huh?"

"Can I battle him?" she asked again. "I've heard crazy things about what Gengar can do—"

Mira brought both of her hands up. "Wait, wait, wait! That's it? You're asking if you can fight him?"

"Well, yeah! It's not every day someone can battle a Gengar… I wish I knew how they evolved, though. Did I say something wrong, or what?" Lauren said, reducing her voice to a whisper.

"No, you're fine! I'm just— so not used to that reaction, okay. Um, the last thing is sometimes I talk in my sleep and stuff, whenever I manage to actually fall asleep. Whatever you hear… uh, might be a little weird and graphic."

"I've seen weirder things happen. Mags shoots off Flamethrowers in his sleep sometimes."

"Well, if that's your reaction, then we can go, I guess," Mira said with a hint of a smile. "I needed a change of pace anyway."

Lauren smiled, content that she'd gotten her first traveling companion ever, but then she crossed her arms and stared down at her friend.

"You know I'm battling that Gengar at least once before we go our separate ways, right?"