Heading out on my journey did not happen immediately, not even with a full team of six. In fact, I had to cut down on training time to focus on finishing up some other projects and making sure we were stocked up before we could set off. Plus spending time with Arven, he’s been practically glued to my hip when not doing that stuff.

Still, even with all that, I tried to spend at least an hour every day going over some basic training plans for my new team members and polishing up Moves my older Pokemon had yet to master.

“Notch, you’ve come a long way with your Fairy Type energy, but we still need to get Moonblast working during the daytime.” They tilted up, glaring at the sun, ears lying flat, as if the celestial body had offended them personally. “Maybe try focusing on the fact that the moon is always around the planet, even if you can’t see it?”

They gave a chime of agreement, mixed with maybe a slight resignation? Hard to tell when they hop to any order I give with the same effort. Oh, Misty Terrain first to try and boost your connection to Fairy energy, very good. I made a mental note to praise them for their initiative at the end of the session before moving on to the others.

“Ok, Zorua, practice your agility. Work on jumping backwards to try and avoid attacks, and see if you can weave in a Shadow Sneak as you do so.” My little fox gave a quick yip and got to work, seeing it mostly as a game. Which is fair, most battling for her up to this point has been just a game. Even tournaments and Gym Battles are mostly just a slightly more serious and formal version of that.

Her attitude was not shared (or appreciated) by my newest team member, Riolu, who turned her nose up slightly. Nightwing stuck her tongue out at the Fighting Type, swooping over her head and causing the canine Pokemon to growl lowly at the mischievous Pokemon drifting above her. I just sighed at the all-to-common sight.

Riolu isn’t overtly brash or mean-spirited to my Pokemon, but her attitude makes it hard for her to get along with the others outside of Dun. Which is unfortunate, as she’s already a highly effective fighter. There’s only a few areas she needs to work on personally, and those will mostly be polished out in time. What she needs now is to learn to work with others, getting a hang of how battling as a member of a team works.

Whistling, I called Nightwing down, pulling some plastic balls out of my bag as I did so. Passing two to her and two more to Nightwing, I said, “Okay, you two are going to practice juggling these two while going up and down the beach. Oh, and each ball you have to pass to each other. Got it?” The drill is mostly just to help Nightwing get used to her new body and speed, but hopefully it’ll help Riolu get along with the others and learn how to handle their tempos.

Almost the instant that they began, Nightwing threw too hard and pelted Riolu in the face with one of the balls, her laughter eliciting a Vacuum Wave empowered shot back. Ugh, looks like we have a long way to go there. At least I didn’t start them off with the iron balls.

“Keep at it, everyone!” I tried to call out encouragingly before whispering to Dun. “Keep an eye on them, please.” He nodded, trying not to look too smug at not being the problem Pokemon. “You ready, Miles?”

“DJ Mixmaster is in the house, bzzt!” Miles declared boldly.

I was surprised at his enthusiasm. “Sounds rocking, should that be your stage name?”

“No, in fact, please don’t ever call me that.” Raising an eyebrow, I saw Miles form plasmic blush spots. “I regretted it the instant I said it, bzzt.”

Laughing, I waved the others goodbye as we headed to the music studio. With my ‘growing talents,’ my parents had converted one of our spare rooms into a room filled with musical instruments and recording equipment. It was quite the overhaul, but given Mom’s contacts, it happened pretty smoothly.

“V-Star sent over the tracks, right?” I asked, and Miles confirmed it, heading over to the computer in the room to begin going over the audio file while I checked over one of the guitars.

“Bzzt, he did indeed!” They played the file for me, and I took it in. Hmm, it’s good, really good. Guess that’s to be expected, with all these incredible artists helping me.

When I was finally convinced to make an album, my parents were enthused and wanted to throw as much money and connections as they could at the project. I’d been hesitant at first, but as the prospects of how large a project it was loomed over me (as well as moving up my own timetable with the need to go on a journey), I conceded to their requests.

V-Star, E.X., Techno Color Group, and many other artists had been called on to help with the project. Not all of them had the time or the right flare to add to a song, but half the album had different artist names featured in it.

I still made sure to do my part in all of the songs though! I’m the one with the vision for what I want the songs to sound like, so it helps the more I take charge. Honestly, I hope that none of Hassel’s friends felt I was too demanding. Money talks, and my parents had plenty of it, but Hassel’s connections were invaluable too.

“Hey Miles, do you think ‘I’ll Grow Up Tomorrow’ would be a good fit for V-Star?” I asked after the Rotom finished overlaying the tracks.

They blinked before buzzing positively. “I think it could work, but won’t that mean you can’t sing it yourself?”

I shook my head. “I’m just focused on getting the music out there. I think I did decently on this album, but hearing the skill all these great artists have... I’ll never be that good.”

Miles’ plasmic eyes narrowed, and they got up in my face. “Don’t say that, Nemona! I think you’re incredible, and you’ve got plenty of time to become that good.”

Their sudden vehemence was surprising, but I just smiled and shook my head. “Ok, ok, I’ll stop putting myself down. But it’s true that I’d need more work to be on their level, and I’m going to be pretty busy as a Trainer and exploring the mysteries of the world. And honestly, just kinda burnt out on this, I’ll be happy to take a break once this is done. Maybe I’ll get more into music later.” It’s funny; I have way fewer responsibilities from my old life, but I feel like there’s so much more to do, so I have even less time.

With a wistful sigh, I sat down on the stool in the center of the room, pulling a microphone stand in close. “Bzzt, well, I plan on making plenty of noise still,” they said with a wink, and I chuckled, getting the reference to their new Boombox form. “And I hope it helps to know that I think this is going to be great, bzzt.” Rotom’s praise wasn’t as effusive as my parents, but it brought a smile to my face.

“It does. I’m also so thankful for your help, I never could have done this without you.” There’s that blush back. Do wild Rotoms do that too, or is that an entirely learned habit? “You sure I can’t credit you as a co-writer or-” They gave an immediate negative buzz with a subvocalization of ‘That’s not right!’ that I could only barely pick up with my enhanced senses.

“Nice copy of Lacey,” I snickered before remembering I should probably send my friends advanced copies of the album once it was done. Another thing on the pile. “Still, you basically did at least as much work as I did on this, Megalovania was mostly made by you on the synthesizer.”

Seeing Miles stubbornly shake their phone case body, I rolled my eyes, making a waving motion to indicate I’d given up on the argument and for them to get the recording ready. I can one hundred percent get wanting to stay out of the spotlight, but this is too much. I’ll at least make a note in the album foreward of all the hard work Miles did.

“Ok, I think we’re ready. It’s been a long time coming, but here we go, final song.” Miles grinned from behind the recording booth and electrokinetically flicked on the green light. I began strumming before singing softly.

“Keep you in the dark, and they all pretend...’

***

That was not the end of it though; it took at least another month, mostly filled with getting a drumming section from the Kubfu Fighters and much work done on promotional materials and hyping the project up. With it 99% done and ready to be released on Rotunes in a week, I was finally ready for my biggest challenge: Shopping for clothes.

There was plenty of other shopping I’d needed to do to get ready, stocking up on healing items, berries, general supplies and the like, as well as getting a few more Battle Items to match my new team’s needs. That stuff was all fairly easy compared to the daunting task before me, especially with the ‘help’ I had.

“Are you sure this is necessary?” I asked once more, as my sister dragged me from boutique to boutique. “This is the weekend, you’ve got free time better spent on something other than buying me an outfit.”

She giggled, as if I had said the silliest thing in the world. “But this is your chance to declare yourself to the world; ‘here is Nemona!’ Your outfit will speak for yourself before you even open your mouth, and you need something that says you’re going to be a Champion. And I can hardly trust you to dress yourself,” she muttered under her breath.

“Hey! I dress myself perfectly fine.”

My big sister rolled her eyes, boldly pushing through the door to another shop. Making a quick beeline to the headware, she began pulling off accessories and holding them up in front of a mirror. “Yes, you dress ‘fine.’ There are thousands of people who dress fine; you need to dress fiercer than that.”

“You didn’t need any special outfit when you did your gym run." I pointed out, which only caused her to grip my hand tighter.

“Well, I had a school uniform because I didn’t decide to not go to Uva, like a traitor,” she said in a perfectly sweet tone. Placing a pink sunhat on top of her head and glancing at it in the mirror for a few moments, she put it in her bag and, with a delighted smile, added, “You should just be grateful I’m taking the time out of my day to help you.”

I glanced over at the bag looped around her arm and all the clothes in there for her and how I still didn’t have anything yet, but wisely decided not to point that out. To be fair, part of that is my ‘fault’ for being too ‘picky.’ Though to be even fairer, it’s not as if it’s my fault that a dress or skirt simply isn’t going to do in a journey all across the land!

After a minute, I said, “I am happy, and I do appreciate this.” Mostly spending time with her, but it’s nice to have someone helping me with this fashion stuff. I’d like to look nice, but putting in all that effort to follow trends and everything just feels like too much.

“I’m glad to. Feels weird, like I’m going to be seeing you less just because you’re going out on your journey, even though I’ll still be in school.” She said as we found another store, throwing a few clothes at me to try on. I took the jeans out of the pile (they felt too stiff) and marched to the changing room.

“Are you planning on taking on the Elite Four?” I asked while trying on the outfits.

My question provoked a groan from her. “No way; battling the gyms was way too tough. I’m just going to focus on studying this year.” I remembered her being over the moon when she came back with her eighth gym badge and how determined she was to get it, even challenging Thyme multiple times over the summer to earn it. On the other hand, I get trying to just throw yourself into some goal, just wanting to get it ‘done.’

Stepping out of the change room, I flapped the overly long sleeves of the sweater I was wearing. “Bit much?” She asked, and I nodded.

“Yeah, it looks like I'm cribbing Iono's fashion. But I like the pants,” I said, sticking my leg out and looking at them. They were pretty simple black with a white lightning bolt-shaped stripe running down the outer sides. Cyan beamed, pouncing on the opportunity.

“Perfect! Here, I’ve got some more clothes for you.” I groaned and tried them on, going through a long montage of outfits that were rejected either by myself or my sister.

Eventually we settled on the pants I liked, a white t-shirt, and a red and white hoodie designed to look like a Pokeball. There’s tons of symbols and pictures of different Pokemon, but I think that something more general like that is a good ‘image’ to put forward. Though I do wonder why my sister is so worried about that.

“Cyan, I don’t need many accessories, this’ll be good.” My sister pouted, pointing out something I hadn’t considered.

“We need you to be wearing something gold, or Mom and Dad will pout.” Grimacing, I nodded. They would, they really would.

“Ok, fine. Maybe just a gold necklace?” My sister waved her hand back and forth as if that were iffy. “And it can have a solid gold ornament on it. Maybe of a Dudunsparce?” It would have to be custom made, but honestly, that’s not a big problem for us. All these clothes are going to be altered and fitted closer by tailors too.

She nodded, satisfied. “That should work. Make sure to get some golden hairbands for when you tie it off in a ponytail.”

“Actually, I was thinking I’d get it cut short.” Cyan gave off a shocked gasp that turned into a squeal of delight. I’ve been overly picky with my hair and style, wanting to keep it comfortable and close to canon Nemona, but it’s past time that I moved on. And what better way to show you're past something than a haircut?

I called Miles up to look into that, immediately getting sidetracked by the maps and routes I had pulled up before. Peering over my shoulder, Cyan said, “Wow. That's, uh, certainly a complex plan.”

Looking at the different lines I had digitally drawn on them and all the different paths I could go through, I couldn’t disagree. “Yeah, but I think this will give me a good challenge, as well as let me explore tons across Paldea.” Well, I plan on challenging all the Gym Leaders to eighth-badge-level Gym Challenges, but I still think Kofu and Larry will give me the toughest challenge. They’re the most experienced and toughest Gym Leaders right now, so I’ll leave them for last.

Part of that was due to how many new Gym Leaders there were. Grusha had just taken over for Martha in the Glaseado Gym, with Brassius doing the same for Artazon. Katy only had the last year under her belts as well. Not that I plan on underestimating any of them.

She shrugged, “If you’re sure you have enough time.”

“Enough time for what?” Cyan can’t possibly know about my plans to confront Turo or the Paradox Pokemon, right?

“To become the youngest ever Champion-ranked trainer in Paldea,” she responded. “Isn’t that why you’re doing this now?”

Laughing, I shook my head. “Champion rank is nice, but no, I’m not aiming for that before my tenth birthday just to make a record. Besides, the time traveling across the land will be good for training too. Riolu is strong, but she still needs to evolve, and Zorua needs to get accustomed to battles and evolve as well.”

“I hope she still looks cute when she evolves,” Cyan mentioned, and I tried my best not to act suspicious. I think Hisuian Zoroark looks awesome, but ‘cute’ is not exactly the word most people would use.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

My sister continued. “You sure you can’t tell me where to get one like her? I know I’m aiming to be a Water Type specialist, but I can make an exception.”

“No, you know that I signed an NDA and that she’s the only one of her kind anyway." That was what Friede and I had settled on, and so far it seemed to work. “Besides, if you’re looking for a Pokemon outside of your chosen Type, why not pick something that can learn a bunch of Water Moves?”

I don’t know for certain what Moves Zorua can learn. Obviously she has a predilection to Normal and Ghost Moves and a decent degree of Dark energy she can use, but I’m not certain as to her full Move list. And I can hardly check the Pokedex to refresh my memory here since it’s even more blank than I am on the topic.

“What Pokemon learn the most Water Moves out of Type?” Cyan asked, mildly curious. I knew that she’d become a bit of a celebrity among her other classmates and would now try and keep Pokemon tidbits I could feed her to impress the other students. Not that she doesn’t know a fair bit herself. Even if I’m still more skilled than she is, Cyan worked hard to get those badges.

“Well, Smeargles, technically. They can learn every Move, potentially.”

“Potentially? That feels different than your usual spiel about how ‘every Pokemon can be strong if you just believe in them,’ and ‘don’t let yourself be limited by whatever anyone tells you a Pokemon can or can’t do.’” She mocked me, and I crossed my arms.

“I don’t sound like that, but yes. See, Smeargles only learn Moves via copying them. But unlike something like Copycat, they can permanently copy a Move by Sketching it out, able to use it forever. You might actually like them; they’re great artists, so you could get along great.”

My older sibling scratched her chin, clearly thinking about it. “Interesting. Being able to throw Salt Cure around like Tyme did to me would be fun…” She trailed off, cackling maniacally.

“If you do get a Smeargle, let me know. I have certain plans involving one,” I said, steepling my fingers in a totally non-suspicious manner.

Cyan frowned and replied, “I don’t like that look on your face. It looks like you’re plotting something evil.”

“Oh, like you’re one to talk!” I fired back, happily bickering back with her all the way home. The road beckons, but I’m gonna miss this too.

***

My alarm clock woke me up, and I snapped to awareness. “Today’s the day.”

“It is indeed, bzzt.”

“I’m going to take my first step on my journey after the Professor gives me my starter.”

“Bzzt, uhhh…”

Swinging myself out of bed, I marched over to my desk and looked at the Pokeballs laid out on top of it. “Oh, but who to choose? This decision has racked many a player’s minds for minutes on end, until they just choose the Fire starter.”

“Nemona,” Miles said flatly, while the rest of my team, all standing behind me, chimed in.

“Rua!”

“Iolu.”

“Li li li!”

“Dudun.”

And even a few faint chimes ringing out from Notch.

"Okay, okay, I get it!” I said with a laugh as I turned to face my less than amused team. “I’m sorry, it’s just so... surreal.” I’ve lived here for years; I truly feel at home here. Yet at the same time, some part of me can’t help but feel how strange it is, like this is the start of a game. But it’s real, all the trials I’ll face and all the adventures I’ll- no, that we'll experience together.

“Alright, who’s ready to take the first step on our journey?” I asked before my stomach answered, rumbling loudly. “...After breakfast, that is. And I guess I should get dressed too.”

My new outfit had arrived, several sets of the same clothes that I had packed into my Silph Co. bag. I’d think it was excessive to have nearly a dozen copies of the same outfit, but if this is to be my signature look, I’ll need extras to deal with the wear and tear of the road.

Breakfast was a long affair, with Leah pestering me with questions about everything I’d already packed and me answering in-between mouthfuls of food (though she did help me remember my toothbrush, which I was grateful for). There was also my parents and Arven busy hyping me up and asking repeatedly what I was most excited about finding on my journey. A difficult question to answer considering I haven’t seen anything yet.

"Well, cool Pokemon for sure. Beyond that and hopefully becoming a Champion-ranked Trainer, though? Probably Grusha.”

Arven’s brow furrowed in concentration. “He’s that snowboarding guy, right?”

“Yeah. I talked to him when he was recovering from his injuries, over a year ago. I’m curious to see how good he is now that he’s a Gym Leader.” Finishing up the last of my (quite sizeable) breakfast, I stood up from the table. “Alright, I think it’s time.”

We headed out the front door, standing (and posing for a few photos taken on Rotom Phones) in the garden. “I’ll make sure to call you all as soon as I reach Cortondo,” I assured Arven and my parents, not that it stopped their wailing.

"Oh, we’ll miss you so much!”

“Such brave Glitterati stoicism, trekking out into the unknown!”

“I’m barely going farther today than I usually do for training!” But the day after that, and then further after that... I wiped away at the wetness welling in my own eyes. “I’ll talk to you guys tons, and make sure to watch my battles!”

“We will!”

“Have fun out there!”

“Show em’ who’s boss!”

“Please take care of yourself, Young Miss.”

More comments like that from the rest of the staff to go along with Leah, Arven, and my parents waving me off. Turning around with determined strides, I marched off, out the gate, and took my first steps on my journey.

***

Despite still traveling through the same familiar fields and hills I had often traversed in the past, my spirits were soaring well into the midafternoon. My stomach grumbled noisily, however, reminding me of physical necessities. “What do you think we should have for lunch?”

Phantasm, running by my side, yipped loudly, looking around at the river running to our side. “Zorua!”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “The fish in that river are looked after by the Psyducks and Marills there; they’d probably be upset if we took some. At least not without giving them something in exchange.” Or perhaps a battle... nah, let’s just stop at Los Platos and grab something from a restaurant. I don’t think any of these Pokemon will even be a challenge for Phantasm.

She was the only Pokemon I had out right now, not wanting to frighten the local populace of wild Pokemon with my whole team and hoping to get her some battling experience. The few encounters we’d had against Fletchlings and Nymbles proved lacking, however. Phantasm was way stronger than them, and while the Marills could be a bit tougher, I knew they’d be no match for her either.

Settling in at an open cafe, I got some food for myself and my team. As I ate, I observed the interactions each of them had, the team dynamic having grown quite a bit more complicated with a full team of six.

Riolu sat closest to Dun during mealtimes or breaks but didn’t look directly at him, an odd mixture of both shy and comfortable around him. Occasionally, she’d talk to Notch, asking the Fairy Type questions or getting into debates with them that always left her frowning slightly, meditating.

Not that they got into any of that, too busy with their food. Notch nibbled slowly at theirs, lamenting the lack of diamond dust in their meals now that we were leaving home. Still amazed, my parents agreed to that. A shame it didn’t work out, but even in minute portions over six months, the amount of diamonds Notch ingested had to have been greater in quantity than any other Carbink would find in the wild. That’s clearly not the path to becoming a Diancie.

Growling and hissing sounds drew my attention to Nightwing and Phantasm, the two of them fighting over Poffins. “We’re in a restaurant for crying out loud, bzzt! Can you not behave?” Miles rhetorically questioned them. The two of them launched into a flurry of angry words that were likely them trying to blame each other.

The Rotom Phone hovered over them aggressively, electricity crackling in the air. “Bzzt, it doesn’t matter who started it, I’m ending it.” I like seeing how much more assertive Miles has grown. Then again, it was probably trial by fire with this bunch, or everyone would have walked all over them.

Thankfully, Pokemon in general recognized listening to someone stronger than themselves, and Miles definitely qualified, being stronger than everyone bar Dun. Then again, it helps for Miles to be a neutral leader that they don’t try and steal food like Phantasm does.

The Zorua in question slunk away from Nightwing and her long barbed tail, flicking about around her bowl of Poffins. She ended up sitting down near Riolu. The two of them had been quite confrontational at first, until somehow they smoothed things out. Now it feels like Phantasm looks up to Riolu like a big sister. I hope that continues once they’ve both evolved.

Evolution was a dramatic change for Pokemon, both in body and sometimes in mind as well. I remembered how in the first anime Ash had a lot more difficulties with Charizard’s behavior after his evolution. Riolu was cognizant enough (or possibly worried) of that to decide to forestall taking any name until after she evolved.

After lunch, I told Phantasm, “Since you’re having so much fun with illusions, why don’t we practice them in battle a bit?” She winced minutely at my allusion to her misdeeds at lunch, trying to take Nightwings food. A nice try, but she’ll need more work before she can fool even my eyes, let alone a full-fledged Flying Type like Nightwing is. Then again, most of my team has pretty good awareness, Miles and Dun from all their training, Nightwing naturally, and Riolu with her Aura.

“Do you think you can conceal Moves?” I inquired, but she shook her head.

“Zo, ua.” She barked out, giving an example by Snarling, a wave rippling out through the air around her. It wasn’t dark in color, like the Move usually would be, and even looked nearly transparent, but the disturbance was still obvious, especially with the flashes of Dark Type energy that shone through, getting more apparent as the Move spread out before it faded out of existence.

The motion scared away a few of the wild Pokemon hanging out nearby the road we were walking down, but I spotted a few Surskits hanging out down past the road, walking atop a large pond.

“So you’re saying it’s harder to make illusions outside of your body?” She yipped an affirmation, so I continued. “Well, I know that your evolution can do things like that, so it would be good to get a start on things.”

The Hisuian Zorua looked down at that, sighing heavily. “The foundation you build now will pay dividends in the future. That being said, baby steps.” Pointing at the pond, I said, “I want you to spar against those Surskits. Don’t try to conceal your Moves, but instead, make them seem larger or more numerous. You know, like your Double Team.”

Flashing me a vicious grin, she zipped off, her stubby feet carrying her faster than I could keep up. She’s going to be quite the speedster some day. Her and Riolu will make for solid sweepers.

As she got to work, challenging the Bug Types and unleashing a barrage of Swift stars upon them, forcing the small pack on the defensive, I considered team alignment and plans for larger battles. My battle with Hassel was one of the first large enough for Switches to be a deciding factor, and that’s definitely something I need to consider. Baton Pass is a good Move, and even if it does cost one of my Switches to use it, the Move might be a good one for some of my team.

Phantasm’s illusionary attacks were mixed with copies of herself spread out around the pond. Double Team usually needed quick movements to make, but with her illusion powers she could conjure them without any movement on her own, freeing herself up to attack. But it does make the images have a bit less fidelity, something that-

“Look out, above!” I shouted, and Phantasm heeded my warning, jumping away from an Air Cutter that sliced through where she had been standing. Hovering above, a Masqurain glared down at her.

The evolved Pokemon had come from over the cliffs looming in the distance. Why did they come from all the way over- oh, that must be one of the Surskits parents! Masquerain is tough enough to deal with the other ’Mons up there, but Surskits are rather standard Bug Types, so sorta weak to live up there. The parents must find spots like this pond to leave their Eggs so the babies can grow up with relative ease, but unlike non-Pokemon bugs, they still look after the kids, and Phantasm must have seemed like an unknown threat-

A loud buzzing took me out of my theorizing, and I saw greenish waves of noise battering my Pokemon. “Phantasm!” The Hisuian Zorua howled out in pain, her legs a little wobbly from the blow. “Remember what Riolu taught you, Aerial Ace!”

With a determined nod, Phantasm stood back up, glaring at the Bug flying above the pond. With a mighty leap, Phantasm jumped over the Masquerain, flipping around and stomping down on her with all four feet.

The Masquerain gave out a pained screech, falling down a bit before recovering and hovering lower to the ground. A Quick Attack on Phantasm’s part brought her back to the grass and stopped her from landing in the water.

That Move should have done more damage for a Super Effective hit. Ah right, Intimidate. Masquerain was glaring over at Phantasm, an effect amplified by the eye patterns on their antennas. Well, two can play at that game. “Fake Tears!”

Phantasm pulled off the Move immediately, conjuring up faux tears with her illusion powers, but surprised me by going a level beyond that and in a flash turning herself into a spitting image of one of the Surskits quivering off to the side.

Masquerain for her part had been charging in before stopping, horrified. Her four wings let her pivot on a dime, turning around to check on her children and confirm that she wasn’t actually about to attack them. That was all the opening Phantasm needed to conjure a Shadow Ball and fire it point blank into the Masquerain, the blast knocking her backwards and out of the fight.

The three Surskits were looking nervous as I approached but still bravely stood around their mother’s body. “Sorry about that, we were just looking for a little practice. Here, have some berries,” I offered, tossing them underhanded towards them, not getting too close to frighten them further.

Calling Phantasm, we headed up the slope away from the pond and started marching on the road again. “That trick with turning into one of the Surskits was diabolical.”

My little fox looked down for a moment, the fur at the top of her head flickering agitatedly, the red patch growing a bit brighter. Whoops, didn’t mean to make her upset. “That was awesome,” I clarified, which had her lifting her head up, amber eyes shining, and teeth bared in a vicious grin. That kinda warms my heart, as I think she must have learned that from me, Zorua wouldn’t really smile like we do.

With light hearts and the open sky above us, we marched on, each of us eager for the next challenge.

***

Despite that feeling, we didn’t fight every Pokemon along our path - we still had to make it to Cortondo in a timely manner. And even with that in mind, I don’t think we’ll make it there tonight.

Hiking up the cliffs had been easy enough, especially since I didn’t really hike up them but instead just used my Aura to levitate up. It was tiring in its own way, but it saved a lot of time climbing. This whole route will. There’s a small overpass above the river that separates the South and West Provinces that makes for a much faster straight line to cut to Cortondo for anyone willing to scale these cliffs.

Riolu’s family wasn’t far from here, and I’d asked if she had wanted to take a small detour, but she shook her head. From what I could understand, she didn’t want to return home so early - or so lacking in accomplishments. She set out to help us win Gym Badges and defeat the Elite Four, I doubt she’d want to return until she’s done that. Also, stopping Turo.

She had been shocked at that revelation of my future knowledge, but she was eager to stop this catastrophe from occurring and/or to face these powerful Paradox Pokemon. She didn’t have many more questions about it, aside from a few on if I had any knowledge of her personally. Which I denied - the only one on my team I might have had an inkling about was possibly Dun, and the knowledge that she had bested a future Champion ranked Pokemon had her insufferably smug for a few days. At least until Dun beat her in a rematch.

My starter and her had a bit of a rivalry growing (and if my scant Auric vision was to be trusted, a bit of a crush on her part), but thankfully she was disciplined enough to not let it take over her life completely… and only challenged him twice a week or so. Right now, she was taking the time to train alongside Phantasm.

The Fighting Type Immunity Hisuian Zorua’s had made it perfect to help her train Detect. Riolu could throw out all manner of punches and kicks from unexpected angles, but even if they connected, they wouldn’t hurt Phanasm. It also gave her an up-close experience with Fighting Type energy. Very useful, especially if she has to deal with a Dark Type.

Seeing the pathway looming up ahead, I called for a small break, just as Phantasm avoided a barrage of Vacuum Waves and a flurry of blows from Riolu. “Alright, good job you two,” I said, kneeling down by Phantasm. “Riolu says that the Scyther is just on the other side of that bridge, guarding his territory.”

The Aura Pokemon barked, confirming that the Tera Pokemon was indeed nearby. She had her arms crossed, looking dismissively out past the curve of the cliff. She’s said that Scyther guards his territory much like Leafeon guards this one, but also that he’s much weaker than him. Still, a Tera Pokemon should make for a good challenge for Phantasm and help me figure out if she’ll be ready for the Gym.

My entire team was eager, but Phantasm in particular had been quite vocal about wanting to fight here, even if I was taking on the Gym at an Eighth Badge level. I had some ideas in mind for tricks that might help her even the gap and maybe stand up against one of Katy’s Pokemon, but even that would rely on her having a minimum level of strength.

Phantasm's eyes blazed eagerly, but I saw some scratches in her fur and some panting. Some Potions and Ethers helped solve that problem for the moment. Together, we strode across the natural bridge, a dozen meters across over the river below. Wow, it looks so pretty, the water sparkling down there.

A rush of wind was the only hint I got, enough time for me to whip my head up and see the giant green Bug racing straight at me, arm blades raised. I tried to move away but knew I wouldn’t be fast enough; thankfully, Riolu was there to step in.

Jumping up, she interposed herself between me and Scyther, kicking off from his body. She pushed him back and flipped around, landing defensively in front of me.

For his part, the Scyther was still angrily shaking his blades at us, but slightly more wary now, not approaching immediately. The Bug Type had a crystalline sheen to his body and a giant clear gem atop his head that looked like it would be unbalancing, but he zipped back and forth easily.

“He’s a Normal Type right now; your Ghost Moves won’t work,” I reminded Phantasm as she stepped forward, growling defiantly. The Scyther sneered, looking down on her, but accepted the challenge, moving forward to engage, arms raised to slash down on her.

Slash? Or maybe Double Hit? Don’t know, but it’s not a Bug Type Move and probably Normal Type, she’ll be fine then. “Wait for it, then Taunt.”

My assumption was correct, and while Phantasm did attempt to dodge, the armblades swung through her form, her ghostly nature leaving her completely unharmed. Sticking her tongue out at the Tera Normal Pokemon provoked them into a rage, the Scyther swinging fruitlessly at Phantasm, his blades gouging the earth beneath where she stood. I’m glad this bridge is a lot thicker and more stable than that passageway in Kitakami.

“Swift,” I simply called out, and my Pokemon conjured wave after wave of glowing stars to pelt her opponent. The blows stung and the Scyther hissed at them, but she wasn’t enough to stop the wild Pokemon.

For a moment, I thought they might continue with those attacks even after the Taunt faded, but one of his blades gathered a dull green energy and cut into my Pokemon. She gave a cry of pain, and I worried for a moment but saw the blow hadn’t landed too deep. But his follow-up might. Fury Cutter gets stronger each time it connects.

“Aerial Ace, then Detect!” Flipping around the slashing arms, Phantasm leapt up once more, striking down at Scyther and leaving a few paw shaped dents in his carapace.

The return attack as she landed down behind him was easily avoided, my Zorua rolling under one slash to jump over another, all without turning back to face him. Nice, she shouldn’t get too cocky, though.

“Double Team and Swift.” Duplicating herself all around the battlefield, stars began flying every which way at the Scyther, whittling them down further. With mad slashes and furious wing beats, the wild Pokemon set about destroying every image of Phantasm, only clipping the real one occasionally.

Each time she got tagged, she’d make sure to spend a moment slipping away before pelting him again. Slowly but surely, he was beat down, until finally, the crystals surrounding him shattered, indicating he was near defeat and had lost his Terastalization. Will it recover in time? Perhaps just by resting in this area, the land will fill him with... normalcy? Huh, I wonder what makes an area ‘Normal’ aligned.

Those were things I could look into later. “You fought well, but we’ve won.” I said, gesturing at Phantasm, who had a few cuts on her, but otherwise seemed hale and ready to battle. “Now please, let us pass-”

Rather than calming down, my words (or possibly just my continued existence) seemed to enrage the Scyther, and the wounded Bug charged at me. Riolu was ready to intercept, but before she could, Phantasm let out a blood-curdling howl, dark tendrils of energy surrounding her, and then appeared around the mad Pokemon, assaulting him.

The power of the attack knocked Scyther off the edge and sent them tumbling down to the river below. A moment of shock hit me before I saw the Scyther, shakily flying away, obviously having caught itself before hitting the water.

“Well, I appreciate that, but try to be careful in the future. We don’t want to seriously hurt anyone.” The fox-like Pokemon sniffed and turned her head, looking relatively disinterested in that prospect. A problem for the future, but it probably only happened because of how vicious that Scyther was. Which is a shame; I like Scyther (and their evolutions). Still, I’ll make sure to have her battle against a few Trainers nearby before the Gym, but for now...

"Phantasm, are you ready to take on your first Gym Leader?” The gleam in her eyes told me everything I needed to know even before her bark of agreement. Look out, Katy, here we come.