Chapter 7:

Opening Gambit

…

Turns out there were normal animals in the pokémon world, but because of all the drama, he hadn't registered the scarce bird song that had intermittently resonated around him this entire time since the pine woods, and now the broadleaf rainforest.

Of course, thanks to their agile predators, like Joanna—

A screeching bird fluttering above made its last attempt to flee, before a narrow gout of purple flame sniped it from above, engulfing and roasting it into a sick chunk of poisoned flesh. Before it could fall, the 'toxic lizard' pokémon came whooshing from the treetops and snapped it in her jaws before doing a flip, rebounding off the trunk, and landing right next to him, gulping her meal down without so much as a single chew.

—It was made clear as to why there were so few animals in the wild, and why he hadn't seen many.

With the last tendrils of the purplish-smoke swirling from her mouth, Joanna grinned as she gave an artistic, graceful bow as though she had just made a performance in front of a crowd, and a performance it was.

"What did you think of that? Master?"

Until now, Grey didn't think it was possible to be both impressed and disgusted.

The prior because so far, in this world, he had never seen any living thing breathe out 'purple' flames, much less in any fictional media from other-Earth; not that he knew of anyway. It suggested an incredibly complex biological system within Joanna's makeup that must have naturally produced some form of potassium chlorate, reacting with secreted sucrose, and being combusted by ejected acid, which would explain the skillfully controlled discharge of the flame spray. Not to mention the smog that she could generate; all packed into acrobatic coordination...

The latter, because the toxic pulp of meat that was once a bird looked more like a disembodied tumor which Joanna casually considered a meal. Yuck.

"That was both incredible and disturbing. What did it taste like?"

She gave a polite smile. "As good as it looked."

He cringed. "Once we get to Rustboro, we're changing your diet to something that'll…suit your 'refined' tastes."

"Glad to hear it." She hummed a throaty giggle. "Did the pokédex work?"

"Let's see..."

The blue ray of light analyzed her from head to toe before shrinking back into the digital encyclopedia—

—"Biometric scan complete!"—

—"Salandit, the 'toxic lizard' pokémon"—

—"It burns special secreted bodily toxins to create a poisonous gas. This sneaky Pokémon will slink behind its prey and immobilize it with the toxic fumes before the prey even realizes Salandit is there, disorienting its target and then attacking them with ignited flames from the same gas, or a spray of combusted corrosive liquids—"

Whoa.

—'Poison' & 'Fire-type'.

—Average height-weight: 0.6 mts & 15.5 lbs.

Very light frame, meaning she's delicate but flexible, acrobatic, and fast.

—"This particular mature, female salandit seems to have a highly flammable tail and combustible fluids on its scales; an uncommon trait compared to the average of its genus, possibly inherited from one of its parents. Aside from the salandit family genome of its mother, this particular salandit also carries the genetic makeup of a—scanning—Error. Unknown pokémon father genome. Please update."—

...Are you for real? 'Another' runaway daddy? Next you're going to tell me she's related to Ginger too...Whatever the case, these 'dads' would make great 'child-pension evaders'.

—Abilities list...

—Mother Gene ability: Corrosion. This pokémon's venom is so potent and corrosive, that even Steel-types and other Poison-types can get affected and succumb to its toxins.

Holy shit, she can corrode metal!? For real!?

With most of the color scheme correct, all she needs is an elongated head and Ridley Scott's gonna' be suing somebody...

—Father Gene ability: Flame body. If hit by a move that makes contact, there is a chance the attacker will get burned.

Grey glanced at the glowing orange path along her tail.

Jesus fuckin' Christ! The attacker can't even touch her without possibly suffering from burn damage!

—Hidden ability: Oblivious. This pokémon's Ph levels are extremely volatile but has a degree of control over its Ph regulation, making it immune to pheromonal effects.

...Huh? The' fuck does that mean? Like...Immune to stimulating scents and chemicals? Weird...I suppose it's a survival mechanism against manipulative chemical stimuli in the air, like big carnivorous plants or something. Wasn't there a pokémon from the early generation that looked just like one of those? That thing that kept attacking the lilac-haired 'Rocket' idiot from the anime, even though it was his pokémon. Bell-something, Treebell...Or whatever it was called. And considering Joanna's current size, I can see why such an adaptive ability is necessary in the wild…

Then again she's a fire-type and plants are, well, Plant-types or Grass-types...Perhaps other predators rely on pheromonal tactics to attract prey? Scary thought, moving on—

—"Analysis complete! Displaying subject salandit's approximate move-list"—

—'Poison Gas'

—'Smog'

—'Scratch'

—'Sucker Punch': A very fast attack; best used while the opponent is in proximity and attacking.

—'Ember'

—'Flame burst'

—'Poison fang'

—'Sweet scent'

The' hell is that?

He tapped the move: A sweet, chemical pheromonal scent that interferes with surrounding pokémon's coordination and cognition. Warning for trainers: Do not inhale.

Okay, moving on...

—'Belch'…With a powerful eructation, high-speed toxic air particles are released. Must consume something with moderate-high Ph before use. Cannot move while in use. Take caution around the user.

…So basically...She can fuck something up by 'burping'!? What the...

—'Heatwave'

—'Confuse Ray'...Able to generate mirages through heat energy, vibrating the air layers, resulting in the skewing of the enemy's perspective through light refraction.

...Well shit.

In any case, despite the mystery of the father—again—and the short stature of her unevolved form, one thing was made clear with such skill and genetic makeup…On top of the fact that she has worked with two criminal organizations...

Joanna was extremely dangerous...And intelligent.

Also, it was evident she could take care of herself in the wild...So that begged the question...Why would she be so willing to follow him? Even going so far as to convince Neva to consider it, before Ginger did the same afterward…

And if that wasn't unsettling enough, there was the other issue...

If Joanna and Ginger had actually fought...Grey genuinely didn't know who'd win. They'd be at a stalemate with fire moves since they're both Fire-types...So they'd have to rely on their secondary typing...But wait...Fighting-type attacks don't do much to Poison-types, however, the latter has no issue against the former, being of normal effectiveness...So that would have limited Ginger's aggressive movepool choices to Aerial Ace, Night slash, and Quick-attack, while Joanna has a slew of Poison-moves, ensuring Ginger gets poisoned; all the toxic lizard has to do is…

Shit. It's a good thing 'Dylan' had no idea what he was doing. The Aqua grunt wasn't smart enough to utilize this ridiculously skilled assassin to her full potential...Not to mention any alternative unique moves that Joanna may have up her sleeve, like Ginger's 'Immolation'. Come to think of it…

They both moved toward a clearing, where he eyed the other two pokémon through the trees. "Joanna, what was that move you just used on the bird?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's just a little trick of mine to increase the projectile speed of my flame."

"I see...I'm guessing a fusion of poison and fire?"

"Yes, master."

"Interesting...Also, just call me Grey."

She rose a brow at that before her lips curled in amusement. "Of course, Master Grey."

He rolled his eyes. "Ok, smart ass, I get it. You're free to call me what you will...Just not that last one, makes' me feel like a pompous prick."

She stifled a giggle. Cheeky little bugger, and confident too...Grey would be extra wary of her.

They walked out onto the clearing, only to be welcomed by the echo of a meaty impact that sent a familiar sneasel flying through the air as Ginger skidded to a stop.

With a muffled thump, Neva landed hard on the ground into a tumble, before using the momentum to flip onto her feet and brandishing her claws once more, releasing labored huffs and sporting a sweaty visage.

"That' all ya' got? Weasel?" Smirked Ginger.

"Tch. I'll show you, Feather brains!" Retorted Neva as she bared her teeth in frustration and launched herself once more at Ginger.

The fowl pokémon deftly dodged the strike and went for a swipe of her own, but the sneasel ducked and went for a low sweep with a glowing foot claw. Ginger leaped into the air and fired an Ember, with Neva attempting to dodge but getting hit by the last tail of the flame, causing her to trip onto her back with a yelp. Ginger tried to capitalize on the mistake, only to get battered by the hail of ice spraying out of Neva's maw and jumped back once more, evading most of the counterattack and resetting the battle state into a standoff.

Grey analyzed the female sneasel with the pokédex once more to see her abilities and moves:

—Mother Gene ability: Inner Focus. Unrelenting and incapable of 'flinching' in the face of its obstacles.

—Father Gene ability: Slush Rush. Speed is increased during a 'Hail storm'.

—"Analysis complete! Displaying subject sneasel's approximate move-list"—

—'Ice Shard'...The user flash-freezes chunks of ice and hurls them at the target. Very fast attack.

I'm guessing that's what saved her just now.

—'Icicle Spear-Crash'...The user rapidly freezes the moisture and gases in the air to create icicles which can be launched at the enemy multiple times, or into the air above them for the user to accumulate even more ice onto the falling projectile/s and turn the move into 'Icicle Crash' for a heavier impact.

Eh...A bit of a mouthful. Must've become a common tactic, so they put the moves together. Makes sense...In 'this' world anyway...

—'Scratch'

—'Taunt'...This pokémon's nature makes it prone to manipulating an opponent into a rage, causing them to most likely prioritize physical attacks rather than special ones.

Interesting...So basically, she can piss someone off a bit harder than most...I'd like to see that.

—'Quick-attack'

—'Metal claw'...This pokémon has the ability to regulate the keratin of its claws; elongating, and rearranging the protein into uniform and sharper layers; replicating the microscopic structure of steel.

I see...So that brilliant steel-like sheen of her claws was 'Metal claw'...Nice to know she can shear a limb off if I so much as piss her off…

…

Looks like that's about it for the 'late-adolescent' sneasel. What does that even mean? Close to being 'mature' like the other two?

Joanna mentioned that Neva wasn't often let out of her pokéball, which would explain her limited moveset...She doesn't have any offensive 'Dark-type' moves either. Isn't that odd for a part 'Dark-type'? While Joanna has an offensive Dark-type move; Hell, Ginger's a part Fighting-type and even she has a Dark-type attack...Weird.

I'll fix that.

The two were about to go at it again, but he raised a hand. "Stop. Take five."

The pair started at his voice and came to a halt, gazing at him.

"Huh? Why'd you stop us?" Questioned Neva with a growl.

"Because you're at your limit, and you're about to get dropped again. The way you're going, Ginger's gonna' leave imprints of your ass all over the place."

Both Ginger and Joanna stifled their laughs, with Neva glaring daggers at them.

Grey eyed the two. "I wouldn't be laughing, Ginger, how's your 'Night Slash' going?"

The fire-fowl's laughter died and turned into throat clearing as she glanced to the side, before facing him again. "Eh...I-I've got it covered."

Grey raised a brow. "Is that so? Then teach Neva 'Night Slash'."

The sneasel also eyed her in scrutiny. "There's no way she knows that, she's a Fighting-type."

"Oh, she knows it alright, damn near took my arm off along with a tree using that...But can she use it consistently?" He asked indirectly.

"I...I guess I could practice with it..." Mumbled the combusken.

"If you ever want to step foot in the 'Ever Grande Conference', I suggest you don't squander such a unique skill set. Once you can unleash it at a consistent rate, I'll need you to teach it to Neva."

"Sure."

"Neva, you're with me, let's go to the woods."

"What for?" Asked the sneasel.

"You'll see."

"What'll I do? Master?" chirped the salandit, wanting to be included.

"Oh, you'll be helping me with the next exercise I've got planned for Neva. So let's go."

"Of course!" Joanna clapped in excitement.

"Whoa, whoa, just what are you planning here, Grey?"

"Do you know any offensive Dark-type moves?" He tested, perhaps she might have something up her sleeve?

The sneasel suddenly looked hurt and insecure about the question, with her single red head-plumage lowering as she gazed down in clear melancholy, before shaking her head. "No...I don't…Even Fighting-types seem to know more than I do...Pretty useless huh?"

"Far from it, unlike your ex-trainer...I think you need to be more in tune with said 'element'." He began walking toward the woods, with the other two following him and leaving Ginger to practice her 'Night slash'.

"What does 'that' mean?" Insisted Neva, gazing at him in wonder.

Grey considered her elemental make-up and every franchise he could think of from the past relating to the 'darkness' and 'shadow' elements...Some particular characters came to mind.

He gave her a small grin. "It means I'm going to test something, and see if you can connect with 'the dark' itself. If anything, it'll at least get you more acquainted with your Dark-type side."

"I don't get it."

"Just follow my lead, and hopefully, you'll start to develop power the likes no one in this world has…"

...After several more hours of exhausting hiking, much to Ginger's gladness, Grey had finally decided to set camp for the night, claiming it was another 25 miles to go through the mountainous forest terrain before they'd reach Rustboro. He wanted to get there within two days, since her unexpected return, along with two extra members—as well as no pokéballs for any sort of stasis—meant more energy expenditure and less food to go around, and Grey had only bought enough pokéfood to ward off other wild pokémon as he had planned to go alone earlier.

Now they were around a campfire, with its flames bathing them in an orange glow underneath the high trees and the bitter-sweet aroma of a stew cooking in a pot hanging off a prop stick in the middle of the fire. It was a combination of his own food plus the pokéfood for her and the other girls. Ginger raised concerns for Grey, but he insisted he had bought enough for himself for three days and so; considering he never planned on rushing toward Rustboro. Joanna raised the point that she could hunt, however, he worried for her safety during the night in the middle of a forest, despite her skill.

They had only known each other for a little less than three days, and yet Ginger observed Grey treated her and the other two more like humans rather than 'pokémon'...It was strange, but felt...nice; even though he hated her right now for the shit she pulled earlier with him...

'You're a bitch, Ginger'

'Still whining? Look, I can't just stand by idly while watching you march around like an aimless moron.'

'Who said I'm aimless?'

'Really? Care to share?'

'Fine, I sort of am right now, but that doesn't mean you can just blackmail me like you did.'

'Erhem. I learn from the best.'

'Two wrongs don't make a right...I know it's rich coming from me, but I'm human and we're a shitty species. You shouldn't pick up on bad habits from us...Much less me…'

Out of spite, he could've just sent her to go hunting, or not made it his problem as she and the other two were completely free to leave or follow. But he didn't...Instead, he took it upon himself to provide for them, even sacrificing part of his own food for them out of sheer insistence.

Was he still trying to manipulate her? How much of his 'string-pulling confession' from earlier might actually be a plan to mask even more deceit behind pure honesty? Though his thoughts on 'battling' were quite adamant, she supposed.

He was quite serious about helping Neva today, and making herself master 'Night Shade', which was coming along nicely. Speaking of the sneasel, she had come out of that forest with the other two, seeming rather perturbed and a bit different. What kind of training did Grey and Joanna do for her? Was it successful?

Either way, Grey seemed to be putting effort in for them...And despite it raising terrible memories from her past, Grey's actions struck chords with her...She hated it, but at the same time, it was something pleasant she wasn't used to…

'I swear to God Ginger I'll knock you out if I have to'

'Would like to see you try.'

'Don't tempt me. Course' then I'd have to carry your ass to Oldale…'

Would he have really done that for her? Carry her all the way? How he said that was so sincere...She knew then that she made the right choice to follow him.

Ginger had to admit, he was a bit psychotic and neurotic at times, while having a dark outlook on many things...But somewhere within, there was good intent.

She couldn't allow someone as seemingly well-intentioned as Grey—albeit being half-a-lunatic—to wallow in aimlessness...That's why she had to do it and pull out her trap card.

Grey pulled the pot out of the fire and left it on the ground near the flame. "I think that's good enough, we'll just let it cool a bit and I'll serve you girls."

Neva rolled her eyes and with subtle icy crackling, formed bits of ice into larger chunks onto her hand, and placed them against the pot. Grey nodded his approval, despite evidently having forgotten Neva could cool it with ice.

They consumed their meals and headed to the camping tent, which was the same blue color as the backpack. There were two mats laid out within and some sheets, as well as a sleeping bag. They were set for the night.

They all lay together comfortably in their spot along the mats, with the girls and Grey slumbering away. But she watched her 'trainer' as he slept, for the second time since they met, the first having been back at the pokécenter. He seemed serene, and calm in contrast to his waking hours.

She was next to him with some space in between. He slept on his back, facing away to the other end of the tent.

In an odd moment of past longing clashing with her bad memories and taking this opportunity, Ginger slowly shuffled closer to him, being only several inches apart now. His warmth emanating onto her own was reassuring. It was something she was unused to, yet it felt so right...She wanted to inch closer, but she shook her head, deciding this was close enough, for now…

It was late afternoon before the group saw the outskirts of Rustboro. It was a long stretch of fairly large, slate-stoned buildings that sat on the edge of an estuary on the east side of it. In terms of a city, it was fairly small compared to what Grey was used to calling a 'metropolis', though it still fit the definition, and its unique layout was what caught his eye, as well as the material of the buildings themselves. Even the enormous building that stood above the rest on the northwest side of the city was made of the same material that lined the numerous glass windows, judging from the sunlit colors refracting off the structure.

Whatever the case, it was the first thing that came close to being a city he had seen yet from the region.

"Ugh. This had better be it, Grey, my feet are freakin' killing me!" said Neva with a pitiful groan, hunched over and arms dangling like a string-cut marionette. It was evident that she wasn't used to walking so far. The other two looked a bit fatigued too.

It made sense, at some time of their lives, they spent maybe a third of the day or more cooped up in a shrunken, golf-sized ball. What wouldn't kill em', would only make em' stronger.

"Yep, according to the map, this is Rustboro. Let's head straight to the pokécenter, eat up and get some rest, something tells me tomorrow's gonna' be quite the day for you lot." He narrowed his gaze as he noticed the number of people roaming the streets closer to the entry. "Maybe even earlier than that." He said with his voice becoming strained.

The trio gave him a questioning gaze.

Releasing a sigh and straightening his back, he continued onward, with the girls lagging behind.

Entering from the east side fields of the metropolis, they came upon a park with a large fountain in the middle, proudly gushing arcs of water from its tip. As they walked past it, they received numerous stares from the city folk that dotted the area, some even doing a double-take.

Give it a few more seconds, aaand—

"Hey, isn't that the 'hero of Oldale?'"

"Whoa, that's the guy that took out those magma thugs."

"Shit he's just as tall as on TV..."

"And look at his pokémon, he has them out and they look exhausted."

"Must be some serious training routine, talk about hardcore."

"Totally—"

And similar murmurs filled the air. Grey breathed out in sick apprehension, suddenly very glad that he had Ginger break the cameras before he took the criminal's pokéballs during that episode.

"Seems like we're famous, thanks to the press." Stated Ginger.

"Don't let it get to your head. We'll eventually be forgotten, it's just your run-of-the-mill 'heroes of the day' stuff, for which I'm glad."

"Oh c'mon, lighten up, it'll help your reputation."

"But draw unnecessary attention to all of us."

"Grey, a lot of successful trainers participating in the league circuit hardly go about being unnoticed, you need to get used to it," stated Ginger absent-mindedly.

Before stepping onto the cobble-stoned streets of the metropolis, separated by the well-kempt grass of the park, he stopped for a moment and gazed at her.

"How would 'you' know that?" He asked, already knowing the answer based on her clear obsession with the league circuit in the first place, amongst other slip-ups of hers, but deciding to test her.

Her ruby eyes widened before she gave a quick shake of her head. "W-well it's obvious, isn't it? I mean defeating a gym leader is no easy feat, and if the match was worth watching, they tend to televise it afterward to build up excitement for the 'Ever Grande'."

Oh great, just when I thought I didn't need any more attention...Fuck.

"...Point taken." It made sense from a marketing standpoint, but such knowledge had to come from somewhere, like her 'ex-trainer'.

Whatever. Ginger would tell him all about her past when she was ready. There was no use in reopening old wounds. If she was glad he didn't persist on the issue, past her avoidant gaze, she didn't show it.

The quartet strode the stone paths, taking in the city-scape surroundings and following general directions toward the pokécenter.

Along the way, they were passing a heavily bricked building of two stories with what looked like a bell tower next to it. It seemed to be some sort of academy, and the sign in front of the entrance plaza confirmed it:

'Rustboro pokémon trainer academy: Next level education on pokémon essentials.'

Underneath it was a slogan:

'Go forth together with me, friend.'

Grey's face wrinkled in disgust. "Tch. That's rich, being in the same city as 'Devon Corporation'."

He had already looked up the City's main attractions, which included the, regionally depended-on, large company. Devon was known for its products that are largely focused on pokémon training.

But what irked Grey about the company was the fact that it was also the sole possessor of the 'pokéball' technological patent, having bought out all the region's minor manufacturers and becoming a monopoly for their own styled capturing device in the Hoenn region.

Not to mention they created several different types of pokéballs geared toward certain specialties...A clever, yet basic business gimmick. Make many for a specific occasion, rather than one for all occasions. Financially, the profit gained from the prior would be much larger as they can market it to a specific target demographic every time they updated the product or made sub-categories of the same one.

Not only was this monopolist enterprise backed up by the Pokémon Association and the League organizers, but also the Central Hoenn Government, which in turn only concerned themselves with the military, general laws of the region, and the tax money gained from its populace and any guilds they may be associated with. However, past the police, the political entity did not concern itself with the enforcing of said laws. Instead, they bestowed this power on the three leader and authority guilds. On top of their own side agenda, the three leader guilds together represented the 'executive' branch of governance. They regulated and enforced the regional laws alongside the police, who act as the government's eyes to ensure the trio stayed in line with their duties.

This meant that the three leader guilds were the only regulatory organizations that had no political affiliations or obligations toward Devon, whatsoever...And Grey had plans to join one of these, now that he had three persistent pokémon tagging along with him.

The issue was the fact that Devon was pretty much involved in most technical aspects of this region, and utilizing one of their products was, unfortunately, unavoidable...But well, that wasn't too much different from his previous world. Governments and their corporate puppets ruled the world with their supreme economical, informational, and educational influences after all, and this one was no exception. And as if that wasn't enough, to top it 'all' off…

The son of Joseph Stone, owner and president of the Devon Corporation...Was the current Hoenn league champion, Steven Stone…

Wow, talk about a family business magnate. If Grey didn't know any better, the Stone family was pretty much this world's equivalent of the 'Freemasons'...What with the 'stone' motif in stonemasonry, business influence, and even being involved with the constructive advancement of civilization. Hell, the Devon corporation even started out as its own 'stone mining guild' which specialized in iron ore processing and construction! The fucking enterprise just screamed 'ancient freemason fraternity'!

The Japanese sure knew what they were doing when they designed this particular expansion of the pokémon video game franchise...Maybe the Freemasons even inspired that segment? A little global subliminal messaging there?

He sighed. "This is getting fucking ridiculous—"

"Oh wow! The Oldale hero—"

"Gah! Jesus Fu—"

He blinked upon jolting from the unexpected appearance of the woman to his side.

"Oh dear, my apologies, I didn't mean to startle you."

Grey, ignoring the pokégirls' snickering of his startlement, observed the woman who had walked out from the side of the building.

She wore garnet-colored stockings, polished black mid-heels, a slate-colored skirt suit over a white under-shirt, decorated with a pink twin-flared tie. Her dark brown hair was tied into a ponytail, and her rose-hued eyes smiled at him with the kindness of your average goody-child friendly academic teacher. She looked to be in her very early twenties, maybe even nineteen or so.

According to the profile he studied on the pokédex, this was Roxanne Rachaels, the Gym leader of Rustboro's Gym.

Yet another alliterative name. This same-initial stuff seems to be the current baby-name trend, even professor Birch couldn't resist putting one on his son, Brendan Birch...

"No, it's fine, you caught me in a bit of a trance, that's all."

"I see, well it's an honor to have a hero at our academy doorsteps."

Grey huffed a tiny chortle. "I'm no hero, miss, I just happened to bump into those goons on my way to the Oldale pokémon center."

"Really? Seemed like you knew they were there, according to the footage anyway."

Eh.

"Well, I mean I could tell something was up with the lights down and all, and no one was in reception. So one thing led to the next, I guess." He shrugged.

She hummed a short laugh. "You're too modest, Mr. Wilson."

Of course, they released my partially fake name too...Goddamn it.

"Whatever you say, Miss Rachaels."

She smiled with a raised brow. "I see you've already looked me up. Are you participating in the league circuit? Or are you interested in taking one of our academia courses?"

"I...think I'm a bit old for that last one."

"We also do online advanced classes for adults." She offered.

"Thanks, but I'm more of a 'hands-on' kind of learner if you know what I mean."

Her eyes gleamed for a moment at his statement.

Uh—

She flicked her finger with a grin. "Aha! I had a feeling you're—"

Oh shit! Did she figure me out alread—

"—A believer of the front line and real-life experiences being the best teacher! Am I right!?" She exclaimed excitedly.

Oh thank fuck...That's sort of what I just said, but—

"Pretty much."

"Oh that's right, you're a lab trainer,"—she angled her gaze to look behind him—"and you've already got yourself three...pokémon...Wait...I don't recall ever having seen that one."

Grey turned and followed Roxanne's line of sight to a, currently posing, Joanna, like she were some kind of supermodel at a cat-walk clearly enjoying the attention she stole from the academy teacher.

"Yeah, she's a salandit, a recently discovered specimen from the Alolan region."

Roxanne crouched slightly to get a better look. "Oh Arceus, she's so cute!"

Grey looked around for a moment, wondering if she spoke to someone else...No one. Huh?

Arceus? Who the fuck is that? I don't see em'...What, is it an exclamation like...God? As in 'Oh my God'?

"Why thank you," replied Joanna, though Grey knew the chances of Roxanne understanding her were low. He imagined she'd be making a sound that was a facsimile of her name.

"Hey, Mr. Wilson—"

"Call me Grey, make's feel a little less older than you."

She stopped and blinked before giggling at that. "You couldn't be 'that' much older than me, but alright, as long as you call me by my first name too, deal?"

"Sure."

"Anyway, I was going to ask, where did you get your hands on such a rare species?"

Ooh, haven't exactly thought of an excuse for that...Guess I'll just go with a half-truth.

"We sort of ran into each other by chance back in the woods near Oldale and route 101."

"Really? That's strange…"

"How so?"

"I've taken numerous classes on excursions to the Oldale Ruins and the forest nearby, we pretty much have recorded every pokémon one can find there, and Professor Birch even confirmed the listing for us, being a specialist in pokémon habitat and distribution."

Fucking—

"Guess maybe she was abandoned, I wouldn't have a clue since I'm just starting out. The professor was the one that got the information from his extra-regional associates."

"I see…" She frowned in thought, putting a hand on her chin.

"You think I'm lying?"

She waved her hands in placation, "Oh heavens no! Hehe, It's just...I'm kind of envious of your luck, Grey."

He almost had to stifle his laugh but swallowed it down. "Oh trust me, if you knew half the shit I've had to go through in life? You'd quickly reconsider."

She angled her head as if to enquire further, but focused her sight on his scarred brow before making eye contact again with a kind smile. "I see...Grey, I'd like to ask...would it be possible to show her off to my class and give them the experience of witnessing a new discovery?"

Grey contemplated it, but for some reason, he didn't like the idea of a platoon of brats coming in and pinching Joanna all over the place like she were some kind of fluffy animal...Scratch that, he loathed the idea; even though Joanna didn't belong to him as she was free. But he couldn't just say no as though she were his property either.

He gazed at Joanna, who looked worried for a moment. And like that, he knew the reptilian believed for a moment he was in charge of her or something. She could just refuse and speak her mind...So why didn't she?

But Grey had a better idea anyway, despite not being enthusiastic about it. It would be better for Joanna as, apparently she, like many other pokémon, had no voice here…

"Actually, Roxanne, I am competing in the league circuit and was going to request a gym challenge. How about if you bring your class to our match tomorrow? Or whenever you're available? I think it would provide a real front-row experience for them and witness every facet of Joanna in action. What do you think?" He asked in fervent prayer that she'd accept and wouldn't take it the wrong way.

Roxanne's eyes glimmered as she beamed with excitement. "That...is a wonderful idea, Grey!" She bounced on her heels and straightened up. "Absolutely! I happen to be free of challenges tomorrow, so I'll rearrange the curriculum and bring them over to the gym for our battle!"

Joanna exhaled in gladness behind Roxanne, while Grey internally did the same.

"He saved your ass there, girl," commented Ginger with a smirk and a hand on Joanna's stiff shoulder.

"Though it would've been hilarious to watch the little cubs pull you around like a rag doll, ha!" Added Neva with a scoff, folding her arms.

"Don't get me wrong, I like attention, but...Not of that kind, I don't know what I would've done…Master saved me."

Grey smiled at their comments, before focusing back on Roxanne. "Seems like they enjoy the idea too."

"Excellent, I wouldn't have it any other way, though I must ask, what typing is she?" asked the teacher-gym leader.

"She's a Fire-Poison type."

"Oh...A very unique typing! Though...I worry she may be at a severe disadvantage against my pokémon."

He grinned, already aware of the gym leader's Rock-type specialty. "Oh don't you worry, we have a game plan."

Her concerned visage turned into a smile as she removed a pink card from her front suit pocket and handed it to him. "here's my card with my contact details."

"Oh? What's this for?" He asked while accepting it and gazing at the velvety piece of cardboard.

She hummed in amusement. "What do you think? I'm handing you over my contact in case of anything. For instance, if you wish to apply for an online course."

Grey subtly narrowed his eye for an instant.

'In case of anything'?

Why would she hand me her contact info for something so vague or even something simple like applying for an online course?

I can just do the latter on the academy's webpage…So what gives?

"Sure, thanks. So what time is our match tomorrow?"

"Come to the Rustboro Gym at 2:00 pm, I'll be waiting there."

...After bidding a good day to the academy teacher-Gym leader, the group shortly arrived at the entrance of the Rustboro pokémon center. It was similar in design to Oldale's but much larger and with good reason.

The cobbled plaza entry was filled with trainers of varying ages...and they all stared at him as soon as they registered his presence.

Oh, come the fuck on! Really? Did 'everyone' watch the news 'that' day?

With a scowl, he ignored the onlookers and walked past them without so much as a glance avoiding any eye contact. Many of them eyed both him and the trio of pokémon following him. Thankfully, no one was stupid enough to try something with them...Except for one...There's always one with the nerve.

The trainer in question placed himself in their path in front of the pokécenter sliding doors. He wore some kind of white uniform with red streaks cut diagonally along his tight shirt, and burgundy track pants finishing with black sneakers. He was square-jawed with dark hair cropped short and fairly built despite being a few inches shorter. He looked like your average high-school jock sans the baseball jumper.

There were some whispers and annoyed groans from amongst the groups of trainers.

"Not him again…"

"When's he ever gonna' learn..."

"Such an idiot…"

Came such murmurs; apparently, this trainer had a poor reputation, and with one glance at him, Grey didn't blame them.

The uniformed jockey-brat ignored the crowd and pointed right at him with an arrogant smirk. "You! Oldale hero! I challenge you to a—"

"No, buzz off. We've just arrived from a long trek, and my team needs a rest. Now move aside."

The trainer frowned with his hand sinking back to his side.

"Huh? Oh c'mon, they look alright to me, what're you too much of a wimp?"

"I'd be glad to humor you tomorrow, after my Gym match if you want. But not right now."

"Heh. Sounds like a wimp to me."

"And 'you' sound like you want to battle pokémon who are clearly exhausted for an easier win. If I'm the wimp in this scenario, then that must make you the dickless jackass."

Some oohs and laughter echoed through the crowd, with the trainer fuming and taking a step forward while pulling out a pokéball, "Why you—"

The auto-glass door slid apart and a pale hand clasped the brute's shoulder, "Anthony, that's the second time this week. Should I report this to Candela and get her to reconsider the 'ban' she initially threatened you with?"

Anthony's face went slack with fear as he stepped to the side and turned to face the newcomer.

Initially, it was a bit hard to assume their gender as they seemed fairly androgynous, but with a more focused eye, she was effeminate. The androgyne woman was five-foot-four in height and sported a thin frame with modest curves and chest. She wore a long ice-blue twin-tailed trench coat with a white collar emblazoned with a semi-circular symbol on each side. Underneath she wore a white, buttoned vest over a long-sleeve ultramarine turtle neck, and leather leggings of the same color, strapped to the high-heel of her light-blue dress shoes.

She was fair-skinned with white-silvery hair brushed to the side and tied in a loose-low ponytail flowing at her back, and her eyes were a brilliant, piercing emerald that locked onto Grey's, completely ignoring Anthony for a moment, before blinking and giving the red uniformed moron a pragmatic stare.

Anthony stumbled on his words. "E-eh, oh uh, good evening ma'am, I was just trying to better my record and reputation by taking on the hero of Oldale himself," he stammered in a moronic voice.

"While I understand your reasoning for bettering a win-loss ratio, the reputation of someone is based on more than just quantifiable values. Winning against a starting trainer with a literal 0-0 win ratio won't do anything for your reputation or get you in Candela's good books."

So this apparent authority figure has already scouted me…I wonder how many people have done the same? Fucking media...

Anthony's nervousness shifted into an amused smirk as he turned on Grey. "Ha! What!? You've got a 0-0 ratio!? You haven't even battled officially, and yet you want to face Roxanne!?" He guffawed. "I guess the hero of Oldale isn't worth my time after—"

"I beg to differ, Anthony." Came the woman's voice.

The smug prick turned to her again with a raised brow, as she continued with a placid expression. "You really should pay attention and know when someone is giving you advice. I just said: 'reputation is based on more than just quantifiable values',"—she gestured to Grey—"Mr. Wilson here may be just starting his journey, but he already has an evolved regional starter, not to mention a rare pokémon to the region, on top of another being a rarity to these parts of it."

Anthony mumbled and was about to retort but—

"Also, the footage was clear and showed his combusken knocking out three full-grown criminal men, before they could even react, regardless of whether they had weapons or pokéballs or both. Such speed is quite impressive. I'd say it counts towards his experience, even if it's unofficial, and that's not considering his starter pokémon's current form, suggesting he's been in numerous unofficial battles that aren't even on his record…"

"Uh...Oh...B-but that's all the more reason—"

"To challenge him? Remind me, what's your official win ratio again?"

Anthony just mumbled an inaudible figure sheepishly.

"Apparently, not good enough to brag about, I've heard 'whismur' speak with more confidence."

Some snickering broke out in the crowd and Grey felt like he was the only one who didn't get the joke. What the fuck was a 'whismur'? A pokémon of apparent shy nature, he assumed. He'd look it up later.

The silvery-haired woman continued and for the first time showed subtle signs of annoyance on her immaculate fair visage. "Make another scene like this again, and I won't even bother Candela about it. I'll just prosecute you myself."

Anthony's eyes bulged in disbelief. "B-but you can't do that, I'm not even under your guild!" He blubbered out.

"Article 9, section 66.010 of Hoenn Regional Law states that regardless of which guild you may belong to, lower or leading, you may be prosecuted not only by the police but also licensed 'leader guild constables' or any of the three leader guild masters, on the grounds of 'persistent public nuisance'. So I can and will do so, should you commit a third offense. I'm sure Candela will understand."

"Rrr...Fine..." Anthony grumbled before giving Grey a scrutinous glare and marched off into the city.

The authority figure gazed around at the crowd. "Everyone, please move on with your business, the issue is now closed. Mr. Wilson has already expressed his refusal to accept challenges for today, in favor of his pokémon getting recuperation. Move along now." She ordered, shooing them away with a wave of her wrist.

The people around quickly complied and scurried off back to their groups and business.

Grey had to admit...He was impressed by her crowd control skill and intelligible wit, not to mention the, clearly, anime-esque pigmentation of her hair and remarkably striking green eyes, all adding to the surrealness of her character...

"Thanks for that." He simply started.

She kept her placid expression if only a tiny curl of her lip suggesting either amusement or a friendly disposition. "No problem. Just doing my duty, Mr. Wilson. Though, if you please allow me a question..." She stopped to wait for an answer.

Oh no, now it's my turn...

"Uh, with all due respect, I don't think I can refuse an authority figure, right?"

She blinked. "Apologies, I suppose my earlier disposition has caused a misconception. It's a personal curiosity that's outside of my duties. A more, 'social' one, if I may."

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to come off as snide. Yeah, go ahead."

"First of all,"—she raised a slender hand—"my name is Blanche Whitburne, 'guildmaster' of the leader 'Mystic Guild' or 'Team Mystic' if you'd like. Welcome to Rustboro."

Whoa shit! Guildmaster? Like the fuckin' boss!?

No wonder they all respect her. She's the head of one of the biggest guilds in this region…

"Wow. I didn't think I'd run into the head of one of the leader guilds." He took her hand in a firm shake and almost flinched at how cold her skin was. "I'm Grey Wilson, Birch lab's pokémon lab trainer and assistant...But you already knew that."

"Indeed. I've been expecting your arrival to the city," she said in a casual flat tone.

...What?

His skin prickled at the statement. "Is...that so? Let me guess...Nurse Joy spilled the beans to officer Jenny and she to you. Right?"

He was about to withdraw his hand but she held on with a surprisingly strong and frosty vice grip.

"Correct. I've been scouting you out since the Oldale news story. I believe we have much to discuss about this 'fake profile' of yours."

Now the hairs on his nape were erect in alarm.

She continued with a lobotomizing stare, as though she were peeling every layer away to slowly expose his secret. "So the question is...Who are you, really?"

He pulled his hand out of her grip, resisting the urge to rub it from the phantom cold. "I just introduced myself to you, and I don't appreciate your accusatory statement about my profile, Miss Whitburne. I'll have you know, it's a new profile since I've recently migrated from 'Carmonte Island'."

She raised a white brow. "Is that so?"

Grey puffed his chest in a show of being 'offended'. "That's right. The only reason why my home region is labeled as Hoenn is that Carmonte island isn't globally recognized as a region, but as an independent city-resort settlement on an artificial island. Of course that 'was' the case until the owners went bankrupt and halted all operations, abandoning the island and leaving an economic mess for the rest of the settler families to deal with."

"Strange, I had not heard of this."

"And for good reason. It got so bad, that most of the settler's over the years migrated to other regions, leaving fewer and fewer left. We're a poor pseudo-region, Miss Whitburne, left to fend for ourselves in the wake of financial depression. Quite frankly, having that on my profile would not only be detrimental to my social reputation, but it would also make any future transactions and legal documentation impossible for me, due to my real homeland not being an official region. So, in actuality, I'm a refugee, and it's not identity fraud."

'I know we just set up a Hoenn profile for you, Grey. However, it's not foolproof as the date of registration will not match your age, and eventually, they'll find out. I don't know any proficient hackers, so my associate enlisted you as a residential 'immigrant' from Carmonte Island within the government records, and not on your main profile. It's very hard to trace someone's record back to that place, and there are so few people of the newer generation born on that island, that the world's authorities don't even register it. So you'll need to read up on it and stick to a story...'

Grey gave her a glare with his final statement. "Is that good enough? Miss Whitburne?"

For a moment, Blanche's visage pinkened before returning to its fair tone. "I must apologize, Mr. Wilson."

"That's fine, I gues—"

"I had pegged you for a poor actor according to Jenny's first impression of you back in Oldale."

He was taken aback, recalling that awkward first exchange with the officer. "E-excuse me? I don't see how—"

"But I was mistaken, you're a lot better than I thought."

"...Ok, I'm lost."

"Don't be. If you're good in Jenny's and Joy's books, I suppose you have your reasons for having such a profile. It's in my nature to be a little cautious. I sincerely apologize for my deceit of calling this a 'casual' question, I just had to catch you off guard. It's how I do things."

...Bitch!

"...So am I clear?"

"Indeed, and if you win your Gym match tomorrow, fulfilling the base requirements, I'll be glad to accept you into my guild. I believe you showed interest in joining one of the three leader guilds, yes?"

He gawked at her ridiculous detective skills "...How the hell—"

Blanche's lips and emerald eyes curled further in amusement. "Nurse Joy from Oldale, and a 'good word' from the 'United Society of Archeologists'."

Alden...Of course…

I need to be very careful with what I speak about and especially to 'who'...Shit.

His shoulders slumped at being found out so easily. "Figures...What about the other two leader guilds? Actually, you're the perfect person to ask—"

"Of course I am, you wish to know about the leader guilds and each of their main agenda, aside from governmental assistance, correct?"

"R-right."

"Very well, it seems you're aware of our position as an exceptional authority as overseers of the Hoenn guild conglomerate, and the Interior Executive branch of the Hoenn Government, basically the main law enforcers, aside from the police. So I'll skip those details...The three leader guilds are Candela's 'Team Valor', Spark's 'Team Instinct', and of course, my own 'Team Mystic'. Each one has its own main public agenda, but don't doubt for a second that we have our own personal agendas as semi-private organizations as well. In this regard, I cannot speak for Teams 'Valor' or 'Instinct' as I don't know for sure what their personal agendas are. But I can—"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Hold on."

"Yes?"

"I would have thought you three were in cahoots as the government's interior executive enforcers, how can you not share these personal agendas? Aren't you teammates in a sense?"

"A fine question, one that I can answer in more detail in the future if you so choose to join my guild. But I'll give a gross summary...You see, in the sense that we share authority and similar roles in terms of public law regulation, we are allies, in a way...But, in everything else? We're rivals vying for public influence to further our agendas, both main and personal. A crude comparison would be 'political parties' in a sense."

"I see...So what can you tell me about the main agendas?"

"Team Valor's main public agenda is to promote their research into the 'Primal power source' from which a pokémon draws its kinetic strength and elemental affinities. They believe that the pursuit of 'strength' for both humans and pokémon is what's most important for the future and survival of both species...Of course, I can only surmise what their personal agenda is from this alone...Team Instinct's main public agenda is to promote their research into the 'natural intuition of pokémon from birth'. They believe that by raising human children and pokémon hatchlings together, given a correct hatching method of the latter, their stronger bond will help unlock secrets to hidden human potential, like that of 'Meta-humans', as well as improve relations with pokémon over the generations. Again, I can read between the lines of what they are 'actually' after."

"...And the Mystic Guild?" Attempted Grey.

"Care to take a guess?"

The ancient wall back at Oldale ruins came to his mind, and the strange mural that no one else saw, on top of the strange voice in the underground lake, and the random visions, all came to Grey's mind…

We have one that wants empowerment, the other that wants to emulate natural intuition...Meanwhile, another seems to be quite wary of its rival's goals...So the only thing left might be...

"It seems the research of the other two are entirely focused on the sole strength and capabilities of pokémon, and how they may benefit humanity in general...I can't be certain about your guild, but my guess is based on a mix between the overall theme of your guild, its name, and a bit of wishful hope from me…"

Blanche eyed him curiously now. "Go on..."

"I want to believe that you're looking more into the 'pokémon's perspective' itself, what they truly experience as individuals, and how 'their' view of the world can broaden humanity's pitifully closed mind; to trigger an advancement, or evolution of the conscience..."

...Blanche blinked in surprise for a moment, with her mouth slightly agape before she just as quickly regained composure. "Mr. Wilson...In the end, It's your choice to pick which leader guild you're most interested in."

"Not gonna' correct me?"

Instead of answering, Blanche glanced at the three pokémon waiting behind Grey and then stepped to his side, brushing her arm with his as she stood on her toes and whispered, "Your answer just now confirmed my suspicions...Everyone else might think that you're training those three with long-distance trekking...But I think you either dislike using their pokéballs—"

Grey didn't know whether his spine tingled due to her breath being so close to his neck, or the fact that this chick might have just figured him out completely with one single meeting.

"—Or because they're free, and have chosen to follow you…"

His breath stopped at her insanely accurate deduction, which made him painfully aware that she was good at her job...Very good.

"And in case I didn't make it clear earlier...Though it'll be convincing to most: I think your 'Carmonte Island' story is complete bullshit."

Grey remained silent, unwilling to show too much reaction, but was struggling to refrain himself from just simply bolting in the opposite direction.

"I don't know who you really are, Grey...But one of the best ways to get by in this world? Is by being a trainer, dropping that pretentious 'neutral' crap, and joining the right side. The choice is yours...But whether it's tomorrow or another day, once you get your first badge,"—she grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it under her nails—"I strongly suggest you join the 'Mystic' leader Guild…"

"How do I know your guild is on the 'right' side?" He challenged half-heartedly.

"You don't...But I know for a fact, that if you miss this chance? You'll end up on the wrong side, obligated to serve a cause that goes against your beliefs...Either way, it won't be long before a 'Meta-human' like yourself gets caught and forced onto a side."

"How the—"

But she let go and walked away with a casual back-wave. "Choose wisely, Mr. Wilson. Though you might want to register for the league first at the pokécenter desk. I'll be watching your match tomorrow. Good luck." Finished Blanche without a second glance before the pokécenter's doors shut behind her…

His jaw clicked from his gaping after Blanche in absolute disbelief.

...How the fuck did she know!?

"Guess the meowth's out of the bag with that one, huh Grey?" Chimed in Ginger, stepping into view with an irritating smirk across her face. "So 'who are you' really?" She asked in a mock version of Blanche's voice. Joanna and Neva barely contained their giggling.

He closed his mouth and glowered at the fire-fowl. "Shut up, you're getting what you want anyway, I doubt it matters to you at this point," he half-grumbled as he walked to the pokémon desk to register for the Hoenn league and see to their lodging for the night...He had a lot to think about...

...The next day, after a decent breakfast and thanking nurse Janet Joy, Grey decided to head for the department store with the girls in tow. Apparently, the nurses of the region were all somehow related, near-identical physically, and being of a long-standing family lineage of doctors and nurses, with 'Joy' as their surname. That meant the nurse in Oldale was named 'Joy Joy'. Was that part of the franchise's gimmick, or was this an apparent twist in the pokémon universe he found himself in? Either way, Oldale's Nurse Joy's name was almost good enough to be a sneaky 'Jojo' reference right at the start. Shit, that thing was viral back in the day…

If Grey didn't know any better, the Joy lineage was a family of 'clones'...A creepy possibility...

They arrived at a large shopping mall that almost felt like home, with the cacophony of people waddling and bustling in and out of the place with two bags for every other big one dangling off their limbs; either theirs or their pokémon helpers. It seemed crossing entire dimensions wasn't enough to shake mass consumerism off his tail. Whatever.

"What are we here for again?" asked Neva with a furrowed brow as she observed the other pokémon carry bags for their respective 'masters'.

"You know he can't answer you in this crowd, Neva, so his responses will be limited," said Ginger as she looked around the various stores.

"Right...I forgot people aren't supposed to know about 'that'. So do 'you' know why we're here?"

"Grey wants a different look to debut in our first battle against a Gym leader. And I don't blame him, compared to others, he looks like a street rat."

Grey growled in annoyance, unable to answer them.

Neva gave a dry laugh. "Ha! He does too, look at the frown he's giving us, he looks just about ready to shank someone, with the kitchen knife in his bag and all."

"Pfft—haha!"

Joanna popped in between the two. "Now, now, girls, Master's just a bit sensitive, I can relate to the need of looking well-groomed, perhaps he'll attract a mate. No need to tease him so much," she hummed with a smile as she gazed up at him before being fascinated at some silky garments worn by mannikins at a women's clothing store.

The other two snickered at her comment, to Joanna's apparent confusion. "What? What's so funny? I was being serious."

They laughed even harder at her cluelessness, with Neva talking through her giggles. "Oh Arceus, as usual, you're such a slut, Joanna."

"I say, how rude."

"If you girls were going to complain, I don't see why you didn't just wait at the gym, no one dragged you here."

"Behold, the man speaks," commented Neva with a grin.

"We're here to comment on your choice of clothing." Explained Ginger.

"Oh, God…" He groaned.

"What? I want a trainer that looks the part but at the same time distinguishes himself. As you are? You look like a mugger."

He rose a brow at that. "A mugger wearing a white jumper...really?"

"People are staring, Grey."

True enough, a group of shoppers near a handbag store gazed at him like he was a lunatic having a monologue with pokémon. He immediately put a finger to his ear in an act, "Yeah alright call me back later, and sure, the girls will behave." He glared at the amused trio, then checked the nosy shoppers who seemed convinced of his 'fake' earpiece.

Phew.

"Oh, we are gonna' abuse the shit out of this, haha!"

Goddamn it…

After passing several shops that sold virtually the same 70's sporty get up he had a distaste for, he stopped at a store that held a neon sign at its front:

'Precog-wear'

He gazed at their display and was surprised to see a radically different fashion sense from most of the other shops. Grey walked in to find a variety of things reminiscent of the fashion of his time, but also beyond.

It was the sort of clothing inspired by futuristic art nouveau styles with long slender coats and complex striped patterns and organic fabric cuts. This, along with a mix of steampunk styles with thicker leathery pants that had square-shaped, leathery framed patchwork, and jackets with leather straps and industrial rings inserted into their shoulder.

This was a store filled with avant-garde designs of this current timeline.

Then Blanche came to mind. She seemed stylish yet pragmatic and formal; a visually strong statement overall.

It sort of reminded him of that guy from Yu-Gi-Oh, what's his name…Kaiba? Yeah, his look was a bit K-poppy, but it definitely made its point with a flare...And since he was in an anime universe...Why the fuck not? In a world full of oddballs and eccentrics, who was gonna' judge him here?

...After trying on several styles—not without the girls making a mockery of him for his taste—he settled with the get-up they least made fun of, but he made a few adjustments to finalize it.

Though Joanna was the most supportive, she was the least helpful critic, through the fact that she just liked everything he put on and because at one point she took a peek at him through the tryout curtains, running away upon getting caught and giggling at his embarrassment...Strange pokégirl…

Now, in the mirror of the trying room, stood a tall man wearing a high collared, long sleeveless, ultramarine vest coat with high shoulder pads. The coat sported silver studs lining each edge of the fabric, and the inside was an iridescent teal. Underneath he wore a white long sleeve shirt tucked into the silver buckle of his belt and wore pants the same color as the vest coat, finishing up with black combat boots that had an exposed steel cap.

The most avant-garde thing about his get-up was mainly the coat, really, and he preferred to wear it open. Everything else was casual in comparison, but at least it wasn't as tacky as 70s wear. And the color scheme suited the guild he planned to join, should he win the gym match today.

He walked out of the triers once again, expecting to be mercilessly teased...

...The curtain was drawn back and out walked Grey. Ginger was surprised and for a moment didn't recognize him…

He was...striking.

"So how do I look?"

She only looked him up and down, not registering anything else at that moment. He was the only thing in the room and the only person that mattered. This was a trainer she could respect, and just from his presence...She knew he was the one that could aid her in her, admittedly mad, pursuit of greatness...

"Uh, Ginger?"

"Huh?"

Everything else in the room became visible, with her two colleagues and Grey gazing at her in confusion for the lack of response.

She jarred herself back to reality. "Oh...Yeah! Totally the look I can respect. Still distinguishable and classy, but also simple enough and to the point. Now you look 'the part'. Way better than the other tacky shit you tried on. I vote yes." She raised an arm to illustrate her point.

"Yeah, now you look like you can murder with just your eyes." Stated Neva with a nod of approval.

"Oh yes, you look quite ravishing, master," purred Joanna, ogling him up and down with a sheen in her amethyst eyes.

Grey seemed surprised at the positive reception. "Oh, well then I guess that settles it. So you girls see anything you like in the pokémon section?"

They just shook their heads, with Neva shrugging. "Nah, we're comfortable in our own skin, unlike you humans. We don't need garments."

He shrugged. "Ok, if you say so."

Ginger watched him pick out another set of the same outfit, probably for spares, and head to the counter.

The sneasel nudged her shoulder. "Oi. What was that?"

"What was what?"

Neva narrowed her red eyes. "You know what I'm talking about, you froze there for a second as soon as ya' looked at him."

She bristled as she looked away, crossing her arms. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Really? You could've given Joanna a run for her money with how you ogled him."

The salandit intervened. "She was just impressed, is all Neva, what's so wrong about that? Perhaps you're being jealous?" she hummed in amusement, eyeing the sneasel with a scrutinous slit eye.

The sneasel rose a claw. "Huh!? Jealous about what lizard bitch!?"

Joanna chuckled at her reaction and wagged a black finger. "Temper, temper, t'was a silly joke."

"Tch. Better be."

"Hey girls, come over here for a sec!" called out Grey.

Forgetting the issue, they bounded over to the counter where Grey stood with a freckled young man of red hair who seemed to have a static, lazy blue eye staring into space while its neighbor observed them closely.

Ginger noticed Grey held four small accessories spread in his hands; one was a spiked black choker, another a necklace, a glove, and a dangle earring. They all had an empty slot in them. Grey also now wore a metal, bolted bracer on his right forearm with a similar empty slot. It made a final touch to his outfit.

"What are those?" enquired Ginger.

"I asked the cashier if they had any accessories for pokémon, apart from clothing, and these are all they have. They're new to the market. These particular accessories are made for holding these things called 'Mega stones'. Apparently, they unlock a greater temporary evolution or something. But since the stones themselves are extremely expensive and hard to come by, I figured I might as well get you girls the accessories more for the looks than anything else, and if we find a stone, well, even better. Win-win."

Ginger gazed at the accessories.

Greater temporary evolution? I've never heard of that before...Weird. Though Grey seems disinterested and genuinely just cares about the looks.

"I guess, I like the choker," blurted out Ginger, with her colleagues gaping at her. "What?" She demanded, annoyed at their gawking.

"I honestly expected that out of Joanna, not you," jeered Neva.

"Are you still on about that 'slut' thing?" Asked the salandit with hands on her hips.

The sneasel rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Forget it. I'll pass on the accessory, thanks anyway, Grey."

"All good, what about you Joanna?"

"I guess the necklace would do nicely, if it's all right, Master. The earring is nice, but I don't exactly have earlobes." She pointed at the necklace so that the clerk didn't suspect Grey's pokéspeech ability.

"Alright, I guess I'll just get all of them, in case we get additional members."

"You plan on adding more to the team?" asked Ginger, motioning to the extra items and following Joanna's example.

"Hmm? Well, eventually we'll need at least five-six members for the actual 'Ever Grande Conference' itself. Or do you plan on counting for two pokémon each? Technically I can bring six and anything under, or over one, but I wouldn't recommend doing either of those things. The first you're aware of, and the latter should be obvious."

"Oh...Good point."

It was true. If Grey had a full team, the lack of pokéballs due to his principle could backfire, resulting in travel difficulties and dangers that a pokéball could have otherwise been helpful in...So a decent number might be four. Five was stretching it. And Six was just a crowd due to the first issue...Unless the fifth and sixth members were fliers, or perhaps—

The freckled clerk reared his head back in disbelief. "Wait...You're planning on taking on the entire league circuit?" he asked.

Grey eyed the clerk in caution. "Yeah why?"

"Oh...I just...Couldn't help notice your confidence, sir."

"Confidence? Isn't that what trainers typically do?"

"Well...To be frank, most just stop at one badge to join a leader guild, and only attempt a second if they want to achieve a guild accomplishment and increase their reputation...But to take on the entire circuit itself...is insanely difficult."

"What do you mean?"

Uh-oh...Not this shit again…

Ginger's chest became heavy as signs of her nightmare began manifesting...

"I mean...Only the best of the best make it, sir. Reason I know is, my cousin attempted the entire thing, he was a real hotshot too from our town...But…" The clerk just gazed away in thought, with his lazy eye looking straight ahead as the other flickered in contemplation.

"But what?" insisted Grey.

"Well, he gave up at the third gym in Mauville...He couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't..."

Ginger's heart sank.

The clerk continued, "After checking the overall average stats of Evergrande participants...Out of over 25,000 starting or experienced trainers in the region every year, only an average of 500-600 manage to earn their eight badges within the season...That's barely above 2% of the entire contestant population, which means a 98% rate of failure...After realizing that, he just quit."

Only 2%? Oh no, don't ask questions-don't ask questions—

"Why so little?"

Damn it, Grey! Why can't we just leave!? Why is this happening again!?

"Well, one factor is the difficulty. Think about it. Every year, gym leaders have to face continuous streams of challengers, and on average they take on anywhere between 4-6 challengers a day, six times a week for the day off on Sunday. On average? They'll dish out 26 unique battles a week, that's 130 matches a month, and 1560 per year, with that figure being almost identical to the number of starter trainers coming out of said Gym's hometown or city, and most of which never even defeat their first gym leader. While the ones that do manage to win, count within the following gym's tally, with Sootopolis gym being ranked the hardest, yet having the least challenges in a year...This doesn't include rematches by the way, which are already far and few between. If we consider—"

"Less numbers and more point making, kid."

"Oh right...Sorry...It's just...Gym leaders are extremely tough to beat since they take challenges on a constant daily basis. Every year, if there isn't a new gym leader in said town? Chances are, they've already had a thousand battles to learn from, making it that much harder to move on...Most people that become trainers, if they're even skilled enough to get just one badge, remain in their leader guild until they have to renew their membership by once again winning a badge, and if they fail, they have to wait a whole week before trying again to give room for newer unique challengers to have a chance at moving on. Of course, there's a limit to that too."

"Which is?"

Oh, Arceus! Can this clerk just shut up!?

"A repeating challenger only has three chances to defeat the same gym within three weeks. If they fail a third time, for whatever reason, be it lack of skill, a poor choice in team composition, poor luck in type matchup, or just straight up unlucky enough to barely lose the match...They're effectively eliminated from the pokemon league. And for those that try to renew their leader guild membership? If they attempt the same gym leader they defeated last time, chances are, that same gym leader as well as the other seven in the region, are potentially over a thousand battles wiser than the previous year...It will undoubtedly be harder."

"Grey, can we leave now? We need to get to the gym—"

"Hold on Ginger, I'm getting valuable intel here."

"What's up bird brain? You look like you've seen a ghost," teased Neva, with Joanna only observing.

But Ginger ignored her, as her nightmare reared its ugly head in her mind, the past that she wanted to forget...It was coming back so soon.

Grey held a hand to his chin. "Tell me, kid, how long has Roxanne been at it? She seems fairly young and quite preoccupied with her time as a teacher."

"Well, I suppose it's kind of a lucky year for those starting out from Rustboro, but not so much for beginner trainers, as she's been at the job for just over two months now. And considering her other occupation? I'd say she can only take two challenges a day, one during lunchtime and another after work hours when she's done teaching, three tops if we count the Saturday."

"So she's had well over a hundred matches already as a new gym leader. Interesting."

"Don't forget, however, that she also teaches battling at the academy, so apart from practice, she has theoretical knowledge too, as well as experience outside of Gym battles. And the previous gym leader has probably passed down years of knowledge as advice to her."

"I figured that...Well shit, the League sure doesn't fuck around..." Mused Grey, more quiet and thoughtful than a few moments ago.

"No sir...If I can be honest? I think it's near impossible to complete the league circuit, and much less to even make it into the finals—"

No! Shut up...Shut up!

The redhead leaned over the counter, apparently lost in his tale. "And we haven't even considered the dangerous trek through roadless paths towards the other towns and cities. Hoenn is a heavily jungled and mountainous region, not to mention volcanic on top of it all; filled with wild pokémon and all dangerous. Unless you have a fully evolved flying pokémon capable of carrying your weight? Or a rare psychic to teleport you across obstacles? The perilous off-roads and waters to certain cities can be deadly. I've seen news articles and heard many stories about trainers gone missing for weeks, only to turn up dead in all sorts of gruesome ways...Some families even end up burying empty caskets…"

Ginger couldn't bear to watch as this freckled mongoloid kept spewing his demotivating garbage at Grey…

"And of those that are found alive, resuscitated and treated for any injury; live with terrible traumas for the rest of their lives...Some even commit suicide afterward, unwilling to live with how much they lied to themselves and their pokémon partners about how they could be: 'the very best like no one ever was'...And the ones that don't take their own lives? They live to tell this very same story...My cousin's one of them—"

The redhead pulled out a calligraphy fountain pen from his pocket and aimed its sharp tip at his lazy eye.

What the hell…

The pointy tip of the pen was an inch away from his lazy-static eye.

Whoa, whoa! What's he doin—

'Tap'

'Tap-Tap'

The clerk repeatedly tapped his 'glass' lazy eye with the tip.

"—And so am I, sir...I'm one of the reasons they raised the starting age limit to 15..."

No! Arceus damn it, no! No!

She could only imagine Grey's look of terror, disappointment, or doubt...

Don't look-don't look-Don't look-Ah—

She couldn't resist and had to gaze at...Grey's completely calm visage.

If anything, he looked a bit annoyed.

Huh?

Her trainer sighed. "Tell me something, kid."

"Y-Yeah?"

Ginger observed the clerk's raised brow in befuddlement at Grey's calm demeanor, and quite frankly, she was just as confused.

"When you applied for your job at this store, how many others applied at the same time?"

"...Uh...Well, I'm not sure but I do know we get at least fifty applicants during the year, why?"

Grey smirked. "Let's hypothetically say that there were forty-nine other applicants for this store when you applied for this position, making you the fiftieth...You with me?"

"Yeah, I don't see how this—"

"Yet you're the one that got the job. You're here, right?"

"So?"

Grey held up two fingers.

"So, you said 'during the year' meaning you've been here at least for that long...considering that any one of those applicants could have been chosen, worked, and kept this position for as long as you have…Out of all of those applicants, there was a 2% chance you would get the job and a 98% chance of failure…"

The clerk's only eye widened at the statement. "But, that's irrelevant to the trainer numbers we're talking about here!"

Grey continued shaking his head. "No matter what the circumstances are or the scale of the numbers, the rule of 'self-similar probability' remains the same…Trust me, I know how hard it is to get a job in the city."

The clerk only gaped at him in wonder and looked at the floor in an evident attempt to wrap his head around what he was just told, before gazing at him again.

Grey tilted his neck up sky-high, exposing the area underneath his jaw and the beginning of his neck.

Ginger was horrified as he traced a ragged, angry scar stretching from above his larynx, toward his left under-jaw.

In any other circumstance, she would never have noticed the dangerously placed scar on her trainer…It looked as though someone stabbed him with an object and dragged it right across—She blinked the horrific thought away.

What the hell has he been through?

"Word of advice, kid."

The freckled young adult was agape in speechlessness as the raven-haired man returned to making eye contact.

Grey placed the money on the counter and leered at him with an amused grin...

"Don't scare off your customers."

With that, he picked up the bags with the merchandise and strode out of the store with the girls breaking out of their stupor and clambering behind.

Ginger quickly arrived at his side. "Grey."

"Yeah?"

"What was that about the 2% thing?"

He frowned. "...It was me telling another little demotivator to go fuck himself, I'm sick of people telling me or insinuating what I can and I can't do, like that prick Marcus…"

"Who's Marcus?"

Grey flinched in surprise, almost misstepping but caught himself. "No one...Now let's get these back to our room at the pokécenter lodge and get to the gym pronto. We're fucking winning this thing today."

He's really taking this seriously...I wonder…

Is he...doing it for me? Or...Is he doing it because he has no particular aim, and truly wants to give it a go? Just for the sake of it?

Maybe he believes he may as well, considering the money involved?

Or is it because he wants to keep that 'information' the chimecho has a secret? He seems a bit more motivated than 'that'...

It didn't matter what his intent was, because he looked to be accepting reality as he suggested a few days earlier...Of course, the question remained and nagged her mind for a while…

'You're free in your own fucking world!'

As Blanche asked him earlier…

Who was Grey, really?

…

...The crowd's roars were muffled by the erected barriers of the referee's Mr. Mime. A Creepy clown-mime looking fucker it was, and remarkably human-shaped. But it seemed to have a friendly disposition at the very least.

The indoor arena was similar in size to that of a football pitch. It was a randomized mess of rock mounds and spires on a sandy, dust-ridden floor much like a cave would be, sans the bright arena lights illuminating everything from above.

Grey stood on one side of the arena, arms folded and staring into the boulder-littered field, locking eyes with a smiling Roxanne on the other side through the only straight clearing between the rocks.

—"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to a special league debut match brought to you by the PA, Rustboro municipality, and broadcasted live by Devon Corp. Today's battle, sponsored by the League organizers, features a matchup between our very own Gym leader who is also Rustboro academy's most revered teacher, Roxanne Rachaels!"—

The crowd roared and if it wasn't for the barrier, it would have been deafening.

—"Vs, the newcomer, Birch labs' assistant, and trainer representative, as well as the hero of Oldale himself coming in fresh and brand new, debuting on his very first official league match, and not to mention against a Gym leader! Wow! What a daredevil! We have yet to see someone so audacious yet so heroic! Let's give a warm welcome for Mr. Grey Wilsooon!"

Announced the commentator as he dragged the last syllable out with wild enthusiasm to spice things up.

The audience cheered and applauded. Some yelled their approval of his actions at Oldale and others encouraged him to give it his all and not make it too easy for Roxanne. Despite him being the challenger, the overall reception was quite reassuring and inclusive for the most part.

He scanned the crowd on either side for a few moments and sure enough located Blanche, standing in stark contrast against a dark wall by one of the arena entries.

Sure, no pressure...tch.

"Are you ready, Grey!? I know this is your first official battle, but I saw how capable you are from the news, 'hero', don't expect me to go easy!" called out Roxanne with a grin and a wave.

"Fair enough, I wouldn't want you to. I'll do my best as well, teach'."

The referee, dressed in a yellow top and black shorts, came to the middle of the arena, waving two red flags up. "Trainers! This will be a one-on-one, singles match. You may use up to three pokémon from your team. The Gym leader cannot substitute pokémon but can pick any pokémon from their full team. Only the challenger may substitute pokémon, but must 'lock in' only three choices before the match. The trainer with the last pokémon standing will be declared the victor! Gym leader, choose your first combatant!"

Roxanne tossed a pokéball onto the field. "Go, Lily!" With a red plasmatic flash, whirring into full existence was some kind of barnacled flower with four stubby feet or roots, a thick yellow stem that held a bulbous funneled head, and eight pink petal tentacles poking out of it, as well as two glowing eyes within the funnel shell. It resembled a sea flower one would find on the ocean floor.

Grey had studied Roxanne's average roster and identified it as 'Lileep, the sea lily pokémon'; a 'Grass-Rock' type.

I see, since I told her what typing Joanna is, she's provoking me to use her...Good, I counted on that.

Another referee came to Grey's side with a touch-screen tablet in her hand, glancing at his team standing behind him. "Challenger, which three pokémon will you lock in?"

"They're my only partners; combusken, sneasel, and salandit."

"Very well, if you wish to keep your standby pokémon out of their pokéballs to watch, they need to wait outside of the barrier. Please state your starting pokémon. Remember, you can switch out, so this is not a disadvantage for yourself."

Grey turned to his team. "I already have a game plan, do you two mind if Joanna comes out first?"

"Nope. Go ahead, you're the trainer." Commented Neva, with Ginger agreeing and Joanna clapping in excitement.

"Cool, you're up Joanna. You know what to do."

"Of course, master," she said with an evil smirk curling her black serrated snout and murderous glee in her slit eyes while she played with her new necklace. In a twisted way, he approved of her expression and couldn't help the edge of his lip curling in response.

The salandit stepped forward onto the field, opposite to the lileep, and the crowd 'oohed' at the unique sight of the Alolan native. Joanna reveled in the attention, even posing on two legs, as she preferred to be on for casual walking, before returning to all fours in her battle stance and readying herself.

The side-field referee called out, "Trainers, ready! Three, two, one,"—he swung the flags to the ground—"begin—"

Joanna jumped off the ground and swiftly bounded off the rocks toward her opponent—

"Lily! Astonish—"

"Sucker punch." Countered Grey with Joanna becoming a dark blur in her momentum, and before Lily could rear its head to bellow out, the lizard zoomed in and smashed her dark shrouded fist against her enemy's shell with a resounding crack, toppling the sea lily over across the ground.

Roxanne waved an arm, "Now! Wrap!"

"K-Flame."

Roxanne look confused at the attack name while Joanna opened her maw, and before Lily could wrap its elongated tentacles around her, the toxic lizard released a hissing gout of purple flame right into her opponent's face, causing the sea lily to reel backward and let out a horrible shriek in pain with its charred funnel-shell smoking and its petals producing angry vile blisters as they visibly withered.

It didn't stop there. More of its headshell began cracking and sizzling as it quickly began corroding into sandy pulps while the poor rock-plant pokémon rolled on the floor in sheer agony.

"What...what have you done!?" asked a wide-eyed Roxanne.

Grey called out, "I suggest recalling Lileep and giving it an antidote. 'K-flame' is a dual-type move; fire and poison...Only the salandit genus are capable of using it, as far as I know anyway. The reason for its name is that potassium on the periodic table of elements is represented by the letter 'K'."

The gym leader gasped.

He grinned. "That's right, Roxanne, you should know that potassium chlorate flames release hydroxide gas, which is deadly and corrosive to plants as well as most other things. Recall Lileep. Right now it's incapable of registering commands."

"Rreee!" screeched out the rock-grass type.

On the outside, Grey was glad it worked, but deep down, he felt sick.

He hated how he caused such a fragile-looking thing to suffer...But it was necessary if he wanted to make a difference...

The referee, looking pale at the sight, waved his flag frantically. "L-lileep is unable to battle! The winner of the first round is salandit!"

Roxanne rushed over with an antidote, covering her mouth with the collar of her jacket, and sprayed her pokémon multiple times, causing it to flail around in reaction to the solution, most likely from the stings. She raised the pokéball and called it back, converting it into energy once more before standing up with her brows furrowed in disgust.

—"Oooh! Oh my lord! It hasn't even been a minute, yet Lileep is out and down in a flash by a strange unique attack! Our Gym leader is already down a pokémon! Wow! What a scary pokémon debut from a new species! And ouch, can it burn!"—

The crowd was divided in its reaction, some cheered while others booed at the sudden violent outcome.

Roxanne stared at Grey in disapproval as she walked within talking distance. "You do know I brought my class to watch this right?"

Grey looked around the arena and raised a brow.

"If we speak low enough, they can't hear us through that barrier."

"Uh-huh, I see the line of rugrats up there, you're point?"

"My point is, such excessive violence isn't sportsman-like!"

"Excessive violence? For a teacher, you're sounding quite contradictory. I'd choose your words with care, miss Rachaels."

"Excuse me?"

"Take a look around you."

Her rose eyes glanced around at the audience. He continued, "See how most of them are entertained? Sure, some might be in just as much disapproval as yourself, but you don't see them getting up from their seats and leaving, do you?"

She glanced back at him. "Of course they wouldn't, they paid to see the event, that's how the Gym and PA with the League funds all of its faculties."

"Ah, so they pay to see violence then, correct?"—Grey shrugged—"well I'm just giving them what they want. Also, I promised you I'd show your class what salandit are capable of first hand, and my promise has been delivered. And speaking of sportsmanship, I don't recall breaking any rules. Joanna won fair and square, right honey?" he asked the salandit who nodded and seemed delighted at the nickname.

"Oh, and one more thing," he said, gazing back at Roxanne.

"What?"

He flicked out the card she had given him. "Nice try with the tracking device on this little number, I gather you wanted me to work for you at some point, being who I am and from Birch labs, no less. It's the only reason, apart from tracking me, that you'd give me this card...Well, here's my answer..."

He pegged the card on the ground, "Oh sweety, be a dear and burn the fuckin' thing."

Joanna bounded over toward the card and spouted out a small ember, burning the cardboard to a crisp to reveal a thin crumpling metallic slip from within...It was the tracker.

He glared at the gym leader. "I don't know where you got your information about me from, apart from the news, to make you so desperate to track my movement. Is it the salandit? Is it me? Is it something else entirely? Either way...I can't stand a nosy boss."

"...Why so much enmity?"

"Because I can't stand the hypocrisy that a flawed system infects its society with. For decades, maybe more, it's been feeding them this idea that pokémon retain a free will within a device specifically designed to contain them. But is that really true?"

"What? Ignorance! The pokéball is designed to only hold them in a stasis and nothing more!"

"And why do they have to be in a stasis? Why can't they roam about freely? What, you think it's just so they don't suffer through status conditions? Please...Aren't you also a fossil specialist? If so, you'd know by now that humanity has lived alongside pokémon long before we came along, and I doubt they had such technology like you have today."

"But aren't 'you' using pokéballs? Where do you keep your pokémon?"

He smirked at her as he opened his jacket to reveal nothing on him, sans a combat knife. She seemed confused.

"Oops, must have forgotten them back at the pokécenter," he said with a coy grin.

She gaped at him in understanding. "What...You mean…I don't understand, h-how..."

"And to think you're indoctrinating children into actually believing that brainwashing these beings within the devices is completely fine, without giving them a chance to decide for themselves...You disgust me."

"I see...I guess you're no use to 'us' then...In that case, I can't let someone like you continue...I was going to give you a chance and use geodude and my other nosepass, but I've reconsidered…"

'Us'? Interesting...

"Go ahead, I don't need pity from anyone. Isn't that why this gym system exists in the first place? To filter out the weaker trainers? Oh, I see...You play easy on some of the weaker ones and harder on some more potential trainers, so that the top trainers of the region look even more godlike next to everyone else every time they win, ensuring total respect and control of the people. Meanwhile, their pokémon are seen as the brainwashed tools to get them there."

"Such devilry and blasphemy! I've had enough. Mr. Wilson, prepare yourself...Because I'm going to crush you, and I'll do it three times if I have to in order to keep a freak like you out of the League!"

He folded his arms and narrowed his eyes into a venomous glare. "Do your worst, teach'."

She walked back to her spot at the opposite end of the arena, yanked out a pokéball, and tossed it in the air. "Go, Gravy!"

The energy coalesced into the device's occupant, and it landed with a harsh impact on the ground, lifting some dust. Standing at a little over a meter in height, was a round, bipedal boulder with four arms articulating their tridactyl limbs. It gave a smug grin while furrowing its rocky brow and sending a mean look of its pinprick black eyes.

With how heavy the landing was, it must've weighed at least a hundred kilos or more.

What the hell? According to her gym profile, she has Geodude in her roster...but not its evolved form, Graveler...What gives? Did she evolve it recently?

"I can see you're confused, Grey! We gym leaders are amongst the top trainers in the region, and we do more than just one battle per day and dozens during the week, you didn't think we only had a single team for all those occasions, did you?"

"Of course not, but to think it wouldn't appear in your profile...I guess that's how you catch your challengers off guard then, eh? Nice gimmick."

"Challenger! Do you wish to substitute?" Asked the referee from the side.

"No."

Roxanne raised a brow at that. "You sure about not swapping her out, Grey? I'll remind you that a graveler's dual-typing is Rock and Ground, a direct counter to the unique Fire-Poison typing of your salandit."

"Spare me your handicaps, I'm not about to arm you with an excuse for your loss today."

She chortled and shook her head with a grin. "You still have much to learn, Grey. Maybe you should take one of my courses on dual-types."

I'm fully aware that if Joanna gets hit by a ground-type attack, she'll be out hard…

Joanna gazed back at him and nodded.

She knows this too.

"Begin!"

"Rock polish!" Commanded Roxanne, with the boulder pokémon's rough jagged edges re-aligning themselves into smoother and glossier stone. Grey didn't know what that was, but he gathered it improved aero-dynamic movement—

"Confuse Ray." He countered, with Joanna approaching her enemy and pressing her hands to her temple, unleashing a purple translucent pulsating wave that swiftly shimmered in the air toward the graveler.

The now glossed rock creature quickly rolled to the side as though it weighed half less than it did—

"Bulldoze into Rollout!" A sandy aura covered Gravy as he slammed the ground with his body, shaking Joanna off her feet and slowing her down before the rock-ground type continued its roll in a burst of speed, catching her off-guard but—

"Poison fang!" With a smack, the salandit was tossed across the field, though not before dragging her poison-lined fangs across the graveler's hide, leaving an oozing, bubbling gash that melted into its body. Suddenly Gravy grunted in pain, and a good chunk of his body, where he had collided with Joanna, was bright red and sizzling like it were super-heated. It was about to move but it coughed out a cancerous glob of dark fluid from his mouth with confusion lacing its expression. "What the'...How." It grumbled.

—"Ohh! What an impact on the salandit, sending it flying away with a rollout, but what's this? Just from touching it and from the bite it left behind, Graveler is both burnt and poisoned! And from the looks of it badly too! Wow! That salandit sure is packing some heat!—

Grey cringed at the announcer's reference. "Oi Joanna, you good!?"

She got up on wobbly legs, but gave him a nod and shook off her weariness. But she wasn't fooling him, the Rock-energy from Rollout was super-effective against her Fire essence. She must've been rattled from an impact like that to boot. They couldn't make any more reckless moves.

"Shake it off Gravy and Rollout again!" The boulder pokémon complied, pushing through the inconvenience as he tucked his arms in and cannon-balled toward the lizard.

"Smog 'n' hide!" Joanna released a miasma of dark purple smoke and dived in, with the graveler rolling to a stop in the middle of it, coughing out even more. The sizzling of the burn was audible from where Grey was standing.

Good, now it's just a matter of 'hide and seek' for the tick damage to eventually take him down—

"Nice try! Sandstorm!"

What!? He knows that!?

The smog was abruptly twirled about with some wind picking up around where the Graveler was. The dirt flew about in glimmering flakes under the arena lights, and the entire area between Grey and Roxanne was covered in a swirling storm of dust and sand, rendering the smog into nothing but wisps before it faded completely.

Grey barely made out Joanna who seemed heavily affected by the storm as she grunted in pain.

Shit. Must be a T.M move.

"Hang in there Joanna! Heatwave! Full power!" She opened her maw and unleashed a powerful glowing wave of shimmering hot air against the sand, super-heating it into a blast of glass and spraying it all over Graveler who was focused on conjuring the sandstorm to its completion. The boulder-creature grunted in pain as the attack worsened his burn. He gagged on the black fluid drooling out of his mouth before he could complete the sandstorm. It was only a matter of time.

Roxanne looked a bit worried before waving an order. "She's right where we want her! Rockslide, now!"

"Shit, swerve around and use Flame Burst!"

The Graveler grabbed hold of a huge rock twice its size with its four muscular limbs, pulled it out for the sand to sink in its place, and pegged it at the lizard who struggled to move and in her blindness fired out the flame burst, missing completely as the boulder crashed against her right flank with a sickening crunch resounding through the storm that made Grey's stomach turn.

"Joanna!"

He focused his vision and made out her figure barely sitting up on the ground gripping her leg with a grimace.

Roxanne was about to call out another command but—

"Ref! Stop the round! She can't battle," called out Grey, with Roxanne stopping mid-pause.

The referee tilted his head in confusion but nodded and waved a flag up.

"Salandit is unable to battle, Graveler wins this round."

The crowd applauded while some murmured in confusion at Grey's odd decision. He picked out a super potion from his backpack and walked onto the field, beckoning Joanna to come out of the still ongoing sandstorm.

She did so on all threes' with a limp on her fourth leg that dragged along loosely, leaving a trail of blood on the sand. His chest went heavy at the sight but he steeled himself as much as possible.

"Sit still, let me spray you with this."

"O-ok." She said, gazing at him with eyes glossed over as she winced from the potion's antiseptic. Already her leg seemed better as she tested it with success.

"Great job out there, that should take care of the cuts and superficially heal any bone fractures. Don't put pressure on the leg."

"Why did you stop the round?"

"Because I'm not about to let you get hurt uselessly. I know the ending of a fight when I see one. Rest and I'll take you to the pokécenter later."

She blinked a few times before she looked away with a smile. "You're sweeter than you let on, master."

He flushed and stuttered for a moment. He'd never have expected an alluring voice like hers to use that sentence for him of all people. What a strange world.

"Eh. Thanks, I guess. Neva! You're up!"

The sneasel blinked her white lashes nervously from outside the barrier at the other end of the arena. He nodded confidently with Ginger next to her doing the same, and she seemed reassured. The teal claw-pokémon bounded over to him, passing Joanna who bid her good luck.

He got up from his crouch, not willing to make everyone wait less it is seen as cheating for the DoT damage…

—"And just like that, the mystifying and hardy new pokémon species takes a graceful exit with our Hero showing an unexpectedly tender side to him! What a guy!—

Some people 'awed' at the comment, while others cheered.

—"Next up is a dicy and icy dark Sneasel for Wilson to bring into the mix! Rare to this part of Hoenn indeed! What a treat folks! Meanwhile, we have Roxanne's Gravy not looking too hot despite his victory, but it's yet to be decided!"—

"About time you brought out your next pokémon, nice attempt at stalling for the burn and poison, Wilson!" Chided Roxanne.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Remind me, Rachaels, can it still be considered a challenge for a gym leader if they scout out their opposition to the last detail before the match? I think this is a good compensation for the lack of surprise..."

She only furrowed her brow in response.

"Trainers! Ready! Three, two, one...Begin!"

"Neva, he's slow, open with a Metal claw!"

Braving the sand storm as it buffeted her, the sneasel launched herself at the graveler at a considerable speed with her extended and steely honed claws—

"Magnitude!" called out Roxanne.

"Jump Neva!"

Gravy stomped the ground with his stubby feet right as the sneasel soared through the air and sliced across the graveler's polished rocky side with a metallic shriek, eliciting a howl in pain from the hardy rock-ground type before creating some distance again.

Grey capitalized on the graveler's weak state. "Now, Ice shard!"

Neva breathed in and flash froze the flying sand in front of her into chunks of ice while blasting them out at the Graveler.

Roxanne was alarmed at her pokemon's condition, "Evade and use Stealth rock!"

Thanks to the sandstorm providing cover and Graveler's 'sand veil' ability, the rocky being rolled out of the way before waving his arms about with a pewter aura encircling his limbs. He looked just about ready to faint from the burn and poison which oozed out of his mouth, injuries, and left eye, but he hung on.

The gravel-bodied thing was a tough son of a bitch, Grey would give him that, but it had to end. "Finish him with another Metal claw."

As soon as Neva approached the graveler, Grey barely made out a grin creeping out on Roxanne's face—

Hmm?

"Now, Self-destruct!"

"What!? Neva, abort! Get away!"

The sneasel barely caught on and slipped on some gravel as she noticed Gravy replicating his trainer's grin and glowing a pale yellow. She clambered backward as fast as she could—

'Boom!'

The graveler let out a deafening explosion that sent chunks of rock flying everywhere. Grey covered himself but a barrier from the Mr. Mime ref protected him from the devastating debris that cracked against it with rattling force. But what about—

"Neva! Oi!"

The sandstorm somehow kept going, but as the dust and smoke were filtered out of the shifting whirlwind of sand, he could make out the limp form of the fainted graveler being returned to its pokéball. But no sign of the sneasel.

"Neva!"

His heart sank in worry, but his neck snapped to a moving mid-sized rock nearby. Having been under it and tipping it over, was Neva, with several scrapes and bleeding cuts lining her entire body. But she seemed okay overall with no noticeable limping or anything as she got up. If anything, she was heaving in exhaustion from her race backward.

"Oh thank fuck...You alright!?" He called out.

"Yeah...I'm still good to go. Fucker almost got me though."

Roxanne looked a bit miffed but seemed satisfied as she pulled out her next pokéball.

"Sneasel is the victor of this round with Graveler having self-destructed," announced the ref.

As the yellow sheen of the ref Mime's barrier came down, Grey gave Roxanne a furious glare. "Have you no fucking shame? Causing your pokémon to self-destruct? You could've killed Neva! Not to mention your graveler!"

She smirked, "Oh relax Grey, Gravy's been trained extensively to know his limits and what his opponent should be capable of handling. It's a perfectly viable tactic in this scenario."

Grey snarled in repulsion of the act.

"Disgusting...To think you're a teacher. I won't be subscribing to your services anytime soon..."

"Says the relentless toxic user."

—"Wow! What a blast! In a final act of denial, succumbing to the effects of the salandit's poison-burn, the tough customer of a graveler tried to take down the sneasel with him through a sudden 'self-destruct', but the feisty speedy claw-pokémon managed to outrun and shield itself with a slab of rock, surviving the round! Amazing reflexes from both trainer and pokémon! And now our gym leader is left with one pokémon against two! Who will she pick this time!?—

The crowd applauded and cheered for both contestants, getting stirred up and wild. Was this what they desired? Exploding pokémon? The sight of pokémon bleeding for their trainer's whims?

He had to admit, there was a thrill to the adrenaline, and he was no stranger to that. But...Grey shook his head.

No. If it wasn't for Ginger's blackmail tactic…

"Grey!" called out his opponent.

He glowered at her. "What is it now?"

"This is where it ends. You'll never defeat this next pokémon. And you can bet that you've never seen it before."

What?

She launched a bluish-red ball into the air and unleashed its resident in a brilliant glow of red light that formed into a massive thick shape.

Oh no…There's nothing in her records matching that shape…

The thing landed with a reverberating thud right in the middle of the sandstorm with its impact shaking the entire arena and parting the sandy wind for a moment, revealing itself.

It was the most bizarre thing Grey had seen yet; this pokémon made shiftry look like a commonality, and judging by the impact of its landing, it must've weighed at least three hundred kilos or more!

It was a blue-slate-colored, monolithic object, as thick as its two-meter height, with a large red nose almost as long as its body. Two blue eyes sat at the top of the nose bridge, covered by a round cylindrical red head adornment. More bizarre yet, there were iron filings or debris that were attracted to its nostrils, looking like an odd parody of a bushy mustache. It floated off the ground in defiance of its obvious three-hundred-and-some kilos by some magnetic force if the three smaller blue mini-versions of itself floating around it were anything to go by...

Basically, it was a floating moai statue with a mustache and eyes, with mini-clones of itself floating around it…

Not what he was expecting. It seemed the creators of pokémon went quite a different route for this generation…

"What the fu—"

—"What is this!? Another rare species debut!? We have never seen Roxanne use this pokémon! Where has she been hiding this big boy!? What is it!?"—

The crowd went wild at the new sight.

Grey fished out his pokédex and attempted a scan:

—No data found—

Ah shit.

"This is Humphrey, my—previous—nosepass. According to the science community forums, this pokémon is a 'Probopass', the evolved form of 'Nosepass'. About a week ago I noticed that my nosepass was heading for a strong magnetic signature that developed near some mountains. So we decided to train there, and after a while of doing so, he suddenly evolved right then and there! I wanted to train with him more extensively before ever using him in a battle, but for you, Grey? I'll make an exception and show you first-hand how powerful he is." Roxanne waved her arms up at the crowd and called out so they could all hear. "What you're looking at is one of Hoenn's very first evolved nosepass, a 'Probopass'! A Rock and Steel-type!"

After some oohing and photo flashes, the crowd went ballistic.

—"Whoa! Hear that folks!? Roxanne's just treated us all to a rare sighting! We'll be talking about this moment for generations! Two new species debut in one match! Have you seen anything like it!? How will Grey match up against such a formidable and mysterious opponent? Might the tables flip right around with this new unexpected entry?"—

Honestly, it just might, both its types are effective against ice...Fuck.

The thing was concealed once again as the sandstorm reformed itself around it.

The referee walked from the outside of the Mime barrier and raised his flag. "Trainers! Ready! Three...Two...One, Begin!"

"Go for a Night slash." Neva seemed unsure and shaken by the new threat, as well as the constant sting of the sandstorm, but she soldiered on, generating a dark pulsating aura on her extended claw. She closed in and attempted a short-range slash, but to Neva's disbelief, she lost grasp of the energy and failed the attack.

"Don't let her speed intimidate you! Go, Humphrey! Rock Tomb!" The pokémon let out an eerie grumbling whir of a response as it was bathed in a pewter aura, which resulted in the sudden movement of several rocks of varying sizes being pulled out by some invisible force and were launched into the air, before coming back down in a controlled cluster.

Neva scrambled around the area, attempting to dodge all of them as they came cascading and crashing back on the sandy ground, but a smaller one clipped her leg with another larger one striking her on the side eliciting a yelp in pain from her, before the rock embedded itself on the ground beside her.

She found herself surrounded by a forest of rocks jutting out, with no clearing in sight.

Grey realized the renewed landscape would limit the sneasel's speed and maneuverability.

Damn...She'll just have to face it head-on in that case.

Roxanne waved an order. "Now, use the same rocks for a Rock Slide!"

"Icicle crash!" Grey countered, and before the moai pokémon could begin moving the boulders, Neva used the humidity in the air and the sands of the storm to quickly form a large chunk of ice, hurling it at the probopass. It crashed into the bridge of its nose, with the icicle splintering around it, causing the rock-steel type to flinch and lose its concentration.

Neva jeered at it but was silenced by a spray of rocks from the sandstorm in response. "Agh!"

That sandstorm is bad news, the only time she can get away from it is by approaching the thing right in the middle, though dangerous.

"Go! Get it while it's distracted with another Night slash!" Neva shook off the sand and complied with renewed confidence. This time the dark energy became solid and secure around her elongated claw as she sprinted toward the living monolith.

"Thunder wave!"

Huh!?

As soon as Neva was in range, unleashing the night slash and leaving a gash on the side of the probopass who seemed indifferent about it, the three little floating nose-clones came zooming in at her in defense of their main body and encircled her from above in a spinning formation, releasing a net of electric charges and catching the sneasel in it.

Neva yelped as the attack electrocuted and stunned her, paralyzing her on the spot.

"That fucking thing can use electric attacks? Are you kidding me?"

"What's the matter, Grey? Didn't know about the magnetic properties of nosepass? It shouldn't be that surprising."

"Yeah, but to think it'd be that proficient at it with sheer magnetic force alone."

"Oh, you've seen nothing yet...Charge up, Humphrey!"

Taking its time in the face of a paralyzed opponent, the moai-look-alike masterfully began conducting electricity around its body.

Shit shit shit, how the fuck can I deal with that!?

Grey thought furiously before noticing the fingers of electric energy spiking out from the ground below the probopass, right where he was floating…

Magnetic force...Electricity...That's it!

"Neva! Fight through it and freeze the ground all around the probopass!"

Neva grunted and growled through her spasming muscles, proceeding to touch the ground and infuse it with Ice energy. She didn't know what Grey had planned, but she trusted his judgment. With a shimmer, ice crawled out from under her clawed limbs and through the ground, spreading under and all around the area beneath the floating statue.

As soon as it covered the spot beneath him, the electrical current around the stone giant ceased and he crashed onto the icy floor with a crack. The probopass blinked several times in surprise as he couldn't physically move without his magnetic propulsion. The only things that were still hovering about in jerky annoyed movements were the mini-noses Humphrey could still manage to control since they were lighter and required less magnetic charge to conduct.

Roxanne gaped at the situation for a moment in surprise.

"Now there's no feasible way your probopass can use electric attacks. Neva just froze the whole area around him, he can't even move now. I've realized he's a master at electro-magnokinesis, of course, to generate electrical currents, he's quite reliant on Earth's natural electromagnetic field and needs to charge it below him in a continuous circuit. She just effectively blocked off his source of electricity with ice, a natural insulator."

"Clever...But I still have her where I want her. Stone edge!"

"Dodge Neva!"

...She tried to move but her nerves were still shocked stiff, she could barely take a step. She wasn't strong enough. Her heart thumped in her chest as the ground beneath her rumbled.

Oh crap! I've gotta' move! I can't fail Grey so soon! Damn it!

Just as she moved, a rock jutted out from beneath her and hot pain flashed on her short snout, whipping her head back. The arena lights came into view. She was weightless and her head spun with agonizing numbing pain on her jaw.

Time stopped as the ceiling lights flew past her.

Is this it? Is this all I'm capable of?

'Useless Sneasel! Don't you know any dark attacks!? Damn it! Aqua administration just had to give me a dud...'

Cloey was right...I'm useless. I couldn't even get out a proper night slash attack, like that fighting-type…

'Grey's right, you need to focus your emotions into the attack.'

Sorry, Ginger, your lessons didn't come through...I couldn't get out a Dark-type attack when Grey needed me to…

She recalled the training back in the woods the other day, having been inside the thick, dark smog cloud Joanna had made, shrouding her in darkness while Grey instructed her from outside.

'You need to tie down your turbulent emotions and focus them into something productive...Darkness is the most ancient of all elements. It existed before the light, before space, and even before time...Even now, it's everywhere, waiting for the moment space collapses on itself and for every light in the universe to be snuffed out for the existence of time itself to be null and void...Only Darkness will fill its place once more. 'Feel' it around you. Find it. Embrace it...and don't ever let go. Become one with it…'

'But I can't breathe within this smoke!'

'There is no smoke to choke on. There is no air to breathe...Only Darkness…'

Until now, she had no idea what that meant.

'Close your eyes, and let it become part of you…'

She closed her eyes, shutting out the arena lights and somehow still weightless in the air…

Now where the lights were, there was only pitch black and she stopped soaring. Everything simply stopped.

Gravity no longer held any meaning as she looked around from her height. For a moment she didn't understand what she was looking at until she finally realized that for every illuminated area there previously was, there were only varying shades of darkness.

The brightest areas were pitch black, the subtle lighting was a lighter shade of it, like smoke...And where the darkest corners, as well as the shadow cast by every object and living thing should have been, instead, there was a window of absolute clarity.

Neva's world was true darkness. Where light meant blindness and darkness meant true sight.

She floated around and could see every movement begin to accelerate. She didn't know what to do, but she was running out of time.

She turned her gaze to where Grey should have been standing. All she could see was his shadow become light. Neva then focused on her opponent and narrowed her sight at its large shadow on the ice.

She floated over to the probopass' shadow. It was like looking through an illuminated membrane of sorts, all she had to was jump into it. But before she considered doing that, something moved toward her, with its pointed steps crunching the gravel.

It was a creature the likes she had never seen, and her mind couldn't comprehend its constantly shifting dimensions, only that it walked on four pointed feet and its pale limbs were covered in wispy and gooey dark tendrils leading up to its torso which consisted of two-bladed arms and a head with several red glowing eyes dotting it. It was slightly taller than she was, considering it was partially quadrupedal.

She couldn't make out any additional details due to her unpracticed eye within the realm.

Whatever it was...It was not a pokémon.

The frightening thing stopped before her and stared at her, making subtle clicking and guttural noises. It waited patiently without even moving an inch, as though in expectation.

Was it...waiting for her?

Neva then had an idea that spawned from nowhere, which then became intimate knowledge, almost as though it were a daily routine that made complete sense…

"Come here." She ordered with confidence she never knew she had…

...Grey couldn't believe his eyes; it happened in an instant.

As Neva was tossed into the air by the Stone Edge attack, the crowd was shocked as out of Humphrey's shadow came out a strange sinewy shady being a little over half the pokémon's size, covered in a strange membrane that faded away into dust. The probopass let out a muffled shriek like that of grinding stones as the eldritch creature struck his back with both its bladed arms and in retaliation the stone pokémon sent its three mini-noses to assault the thing, battering it fiercely and slowly pushing it back into the shadow.

It vanished just as quickly as it came, as though it never existed.

Grey's vision whirled to Neva who was knocked out on the floor, and the audience was silent for the most part, murmuring in confusion at what they just witnessed.

The referee was also pale at the sight, as though he just saw something beyond his human comprehension, but upon seeing Neva's prone form, he raised a shaky flag. "S-sneasel is unable t-to battle, P-probopass is the winner of this round!"

—"Uh...I don't know what I just saw...But give a round of applause for both contestants! A marvelous show of resilience from the sneasel and my, what a final technique that was! I've never seen such a thing! And my oh me, the power behind the behemoth of a pokémon that is probopass! Such majesty and versatility! Both contestants are now down to their final pokémon!"

It took a solid few moments before the crowd broke out of its stupor and roared back to life, cheering for both contestants.

Grey still struggled to process what he just saw...Did Neva really do it?

To think that poetic crap about 'the immaterium' and the 'dark zone' actually worked...It worked...Oh my God...

He walked over to her prone form that was still within the sandstorm.

"Uh, contestant! Do you not have a pok—"

"No, I don't. I'll retrieve her myself."

"Eh, uh, but it's dangerous!"

Grey ignored him and shielded his eyes as he stepped a few feet into the spiraling dust-filled dome toward Neva, with the winds fingering and ripping at his coat. He ignored the battering sands nicking at his skin, sunk his hands under her, and held Neva to his chest, shielding her from the storm as he marched through it.

She opened her crimson eyes slowly and gazed at him. "G-Grey...I-I'm sorry. I-I couldn't use Night slash."

He blinked as he exited the storm. Did she not know what she just did?

"Neva. You did it."

"Huh?"

"You became one with the darkness and dealt a heavy blow on Probopass. You were amazing."

"I-is that what I did?"

He smiled. "Yes. Great work. You have amazing potential, you just need a little more confidence."

Her eyes glistened with tears and she clung to his chest as though he were her last bastion of comfort. Grey couldn't help but caress her feathered ear. She hicked' in response as she buried her face against him.

—"I'm not sure why Wilson's not using his pokéball, but actions certainly speak more than words folks. I've rarely seen someone so determined and willing to brave the storms for their comrades, to share their pain and weariness. Now, this is a hero! Give a round of applause!"—

The people cheered once more and even through the mime barriers, it was deafening. But it didn't matter to him. He didn't live for their approval, all that mattered were his partners in battle...Their sacrifice...

He gently placed Neva by Joanna's side, sprayed her bruises and cuts with the super potion, and gave both of them a gentle squeeze on their shoulders, before turning to Ginger, who gazed at him intently.

"What?"

"Nothing...I guess it's up to me now, huh?"

"Yep, you ready to kick ass? He might have a slight type advantage over you, but you've got a major one over him. However, if the graveler was tough? This guy is a fucking tank. We'll use speed against his slowness, but don't underestimate him for a second, like you did with the shiftry, got it?"

She grinned with a 'claws up'. "Got it."

Ginger stood before the storm, gazing at the figure of the probopass awaiting her who was still stuck on the ice. Roxanne was oddly silent without any commentary.

"Trainers, ready! Let the final round...begin!"

As soon as Ginger stepped into the sandstorm, two rocks came flying out from the side. She managed to dodge one, but ended up in the path of the other, getting smacked on the side and causing her to stumble.

Grey cursed, having forgotten about graveler's Stealth rock. Roxanne took advantage of the distraction. "Now use Rock blast! Keep the pressure!"

"Shake it off, Ginger, use Flamecharge to knock out that bloody sandstorm, counter-clockwise around it, Go!"

Once more Roxanne gave him an odd look, but Ginger did as was asked, dodging the flying boulders, covering herself in flames, and bursting against the wind while burning the sand into glass with the intensity of her heat. She made a complete circuit around the shifting winds, and completely caused it to subside, now leaving the arena clear for all to see.

Roxanne was gawking at the surprising action.

Grey gave a smug smile. "Why are you so surprised? All Ginger did was disrupt the wind current with her speed and heat."

—"Wow! What a genius way to stop a sandstorm! Without it, Probopass, assuming it retains its ability on evolution from nosepass, loses its bonus attack power from 'Sand force'! An interesting counter, but will this be enough to stop Roxanne's beefy pokémon?"—

She became serious once more. "Hmph. Clever. But you won't worm your way out of this with parlor tricks alone."

"You're right. Ginger, he's still immobile over that ice! Take him down with a Double-kick!"

Using a jutting rock as a springboard, the fire-fowl sprung into action and bounded toward the titan.

"Aim and defend yourself with a Flash cannon!"

Ginger, covered in an orange fighting aura, swiveled around the probopass' vision and struck it with two booming consecutive roundhouse kicks, cracking the surface of the struck area and causing massive damage. Right as she was done, the trio of mini-noses spun in a circle next to her and blasted her with a flash of light, though she barely felt it as she bounded back in caution.

—"Ouch! Probopass has taken massive quadrupled damage due to the severe double-type disadvantage against fighting types, though not without retaliating with his own attack. What a battle for the ages!"—

Roxanne remained composed, but her face was laced in took the chance to take away Probopass' only hopes in counterattacking, though the name was awkward to him, "Feather dance!"

Ginger spun and showered the rock-steel type with plumage that stuck onto his main body, disrupting his control of the mini-noses to a degree, effectively lowering his attack and even obstructing his vision to an extent.

"Power gem!" Probopass' launched a ray of shimmering dust particles at Ginger, but due to the speed she built up in the entire match as well as the Flame Charge from earlier, she dodged easily and with room to spare.

—"Uh-oh! Looks like Probopass is in trouble! His attack has been further weakened and he can't get a clear shot due to his limited movement! Has this match been decided!?"—

The audience cheered for both sides and were going spastic at all the action.

"Finish him with another full power double-kick!"

Ginger zoomed toward her target—

Roxanne grinned. "Now! Earth Power underneath yourself!"

Grey peeled his eyes back in surprise as Probopass erupted the ground underneath himself with sand-like energy, causing the ice beneath to shatter like glass as gravel and boulders exploded out of it, leaving Ginger shook from the sheer cataclysmic force of the attack and yelping as she was tossed back.

Fuck! He still has 'that' much energy left!?

Probopass began floating once more, spun around to shake off the debilitating plumage, and hovered quickly into action. "Now, Humphrey! Lock-on!"

"Disrupt it with a flamethrower!" The fire-fowl recovered from her recoil and blasted the giant with a thick gout of fire, but—

"Zap cannon!" The mini-noses aligned themselves at the front of their controller's red nose and spun at a blinding speed, generating enormous amounts of crackling yellow electricity.

Oh shit!

"Abort! Dodge it!"

Ginger stopped and jumped to the side as Humphrey shot a massive ball of condensed near-plasmatic electrical energy toward her. Initially, Grey thought it missed, but the effect of 'Lock-On' was made evident as the attack pursued Ginger everywhere she went.

She was heaving in exhaustion as she leaped from one rock to another with the thundering attack not showing any signs of stopping soon! Her nerves bundled up and adrenaline surged through her body as she made every possible attempt to evade the attack, even at one point trying to get it to hit the probopass instead, but the titan floated out of the way.

She made for a sharp turn but a mini-nose came right around from the bend and struck her face with a painful whack, causing her to stumble.

Grey called out to her but his voice was cut short as a flash blinded her and her brain momentarily shut down as she lost all control of her limbs from the shock.

She screamed, but out of her open jaw, nothing came out as every muscle in her body was locked in and bunching up madly, spasming in an uncontrollable continuous vibration. Her vision wobbled and everything was a blur as she suffered the effect of thousands of volts from the discharge of the electric attack.

It was over as fast as it began, and she fell to her knees with her feathers stuck up in several places, her heart racing and entirely stunned.

Grey's voice calling out to her was muffled, but became clearer as she slowly stood on her feet; it was all she could as a response.

Roxanne's voice came from behind. "It's over, Grey. Recall her or I'll be forced to continue."

"She's not done yet. Ginger! Shake it off! Remember your abilities! Use it!"

'You're so strong, and you have so much potential that it's fucking scary.'

He believes in me.

Her body ignited in flame, and a red aura engulfed her. She was paralyzed, yet she drew strength from her weakness. Her mind was a haze of red, and in defiance of her twitching stubborn muscles, she turned to face the surprised duo of her opponent pokémon and their trainer.

I won't let him down! I'll do what I must and destroy anything that stands in my way!

...A bead of sweat rolled down Grey's side as he grinned at the sight. "You're right, Roxanne, it's over. Now Ginger's at her best."

"What...Is that?" Asked a bewildered Roxanne.

"Blazing Guts, that's what. Finish it, Ginger! Get in range for a final attack!"

Like a torpedo and with eyes glowing an iridescent red, she launched herself directly at Probopass, smashing aside boulders twice her size.

"H-Humphrey! Stone Edge! End it now!" Shrieked Roxanne in panic as the hulk of stone quickly complied, mimicking his trainer's nervousness as he desperately sent up spikes of rock against the oncoming threat. But the furious demonic bird charged right through the rocks like they were mere chunks of dust.

"Use Magnet Bomb!" He began generating the lumps of steel shrapnel but the bird was upon him—

Grey roared. "'Retribution'!"

Ginger once more let out her shrieking warcry as she became a rancorous, screeching missile of hell-fire, axing its way through everything thrown against her before her fist made an absolutely titanic collision against the magnetic pokémon's nose. The blow pulverized the surrounding rock and sent out a tidal wave of sand in every direction from the sheer power released, while sending the three-hundred-kilo probopass flying through the air like a projectile, smashing through the mime barrier as though it were mere fly mesh, and crashing against the arena wall with a thunderous impact, cracking the wall as Humphrey was embedded into it.

The probopass barely twitched, sporting spidery cracks all over his nose and body. He let out a pained grunt, before fainting…

Ginger, at the sight of her defeated opponent, bellowed an ungodly roar of victory that crescendoed through the arena, with her aura blazing even higher than before.

Silence accompanied the settling of dust and falling pebbles.

Roxanne fell to her knees in disbelief. Even Grey was surprised by the power of both 'Blaze' and 'Guts' having activated, along with the technique they worked on.

The lack of sound was enough for Roxanne's wavering voice to carry over. "W-what...Was that?"

"Retribution. The base of the move is mainly 'Reversal', which was easy for her to learn considering she knows 'Counter', which is a derivative of it, just a different application. Retribution is a fighting-fire type move consisting of 'Reversal' combined with her Flame Charge that in turn increased her speed for maximum impact."

Ginger was heaving in exhaustion as she clutched her fist, grunting in pain. It was a bloody, twitching mess of ripped plumage, claws, and knuckles.

"Of course, because the move is so powerful, it won't come without physical repercussions...Come, Ginger, let me spray that."

Roxanne kept staring at her pokémon who was still stuck on the wall. "Unbelievable...You've…"

"P-probopass is unable to battle! Gym leader Roxanne is out of pokémon, therefore the winner of this match is the challenger, Grey Wilson!"

—"Oh my goodness! What an impact! What an unbelievable display of strength and power! Wowee! That combusken is out of this world! Such exemplary training! Give it up for Grey Wilson and his team of winneeers!"—

The audience went mad in a fan-crazed frenzy.

—"And give it up for our Gym leader who pulled no stops against this amazing contender, she'll be one of the toughest leaders yet! A great example for the kids at the Rustboro Pokémon Academy! Give it up for Roxanne Rachaels!"—

The crowd cheered her on as she stood up and dusted her knees, returning probopass to its pokéball and whispering something to it before tucking it away in her holster.

Grey sprayed Ginger's hand with the potion, making her wince at the pain. Most of the injury was gone, but her hand was still quivering.

"It's alright, champ, we'll have that tended to at the pokécenter…"

"How did I do?" She asked with curiosity glittering in her ruby eyes, a stark contrast to her demonic visage from earlier.

He gestured to the gaping hole that Probopass left behind on the arena wall and the split sands from the devastated portion of the rock arena.

"If 'that' doesn't spell out 'Holy mother of shit', then I'm sorry but I'm frankly lost at this point."

"Is that good?"

He chortled at her insecurity. "I think it hits 'good' out of the fucking park, darling, that was nothing short of amazing."

She beamed at his praise, for a moment making him forget that she essentially blackmailed him into doing this. But he wouldn't let that spoil the moment, for now. He turned to the other side of the arena, where a flustered Roxanne stood waiting for him.

"Wait with the girls, I'll be back with our hard-earned prize."

She nodded enthusiastically as she joined the other two who celebrated with her.

He strode over the devastated battlefield toward Roxanne, who shook her head. "Quite frankly, Mr. Wilson, I don't know what to think of you. First, you act like a complete gentleman on our first meeting, then like a villain from that first round and your insults against my institution, followed by a reckless act of selflessness for your pokémon, and then proceed to almost annihilate my pokémon with such...fury. All the while displaying never before seen tactics. You've even broken several fundamental laws of pokémon physics, I can't even begin to contemplate—"

"Your point, Miss?"

She flushed and brushed her suit. "Sorry...It's just you're an enigma, Mr. Wilson...But alas, I've been defeated, and at my best no less…" Roxanne removed an object from her breast pocket and presented it to him. It was a golden badge shaped like a split rectangular frame pointing to both directions, revealing its brass base within. "This is the 'Stone badge' of the Rustboro gym. You've earned it. Your prize money will be given to you at the entry desk and so will your T.M 'Rock Tomb', I'd hate to think how your trickster mind will utilize it, but you'll need it."

"Thanks. Why's that?" He asked as he received the weightless badge and pinned it on the inside of his cloak.

"Because I'm the weakest gym leader."

Hoo Boy. I knew this wouldn't be easy...

"...I'd hate to think of it like that. You really went all out on me with that surprising entry. Probopass is no freakin' joke."

"Well...He only recently evolved, but that's no excuse. He is still by far my strongest pokémon, which is what makes your win here today most notable...It's a shame that you won't work for me, and your strange perspective frustrates me to a degree that makes me think your brilliance is...Well…Nevermi—"

"Wasted on someone like 'me'?"

"I don't mean it like 'that'...But I guess it's too early to tell..."

"...We'll see. Thanks for the match." He finished with a wave as he turned to his side of the arena, leaving Roxanne to her thoughts.

He waltzed back to his team, to find Blanche standing by them with her hands folded at her back, waiting patiently.

"So, you really did come to watch."

"Of course I did. I keep my words...And you can color me impressed. Since you've won your first badge, and you're officially recognized as a trainer of the Hoenn league; you're eligible to join a leader guild, if you so wish."

"I do."

She looked him up and down with a subtle coy smile. "Have you decided which one to join then?"

"Yeah, I hope the outfit's color scheme suits my decision though."

"It does." She raised an open hand. "Welcome to Team Mystic, Grey Wilson."

He took her hand. "Much obliged."

"Indeed." She yanked him forward with unnatural strength that belied her size and whispered, "Now that the region will eventually find out about your lack of pokéballs, as well as your natural prowess, people will begin to question your methods and beliefs...Luckily, you've made the right choice."

"Why's that?"

"Because you're going to need all the positive PR and protection you can get, and I can help you with that…If you pledge yourself to my cause."

She leaned back and pierced his amber eyes with her brilliant emeralds, followed by a grin that didn't suit her usual pragmatic visage.

"We will achieve great things, Mr. Wilson...Great things..."

…