Chapter 20- One Too Many

Mathew was of two minds when it came to everything he heard from the Champion. On one hand, he wanted nothing more than to plug his ears and pretend he heard nothing as he walked away, heart and mind as light as feathers, while humming merrily on his way home. The thought of Pokemon from the past popping in random places was something of a nightmare, especially when he heard that they were less tolerant of humans bothering them, as evidenced by the trainers now in casts or even on medical leaves. His only comfort was that they didn’t seem to go out of their way just to harm humans. At least, no such behavior has been observed thus far.

Because as it turned out, this is not the first time this exact situation occurred. It is the first recorded case in Unova, but it has been happening for some time in Sinnoh. Which explained why the Champion speed-dialed his counterpart. They were apparently slowly releasing the news to the larger public and so far, everything was going smoothly. Turns out when myths and legends of your region mention divine beings bending space, time, and reality with a mere flicker of thoughts, people are way more inclined to accept that Pokemon from different times could appear sometime. Who would’ve thought?

Oh, but in his humble opinion, people shouldn’t make a fuss about that since fossil Pokemon were a thing. They were not accepted by all given the whole ethical concept behind reanimating an essentially extinct species and all, but they were very much a thing. If anything, that should be even more mind-boggling but he digressed.

The other side of him wanted to dive deeper into the whole madness of the situation. I mean think about it. Regional variants of Pokemon were always an interesting topic to dip your toes into. For instance, how the heck does a Ninetales who is fire type end up being ice and fairy type in Alola? Or the dark and normal type Zigzagoon from Galar? It even has an entirely new evolution stage that is missing its cousins in Hoenn.

Now add to this already existing madness, the madness of the same Pokemon from different time periods evolving into different forms, and what do you get? Well, you get a situation that in itself is enough to send blood pumping through your veins and flooding your body with chemical substances to make you high enough that you would be able to testify if Pokemon exists in space too.

“…So, what you are saying is, there used to be, an unknown amount of time ago, a population of Petilil living in Sinnoh? He heard his master ask.

“Really? That is your whole takeaway? Not the fact that it is essentially a branched/regional evolution of Lilligant? Or the fact that said Pokemon used to live in what was called Hisui at an entirely different time, yet somehow found itself here? Sometimes I wonder how you define your priorities” The Champion shook his head and laughed.

“Don’t get me wrong teacher, it is surprising but isn’t it just a regional variant at the end of the day?”

“…”

While the Champion was left speechless by the thinking process of the younger man, an airy giggle was heard. Mathew was surprised and turned his head to the person who had stayed silent until. She looked more… awake(?) than earlier. She still looked sleepy but at least she was reacting and standing.

“The situation is a bit humorous. I have just received some data from Cynthia. Some of the same species appeared in the mountains of Sinnoh previously.” She explained.

“I will have to thank her later for that. Let me see what we have. Observed abilities are somewhat similar to the ones we are familiar with. Chlorophyll and Leaf Guard on rare occasions. Although, Own Tempo is replaced by Hustle. 100% female gender much like the ones we know, Grass… Fighting.” He finished and regarded the Pokemon.

She had relaxed while they were talking, presumably thanks to the psychic type explaining things to her. As for her being a fighting type? Mathew regarded her once more attentively.

Yep, that checks out, He thought.

The upper part of her body was much like the one he was used to. The one from Unovan Lilligant. A mostly plantlike body, round head, no mouth so they probably relied on photosynthesis as well, drop-like eye-shaped except they looked to be falling upward. But as much as they could reasonably be determined to be of the same species at a casual glance, their differences were all the more noticeable.

First, was the signature crown. Instead of the usual orangish color, it was a pale pink. It was also noticeably smaller in the Hisuian variant, no doubt to be more suitable for battle. And fast-paced battles if the powerful-looking legs were any indication. Which was in his opinion the most tricking difference. Where Unovan Lilligant looked like a fragile lady in physical combat while focusing on long-range battle, this one was the opposite it seemed. The stubby-looking legs were now lean much more adept at moving around. Similarly, the petal dress that was so recognizable seemed to have been shed as well. Combined with the longer arms and taller stature, Mathew didn’t need to be a genius to understand: A fast and powerful close-range fighter.

And so, the fighting type made complete sense to him.

“So, it says. That is why I would propose leaving it in the care of Marshal.” She stated.

“Can’t we just leave it here?” his master answered quickly.

It was the Champion who answered. “You know we can’t. It already caused too large of the displacement that rippled all the way to the Routes crossing the forest.”

“But it should be fine to leave it here since… you know.” He trailed off.

Mathew found it a bit unusual. His master always jumped up at the thought of training new fighting types. But this time he was the closest to begging Mathew ever saw him. Apart from the times when he pissed off his wife.

The silence dragged on after the sentence as the three top brass exchanged glances before the Champion sighed. “Unfortunately, the Verdant Sword is still busy.”

Mathew almost choked on his own saliva as he heard that sentence. The Verdant Sword? As in the Sword of Justice? Why the hell did he mention it?

His discomposure was not unnoticed either. “It is fine. There were always rumors of its residences being in this forest.” The Champion waved him off. “Now, Marshall, why don’t you tell me the real reason you are trying to avoid the situation? I know you. You always jump at the chance to train a fighting type.”

Pinned by the gaze of the Champion he considered a teacher, his master finally cracked. He scratched his neck while looking embarrassed. “I already have quite the challenge on my hand.” He admitted. “I received a rascal for a few weeks now and he has been quite the tough nut to crack so far…”

“A fighting type giving YOU of all people trouble? I will believe it when I see it.” The champion scoffed prompting the full truth to come out.

“Part fighting, part dragon. Which is why it is giving me trouble; I did enlist the help of Drayden, but it is taking longer than I thought.” He mumbled.

“Ah, no wonder then. But still, even with a Dragon master, you will need to prove yourself. Otherwise, it would just give you hell until you hand it to Drayden since he would be the one he wants to follow. Dragons are quite peculiar like that. But fear not, there is no shame in asking for the help of the master of a craft. The young lass I am training also needed help from him when her Pokemon evolved into a Haxorus. She comes from a line of dragon trainers, but even with my help, she did not manage to get through to him.

“Really master? Even you?” Marshal asked dumbfounded.

“Yes! It was quite the character shift from her loving Axew that hid in her hair when scared. I remember when…”

With that, his master and the Champion started to discuss an entirely different topic. It was interesting, but Mathew seriously started questioning the point of his presence here. He had only stood to the side without adding anything to the conversation, only listening. Just as he was looking for an excuse to disengage from the conversation and have an existential crisis because he was in the territory of a legendary, someone cleared her throat.

“I believe we have strayed off topic.” She spoke. “There is still the question of what to do with her.”

The her in question was now standing nearby, just looking at them.

“Ahem. Right! Maybe we can displace her to the Nature Preserve?” Marshal suggested.

“Too dangerous.” The two others shot it down immediately.

“Then…” At that moment, a lightbulb seemed to go off in Marshal's head. “How about we leave it in the care of someone? Someone who has the experience of dealing with a fighting type and a grass type. Someone who also managed to calm her down and is the reason why we were even able to discuss things like that.”

Mathew had a bad feeling when he saw the grin on his master’s face. And as he kept going, the ranger found himself even more at a loss. By the time he finished talking, five pairs of eyes were on him. When the two Pokemon were the ones looking at him, he was fine ignoring it, even the mental knock he felt. However, when three of the most influential people in the entire region fixed you, you could not play dumb for long.

“Please allow me to refuse. I don’t think I will be able to deal with it.” he finally squeaked out.

“And why is that?” The champion asked.

“I don’t think I am qualified enough to-”

“You got two Elites vouching for you just hours ago.” Champion Alder cut him off.”

“I don’t think I will be able to restrain her if-”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“You already did once.” His master swooped in.

With both escapes closed off he pulled his trump card. “I already have an ongoing assignment and travel through the region with a group. What if people-”

“We are aware. The two are not impossible to carry out simultaneously. I am sure she would be more than willing to explore the region.” This time it was the last member who prevented his exit.

“There you have it boy. What say you?” The Champion smiled broadly.

Wracking his brain to find an answer, a nugget of wisdom came from his current assignment, and he steeled himself, as it was his only possible way out.

“I would like to confirm first that she agrees.” He said.

Everyone then turned to the Pokemon from the past who focused her attention on the Gothitelle next to her. Then, she …smiled? At least her eyes seemed to.

“She is saying she wants to test the strength of your Pokemon.” The Elite 4 psychic relayed.

Now this is where Mathew’s plan fell through. He had expected her to flat-out reject or at least that she wanted to say in the forest, not that she wanted to fight his Pokemon. However, by now he was too far gone. Everyone seemed to agree to leave the Pokemon in his care for whatever reason and the gamble he took was coming back to bite. In the end, his only option was to commit, even if he already expected the outcome.

Reluctantly, he returned the Pokeball of his partner to its regular size and released his Mienshao. It only took him a short while to explain the situation and even his partner turned against him, eager to test himself against another fighting type. Well, that did not surprise him since the majority of fighting types liked to compete with one another.

“I’m guessing you will not command him?” Alder asked, surprising him. only for his master to scoff.

“Most of what I thought you, I got it from him. So, it should not surprise you.” His master scoffed.

Only Caitlin seemed to be uncertain before Alder explained. “Well, most of the time it is really a test of the trainer but this time she asked to test the strength of his Pokemon right?” A glimmer of understanding flickered through her features before she nodded. “Well then, it is better to have it this way then.” He finished while stroking his stumble.

With that, everyone moved away, except for the two Pokemon that were already locked into a staring contest. In terms of victory and defeat, Mathew was not worried for his partner. He knew how strong he was and exactly what moves he would use when. Based on what he witnessed of the Lilligant’s strength when he intervened, his partner would be able to one-sidedly beat her to a pulp. But he also knew he would not.

That was why he was worried in terms of avoiding the responsibility of caring for an extra rare Pokemon. The simple thought of doing so knotted his stomach in a bunch and awakened memory that he would rather stay forgotten…

With both combatants already on the field, all eyes were on what would happen. His Sawsbuck did open one eye from his position while he could spot Mandibuzz perched on a branch with a clear line of sight into the clearing. Just as he thought that among his Pokemon, only Ampharos would miss the fight, a pop and hiss resounded behind him. He did not even need to turn around.

The noise of the release seemingly acted as the starting gong, and the fight began. Both rushed toward their opponent, clearly intending to take control of the pace of the battle. And immediately, Mathew was surprised to see that they seemed evenly matched in speed, which was quite something given the speed of Mienshao. His in particular.

The first exchanges were purely physical in nature. To moves were used, not even a tiny bit of type energy, they were both probing the other, looking for an opening or simply testing the raw technique of their foe. Swift punches were met and countered by rapid kicks. Kicks were deftly deflected before going in for a palm strike.

As if on prior agreement, both jumped back to a respectable distance. The crown flower on top of the Lilligant head started to glow and gather the radiance of the sun above. Mathew thought she was charging a Solar Beam but that did not seem to be the case. The light seemed to disperse through her entire body as she began to almost vibrate.

“That should be Chlorophyll. I am surprised she managed to use it without a Sunny Day to enhance the radiance of the sun.” Champion Alder said.

“But she did take quite some time to charge it so I don’t think she can usually use it like that in a normal battle,” Caitlin added.

That did make sense in his opinion. And he also knew why she had the time to do it. A psychic sheen seemed to envelop the form of Mienshao as he channeled an Agility. It seemed both of them decided to stop playing around as the battle resumed.

Mienshao was the first to make his move as he dove straight into close range to avoid getting hit by Lilligant’s kicks outside of his own range. And the hit he unleashed was no longer a simple hit like earlier. His whip-like fur lashed so fast that he couldn’t fully perceive their movement. He only noticed the attack due to Drain Punch causing a trail of energy to slowly exit Lilligant's body and slowly regenerate his own resources. To her credit, Lilligant didn’t even flinch and answered immediately. This time using her leaf-like arms, she smacked Mienshao away, causing the stream of energy to flow back to her, possibly using Drain Punch as well, or at least a move similar enough.

The more Mathew watched the fight going on, the more impressed he was by the fighting style of the Lilligant. Then things changed once more as Lilligant stopped attacking and focused only on dodging. At first, he thought he thought she was only evading the attacks, but he quickly noticed that patterns seemed to repeat themselves, almost like a dance. When he noticed that she became even stronger and more resilient after that, he quickly concluded that it was something similar to Dragon Danse, a set of movements made to boost the power of the user.

But she was still unable to land a direct hit on Mienshao. Yet when his partner disengaged, he was interested in his next action. With fluid and unhesitating movement, he put pieces of his fur in his mouth before removing them.

“It looks like things will end soon,” his master said.

He could only nod at that. When a Mienshao decides to remove the fur on their limb, it is not only a sign of respect for a strong opponent but also because their movements are about to become significantly faster with less fur to get in the way. The fur will regrow fast, but he was still surprised by the fact that his partner decided to do so.

Likely their next exchange will be the last. His partner is once more the one who dashed toward the spinning Pokemon. Both of them seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves as they once more entered close range. The limbs of Mienshao were already glowing and brimming with power as he began relentlessly hitting with Close Combat, one of his favorite moves to use. The attacks seemed to blend into each other as kicks and punches shot forward without any care for his own protection. And surprisingly, Lilligant, instead of protecting herself, decided to counterattack with an all-out assault of her own. She mostly launched sharp kicks, twirling and vaulting to dodge and attack simultaneously.

It was truly a beautiful sight to behold as both fighting types engaged with reckless abandon into a close fight- Wait!

“Why didn’t she use any plant type attacks” he vocalized his realization.

During the entire fight, only fighting type moves were exchanged between the two of them. Granted, Mienshao didn’t use some of his moves as well but that also did not make sense to him. No one answered him.

With no regard for his question, the match reached its climax as Mienshao created an opening large enough for him to capitalize after parrying a straight kick. With the Lilligant wide open, he firmly anchored his stance to deliver the maximum amount of force into his next strike, and with blinding speed, thrusted his palm forward.

Force Palm.

The hit landed squarely on Lilligant torso, lifting her off the ground before sending her soaring into the distance like a shooting star. She landed hit a thud and tumbled on the ground before her momentum finally bled out. She tried to stand back, but immediately felt the after effect of Force Palm as her muscles locked up. Mathew expected Mienshao to move and knock her out, but he did nothing, staying in the same position he was after the strike.

Then he coughed and stumbled. He was extremely confused as to what happened while the two Pokemon stood still. He was about to ask what had happened when the Champion decided to volunteer some information.

“Your Mienshao is very well-trained young man. Even using only fighting moves only, he managed to push her to break the unspoken agreement.” Seeing his look of confusion, the Champion continued. “You asked why they didn’t use moves of other types right? The answer is as simple as pride. Both of them have a similar fighting style, at least when it comes to pure fighting type. With that last strike hitting her, she released a cloud of Poison Powder. Or, tried to, at least. She did get it into his system but that was simply dumb luck.”

The Champion stepped forward as he continued speaking, judging that the fight was over. It took him some time to follow him as he kept thinking.

Chlorophyll as an ability, at least Drain Punch and Close Combat as fighting moves, the weird boosting dance she used, and Poison Powder. If she also can set up a Sunny Day and use Synthesis as most plant types do, wouldn’t she be able to simply poison her foe and keep regenerating? And that is even without knowing the full effect of the dance. If it boots her speed as well… also, wouldn’t she be able to use Leaf Blade?

“Seeing the look on your face, you finally agreed to take care of her, huh?” his master slapped his back as he laughed.

He paused. He had already agreed to take the Pokemon with him to the point of already making strategies of how to maximize her potential... when did his mind change? No, did his mind really change or did he simply decide to acknowledge what he wanted from the start? He sighed and scratched the back of his neck. There was nothing to say.

By now the Lilligant’s muscles relaxed enough for her to be able to move normally once more and Alder had pulled a Pecha berry from under his coat to give it to Mienshao who was already munching on it after thanking him. Both Pokemon walked toward him with Mienshao giving him a subtle nod as he made eye contact. Glancing around, Sawsbuck was already standing up and making his way toward him as well, while Ampharos was happily pushing him along. And of course, there was Mandibuzz who for some reason acted smug.

Turning back, he saw the Champion Alder extending an Ultra Ball with eyes full of mirth.

“So, boy, you are the only one who needs convincing now.” He said.

He looked once more toward the Lilligant… no, his Lilligant as he double-checked. “Are you fine with this?”

His answer was squinting eyes and a dance-like curtsy. “Lilli!”

With that, he turned but hesitated to take the Ultra Ball from the Champion. Sure, for someone like the champion it was nothing, but Ultra Balls was mighty expensive. In the end, he got it shoved in his end without much choice.

“Think nothing of it!” he declared.

Mathew nodded and made sure the Pokeball was registered as his before once more facing the Lilligant.

“I’ll be in your care then.” He said and presented the ball to her…

And nothing. She simply stared between it and him in confusion. He started to wonder if maybe she did not know what Pokeballs were when Mienshao came in with the assist. She nodded but seemed oddly hesitant as she reached her arm for the button. He decided not to move and let her handle this at her own pace.

Finally, she made contact with it and with a red flash was sucked in. She did panic a bit as evidenced by the way the Ultra ball moved but, in the end, the *ding* sounded indicating a successful capture.

Immediately after he released her, and she rematerialized on the spot. She looked slightly dazed for an instant before regaining her senses. Then she jumped several times before pressing the capsule, entering it before exiting it even more excited than before. As she was about to repeat the process:

“Pharoosss!”

Ampharos ran toward her before hugging her excitedly as well. Soon after, Mandibuzz, having dropped the barrier since the situation was resolved, landed next to the new team member and sized her up and down. Mostly down due to her size. After staring at each other for a while they both nodded, seemingly having reached an agreement?

The only one who stood a bit to the side was Sawsbuck. “Looks like she was tired of being outnumbered, right buddy?” He smiled.

His Pokemon let out a loud chuff as he leaned in for his touch which he obviously agreed to.

“It seems like we are done here” Campion Alder spoke up once again. “Well then young man, take good care of this one, and if you need to report something you can always go through that master of yours.”

“Yes sir!” Mathew

He nodded before continuing. “Speaking of, do you need a lift?”

“I would very much appreciate it, teacher.” Marshal bowed with his fist in his palm.

“Caitlin if you please?”

“Suuree~”

A poke ball flew out and soon a Metagross appeared. Lilligant was surprised and hid behind Ampharos, which made him chuckle.

“Thank you! I am going to check on old Drayden in Opelucid if you don’t mind. And Mathew, you better contact me before I find you next time.” And with that, the muscled man disappeared.

“We should get moving as well.” Champion Alder said.

“One second please… I was reminded of something.”

Reaching for the satchel at her side she pulled out a case and Mathew immediately recognized the disk-like object it contained. A TM.

“Please hand it to Nexon next time.” She simply said before disappearing with the Champion.

Mathew stood dumbfounded before shaking his head. He knew that she had met Nexon given that he was the one to give them the date of his match with Roxie. But he hadn’t expected her to know that he was with Nexon… but then again, she did say that they knew he had another pending assignment.

“That is the Elite 4 for you. Anyway, how about we get moving? We should have some time before joining back with the kids, but I missed the city quite a lot.”

A series of cries answered him, with the new voice being more delayed. Regardless he returned all of his Pokemon, but Mandibuzz as he went to dismiss the other. The situation was resolved, even if he would not tell them how and leave it to their imagination.

***

Back at the league headquarters, Caitlin and Alder just teleported in, meeting with Shauntal, Grimsley…and Marshal. All four of the elite four members reconvened for a meeting. Alder, as the Champion, was the first to speak.

“Well, looks like we got the situation in the Pinwheel Forest dealt with. Although, I have to ask Caitlin, are you sure that it was the best solution?” He asked their resident psychic.

The girl for once is fully awake. And a new expression on her face in uncertainty as her delicate features were twisted in a frown. She takes a bit more time to consider before answering. “I really have no idea. The only positive outcome I could see was the one I told you about. Trying to move the Lilligant to another area or even leaving her there resulted in me being unable to see. I can not tell you if this was the best outcome, but it is the best one I could see.”

The entire room nodded. The edge of frustration that could be heard from her voice only made their worry increase, however. But Alder understood. Caitlin was gifted. And even amongst those who were, she was considered gifted. A situation where she was unable to at least see a result was a rare occurrence, but several? That was an issue they needed to take seriously.

Of course, the predictions were just that, prediction and they could deviate just as easily as they could be seen. On top of that, certain… items of power made predictions failed. The most relatively common examples were trainers from Alola walking around with items created by legendaries. On the slightly more uncommon were the wielders of Key Stones and Mega Stones. Then there were truly abnormal situations. Individuals who, for reasons unknown, carried items such as the White stone that the young man known as N was in possession of.

That several outcomes were blocked by likely such items was worrying. He could only hope that it was the more benign ones.

“Let’s leave it at that. Did she tell you what happened?” He asked.

“Indeed. What she told me matches what we heard from Shauntal. Flashes of light and unnatural darkness mingled together. The spot where we found her was apparently where the anomaly manifested. She got curious and wandered off, only to come back and realize she was stuck here.”

“…There are some differences, but it is worrying nevertheless…” Shauntal said as she tapped her pen on her cheek.

“I am still questioning why we did not simply offload her to the one Shauntal gushed on for so long.” The dark specialist elite spoke up.

Caitlin was once more the one to answer. “We could have, but the outcome was less than desirable. I don’t need to tell you that Ghost and Fighting types can’t really interact that easily. What’s more…”

Alder sat in silence as he listened to his Elite discussing the topic. He was listening but… his mind still wandered off to try and fight what was going on truly. One instance of a time-related phenomenon in this region was already one too many for him and now this? Madness seemed to have spread around the world.