I ended up buying dessert for everyone instead of the whole dinner. My wallet hasn't been hurting too much, considering I've been mooching off of my Mom the whole time I've been here, before and after my gym battle. The match against Gardenia was probably the most intense I've ever had, and it felt only right to give my Pokémon time off even after they had finally been discharged from the Pokémon Center, with orders from Nurse Joy to only participate in light training.

"Which means," I explain to my assembled team, "We're going to be working on moves only today, no battling." I address my second Pokémon first. "Charmeleon, you're going to work with Monferno on perfecting your Fire Punch. Once you've done that, you can teach him how to use Fire Punch as well, as payback for being such a good training partner. I want you to learn from him as well, specifically on how to properly throw a punch. Timing, form, power, and anything else you can think of, Monferno. Charmeleon needs practice and instruction on all of it."

My Fire-type looks annoyed, but I'm sure he remembers how most of his Fire Punches in our last gym battle landed on nothing but air. They both agree, and both Pokémon walk a short distance away, where Monferno holds his hands up like for Charmeleon to start punching into, really concentrating on getting his punch to ignite as he throws it. "Actually, go to the other side of the house, so you don't accidentally light one of us on fire." Monferno nudges Charmeleon, and says something to Charmeleon that probably is "race you", by the way both of them takeoff at top speed. I'd put my money on Lucas's Pokémon, who starts to climb our house and over the roof, as opposed to going around.

"Thanks for lending me Monferno for Charmeleon's training, by the way," I say to Lucas, who is sitting on the grass, barely hearing my words as he concentrates on whatever is on his laptop screen.

"It's no big deal," he replies after a couple of seconds. "I want Monferno to work on punching moves as well. I think his special ability is Iron Fist, actually."

That explains why his Mach Punches always seem so powerful. "So, Fire Punch is natural, but then what? Mega Punch? Thunder Punch? Dynamic Punch?"

"Sky Uppercut, actually. It should synergize nicely with his current battle-style."

A chuckle escapes me as I imagine the comical, anime style image of Monferno punching an enemy in the chin and sending them blasting off into the sky like Team Rocket. I turn my thoughts as my other two Pokémon are awaiting their commands in anticipation, though one of them is going to me a bit disappointed.

"Glaceon, do you mind waiting while we test out some of Bellossom's moves? She just evolved, after all. I promise that you'll be learning a new move after we're done." Also, I may have neglected to do any testing right after she evolved into Gloom, so hopefully this lessens the guilt I'm feeling about how I treated her during that short, stinky stint. Glaceon obliges with a huff, laying down on her stomach and resting her head on her front paws a safe distance away from us.

I turn to Spewpa next, despite already knowing what the answer is going to be. "Do you want to work on any moves?" I ask, to be polite and keep him in the loop, knowing good well that Spewpa can't learn any more moves until he evolves. Assuming that he can in the first place, because a Bug-type, especially a second stage one, should not take very long to evolve. He's probably already spent a decent amount of time in this form as well.

Spewpa tells me no, and I let him go sit in the corner of the yard next to Glaceon, away from all the action. I feel like he's got some sort of mental block, that's preventing him from evolving. Unless he swallowed an Everstone sometime before I met him.

"OK, Bellossom," I tell my remaining, eager-looking Pokémon with a smile. "Let's see what you've got."

Much of it is as I expected. Magical Leaf and Moonblast are considerably stronger, while Acid is not, as the power gained via her evolution has been balanced out with losing her Poison-typing. Sweet Scent is thankfully back to smelling nice, Stun Spore and Growth are the same as ever, and I can't use Sunny Day while Charmeleon is here, lest I send him to the Pokémon Center right after he's been released.

That left her newest move for last. "We're going to test Petal Dance now. Don't spin in a circle when you use it, I think that makes you dizzy."

Bellossom tries to stand still and produce some petals, but she shrugs after about a minute of concentrating. It seems that she really needs some type of motion to get the move started. I give her the go ahead to do whatever she needs to in order to use the move. Bellossom shifts her weight left, then right until she finally starts to get a rhythm. She can't resist doing a quick twirl, and very soon after, her flowers start glowing and a storm of petals emerges from each of them.

Petals don't seem intimidating in the slightest, but neither do leaves, to be fair. There must be hundreds, though, each one of them alight with energy, and while Petal Dance is definitely weaker than Leaf Storm, and probably a tick below Solarbeam as well, it's an impressively powerful attack.

Strangely enough, all the petals have formed a funnel around Bellossom, and it's swaying with her movements. When she moves left, the entire vortex moves left. When Bellossom jumps up and down, it contracts and expands.

"Are you doing that on purpose? Can you send it that way?" I point to my right, and without missing a step in her routine, my Pokémon points both of her arms to the right, and the whole funnel follows. Interesting…

"What else can you do, Bellossom? Can you make it into something? Try a circle, for starters." She does me one better, giving another quick twirl before posing and putting her hands together, curving them around to meet at the bottom, and soon a giant petal heart is floating in front of me. That's more than I deserve, but before I can say how amazing this is, Bellossom wobbles, her concentration slips, and all the petals float to the ground.

Good thing I was ready for this. I walk over and push a Persim Berry into her mouth, which she eats on reflex. A few seconds later, her unfocused eyes blink up at me in recognition.

"Feeling alright?" She takes a few steps to be sure she's over her bout of confusion, and then looks at me and pumps a fist. "Excellent. Now I'm going to time how long you can hold it before your concentration breaks. Ready? Go!"

I hit my timer as soon as she lifts the petals off the ground and starts manipulating them again to mimic her movement, and stop it as soon as I begin to see them waver. I walk over to cure her confusion once more. "One minute forty-five seconds is pretty good, for having learned the move so recently. I think with some more practice you'll be able to use it longer." Bellossom looks as if she wants to start increasing her stamina right this instant, but I have other ideas. "How comfortable do you feel using Weather Ball, by the way?"

She seems a bit surprised by the change of subject, but creates a sizable ball of white energy between her hands to demonstrate that she can use the move properly. I gesture for Glaceon to come over. "I want you to teach Glaceon Weather Ball. Don't give me that disappointed look," I tell her, seeing her downcast face. "I promise we'll do more solo training another time. I need to get my thoughts in order first, because you have given me lots to think about, okay?"

Bellossom is satisfied with my promise, and I leave her and Glaceon chatting animatedly about the new move that they were both going to have in their arsenal.

Having all of my Pokémon occupied training, or watching training, in Spewpa's case, also gives me some time to check up on my friends, and what they've been up to, considering this gym battle has taken up all my time while I've been here. I walk over to Ursula first.

"I suppose you've spent all this time working on contest combinations, right? Any chance I can get a sneak peak of all that intense training you've been doing?" I ask, trying to butter her up.

She considers the question, not answering right away. "Hmm. I suppose I can reveal the base of our appeal. However," she continues, warning me, "you must promise me that you will under no circumstances reveal any of this to another person without my express permission."

"Why do you have such a suspicious look on your face?" I mutter rhetorically. "I thought I've made it clear that I don't have any interest in entering any of these contests and making a fool out of myself. Plus, I don't know any other coordinators besides you." Unless you count Dawn, who I probably left a bad impression on, and Jessie's alter-ego. Eventually, I roll my eyes at her stubborn, statuesque posture. "Fine. I promise not to give away any of your precious secrets. Happy? Now, show me. I want to see what you've come up with."

She turns to her Pokémon, seemingly satisfied. Gible and Meowth seem more than happy to lazily lounge in the sunshine. "Masquerain," she calls, which surprises me. Apparently, she's carved out specific and defined roles for all of her Pokémon. Surskit and now Masquerain is for the appeals stage, Gible is the primary battler, and Meowth is the pet she loves to fawn over. It's a drastic departure from the way I do things. "Use Water Pulse!"

I raise my eyebrows. "Still stealing moves and ideas from me, I see."

"I have taken your technique and improved the mediocre results that you achieve into something truly remarkable," she corrects snidely. "Now, Icy Wind!"

As soon as Water Pulse collides with the ground, it explodes into a wave in all directions, and that's when Masquerain's Icy Wind connects. The entire wave is frozen into a bowl of ice.

"Cool," I say, though Ursula isn't finished.

"Air Slash!" Her flying Pokémon sends blade after blade of cutting wind at the frozen ice bowl, each one slicing away at it, though they are not of equal strength. Some take off large chunks to leave a smooth surface behind, while smaller ones are used to carve patterns into the walls without compromising the integrity of the whole structure. The final product would send an art collector into a swoon.

"Ice sculpting, huh?" I muse, moving closer to take the whole thing in. The three attacks used in succession have essentially created a replica of a piece of china made of porcelain. The weaker Air Slashes have created vine patterns all over the outside, to really make it look authentic. "It looks amazing," I compliment, walking around the circumference, wishing I could see over the top to get a glance of what it looks like inside. I do notice something that I hadn't seen while I was looking from a distance though.

I poke at the sculpture just to make sure. "Do you know this thing isn't totally solid? It's like a lake where only the surface is frozen. I still see some water moving inside."

Ursula comes to stand next to me, her Pokémon perched on her head. "We have noticed that issue. This is the extent of what we can accomplish until Masquerain learns a more powerful Ice-type move. Not to worry, I have plans to utilize this water and make it part of our appeal."

"Oh, I know," I say excitedly, pounding one fist into an open palm. "You could slam the Water Pulse against a wall, or the psychic barrier of the arena, that way it opens up like the shell of Shellder!" I hold out my arms and curve them in that shape to drive the point home. "That way you could carve the inside and maybe even have a Water Pulse pearl, or a sculpture of someone on the inside! Damn, the potential of this thing is insane!"

Her eyes widen slightly, going up to her Pokémon before a bunch of emotions: confusion, irritation, and mistrust flash across her face before she finally smoothes her expression into a calm one. "Of course," she replies smoothly. "As I informed you before, this is simply the most basic version of our appeal. I have already thought up a … multitude of ways of utilizing this technique, including the one you described."

"Well, what else have you got?"

"What do you mean, 'what else have I got?'" she repeats the question back to me slowly. "This is a spectacular appeal that we have managed to modify for Masquerain to continue to showcase her talents after she has evolved."

"Yeah, but in the end, it's still based on the same technique I showed you all the way back in Jubilife City. You haven't been practicing any other, different combinations?"

"What are you babbling about?" she fires back hotly. "This isn't something just anyone can come up with. The competition at Hearthome City will stand no chance!"

"All I'm saying is that it might get repetitive if you keep using this same appeal," I say hurriedly, with my hands up in the air. "Maybe you could do a different one based around Masquerain's Bug-type moves, or work on one for Gible. There's always the option of catching a new Pokémon, and devising an appeal and battling strategy for it, if you need some inspiration."

"Your last point was the only sensible one you made. Perhaps for contests after this upcoming one, such as the ones in Solaceon Town, and the Wallace Cup, I will consider it. I have total confidence in the appeal for the Hearthome City Contest." She glares at me and dares me to argue, and I know better than to engage further.

"Whatever you say, Ursula. You're the contest expert between the three of us." I retreat, seeing as any more advice I try to impart is not going to be well-received, and sit down next to somebody hopefully more receptive.

I plop down next to Lucas, though he doesn't notice me, so engrossed in what he's doing. I try my best to be productive without bothering him, first listing all those Pokémon that can poison or paralyze you upon contact, and then starting to brainstorm ideas for what to do with Petal Dance. Pretty shapes are cool, and probably are well suited for contests, but is there a way to interlock all the petals together to create a defensive shield?

I can't help but get distracted by all the flashing images on Lucas's computer, though. The content of it is extremely interesting as well.

"Is that really research? You've been watching different Pokémon battles for the past fifteen minutes."

Lucas startles and changes to a different tab on reflex, like he's been caught doing something untoward. "It is research," he insists, but I'm more concerned with what's on his screen.

"What's that a picture of?" I ask, pointing to an image of a verdant, overgrown valley, with a herd of Pokémon. Strangely enough, it's a bunch of Shieldon and even the evolved form, Bastiodon. "Is that a movie poster?"

He scratches the back of his head. "I forgot to close that I guess. It's not a movie. Uh, it's actually a real place."

"You're lying. No way a herd of fossilized Pokémon survived out there for all these years. Unless you're saying that someone put them there like those Bug Maniacs."

He doesn't look happy at the comparison, but eventually, Lucas nods. "They were put there on purpose, actually. Remember how we saw the fossil Pokémon getting revived? This is called the Valley of the Ancients, and it's essentially as close to a replica of the ancient world as possible. Scientists and historians have been reviving ancient trees and plants to grow there, and populating the area with revived fossil Pokémon. Professor Rowan sent me this, when I was still focused on researching fossils."

It sounds like a Pokémon version of Jurassic Park. This has to be one of the coolest things I've ever heard of. "Is it a tourist attraction with tour guides and stuff? Can we visit?"

"It's a protected research sanctuary," Lucas says, while pulling up a map. "It's not for viewing by the general public; most of them are unaware of its existence. It's not even visible on the general map. It was Professor Rowan who told me where it is; it's actually near the base of Mt. Coronet on the western side." Well, that's convenient, seeing as we are cycling that direction towards Hearthome City.

"Then we're gonna see it," I decide. "We're not passing this chance up, especially because we'll be on the other side of the mountain pretty soon." I'm quivering in anticipation thinking about it. "I can't wait. It's going to be like stepping into a time machine and ending up in the past!"

"We're going to be in the wilderness for a couple of days, without modern amenities. These Pokémon have had minimal contact with humans as well. We don't know how they'll react to our presence. I don't need to visit, since my research isn't concerning fossil Pokémon anymore."

It's fine," I brush his concerns to the side. "I've beaten a Rampardos, you've beaten an Armaldo, and we have ten Pokémon between us. We should be fine against a Kabutops, or an Aerodactyl, if one of them gets aggressive."

Lucas gestures with his head to the side, and I suppose I do need to let Ursula know about our plans. "Hey Ursula! We're taking a detour to the Valley of the Ancients before we arrive in Hearthome. Though I'd let you know."

"Why do you both have such a fascination with history and ruins? I am not interested."

I know Jurassic Park always ends badly, but I still would have visited. Dinosaurs have that type of mystique, and I think these Pokémon will too. "It's actually a sanctuary for rare Pokémon. We'll be all by ourselves, since it's off the grid, and get a chance to interact with them. We've got a few days to spare, seeing as we are ahead of schedule. Unless you really need more time to perfect your appeal, because it's not yet good enough for the Hearthome Contest."

"My appeal is perfect," she sniffs. "Very well. Let us go and see these rare Pokémon. Hopefully, it is worth my while."

I grin at Lucas. He sighs and rubs his forehead with his hand. "Guess we're going."

"Don't pretend like you aren't as interested or more than I am," I say back. "Also, why were you watching Pokémon battles?"

"Researching my project," he insists again, changing the subject by grabbing my notepad. "What's this?"

"Pokémon that have special abilities which may inflict status. Did I miss any?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He scans the list, reading out the families. "Nidoran, Budew, Venipede, Pikachu, Electrike, Mareep, Voltorb, Elekid… you've got most of them. Missing Qwilfish and Skrelp, though."

"Excuse you."

"Skrelp is an actual Pokémon, a water and Poison-type. Which reminds me, you forgot Seadra as well. And Pokemon like Slugma and Magmar with the ability Flame Body."

What a funny name. Sounds like someone being strangled. " Charmeleon can't be burned. I'm not going to have Charmeleon fight any Water-types, anyways."

He hands the paper back to me. "Yes, but you on;y have four Pokemon right now. The next one you get might be physically inclined, and not a Fire-type. Also, yYou may get a Water-type that might need to battle a Seadra or a Skrelp, at some point." Well, those are very good arguments, and I add the names to my paper.

"Quit avoiding my question. I don't care if you were watching Pokémon battles or not, I don't have concerns that you'd become my rival, like some people." I raise my voice and stress the last few words to make sure Ursula hears it.

"I'm watching these battles, looking for signature moves that might be from Hisuian Pokémon," he finally tells me, flicking back to his battle video.

"That's what Mr. G used in your battle against him, right? I still can't believe you challenged him like that. What was that move called again? Headlong Rush?"

"Yeah. Mr. G says it's essentially equivalent to a Ground-type Close Combat. Very powerful, but the user leaves themselves wide open to being counterattacked because they commit so heavily to their attack. Apparently, his Pokémon learned it from another explorer with a Donphan, and that guy learned it from someone who actually had a Hisuian Pokémon." He opens a new tab and starts typing the name of my least favorite Hisuian form.

"Don't say it," I order, trying to sound commanding.

A picture of a giant ugly bear appears on the screen. "That's right," Lucas chuckles. "I think Headlong Rush is the signature move of Ursaluna."

Ugh. Why does this ugly thing have both of our names? Ursaring is a perfectly good Pokémon. There's no need for this monstrosity to exist. "You better not get one of those things, Lucas. Are you listening?"

He shrugs. "I will make no such promises. I'm not intending to, but who knows what I'll end up with. Professor Rowan believes that Ursaring evolves when exposed to an item that we have yet to rediscover, and then eventually learns Headlong Rush. What I'm more interested in is the move. My theory is that all Hisuian Pokémon have signature techniques that have been forgotten. And if a Pokémon were to evolve based on learning a certain move, and that move has been lost to time, that would prevent them from evolving, right?"

"Well, we already have proof of that, don't we? It's just like learning Ancient Power." I start to tick off the Pokémon on my fingers. "No one knew that Tangela, Piloswine, or Yanma evolved, until someone came along and taught them Ancient Power to unlock their evolutionary forms."

"Correct. Aipom with Double Hit, Lickitung with Rollout, Steenee with Stomp… there are plenty of examples of this," he adds. "Somehow, I need to figure out what move they possibly could have learned in the past, teach it to them, and according to Mr. G, that is the key to their evolution."

"At least Ancient Power and the rest of these moves existed already. You need to rediscover a move, and teach it to a Pokémon? Not that I don't believe in you, but it seems nigh impossible."

"Every great discovery starts from something small," he says firmly, typing in something else in his search bar. "Hence the research, to give me some ideas of what the Pokémon could have learned."

"Have you found any people with a Hisuian Pokémon who also knows their signature move?" I ask, watching as he fails to pull up anything.

"Just one," he admits, getting frustrated with his computer. "Come on! I swear I saw it a few days ago. Porygon, can you help me real quick?"

Lucas's digital Pokémon is minding Rockruff, with the young puppy chewing on a human-leg looking bone, though Lucas has assured me it is some sort of synthetic replica. Porygon immediately floats over and dissolves into the computer.

"What would you like me to look for, Lucas?" it asks via text box.

"Search for Marianne versus Deanna, from the early rounds of the Sinnoh League from last year," he tells his Pokémon. "You'd think a match in the Pokémon League would be easier to search for," he grumbles, as his Pokémon gets to work.

Luckily, Porygon has no such issues, pulling up exactly what Lucas is looking for. "So, this battle is a best of three, and one of the trainers has a Hisuian Pokémon. One that you might recognize."

The two girls both look older than us, and both have exceptionally bright hair, one scarlet and one orange. Lucas forwards to where the redhead sends out her second Pokémon, after her opponent has defeated her first with a giant floating pumpkin, alight with ghostly fire.

"Gourgeist is a Grass-type, isn't it? Why's she sending out a Samurott?" And is that thing shiny? Its shell is pitch-black with red accents as opposed to the color of sand.

"Keep watching," he tells me, eyes glued to the screen. "Gourgeist is also a Ghost-type, and Hisuian Samurott are Dark-type." That is made clear by how Samurott proceeds to destroy the Gourgeist, with some of the most powerful Night Slashes I've ever seen. Lucas slows the speed as the battle nears its end. "Check out her finishing move."

Samurott's horn glows with dark energy, extending to become double its length before it hardens rapidly. It slashes wildly at its opponent multiple times, and each slash shatters the dark energy it has coated its horn with, leaving behind jagged splinters on the battlefield, like the one's obsidian makes when it is struck by something. When Gourgeist inevitably falls, the orange-haired trainer sends out her next Pokémon, an Ampharos, which winces upon landing on the battlefield.

He pauses the video. "Night Slash doesn't do that," I say in awe. "I've never seen a Unovan Samurott use an attack like that, either. That's the signature move? What's it called?"

"Samurott's trainer made the semifinals, and eventually got a big interview, as most of them do once you get to the later rounds. She called that move Ceaseless Edge. Those shards it leaves on the battlefield are like when a Pokémon uses Spikes. Now you see why I'm convinced teaching a Pokémon its old signature move might get it to evolve into its Hisuian form."

"Dewott isn't a Dark-type, right?" I counter, and Lucas shakes his head. "Then how do you know if learning Ceaseless Edge evolves it into Samurott, or if Samurott learns it after evolving and turning into a Dark-type?"

Lucas has a smile on his face. "That's all part of the fun. I can't wait to find out." His grin disappears as he looks at something past me. "Oh, no."

I'm startled by a feline screech before I can move, and when I do whip my head around, it's because Rockruff, without someone to hold her leash, has decided to go make a new friend. Why Lucas's new Pokémon decided that biting down on Ursula's Meowth's tail was the best way to go about that, I'll never know.

"Will you get your mangy mutt under control?" Ursula demands, because Rockruff is not letting go, despite Meowth scratching at it with his claws extended.

"One second!" Lucas calls back, standing up and setting down his laptop carefully. "Porygon, get out of there and use Psybeam on Rockruff. Not too powerful, just enough to make her let go."

The digital Pokémon materializes and fires off a weak Psychic attack, with Lucas knowing that it won't hurt Meowth in any way, as the two Pokémon are currently playing tug-of-war with Meowth's tail. It's at the precise moment that Psybeam is flying through the air that Meowth manages to wrench his tail free. Their momentum sends them tumbling in opposite directions, and as a result, Psybeam goes straight between them, and hits Ursula's other peacefully napping Pokémon instead.

This is turning into a comedy of errors. Ursula screeches angrily and orders her second Pokémon to retaliate. Gible charges straight into Rockruff, but Lucas's new Pokémon doesn't back down. It quickly picks itself up and howls a wolflike battle cry.

"Rockruff, don't," Lucas orders, but Rockruff isn't listening. She sprints straight at Gible, and surprisingly enough, coats her fangs in ice while doing so. The puppy leaps on her newest target and uses Ice Fang, and this one is a real attack, and not some playful roughhousing.

"Masquerain, Water Pulse!"

"Porygon, us Discharge!'

Lucas once again tries to use an attack that will only affect his own Pokémon, but like before, as Masquerain tries to get an angle to knock Rockruff off of Gible's back, she's forced to dodge to avoid the incoming electric attack.

All this commotion quickly draws attention. The door opens, and my mom walks out with a perplexed expression. "I thought you guys were just going to do some light training. It sounds like a free-for-all battle is going on out here!"

"Ooh, I like that idea!" comes Gardenia's voice from behind her. "I know I made everyone battle me as an introduction to the gym, but I think having a free-for-all battle sounds like an amazing team bonding exercise!"

It also sounds like an activity where grudges can be revealed and formed as well. I don't mention that, because they said something far more important. "You two had a battle and didn't tell me? Well, now I want to know what happened!"

"We'll tell you that story another time," Mom waves me off easily. "For now, shouldn't you be helping to resolve this?" She gestures at the frantic scrum on the other side of the yard.

Oh right. "Monferno!" I yell at the top of my lungs, making sure I could be heard wherever the two Fire-types were hopefully practicing right about now. A few seconds later Monferno appears. I point him in the right direction, and he bounds away with a grin, even though he's probably had to rein in Rockruff dozens of times by now.

Charmeleon follows him, though I cross my arms and give him my sternest look. "I didn't call your name. You should still be practicing."

"Char, Charmeleon!" he argues, and I decide to call out his bluff. "Alright then, show me your Fire Punch." I take a few steps back to give him space to operate.

Charmeleon brings his fists up toward his face, and puts one food in front of the other. What do you know? He actually has the start of a real stance. His first punch lights on fire as he throws it, and he brings his hand back before he throws the second one, which also is covered in flame.

You've got it! Great job!." He gives me a fanged grin, and I mirror his stance. "Now, I want you to face me, but tilt the rest of your body at an angle." Most of my fighting knowledge comes from a few classes that I've tried out, and watching movies, but I'm pretty sure this is correct. "When you use Fire Punch, make sure your chest faces me when your arm is extended. You can light your first on fire first, to make sure you get it."

He doesn't even need to breathe fire on it beforehand, which is also a massive improvement. I can see in his eyes how he feels the difference in the way this Fire Punch feels from the last. "When you shift your weight like that, it's like your whole body is throwing the punch rather than just your arm. More power with less strain on yourself, right?"

I watch him try it out eagerly, and I think I'm really understanding what I need to do with Charmeleon. Power is never going to be the issue with him; control is what we need to work on. If we master that, hopefully we can use his Solar Power ability in battle as well.

"Normally, this is where we work on your Flamethrower, but instead I want you to go over and learn Weather Ball from Bellossom, Charmeleon. We gotta keep diversifying your movepool for when you do eventually evolve, after all." He looks somewhat disbelieving, as if fire was going to be the permanent solution to all of his problems, but upon my insistence, he trundles over to my other two Pokémon to start learning. Weather Ball is a neat way to circumvent the fact that all I've been working on with Charmeleon is Fire-type moves. I already have Sunny Day, and Glaceon should be able to change the weather as well. If I get a Pokémon that knows Rain Dance, then this move might be all the coverage I need for these three.

I hear my mom comment on my training methods as I watch Charmeleon barge his way into Glaceon and Bellossom's practice. "Interesting decision, to focus on weather based strategies for your team."

"It made sense," I justify defensively, though I'm not sure why, because she was just making an observation, and not a criticism. "All of my Pokémon apparently have weather based abilities, considering Glaceon has either Snow Cloak or Slush Rush, which means that I'm probably going to be using weather at some point. It's nice if my other Pokémon could benefit, especially for double battles. Even if it's not too complex of a strategy."

"I think it's an excellent idea," Gardenia tells me, giving me a thumbs up. "Weather is a great strategy, even though it can sometimes be a double-edged sword. As long as you keep that in mind, you can get plenty of mileage out of it. I hear that the strongest gym leader in the Galar region utilizes different weather conditions in every one of his battles."

That's reassuring. "What do you mean? I already know about Charmeleon's Solar Power, and how it drains his energy much more quickly than normal."

"No," Mom clarifies. "She means that your opponent gets the benefits as well. Your team will already struggle against powerful Fire-types, and utilizing sun only amplifies a Fire-type's strength."

Oh, right. That's literally how I won my battle, when Charmeleon blasted Roserade with that Sunny Day, Solar Power boosted Flame Burst. If I'm not careful I could easily see that happening to me, considering my best answer to Fire-types currently is Glaceon using Water Pulse, which isn't much of an option under sun. Ah well, all that means is that I have even more to work on. Unless you're a Cynthia-level trainer, I guess there really is no point where you can't get stronger.

Before I consider my options on how to address that, the sounds of fighting cease, as Monferno drags Rockruff away from Ursula's Pokémon and deposits his younger teammate at the feet of their trainer."

"Rockruff," Lucas tells his newest Pokémon sternly, "don't do that ever again."

His Pokémon immediately starts to protest, but a sharp swat to the back of the head by Monferno, who follows up with a pointed comment of his own, no doubt a demand to listen to their trainer, swiftly silences Rockruff.

Lucas pinches his nose, and breathes a couple of times before continuing to tell off his Pokémon. "I know I told you that everyone here was willing to be your friend, and that you should try and play with them," he starts, "but that wasn't the right way to go about it. You can't force anyone to play with you. If Meowth or anyone else refuses, you just need to respect that and try again later. Now, I want you to go and apologize for your actions."

Rockruff still seems miffed that her attempts at friendship were so rudely met, and that now she is the one forced to make peace, but a kick in the behind from Monferno gets her to move. She ends up giving a bedruging apology, which Gible and Masquerain easily accept nevertheless, while Ursula and Meowth turn their noses up, clearly still harboring resentment. The Rock-type this time restrains herself despite the dismissal. Lucas gives her a smile once she returns to his feet.

"I'm not mad at you Rockruff, I'm actually proud. I know it was difficult to swallow your pride like that, but that was the right thing to do. They understand that you're still learning, and will eventually come around." That lifts her spirits, and when Monferno waves his tail in front of Rockruff's face, the sight of such a juicy target quickly has her chasing it once again.

"The way he deals with such a difficult to raise Pokémon is very impressive," my mom muses from behind me. "You should take some pointers from him, Luna."

Excuse me? "My Pokémon get along swimmingly. We have an excellent team dynamic, I'll have you know. Right, Spewpa?" I try to ask the newest member of my team for confirmation, but he just shrinks into himself while staring at something behind me.

"You should check on your team," Mom says, hiding her laughter behind her hand.

I can almost feel a vein about to burst on my forehead as I watch Glaceon, Charmeleon, and Beloossom argue amongst themselves over who knows what. Come on guys. I know I'm somewhat of a liar, but that doesn't mean you need to totally refute what I was saying! What could they possibly be fighting about?

Whatever it is, it's apparently important, as this argument is rather heated. I stomp over to play peacemaker, and figure out their issue. "Hey! HEY! What's got you three acting like this?"

Unsurprisingly, Charmeleon is the first to answer me. He points behind me to Gardenia, and then flexes his arms like some sort of body builder. Glaceon quickly knocks him out of the way, looking up at me with an expression of self-importance on her face while also flicking her tail towards Gardenia. Finally, Bellossom pushes her out of the way, points to the gym leader, and twirls in a circle, seeking a compliment on her performance.

"You guys… want to know which one of you was the most important member of the team during the gym battle? All of you think it was yourself, is that it?"

They start to crowd me, each of them jumping up and down and speaking up loudly to make themselves the loudest and most noticeable, so that I may dub them the most valuable performer against Gardenia.

I take a couple steps back and hold out my hands to halt their advance. "I don't have a choice between you three. You all performed great."

They immediately protest, urging me to choose a standout.

"I'm serious!" I shout suddenly, feeling the pressure of establishing what our team dynamic will be weighing on my shoulders. I've always thought this way, but I think Gardenia's advice to me during our battle crystallized my feelings on the matter. "Listen," I start slowly, "That's the truth. You all had your parts to play, and everyone did so magnificently. That's why we won. Yes, Charmeleon, you were the one to land the final blow of the battle, and defeat Gardenia's strongest Pokémon."

I continue before he can start to toot his horn. "But, Bellossom took over for you twice. She defeated Dartrix, and matched Roserade move for move, essentially forcing them to use Sunny Day, which powered up Charmeleon's attacks. Also," I add, before Glaceon can complain that I'm leaving her contribution out, "none of that would have been possible had Glaceon not been able to essentially defeat her first Pokémon. I'm sure she told you how it resorted to blowing itself up."

I seize on the fact that my words appear to have them deep in thought. "So, don't make a big deal about who did the most in this battle or any battle, for that matter, because I don't. Even in our last gym battle, while Glaceon defeated Rampardos, I was only able to come up with a strategy by watching both of you battle it first. Everyone is important, whether you're cheerleading from the sidelines or you have the biggest role in the battle because of the matchup. Because that's what a team is; when one of us wins, we all do."

An awkward silence ensues after my little soliloquy, and I spin around to find everyone staring at me. "What?!" I demand.

My mom clears her throat. "Nothing, Luna. That was a fine speech, and a very mature perspective."

"Pokémon are a lot like people, you know," Gardenia tacks on. "They have pride and emotions and create rivalries amongst themselves and with opponents. New trainers often go along with the instincts of their Pokémon, instead of your more calculated approach."

Is this a product of me still thinking with game knowledge? Dispassionate, and not worrying about each individual matchup as long as we win in the end? Only time will tell if this approach is the right one. I turn back to my team. "Now that we have gotten that out of the way, it's time for you three to keep practicing your Weather Balls."

"Actually," Mom pipes up, "I think they've got the basics down, even if the attacks are a bit weak right now. It's time to practice the move in battle situations. After all, that's the whole point of Weather Ball."

I frown slightly. "I don't really want to use Sunny Day whils Charmeleon is training, lest I send him to the Pokémon Center again, and it's too nice of a day to ruin with a rainstorm. Same logic goes for Gardenia's Abomasnow summoning hail."

"My Abomasnow summons snow," the gym leader corrects me. "Old school Ice-type experts like Pryce of Mahogany Town and Wulfric of Snowbelle City prefer to wear down their opponents with damaging hail, but other trainers like our own Candice only let their Pokémon create a snowstorm. In my case, Abomasnow is the only Pokémon I own that isn't bothered by hail, so there's no reason to have him summon it."

"Besides," Mom adds, pulling out an Ultra Ball. "There's one more weather you seem to have forgotten."She brings out the last Pokémon she ever caught, a mole the color of the dirt it burrows through, with three red marks on its belly and gleaming silver claws and horns, and now I feel silly.

"Right, Sandstorm. Does Weather Ball turn into a Rock-type move in sand?"

"It does," Lucas answers me before asking his own question. "That doesn't look like a Grass-type, though?"

Mom shrugs. "You're right about that, Excadrill is a Ground and Steel-type. I grew up on a farm, and everyone I knew, including my father, had a Water, Ground, and Grass-type to help with the whole process. I took you to one outside Floccesy Town, remember Luna? You stepped in that Mareep-"

"Wool!" I hastily cut her off. "It really gives you a sharp static shock as soon as it's sheared off, haha. Anyways, if Weather Ball is a Rock-type move, is Excadrill going to be our target?"

"If you can manage to hit him." Excadrill backs up Mom's words by spreading his arms and flexing his claws, leaving his whole midsection wide open to an attack. That's a challenge if I've ever heard one, and my Pokémon are looking fired up at her comments.

"First one to land five wins," I tell them, since they want some competition between themselves. "They're tough opponents, but they don't move so well in their old age."

"Oh, you brat," Mom says, pretending to be offended, though the smile on her face tells me that she's enjoying the banter. "You'll be eating those words. Make sure you wear these, so you can see how poorly it's going. She tosses a pair of goggles at me and everyone else, and while I no doubt look ridiculous, end up getting sand in my hair and clothes, and we only manage to land five Weather Balls between all my Pokémon, rather than for each of them, the rest of our training session was unbelievably fun.

----------------------------------------

"Are you sure you haven't forgotten anything? Your wallet, or your badge case because you took it out to admire your badges?"

"Yes, Mom, I have everything. I paid to rent out this bike, so obviously I have my wallet. I remember packing my badge case too."

"You should have rented out some knee and elbow pads too," she frets. "Be careful, alright? You haven't ridden a bike in forever."

"That doesn't mean I've forgotten. I'll be fine!"

"She just doesn't want you to go too fast because you're having so much fun riding that you fall and hurt something before our rematch!" Gardenia winks at me. "Next time, I won't hold anything back!"

I stare at her in horror. "You were holding back?"

"Well, I only had three Pokémon, so I wasn't technically at full strength. I want a full battle next time!" Gardenia grins unapologetically.

"I can do that. Once I have six Pokémon, which might take a while."

"Well, whenever that is, you all are welcome to stay at my house again," Mom says, directing her words at all three of us.

"It was a pleasure to be your guests, Ma'am."

"Yes, Miss Sera, thanks for everything."

Lucas and Ursula ride away, leaving me with the Eterna Gym staff. Mom gives me a long hug. "You and your Pokémon are an awesome team. Don't let anything stop you from reaching your dreams."

"I won't," I promise, "Goodbye everyone, and a thousand thank yous for supporting me. I promise to make you all proud."

A brief round of laughter ensues. "You already have."

I meet up with Lucas and Ursula after showing the attendant my receipt for the bike. "Are you good?" Lucas asks, checking my face for any hint of tears.

"Of course I am."

In fact, I've never been better.